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M Gasperini

Publications and source records attributed to M Gasperini.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and alanine aminopeptidase during pregnancy.

The assay of enzyme activity in urine seems a reliable and safe method to monitor different kidney diseases. However, its use in pregnant patients might be limited by the modifications of kidney function during pregnancy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the trend of excretion of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and the brush border enzyme alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) during uncomplicated pregnancies. NAG excretion showed a significant increase (P less than 0.001) throughout pregnancy, while no significant modification of AAP levels was demonstrated. These data support the hypothesis that the two enzymes are excreted into the urine through different mechanisms and might constitute markers for different pathological events. As the increase of NAG excretion may be related to the kidney functional adaptation to pregnancy, different cut-off limits must be established in this period.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1988

Complete release of adenosine deaminase from mouse lymphocytes stabilized by low-pH acetate.

Complete release of adenosine deaminase from mouse lymphocytes takes place when intact cells are stabilized by low-pH acetate buffer. Both the low pH and the acetate affect the enzyme extraction markedly. At pH 5.0 all the adenosine deaminase activity detectable in the whole cell homogenates is released into the acetate buffer in very few minutes, with a total amount of 2% protein being extracted. The complete extraction of the enzyme activity is never observed when, at pH 5.0, the acetate is replaced by glutamate, citrate, succinate or maleate and only 45% and 15% of the adenosine deaminase activity is extracted by the acetate at pH 6.0 and 7.0, respectively. The breakdown of adenosine by the enzyme activity extracted from the stabilized cells is due to deamination alone, since inosine is the only product of the catalyzed reaction and its formation is completely inhibited by coformycin, a selective inhibitor of adenosine deaminase. The enzyme extracted shows a specific activity 50-times higher than that found in the crude homogenates, and a substantial purification of the enzyme extracted is achieved by a single Sephadex G-100 gel filtration.

Acetates↗
PubMed1988

A pharmacokinetic study of clofoctol in human plasma and lung tissue by using a microbiological assay.

A microbiological assay was undertaken to measure the amounts of clofoctol in human plasma and pulmonary tissue, and to investigate its pharmacokinetics. Clofoctol was extracted from samples using ethanol and the concentration of drug in the extracts was determined by the broth macrodilution method using as reference microorganisms S. aureus ATCC 29213 and B. cereus NCIB 8122, whose MIC values were 0.537 and 1.074 micrograms/ml respectively. This procedure allows the almost complete recovery of the drug and makes it possible to detect amounts of clofoctol as low as 5.5 micrograms/ml. Results indicate that clofoctol is well absorbed after a single rectal dose of 1.5 g, with a plasma Cmax at the 30th min after administration and an average AUC value of 80.91 micrograms/ml/h. The Cmax of lung tissue (which was higher than the plasmatic one) occurred at the 90th min and the average AUC value was 229.65 micrograms/ml/h, indicating good penetration of clofoctol into human lung tissue and appreciable tissue storage of the drug.

Biological Assay↗
PubMed1987

Mouse lymphocyte enzymatic markers. A rapid method for achieving selective solubilization and efficient recovery of the membrane-bound 5'-nucleotidase.

A simple method is described for achieving a good recovery and a partial purification of the membrane-bound 5'-nucleotidase (5'-N) from mouse lymphocytes. The experimental procedure is based upon plasma membrane isolation on polycationic beads and selective solubilization of the enzyme activity from bead-bound plasma membranes. With this method, more than 95% of the 5'-N activity detectable in the whole cell homogenates can be routinely recovered in a single fraction showing a 5'-N specific activity which is at least 60 times higher than that found in the crude homogenate. This method also provides a complete separation of 5'-N from the membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (AP), as well as from any other interfering non-specific phosphatase. Since this method is rapid and highly reproducible even when small amounts of lymphocytes are available, it may be useful for detecting changes in 5'-N activity in the different T- and B-lymphocyte subpopulations.

5'-Nucleotidase↗
PubMed1987

Penetration of clofoctol into human lung.

The disposition of clofoctol was determined in plasma and lung tissue from 34 patients undergoing pulmonary resection for lung cancer. Clofoctol 1.5 g was given as a rectal suppository; samples of plasma and pulmonary tissue were collected between 15 and 270 min post-dose. Plasma and lung peak concentrations of the drug were 38.07 +/- 0.73 mg/l and 93.13 +/- 6.68 mg/kg at 30 and 90 min, respectively. Mean values for areas under the concentration-time curve and half-life for plasma and lung were 80.91 mg/l/h, 229.65 mg/h, and 1.18 h and 1.21 h, respectively. Tissue to plasma ratios were 0.85 +/- 0.06, 3.82 +/- 0.21 and 6.19 +/- 0.63 at 30, 90 and 180 min post-dose, respectively. Clofoctol is well absorbed from the rectum and accumulates in lung tissue. This may explain its efficacy in bacterial respiratory infections.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Red blood cell plasma Li ratio variability in affective patients.

In the light of the existence of controversial reports on the stability of Li ratio, we investigated a group of affective patients wishing to verify intraindividual stability of this parameter in the different phases of the disease, that is normothymia and manic and depressive episodes. We found lower Li ratios for the periods preceding any relapse. Further, we analyzed whether or not some epidemiological factors, such as polarity, sex, actual age, age of onset, might affect interindividual variability of the Li ratio. We found that they did not as single factors. Interaction between polarity and the presence of relapses appeared to significantly affect the Li ratio.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Genetic modelling in schizophrenia according to HLA typing.

Studying families of schizophrenic patients, we observed that the risk of developing the overt form of the illness could be enhanced by some factors. Among these various factors we focused our attention on a biological variable, namely the presence or the absence of particular HLA antigens: partitioning our schizophrenic patients according to their HLA structure (i.e. those with HLA-A1 or CRAG-A1 antigens and those with HLA-non-CRAG-A1 antigens, respectively), revealed different illness distribution in the two groups. From a genetic point of view, this finding suggests the presence of heterogeneity in the hypothetical liability system related to schizophrenia and we evaluated the heterogeneity hypothesis by applying alternative genetic models to our data, trying to detect more biologically homogeneous subgroups of the disease.

Adolescent↗