Flow cytometry DNA content and morphobiological characteristics in chronic and neoplastic human liver disease.

In the search for parameters that can indicate changes in the behaviour of liver tissue from normal to chronic to neoplastic disease, DNA content by FCM (ploidy and percent of 4N cells) and morphobiological characteristics were investigated in fresh liver specimens of 16 patients with normal liver, 21 with persistent hepatitis (CPH), 23 with chronic active hepatitis (CAH), 17 with cirrhosis, and 13 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Aneuploidy was mostly found in HCC specimens (54%), whereas the percentage of 4N peak decreased in chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis patients but increased to 11.09% in HCC samples (r = -0.02; p = 0.05). Finally, the binuclearity rate decreased gradually from normal to flogistic to HCC specimens. The 4N peak and the binuclearity rate were closely correlated in non-HCC (p = 0.0006, by T-test) but not in HCC samples. Only DNA ploidy and the binuclearity rate have been confirmed as being significantly and independently related to the histology of liver tissue by multivariate regression analysis.

[Can alpha-interferon exacerbate a case of mixed cryoglobulinemia?]. / Può l'alfa interferone esacerbare una crioglobulinemia mista tipo II latente?

We describe a case of exacerbated mixed cryoglobulinemia in a patient previously treated with alpha-interferon, for chronic active hepatitis. The possible pathogenesis of this exacerbated mixed cryoglobulinemia and the relationship between cytokines, hepatitis viral infections and immune reactions is discussed.

Molecular and classical cytogenetic analyses demonstrate an apomorphic reciprocal chromosomal translocation in Gorilla gorilla.

The existence of an apomorphic reciprocal chromosomal translocation in the gorilla lineage has been asserted or denied by various cytogeneticists. We employed a new molecular cytogenetic strategy (chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization) combined with high-resolution banding, replication sequence analysis, and fluorochrome staining to demonstrate that a reciprocal translocation between ancestral chromosomes homologous to human chromosome 5 and 17 has indeed occurred.

AluI and HaeIII restriction enzyme banding patterns of Macaca fuscata and Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus chromosomes.

AluI and HaeIII restriction endonuclease banding patterns were analyzed in Macaca fuscata and Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus chromosomes. AluI produced C-negative bands in both species of monkeys, while HaeIII induced the appearance of C-negative bands on Macaca chromosomes and of simultaneous G + C bands on Cercopithecus metaphases.

Sequence of DNA replication in Macaca fuscata chromosomes: an outgroup for phylogenetic comparison between man and apes.

The relative replication times of every band in the standardized 300 band G-band idiogram of the chromosomes of the Japanese macaque are presented, and compared to the human sequence. Many chromosomes thought to be homologous between Macaca fuscata and man on the basis of standard chromosome banding and gene mapping show a conservation of the replication sequence. Other supposed chromosomal homologies between these two species show no good correspondence, and the replication sequence data suggest that these chromosomes have been subject to complex rearrangements. The replication sequence data also point to possible additional chromosomal homologies between man and M. fuscata. Asynchrony in replication time between homologues from the same cell may also be evolutionarily conserved, because these species share a number of asynchronous homologous bands. Replication band sequence data can provide significant information for comparative cytogenetics. However, usually only the full replication R- or G-band pattern has been used for interspecific comparisons. The dynamic sequence data presented here determine the replication time of every band in the karyotype, and provide a quantitatively and qualitatively more sensitive tool to characterize chromosomes. Such data could provide valuable new information on which to make phylogenetic reconstructions, and shed light on the relationship between chromosome change and evolutionary process. Finally, the M. fuscata replication sequence presented here will provide a necessary foundation for future comparisons between apes and man.

Standardized karyotypes for the greater Galagos, Galago crassicaudatus E. Geoffroy, 1812 and G. garnettii (Ogilby, 1838) (Primates: Prosimii).

Karyotypes were analyzed of 21 greater galagos, using classical, G-banding, C-banding and silver nitrate staining techniques. A composite G-banded karyotype and high resolution idiogram are presented for each species. Areas of possible rearrangement are identified. The results support the interpretations derived from earlier, unbanded studies, rather than a more recent proposal from G-banded data. Failure of repeated attempts to obtain C-bands, despite success in human controls, indicates that the heterochromatic bands generally revealed by these staining methods are either absent or extremely small in greater galagos. Silver staining revealed a single pair of NOR-bearing autosomes in both species, as shown by previous authors.

The chromosomes of Nycticebus coucang (Boddaert, 1785) (Primates: Prosimii).

The high-quality karyotype of a specimen of Nycticebus coucang is described and illustrated. The X chromosome is found to be indistinguishable from that of the greater galagos, and may represent a synapomorphic trait. The y chromosome is a medium to small submetacentric (3.2% TCL) and constitutes one of the larger Y chromosomes known in primates. N. coucang is found to have multiple NOR-bearing chromosomes in contrast to the single pair found in galagine and catarrhine monkeys. Since a single NOR-bearing pair is often considered ancestral for primates, this new finding may have important implications for the evolution of these cistrons. One of the chromosomal polymorphisms in this specimen is a pericentric inversion, involving a NOR-bearing autosomal pair (no. 6), that alters the position of the active site. Further, homologues 2p differ by a paracentric inversion. These results confirm that lorisiforms are characterized by considerable chromosomal polymorphism.

[Immunological deficiency syndromes, immunosuppression by drugs and occurrence of neoplasms: a casual association?]. / Sindromi da deficienza immunologica, immunodepressione da farmaci ed insorgenza di neoplasie: un'associazione casuale?

Although supported by a number of experimental models, the assumption assigning a crucial role to the immune system in the antineoplastic defense mechanisms has not been convincingly demonstrated so far for human tumors. Should the theory be correct, severe functional impairment of the immune system would obviously result in the occurrence of tumors with abnormally high frequency. Registry holdings systematically collecting pertinent information on the malignancies developed in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases or in organ transplant recipients maintained on therapeutically-induced immune depression, as well as the observation of tumors occurring in patients treated with immunosuppressive agents and of second malignancies arising after radio- and/or chemotherapy of the primary tumor consistently indicate that depressed immunity is usually associated with an increased incidence of cancer as compared with that expected in the general control populations. However, not all types of tumors are increased to the same extent, in that lymphoreticular neoplasias (especially non-Hodgkin's lymphomas), acute leukemias as second tumors and, among solid neoplasms, squamous cell carcinomas are those most frequently reported. These observations suggest that even deeply impaired tumoricidal immune mechanisms may facilitate the growth of certain tumors only, especially of those arising from the cells of the immune system itself, in remarkable contrast with their frequency in the general population. Oncogenesis may be favoured in various states of depressed immunity by a number of ways. Their elucidation might have bearing on the comprehension of the more general phenomenon of the neoplastic transformation.