Dynamic properties of ankyrin in T lymphocytes: colocalization with spectrin and protein kinase C beta.

Ankyrin is a well characterized membrane skeletal protein which has been implicated in the anchorage of specific integral membrane proteins to the spectrin-based membrane skeleton in a number of systems. In this study, the organization of ankyrin was examined in lymphocytes in relation to T cell function. Light and electron microscope immunolocalization studies revealed extensive heterogeneity in the subcellular distribution of ankyrin in murine tissue-derived lymphocytes.

Expression of p53 protein in prostate cancers of different histologic types.

Mutations and overexpression of p53 gene in prostate carcinoma have been found but their significance in the development and progression of cancer is so far unknown. We investigated the prevalence of abnormalities of p53 protein in a heterogeneous group of prostate carcinoma to verify whether acinar and non acinar carcinomas have a different expression of p53 protein. Paraffin sections of 45 prostate carcinomas (39 acinar, 3 ductal papillary, 1 transitional cell, 1 mucinous and 1 pure small cell) were examined for the expression of p53 protein using a panel of antibodies (monoclonal antibodies Pab 1801, D07 and polyclonal antibody CM1).

[Tricuspid insufficiency and pulmonary hypertension in mitral disease: an echocardiographic study].

Tricuspid valve regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension have been evaluated with echo-color-Doppler technique in 100 patients (80 females and 20 males, mean age 54 years) affected by mitral valve stenosis. Pure mitral stenosis was present in 13 patients; 87 had an associated mitral regurgitation. The severity of mitral valve disease was based on the planimetric and functional (Doppler-derived) evaluation of valvular area.

Gastric dysplasia. A follow-up study.

Gastric dysplasia is generally accepted as a precancerous lesion. Ninety-nine patients with an initial diagnosis of gastric dysplasia, based on examination of endoscopic biopsies taken because of symptoms of dyspepsia, were followed to define the magnitude of the neoplastic risk. The degree of dysplasia in the initial biopsy was mild in 73 cases, moderate in 16, and severe in 10.

Are routine duodenal and antral biopsies useful in the management of "functional" dyspepsia? A diagnostic and therapeutic study.

Fifty-three patients with previously uninvestigated chronic dyspepsia symptoms in the absence of gastrointestinal or extra-gastrointestinal disease (functional dyspepsia) underwent antral and duodenal mucosal biopsies to detect the role of such samplings in the presence of normal endoscopic findings. Patients were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, receiving either eradicating treatment (colloidal bismuth subcitrate plus metronidazole) or placebo if they had Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis (20 patients), or cisapride or placebo if they had normal antral mucosa (28 cases). Unsuspected celiac sprue was found in one patient.

Cell kinetic evaluation of human colonic aberrant crypts. (Colorectal Cancer Study Group of the University of Modena and the Health Care District 16, Modena, Italy).

Foci of aberrant crypts (ACF) have been observed on the unsectioned, methylene blue-stained mucosal surface of the human colon. Experimental evidence and the histological features of the lesions suggest that they might be early events in colon cancer development. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate cell kinetic properties of ACF in the human colon.

Tumour spectrum in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and in families with "suspected HNPCC". A population-based study in northern Italy. Colorectal Cancer Study Group.

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC or Lynch syndrome) is characterized by the early onset of colorectal neoplasms, frequently localized in the right colon, increased occurrence of multiple primaries, vertical transmission and aggregation of tumours in families in accordance to a Mendelian dominant type of inheritance. The syndrome accounts for approximately 5% of all colorectal cancers. The purpose of the present study was to describe the tumour spectrum and the most relevant clinical features of 28 kindreds with HNPCC, classified according to the guidelines of the International Collaborative Study Group, and of 61 "suspected" HNPCC.

Interferon-alpha alters spectrin organization in normal and leukemic human B lymphocytes.

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) regulates the growth, differentiation, and recirculation of normal and malignant B lymphocytes. In this report we examine the effects of IFN-alpha on the distribution of the cytoskeletal protein spectrin in peripheral blood B lymphocytes from normal donors and patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Exposure of normal and leukemic B cells to IFN-alpha in vitro was shown by immunofluorescence microscopy to cause a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of cells containing discrete focal accumulations of spectrin, ie, a single large aggregate or cap-like structure near the plasma membrane.

Dynamic aspects of cytoskeletal protein distribution in T lymphocytes: involvement of calcium in spectrin reorganization.

Our studies on the lymphocyte cytoskeleton have revealed a significant heterogeneity in the subcellular distribution of lymphocyte spectrin in vivo. Two model systems have been characterized in which this protein exhibits dynamic properties in response to activation signals. In this study, we have investigated the role of calcium in the activation-induced reorganization of spectrin in one of these systems, the DO-11.

Descriptive epidemiology of colorectal cancer in Italy: the 6-year experience of a specialised registry.

