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Biomedical subjects

M Marusić

Publications and source records attributed to M Marusić.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Granulocyte-monocyte colony forming unit content of autologous bone marrow transplants in patients with haematological malignancy.

Cell viability and number of granulocyte-monocyte colony forming units (CFU-GM) were systematically assessed in 57 patients who had undergone transplantation of the autologous bone marrow for treatment of haematologic malignancies. Bone marrow cell cultivation in agarose with feeder layers appeared inferior to that performed in agarose with recombinant human granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor and methylcellulose with phytohaemaglutinin leukocyte-conditioned medium. Since the transplant cells were frozen in liquid nitrogen between harvesting and reinfusion, the following samples were tested: buffy coat cells, buffy coat cells immediately after addition of dimethylsulphoxide, cell sample that had been frozen for 24 hours, and frozen transplant cells at the time of thawing and transplantation. Each procedural step decreased both cell viability and the number of CFU-GM, but since the lymphohaematologic recovery in all patients followed the pattern reported in the literature for high-quality transplants, we concluded that our transplants retained the necessary number of progenitor cells. It appears that the best strategy for dynamic assessment of the transplant quality would be to perform tests after every step of the transplant processing. Cell viability and number of progenitors per body weight in transplants were also found to be associated with probability of neutrophil reconstitution after bone marrow reinfusion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Tumor cell cycle in patients with stage I endometrial carcinoma.

Flow cytometric cell cycle analysis was performed on paraffin-embedded blocks from 49 patients with stage I endometrial carcinoma. Care was taken to separate tumor tissue from normal tissue in each specimen; normal tissue was used as a control for each individual specimen. DNA index, proliferative activity, and cell DNA aneuploidy were correlated with known parameters of tumor malignancy. Increased DNA index corresponded well with the DNA aneuploid tumors, poor tumor differentiation (G3), myometrial invasion of more than one-third, more malignant histologic type of tumor, and low concentration of estrogen (< or = 10 fmole/mg) and progesterone (< or = 25 fmole/mg) receptors. Similar results were obtained for tumor cell proliferative activity (percentage of cells in S + G2/M phases) and for DNA aneuploid tumors. Since more than 90% of patients with stage I endometrial carcinoma survived the 5-year postoperation period, analyzed parameters could not be checked for survival-related prognostic significance. However, our data indicate that cell cycle analysis may be instrumental for objective ranking of several known prognostic parameters.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Tumor growth in vivo and as multicellular spheroids compared by mathematical models.

In vivo volume growth of two murine tumor cell lines was compared by mathematical modeling to their volume growth as multicellular spheroids. Fourteen deterministic mathematical models were studied. For one cell line, spheroid growth could be described by a model simpler than needed for description of growth in vivo. A model that explicitly included the stimulatory role for cell-cell interactions in regulation of growth was always superior to a model that did not include such a role. The von Bertalanffy model and the logistic model could not fit the data; this result contradicted some previous literature and was found to depend on the applied least squares fitting method. By the use of a particularly designed mathematical method, qualitative differences were discriminated from quantitative differences in growth dynamics of the same cells cultivated in two different three-dimensional systems.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Age-dependent haematological disturbances in anaesthetic personnel chronically exposed to high occupational concentrations of halothane and nitrous oxide.

Anaesthetic staff chronically exposed to high occupational concentrations of halothane and nitrous oxide were tested for numerous haematological and cellular function parameters at the peak of the working season and after 3 weeks vacation. The analysis of data was performed to compare differences in subjects younger and older than the age of 40 years, respectively when compared with normal controls. The analysis revealed a higher recovery of erythrocyte count in the blood of older staff, and stronger disturbance of leucocyte formation in younger staff. In contrast, monocytes appeared to be more stable in the younger staff as were the T and B lymphocyte counts. After stimulation with PHA, Con A and PWM mitogens, lymphocytes from the older age group incorporated a significantly higher amount of tritiated thymidine, but stimulation indices did not differ. Natural killer cell numbers appeared equally affected; natural killer cell activity was unaffected, but there was an increase in activity in the younger staff after the vacation. Serum immunoglobulin concentrations tended to be more affected in older individuals at the peak of the working season.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Analysis of growth of multicellular tumour spheroids by mathematical models.

