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Biomedical subjects

T Lambert

Publications and source records attributed to T Lambert.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Impact of choice of treatment for bleeding episodes on inhibitor outcome in patients with mild/moderate hemophilia a and inhibitors.

Patients with mild/moderate hemophilia A (MHA) may develop inhibitors to factor VIII (FVIII). In this condition, FVIII clotting activity (FVIII:C) baseline levels may remain stable for some patients, but may be reduced to less than 0.01 U/mL for others. Several risk factors for the development of inhibitors in MHA have been proposed. Genetic factors, such as mutations in the FVIII gene, may play a central role; however, other influences, such as intensive treatment with FVIII products, may also be important. Optimal treatment regimens have yet to be determined, not only for the eradication of inhibitors, but also for the management or surgical prophylaxis of hemorrhages associated with this condition. Several treatment options for the control of bleeding in patients with MHA and inhibitors (MHAI) are currently available, and the choice of therapeutic strategy should be given careful consideration; some treatments may produce an anamnestic response, thus delaying the return to FVIII:C baseline levels and adversely affecting the duration of the severe bleeding phenotype. To increase our knowledge of MHAI, a retrospective collection of data is currently being performed among hemophilia centers in France and Belgium. Based on five examples of patients with MHAI collated from preliminary study data, we illustrate the impact on inhibitor outcome of the therapeutic choices used to treat bleeding episodes in these patients.

Blood Coagulation Factor Inhibitors↗

Career choices for anaesthesia: national surveys of graduates of 1974-2002 from UK medical schools.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge about UK doctors' career intentions and pathways is essential for understanding future workforce requirements. The aim of this study was to report career choices for and career progression in anaesthesia in the UK. METHODS: Postal questionnaire surveys were undertaken of qualifiers from all UK medical schools in nine qualification years since 1974. RESULTS: 74% (24623/33417) and 73% (20709/28468) of doctors responded at 1 and 3 yr after qualification. At 1 and 3 yr after qualification, on average, 8% of doctors chose anaesthesia. Between 1974 and 2002 the percentage of doctors choosing anaesthesia, 1 yr after qualification, increased from 5 to 12%. A majority of doctors who chose anaesthesia 1 and 3 yr after qualification were working in anaesthesia 10 yr after qualification. In addition to doctors' enthusiasm for the specialty, career choices for anaesthesia were positively influenced by their perception of working hours, conditions of work, and career and promotion prospects. CONCLUSIONS: Anaesthesia has become increasingly popular as a career choice in the UK. Training numbers could be increased in the short term to speed up the process of providing a consultant-delivered service.

Adult↗

Characterization of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in testicular tissue of control and GnRH-immunized boars as a possible regulator of spermatogenesis.

Glucocorticoids are involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis in the boar testis by initiating apoptosis in early stages of germ cell development. Because cortisol activity is modulated by the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase system (11beta-HSD), the present study determined both 11beta-activating (reductive) and inactivating (oxidative) enzyme activities in testicular tissue preparations of control boars (n = 5), GnRH-immunized boars (n = 5), and immunized, estradiol-infused boars (n = 6) by radioenzyme assay based on the conversion of tritiated cortisol to cortisone in the presence of NAD+ (inactivation) or tritiated cortisone to cortisol in the presence of NADPH (activation). The presence of both isoforms, 11beta-HSD 1 and 11beta-HSD 2, was confirmed by RTPCR in testicular tissue of control boars. Additionally, cortisol, testosterone, estradiol, and LH were determined in blood plasma sampled twice before killing. Immunization led to a drop of LH from 4.3 +/- 0.3 pmol/L to 1.0 +/- 0.3 pmol/L (testosterone: 11.63 +/- 0.83 nmol/L vs. 0.28 +/- 0.07 nmol/L; 17beta-estradiol: 512.61 +/- 47.60 pmol/L vs. 77.05 +/- 14.00 pmol/L). Low 11beta-HSD reductive activity was found in boars (1 pmol steroid x min (-1) x mg (-1)). It decreased to trace amounts in immunized boars (0.07 pmol steroid x min (-1) x mg (-1)). Oxidative activity was found in boars with 10.19 +/- 2.28 pmol steroid x min (-1) x mg (-1) protein. Immunization led to a sharp decrease (0.08 +/- 0.03 pmol x min (-1) x mg (-1)). Infusion of 17beta-estradiol significantly elevated peripheral estradiol concentrations to 752.07 +/- 24.19 pmol/L which still is a physiological concentration in this species. The infusion led to a minimal reductive activity (0.04 pmol steroid x min (-1) x mg (-1)), but led to a 6-fold rise of the 11beta-HSD oxidative activity to 0.47 +/- 0.14 pmol x min (-1) x mg (-1) compared to immunized boars. It is concluded that the 11beta-HSD system is involved in the regulation of cortisol activity in the testis and thus in the regulation of spermatogenesis.

