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Biomedical subjects

M Ferrero

Publications and source records attributed to M Ferrero.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Inflammatory arthritic process, iridocyclitis and immune response to articular and ocular antigens in Wistar rats injected with T. gondii trophozoites.

The present study deals with the potential role of T. gondii in inducing an arthritic inflammatory process. Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously (sc) into the right footpad with viable T. gondii trophozoites emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). The control group was injected with IFA. All parasite-injected animals developed a local inflammatory process characterized by hind limb swelling and marked restriction of ankle motility approximately 25 days after injection. Histopathogical studies of the joints, carried out 90 days after injection, revealed intense mononuclear infiltration, proliferation of granulation tissue, giant cells and necrosis in the synovia of 90% of T. gondii-injected rats. Strikingly, 40% (4/10) of the parasite-injected animals developed iridocyclitis, which was characterized by intense mononuclear infiltration around the iris-ciliary microvasculature in two animals and a slightly pronounced infiltrate of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells in two other animals. Antibodies to soluble T. gondii antigens (STAg) were detected in all parasite-injected rats. Antibodies against articular and ocular antigens such as proteoglycans, type II collagen, retinal S antigen and iris antigens were detected by ELISA in 40, 80, 70 and 70% of T. gondii -injected animals, respectively. Control animals injected with IFA failed to develop any articular or ocular process or humoral immune response. The present study demonstrated that footpad sc injection of Wistar rats with viable T. gondii trophozoites was able to induce a localized inflammatory arthritic process which, in some of the animals, was accompanied by iridocyclitis and immune response against articular and ocular components.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The importance of specific IgG and IgE autoantibodies to retinal S antigen, total serum IgE, and sCD23 levels in autoimmune and infectious uveitis.

Autoimmunity plays an important role in the development of uveitis. The uveitis are linked to Th1 or Th2 lymphocyte activation. We studied 41 patients with uveitis, divided into autoimmune uveitis (n = 32) and infectious uveitis (n = 9), 30 normal controls, and 20 asthmatic atopic without ocular diseases. The infectious uveitis patients were separated into bacterial (n = 6) and toxoplasmic (n = 3) retinochoroiditis. We measured IgE and sCD23 serum levels and specific IgG and IgE to retinal S antigen by ELISA tests. The IgE levels were 500 +/- 325 kU/L in autoimmune uveitis, 57 +/- 35 kU/L in bacterial uveitis, 280 +/- 38 kU/L in toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis, 75 +/- 32 kU/L in the controls, and 557 +/- 243 kU/L in atopics (P < 0.0005). The sCD23 levels were 10.4 +/- 5.4 ng/ml in autoimmune uveitis, 3.7 +/- 1.17 ng/ml in bacterial uveitis, 6.76 +/- 1.36 ng/ml in toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis, 3.4 +/- 1 ng/ml in controls, and 8.35 +/- 2.2 ng/ml in atopic patients (P < 0.005). The specific IgG to retinal S antigen was positive in 27 of 32 cases, and the specific IgE to retinal S antigen was positive in 22 of 32 autoimmune uveitis. The bacterial uveitis patients as well as the controls were negative for both autoantibodies to retinal S antigen. The toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis patients presented specific IgG and IgE to retinal S antigen in two of three cases, respectively, one of them with overlap of both antibodies. These results suggest the importance of specific IgG and IgE to retinal S antigen in autoimmune uveitis, which, along with higher IgE and sCD23 levels, reveal Th2 activation.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Impact of clarithromycin resistance on the effectiveness of a regimen for Helicobacter pylori: a prospective study of 1-week lansoprazole, amoxycillin and clarithromycin in active peptic ulcer.

