Palytoxin toxicity after acute oral administration in mice.

The acute oral toxicity of palytoxin (PLTX), a highly toxic compound associated with seafood intoxication in tropical and subtropical areas, was investigated in mice. After gavage administration (300-1697 microg/kg) to groups of five female CD-1 mice, signs of toxicity and lethality were recorded for 24 h. The LD(50) was 767 microg/kg (95% confidence limits: 549-1039 microg/kg) and the main symptoms observed were scratching, jumping, respiratory distress and paralysis. Hematoclinical analyses showed increased levels of creatine phosphokinase and lactate dehydrogenase at doses of 600 microg/kg and above, and aspartate transaminase at 848 microg/kg and above. Histological analysis revealed acute inflammation of the forestomach in mice surviving up to 24h after administration (424-1200 microg/kg). Other histological alterations were observed in the liver and pancreas, while cardiac and skeletal muscle cells revealed only ultrastructural alterations visible by transmission electron microscopy. Ultrastructural and hematoclinical findings suggest an involvement of skeletal and/or cardiac muscle as targets of PLTX, according to the observed human symptoms. A NOEL of 300 microg/kg can be estimated from this acute oral toxicity study.

Ultrastructural damage to heart tissue from repeated oral exposure to yessotoxin resolves in 3 months.

Yessotoxin (YTX), an algal toxin contaminating edible shellfish, was previously shown to induce ultrastructural changes in some cardiac muscle cells of mice after acute (1 and 2mg/kg) or daily repeated oral exposure (1 and 2mg/kg/day, for 7 days). Therefore, the temporal evolution of the ultrastructural myocardial alterations and the development of other signs of toxicity induced by a repeated daily oral administration of YTX (1mg/kg/day, for 7 days) to mice were evaluated within 3 months after the treatment. Symptoms, food consumption, body weight, gross pathology and histopathology of the main organs and tissues were observed, and plasma levels of transaminases, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine and creatinine phosphokinase were measured. Heart, liver, kidneys and cerebellum were also analysed by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the blood concentration of YTX was determined by a direct enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) 24h after the last toxin administration. No mortality or other treatment-related changes, including histological or hematoclinical parameters, were recorded in mice administered with YTX. Similarly, electron microscopy did not reveal any ultrastructural alteration in the liver, kidneys, and cerebellum associated with YTX treatment. In contrast, changes in cardiac muscle cells near to the capillaries (clusters of rounded mitochondria and disorganization of myofibrils) were observed 24h after the treatment. These changes were also noted 30 days after the toxin administration, while after 90 days no differences in cardiac muscle cells between control and YTX-treated mice were observed, which indicated a recovery of the ultrastructural alterations induced by the toxin.

Effects of yessotoxin (YTX) on the skeletal muscle: an update.

Yessotoxins (YTXs) are algal toxins originally included in the diarrheic toxins. After oral intake, YTXs induce only ultra-structural changes (packages of swollen mitochondria) in cardiac cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of YTX on the other contractile striated tissue, the skeletal muscle, in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, in skeletal mouse myotubes, YTX (0.01-1.0 microM) influenced cell excitability in a concentration- and time-dependent way. In the in vivo study, transmission electron microscopy analysis did not reveal any ultrastructural alteration of skeletal muscle after acute (1 mg kg(-1)) or repeated (1 and 2mg kg(-1) day(-1), for 7 days) oral administration of YTX to mice. The observation that effects were detected in vitro but not in vivo supports the hypothesis of a low YTX bioavailability to skeletal muscle after oral intake. Therefore, the results seem to exclude a toxic effect in skeletal muscle when YTX is consumed as a food contaminant.

Short-term oral toxicity of homoyessotoxins, yessotoxin and okadaic acid in mice.

A short-term toxicity study after 7 days oral daily administration of yessotoxin (YTX; 2 mg/kg/day), homoYTX (1 mg/kg/day), 45-hydroxy-homoYTX (1 mg/kg/day) and of the main diarrhoetic shellfish toxin okadaic acid (OA; 1 mg/kg/day) was carried out in mice. Symptoms, lethality, food consumption, body and organ weights, gross pathology and histopathology of the main organs and tissues, leukocytes formula as well as plasmatic levels of transaminases, lactate dehydrogenase and creatinine phosphokinase were evaluated. Heart tissue was studied also hystochemically for the presence of apoptotic nuclei and by transmission electron microscopy. No mortality, signs of toxicity or cumulative effects were induced by the repeated oral exposure to YTXs. Only ultrastructural changes in the cardiac muscle cells near the capillaries, such as package of rounded mitochondria and alteration of the cells boundary were observed, without any increase of lactate dehydrogenase, an index of cardiac damage. OA induced diarrhoea, body weight loss, reduced food consumption, and the death of 2/5 mice after 5 days. Necroscopy and/or light microscopy analysis revealed toxic effects mainly at forestomach (ulceration and hyperplasia), liver and, indirectly to body weight loss of mice, atrophic signs in the lymphoid organs and exocrine pancreas. Electron microscopy of heart tissue showed alterations of mitochondria and fibers in myocardiocytes, although no apoptotic change was recorded.

