Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L Bini.
A two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting procedure has been developed to assess the level of modification by penicillins in human serum albumin. The procedure can be used in in vitro experiments and in clinical studies with sera from patients treated with penicillins.
Two-dimensional electrophoretograms of serum proteins from ampicillin-treated patients were analyzed-by immunoblotting with an antiserum specific for penicilloyl groups. As expected, human serum albumin (HSA) was the main ampicilloylated serum component. Transferrin main form II was found to be the second most important component as regards immunoblotting intensity. Immunoreactive spots were present on the acidic side of the transferrin isoelectric series, suggesting a modification mechanism similar to that observed in HSA, i.e., acylation of basic amino acid residues. Several additional ampicilloylated spots were detected but could not be assigned. Their electrophoretic parameters were determined using internal standards. This is the first description of serum proteins other than HSA being modified by ampicillin in the course of routine therapeutic treatment.
Serotonin (5HT) is the neurotransmitter involved in some forms of short-term memory in the leech. Behavioral experiments have demonstrated that long-term memory requires new protein synthesis. With the aim of studying the molecular mechanism underlying memory processes in the leech, we have analyzed the effect of 5HT on protein synthesis and protein phosphorylation. Segmental ganglia of the leech central nervous system have been labeled, proteins have been separated by two-dimensional-electrophoresis and labeled proteins detected by autoradiography. Our findings indicate that repetitive treatment with 5HT produces either the persistence of phosphorylation or changes in protein synthesis in several proteins.
Plants of two wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L., cultivars Mec and Chiarano), differing in sensitivity towards sulfur dioxide, were fumigated with 96 nL L-1 of SO2 for four months. Thylakoid membranes were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis in order to detect possible changes in the protein patterns. We found the greatest alterations following treatment in the polypeptide profiles of the most sensitive cultivar, Mec, even if some significant changes were also detected in the plants of the cultivar Chiarano.
The acute phase response is defined as a large number of diverse reactions which attempt to adjust the organism to the effects of stress/injury. It is now clear that there is a complex interaction between the cytokines with interleukin-6 predominant, but also involving interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor and a group of recently described cytokines including as well interleukin-11, leukaemia inhibitory factor and oncostatin M all of which influence the levels of acute phase proteins. In clinical practice, C reactive protein (CRP) is frequently used as marker of the acute-phase response. It has a short half-life and consequently it is a sensitive measure of cytokine-induced protein synthesis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) the rate appearance of bony erosions in the early phase of the disease correlated with the mean serum concentration of CRP in some studies. A recent study examining the rate of spinal trabecular bone loss in the first year of rheumatoid disease found a strong correlation between bone loss and serum CRP concentrations. It appears that CRP concentrations reflect the level of "systemic osteoclast-activating factor" and are, therefore, a good measure of the general catabolic state of the patient. Many would now consider that persistently elevated serum CRP in patients with RA is in itself an indication for immunosuppressive therapy.
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We identified, by two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis and microsequencing, a protein of Chlamydia trachomatis elementary bodies which corresponds to the polypeptide (pgp3) encoded by open reading frame 3 (ORF3). Amino acid analysis showed that the first residue (Gly) found in the native protein is the one encoded by the second ORF3 codon, implying a typical bacterial removal of the first Met residue. Relatively large amounts of recombinant pgp3 (r-pgp3) in a stable, water-soluble form were obtained by overexpressing ORF3 in Escherichia coli and purifying the product from periplasmic extracts under nondenaturing conditions. These r-pgp3 preparations allowed specific detection of anti-pgp3 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Analysis of a group of 170 sera from healthy blood donors and from patients who were seropositive or -negative for C. trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae showed that an immune response to pgp3 occurs in the majority (ca. 81%) of patients with sexually transmitted diseases who are seropositive for C. trachomatis and generally correlates with the response to cell surface antigens. No reaction between r-pgp3 and C. pneumoniae-positive sera was detected.