We wished to determine the applicability of previously proposed deterministic mathematical models to description of growth of multicellular tumour spheroids. The models were placed into three general classes: empirical, functional and structural. From these classes, 17 models were applied systematically to growth curves of multicellular tumour spheroids used as paradigms of prevascular and microregional tumour growth. The spheroid growth curves were determined with uniquely high density of measurements and high precision. The theoretical growth curves obtained from the models were fitted by the weighted least-squares method to the 15 measured growth curves, each corresponding to a different cell line. The classical growth models such as von Bertalanffy, logistic and Gompertz were considered as nested within more general models. Our results demonstrate that most models fitted the data fairly well and that criteria other than statistical had to be used for final selection. The Gompertz, the autostimulation and the simple spheroid models were the most appropriate for spheroid growth in the empirical, functional and structural classes of models, respectively. We also showed that some models (e.g. logistic, von Bertalanffy) were clearly inadequate. Thus, contrary to the widely held belief, the sigmoid character of a three or more parameter growth function is not sufficient for adequate fits.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1994

Survival analysis of untreated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

The survival rate analysis of 130 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who did not receive any specific anticancer therapy showed no statistically significant differences in the survival rates between various TNM combinations classified into stage groups II, IIIa, IIIb, and IV, as proposed by Mountain in 1989 and adopted by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. Following these findings, based on survival probabilities, two distinctive staging groups could be distinguished. The first stage group was composed of only the T1, 2N0, M0 combination, and the second of all other TNM combinations. In a purely biologic sense of tumor growth, the lymph node involvement appeared to be the crucial factor determining the length of survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Prognostic value of steroid hormone receptors concentration in patients with endometrial carcinoma.

The concentrations of progesterone receptors in endometrial tumors of 160 patients were analyzed with respect to survival and presence of clinicopathologic prognostic factors. The concentration of 25 fmol/mg of proteins for progesterone receptors appeared to be most powerful for prediction of survival. The survival was also significantly correlated to age, depth of myometrial invasion and clinical stage of the tumor. Concentration of estrogen receptors could not be correlated with the probability of patients' actuarial survival.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1994

Peripheral blood CD5+ B cell subset in the remission phase of systemic connective tissue diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To get a better insight into the level of circulating CD5+ B cells as related to the systemic connective tissue disease activity. METHODS: Peripheral blood CD5+CD19+ cells of patients in the remission phase of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (n = 28), Sjögren's syndrome (SS) (n = 20), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 26), and 19 control healthy subjects were analyzed by 2-color flow cytometry. RESULTS: In comparison to control group, the patients with SLE had a significant increase in the relative CD19+CD5+ blood cell count (p < 0.0005); this count was also different from the finding in both RA (p < 0.005) and patients with SS (p < 0.05). In contrast, the proportion of B cells expressing CD5 (within an individual B cell population) was significantly increased in all the 3 diseases compared to healthy subjects (SLE, p < 0.0001; SS, p < 0.05; and RA, p < 0.01). In the multivariate discriminant analysis, a discriminant function defined by the CD19+CD5+ subset strongly discriminated SLE, SS and RA from the control, but also SLE from both SS and RA. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that, in relation to healthy control subjects, the blood CD5+ B subset tended to be elevated in the patients in the remission phase of systemic connective tissue diseases, particularly in SLE.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Gonadectomy abrogates sex differences in the effectiveness of chemical carcinogenesis in mice.

Sham-gonadectomized and gonadectomized male and female mice were given methylcholanthrene s.c. to assess the influence of sex hormones on carcinogenesis. Gonadectomy decreased the concentration of the respective sex hormone and increased the concentration of the opposite sex hormone. The results showed that androgens enhanced the effectiveness of carcinogenesis, while estrogens had the opposite effect. Gonadectomy effectively abrogated the sex differences in tumor induction.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Correlation of morphological FAB classification and immunophenotyping: value in recognition of morphological, cytochemical and immunological characteristics of mixed leukaemias.

