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Biomedical subjects

F Paronetto

Publications and source records attributed to F Paronetto.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Idiopathic familial cirrhosis and steatosis in adults.

A family was studied in which three middle-aged siblings had unexplained cirrhosis and steatosis. Five of nine additional family members had abnormalities of liver function. Liver biopsy in those 5 revealed steatosis in 3, steatosis and fibrosis in 1, and increase in lipofuchsin pigment in another. Detailed investigation revealed no known metabolic defect, adverse environmental exposure, or alcohol abuse. We postulate that this family represents a unique type of idiopathic familial cirrhosis. The role of steatosis in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis in this family remains unsettled. The HLA haplotype A24, B18, DRW 4 X 7 was found in several family members, but the association of the disease with the HLA system remains to be established.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Dane particles-associated hepatitis B core antigen in patients with HBsAg-positive chronic hepatitis.

Dane particles-associated hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was determined by radioimmunoassay in 61 patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HGsAg)-positive chronic hepatitis. HBc antigenemia was observed in 61% of patients, especially in those with epidemiological risk factors. Patients with chronic active hepatitis as well as those with chronic persistent hepatitis may have HBc antigenemia. The highest levels of HBcAg were observed in male homosexuals. Follow-up determinations indicate the general tendency of HBcAg to decrease or disappear. HBcAg-positive patients with chronic active hepatitis had a poor prognosis, whereas HBcAg-negative patients frequently had a favorable clinical course of the disease (P less than 0.001). The assay of HBcAg in the serum of patients with HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis is a useful parameter with both clinical and epidemiological importance.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Liver-specific and shared cell membrane antigens. Studies by light- and electron microscopy.

Liver-specific and shared saline-insoluble cell surface antigens were localized by immunofluorescence as well as by light- and electron microscopic immunoenzyme techniques. Antisera against purified mouse liver cell membranes were surface membrane but not organ-specific. Variable quantities of shared antigens were present in endoderm- and mesoderm-derived organs but not in ectodermal nerve tissue. Species crossreactivity was observed for the rat. Repeated absorption produced liver-specific antisera that reacted with antigenic sites distributed along the entire hepatocyte and sinusoidal cell surfaces. For the precise localization as well as the detection of low concentrations of both liver-specific and nonspecific antigens, the ultrastructural visualization of reactive sites proved essential.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and -negative chronic hepatitis.

Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) is a sensitive indicator of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, anti-HBc has been found in only a few patients with chronic hepatitis. Therefore, we tested for anti-HBc in 124 sera from 67 patients with histologically proven chronic hepatitis by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique. All patients, except for one with chronic hepatitis who was seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), had anti-HBc that persisted throughout the follow-up period (three months to three years). Of 33 HBs Ag-seronegative patients, anti-HBc was detected in seven patients and persisted for six months to two years. These findings suggest that in this study 21% of patients with chronic hepatitis with undetectable amounts of HBs Ag in the serum had evidence of recent or continued HBV replication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

T and B lymphocytes in patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH).

Absolute numbers of T and B lymphocytes as well as active E rosette-forming cells were measured in twenty-seven patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH), and in thirty control patients. In patients with CAH without cirrhosis, active E rosette-forming cells (a subpopulation of T lymphocytes considered to be actively involved in cell-mediated immune reactions) as well as lymphocytes with surface markers for IgA, IgM and IgG were increased. In patients with CAH and cirrhosis, total T lymphocytes were decreased. These results emphasize the significance of lymphocytes in CAH, and suggest the importance of monitoring T- and B-cell populations in patients with this disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Immune response to hepatitis B virus in children with papular acrodermatitis.

Papular acrodermatitis of childhood (PAC) is characterized by papular eruption of skin, lymphadenopathy, and acute hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive anicteric hepatitis. To study the course of hepatitis B virus infection we followed 16 patients with PAC, 2 to 7 years of age, for periods ranging from 6 to 46 months. All patients tested developed hepatitis B surface antigenemia subtype ay, and produced antibody to hepatitis B core antigen with the highest incidence after 3 to 5 months. Half of the children investigated developed antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen 4 to 18 months (mean, 6.5) after the onset of PAC. At the end of the investigation, 31% of the children were still HBsAg-positive, 50% were antibody to hepatitis B core antigen-positive, and in 43% the activity of serum aminotransferases was abnormal. Liver biopsy repeated in 2 children showed chronic aggressive hepatitis. The pattern of antibody response to hepatitis B virus is similar in both HBsAg-positive hepatitis and PAC. The frequent development of HBSAg carrier state and the high proportion of children with liver abnormalities at the end of the investigation suggest an impaired clearance of hepatitis B virus and a tendency to chronicity.

