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Biomedical subjects

J Russo

Publications and source records attributed to J Russo.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Protective effect of chorionic gonadotropin on DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis.

The effect of the placental hormone chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumours was studied in young virgin Sprague-Dawley rats. This hormone when administered at a dose of 100 IU day-1 does not induce toxic effects, measured as alterations in body weight or weight of endocrine organs, and has a reversible effect on oestrous cycle. The lack of toxicity and the fact that hCG treatment terminated prior to administration of the chemical carcinogen DMBA protects the mammary gland from malignant transformation, led us to test the effect of hCG treatment on DMBA-initiated mammary tumours. Fifty day-old virgin Sprague-Dawley rats received intragastrically 8 mg DMBA per 100 g body weight and were divided into two groups: group I animals were treated with DMBA only and group II received DMBA at age 50 and in addition, a daily intraperitoneal injection of 100 IU hCG for days 21-81 post carcinogen administration. Tumorigenic response was evaluated by biweekly palpation of all animals and by complete autopsy 24 weeks after DMBA treatment. Group I animals developed an incidence of 100% of both tumours and adenocarcinomas. Group II animals developed a significantly lower incidence of tumours and adenocarcinomas, 51.5% and 45.5% respectively. In both groups lesions developed more frequently in thoracic than in abdominal mammary glands. It is postulated that hCG treatment, probably through stimulation of ovarian oestrogen and progesterone synthesis, induces differentiation of mammary epithelium that although affected by the carcinogen can still be rescued from malignant transformation.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1990

Effect of human chorionic gonadotropin on mammary gland differentiation and carcinogenesis.

The observation that mammary carcinogenesis is inhibited in rats which completed a pregnancy prior to exposure to the chemical carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) led us to determine whether the protective effect of pregnancy could be mimicked by treatment with the placental hormone chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). We also studied the effect of this treatment on mammary gland structure and differentiation, and determined whether hCG exerts toxic or collateral effects on body weight and endocrine organs. The systemic effect of hCG on body wt and endocrine organs and mammary gland was studied in outbred virgin Sprague-Dawley rats which at the age of 50 days started receiving 100 IU hCG i.p. daily for 21 days. The animals were subdivided into nine groups of five animals each; one group was killed on the first day of and the others at 5, 10, 15 and 21 days of injection and 5, 10, 15 and 21 days post injection. The effect of the hormonal treatment on the estrous cycle was determined by studying the vaginal smears taken during and after the injection period. The following parameters were determined: body wt, weight and morphology of pituitary gland, adrenals, ovaries and uterine horns. Mammary glands were processed for histology, autoradiography for determination of DNA labeling index (DNA-LI) and whole mount preparation for morphometric studies. The effect of hCG on mammary carcinogenesis was studied in two groups of virgin rats; group I, which at the age of 50 days started receiving a daily i.p. injection of 100 IU hCG for 21 days; 21 days after the last injection they were given 8 mg DMBA/100 g body wt. Group II animals received DMBA only. hCG treated animals gained weight as a function of age at the same rate as controls. Treatment did not modify the weight of adrenal glands. The weight of ovaries, uterus and pituitary gland were transitorily increased by the 15th day of treatment, but had returned to the same values of controls by the time of DMBA administration. Treatment stimulated mammary gland differentiation, measured as a progressive reduction in number of terminal end buds and increase in the number of alveolar buds and lobules. The DNA-LI was significantly depressed in all terminal structures in the glands of treated animals. In group I animals hCG treatment decreased incidence of adenocarcinomas to 6.15 from 43.8% in group II animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of hetastarch to albumin for perioperative bleeding in patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery. A prospective, randomized study.