Correlation between the FAB classification and immunophenotype was studied in 169 consecutive adult patients with acute leukaemia (AL). The lineage of leukaemic cells could be determined in the majority of cases, whereas 3 patients (1.8%) remained unclassified. In 22 out of 71 patients (31%) with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) FAB M1 and M2 types, and in 5 out of 16 patients (31%) with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in myeloid blast crisis, leukaemic cells did not express myeloid lineage-related markers, indicating asynchronous expression of cell markers in a substantial proportion of patients. Flow cytometric two-colour immunofluorescence revealed mixed AL immunophenotype in 6 out of 169 patients (3.4%). This group included five CD2+AML (5% of AML tested) and one undifferentiated AL expressing CD10(CALLA), CDw65(VIM-2). The former group included FAB M1, M2, M3 and M4 forms of AML with a single cell population, and an AML M2 patient with both cytochemically and immunologically two separate populations of leukaemic cells. This further illustrates the heterogeneity of the target cell(s) for leukaemogenesis and the level of differentiation of AML cells. However, there was no difference in the treatment response and the remission duration between AML patients and patients with mixed phenotype AML.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Hypersensitivity to Parietaria officinalis pollen in newcomers to the area with the plant.

Hypersensitivity to Parietaria officinalis (wall pellitory) pollen and other environmental allergens was studied in pollinosis patients allergic to P. officinalis pollen who were born in areas without P. officinalis and later moved to the city of Split, where P. officinalis is responsible for some 65% of pollinosis cases. Highly significant positive correlations were found for both the intensity of skin test reaction and concentration of specific serum IgE with the length of residence in the area. In contrast, the respective data on subjects hypersensitive to P. officinalis pollen allergen, but born and living in the area of Split, revealed a tendency to negative correlation between age and intensity of hypersensitivity to P. officinalis. A number of patients from both groups were tested for presence of serum IgE antibodies specific for 14 common environmental allergens. Hypersensitivity to P. officinalis pollen was associated with hypersensitivity to olive, mugwort, and birch pollen in newcomers; hypersensitivity to birch and, to some extent, olive pollen was significantly more frequent in newcomers than in autochthonous patients who were allergic to P. officinalis pollen. Regardless of whether the patients were autochthons or newcomers to the area with P. officinalis, hypersensitivity to P. officinalis mostly excluded hypersensitivity to Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus, and vice versa.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Effects of hyperbaric oxygen on rat embryos.

The aim of the study was to investigate the toxic effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on rat embryos. Two groups of Fischer pregnant rats were exposed to oxygen at pressures of 324 and 426 kPa for 90 min per day for 5 consecutive days (8-12 days of gestation). The third group was exposed to normobaric oxygen for 12 h on the eighth day of gestation. Two control groups were used; the first was comprised of intact and the second of sham-treated animals. The HBO treatment did not significantly affect maternal weight gain or reduce litter size, nor did it induce any embryonic abnormalities. However, the fetal body weight was reduced and the placental weight increased in the groups exposed to HBO at pressures of 324 and 426 kPa. When female fetuses which had been exposed to oxygen at 324 or 426 kPa were compared to the intact control group, a reduction in wet weights of 9.2 (p < 0.05) and 12.1% (p < 0.01), respectively, was noted. Male fetuses exposed to oxygen at 324 and 426 kPa displayed a reduced body weight of 11.7 (p < 0.01) and 16.6% (p < 0.01), respectively. Placental weight was increased by 18.9 (p < 0.01) and 23.6% (p < 0.01) in the groups exposed to oxygen at 324 and 426 kPa, respectively. These data suggest that HBO, either at 324 or 426 kPa, is not potent at inducing malformations and that the largest embryotoxic effects are upon fetal body weight and placental weight.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of criteria contributions for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus.

