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Biomedical subjects

S Ciani

Publications and source records attributed to S Ciani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Hyperglycaemia increases dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity in diabetes mellitus.

AIMS/HYPOTHESES: Chronic hyperglycaemia increases dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) activity in endothelial cells in vitro. The present study was designed to assess the effect of high glucose on circulating DPP-IV activity in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Plasma DPP-IV activity was measured in 29 patients with type 1 diabetes and 29 age-, sex- and BMI-matched control subjects. We also assessed DPP-IV activity in 31 type 2 diabetic patients with HbA1c > 8.5% and in plasma from matched groups of 31 newly diagnosed diabetic subjects with HbA1c < 7.5%, 31 subjects with IGT and 62 subjects with NGT. In a further sample of 66 type 2 diabetic patients, a longitudinal study was also performed to evaluate variations in DPP-IV activity and HbA1c over 3 months. RESULTS: DPP-IV activity in type 1 diabetic patients was not significantly different from that in control subjects; however, a significant correlation between DPP-IV and HbA1c was observed in diabetic subjects (r = 0.47; p < 0.01). Type 2 diabetic patients with HbA1c > 8.5% showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher DPP-IV activity (mean+/-SD 27.7+/-7.1 U/l) than newly diagnosed diabetic patients and subjects with IGT (22.1+/-6.0 and 18.8+/-8.8 U/l, respectively). Variations in DPP-IV activity over 3 months in type 2 diabetic patients showed a significant positive correlation with variations in HbA1c (r = 0.26; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Chronic hyperglycaemia induces a significant increase in DPP-IV activity in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This phenomenon could contribute to the reduction in circulating active glucagon-like peptide-1 and to the consequent postprandial hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetic patients with poor metabolic control.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Pure testicular carcinoid associated with intratubular germ cell neoplasia.

This case report describes for the first time a case of pure testicular carcinoid pre-aortic lymph node metastases in a 25 year old patient with carcinoid syndrome. The simultaneous occurrence of intratubular germ cell neoplasia in the surrounding testicular tissue was identified by OCT4 and placental-like alkaline phosphatase positivity. This confirmed that the tumour had a germ cell origin in the testis, rather than being a metastasis from an extragenital carcinoid.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Endometrial coccidiosis.

This report describes a case of granulomatous endometritis caused by coccidiosis in an immunologically uncompromised 63 year old patient. The glandular epithelium of the endometrium contained numerous intracytoplasmic cysts, corresponding to periodic acid Schiff positive and methenamine silver negative sporoblasts. The endometrial glands revealed reactive phenomena, such as eosinophilic and squamous glandular metaplasia and intraluminal desquamation. Non-necrotising epithelioid granulomata, lacking the presence of parasites, were present in the stroma. Although not detected in the stool examination, the organisms were probably Isospora belli. There was no evidence of other foci of the disease. Coccidiosis should be differentiated from the more commonly occurring coccidiomycosis.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of metformin on glucagon-like peptide-1 levels in obese patients with and without Type 2 diabetes.