Acrodermatitis↗
PubMed1975

Migration of peripheral leukocytes in the presence of carcinoembryonic antigen. Studies in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases of the intestine and carcinoma of the colon and pancreas (32568).

The leukocyte migration technique was employed to study in vitro cell-mediated immune responses to purified CEA in patients with Crohn's disease and active ulcerative colitis and in those with colonic and pancreatic carcinoma. No significant inhibition of leukocyte migration was demonstrated by CEA, with the exception of one patient with pancreatic carcinoma. Thus, with the leukocyte migration technique, no consistent in vitro cell-mediated immunity to CEA was demonstrated supporting the hypothesis that CEA is not the antigen toward which cell-mediated host response phenomena are directed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1975

Cell-mediated immune reactivity to hepatitis B surface antigen in liver diseases.

The cellular immune reactivity to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was studied in patients with liver diseases using a purified preparation of HBsAg and the leukocyte-migration agarose test. Inhibition of leukocyte migration by HBsAg was found in all 9 patients in the acute phase of viral hepatitis but not during convalescence. HBsAg inhibited migration of leukocytes in only 1 of 15 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, in none of 16 with chronic periportal hepatitis, and in 2 of 21 with nonhepatic liver diseases. In normal control subjects inhibition of migration was found only in 1 physician exposed to HBsAg. Similar but not identical results were obtained with HBsAg-positive serum used as antigen. In patients with chronic hepatitis there was no correlation between reactivity to HBsAg and the presence of autoantibodies or anti-HBs. While further investigations using other preparations of antigens associated with HBV (e.g., hepatitis B core antigen) may better clarify the role of hepatitis B virus in some liver diseases, the present investigations suggest that a reactivity to HBsAg in patients with acute viral hepatitis may indicate clearing of the antigen, whereas in patients with chronic hepatitis it may reflect a state of specific tolerance to this antigen.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1975

Immunological studies in patients with chronic active hepatitis. Cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes to autochthonous liver cells grown in tissue culture.

The cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes against autochthonous liver cells was studied in patients with chronic liver diseases and in controls. Cytotoxicity of lymphocytes was observed in eight of ten patients with chronic active hepatitis, two patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, one patient with primary biliary cirrhosis, one patient with alcoholic hepatitis and carcinoma of the pancreas, and in three of five patients with acute viral hepatitis, but not in seven patients without liver alteration or with miscellaneous liver diseases. Serum was not cytotoxic, but in three patients it decreased the cytotoxicity of lymphocytes. Cytotoxicity was seen in both HBAg-positive and HBAg-negative patients, appears to be influenced by therapy, and does not correlate with autoantibodies. These data support the hypothesis of an aggressive activity of lymphocytes in certain liver diseases.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1974

Electron microscopy and immunoelectronmicroscopy of cytoplasmic hepatitis B antigen in hepatocytes.

The localization of hepatitis B antigen (HB Ag) and the nature of the virus-like particles in hepatocytes of patients with HB antigenemia are controversial. In many reports, numerous virus-like particles have been demonstrated in hepatocytic nuclei; the few reported in the cytoplasm are insufficient in number to explain the intense cytoplasmic fluorescence after staining with fluoresceinated antibody to HB Ag (HB Ab). We found numerous tubular and circular structures, measuring 20 to 30 nm in diameter, in the cisternae of the excess smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of varying numbers of hepatocytes in 13 of 16 HB Ag carriers and in 4 of 9 patients with HB Ag-positive chronic hepatitis corresponding to cytoplasmic HB Ag-specific fluorescence. Direct immunoelectronmicroscopy using peroxidase-labeled HB Ab revealed that the intracisternal bodies and the surrounding membranes contain HB antigenic determinants. These bodies are an ultrastructural correlate of cytoplasmic HB Ag. It is suggested that they are virally coded coat material rather than the mature hepatitis B virus or its core.

Antigens, Viral↗