The American Rheumatism Association (ACR) preliminary and revised criteria for classification of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were evaluated for sensitivity and specificity in a population of 100 patients with SLE and 100 patients with other rheumatic diseases. Bayes' theorem was applied for evaluation of ARA criteria for the classification of SLE and a scoring system was developed which allows simple determination of the probability of SLE. The evaluation revealed considerable differences in values of the ARA criteria. The serologic tests and discoid lupus appeared to be the most distinctive criteria, while Raynaud's phenomenon, oral and nasal ulcers and arthritis were of little value. Comparison of SLE and control patients presenting the same number of criteria revealed that patients with SLE exhibit more distinctive criteria. This finding emphasizes the need for a quantitative evaluation of classification criteria.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1993

Effect of three biological response modifiers on chemical carcinogenesis in mice.

The modulation of chemical carcinogenesis by three biological response modifiers was assessed in a mouse model. CBA mice given 20-methylcholanthrene s.c. were treated with peptidoglycan monomer, azure B and indomethacin for one month, either from day 0 or 75 after methylcholanthrene injection to assess their effects on tumor incidence (on days 150 and 300), time of tumor appearance, time of death, and duration and dynamics of tumor growth. All three agents significantly influenced some of the parameters of tumor growth, except tumor incidence on day 300. Highly significant sex differences in tumor appearance and growth were observed. Tumors with late appearance grew faster in comparison to tumors with early appearance. The data presented indicate that the effectiveness of anti-cancer body defense mechanisms can be best defined by the time of tumor appearance.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1992

New bone induction by demineralized bone matrix in immunosuppressed rats.

Subcutaneous implantation of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) initiates a sequence of developmental events which culminate in endochondral bone formation. To test the effects of T-cell deficiency on new bone formation, the morphology of DBM-induced bone was examined in rats thymectomized at three weeks of age and in thymectomized or nonthymectomized rats lethally irradiated and reconstituted with syngeneic bone marrow. At 24 days after implantation, bone induction in control rats was appropriate for their age, while thymectomized-irradiated-reconstituted rats and thymectomized rats had significantly more new bone and larger bone marrow space than the controls. In non-thymectomized, irradiated and reconstituted rats, bone induction occurred in only 25% of the animals, compared to 95% in other groups.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) promotes the survival and influences the growth of murine tumors.

The effects of reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) on in vivo survival and growth of several murine tumors were studied. Survival of tumor cells was enhanced in all experiments which resulted in increased incidence and/or in increased tumor mass. While basement membrane enhanced the in vivo growth of B16F6 melanoma cells, survival of these mice was prolonged. Basement membrane increased the incidence but reduced the growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor. Walker-256 hypercalcemic breast carcinosarcoma growth was enhanced and glandular-like structures were observed when grown on Matrigel. The results indicate that the enhanced survival of tumor cells in the presence of basement membrane is not unequivocally linked with increased malignancy.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Leukocyte membrane markers on cell populations defined by six flow cytometric bitmaps.

Peripheral blood samples from healthy adults, patients with transplanted bone marrow, and healthy children were analyzed for the proportions of cells positive for CD2, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, CDw65, and KiM8 cell membrane markers. Six cell gates were defined on granularity vs. cell size (L90 degrees LSx-FALS) flow cytometric display for each blood sample: large lymphocytic, small lymphocytic, monocytic, mononuclear, granulocytic, and all-cell gate, and the listed markers were determined in each of them. Considerable differences in marker-positive cell proportions were found between healthy adults and children, and particularly between healthy adults and patients with transplanted bone marrow. Marker-positive cell frequencies corresponded to biologic distribution of three leukocyte populations within the defined gates, in a general agreement with known specificities of the antibodies used. A considerable degree of variations in the positions of gates drawn for different samples and the numbers of cells counted in them was observed. Still it appeared that all six gates, otherwise commonly used in flow cytometric analysis, could be precisely defined and yielded reproducible data. large and small lymphocytic gates yielded very similar marker frequencies, revealing that in cases where three leukocyte populations were not clearly delineated on (90 degrees LSxFALS) display, a smaller lymphocytic gate could be safely drawn in order to avoid contamination with monocytes.

Adult↗