BACKGROUND: Clarithromycin is a key antimicrobial in the combinations used to cure Helicobacter pylori infections, so there is a need to define the impact of in vitro resistance on in vivo results. METHODS: A prospective trial was designed to study the effectiveness of the 1-week combination of lansoprazole, clarithromycin and amoxycillin in 102 consecutive patients with active peptic ulcer. The pre-treatment and post-treatment sensitivity to amoxycillin, metronidazole and clarithromycin were studied by E-test, and H. pylori status was defined by histology, culture and urease test at diagnosis and one month after treatment, and by urea-breath test 2 months after treatment. RESULTS: The eradication rate (intention-to-treat analysis) was 77% (95% CI: 69-86). No clinical factor was found to be different between eradicated and non-eradicated patients. Clarithromycin-resistant strains were found in 10 (10%; CI: 5-17) patients. The eradication rate was 20% (CI: 3-56) in these patients vs. 83% (CI: 75-91) in patients harbouring clarithromycin-sensitive strains (P < 0.001). A logistic-regression analysis confirmed clarithromycin resistance as the only factor associated with treatment failure. CONCLUSIONS: Clarithromycin resistance significatively impairs the effectiveness of the combination of lansoprazole, amoxycillin, and clarithromycin. The 80% efficacy goal will be difficult to reach in areas with high (>10%) primary clarithromyicin resistance, if currently recommended proton pump inhibitor-triple therapies are used.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed1999

Quadruple therapy is effective for eradicating Helicobacter pylori after failure of triple proton-pump inhibitor-based therapy: a detailed, prospective analysis of 21 consecutive cases.

BACKGROUND: Data regarding the effectiveness of second-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection are limited, especially if microbiological studies are considered. METHODS AND PATIENTS: We conducted a prospective, uncontrolled study of a consecutive series of 21 peptic ulcer patients with failure of 1-week lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin. H. pylori status was evaluated by urease test, histology, culture, and urea breath test. Susceptibility to amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and metronidazole was studied by E-test. Cure of infection was defined as negative results from endoscopy-based tests 1 month after treatment and negative results from a urea breath test at 2 months. Treatment consisted of a 1-week combination of lansoprazole (30 mg bid), tetracycline (500 mg qid), metronidazole (500 mg tid), and bismuth subcitrate (120 mg qid). RESULTS: H. pylori was resistant to metronidazole in three cases, to clarithromycin in three cases, and to both clarithromycin and metroinidazole in an additional three patients. No resistance to amoxicillin was found. Eradication was obtained in 20 cases (95.2% confidence interval [CI], 76.2-99.9). The only patient in whom infection was not eradicated harbored a metronidazole-resistant (minimum inhibitory concentration > 32 micrograms/ml) strain. No significant side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: Quadruple therapy obtains a high eradication rate even in patients with clarithromycin- and metronidazole-resistant strains. Further randomized and controlled studies are warranted and are urgently needed.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed1999

Detection of mitomycin C-induced genetic damage in fish cells by use of RAPD.

Concern about genetic alterations in fish populations arising from anthropogenic activities has led to the adaptation and/or development of new tests and techniques that shed light on these alterations. The high number and the reduced size of chromosomes and the long cell cycle associated with most fish species preclude the use of most accepted genotoxicity assays. The purpose of this work was to study the capability of the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA technique to show genotoxic effects induced by chemicals in fish cells. To do that we studied the effect of 0.5 microg/ml mitomycin C (MMC) on an established rainbow trout cell line (RTG-2). To increase the sensitivity of detecting altered copies of DNA and to avoid the presence of false positives and a lack of reproducibility, the amounts of DNA template and primer present in amplification reactions were studied and optimized after comparison between the control and exposed fingerprints for 4, 6 and 8 h. Results show that 5 ng of DNA template and 4 pM chosen primer were optimum to show differences between control and exposed cells and to obtain reproducible results. The results obtained, after optimum conditions were established, show that this system could be useful for the assessment of DNA alterations in in vitro genotoxicity studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[The importance of IgG auto-antibodies, anti-collagen type II specific in Menière's disease and progressive hearing loss].

UNLABELLED: The Meniere's Disease and Progressive Hearing Loss were considered idiopathic. Both entities were produced by endo lymphatic hydrops and disruption of the membrane which contain type II collagen. The inner ear presented widely expression of type II collagen. These pathologies were probably autoimmune diseases. The aim of this work was to study the relationship of specific IgG to type II collagen in Meniere's disease, Progressive hearing loss, and compared with Sudden hearing loss patients, vascular vertigo patients and normal controls. Patients were divided by clinical findings in: 1 degree Meniere's disease (n:27), 2 degrees Progressive Hearing loss (n:20), 3 degrees Sudden hearing loss (n:15), 4 degrees Vascular Vertigo (n:9) and compared with normal controls (n:30) aged and sex matched. We have measured specific IgG to type II collagen by ELISA test. We considered positive the OD two or more SD above the mean of normal controls. RESULTS: 1 degree The Meniere's group presented IgG to type II collagen (+) in 22 out of 27 patients, p < .025; 2 degrees The Progressive Hearing loss presented IgG to type II collagen in all cases (n:20), p < .0005. The Sudden Hearing loss presented IgG to type II collagen (-) in all cases (n:15) p < .00001 and Vascular Vertigo (n:9) presented IgG to type II collagen (-) in 8 out of 9 cases, p < .0005. These results suggest strongly the notion that Meniere's diseases and Progressive hearing loss have specific IgG to type II collagen and these conditions were ascribed with in autoimmune process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Are preoperative antibiotics administered preoperatively?