Isolation of a murine metastatic cell line and preliminary test of sensitivity to the anti-metastasis agent NAMI-A.

We have isolated a new cell line (metGM) obtained from the spontaneous lung metastases of the mouse MCa mammary carcinoma. MetGM is a stable cell line which, after one year from its isolation, grows in vitro in suspension, forming cell aggregates, with cells that show irregular blabbing borders, active protein synthesis and convoluted nuclei and which have the capacity of invading matrigel membranes on which they give rise to a network of branching colonies. The preliminary study of the effects of the anti-metastasis ruthenium complex NAMI-A on metGM showed no direct cytotoxicity, with a mild reduction of cell proliferation, independent of the concentration of the ruthenium complex and not evident before 24 hours from treatment. A 10% DNA fragmentation was also measured on metGM cells 24 hours after challenge for 1 hour with 10(-5)M NAMI-A, suggesting that this compound is probably capable of apoptosis in a metastasis-derived cell line. Besides these effects on a limited percent of the cell population, NAMI-A changed the shape of the metGM cells and these alterations might account for the non-cytotoxic anti-metastatic properties of this innovative ruthenium complex. Thus MetGM appears to be a novel cell line suitable for the in vitro study of compounds endowed with anti-metastatic properties and for the development of new drugs with this activity.

Human neutrophils specifically interact with human monocyte-derived macrophage monolayers.

Neutrophils and macrophages express on their membrane molecules which may, in principle, interact with each other, promote specific cell to cell adhesion, affect cell function and finally, as a consequence, modulate the progression of the inflammatory process. We tested therefore if human neutrophils specifically adhere to human monocyte-derived macrophage monolayer (MDMM). Our findings show that neutrophils significantly adhere to 4-day old MDMM and that the extent of adhesion is increased by LPS-activation of MDMM. The specificity of the interaction was shown by the very low extent of adhesion of neutrophils either to freshly prepared monocyte or other types of cell monolayers and by the low percent of adhesion showed by eosinophils exposed to 7-day old MDMM. A role for beta2 integrins, CD31 and PAF-receptor in the mechanism of neutrophil-MDMM interaction is suggested by specific antagonists. We suggest that the adhesion between the two cell types could lead to an increase in concentration of neutrophil- or macrophage released factors in the interaction site and in a mutual modulation of phagocyte functions.

Subcellular localization of the small GTPase Rab5a in resting and stimulated human neutrophils.

The evidence that small GTPases of the Rab family are regulators of vesicle traffic which can influence various cell functions prompted us to investigate the potential role of one of these proteins, Rab5a, in human neutrophils. In this paper we show that a large amount of Rab5a is present in the cytosol of peripheral blood mature neutrophils. The remaining protein was found to be membrane and azurophilic granule associated. Upon neutrophil challenge with PMA for 10 min the amount of membrane-associated Rab5a was upregulated while the cytosolic content of the protein concomitantly decreased. These findings support the hypothesis that Rab5a could be involved in the mechanism of neutrophil activation by modulating the rate of endocytosis and/or vesicle fusion.

Behavior of nuclear matrix proteins during camptothecin-induced apoptosis in HL-60 human leukemia cells.

