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Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is recognized as one of the main determinants of hypercoagulable conditions. The literature reports the incidence of this syndrome in a third of patients who underwent surgery for peripheral revascularization. Antiphospholipid antibodies are divided into two categories in relation to specific diagnostic tests. The first group is called lupus anticoagulant and consists of immunoglobulins that inhibit the phospholipid dependent coagulation tests in vitro. The second group is defined by their ability to conduct the phospholipid in an ELISA test. The occurrence of thrombotic events in patients with systemic erythematosus lupus (SEL) and anticoagulant antibodies was described for the first time in 1963 by Bowie. The discovery of anti-cardiolipin antibodies in antiphospholipid syndrome is due to Harris et al. who described the syndrome. Primitive APS was consequently defined in the absence of further underlying illnesses. In this disease, arterial thrombosis occurs mainly in the brain. Peripheral arteries are affected less frequently. Thrombosis of the great vessels is reported as anecdotal.

Exposure to heavy metals can produce morphological and functional alterations in fish. It is well known that the marine organisms living in contaminated environments display damage attributable to the structures most directly exposed to the external environment such as the branchial epithelium, and thus involved in the interactions between it and the organism. The aim of the present work is to determine useful biomarkers in Liza aurata for identification of anomalies due to the toxic agents and factors implicated in the mechanisms controlling osmoregulation, detoxification, respiration and neurotransmission. The study of these biomarkers is an important ecophysiological factor and a tool for evaluating the risk of environmental variations in the coastal species exposed to anthropic pollution. Specimens of the golden grey mullet L. aurata (Perciformes, Mugilidae) were collected from the brackish swamps of Faro and Ganzirri (Messina, Italy), considered highly polluted environments; instead, the spe...

The presence of perinuclear nuages and intercellular bridges is described in the germ cells of immature Xiphias gladius. In semi‐thin sections, previtellogenic oocytes show a strongly basophilic perinuclear area. At the ultrastructural level this zone appears as a cytoplasmic granulo‐fibrillar substance in the form of a crescent cap adjacent to the nuclear membrane: the perinuclear nuage. A material similar to the perinuclear nuage is first observed in the nucleolus, then close to the nuclear envelope, and later on is associated with mitochondria. Perinuclear nuages could consist of RNA and proteins involved in the development of oocytes. Electron microscopy analysis of the testicular germ cell showed the presence of annulate lamellae in primary spermatogonia and intercellular bridges, originating from incomplete cytokinesis, in the secondary spermatogonia. In spite of numerous studies on annulate lamellae, their function is not well understood. The intercellular bridges provide channels for comm...

The innervation of the respiratory tract of amphibians is still poorly understood. Therefore, the respiratory tracts of the frogs Rana esculenta and Discoglossus pictus have been investigated in order to describe non-adrenergic non-cholinergic (NANC) and adrenergic innervation, and the localization of neuromediators that are possibly involved. Immunohistochemical staining of many bioactive substances was found in neuroepithelial cells of the buccopharynx, larynx, lung septa, nerves and neurons throughout the airway system. The findings indicate the occurrence of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-immunopositive nerve fibers in fibromuscular septa and the vasculature, nitrergic innervation of the large pulmonary veins showing a plexus of nNOS-immunopositive nerve fibers that also innervate the lung wall and the localization of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in neurons in the lung wall. In addition, laryngeal blood vessels and small arteries in the wall of septa that form capillary networks are supplied by enkephalin-immunopositive nerve terminals. We conclude that the airway system of the two frog species studied is innervated by a parasympathetic NANC system. Adrenergic innervation was also found that was immunostained for tyrosine hydroxylase. Adrenergic fibers were mainly present in muscles in septal edges, arteries present in septa and the wall of the lung. It is suggested that nNOS-positive and leu-enkephalin-positive neurons mediate vasodilation via the release of NO, but the nature of the NANC innervation remains obscure. Despite the many pharmacological studies of the lungs of amphibians, the physiological role of pulmonary autonomic innervation remains poorly understood.

Background. Heart transplant (HTx) recipients risk acquiring hepatotropic viral infections such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the impact of these infections on post-HTx survival remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to define the prevalence, clinical features, and natural history of HBV and HCV infections in a cohort of HTx recipients. Methods. We retrospectively studied 360 consecutive patients who had undergone HTx. Clinical picture, hepatic injury indexes, and HBV/HCV viral serology were followed post-transplant. Results. During follow-up (average, 8 ± 3.1 years), 49 (16.5%) of the HTx recipients tested positive for at least 1 of the 2 viruses (3.1% HBV, 12% HCV, 0.5% concomitant infection). The prevalence of HCV infection in heart transplant recipients transplanted before and after 1990 was 28% and 4.2%, respectively, the latter being markedly lower (p < 0.001) than in earlier series of HTx recipients and much lower than expected in the age- and sex-matched general population. All HBV-positive and 58% of HCV-positive recipients developed chronic liver disease. Sixteen percent of patients developed cirrhosis during follow-up, and 8% died of end-stage liver disease. Conclusions. The prevalence of HBV and HCV in a large population of HTx recipients is not very different from that reported in the general population. Active viral replication of HBV and an aggressive natural history of both infections are seen in HTx recipients, however. The low prevalence of HBV- and HCV-related infection in recent series probably reflects current viral screening and vaccination policies.

