Biomedical subjects

S Cardaropoli

Publications and source records attributed to S Cardaropoli.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Human milk proteins may interfere in ELISA measurements of bovine beta-lactoglobulin in human milk.

It is widely believed that cow's milk proteins ingested by the mother, in particular beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG), can pass into breast milk and thus sensitize predisposed infants. However, studies to evaluate bovine beta-LG in human milk have given conflicting results. The aim of this study was to analyse the correlation between the amount of cow's milk in the mother's diet and the presence of bovine beta-LG in breast milk. Human milk samples from 14 healthy non-atopic women on diets with different cow's milk contents were examined. The total concentration of bovine beta-LG or beta-LG immuno-like proteins (beta-LGIP) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Two separation procedures utilizing ELISA plates and an affinity chromatography column were set up to identify the human whey components recognized by the anti-beta-LG antibodies. beta-LGIP reactivities of milk from three groups on different diets were not significantly different. After splitting the antigen-antibody complexes, three main protein components, human lactoferrin, human beta-casein and human alpha-lactalbumin, were identified. This study would suggest that, at least in healthy subjects, false-positive results in ELISA determinations of bovine beta-LG in human milk might be due to cross-reactions between polyclonal antibodies and different protein antigens.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Phospholipase activity in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Phospholipases have only been detected in a few fungi and yeasts, in particular in Candida albicans. Secreted phospholipases are considered by some researchers to be a potential factor of virulence and pathogenicity in C. albicans. Twenty-three Cryptococcus neoformans strains were tested in order to observe phospholipase production. Twenty-two of the 23 strains tested were able to produce phospholipases, and the ratio diameter of the colony to total diameter of the colony plus zone of precipitation (Pz) ranged between 0.271 and 0.949. C. neoformans, just like C. albicans, can be divided on the basis of the Pz into different strains according to their virulence and pathogenicity. There also appeared to be a correlation between the phospholipase production and the size of the capsule in the strains isolated from AIDS patients. For this reason, further studies on C. neoformans phospholipase activity would be useful in evaluating the virulence of different strains.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Bcl2, p53 and clinical outcome in a series of 138 operable breast cancer patients.

Medical oncologists are increasingly interested in identifying reliable prognostic factors for breast cancer in order to distinguish subsets of breast cancer patients and to optimize therapeutic approaches. Among them, the p53 tumor suppressor gene and bcl2 protein continue to be extensively studied, but their role remains to be defined. Moreover the mechanism of action by which they affect cell kinetics has to be clarified, particularly with respect to the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis. We studied 138 operable breast cancer patients in order to verify the relationships of p53 and bcl2 proteins with better known clinicopathological features and their impact on the clinical outcomes of relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Our data indicated a significant relationship between bcl2 expression and steroid receptor positive status, wild-type p53 and low proliferative index. Mutant p53 accumulation was found to be related to the absence of steroid receptors and high proliferation. Both were significant markers of better prognosis in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis confirmed the favorable impact of bcl2 on both RFS and OS. On the contrary, we failed to observe any prognostic role for p53 status. We describe herein an independent favorable prognostic impact for patients with positive bcl2 expression that appears to be worthy of larger confirmatory study. On the contrary, our series seems to confirm the decreasing prognostic relevance of p53 in clinical practice.

Aged↗