The Colorectal Cancer Registry of Modena recorded 838 malignancies of the large bowel between 1984 and 1989. Crude Incidence rates were 59.5 new cases per 100,000 per year in men and 47.

Cell kinetics evaluation of colorectal tumors after in vivo administration of bromodeoxyuridine.

Although several biomarkers have been tested, Dukes' (or TNM) stage at diagnosis is still considered the only prognostic factor of clinical relevance in colorectal cancer. Among the various biomarkers, the fraction of cells engaged in DNA synthesis has been extensively investigated as an indicator of tumor aggressiveness. Bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) is a non-radioactive thymidine analogue which is incorporated into DNA during the S-phase of cycling cells.

Acanthamoeba meningoencephalitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Several cases of Acanthamoeba encephalitis (ie, granulomatous amebic encephalitis) have been reported in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome from the United States. To our knowledge, none so far has been reported from Europe, and this is the first case of amebic meningoencephalitis due to Acanthamoeba in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome from Italy. The patient was a 24-year-old, human immunodeficiency virus-positive heterosexual man with a 6-year history of intravenous drug use.

[Acromegalic cardiopathy: a morphofunctional study with color-Doppler echocardiography].

We used color-Doppler echocardiography in an investigation of cardiac morphology and function to verify the cardiac anatomic and functional changes in acromegalic patients with or without hypertension and hyperlipemic states. Fifteen patients with growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma (mean age: 47.9 years) and 15 healthy control subjects were studied.

Right colon adenocarcinoma presenting as Bacteroides fragilis liver abscesses.

Pyogenic abscesses of the liver occur in association with a variety of diseases. Sometimes they are caused by anaerobic infections of liver metastases. Uncommonly, however, multiple hepatic abscesses caused by anaerobic bacteria are the presenting signs of unsuspected colonic cancer in the absence of liver metastases.

Translocation of spectrin and protein kinase C to a cytoplasmic aggregate upon lymphocyte activation.

We have previously reported that mammalian tissue lymphocytes exhibit significant heterogeneity with respect to the subcellular distribution of spectrin and that this phenomenon may result from a dynamic behavior of spectrin in response to activation signals. Here, we further characterize the involvement of spectrin in lymphocyte activation by examining its relationship with protein kinase C (PKC). PKC isoenzymes are a family of cytosolic kinases that translocate from the soluble to particulate fraction upon cell stimulation.

Clinical and pathologic prognostic indicators in colorectal cancer. A population-based study.

The institution of a colorectal Cancer Register in a health care district of Northern Italy gave the authors the opportunity to evaluate the prognostic relevance of several morphologic and clinical variables by univariate and multivariate analyses. Of the 134 patients registered in 1984, 132 were followed up until the end of 1989. Overall 5-year survival was 37%, but the figure increased to 43% when only colorectal cancer-related deaths were considered.

Lower eyelid reconstruction by multiple subcutaneous pedicle flaps: a new method.

In this paper we present an original technique for the reconstruction of the full thickness of the lower eyelid after excision of neoplasms. The method is based on the mobilisation of multiple pedicle subcutaneous flaps outlined in the same eyelid and supported by a chondro-mucosal graft. This technique is used for central and off-central losses which involve the outer rim or up to 75% of the width of the whole eyelid.

Reliability of 3H-thymidine labeling index: cell proliferation of colorectal carcinoma in three different centers.

Although the 3H-thymidine labeling index (TLI) has been used extensively as a biologic marker of increased susceptibility to neoplasms or as a prognostic indicator of the clinical outcome in cancer patients, there is still some concern regarding its accuracy and reliability as a marker of cell replication. A study on the prognostic value of TLI in colorectal cancer gave us the ability to evaluate how such a measurement may vary in different laboratories. A total of 150 malignant tumors of the large bowel were studied in the period from 1988 to 1989.

Nucleolar organizer regions in malignant melanoma and melanocytic nevi. Comparison of two counting methods.

Using a silver staining technique, we studied nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) in paraffin sections of junctional nevi, compound nevi, intradermal nevi, blue nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, lentigo maligna, malignant melanomas in nevus, superficial spreading melanomas, and nodular melanomas. Two methods of counting black dots within nuclei were employed. One method was to count the discrete black dots within the nuclei, including the tiny black dots seen within the nucleolus; the second method did not take into account the subsidiary cluster of tiny black dots seen within the nucleolus, instead treating these dots as a single structure.

[Leiomyoblastoma of the stomach. Another case report].

A further case of gastric leiomyoblastoma in a 53 year old woman is presented. Pathology, diagnosis, and therapy of this rare neoplasm are discussed.

Evidence for Raynaud's syndrome among haemodialyzed patients: influence of flunarizine treatment.

A bloodless study with a Photoplethysmographic test of the limb's blood circulation among haemodialyzed patients with arteriovenous fistula and the influence of Flunarizine treatment was performed. All patients showed a blood reduction flux on the hand with fistulas in front of the controlateral limb. Three patients affected by Raynaud Syndrome were identified.