In this study we focused our attention on the behavior of four nuclear matrix proteins during the various stages of apoptosis in the HL-60 cell line exposed to the DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin. We have examined the following antigens by immunocytochemical techniques: (i) the 180-kDa nucleolar isoform of DNA topoisomerase II; (ii) a 126-kDa polypeptide of nuclear bodies; (iii) a 125-kDa protein; and (iv) a 160-kDa polypeptide which are known to be components of the matrix inner network. Indirect immunofluorescence experiments were performed to follow these nuclear matrix antigens during apoptosis. Moreover, the ultrastructural localization of both 125- and 160-kDa proteins was investigated by electron microscope immunocytochemistry with gold-conjugated secondary antibodies. While the antibody to the nucleolar isoform of DNA topoisomerase II gave a fluorescent pattern that was well-maintained until the late phases of apoptosis, the other three nuclear antigens showed marked modifications in their distribution. A common feature, particularly evident for 125- and 160-kDa proteins, was their absence from cap-shaped chromatin marginations, whereas they were present in the areas of remaining decondensed chromatin. The 126-kDa polypeptide concentrated progressively in an irregular mass at the opposite side of the crescentic caps and then broke up in fine spots. The 125- and 160-kDa proteins localized in the nucleolus and precisely within certain granules which are known to appear in the nucleolar area after camptothecin administration. These results show that, in addition to the well-known chromatin changes, nuclear organization undergoes other rearrangements during the apoptotic process.

Eosinophil peroxidase deficiency: morphological and immunocytochemical studies of the eosinophil-specific granules.

Five eosinophil peroxidase (EPO)-deficient subjects were identified from 131,000 peripheral blood samples examined for routine automated analysis. The EPO-deficient eosinophils of these subjects met the main criteria established for EPO deficiency: absent or strongly decreased reaction for peroxidase, absent or strongly decreased staining with Sudan Black, and an increased ratio of the granule core volume to the total granule volume. In this report we show that this granule alteration is caused mainly by a decrease of its volume, particularly of the matrix, and that two other matrix proteins, eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophil derived neurotoxin, appear to be present in normal amounts in the EPO-deficient granules.

Eosinophilic granuloma of the bone in Hand-Schüller-Christian disease: extensive in vivo eosinophil degranulation and subsequent binding of released eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) to other inflammatory cells.

The eosinophils from bone granuloma, bone marrow, and peripheral blood of a patient with Hand-Schüller-Christian disease (HSCD) were studied by electron microscopy and cytochemistry. Impressive eosinophil degranulation was observed. Extracellular release of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and EPO binding to surrounding cells were seen in the granuloma and bone marrow. Cells with peroxidase-positive plasma membrane were also observed in peripheral blood. The pattern of eosinophil degranulation showed quite different features from those described so far. In the granuloma, the process begins with intracytoplasmic release of the granule matrix content, as revealed by both extensive extragranular accumulation of EPO and progressive decrease of the matrix electron density. Core dissolution follows thereafter, leading to complete disappearance of the granules. At the end of the process, the cells show rupture of the plasma membrane and release of their content into the surrounding environment. This pattern of secretion was also observed in blood and marrow eosinophils of the patient. In view of the previously reported findings that EPO binding to inflammatory cells influences their functions, EPO release and binding to surrounding cells in HSCD may play a role in the evolution of the inflammatory lesion in the disease.

Uptake of human eosinophil peroxidase and myeloperoxidase by cells involved in the inflammatory process.

We have recently shown that human neutrophils bind and internalize human eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) but not myeloperoxidase (MPO). In the present work, we studied the interactions of human EPO and MPO with other cells that may be involved in the inflammatory process, i.e., lymphocytes, monocytes, platelets, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. The results indicate that EPO is bound by all the cell types considered, but is efficiently internalized only by lymphocytes, monocytes, and endothelial cells. Conversely, MPO binds appreciably only to fibroblasts and endothelial cells, although with a lower affinity than EPO, but its internalization by any of the cell types studied is hardly detectable. Furthermore, both peroxidases bind strongly to collagen fibers, whereas only EPO binds to elastin. The results suggest that EPO, owing to its high cytophilia, exerts its biological activity close to the site at which it is released from the eosinophil.

Uptake of human eosinophil peroxidase by human neutrophils.

A cytochemical analysis was carried out for study of the interaction between human eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and human neutrophils. To this end, neutrophils with a genetic deficiency of myeloperoxidase (MPO) were used to avoid the otherwise inevitable interference of the high endogenous MPO activity of normal neutrophils. The data show that human neutrophils incubated with EPO (1 GU/ml) rapidly bind the enzyme all over the cell surface and internalize it in small vesicles. Part of bound EPO concentrates in a limited area on the cell surface and is then internalized by means of coarse tubular channels. Fusion of the small vesicles to each other or possibly with the tubular channels gives rise ultimately to EPO-containing multivesicular bodies, which, after 30 minutes of incubation, are the only peroxidase-positive structures in the cytoplasm. Under identical experimental conditions, no binding of human MPO to the neutrophils was detected. At concentrations 10 times as high as those used for EPO, a minority of neutrophils bound MPO, but the binding pattern remained diffuse on the plasma membrane and the internalization was negligible. It seems, therefore, that the EPO trapping system of human neutrophils exhibits specificity at least among leukocyte peroxidases. Furthermore, it operates at much lower concentrations of EPO than those reported for EPO uptake by mast cells and basophils. The uptake of EPO by neutrophils may serve to sequester a potentially toxic agent, thus limiting damage to the tissue in eosinophil-rich inflammatory lesions.