The effects of hetastarch and human albumin solutions on perioperative bleeding and coagulation parameters during abdominal aortic aneurysm repair were compared. In two randomized groups of 20 patients, albumin 5% (group 1) or hetastarch 6% (group 2) 1 g/kg was given during surgery. The remaining perioperative fluids consisted of lactated ringers and packed red blood cells. Perioperative coagulation measurements included partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, activated clotting time, platelet count, and bleeding time. Estimated blood loss and the total amount of crystalloid and blood infused were also measured. The surgeon, blind to the colloid used, subjectively rated bleeding on a scale of 1 to 10. There was no significant difference between groups for any measured parameter at any time. Measurements of coagulation function were within normal limits for both groups. Hetastarch does not cause clotting disorders in patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, at least if the quantities used in this study are not exceeded.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of the predictive power of progesterone receptor levels in primary breast cancer: a comparison with other criteria in 559 cases with a mean follow-up of 74.8 months. The Breast Cancer Prognostic Study Associates.

A total of 559 women with primary breast cancer treated by modified radical mastectomy were followed for a mean of 74.8 months to evaluate the relationship of sex hormone receptor content in the tumor with time to first recurrence and to death due to breast cancer. The prognostic significance of progesterone receptor (PgR) status was evaluated in terms of estrogen receptor (ER) status, age (less than or equal to 49 years, greater than or equal to 50 years), extent of lymph node involvement, tumor size, and morphologic characteristics. Overall, patients with PgR positive (greater than 9 femtomoles/10 mg wet weight tissue) tumors experienced a significantly longer period to both first recurrence and death due to breast cancer, but this advantage was restricted to those whose cancer had metastasized to their axillary lymph nodes. For women with nodal involvement, the extent of this involvement and the size of the primary lesion had the greatest predictive value followed by nuclear grade and PgR status. In these node-positive patients, PgR positivity, although strongly associated with ER positivity, had a greater predictive value than that of the estrogen receptor per se.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1989

Hormone prevention of mammary carcinogenesis by norethynodrel-mestranol.

The observation that the susceptibility of the mammary gland to chemical carcinogenesis is inversely related to its level of hormonally induced differentiation led us to test whether treatment of virgin rats with an estrogenic-progestagenic hormone combination protected the gland against this carcinogenesis. Virgin Sprague-Dawley rats aged 45, 55, 65, or 75 days had implanted subcutaneously for 21 days a pellet containing norethynodrel-mestranol (NM) (98.5%-1.5%) at two doses, a physiological or low dose (LD) of 0.5 mg, equivalent to the dose used in Enovid for contraception in humans, and a pharmacological or high dose (HD) of 5.0 mg. Twenty-one days after NM pellet removal, the mammary glands of 5 animals per group were examined for the number of terminal end buds (TEBs), terminal ducts (TDs), alveolar buds (ABs) and lobules, and the DNA labeling index (DNA-LI). The remaining animals received 8 mg 7,12-dimethylbenz(a) anthracene (DMBA)/100 g body weight, and tumorigenesis was evaluated at 24 weeks. The percentage of TEBs decreased with age, and further with NM treatment at both doses. Treatment did not significantly modify the percentage of TDs, but increased that of ABs in most groups. The DNA-LI of TEBs remained constant, even during aging and after treatment, whereas both aging and treatment reduced DNA-LI in TDs and ABs. Tumor incidence declined with increasing age from 75% to 44% in the 45 and 75 day-old control groups respectively. Adenocarcinoma incidence followed the same trend. NM treatment had a dose-related protective effect against development of tumors in general and of adenocarcinomas in particular. LD treatment resulted in a marginally significant reduction in adenocarcinoma incidence, whereas HD-treated animals were 0.24 times as likely as controls to develop carcinomas. There was a statistically significant correlation between the percentage of TEBs present in the gland at the time of carcinogen administration and the incidence of adenocarcinomas. It was concluded that treatment of virgin rats with the hormone combination norethynodrel-mestranol resulted in long lasting structural changes in the mammary gland which protected this organ from a subsequent carcinogenic insult.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1989

Polypeptide composition of normal and neoplastic human breast tissues and cells analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