Metformin has been shown to increase glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels after an oral glucose load in obese non-diabetic subjects. In order to verify if this effect of the drug was also present in obese Type 2 diabetic patients who have never been treated with hypoglycemic drugs, 22 Type 2 diabetic and 12 matched non-diabetic obese patients were studied. GLP-1 was measured before and after a 100 g glucose load at baseline, after a single oral dose of 850 mg of metformin, and after 4 weeks of treatment with metformin 850 mg three times daily. Post-load GLP-1 levels were significantly lower in diabetic patients. A single dose of metformin did not modify GLP-1 levels. After 4 weeks of treatment, fasting GLP-1 increased in diabetic patients (3.8 vs 4.9 pmol/l; p<0.05), while the incremental area under the curve of GLP-1 significantly increased in both diabetic [93.6 (45.6-163.2) vs 151.2 (36.0-300.5) pmol x min/l; p<0.05] and non-diabetic [187.2 (149.4-571.8) vs 324.0 (238.2-744.0) pmol x min/l; p<0.05] subjects. In conclusion, GLP-1 levels after an oral glucose load in obese type 2 diabetic patients were increased by 4 weeks of metformin treatment in a similar fashion as in obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Effect of metformin on glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and leptin levels in obese nondiabetic subjects.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of metformin on glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and leptin levels. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 10 obese nondiabetic male patients were studied before and after a 14-day treatment with 2,550 mg/day metformin and were compared with 10 untreated obese control subjects. On days 0 and 15, leptin and GLP-1(7-36)amide/(7-37) levels were assessed before and after an oral glucose load during a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp to avoid the interference of variations of insulinemia and glycemia on GLP-1 and leptin secretion. The effects of metformin on GLP-1(7-36)amide degradation in human plasma and in a buffer solution containing dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) were also studied. RESULTS: Leptin levels were not affected by the oral glucose load, and they were not modified after metformin treatment. Metformin induced a significant (P < 0.05) increase of GLP-1(7-36)amide/(7-37) at 30 and 60 min after the oral glucose load (63.8 +/- 29.0 vs. 50.3 +/- 15.6 pmol/l and 75.8 +/- 35.4 vs. 46.9 +/- 20.0 pmol/l, respectively), without affecting baseline GLP-1 levels. No variations of GLP-1 levels were observed in the control group. In pooled human plasma, metformin (0.1-0.5 microg/ml) significantly inhibited degradation of GLP-1(7-36)amide after a 30-min incubation at 37 degrees C; similar results were obtained in a buffer solution containing DPP-IV. CONCLUSIONS: Metformin significantly increases GLP-1 levels after an oral glucose load in obese nondiabetic subjects; this effect could be due to an inhibition of GLP-1 degradation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Histological features of resolving acute, non-complicated phlegmonous appendicitis.

The histological features of resolving acute appendicitis are described. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded appendices of 200 cases with acute, non-complicated phlegmonous appendicitis were reviewed. In 80 out of 200 cases, a histological picture characterized by a predominantly lymphocytic infiltrate of the subserosa and muscularis propria or the subserosa alone was found. In the affected muscularis propria, eosinophils were admixed with lymphocytes, and the cellular infiltrate showed a lesser degree than that of the classic phlegmonous appendicitis. A multifocal, rather than a diffuse pattern of infiltration was observed. Cases were divided into three groups. Group 1: appendices with the typical features of phlegmonous appendicitis: 120 cases, 60%. Group 2: appendices with a predominantly lymphocytic infiltrate in the muscularis propria, subserosa, or both, and no granulation tissue: 65 cases, 32.5%. Group 3: appendices with granulation tissue: 15 cases, 7.5%. Complicated appendicitis was excluded. Data on the duration of the clinical symptoms were derived from the clinical history. The differences between the mean duration time of groups 1 and 2, and of groups 2 and 3 were statistically significant. The findings support the contention that a mixed infiltrate of lymphocytes and eosinophils represents a regression phase of acute appendicitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 and leptin concentrations in obese patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS: To assess differences in circulating leptin and glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 concentrations before and after an oral glucose load, in euglycaemic and isoinsulinaemic conditions, between obese patients with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Ten male obese (body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2) patients with Type 2 diabetes and 20 matched non-diabetic subjects were studied. Leptin, GLP-1(7-36)amide and GLP-1(7-37) concentrations were measured 0, 30, 60, and 90 min after a 50-g oral glucose load administered 90 min after the beginning of a euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp. RESULTS: GLP-1(7-36)amide concentrations before the glucose load were significantly lower in diabetic patients than in controls (median (quartiles): 50.5 (44.7-53.2) vs. 128.7(100-172.5) pg/ml; P < 0.01), while no difference was observed in baseline GLP-1(7-37). In non-diabetic subjects, GLP-1(7-36)amide and GLP-1(7-37) concentrations increased significantly after the oral glucose load, while no glucose-induced increase in GLP-1 concentration was observed in diabetic patients. GLP-1(7-36)amide at 30, 60, and 90 min, and GLP-1(7-37) at 30 min, of the glucose challenge, were significantly lower in diabetic patients. Leptin concentrations were not significantly different in diabetic patients when compared to non-diabetic subjects, and they did not change after the oral glucose load. DISCUSSION: Leptin concentrations are not significantly modified in obese Type 2 diabetic patients. GLP-1(7-36)amide baseline concentrations are reduced in Type 2 diabetes; moreover, diabetic subjects show an impaired response of GLP-1 to oral glucose in euglycaemic, isoinsulinaemic conditions. This impairment, which is not the result of differences in glycaemia or insulinaemia during assessment, could contribute to the pathogenesis of hyperglycaemia in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1997

