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M Cannone

Publications and source records attributed to M Cannone.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Normal and cancer-prone human cells respond differently to extremely low frequency magnetic fields.

Human lymphoblastoid cells of normal origin and from genetic instability syndromes, i.e. Fanconi anemia (FA) group C and ataxia telangectasia, were continuously exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF). We report that ELF-MF, though not perturbing cell cycle progression, increases the rate of cell death in normal cell lines. In contrast, cell death is not affected in cells from genetic instability syndromes; this reflects a specific failure of the apoptotic response. Reintroduction of complementation group C in FA cells re-established the apoptotic response to ELF-MF. Thus, genes implicated in genetic instability syndromes are relevant in modulating the response of cells to ELF-MF.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2001

Facial granulomatous diseases: a study of four cases tested for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA using nested polymerase chain reaction.

The histopathologic diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis (CTB) is often troublesome, because there are several other entities (tuberculids, demodicidosis, granulomatous rosacea, and acne agminata) that may display granulomatous inflammation with caseation necrosis. The current study describes four cases of granulomatous disease of the face. The final diagnosis (assessed on the basis of the clinical response to therapy) was CTB in three cases and granulomatous rosacea in one case. Histologically, epithelioid granulomas were a constant feature; in one case of CTB, they displayed a palisading (granuloma annulare-like) arrangement. Caseation necrosis was a prominent feature only in the case of granulomatous rosacea. Routinely processed biopsy specimens were evaluated with nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) DNA. The correlation between nPCR results and clinical outcome was less than optimal; in fact, one case showed an excellent clinical response to the antituberculous drug therapy despite the absence of MBT DNA amplification. In granulomatous diseases of the face, the importance of evaluating not only nPCR but the overall clinicopathologic picture so as to avoid diagnostic misinterpretations is emphasized.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Nested polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis IS6110 sequence on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues with granulomatous diseases for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis.

We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis IS6110 sequence on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patients with tubercular and other granulomatous lesions. Five groups of patients and samples were studied: (1) 28 samples from HIV-positive patients with tuberculosis, (2) 8 samples from HIV-negative patients with histologically suspected tuberculosis (confirmed by culture in 5 cases), (3) lymph nodes from 5 HIV-positive patients with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection, (4) lymph nodes from 30 patients with sarcoidosis, and (5) specimens from 17 patients with other granulomatous diseases. The DNA was extracted from sections with a total thickness of 60 microm, and PCR amplified an internal fragment of 123 base pairs. All of the cases with M. tuberculosis infection were PCR-positive, although this sensitivity was partially related to the initial concentration of the DNA used for amplification. Two of the group 4 samples also were repeatedly positive, thus reducing the specificity of the method. All of the cases with granulomatous diseases other than sarcoidosis were negative. We propose a simplified and highly sensitive nested PCR for the diagnosis of M. tuberculosis infection on archived material in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1997

[Detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA using nested polymerase chain reaction in lymph nodes with sarcoidosis, fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin].

An involvement of mycobacteria in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis has often been hypothesized, but not confirmed reproducibly. In this study we applied a nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to the insertion sequence IS6110 for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MT) DNA in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues from patients with sarcoidosis, with tuberculosis and atypical mycobacteriosis confirmed by culture, and from negative control samples. MT-DNA could be detected in 2/30 samples of sarcoidosis, in 10/10 tuberculoses, in 0/5 atypical mycobacterioses and in 0/10 negative controls. Nested PCR confirmed its high sensitivity and specificity in detecting MT-DNA on archival histopathological specimens. From our results we conclude that in the granulomatous lesions of sarcoidosis MT-DNA is only sporadically demonstrable and probably it doesn't play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.

DNA, Bacterial↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contaminant effect on cellular metabolic differential pressure curves.

