Monitoring biological effects of contamination in marine fish along French coasts by measurement of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity.

The use of bioindicators to evaluate exposure to the biological effects of chemical pollutants in marine organisms constitutes a new tool in the monitoring field. The establishment of a North Sea monitoring network in 1991, involving such international organizations as the North Sea Task Force, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and the Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission, led French researchers to develop an enzymatic biomarker to monitor biological effects within the National Observation Network. The biomarker, ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), dependent on the CP450 system, has been monitored biannually since 1992 in several species of fish (Callionymus lyra, Limanda limanda, Serranus sp.

Transient mitochondrial transcript level decay in oxidative stressed chondrocytes.

Steady-state levels of 12S rRNA and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 mRNA (ND4) mitochondrial transcripts were measured on rabbit articular chondrocyte in culture. In pseudosynchronized chondrocytes, changes of mitochondrial RNA levels were observed during the progression of the cells in the cell cycle. Oxidative stress generated by the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase system (HX-XO) induced a transient decrease in the levels of both ND4 and 12S rRNA.

Synthesis and regulation of complement components by human monocytes/macrophages and by acute monocytic leukemia.

Proteins of the complement system (C2, C3) are synthesized by human monocytes and macrophages, thus providing an important local source of these proteins in vivo which serve as a first-line host defense mechanism. In this study, we investigated the production of complement components C2, C4, and C9 by human monocytes/macrophages and by the pathologic cells of acute monocytic leukemia which represent a source of immature monocytic precursors. Human blood monocytes were collected and purified by cytapheresis and elutriation and leukemic cells by Ficoll gradient.

U937 cell line: impact of CSFs, IL-6 and IFN-gamma on the differentiation and the Leu-CAM proteins expression.

Differentiation of the U937 cell line can be induced by various agents. We have investigated the differentiation abilities of gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin-6 (IL-6), macrophage and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (M-CSF + GM-CSF) or the combinations IL-6 + M-CSF + GM-CSF and IFN-gamma + M-CSF + GM-CSF on the U937 cells by studying the morphology, cytochemical activity and several functional properties. The expression of the Leu-CAM proteins (CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, CD18) was also evaluated during the culture period.

Simultaneous determination of trimipramine and desmethyl- and hydroxytrimipramine in plasma and red blood cells by capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen-selective detection.

A simple procedure is described that permits the simultaneous determination of trimipramine and its two major metabolites, desmethyl- and hydroxytrimipramine, in human plasma or red blood cells (RBCs) at therapeutic concentrations. The extracted biological fluids are injected into a capillary gas chromatograph with an OV-1 fused-silica column coupled to a nitrogen-phosphorus-selective detector. The limit of determination for trimipramine is 3 ng/ml and for that desmethyl- and hydroxytrimipramine is 4 ng/ml.

Combination of 5-FU cisplatinum and hypofractionated irradiation followed by split-course radiotherapy in 47 patients with unresectable non small cell lung cancer.

Forty-seven patients with unresectable non small cell lung carcinoma, 15 stage IIIA, 31 stage IIIB, 1 stage IV (cervical lymphadenopathy) were treated with a combination of three courses of chemotherapy and hypofractionated irradiation followed after 3 weeks by split course radiotherapy. Each course was repeated every 3 weeks with the following sequence: Cisplatinum (CDDP) (20 mg/m2) was given in a 20-min infusion, followed by a 2-h infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (400 mg/m2) on days 1, 2, 5 and 6. Radiation with a dose of 3 Gy on the target volume was given on days 3 and 4--in one fraction for the former 27 patients, in 2 fractions of 1.

A therapeutic trial of the use of penicillin V or erythromycin with or without rifampin in the treatment of psoriasis.

Background: After the publication of an uncontrolled trial of nine patients with streptococcus-associated psoriasis who appeared to benefit from a course of oral penicillin or erythromycin with the addition of rifampin in the last 5 days, we wished to confirm or refute the validity of this observation.

Objective: Our purpose was to confirm the effectiveness of antibiotics in the treatment of streptococcus-associated psoriasis.

Methods: Twenty patients were placed randomly into two groups.

Human blood-derived macrophages: differentiation in vitro of a large quantity of cells in serum-free medium.

Large quantities of human blood-derived monocytes have been cultured in suspension in nonadherent cell culture bags and maintained for up to 3 weeks in a serum-free medium. This serum-free medium contained Iscove's modified Dulbecco's medium (IMDM) supplemented with human albumin, alpha-phosphatidylcholine, transferrin, and insulin. Morphology, cell surface antigens, and functional properties of these in vitro maturing macrophages were studied in comparison with macrophages cultured in a standard medium containing 10% fetal calf serum.

[Comparative study of two techniques for the determination of amitriptyline and nortriptyline: EMIT and gas chromatography].

Amitriptyline and nortriptyline plasma level results obtained with gas chromatography and enzyme immunoassay were compared in 46 patients. The limits and problems with Emit measurement are discussed.

Differential temperature sensitivity of cultured cells from cartilaginous or bone origin.

The effects of long-term exposure to hyperthermia were studied on several cell cultures of cartilaginous or bone origin after a 4-day treatment at 40 degrees C. Chondrocytes proliferation, as well as mitochondrial activity were not modified by these culture conditions (40 degrees C) but protein content and cell volume were increased. In contrast, the proliferative capacity of osteoblasts, MC3T3.