Ideally antibiotics should be administered preoperatively within 2 hours of skin incision to ensure adequate tissue concentrations, especially when a vascular prosthesis is used. The quality of patient outcomes may be adversely affected when key processes, by degrees, fail to meet patient care objectives. This study was designed to incorporate the concepts of total quality management to determine how effectively this goal was achieved, and, after review of those measured results, what process improvements could be instituted to meet the established requirements for the administration of antibiotics. The study was then repeated on a yearly basis to determine what effect these improvement measures had on antibiotic administration. Three time periods were established for determining when antibiotics were administered. The "early" period was more than 2 hr preoperatively. "Preoperative" was from 2 hr before surgery until the time of incision and "perioperative" was after the time of incision. Group 1 consisted of the first 100 patients undergoing vascular procedures in 1992. After the data were collected, a multidisciplinary team of nurses, pharmacists, and surgeons was assembled to determine the step by step desired process flow from order received to actual medication administration. The team then reviewed each step of the process to identify variations relative to data obtained. An action plan was developed to implement the agreed upon improvement plan. After improvements were implemented, groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 consisted of the first 100 vascular procedures of 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. Group 1 had only 26% of antibiotics administered during the preoperative period and 74% during the perioperative period. Problems identified were: surgeons ordered the antibiotics when the patient was in the operating room, cefamandole and vancomycin required at least 1 hr to infuse, nurses were not aware of the need for preoperative infusion, and the pharmacy did not supply the antibiotics in a timely fashion. Educational inservices were held for all parties involved, and cefazolin was used in place of cefamandole because it could be given as a bolus. Results were: group 1, early, 0%; preoperative, 26%; perioperative, 74%; P = N/A; group 2, early, 0%, preoperative, 90%; perioperative, 10%; group 3, early, 7%; preoperative, 93%; perioperative, 0%; group 4, early 0%; preoperative, 100%; perioperative, 0%; and group 5, early, 0%; preoperative, 100%; perioperative, 0%; P = 0.0001 for groups 2-5 (versus group 1). It was surprising how often antibiotics were administered incorrectly in a busy vascular practice. By focusing on the process of care delivery, a continuous quality improvement team implemented simple changes that resulted in significant improvements. We are now conducting a study to determine what effect these process improvements had on our infection rate.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗
PubMed1997

Effectiveness of the Michigan splint in reducing functional cervical disturbances: a preliminary study.

There is controversial evidence for a functional link between the masticatory apparatus and the cervical spine. The aim of this work was to perform a preliminary study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Michigan splint for the treatment of functional cervical disturbances. Forty patients with functional cervical disturbances were randomly organized into test and control groups. The patients in each group were examined by a physiologist to ascertain the extent of functional changes. The test group underwent splint therapy (Michigan type) during a two-month period. The other patients were sent home and did not receive active treatment. After two months, all patients were reassessed physiologically. Cervical pain and pain induced by epispinal or paraspinal pressure were reduced to a statistically significant extent in the treated group, compared with those in the control group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Cerebral infarct as a presentation of a hereditary defect of type II C protein].

The case of a 50 year-old patient with a cerebral infarct related to a deficit in type II C protein is described. The patient showed no other vascular risk factor and the cardiological study, which included a transthoracic and a transoesophagic echogram ruled out the presence of embologenic cardiopathy. A family study detected the presence of a deficit of C protein in 6 of the 8 sons and in the patient's sister who had a deep vein thrombosis at the age of 54. A hereditary deficiency in C protein was confirmed. We consider it necessary to perform hypercoagulability studies which include the determination of C protein in patients under 55 years of age with cerebral infarcts of unknown cause, especially when there is a family history of thrombosis.

Brain↗
PubMed1994

Expression of a growth arrest specific gene (gas-6) during liver regeneration: molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways.