BACKGROUND: Pre and post treatment perfusion scintigraphy with Tc-99m-sestamibi is an accurate method to evaluate the effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction. In the present study this method was used to verify whether thrombolytic therapy performed late (6 to 24 hours) after symptoms onset was still able to produce significant salvage of jeopardized myocardial tissue. METHODS: Fifteen patients (mean age 60.9 +/- 9 years) admitted to CCU 8-23 hours (mean 13.2 +/- 4 hours) after symptoms onset of their first acute myocardial infarction were studied. Both myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function were assessed before and after thrombolysis. Myocardial perfusion was studied using Tc-99m-sestamibi Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPET) before (pre-lysis SPET), 4.4 +/- 0.9 days (post-lysis SPET A) and 32 +/- 6 days (post-lysis SPET B) after thrombolysis. Uptake defects were graded from 0 to 4 using a 20-segment scheme. Regional ventricular function was evaluated using two-dimensional echocardiography before (pre-lysis ECHO), simultaneously with post-lysis SPET A (post-lysis ECHO A) and 32 +/- 4 days after treatment (post-lysis ECHO B); asynergy was graded from 1 to 4. Global left ventricular function was estimated using gated blood pool imaging and measuring the ejection fraction (EF) 5.3 +/- 1 (GBP 1) and 32 +/- 4 days after treatment (GBP 2). Within 6-9 days of admission all patients underwent coronary angiography. RESULTS: In pre-lysis SPET all patients had uptaken defects (score range 17-52, mean 34.6 +/- 12). According to the comparison between pre-lysis SPET and post-lysis SPET A, patients were divided into two groups: 7 patients with perfusion recovery (Group I) and 8 patients with absent or minimal perfusion recovery (Group II). In Group I the mean uptaken score decreased significantly (from pre-lysis SPET 34.2 +/- 12 to post-lysis SPET A 21.7 +/- 7, p < 0.05); in Group II the uptaken score remained unchanged (from pre-lysis SPET 34.8 +/- 12 to post-lysis SPET A 33.6 +/- 12, ns). In post-lysis SPET B both groups showed a defect reduction compared to post-lysis SPET A; however, the defect score of SPET B in Group I was significantly lower than that in Group II (18.7 +/- 16 vs 30.1 +/- 10, p < 0.05). The asynergic score in pre-lysis ECHO was the same in the two groups (19.5 +/- 4); in post-lysis ECHO A no significant decrease was observed in the two groups. In post-lysis ECHO B a significant decrease was seen in Group I (14.8 +/- 5, p < 0.05 vs pre-lysis ECHO and vs post-lysis ECHO A), but not in Group II (19.8 +/- 5, ns); the asynergic score in post-lysis ECHO B was significantly lower in Group I than in Group II (p < 0.05). In GBP 1 the EF was 38% +/- 6 in Group I and 40% +/- 6 in Group II (ns). In GBP 2 a significant increase was registered in Group I (47% +/- 10, p < 0.05), whereas in Group II the EF remained unchanged (40% +/- 6, ns). Coronary angiography showed a patent infarct related vessel in all Group I patients and in 2 Group II patients (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results show that in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis late after symptoms onset it is still possible to obtain an effective reperfusion and the consequent salvage of jeopardized tissue, as demonstrated by the recovery of both regional and global left ventricular function.
We tested the level of knowledge on diabetes and professional skills in a group of 60 non-diabetological health care professionals at the Policlinic of Pisa regarding the recognition and treatment of hypoglycaemia, the storage, mixing and administration of insulin, blood glucose stick monitoring, and the prevention and treatment of diabetic foot. The evaluation was carried out using a multiple-choice questionnaire and observation of the subjects, performance by means of pre-defined observation schedules, during the preparation and administration of a blend of rapid-intermediate insulin, the use of blood glucose sticks and the management of a simulated hypoglycaemic crisis. As regards hypoglycaemia, 90% of subjects did not give a correct definition, 88.3% were unaware of the existence of asymptomatic hypoglycaemia, and 96.6% did not give a complete answer as to the treatment of hypoglycaemia. For insulin, 51.7% did not know the standards for correct storage of insulin, 88.3% did not know the difference between "clear" and "opaque" insulins, and 91.7% ignored the required interval between administration of regular insulin and meals. For foot care, 45% admitted that the problems with diabetics' feet were frequently not controlled, and between 21.7% and 63.3% did not known the hygiene rules for feet. Assessment of the performance of the subjects using schedules revealed incorrect use of sticks and administration of insulin (80.2% mixed and 92.4% injected the insulin incorrectly). There is clearly a need for education of non-diabetological health professionals regarding the disease. This is supported by the health professionals themselves, 94.5% of whom wished to participate in a course on diabetes.
Long-term migraine evolution is still undefined. The poorest outcome is the transformation from episodic attacks to a pattern of daily attacks or continuous headache with intermittent attacks. We called these cases "chronic migraine". The aim of our study was to investigate whether some clinical variables contributed to migraine chronicity. We interviewed 50 patients with chronic migraine from 2 to 15 years and 90 patients with episodic migraine matched for sex and age as a control group. Univariate analysis revealed two correlations with a chronic outcome: (1) In the control group a significantly higher number of women took oral contraceptives. (2) In the group who developed chronic migraine, there were a greater number of smokers, without reaching statistical significance. The stepwise multiple logistic regression method showed that these two variables influence the prognosis with a maximum likelihood estimate of 65%, hence not much higher than random probability.
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