Role of myeloperoxidase in respiratory burst of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Studies with myeloperoxidase-deficient subjects.

A comparative study of the respiratory burst [monitored as superoxide (O2-) production] of normal and myeloperoxidase (MPO) -deficient polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) was carried out on 11 MPO-deficient subjects that represent the largest sample of this kind ever studied. The rate of O2- production by isolated PMNs and whole blood from normal and MPO-deficient subjects was comparable during the initial 30-40 min of incubation with serum-treated zymosan (STZ). Afterwards, the amount of O2- produced became progressively higher in MPO-deficient cells at least until 120 min incubation with STZ. On the contrary the rate of O2- production by both cell types in response to 4-beta-phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) was the same. The PMNs of four MPO-deficient subjects were tested for their ingestion ability by counting the number of ingested particles on toluidine blue-stained sections of epoxy-embedded PMN suspensions. Both cell types ingested STZ particles at a comparable rate at early postphagocytic times, whereas on prolonged incubation MPO-deficient PMNs ingested more STZ particles than normal PMNs. These results suggest that the ingestion capacity of normal cells may undergo a more rapid deterioration than that of MPO-deficient cells during incubation with STZ. Evidence for a higher deterioration of normal PMNs with respect to MPO-deficient PMNs was obtained also from studies on the effect of storage on O2- generation. After standing at melting ice temperature for 3 h, normal PMNs produced less O2- than MPO-deficient PMNs in response to PMA, and the difference in O2- production by the two cell types in response to STZ was evident at earlier postphagocytic periods than with freshly isolated cells. Taken all together these results suggest that normal PMNs and MPO-deficient PMNs do not intrinsically differ in O2- generating potential and that the difference in the respiratory burst observed during phagocytosis may be accounted for by a more marked deterioration, in normal PMNs, of one or more functions related to the respiratory burst.

Effect of gentamicin and sisomicin on the generation of superoxide by human monocytes.

The effect of gentamicin and sisomicin on the generation of superoxide anions by human monocytes exposed to a phagocytosing stimulus, i.e. serum treated zymosan, or a soluble stimulus, i.e. 4-beta-phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, has been studied. Neither sisomicin nor gentamicin affected the superoxide production by stimulated monocytes. The data suggest that the reported variability in the response to aminoglycoside antibiotic therapy in certain clinical situations cannot be attributed to interference with monocyte oxidative burst.

A simple reliable assay for myeloperoxidase activity in mixed neutrophil-eosinophil cell suspensions: application to detection of myeloperoxidase deficiency.

Quantitation of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity by guaiacol peroxidation (GP) assay is profoundly affected by the peroxidase present in eosinophils (EPO) that contaminate the granulocyte suspensions. Inclusion of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AMT) in the GP assay permits quantitation of MPO activity in mixed neutrophil-eosinophil suspension because of the differential inhibition of EPO and MPO by AMT. Results show that: (1) the peroxidase activity of eosinophil-free granulocyte suspensions is not appreciably affected by AMT; (2) in the presence of AMT the peroxidase activities of granulocyte preparations containing different numbers of eosinophils are similar on a neutrophil basis, regardless of the number of eosinophils and correspond with the activity of eosinophil-free granulocyte suspensions; (3) AMT almost completely inhibits the activity of partially purified EPO, only slightly affecting the catalytic activity of partially purified MPO; (4) AMT completely inhibits the residual peroxidase activity of granulocyte suspensions from MPO-deficient subjects contributed by contaminating eosinophils. The GP assay in the presence of AMT was used to study the pattern of hereditary transmission of MPO deficiency. The genealogy derived on the basis of this assay was compatible with an autosomal recessive inheritance, in agreement with previously reported results, while no definite pattern of inheritance could be established by use of the GP assay without AMT. We suggest that the GP assay supplemented with AMT is the method of choice for detection of MPO deficiency, particularly partial deficiency.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia type II associated with a new type of G6PD deficiency (G6PD Gabrovizza).