The protein populations of epithelial cells cultured from two neoplastic and five non-neoplastic human breast tissues were resolved and displayed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver-staining. With a computer-based image analysis system, we identified eight polypeptides which are present in both of the neoplastic cell lines, but absent from all five of the cultures of non-neoplastic breast cells. The eight polypeptides are not unique to cells cultured from neoplastic breast, because they are also found in cells cultured from non-breast tissues, both neoplastic and non-neoplastic. Two of the eight polypeptides (approximately Mr 25,000/pI 4.4 and approximately Mr 31,000/pI 5.5) are present in the patterns of whole tissue samples from infiltrating ductal carcinomas and absent in most normal breast tissue.

Breast↗
PubMed1989

Influence of human breast development on the growth properties of primary cultures.

In experimental animal models the susceptibility of the mammary gland to neoplastic transformation is related to its degree of development and proliferative activity; this observation led us to determine whether the human breast epithelium also exhibits development-related differences, and whether these differences could be detected in an in vitro system. Normal breast tissue obtained from reduction mammoplasties of 9 patients ranging in age from 18 to 56 years were characterized in both whole mount preparations and organoids obtained after collagenase-hyaluronidase digestion by their degree of development based upon the types of lobules present. Lobules were classified into type 1 (Lob 1), composed of approximately 11 alveolar buds, the less developed; lobules type 2 (Lob 2), of moderate development, composed of approximately 47 ductules each, and lobules type 3 (Lob 3), composed of 80 ductules each, represented the highest level of development. Epithelial organoids obtained after digestion were plated in DMEM:F12 medium supplemented with hydrocortisone, cholera toxin, insulin and 5% horse serum with a calcium concentration of 1.05 mM Ca++. Following attachment, the medium was replaced by medium containing 0.040 mM Ca++. The percentage of attachment of organoids to the flask was greater in cells from Lob 1 (89-99%) and Lob 1+2 (79-100%) than in cells from Lob 3, which had a 53-67% attachment. The total yield of cells after 7 weeks in culture was also greater in cells derived from Lob 1 and Lob 1+2 than in cells from Lob 3. The total yield of cells obtained from primary cultures was not related to the number of organoids plated, but to the degree of development of the gland. The DNA-labeling index (DNA-LI) in intact breast tissue correlated with that in primary cultures; it was greater in Lob 1 and Lob 1+2 than in Lob 3. By flow cytometry, the highest percentage of cells in S-phase was seen in cells with the highest DNA-LI. We concluded that the growth characteristics of mammary epithelial cells in vitro in a low Ca++ medium is modulated by the degree of development and differentiation of the gland.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Perceived stress in medical school: resistors, persistors, adaptors and maladaptors.

A longitudinal study of perceived medical student stress (PMSS) was conducted on 305 first year medical students. Data were collected at orientation in September and again in May, 2 weeks before exams. Four types of students were identified using a standardized and reliable measure of PMSS. These included students whose PMSS scores began and ended low (resistors), whose PMSS scores began and remained high (persistors), whose PMSS scores decreased from high to low (adaptors) and whose PMSS scores increased from low to high (maladaptors). The four groups differed predictably on indices of distress and were also distinguishable by a variety of psychosocial variables including type A personality, anger expression and coping. In contrast, life events played a minor role in distinguishing the groups. The results are discussed in relation to previous research on medical student stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Coping in chest pain patients with and without psychiatric disorders.

We first examined relations between psychiatric disorder and coronary heart disease (CHD) in 77 patients presenting with chest pain. The coping profiles of chest pain patients with and without psychiatric disorder and CHD were then compared. Psychiatric patients with no medical illness (n = 129) were also studied. On the basis of previous research we hypothesized specific coping differences across the groups. As expected, chest pain patients without psychiatric disorder scored significantly higher on a problem-focused coping scale than chest pain patients with psychiatric disorder, who in scored higher on this scale than psychiatric patients with no medical illness. The opposite pattern occurred for a measure of wishful thinking. Scores of chest pain patients with psychiatric disorder were higher on a measure of avoidance and lower on a measure of seeking of social supports than those without psychiatric disorder. Scores on a self-blame measure were not different across the groups. The results are discussed in the context of illness behavior and somatization.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on the response of the rat mammary gland to carcinogenesis.

