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Biomedical subjects

J C Rodriguez

Publications and source records attributed to J C Rodriguez.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Hypercholesterolemia induces differential expression of rabbit apolipoprotein A and C genes.

We have compared steady-state mRNA levels of apolipoproteins AI, AII, AIV, CI, CII and CIII in liver and small intestine of rabbits fed on a cholesterol-rich diet for up to 16 weeks. Apolipoprotein (apo) AIV mRNA was detected in both liver and small intestine, while apo AII was not detected in either organ. Apo CI, apo CII and apo CIII were expressed only in liver and apo AI mRNA was detected only in small intestine. In small intestine, apo AIV and apo AI mRNA levels increased to a maximum at the 4th and 12th week of treatment, respectively. In liver there was a parallel increase in the mRNA levels of apo AIV, apo CI, apo CII and apo CIII, with maximum levels after 4 weeks of treatment. A 3-fold increase was found in apo CII and apo CIII hepatic transcription rates between hypercholesterolemic and control rabbits after 4 weeks of treatment, no longer detectable after 8 weeks. However, no changes were found in apo AIV and apo CI transcription rates. Changes in apolipoprotein mRNA levels were accompanied by changes in plasma lipoprotein levels. Overall, these changes correlate well with the variations detected in the expression of the different apolipoprotein genes. Our results indicate that dietary cholesterol plays an important role in the regulation of these genes and that this regulation is tissue dependent.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Peritoneal dialysis efficiency in CAPD patients in treatment with rHuEPO.

Possible modifications in peritoneal behaviour that can be caused by erythropoietin (EPO) treatment and/or correction of anemia in the ultrafiltration and peritoneal diffusion were studied in 24 CAPD patients. The evolution of the patients on the medium run was also studied. The dialysate to plasma ratio, the peritoneal clearance and the mass transfer coefficient of urea and creatinine and the ultrafiltration volume were studied, baseline, after reaching the hemoglobin target, and after eight months of treatment. The group of patients developed a decrease in the dialysate to plasma ratio and in the peritoneal clearance of creatinine. After evaluating the effects of the hemoglobin and the hematocrit, we found a decrease in the dialysate to plasma ratio of urea and creatinine, and in the peritoneal clearance of creatinine. A decrease was also found in the mass transfer coefficients of urea and creatinine. An increase in the ultrafiltration was also found in the patients with hemoglobin levels higher or equal to 11 g/dl. Those changes are reversible after turning the hemoglobin levels back to levels lower than 11 g/dl.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Squid hypersensitivity: a clinical and immunologic study.

Hypersensitivity to mollusk has rarely been described in the literature. Among the mollusks, the cephalopods are a group of great importance as a food source. We report seven patients who had had symptoms highly suggestive of IgE-mediated reactions after ingesting squid or inhaling vapors from cooking squid. All had previously suffered from persistent rhinitis or asthma for years. In addition, six of the seven patients had had symptoms after ingesting shrimp. Skin prick tests were strongly positive for boiled squid extract and for various commercial crustacean extracts. Specific IgE antibodies against boiled extract and several crustacean extracts were demonstrated in all patients by RAST and reverse enzyme immunoassay. Cross reactivity between squid and shrimp and other crustaceans was demonstrated by reverse immunoassay inhibition studies. Cross reactivity could not be demonstrated between squid and octopus, which are both cephalopods, nor between squid and other mollusks.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Induction of apolipoprotein E gene expression in human and experimental atherosclerotic lesions.

Hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis were induced in New Zealand White rabbits by cholesterol feeding. Apolipoprotein E mRNA levels in livers were found to be slightly increased, as determined by Northern blots. Apolipoprotein E gene expression was dramatically induced in rabbit atherosclerotic aortas with respect to healthy aortas. However, apolipoprotein E mRNA levels in atherosclerotic aortas were low as compared with the hepatic mRNA levels of the same animals. Interestingly, we also found a significant increase in apolipoprotein E expression in human atheromata with respect to healthy aorta from the same individual. This is the first report on apo E gene induction in human atherosclerotic lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Analysis of IncF plasmids evolution: nucleotide sequence of an IncFIII replication region.

