Pollinosis in trentino (Northern Italy). Aerobiological and clinical research

Summary A study to evaluate and define the atmospheric pollen concentration in Trentino was carried out through the aerobiologic sampling in three localities chosen according to their different climatic conditions.1375 patients with pollinosis living in Trentino were studied retrospectively over the period ranging from 1986 to 1988 and selected according to the area they came from.Results have proved that the most allergenic pollen types are the following: Poaceae, Urticaceae (Parietaria), Compositae (Artemisia) and the tree pollen of Betulaceae and Corylaceae (Alnus, Betula, Corylus), and that pollinosis caused by such pollen, types has different features and frequencies according to the different localities.As far as symptoms are concerned, our data shows that rhinoconjuntivitis is more frequent in those patients who are allergic toParietaria while asthma results being more frequent in patients who are allergic to tree pollen.     

Complete reversion of the abo phenotype in D. melanogaster occurs only when the blood transposon is lost from region 32E.

Summary The abnormal oocyte phenotype is characterized by instability, as shown by the loss and reappearance of the abo maternal effect under specific genetic conditions. Our previous finding that a correlation exists between the abo phenotype and the presence of a blood transposon in region 32E, led us to perform an extensive genetic and molecular analysis of the most significant aspects of the abo phenotype in different genetic backgrounds. The results of these experiments can be summarized as follows: Complete reversion occurs only when the blood transposon is lost, thus definitively demonstrating that the insertion of the blood transposon in region 32E is the molecular event that causes the pleiotropic abo phenotype. Partial reversion can also occur without loss of the transposon, indicating that different molecular pathways may be involved in the loss of the abo phenotype. Reappearance of the full abo phenotype can occur only in heterozygous lines constructed from partially revertant abo homozygous lines that have not lost the blood transposon.     

Cytogenetic biomonitoring of an Italian population exposed to pesticides: chromosome aberration and sister-chromatid exchange analysis in peripheral blood lymphocytes

Chromosome aberrations (CA) and sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) were measured in lymphocytes of (A) 32 healthy individuals working in the flower industry and exposed to pesticides, (B) 32 individuals exposed as above and hospitalized for bladder cancer, and (C) 31 controls. Compounds to which floriculturists were exposed included 18 nitro-organic herbicides and fungicides, 9 nitro-organic fungicides, 12 organophosphate and organothiophosphate insecticides, 4 hydrocarbon derivative herbicides and 5 inorganic fungicides and insecticides. 150 and 70 metaphases per individual were scored for CA and SCE, respectively. A significant increase in the incidence of CA and SCE was observed in both exposed groups. Cancer patients showed the presence of rare rearrangements (dicentrics, rings and quadriradials) that were not observed in controls and were present at a lower frequency in healthy exposed people. Hyperdiploid and polyploid metaphases were also significantly increased in the 2 exposed groups compared to controls. Stratifying for age or smoking habits, although affecting the significance of individual data, did not change the substance of the results.     

Dry matter production and photosynthetic capacity in Gossypium hirsutum L. under conditions of slightly suboptimum leaf temperatures and high levels of irradiance

Summary Gossypium hirsutum L. var. Delta Pine 61 was cultivated in controlled-environment chambers at 1000–1100 mol photosynthetically active photons m^-2 s^-1 (medium photon flux density) and at 1800–2000 mol photons m^-2 s^-1 (high photon flux density), respectively. Air temperatures ranged from 20° to 34°C during 12-h light periods, whereas during dark periods temperature was 25° C in all experiments. As the leaf temperature decreased from about 33° to 27° C, marked reductions in dry matter production, leaf chlorophyll content and photosynthetic capacity occurred in plants growing under high light conditions, to values far below those in plants growing at 27° C and medium photon flux densities. The results show that slightly suboptimum temperatures, well above the so-called chilling range (0–12° C), greatly reduce dry matter production in cotton when combined with high photon flux densities equivalent to full sunlight.Abbreviations DW dry weight - F _v variable fluorescence yield - F _M maximum fluorescence yield - PFD photon flux density (400–700 nm)     

1H NMR investigation of reduced copper-cobalt superoxide dismutase

Human copper-cobalt superoxide dismutase in the reduced form has been investigated through ¹H NMR techniques. The aim is to monitor the structural properties of this derivative and to compare them with those of reduced and oxidized native superoxide dismutases. The observed signals of the cobalt ligands have been assigned as well as the signals of the histidines bound to copper(I). The latter signals experience little pseudocontact shifts which allow a rough orientation of the magnetic susceptibility tensor in the molecular frame. The connectivities indicate that, although the histidine bridge is broken in the reduced form, the interproton distances between ligands of both ions are essentially the same.Abbreviations WEFT water eliminated Fourier transform - NOE nuclear Overhauser effect - NOESY NOE spectroscopy - COSY correlation spectroscopy - TOCSY total correlation spectroscopy - SOD superoxide dismutase - E₂Co(II)SOD SOD with empty copper site (E=empty) and with cobalt(II) in the Zinc(II) site Offprint requests to: I. Bertini     