Permeation properties of Na+ and Ca2+ ions through the mouse epsilon2/zeta1 NMDA receptor channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

Ion permeation properties of the mouse e2/zeta1 NMDA receptor channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes were studied using the outside-out patch-clamp technique. In symmetrical Na+ solutions, the single-channel I-V relations were almost linear at low electrolyte concentrations, but rectified inwardly for Na+ concentrations above 50 mm. In symmetrical Na+ solutions, the "zero-current conductance" increased with Na+ concentration and saturated according to a hyperbolic curve, the half-maximal saturating activity, KM(Na), being 14.2 mm and the maximal conductance, Gmax(Na), 53.9 pS. When Ca2+ was present with Na+ in the external solution, the single-channel current was lower than in pure Na+, although the reversal potential indicated a higher permeability for Ca2+ than for Na+. Using ion activities, PCa/PNa was found to be about 17. The I-V data were fitted with a model based on the Eyring's rate theory, assuming a one-ion pore with three energy barriers and two sites. The KM(Ca) and Gmax (Ca) were 76.5 microm and 21.2 pS, respectively. According to the estimated rate constants, KM for Ca2+ is mainly determined by the binding strength of a site located 80% away from the channel opening at the external membrane-solution interface, a position similar to that postulated previously for the Mg2+ blocking site.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Permeation of organic cations and ammonium through the glutamate receptor channel in Drosophila larval muscle.

The inside-out configuration of the patch-clamp technique was used to study the effects of large organic cations on the single-channel current through the glutamate receptor channel in muscles of Drosophila larvae. Control experiments with symmetrical Na+ showed slightly supra-linear I-V curves. When external Na+ was equiosmolarly replaced with either arginine+ or N-methyl-D-glucamine+ (NMDG+), the reversal potential changed almost according to VNa, suggesting that both these ions are only slightly permeant through the channel. However, both ions strongly reduced the current amplitude in a voltage-dependent manner, the effect being most pronounced for the inward current. Tris+ had similar effects on the Na+ current, although the reversal potential indicated that this ion is somewhat permeant. All of these results could be fitted with a "one-ion" Eyring model for the channel with internal binding sites. The ion-channel dissociation constants for arginine+, NMDG+, and Tris+ were found to be 17, 27, and 23 mM, respectively. In order to acquire evidence for the "one-ion" hypothesis used in the model, I-V data were taken with different mixtures of Na+ and a comparably permeant ion, NH4+. All of the data could be accurately fitted with the results of the Eyring theory for singly occupied channels.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

[Thyroid neoplasm of mid follicular-medullary type; an uncommon, particular and aggressive form: report of 3 cases].

Mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid shares secretory and immunohistochemical features of both follicular and parafollicular thyroidal cells. We report three women, aged 34, 63 and 61 old with this type of tumor. Its diagnosis must be bore in mind in patients with thyroidal tumors and a histological appearance of a medullary or undifferentiated carcinoma. An early diagnosis of a mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid is important, considering its special treatment and negative prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗
PubMed1996

[Comparative yield of fine needle biopsy and cytology of solid thyroid nodules].