A 6-year-old boy with chronic haemolytic anaemia was found to have glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and the morphological, ultrastructural and serological features of congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA) type II. The patient's mother was heterozygous for G6PD deficiency. G6PD from the patient's red cells, upon partial purification and full characterization, was found to be a new variant designated G6PD Gabrovizza. We conclude that two distinct genetic abnormalities coexisted in this patient. We suggest that CDA type II may become clinically more expressed when another abnormality of the erythrocytes coexists.

A new method for assessment of serum-induced damage to E. coli.

A simple and rapid spectrophotometric assay for the kinetic evaluation of serum-induced damage to E. coli is described, based on changes in the optical density (OD) of a bacterial suspension. Exposure of antibody-coated E. coli to human absorbed serum results in a diphasic response, namely an increase in OD, which reaches a maximum at about 17 min and is followed by a progressive decrease in OD until a minimum value is reached after 45 min. The increase and the decrease in OD are related to bacterial death and bacterial lysis, respectively.

Isolation of metabolically active endothelial cells in high yield from bovine cavernous bodies. A model for functional studies on freshly isolated microvascular endothelial cells.

Work on endothelial cells has been limited by the availability of procedures for obtaining such cells in quantities adequate for direct in vitro analysis. The present paper describes a method for the isolation of endothelial cells from bovine cavernous bodies. A number of cells ranging from 2.5 to 4 X 10(8) per animal has been obtained. The cells were identified as follows 1) presence of the "Weibel and Palade" bodies in the isolated cells, 2) "cobblestone" appearance of cell cultures, and 3) presence of factor VIII, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence assays. The cell viability at the end of the purification procedure was tested 1) by dye-exclusion tests and 2) by metabolic assays. Features of this preparation are 1) the very high yield of viable endothelial cells, 2) the absence of contamination by fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells and a very low contamination by erythrocytes and 3) the fine dispersion of the isolated cells. These properties allow functional and subcellular fractionation studies on freshly isolated endothelial cells of microvascular origin.

New approaches to the detection of myeloperoxidase deficiency.

Family studies on myeloperoxidase (MPO) deficiency have been carried out by quantitating the peroxidase activity of granulocyte preparations with three methods, namely guaiacol peroxidation, alanine decarboxylation, and spectroscopic analysis. The guaiacol assay failed to show a definite pattern of inheritance in two families with MPO-deficient subjects. Surprisingly, the granulocytes of three histochemically MPO-negative subjects had a peroxidase activity either half or even higher than that of control subjects. The peroxidase activity of these granulocyte preparations in these three subjects showed a positive correlation to the number of eosinophils. The possibility then considered was that eosinophils may have obscured the true pattern of inheritance in this assay. Two other methods of MPO assay, which are not influenced by the presence of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO), were therefore devised. One is based on the ability of MPO, but not EPO, to catalyze decarboxylation of L-alanine in the presence of Triton X-100, and the other relies on the different spectral properties of the two peroxidases. The results obtained with these two methods (1) were strictly comparable, (2) allowed detection of both totally and partially MPO-deficient subjects, (3) differed profoundly from those obtained with the guaiacol method when eosinophil-containing granulocyte preparations were used, and (4) revealed a pattern of autosomal recessive inheritance in the two families studied. The results of the three methods were comparable when eosinophil-free granulocyte preparations were assayed. It is concluded that failure to show a pattern of inheritance in some instances of primary MPO deficiency, or deviations from the autosomal recessive mode of transmission of this defect, may be attributed to interference by EPO. It is proposed that peroxidase assay methods not subject to EPO interference, such as the two described in this article, may be used, particularly in the detection of heterozygote subjects for MPO deficiency in the presence of high eosinophil counts.

Incidence of myeloperoxidase deficiency in an area of northern Italy: histochemical, biochemical and functional studies.

Forty-five subjects with a complete deficiency of myeloperoxidase were identified in an area of the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia in north-eastern Italy using the Hemalog D system as the screening technique. Histochemical and biochemical tests performed on the leucocytes of some of these subjects confirmed the defects shown by the Hemalog D system. The defect was of genetic origin in seven subjects. The genetic origin could be suspected in another eight subjects since more than two affected members were present in a given family. Eosinophil peroxidase, which is present in MPO deficient subjects, interfered with the guaiacol assay of MPO, and in several cases masked the genetic transmission. An assay was developed using o-dianisidine as the electron donor which considerably reduced the interference by EPO. With this assay an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance was found. The MPO deficient leucocytes had a higher respiratory burst than control cells and an impaired bactericidal activity, at early post-phagocytic periods, which became comparable to that of control cells at later stages. Particle ingestion by the MPO-deficient cells was normal.