In order to determine whether mammary gland differentiation, which is known to protect this organ from chemically induced carcinogenesis, can be stimulated in virgin rats by administration of a progestagenic agent, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) was given to 300 Sprague-Dawley virgin rats, which at the ages of 45, 55, 65 and 75 days, groups I, II, III and IV respectively, had implanted an MPA pellet of 0.5 mg (low dose-LD) or 5.0 mg (high dose-HD). Pellets were removed after 21 days, and 21 days later five animals per group were killed for evaluation of mammary gland development. The remaining animals received 8 mg 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)-anthracene (DMBA) per 100 g body weight, and were killed after 24 weeks for evaluation of tumour incidence. Both age and treatment affected mammary gland structure and had a significant interaction in the proportion of terminal end buds (TEBs) present. The number of TEBs decreased as a function of age; treatment at both LD and HD did not modify the proportion of TEBs in groups I and III; LD decreased their percentage in group II, and both doses markedly increased TEB percentage in group IV animals. MPA LD treatment did not affect overall tumour and adenocarcinoma incidence although group IV animals developed greater incidences than their respective controls. MPA HD treated rats were 2.45 times more likely to develop tumours than their respective controls. Adenocarcinoma incidence had a significant positive correlation with the percentage of TEBs present. It was concluded that this progestagenic agent did not increase the risk of carcinoma development when administered to virgin rats at the clinical dose used for contraception. However, a 10-fold dose increase resulted in a higher tumorigenic response.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1989

Medical student distress. A longitudinal study.

This longitudinal study investigated the relative importance of correlates of psychological distress in first year medical students (N = 312) in September and May. Anxiety levels were one SD above the mean when compared with nonpatient levels in both September and May, and the percentage of students reporting depression doubled over the study period. Problem-focused coping decreased, emotion-focused coping increased, and satisfaction with social supports decreased over the year. In contrast, type A behavior and anger expression were more stable. Students distressed in September were at higher risk for distress in May. Students distressed in May were also characterized by higher scores for suppressed anger and type A behavior in May, even after controlling for distress in September.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Relationship between endometriosis and affective disorder.

Comparing 14 women with and 55 women without endometriosis, the authors found no significant differences in the prevalence of affective disorder. They discuss the discrepancy between their finding and Lewis et al.'s finding of an association between affective disorder and endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Increased pH-lowering ability of Streptococcus mutans cell masses associated with extracellular glucan-rich matrix material and the mechanisms involved.

Streptococcus mutans strain IB-1600 was cultivated in Todd-Hewitt broth (THB) or THB supplemented with sucrose (S). Cell mass obtained from THB exhibited a high cell density and negligible glucan-rich extracellular matrix material (EMM), whereas cell mass from 2% S-supplemented THB exhibited widely-spaced cells separated by EMM. The pH-lowering potential of the different cell masses was studied in vivo with an intra-oral enamel demineralization test and rinsing with glucose solution, and in vitro with a model which permits vertical penetration of glucose through the cell mass and pH evaluation at different depths within the cell mass. In vivo, the pH profile of EMM-rich cell mass derived from 2% S-supplemented THB was characterized by a lower pH minimum and a slower return of the pH as compared with THB-derived cell mass. In vitro, an increase in cell mass EMM content was associated with a more rapid initiation and an increase in the rate of pH drop in the depth of the cell masses. Evaluation of the acidogenic potential of the cells in cell masses derived from THB and 2% S-supplemented THB with suspensions of dispersed cell mass and added glucose indicated no difference. The buffering capacity of cell mass derived from 2% S-supplemented THB within the pH range of 6.5-4.0 was greatly reduced as compared with that of THB-derived cell mass, due to the relatively low buffering capacity of EMM. The presence of EMM also appeared to enhance the porosity of the cell mass.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Nuclear changes induced in NIH/3T3 cells by transfection and tumorigenesis.