A set of growth arrest-specific (gas) genes negatively regulated by serum has been identified. To define the role of gas genes in a model of cell proliferation in vivo we analyzed the expression of one of these genes (gas-6) during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH). We found that gas-6 mRNA was down-regulated 4 hours after PH, within the G0 to G1 transition. Later on, gas-6 mRNA increased over the level found in normal liver with a peak at 16 hours, before the onset of DNA synthesis. This surge was probably triggered by an inflammatory response caused by the surgical trauma, because an increase of similar extent occurring with the same time course was present in livers of sham-operated and turpentine-treated rats. Comparison of mRNA steady state levels with nuclear transcription rates indicated that gas-6 expression is post-transcriptionally regulated. As we found that down-regulation of gas-6 expression was prevented by treatment with Actinomycin D, a labile protein might be involved in the determination of gas-6 mRNA stability. To investigate the mitogenic signals controlling gas-6 expression during liver regeneration we treated hepatectomized rats with a specific alpha-1-adrenoceptor blocker (prazosin) as well as with drugs which modify intracellular calcium levels. The decrease of gas-6 mRNA 4 hours after PH was prevented by prazosin and by neomycin, an inhibitor of calcium release from endogenous stores. These findings suggest that down-regulation of gas-6 expression during hepatic regeneration is triggered by catecholamines interaction with alpha-1-adrenergic receptors and by subsequent calcium release. In addition we found that the rise of gas-6 gene expression occurring at 16 hours after PH was not affected by prazosin but was inhibited by trifluoperazine. Therefore, we suggest that up-regulation of gas-6 gene expression is mediated by the interaction of calcium with calmodulin, independently of catecholamines.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A case of testicular nocardiosis and literature review.

A case of epididymo-orchitis due to Nocardia asteroides in a liver transplant recipient is reported. Nocardiosis is an extremely rare cause of epididymo-orchitis. Four other cases published in the English language medical literature are reviewed. All patients were immunocompromised, and other organs were affected simultaneously. Clinically the infection presented as a painful enlargement of the testicle with few inflammatory signs. Mortality was high (3/5), and in the two survivors long-term sulfonamide therapy was combined with orchiectomy. Nocardiosis should be considered in the diagnosis of epididymo-orchitis in the immunocompromised host.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Estrogen-regulated expression of a growth arrest specific gene (gas-1) in rat uterus.

gas-1 belongs to a family of growth arrest specific genes negatively regulated after growth induction of arrested cells. We report the expression of gas-1 in an in vivo system of cell proliferation. gas-1 mRNA accumulates progressively in the uterus of ovariectomized rats with a peak at three weeks after surgery. After estrogen treatment gas-1 mRNA levels decrease within two hours, at a time when c-myc expression is greatly increased, and return to pretreatment levels at 48 hours. Treatment with cycloheximide does not prevent estrogen-induced down-regulation of gas-1 mRNA levels. The present results show that: i) estrogen affects the uterine growth state by regulating the expression of both positively and negatively acting genes, ii) gas-1 expression is controlled by cellular growth state also in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Ferritin mRNAs on rat liver membrane-bound polysomes synthesize ferritin that does not translocate across membranes.

Ferritin is a typical intracellular protein but small amounts are also present in serum and other biological fluids. The source and physiological significance of serum ferritin are still obscure. The presence of ferritin mRNAs on polysomes bound to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) could be relevant for the secretion of ferritin. By Northern blot analysis we found significant amounts of both L and H subunit mRNAs on rat liver membrane-bound polysomes. Immunoprecipitation of translational products of membrane-bound polysomes with anti-rat liver ferritin antibody showed that ferritin is actually synthesized on ER membranes. Analysis of RNA extracted from salt-washed rat liver microsomes demonstrated that ferritin mRNAs are translated by polysomes tightly bound to ER membranes. Following iron treatment, both the amount of H and L subunit mRNAs and ferritin synthesis increased sharply in both free and bound polysomal fractions. Translation of membrane-bound polysomes in the presence of microsomal membranes indicated that ferritin is not processed by signal sequence cleavage or glycosylation and is not translocated into ER membranes. Ferritin mRNAs found on membrane-bound polysomes are associated with ER in a specific way, however, their products do not seem to follow the classic secretory pathway and therefore the significance of the large amount of ferritin mRNAs in the bound ribosome fraction remains unclear.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Expression of a growth arrest specific gene (gas-1) in transformed cells.