11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1↗

Worldwide disseminated armA aminoglycoside resistance methylase gene is borne by composite transposon Tn1548.

The armA (aminoglycoside resistance methylase) gene, which confers resistance to 4,6-disubstituted deoxystreptamines and fortimicin, was initially found in Klebsiella pneumoniae BM4536 on IncL/M plasmid pIP1204 of ca. 90 kb which also encodes the extended-spectrum beta-lactamase CTX-M-3. Thirty-four enterobacteria from various countries that were likely to produce a CTX-M enzyme since they were more resistant to cefotaxime than to ceftazidime were studied. The armA gene was detected in 12 clinical isolates of Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, K. pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, and Shigella flexneri, in which it was always associated with bla(CTX-M-3) on an IncL/M plasmid. Conjugation, analysis of DNA sequences, PCR mapping, and plasmid conduction experiments indicated that the armA gene was part of composite transposon Tn1548 together with genes ant3"9, sul1, and dfrXII, which are responsible for resistance to streptomycin-spectinomycin, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim, respectively. The 16.6-kb genetic element was flanked by two copies of IS6 and migrated by replicative transposition. This observation accounts for the presence of armA on self-transferable plasmids of various incompatibility groups and its worldwide dissemination. It thus appears that posttranscriptional modification of 16S rRNA confers high-level resistance to all the clinically available aminoglycosides except streptomycin in gram-negative human and animal pathogens.

Aminoglycosides↗

Dissemination of CTX-M-type beta-lactamases among clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae in Paris, France.

We analyzed 19 clinical isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae (16 Escherichia coli isolates and 3 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates) collected from four different hospitals in Paris, France, from 2000 to 2002. These strains had a particular extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance profile characterized by a higher level of resistance to cefotaxime and aztreonam than to ceftazidime. The bla(CTX-M) genes encoding these beta-lactamases were involved in this resistance, with a predominance of bla(CTX-M-15). Ten of the 19 isolates produced both TEM-1- and CTX-M-type enzymes. One strain (E. coli TN13) expressed CMY-2, TEM-1, and CTX-M-14. bla(CTX-M) genes were found on large plasmids. In 15 cases the same insertion sequence, ISEcp1, was located upstream of the 5' end of the bla(CTX-M) gene. In one case we identified an insertion sequence designated IS26. Examination of the other three bla(CTX-M) genes by cloning, sequencing, and PCR analysis revealed the presence of a complex sul1-type integron that includes open reading frame ORF513, which carries the bla gene and the surrounding DNA. Five isolates had the same plasmid DNA fingerprint, suggesting clonal dissemination of CTX-M-15-producing strains in the Paris area.

DNA Fingerprinting↗

Analysis of biological phenotypes from 42 patients with inherited factor VII deficiency: can biological tests predict the bleeding risk?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Inherited factor VII (FVII) deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder characterized by a poor relationship between reported FVII clotting activity (FVII:C) and bleeding tendency. Our study was aimed at defining biological parameters that are possibly predictive for bleeding risk in this condition. DESIGN AND METHODS: Forty-two FVII-deficient patients (FVII:C <30%) were classified into two opposite clinical groups defined as severe and non-or-mild bleeders. For each patient, plasma samples were collected and then investigated for FVII:C (using a sensitive method and human recombinant thromboplastin as the reagent), FVII antigen, activated FVII coagulant activity (FVIIa:C) and the free-form of tissue factor pathway inhibitor. RESULTS: None of these tests could be used as highly accurate predictors of bleeding. Nevertheless, both FVII:C and FVIIa:C differed significantly between the two clinical groups. Using ROC-curve analysis, two critical values of 8% and 3mIU/mL for FVII:C and FVIIa:C, respectively, could be proposed to discriminate between severe bleeders and non-or-mild bleeders. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: A highly accurate diagnostic test for predicting bleeding tendency in inherited FVII deficiency still eludes definition, highlighting the fact that factors other than FVII itself interfere with the expression of bleeding phenotypes in this condition. Nevertheless, potential critical values using sensitive FVII:C and FVIIa:C methods may be useful in clinical laboratories for FVII-deficient patients. Those patients with FVII:C levels higher than 8% FVII:C or FVIIa:C higher than 3 mIU/mL, with no other hemostatic defect, seem to have a minimal risk of severe bleeding. Extended clinical studies are needed to support these findings.