BACKGROUND: The correct management of thyroid nodules requires an accurate histological diagnosis to discard carcinoma. AIM: To assess the diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules as compared to cytology of the same sample and surgical biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty three thyroid nodules were punctured with a 21 G needle under continuous aspiration obtaining a sample for cytological and histological diagnosis. Fifty patients were subjected to a thyroidectomy. RESULTS: The age of studied patients ranged from 12 to 78 years old and 94% were female. Mean nodule diameter was 2.7 +/- 1.4 cm. Two percent of procedures were complicated with local hematomas, that subsided spontaneously. A diagnosis of cancer was reached in 16% of all patients and 46% of operated patients. Cytology had a 50% sensitivity, 87.5% specificity, a 89.4% positive predictive value and a 87.5% negative predictive value. The figures for fine needle aspiration biopsy were 82.6, 100, 100 and 87% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fine needle aspiration biopsy has a better diagnostic accuracy than cytology and is a simple and safe procedure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Ion permeation properties of the glutamate receptor channel in cultured embryonic Drosophila myotubes.

Ion permeation properties of the glutamate receptor channel in cultured myotubes of Drosophila embryos were studied using the inside-out configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Lowering the NaCl concentration in the bath (intracellular solution), while maintaining that of the external solution constant, caused a shift of the reversal potential in the positive direction, thus indicating a higher permeability of the channel to Na+ than to Cl- (PCl/PNa < 0.04), and suggesting that the channel is cation selective. With 145 mM Na+ on both sides of the membrane, the single-channel current-voltage relation was almost linear in the voltage range between -80 and +80 mV, the conductance showing some variability in the range between 140 and 170 pS. All monovalent alkali cations tested, as well as NH4+, permeated the channel effectively. Using the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for the reversal potential, the permeability ratios with respect to Na+ were estimated to be: 1.32 for K+, 1.18 for NH4+, 1.15 for Rb+, 1.09 for Cs+, and 0.57 for Li+. Divalent cations, i.e. Mg2+ and Ca2+, in the external solution depressed not only the inward but also the outward Na+ currents, although reversal potential measurements indicated that both ions have considerably higher permeabilities than Na+ (PMg/PNa = 2.31; PCa/PNa = 9.55). The conductance-activity relation for Na+ was described by a hyperbolic curve. The maximal conductance was about 195 pS and the half-saturating activity 45 mM. This result suggests that Na+ ions bind to sites in the channel. All data were fitted by a model based on the Eyring's reaction rate theory, in which the receptor channel is a one-ion pore with three energy barriers and two internal sites.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Characterization of the G protein coupling of a glucagon receptor to the KATP channel in insulin-secreting cells.

The G-protein-mediated coupling of a glucagon receptor to ATP-dependent K channels--KATP--has been studied in insulin-secreting cells using the patch clamp technique. In excised outside-out patches, KATP channel activity was inhibited by low concentrations of glucagon (IC50 = 2.4 nM); the inhibitory effect vanished at concentrations greater than 50 nM. In cell-attached patches, inhibition by bath-applied glucagon was seen most often, although stimulation was observed in a few cases. A dual action of the hormone is proposed to resolve these apparently divergent results. In excised inside-out patches, KATP channel activity was inhibited by addition of beta gamma subunits purified from either erythrocyte or retina (IC50 = 50 pM and 1 nM, respectively). Subsequent exposure of the patch to alpha i or alpha o reversed this effect. In excised inside-out patches, increasing Mg2+ in the bath stimulated the channel activity between 0 and 0.5 nM, but blocked it at higher concentrations (IC50 = 2.55 mM). In most cases (70%), GTP had a stimulatory effect at concentrations up to 100 microns. However, in three cases, similar GTP levels had clear inhibitory effects. In excised inside-out patches, cholera toxin (CTX) caused channel inhibition. Although the effect could not be reversed by removal of the toxin, the activity was restored by subsequent addition of purified alpha i or alpha o. These results are compatible with a model whereby channel inhibition by activated Gs-coupled receptors occurs, at least in part, via association of the beta gamma subunits of Gs with alpha i/alpha o subunits and deactivation of the alpha i/alpha o-dependent stimulatory pathway. On the basis of this hypothesis, a model is developed to describe the effects of G proteins on the KATP channel, as well as to account for the concentration-dependent stimulation and inhibition of KATP channel by Mg2+. An interpretation of the ability of glucagon to potentiate, but not initiate, insulin release is also given in terms of this model and the effects of ATP on KATP channels.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1990

