Jejunal response to beta-lactoglobulin in infants with cow's milk allergy.

Weaning is a transient period of life during which maternal proteins are replaced by foreign proteins. Concomitantly, in early postnatal life, both digestive and immune systems undergo a maturation process. Allergy to cow's milk protein may develop in human infants during weaning, determining digestive, respiratory, cutaneous or systemic symptoms. We studied the intestinal response to bovine milk beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) in infants with cow's milk allergy, first during the active phase, and then during the symptom-free stage. During the active phase, transepithelial transport of the beta-LG across the intestinal epithelial layer stimulated the sensitized subepithelial immune cells. This stimulation induced a rise in short-circuit current suggestive of an electrogenic chloride secretion and impaired protein handling by the epithelium. These findings underline the dual role of the epithelial layer in intestinal function: on one hand, it takes an active part in allowing dietary antigens to stimulate the submucosal system, and on the other hand becomes the target for mediators involved in food allergy.

Dysgerminoma in a pure 45,X Turner syndrome: report of a case and review of the literature.

There is a high risk of neoplasm in dysgenetic gonads. Classically, in Turner syndrome, only patients with 45, X/46, XY mosaicism karyotype or with a fragment of Y chromosome (45, X+mar) are at risk of developing gonadal tumor. A case of a dysgerminoma arisen on the dysgenetic gonad of a 45, X Turner patient in the absence of Y chromosome material at cytogenetic and molecular biology analysis is reported. Five cases of gonadal tumor with a pure 45, X chromosome constitution have been previously reported in the literature. In these cases only cytogenetic analysis was performed. This is the first case of an ovarian tumor in a 45, X Turner syndrome in which the presence of Y material can be ruled out by an extensive molecular analysis of the blood and the tumor.

Immunohistochemical detection of cell proliferation in gastric carcinomas with the monoclonal antibody Ki-67. A study of 24 cases.

The proliferative activity in 24 gastric carcinomas was determined by an immunohistochemical method using monoclonal antibody Ki-67 (ABC method). Immunostained nuclei were counted by two observers through a Nachet NS 1000 image numeriser. Three grades were defined according to stained nuclei percentage (proliferation index Pi = percentage of cells engaged in cellular cycle outside Go): grade 1 (Pi < 20%); grade 2 (20% < Pi < 40%); grade 3 (Pi > 40%). About 60% of tumours were in grade 1 and 10% in grade 3. No correlations were observed between Pi and the following parameters: histological differentiation; parietal extension; presence or absence of metastasis. These results may be compared to the two other available studies of Ki-67 antibody in gastric cancers. Our study also showed a heterogeneous distribution of immunostained nuclei, within each single tumour and from one tumour to another, which has been noted in one previous study and in a similar one we made on colorectal carcinoma. This heterogeneity is the consequence of the variability of carcinomatous cell proliferative activity; an important biological factor in the evaluation of tumoral process. The proliferative activity in gastric carcinomas provides an estimation of tumour dynamics that might be a prospective criterium for tumoral process evaluation.