Adolescent↗

Enhanced in vitro procoagulant and antifibrinolytic potential of superactive variants of recombinant factor VIIa in severe hemophilia A.

BACKGROUND: Recombinant coagulation factor VIIa (rFVIIa) is generally accepted for treatment of patients with inhibitor-complicated hemophilia. Recently, rFVIIa variants with a specific enhancement of the tissue factor (TF)-independent proteolytic activity have been described. OBJECTIVES: The procoagulant and [thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI)-dependent] antifibrinolytic potentials of two superactive rFVIIa variants were compared with those of wild-type rFVIIa in a hemophilic setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clot lysis assays were performed in plasma from six patients with inhibitor-complicated hemophilia A or in antibody-induced factor VIII-deficient platelet-rich plasma in the presence of different concentrations of the rFVIIa variants. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the plasma model, M298Q-rFVIIa had a moderately increased procoagulant and antifibrinolytic potential, whereas V158D/E296V/M298Q/K337A-rFVIIa had a strongly increased procoagulant and antifibrinolytic activity compared with wild-type rFVIIa. The increased antifibrinolytic potential of the rFVIIa variants was completely dependent on enhancement of TAFI activation. In the platelet-rich plasma model similar results were obtained. The presence of TF was mandatory for clot formation in the absence of exogenous rFVIIa. At lower concentrations of rFVIIa (wild-type or variants), clot formation did occur but was significantly slower when TF activity was blocked. At increasing concentrations of rFVIIa, clotting times were no longer dependent on TF. In conclusion, should a TF-independent mechanism be involved in the efficacy of rFVIIa in patients with hemophilia, the superactive rFVIIa variants studied here might be clinically advantageous, as both procoagulant and antifibrinolytic potencies are significantly enhanced compared with those of wild-type rFVIIa. This ought to result in more efficient cessation of bleeding episodes and reduced risk of rebleeding.

Antifibrinolytic Agents↗

Kinetic and mutagenic characterization of the chromosomally encoded Salmonella enterica AAC(6')-Iy aminoglycoside N-acetyltransferase.

The chromosomally encoded aminoglycoside N-acetyltransferase, AAC(6')-Iy, from Salmonella enterica confers resistance toward a number of aminoglycoside antibiotics. The structural gene was cloned and expressed and the purified enzyme existed in solution as a dimer of ca. 17 000 Da monomers. Acetyl-CoA was the preferred acyl donor, and most therapeutically important aminoglycosides were substrates for acetylation. Exceptions are those aminoglycosides that possess a 6'-hydroxyl substituent (e.g., lividomycin). Thus, the enzyme exhibited regioselective and exclusive acetyltransferase activity to 6'-amine-containing aminoglycosides. The enzyme exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics for some aminoglycoside substrates but "substrate activation" with others. Kinetic studies supported a random kinetic mechanism for the enzyme. The enzyme was inactivated by iodoacetamide in a biphasic manner, with half of the activity being lost rapidly and the other half more slowly. Tobramycin, but not acetyl-CoA, protected against inactivation. Each of the three cysteine residues (C70, C109, C145) in the wild-type enzyme were carboxamidomethylated by iodoacetamide. Cysteine 109 in AAC(6')-Iy is conserved in 12 AAC(6') enzyme sequences of the major class I subfamily. Surprisingly, mutation of this residue to alanine neither abolished activity nor altered the biphasic inactivation by iodoacetamide. The maximum velocity and V/K values for a number of aminoglycosides were elevated in this single mutant, and the kinetic behavior of substrates exhibiting linear vs nonlinear kinetics was reversed. Cysteine 70 in AAC(6')-Iy is either a cysteine or a threonine residue in all 12 AAC(6') enzymes of the major class I subfamily. The double mutant, C109A/C70A, was not inactivated by iodoacetamide. The double mutant exhibited large increases in the K(m) values for both acetyl-CoA and aminoglycoside substrates, and all aminoglycoside substrates exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Solvent kinetic isotope effects on V/K were normal for the WT enzyme and inverse for the double mutant. We discuss a chemical mechanism and the likely rate-limiting steps for both the wild-type and mutant forms of the enzyme.