A set of growth arrest-specific (gas) genes negatively regulated by serum has been identified. We report the analysis of the expression of one of them (gas-1) in transformed cells. We found a down regulation of gas-1 expression in NIH 3T3 cells transfected in vitro with an activated Ha-ras oncogene. In five chemically-induced mouse tumours grown in vivo the amounts of gas-1 mRNA were largely different but not related to the proliferating activity (evaluated by both H3 histone expression and 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA). The amount of gas-1 mRNA in the tumours was in general higher than in normal tissues. Expression of c-myc was also evaluated and found to be high in tumours which exhibited low gas-1 expression. Two fibrosarcomas, CA-2 and CB-20, with similar phenotype, similar growth rate, different expression of c-myc and 100-fold difference in gas-1 expression were further investigated and gas-1 expression was found to be correlated with the expression of a differentiated function (as judged from collagen expression). Cell lines derived from CA-2 and CB-20 and maintained under different culture conditions showed that the cell cycle regulation and serum response of gas-1 expression were lost in CA-2. The higher steady state level of gas-1 mRNA in spite of a shorter mRNA half life suggests that in CB-20 cells the gas-1 gene is transcribed faster than in CA-2 cells indicating that transcriptional regulation is the major determinant of gas-1 gene expression in tumour cells. The finding of gas-1 expression in tumour cells suggests that its expression is not sufficient to maintain cells into quiescence, however, as a marker specific for the G0 phase, it could be useful, in conjunction with other growth related genes, to define the cell cycle distribution of a cell population.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1990

Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content and keratins by using CK7, CK8, CK18, CK19, and KL1 monoclonal antibodies in benign and malignant human breast tumors.

We have used a double-labelling flow cytometry analysis of keratin (CK) and DNA in breast cancer. Five monoclonal anti-keratin antibodies were tested: KL1 recognizing Mr 55,000-57,000 keratins, and "anti-glandular epithelia," LE41, RGE-53, and LP2K specific for CK n. 7, 8, 18, and 19 of Moll's classification, respectively. Flow cytometric (DNA-CK) analysis was performed on 10 benign and 19 malignant human breast tumors. All the benign tumors were diploid and 63% of the malignant tumors were aneuploid. This technique permits the analysis of DNA in the epithelial fraction alone. In aneuploid tumors, gating the DNA-keratin-positive population allowed accurate DNA analysis without interference due to debris background and non-epithelial cells. Moreover, double-labelling using the CK19 antibody gave a better identification of near-diploid tumors. An enhancement of keratin expression in malignant tumors was observed with CK 19 (P less than 0.001), KL1 (P less than 0.01), CK 8 (P less than 0.05), and CK18 (n.s.) compared to benign tumors. The comparison of keratin expression in aneuploid and diploid malignant tumors revealed reduced CK8, CK18, and CK19 in the former.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1989

Cellular uptake, and intracellular bactericidal activity of teicoplanin in human macrophages.

The effects of teicoplanin on human macrophage functions were evaluated by assays of antibiotic uptake, bacterial phagocytosis and intracellular killing. The results indicated that teicoplanin was efficiently concentrated by both resident and stimulated phagocytes, achieving intracellular concentrations higher than those in the surrounding extracellular medium. Comparison of the degree of antibiotic penetration into dead, resident and stimulated macrophages seemed to suggest that transfer across the macrophage membrane was of a passive nature, and was not related to the metabolic state of the cells. At concentrations of half its MIC for the bacteria, teicoplanin caused macrophages to ingest and kill Staphylococcus aureus at a greater rate than did macrophages without drug. Phagocytes harvested from mice receiving intravenous teicoplanin showed greater phagocytic activity than those from control mice, suggesting that potentiation of host defences can occur in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Cytokeratin analysis of breast and leukemia tumor cell lines by flow cytometry.

Using four human tumor cell lines, MCF-7 and T47-D from breast tumors, MOLT-4 and K-562 from leukemia, flow cytometric DNA analysis of pure and mixed cell population was performed using monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratin to distinguish cytokeratin-containing carcinoma cells from leukemia cells which do not contain cytokeratins. Surprisingly, on pure or mixed K-562 cells, we found positive labeling with KL1, CK8, and CK18 antibodies (results confirmed by immunocytology). This preliminary study has allowed a DNA analysis on epithelial cells of human breast tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