We determined the nucleotide sequence of RepFIII, the IncFIII replication region of the plasmid pSU316. Our data confirmed that RepFIII belongs to the RepFIIA family. The comparison of the nucleotide sequences from several RepFIIA-family plasmids revealed that pSU316 and R1 replicons are almost identical (96% similarity). Most of the differences between them are clustered in the incompatibility determinant. Analysis of the rest of the sequence suggested that the divergence between R1 and pSU316 replicons is very recent.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Airway pressure release ventilation in a patient with acute pulmonary injury.

Airway pressure release ventilation is a recently described method of ventilatory support. It allows spontaneous ventilation with CPAP but differs from conventional ventilatory modes because, with APRV, peak inflation pressure never exceeds the level of CPAP, and airway pressure decreases, rather than increases, when tidal volume is delivered. The risk of pulmonary barotrauma and adverse hemodynamic effects associated with conventional modes of positive-pressure mechanical ventilation may be decreased because of lower peak inflation and mean airway pressures. We describe a patient in whom several risk factors for these complications were present who was treated successfully with APRV.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Comparative study of two different routes for insulin administration in CAPD diabetic patients. A multicenter study.

CAPD has been considered an appropriate method for treatment of diabetics in renal failure. Up to now the choice of route for insulin administration in these patients has not been definitely defined, although there is a general consensus for employing the intraperitoneal route for this purpose. However, contradictory data have appeared on this subject. Our aim has been to investigate whether the subcutaneous or intraperitoneal route makes any difference to metabolic control, and if so what is the price in terms of the incidence of peritonitis. Two groups of diabetic patients from three different hospitals with a similar peritonitis incidence and training protocols were studied. Of the 30 patients, 15 were treated with subcutaneous insulin (sc group) and in the other 15 the intraperitoneal route was employed (ip. group). The average follow-up period was 20.8 +/- 7.5 months for sc group and 18.7 +/- 8 months for ip. group. Insulin requirements were 30 +/- 11 u./day in the sc. and 110 +/- 60 u/day in the i.p. group (p less than 0.05) and remained constant during the study period. Metabolic controls (home glucose levels, HbA1C, hospital fasting glucose levels) were similar for both groups. However, the incidence of peritonitis was 4 times greater in the ip. group. In the ip. group 18 peritonitis episodes were registered in 280 patient-months vs 5 episodes in sc. group in 312 patient-months. We conclude that the intraperitoneal route for insulin administration in diabetic CAPD patients produces a higher risk of suffering peritonitis with no real metabolic improvement in the medium term.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1987

Identification and expression of a copy number control gene in the IncFIII hemolytic plasmid pSU316.

A DNA fragment carrying both the IncFIII determinant and a copy number control gene of the hemolytic plasmid pSU316 has been cloned in pBR322. Deletion derivatives of the hybrid plasmid generated by Bal 31 digestion, which no longer exhibit the IncFIII phenotype, fall into two complementation groups when tested against a pSU316 miniplasmid derivative. Type 1 mutants exhibit the copy number control (Cop+) phenotype whereas type 2 mutants do not. Restriction analysis of type 1 and type 2 mutants allowed us to locate the cop gene of pSU316 in a 700-base-pair fragment adjacent to the IncFIII determinant. Plasmid expression in a minicell system suggests that the product of the cop gene of pSU316 could be a 13,000-dalton protein.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1985

Molecular cloning of human LDL apolipoprotein B cDNA. Evidence for more than one gene per haploid genome.

We have isolated an apolipoprotein B (apo B) clone (pXB1) from a human liver cDNA expression library, by immunoselection with a polyclonal antibody to human low density lipoprotein. pXB1 was used to isolate 3 clones (pB2, pB3 and pB4), containing cDNA inserts spanning a region of 3.75 kbp, from a second human liver cDNA library. We report the sequence of 1359 nucleotides at the 3' end of the pB4 cDNA insert and the amino acids encoded by this sequence. The cDNA inserts of pBX1 and pB2 overlapped the sequenced portion of pB4. pB2 contained an EcoR1 restriction site (resulting in a Glu-Lys replacement) which is not present in pB3 or pB4 and pB3 contained an MspI site not present in pB2 or pB4. Since all 3 clones were derived from the mRNA of a single human liver, we suggest that the human haploid genome contains more than one functional apo B gene. Labelled probes spanning almost the whole of the pB4 cDNA insert hybridized with RNA from human liver and small intestine, showing that the apo B mRNAs from these two tissues have nucleotide sequences in common. The nucleotide sequence in human liver apo B mRNA is probably longer than 12 kb, showing that the MW of monomeric apo B is at least 350kd. Clone pB4 hybridized with mRNA of similar length in rabbit liver and small intestine. These results raise the possibility that the low MW apo B synthesized in the intestine (B-48) and the high MW apo B synthesized in the liver (B-100) are translated from the same mRNA. The expression products of fragments of pB4 cloned into an expression vector were blotted with monoclonal antibodies to human LDL. The results suggest that the cDNA insert in pB4 encodes a part of apo B common to B-48 and B-100 and a region close to the recognition site for the LDL receptor.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Physical and functional map of the hemolytic plasmid pSU316.