Acetyltransferases↗

Protein A sepharose immunoadsorption: immunological and haemostatic effects in two cases of acquired haemophilia.

Acquired haemophilia is a life-threatening disorder caused by circulating auto-antibodies that inhibit factor VIII coagulant activity (FBIII:C). Immunoadsorption on protein A sepharose (IA-PA) was performed in two bleeding patients with acquired haemophilia: we observed a dramatic and quick decrease in the anti-FVIII:C inhibitor titre leading to a normal, albeit transient, haemostatic status. In one case, IA-PA was the only procedure which succeeded in stopping massive haemorrhage. In the second case, IA-PA reinforced the haemostatic effect of recombinant activated factor VII by increasing the endogenous plasma factor VIII level. The efficacy of IA-PA was sustained with immunosuppressive treatment introduced, respectively, 10 and 15 d before the IA-PA procedures. Our experience with IA-PA suggests that this extracorporeal anti-FVIII:C removal procedure is a valuable therapeutic tool for acquired haemophilia and can alleviate life-threatening haemorrhages.

Adult↗

Resistance-nodulation-cell division-type efflux pump involved in aminoglycoside resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii strain BM4454.

Multidrug-resistant strain Acinetobacter baumannii BM4454 was isolated from a patient with a urinary tract infection. The adeB gene, which encodes a resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) protein, was detected in this strain by PCR with two degenerate oligodeoxynucleotides. Insertional inactivation of adeB in BM4454, which generated BM4454-1, showed that the corresponding protein was responsible for aminoglycoside resistance and was involved in the level of susceptibility to other drugs including fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, trimethoprim, and ethidium bromide. Study of ethidium bromide accumulation in BM4454 and BM4454-1, in the presence or in the absence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, demonstrated that AdeB was responsible for the decrease in intracellular ethidium bromide levels in a proton motive force-dependent manner. The adeB gene was part of a cluster that included adeA and adeC which encodes proteins homologous to membrane fusion and outer membrane proteins of RND-type three-component efflux systems, respectively. The products of two upstream open reading frames encoding a putative two-component regulatory system might be involved in the regulation of expression of the adeABC gene cluster.

Acinetobacter↗

Characterization of Class 1 integrons from Pseudomonas aeruginosa that contain the bla(VIM-2) carbapenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase gene and of two novel aminoglycoside resistance gene cassettes.

Two clonally unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical strains, RON-1 and RON-2, were isolated in 1997 and 1998 from patients hospitalized in a suburb of Paris, France. Both isolates expressed the class B carbapenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase VIM-2 previously identified in Marseilles in the French Riviera. In both isolates, the bla(VIM-2) cassette was part of a class 1 integron that also encoded aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. In one case, two novel aminoglycoside resistance gene cassettes, aacA29a and aacA29b, were located at the 5' and 3' end of the bla(VIM-2) gene cassette, respectively. The aacA29a and aacA29b gene cassettes were fused upstream with a 101-bp part of the 5' end of the qacE cassette. The deduced amino acid sequence AAC(6')-29a protein shared 96% identity with AAC(6')-29b but only 34% identity with the aacA7-encoded AAC(6')-I1, the closest relative of the AAC(6')-I family enzymes. These aminoglycoside acetyltransferases had amino acid sequences much shorter (131 amino acids) than the other AAC(6')-I enzymes (144 to 153 amino acids). They conferred resistance to amikacin, isepamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin but not to gentamicin, netilmicin, and sisomicin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Emergence of imipenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae owing to combination of plasmid-mediated CMY-4 and permeability alteration.

Klebsiella pneumoniae BM2974 isolated from an abdominal abcess was resistant to high concentrations of all available beta-lactams, including recently developed third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems. Isoelectric focusing of beta-lactamases and amplification, cloning and sequencing of the corresponding genes, together with conjugation and transformation experiments, indicated that, in addition to the chromosomally encoded beta-lactamase, the strain produced three plasmid-mediated beta-lactamases with pIs of 5.4, 8.2 and 9.0, which corresponded to TEM-1, SHV-5 and AmpC-type CMY-4, respectively. Strain BM2974 also lacked a major outer membrane protein of c. 40 kDa which was present in the spontaneous imipenem-susceptible revertant BM2974-1. We suggest that imipenem resistance in strain BM2974 is attributable to production of CMY-4 beta-lactamase combined with permeability alteration.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

Molecular characterization of integrons in Acinetobacter baumannii: description of a hybrid class 2 integron.