The possibility of a pressure monitoring system by differential pressure sensors to detect contaminant effects on cellular cultures metabolic activity is discussed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, lymphocyte, and AHH1 cell cultures. Metabolic (aerobic and anaerobic) processes in cells are accompanied by CO(2) production that induces changes in pressure values when cells are cultured in sealed vessels. These values are subsequently converted in voltage units and plotted pressure dynamics versus time. This procedure leads to a standard curve, typical of the cellular line, which characterizes cellular metabolism when all parameters are controlled, such as temperature and nutrients. Different phases appear in the S. cerevisiae differential pressure curve: an initial growth up to a maximum, followed by a decrement that leads to a typical "depression" (pressure values inside the test-tubes are lower than the initial one) after about 35 h from the beginning. The S. cerevisiae differential pressure curve is successfully used to test the effects of chemical (Amuchina, trieline) and physical (UV radiation, blue light, magnetic fields) contaminants. The same technique is applied to lymphocytes and AHH1 cultures to investigate the effects generated by a 72-h exposure to a 50-Hz, 60-microT electromagnetic field. Lymphocyte samples, cultured in a PHA medium, grow less than control ones, but exhibit a greater metabolic activity: changes in the exposure system configuration influence neither sample growth differences nor metabolic response variations between control and irradiated samples, while all the other irradiation parameters remain constant. Control and irradiated lymphocyte samples, without PHA in culture medium, show the same behavior both during irradiation and metabolic test. AHH1 control and irradiated samples show no difference both in growth percentage during irradiation and in metabolic activity. Different cell cultures respond to the same stimulus in different manners.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA. Use on negative archival Ziehl-Neelsen cytologic samples.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex on routinely stained cytologic samples from patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis. STUDY DESIGN: Nested PCR for the detection of a fragment of the IS6110 insertion sequence of M tuberculosis complex was applied to Ziehl-Neelsen-negative archival cytologic slides of serous effusions (pleural [n = 7], peritoneal [n = 1] and pericardial [n = 1]) and a lymph node fine needle aspirate (n = 1) from nine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with autopsy-proven active extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Malignant effusions and aspirates from nine HIV-positive patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and pleural effusions from seven HIV-negative patients with heart failure were used as controls. DNA was extracted after removing the coverslip and gently scraping the cytologic sample from the slides. RESULTS: In all cases, enough DNA was obtained for PCR without any significant loss of integrity, as demonstrated by PCR positive for HLA-Dq. PCR for M tuberculosis was positive in 8 of the 10 samples (80%) from patients with tuberculosis but also in three samples (30%) from HIV-positive patients in the control group. None of the samples from the HIV-negative patients was positive. CONCLUSION: PCR for M tuberculosis can be reliably performed on archival cytologic slides from extrapulmonary samples, but although it is highly sensitive, it may lead to positive results in immunocompromised patients without any sign of active tubercular disease.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nested polymerase chain reaction on vaginal smears of tuberculous cervicitis. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous cervicitis (TC) is a rare disease the diagnosis of which is based on the microscopic and/or cultural recognition of mycobacteria. In recent years, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), especially with double-round amplification ("nested" PCR [nPCR]), has been increasingly used for rapid detection of mycobacteria in clinical samples. CASE: The present case is the first example of tuberculosis diagnosed with the aid of nPCR amplification of mycobacterial DNA fragments on smeared and Papanicolaou-stained cytologic material. First detected on vaginal smears, the amplicon IS6110 was subsequently identified also on paraffin-embedded tissue sections. CONCLUSION: The technique described here could also be applied to aspiration cytology smears to give rapid and accurate information on mycobacterial infections.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Local impairment of immunoreactivity in HIV-infected women with HPV-related squamous intraepithelial lesions of the cervix.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the local immune response in two groups of patients with high-grade cervical intraepithelial squamous lesions (SIL): one with HIV infection and the other with HPV infection alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 16 conization specimens (8 from HIV-infected and 8 from non-HIV-infected patients) of HPV-related, high-grade SIL were selected. The specimens from non-HIV patients were considered as controls. The total number of Langerhans cells, CD4 and CD8 cells present in 10 field areas (3.120 mm2) was recorded in each case. In HIV patients CD4 and CD8 peripheral counts were performed immediately before surgery. RESULTS: The CD4/CD8 ratio never exceeded 0.71, whereas the lowest ratio in controls was 0.81: this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.0009). The mean number of Langerhans cells was markedly reduced in the high-grade SILs in the HIV patients in comparison with controls (P = 0.001). The number of CD4 cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio correlated with the peripheral CD4 count (P = 0.001 and 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In our study a marked local impairment of cervical immunoreactivity was observed, which may play a major role in the progression of these lesions in HIV-infected women.

Adult↗