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Antigene prostatico specifico: determinazione con un sistema completamente automatizzato (sistema Architect) e suo significato clinico-diagnostico

Vincenzo Macchia*, Roberto Pedicini, Angelina Di Carlo, Angela Mariano
**Cattedra di Patologia clinica, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli

Biochimica Clinica: 2001; 25(4): 313-318 [Article in italian]

ABSTRACT. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a valuable serum marker for diagnosis and monitoring of prostate cancer. Recently different forms of serum PSA (free and complexed) have been identified and the ratio of free to total PSA has been reported to be significantly lower in prostate cancer than in benign prostatic hypertrophy. Furthermore some reports indicated that PSA is produced also by female breast and that women with breast carcinomas have higher serum PSA level than normal women. The aim of our study is to assess the analytical performances of the new automatic system (Architect) from Abbott for total and free PSA. Therefore serum from normal males, from normal women, from males with prostatic diseases, cytosol from human pathological prostatic tissues and medium of cell line cultures (LNCaP) producing PSA were tested. Our results indicate that: 1) this new system from Abbott is reliable, reproducible and very sensible, 2) in serum of men with pathological prostate total and free PSA levels correspond to the clinical states of subjects and 3) the new system permits to measure PSA also in other biological materials such as the cytosol of prostatic tissues and the medium of cultured cells (LNCaP) producing PSA.

Uso di colture di neuroblastoma in studi di neurotossicità

Emanuele Cacci*, Paola Bonsi, Gabriella Augusti-Tocco, Stefano Biagioni
*Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e dello Sviluppo, Università "La Sapienza" - Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5- 00185 Roma
(Preparato per conto del Gruppo di Studio 04 "Colture Cellulari in Biochimica Clinica": coordinatore prof.ssa Vanna Chigorno)

Biochimica Clinica: 2001; 25(4): 319-326 [Article in italian]

ABSTRACT. The aim of this review is to point out some of the most important advantages deriving from the use of cell cultures as experimental model in toxicological studies. At the same time we indicate the limits of the experimental model and the strategies which allow to overcome them. The most widely used methods to evaluate citotoxic effects of a given substance are also described. The action of molecules such as aflatoxin B1, the gp120 envelope protein of HIV, and antiblasic drugs on neuroblastoma cell lines are described as examples of studies to evaluate the neurotoxicity of a given substance and to shed light on the mechanism underlying the toxic actions.

Dosage de l'hémoglobine glyquée et surveillance du diabète en Afrique noire

P.A. DIOP*, D. HAUDRECHY, M.BADIANE, P. LOPEZ-SALL, M. NIANG-SYLLA, M.F. DEKANDJ-BBAIDEDJI, M. GUEYE,A CISSE
*Laboratoire de Biochimie Pharmaceutique - Faculté de Médecine Pharmacie et Odonto - Stomatologie - Université de Dakar (Sénégal)

Biochimica Clinica: 2001; 25(4): 327-330 [Article in franch]

ABSTRACT. Dans un hôpital de Dakar, capitale d'un pays sous-développé, nous avons suivi 76 diabétiques dont 69 adultes et 7 enfants; 44femmes et 32 hommes. Ils sont répartis en 21 DID (Diabète Insulino Dépendant) et 55 DNID (Diabète Non Insulino Dépendant). Les déterminations de l'HbA1c, complétées avec les autre paramčètres de surveillance, montrent une perturbation de l'équilibre glucidique chez tous les patients, puisque les taux de HbA1c sont élevés avec des valeurs extrêmes comprises entre 9,43 et 21,33% (la valeur normale est inférieure à 7,2%). Pour les DID, l'augmentation de HbA1c est fortement corrélée à celle de la glycémie, tandis que cette corrélation n'est observée qu'au delà d'une glycémie de 3g /l. Pour une dizaine de malades hospitalisés à plusieurs reprises, la détermination de l'HbA1c montre tout son intérêt en tant que marqueur rétrospectif et cumulatif dans le suivi de l'équilibre du diabète. Quand on sait que les populations pauvres sont très réfractaires au régime alimentaire hypoglycémique et ont tendance à tricher; le taux de l'HbA1c reste importante pour le clinicien africain.

Assessment of the utility of aldolase determination in serum by monitoring patient outcomes

Robert C. Hawkins
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore (e-mail: Robert_Hawkins@ttsh.gov.sg)

Biochimica Clinica: 2001; 25(4): 331-335 [Article in english]

ABSTRACT. Serum aldolase (ALD) determination can be of some clinical interest in diseases of skeletal muscle. This study examined the pattern of ALD requesting in a general hospital and assessed the clinical utility of ALD activity measurement through examination of laboratory records, request forms, and case notes. Details of all serum ALD requests between December 1999 and October 2000 received by the laboratory at a 1200-bed hospital were extracted from the Laboratory Information System. The request forms from 100 random ALD requests were also inspected for clinical details. Clinical notes on 28 cases with increased ALD but normal creatine kinase (CK) activity results were inspected to see the effect of ALD measurement on patient outcome. Of the 600 ALD requests in 10 months, rheumatology/immunology was the most frequent requester (32%). Dermatomyositis/polymyositis, infections, and systemic lupus erhytematosus were the commonest indications on request forms. All ALD requests were accompanied with a simultaneous CK request. There was a moderate concordance between CK and ALD results (Kappa value, 0.46; 95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.53). In cases with increased ALD and normal CK activity, suspected muscle disease was the main reason for ALD measurement (86% of cases). There was no evidence that the increased ALD results led to any change in the further clinical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment of any patient with non-elevated CK activity. Thus, ALD, in addition to CK measurement, appears to be of no clinical benefit. With the ready availability of CK measurement, it is questionable whether modern clinical laboratories should continue to offer ALD measurement at all.

La formazione di macro-complessi e la presenza di varianti catalitiche non sono cause frequenti per elevati valori di colinesterasi del siero

Ilenia Infusino*, Anna Pagani, Paola Luraschi, Carlo Franzini
*Università degli Studi di Milano, Istituto di Scienze Biomediche Ospedale L. Sacco

Biochimica Clinica: 2001; 25(4): 336-340 [Article in italian]

ABSTRACT. No physiopathological causes for increased serum cholinesterase (ChE) activity are known; with the exception of very rare cases of variants associated with elevated serum enzyme actvity. However, such a serum enzyme activity is elevated beyond the upper reference limit in a small but significant percentage of sera. In search for possible causes for such increases, we planned to investigate the possible occurrence of either macro-forms or variant catalyic forms of the enzyme in human sera. Screening for macro-forms occurrence was performed by a precipitation procedure with two selected concentrations of polyethylenglycol (PEG, 90 and 120 g/L) on 600 sera including 255 samples with elevated ChE activity. Possible occurrence of variant catalytic forms was screened by measuring the Km of the enzyme for the substrate butyrylthiocholine in 200 sera including 100 samples with elevated activity. In neither case such screenings were positive, i.e. neither the formation of macro-enzyme nor the occurrence of catalytic variant was found to be responsible for elevated serum ChE activity. In contrast with other serum anzymes ChE seems to form macro-enzyme on very rare, if any, occasions.

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