Discriminants such as nuclear phenotypes, nuclear areas and perimeters, multinucleation, nuclear fusion and micronucleation were investigated in NIH/3T3 cells transfected with the whole genomic DNA of T24 and MCF-7 cells and with the ras oncogene of T24 cells, and primary cultures of tumours induced in nude mice by injection of transfected cells. The observations were carried out in cell preparations stained with 0.025% toluidine blue solution at pH 4.0. An increase in chromatin condensation involving euchromatin areas was detected in transfected cells and in cells derived from tumours. The pattern of condensation varied with the type of DNA transfected to the recipient cells. Based upon the enhanced expression of nuclear phenotypes exhibiting clumps of condensed chromatin in tumour-derived cells, it was concluded that chromatin condensation is associated with cell transformation, which is also manifested by multinucleation, nuclear fusion and micronucleation.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Somatic symptoms and depression.

Patients with psychiatric illness frequently visit their medical physicians with somatic complaints or amplification of complaints about chronic medical illness, yet few of these patients meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Third Edition (DSM-III) criteria for a somatoform disorder. In a sample of 197 medical patients interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, only 7.1% met DSM-III criteria for somatization disorder, but nearly one third of these patients met criteria for an abridged notion of somatization. Patients with current and lifetime major depression had significantly higher mean totals of positive somatic symptoms compared with controls who had no psychiatric disorder. Nearly one half of these patients with one or more depressive episodes in the course of their lifetime met the abridged criteria for somatization. This association of major depression with somatization is quite similar to findings from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study suggesting that major depression, not the somatoform disorders, may be associated with most of the somatization seen in medical clinics.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Expression of phenotypical changes by human breast epithelial cells treated with carcinogens in vitro.

In order to determine whether human breast epithelial cells undergo malignant transformation when treated with chemical carcinogens in vitro, and how host factors, such as degree of gland development, affect their response to that treatment, twenty-two reduction mammoplasty specimens from women ranging in age from 18 to 63 years and with different parity history were studied in their morphology and in their response to carcinogen treatment in vitro. Fixed tissues were processed for whole mount preparations; it was found that the lobules of the nonpregnant or resting breast tissue could be classified into three types based upon their size and number of alveolar buds composing each one of them, lobules type 1 being the least and lobules type 3 the most differentiated ones. Breast tissues were classified according to the relative proportion of lobules composing it and the reproductive and clinical history of the patient into groups A, B, or C. Fresh tissues from these three groups were digested for obtention of mammary epithelium organoids, which were plated in Dulbecco's minimal essential medium:Ham's F12 (1:1), with 5% horse serum to enhance attachment. When they reached confluence, the cells were replated in serum-free medium; 48 h postplating they were treated with 1.0 microgram/ml 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene for 24 h, or with 1.0 microgram/ml N-methyl-nitrosourea for 3 h. At every passage, the cells were monitored for colony formation efficiency, survival efficiency in agar-methocel, multinucleation assay, karyotyping, immunocytochemical detection of tumor associated antigens, lectin reactivity, and tumorigenic assay by injection into nude mice. By the fourth passage after treatment, both carcinogens induced increased survival, colony formation in agar-methocel, multinucleation, and increased reactivity with the tumor associated antigen B1:1, an epitope of carcinoembryonic antigen, and the lectins concanavalin A, Dolichos biflorus, and soybean agglutinin. This response was observed only in human breast epithelial cells obtained from less differentiated breasts (Groups A and B), whereas human breast epithelial cells from breasts exhibiting good lobular development (Group C) did not exhibit those changes. No karyotypic abnormalities were detected in treated cells, and they failed to induce tumors when injected into nude mice. It was concluded that mammary gland development is independent of age but is strongly influenced by both the reproductive and clinical history of the donor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