Recombinant interleukin-2 and lymphokine-activated killer cells in renal cancer patients: II. characterization of cells cultured ex vivo and their contribution to the in vivo immunomodulation

Summary Burkitt lymphoma (BL) lines can be grouped according to phenotypic characteristics. Group I cells exhibit the phenotype of resting B cells and grow as single cells. Such lines can be Epstein-Barr-virus(EBV)-negative or -positive. Group II and group III cells are always EBV-positive, they express B cell activation markers, grow in aggregates and resemble in varying degrees lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). We studied three groups of BL lines for their capacity to interact with allogeneic lymphocytes. The results showed that as long as the lines have the group I phenotype, they do not stimulate allogeneic T lymphocytes irrespective whether they carry the EBV genome. The group II and III cells are stimulatory. Generally there was no correlation between sensitivity to lymphocyte-mediated lysis and the phenotype of the lines. In one set of lines, the group I cells had higher sensitivity to both natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer effectors compared to the group II or III lines. However, such correlation could not be seen with the other two sets of lines. Among the phenotypic features investigated, expression of the adhesion molecules LFA-1 and LFA-3 correlated with the tendency for cell aggregation.     

Preservation of capsular material of streptococcal cells by specific lectins determined by immunoelectron microscopy

Summary We describe the use of lectins as specific stabilizing agents for the polysaccharide capsular components of two Gram-positive bacteria,Streptococcus agalactiae andStreptococcus bovis. Treatment of bacterial suspensions with wheatgerm agglutinin and concanavalin A allowed better morphological preservation as well as immunoelectron microscopic localization of a capsular component (lipoteichoic acid) by employing specific antibodies and the protein A-gold technique. Data obtained indicate that lectins are useful agents in preserving highly water-soluble capsular components during the electron microscopy procedures for both unembedded and embedded samples.     

Effects of progesterone and estradiol-17 beta on uterine secretion of prostaglandin F2 alpha in response to oxytocin in ovariectomized ewes

Twenty ovariectomized ewes were used in an experiment designed to examine the interaction of progesterone, estradiol, and oxytocin in the regulation of uterine secretion of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha). All ewes underwent a steroid pretreatment that mimicked the changes in progesterone and estradiol which occur during the six days immediately prior to estrus. After pretreatment, ewes were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups: 1) control (n = 4); 2) estradiol-17 beta (n = 6); 3) progesterone (n = 4); and 4) progesterone and estradiol-17 beta (n = 6). Progesterone was injected twice daily for 15 days. The dose of progesterone varied with day postestrus in a manner designed to simulate endogenous luteal secretion of progesterone. Estradiol-17 beta was administered in s.c. Silastic implants. The implants maintained circulating concentrations of estradiol at 3 pg/ml. On Days 5, 10, and 15 of treatment, ewes were injected with oxytocin (10 IU in 1.0 ml saline, i.v.). Jugular venous blood samples were collected beginning one-half hour prior to and continuing for 2 hours post-oxytocin injection for quantification of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGFM). No changes in concentration of PGFM following injection of oxytocin were observed on Day 5 or 10 in any treatment group. Concentrations of PGFM increased following injection of oxytocin on Day 15 only in groups receiving progesterone. Both the area under the PGFM response curve (p = 0.08) and peak response (p = 0.06) were greater in ewes treated with progesterone and estradiol-17 beta than in those receiving progesterone alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evolutionary diversity of reverse (R) fluorescent chromosome bands in vertebrates

Mitotic chromosomes, interphase cell nuclei, and male meiosis of 41 species representing all vertebrate classes were analyzed with distamycin A/mithramycin counterstaining. The purpose of the study was to recognize differences and common characteristics in the reverse (R) fluorescent banding patterns in the chromosomes of vertebrate species at various stages of evolution. In contrast to the warm-blooded mammals and birds, the euchromatic segments in the chromosomes of most reptiles, amphibians, and fishes contain no multiple fluorescent R-bands. This is thought to be due to the absence of the long homogeneous regions (isochores) in the DNA of the cold-blooded vertebrates. Distamycin A/mithramycin banding specifically reveals the GC-rich constitutive heterochromatin in all vertebrates. In most of the vertebrate chromosomes examined, the heterochromatic regions have opposite staining properties with mithramycin and quinacrine. Mithramycin labels the nucleolus organizer regions very brightly in the karyotypes of fishes, amphibians, reptiles and birds, but not of mammals. The lack of mithramycin fluorescence at the nucleolus organizer regions of mammals is attributed to the relatively low level of redundancy of the GC-rich ribosomal DNA in their genomes. Studies on the various meiotic stages of the cold-blooded vertebrates show that the mithramycin labeling of the nucleolus organizers is independent of their state of activity. This can be confirmed by mithramycin fluorescence at the nucleoli of actinomycintreated cells.Dedicated to the memory of Professor Dr. Hans Bauer