Twenty Acinetobacter baumannii strains resistant to various antibiotics were analyzed for integron content and sequences of the amplification products. Sixteen clinical isolates had a class 1 integron, 2 contained an additional class 1 or class 2 integron, but no class 3 integron was detected. Thirteen strains had integrons with a single cassette: aac(3)-Ia (9 strains), ant(2")-Ia (2 strains), or aac(6')-Ib (2 strains); 1 had aac(6')-Ib and oxa20 cassettes and an unknown gene; and 1 had an integron containing ant(2")-Ia and an oxa3 cassette truncated by IS6100. The remaining strains harbored class 1 integrons with gene cassettes previously found in Enterobacteriaceae. One integron had a hybrid structure composed of intI2 and the 3' conserved segment of class 1 integrons. These data indicate that integrons play a major role in multidrug resistance in Acinetobacter.

Acinetobacter↗

Integrons: an antibiotic resistance gene capture and expression system.

Bacteria can transfer genetic information to provide themselves with protection against most antibiotics. The acquisition of resistance gene arrays involves genetic mobile elements like plasmids and transposons. Another class of genetic structures, termed integrons, have been described and contain one or more gene cassettes located at a specific site. Integrons are defined by an intl gene encoding an integrase, a recombination site attl and a strong promoter. At least six classes of integrons have been determined according to their intl gene. Classes 1, 2 and 3 are the most studied and are largely implicated in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. A gene cassette includes an open reading frame and, at the 3'-end, a recombination site attC. Integration or excision of cassettes occur by a site-specific recombination mechanism catalyzed by the integrase. However, insertion can occur, albeit rarely, at non-specific sites leading to a stable situation for the cassette. Cassettes are transcribed from the common promoter located in the 5'-conserved segment and expression of distal genes is reduced by the presence of upstream cassettes. Most gene cassettes encode antibiotic resistant determinants but antiseptic resistant genes have also been described. Integrons seem to have a major role in the spread of multidrug resistance in gram-negative bacteria but integrons in gram-positive bacteria were described recently. Moreover, the finding of super-integrons with gene-cassettes coding for other determinants (biochemical functions, virulence factors) in Vibrio isolates dating from 1888 suggests the likely implication of this multicomponent cassette-integron system in bacterial genome evolution before the antibiotic era and to a greater extent than initially believed.

Animals↗

[Which urologic treatment alternatives are there for the hemophiliac patient?].

OBJECTIVE: Urological procedures are hazardous for hemophilic patients. The aim of this work is to report the treatment of 22 hemophilic patients in order to define prognosis factors and treatment options. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 22 patients have been treated: 8 had severe hemophilia, 5 A (FVIII < 1%), 3 B (F IX < 1%), 2 had moderate hemophilia A (FVIII 2 to 6%) and 10 minor hemophilia A (F VIII 7 to 30%). Two had acquired hemophilia with auto-anti-FVIII antibodies (ab). Four patients were HIV+. Eighteen patients were first referred to our hospital, and 3 were transferred from an other institution for persistent hematuria: one with anuria, one after bladder neck incision, and the other following suprapubic prostatectomy. RESULTS: For patients without FVIII ab, a sufficient level of FVIII or IX (> 60%), could be achieved pre-operatively and maintained post operatively (4 to 20 days, according to the surgical procedure) by injections of FVIII, FIX or by injections of desmopressin. For one haemophilia A patient with anti-F VIII ab, transferred for uncontrollable bleeding after bladder neck incision, selective arterial embolization was successful. But for 2 patients with acquired haemophilia, improvement of the coagulation was insufficient, with human or porcine FVIII, activated prothombic complex concentrates or recombinant activated FVII. In spite of surgical procedures and arterial embolizations the 2 patients died. CONCLUSION: The urological treatment of haemophilic patients needs to be performed in specialised centers. For patients without FVIII ab, classical urological procedures can be performed. But for patients with FVIII ab when alternative treatments (radiotherapy, LHRH agonists) can be used, the surgical procedures must be delayed; in emergency if hemostasis cannot be achieved arterial embolization could be useful.

Adolescent↗