Effects of internal Na+ on the Ca channel outward current in mouse neoplastic B lymphocytes.

The whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique was used to study the outward Na+ current through Ca channels in hybridoma cell lines (202B and 206), constructed by fusion of S194 myeloma cells with murine splenic B lymphocytes. The concentration of Na+ in the electrode solution, [Na+]p, was changed by isosmotic replacement of Na+ with N-methyl-D-glucamine+ ions. When 2.5 mM calcium was present in the bath, neither the current nor the reversal potential was significantly altered by changes in the level of external Na+ [( Na+]o. By contrast, both of those properties were strongly affected by [Na+]p. At fixed depolarizing potentials, the outward current increased approximately as the square power of [Na+]p, a feature that cannot be easily explained by one-ion models for a channel or by "continuum" theories based on electrodiffusion. Instead, all the data could be well described by a "single-file" model for a two-site pore that admits up to two ions. Although double occupancy of the Ca channel by divalent cations has been proposed previously (Hess and Tsien. 1984. Nature. 309: 453-456; Almers et al., 1984. J. Physiol. 353: 585-608), this study indicates that, in our system, states of the channel with two Na+ ions must also be considered in order to explain the dependence of the outward current on [Na+]p. A good fit to the data could be obtained by assuming that both sites in the channel are "electrically" close to its cytoplasmic end and that most of the voltage dependence pertains to the rates for ion exit to the external medium. The values of the parameters suggest that: (a) Ca2+ is bound most strongly by the site nearest to the cytoplasm (in both singly and doubly occupied channels); (b) in channels with two Ca2+ ions, the dissociation constant of the site close to the external mouth must be greater than 2.5 mM; and (c) in pores occupied by two Na+ ions, the rate constant for Na+ exit to the external solution is larger than the rate constant for Na+ exit to the cytoplasm.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Comparative study of K channel behavior in beta cell lines with different secretory responses to glucose.

The patch-clamp technique was used to identify and investigate two K channels in the cell membrane of the HIT cell, an insulin secreting cell line with glucose-sensitive secretion. Channel characteristics were compared with those of glucose-modulated K channels in the RINm5F cell, an insulin secreting cell line in which secretion is largely glucose insensitive. A 65.7 pS channel, identified with the ATP-sensitive K channel was seen in HIT cell-attached patches. Channel activity was dose-dependently inhibited by glucose, by 50 and 100% at 450 microM and 8 mM glucose, respectively, similar to the values previously reported for RIN cells. In inside-out patches channel activity was 50% inhibited by 56 microM ATP and completely blocked between 500 microM and 1 mM, again, similar to the values reported for RIN cells. As in RIN cells a second, considerably larger (184 pS), K channel was glucose sensitive; the glucose sensitivity was similar to that in RIN cells with 50 and 100% channel inhibition at 7.5 and 25 mM, respectively. After patch excision the mean channel conductance increased from 184 to 215 pS. Under these conditions activity was strongly calcium dependent in the range pCa 5-7, identifying this as a calcium- and voltage-dependent K (K(Ca, V] channel; the calcium sensitivity was similar to that of the adult rat beta cell K(Ca, V) channel. In inside-out RIN cell patches, the large K channel was less abundant but displayed a similar conductance (223 pS). However, its calcium sensitivity was more than 10 times lower than in HIT cells, similar to that of the K(Ca, V) channel in the neonatal rat beta cell, which also displays a reduced secretory response to glucose. Based on these observations, it is proposed that the low calcium sensitivity of the K(Ca, V) channel may be causally associated with secretory deficiency in RIN cells and the immature secretory response of the neonatal beta cell.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗
PubMed1989

ATP mediates both activation and inhibition of K(ATP) channel activity via cAMP-dependent protein kinase in insulin-secreting cell lines.