A restriction endonuclease analysis of the hemolytic plasmid pSU316 has allowed location of the cleavage sites for the endonucleases BamHI, XbaI, KpnI, Bg/II, Sa/GI, EcoRI, and HindIII. Hybridization experiments between pSU316 and pED100 have shown that the tra region of pSU316 lies in a segment comprising part of Sa/GI fragments S-1 and S-3 and the entire fragment S-4. The positions of other plasmids coded functions, namely the replication functions and alpha-hemolysin production, have been determined in the physical map.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1983

Incompatibility properties of the IncFIII/FIV haemolytic plasmid pSU316 when integrated in the Escherichia coli chromosome.

The haemolytic plasmid pSU316 is incompatible with members of the IncFIII and IncFIV incompatibility groups. Plasmid pSU307 (pSU316 hlyC::Tn5) was inserted by integrative suppression into the chromosome of JW112, a temperature-sensitive dnaA mutant of Escherichia coli. The incompatibility properties of this strain (SU51) were studied and it was found that: (1) plasmid pSU306 (pSU316 hlyA::Tn802) was rapidly lost from strain SU51 both at 30 degrees C and 42 degrees C; (2) the IncFIII plasmid pSU397 (ColB-K98::Tn802) was lost from strain SU51 and at 42 degrees C but not at 30 degrees C; and (3) the IncFIV plasmid R124 was stably maintained in strain SU51 at both temperatures. Revertants of pSU307 to the autonomous state could be obtained from SU51. These revertants exerted incompatibility towards the prototype plasmids pSU306, pSU397 and R124 in the same way as pSU307 itself. Thus, strain SU51 provided a suitable method for distinguishing the three different incompatibility determinants of plasmid pSU316.

Chromosomes, Bacterial↗
PubMed1978

Asthma caused by bromelin inhalation.

Two cases are reported of bronchial asthma caused by inhalation of bromelin, a proteolytic enzyme utilized in some anti-inflammatory medicine. Prick test results with bromelin extract were positive. Inhalation tests gave immediate reactions which were blocked by sodium cromoglycate, but not corticosteroids.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

NPFF, a FMRF-NH2-like peptide, blocks opiate effects on ileum contractions.

We studied the ability of NPFF, a FMRFamide-like peptide with certain antiopiate properties, to affect the inhibitory effect of morphine on the electrically induced contraction of guinea pig ileum. Neuropeptide FF had no effect when administered alone but reduced morphine inhibition in a noncompetitive manner. Neuropeptide FF also altered the inhibitory effect of opioid peptides as released by an intense electrical stimulation at 10 Hz. These results suggest that NPFF receptors exist in guinea pig ileum in association with opiate receptors, and that endogenous NPFF may play a role in the diarrhea observed in the morphine withdrawal syndrome.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Washout of the pig liver with Haemaccel after hypothermic preservation.

In hepatic preservation by simple perfusion and hypothermic storage, a portal and hepatic washout before revascularization would avoid receptor hyperkaliema. In this report we study the effectiveness of this washout with Haemaccel at room temperature. Large-White pigs were used and eight livers were perfused "in situ" via the portal wein with Hartmann's solution containing 10,000 IU of heparin at 4 degrees C, and afterwards, via portal and arterial routes with C2 solution at 4 degrees C. After a cold ischemia time of less than 31/2 hours a liver washout via the portal vein and hepatic artery with Haemaccel before portal revascularization was done. The high concentrations of glucose, K+, GOT, GPT and LDH in the effluents obtained during the washout are attributed to Haemaccel hyperosmolarity. A portal and arterial hepatic washout associated with free drainage of the first 50-100 ml of portal venous blood after hepatic portal revascularization through the infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IH-IVC), prevents hyperkaliemia from occurring after a portal and arterial revascularization in the orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) in pigs.

Animals↗