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Biomedical subjects

R Perricone

Publications and source records attributed to R Perricone.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Evidence for activation of complement in patients with AIDS related complex (ARC) and/or lymphoadenopathy syndrome (LAS).

The complement system was examined in 16 patients with AIDS-related complex (ARC) (n = 5) and/or lymphoadenopathy syndrome (LAS) (n = 11). Of these patients 62.5% showed an impairment of classical and/or alternative pathway activity associated with the presence of cleavage fragments of C3 and/or B and a significant reduction of many complement factors. The data indicate pathological complement activation in these patients through the classical and/or alternative pathway. Complement activation was more severe in patients with ARC than in those with LAS, and greater in drug abusers than homosexuals. The lack of efficient complement in the patients can be considered an 'acquired complement deficiency' with possible importance in the failure to combat the HIV attack.

AIDS-Related Complex↗

Human semen inhibits T rosette formation through an opiate mediated mechanism.

Seminal plasma contains high levels of opioid peptides and both seminal plasma and endogenous opioids can influence the immune system. In order to investigate whether these two findings can be related, semen was collected from 7 normal subjects, and assayed for beta-endorphin content and for its in vitro ability to inhibit the total T rosette formation of human lymphocytes in the presence or in the absence of 10(-6) M naloxone, an universal opiate antagonist. The results were as follows: 1) immunoreactive beta-endorphin content in seminal plasma was 4 to 12 times higher than the peripheral plasma levels detected in the same subjects (76.1 +/- 42.1 SD vs 10.5 +/- 2.0 SD pg/ml); 2) increasing concentrations of seminal plasma (1%, 5%, and 10%) in RPMI 1640 significantly depressed the T rosette formation ability of lymphocytes; and 3) the simultaneous addition to the incubation mixture of 10(-6) M naloxone prevented the phenomenon, while naloxone per se was ineffective. The possibility that endogenous opioids may play a role in the immunomodulatory action of human semen is suggested.

Adult↗

PHA-ICC, ADCC and NK in patients with ANLL in CR: human fibroblastic interferon fails to increase NK-active cell frequency.

PHA-ICC, ADCC and NK activity of PBL were studied in ten patients with ANLL in CR and in eighteen normal controls in the presence and absence of HFIF. No statistically significant differences were recorded among the two groups with regard to basic lymphocyte functions. Although the parameters of lymphocyte function remained analogous for those tested, the analysis at the single cell level revealed that HFIF stimulation increases the number of NK active cells and target binding cells among normals, but not in leukemic patients.

Adult↗