The pituitary gland of swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.) was studied immunohistochemically using antibodies against h‐FSH β, h‐LH β, GTH I β and GTH II β. The immunogold method for detection, at the ultrastructural level, of gonadotropins was also used. The immunostaining methods allowed identification of two distinct GTH I β (FSH‐like) and GTH II β (LH‐like) cells. Both GTH I β and GTH II β immunoreactive cells were observed in swordfish, although there were greater numbers of GTH II β immunoreactive cells. The localization and structure of the two different gonadotropic cells of swordfish are compared with other teleost arrangement. mRNA was isolated from X. gladius pituitaries and a series of oligonucleotides were constructed and used as primers in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify GTH cDNAs. PCR products of eight independent PCR amplification reactions were cloned and sequenced for both GTH I β and GTH II β to avoid potential errors introduced during the PCR amplification. Two oligonucleotid...

BACKGROUND: A more rapid and aggressive course of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related infection in organ transplant recipients has been described. Interferon alfa is the most accepted drug for treating HBV and HCV chronic infections. However, the use of interferon alfa-N3 has been contraindicated in heart transplant (HTx) recipients because of the hypothesized greater risk of triggering acute cellular rejection. The aim of this clinical pilot study was to evaluate tolerability, safety, and efficacy of natural leukocyte interferon alfa in the treatment of chronic HBV and HCV in HTx recipients. METHODS: Seven HTx recipients were enrolled in the study: two with HBV, four with HCV, and one with combined HBV-HCV chronic infection. The patients had a mean follow-up after heart transplantation of 8.5+/-3 years, before starting interferon alfa-N3 treatment at a dose of 6 MU three times per week, intramuscularly for 12 months. RESULTS: All patients completed the treatment with no major side effects. No unexpected episodes of acute cellular rejection were observed during the treatment. Mean aminotransferase serum levels were significantly lower than before transplantation at 3 (P

Aims/Methods: A case-control study was carried out in Italy to assess the risk factors associated with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Five hundred consecutive chronic anti-hepatitis C virus positive cases and 500 sex and exactly age-matched anti-hepatitis C virus negative/HBsAg negative controls entered the study. Information was collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The adjusted Odds Ratios linking hepatitis C virus infection and risk factors were estimated by conditional multiple logistic regression. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics were similar in cases and controls. Seventy-five percent of patients were aged over 40: males were prominent in the group ≤40, while the number of females increased with age. Results: As expected, drug addiction and blood transfusion emerged as independent risk factors: blood transfusion in all ages and in both sexes, drug addiction only in subjects under 41 years and mostly in males. Other risk factors independently associated with hepatitis C virus infection were: previous use of non-disposable needles, previous tuberculosis, and prolonged hospitalization before 1970. A history of sexually-transmitted diseases was not associated. Conclusions: This study shows that the great spread of hepatitis C virus in Italy may have occurred several years ago through parenteral routes which are not now operating. Modern hygienic and sanitation measures have significantly controlled exposure to the infection, which in the younger generations is confined to high-risk groups such as drug addicts.

The authors present an overview of the main amphibian peptide families mainly derived from the skin and mostly discovered by Erspamer and his associates. The studies of the peptides do not only promote the understanding of their chemical, metabolical and physiological features of those molecules in amphibians, but also contribute to progress in our knowledge of the corresponding mammalian counterparts. Particular reference is made on sauvagine, tachykinin, bombesin and dermorphin families, offering new data mostly from personal contributions to this field.

We report the presence of sauvagine/urotensin I-like immunoreactive (SV/UI-LI) elements in the caudal neurosecretory system of a teleost (Diplodus sargus L.) collected from aquaria tanks of the Aquaculture Center (Talassographic Institut of CNR) of Messina or maintained in an hyposmotic milieu for different periods. In normal specimens, SV/UI-LI material was recognizable in discrete or little amounts both in Dahlgren cell cytoplasm and in their axons that reach the urophysis. On the contrary, the specimens transferred in an hyposmotic milieu showed a fast and dramatic increase of immunoreactivity mainly in neurohemal endings of the urophysis. This suggests a physiological role of caudal neurosecretory products on osmoregulatory mechanisms.

Le indagini statistiche effettuate sui nucleoli degli ovociti diRana esculenta, Discoglossus pictus eTriturus cristatus hanno consentito di confermare che i nucleolini, assenti nei nucleoli piu piccoli, diventano sempre piu numerosi coll'aumentare delle dimensioni dei nucleoli. Nelle tre specie in esame sono stati altresi ottenuti coefficienti di correlazione approssimativamente simili.

A number of studies has been performed in recent years regarding the structure of the autonomic innervation of the gill and various organs of fishes, but only limited information exists on the role of the autonomic nervous system in air‐breathing organs. The mechanisms for physiologically integrating gill and air‐breathing organs are also not fully understood. The presence of neu‐ropeptides and nNOS in gill autonomie nerves has been investigated in recent years by several Authors. Immunohistochemical localization of neuropeptides and nNOS in the autonomie nerves in the vasculatures and smooth muscle of air‐breathing organs is reported for the first time. The function of NO in these tissues also remains to be elucidated especially, when the bulk of neurotransmission is attributable to cholinergic and adrenergic mechanisms. A challenge for future years is to understand the role of the autonomie nervous systems and the vasoactive substances in the in‐series and in‐parallel vascular connections betwe...

TwoAmyclina species were examined concerning the more significant anatomo-morphological differences and the different cytological aspects in the nucleoli of growing oocytes.