The single-channel recording technique was employed to investigate the mechanism conferring ATP sensitivity to a metabolite-sensitive K channel in insulin-secreting cells. ATP stimulated channel activity in the 0-10 microM range, but depressed it at higher concentrations. In inside-out patches, addition of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) reduced channel activity, suggesting that the stimulatory effect of ATP occurs via cAMP-dependent protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation. Raising ATP between 10 and 500 microM in the presence of exogenous PKI progressively reduced the channel activity; it is proposed that this inactivation results from a reduction in kinase activity owing to an ATP-dependent binding of PKI or a protein with similar inhibitory properties to the kinase. A model describing the effects of ATP was developed, incorporating these two separate roles for the nucleotide. Assuming that the efficacy of ATP in controlling the channel activity depends upon the relative concentrations of inhibitor and catalytic subunit associated with the membrane, our model predicts that the channel sensitivity to ATP will vary when the ratio of these two modulators is altered. Based upon this, it is shown that the apparent discrepancy existing between the sensitivity of the channel to low ATP concentrations in the excised patch and the elevated intracellular level of ATP may be explained by postulating a change in the inhibitor/kinase ratio from 1:1 to 3:2 owing to the loss of protein kinase after patch excision. At a low concentration of ATP (10-20 microM), a nonhydrolyzable ATP analogue, AMP-PNP, enhanced the channel activity when present below 10 microM, whereas the analogue blocked the channel activity at higher concentrations. It is postulated that AMP-PNP inhibits the formation of the kinase-inhibitor complex in the former case, and prevents phosphate transfer in the latter. A similar mechanism would explain the interaction between ATP and ADP which is characterized by enhanced activity at low ADP concentrations and blocking at higher concentrations.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Ion permeation and rectification in ATP-sensitive channels from insulin-secreting cells (RINm5F): effects of K+, Na+ and Mg2+.

Patch-clamp techniques were used to study the permeability to ions of an ATP-sensitive channel in membranes from the pancreatic B-cell line (RINm5F). With patches in the outside-out configuration, the I-V curves for different Na+-K+ mixtures in the bath and 140 mM K+ in the pipette were almost linear, and crossed the zero-current axis at voltages that indicated a variable permeability ratio. When K+ was added symmetrically, the plot of the conductance vs. K+ activity exhibited saturation, with a Gmax of about 160 pS and a half-maximal activity of 216 mM. The I-V behavior for different K+-Na+ mixtures in the bath could be accurately described with a model based on Eyring theory, assuming two sites and one-ion occupancy. For K+, the dissociation constants (KK) of the two sites were 290 and 850 mM, the lower value pertaining to the site close to the intracellular medium. In experiments with inside-out patches, both Na+ and Mg2+, when present in the bath, induced a voltage-dependent block of the outward current. Fitting the data with the model suggested that for these ions only one of the two sites binds significantly, the corresponding dissociation constants being (mM): 46 for Na+ and 34 for Mg2+. Blocking by Na+ and Mg2+ may account for the low outward current seen in intact cells. This hypothesis is consistent with the observation that such current is further reduced by addition of 2,4-DNP, since metabolism inhibitors are expected to lower the ATP level, thereby liberating Mg2+ from the Mg2+-ATP complex, as well as inducing accumulation of Na+ by decreasing the rate of the Na+-K+ pump.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