Biological markers as indicators of exposure and pneumoconiotic risk: Prospective study

This research is designed to evaluate a number of biological markers to estimate harmful exposure on coal miners from different mining regions in France and to relate the outcome to differences in prevalence of coal worker pneumoconiosis (CWP) between these regions. Eight epidemiological groups of active and ex-miners (smokers and non-smokers) have been selected in the French collieries (North, Lorraine and Provence) according to their occupational and pneumoconiotic status. The following biomarkers have been evaluated: cellularity of sputum, elementary analysis of particles in TEM/EDAX, plasma neutral metalloendo peptidase elastase type (NMEP), leucocyte elastase (HLE), fibronectin (FN) and elastin peptides. Pulmonary alveolitis, expressed by sputum cellularity, is different between active workers groups but not related to the general background of pneumoconiosis prevalence in the French collieries. In the plasma parameters, fibronectin, HLE and NMEP significantly increased in all groups of coal mine workers as compared to the control group, except for fibronectin parameter in Lorraine collierie. The degree of increase of these parameters allow us to discriminate the different groups and suggest that plasma FN, HLE and NMEP may be considered as biological markers of chronic inhalation of coal mine dust particles. The decrease of elastin peptides level in the Lorraine group alone suggests a specific alteration of elastin metabolism. These parameters were not related to the development of pneumoconiosis and its degree of severity.     

纤维连接蛋白在膀胱癌丝裂霉素化疗药物耐受中的作用

目的 :探讨纤维连接蛋白 (FN)在膀胱癌化疗药物耐受中的作用。方法 :将T2 4膀胱肿瘤细胞分别接种于包被FN、牛血清蛋白 (BSA)的培养板上孵育 2 4h ,加入不同浓度的丝裂霉素C(MMC)作用 2h ,用MTT比色法检测作用后不同时间肿瘤细胞的存活率 ,用ANNEXINⅤ流式细胞分析仪检测不同时间肿瘤细胞的凋亡率。结果 :FN黏附的膀胱肿瘤细胞在不同浓度MMC作用 2h、12h和 2 4h后的平均存活率为 6 8.3%、4 5 .7%及 5 9.1% ,与BSA黏附的膀胱肿瘤细胞平均存活率 4 5 .0 %、2 1.3%、2 6 .6 %比较 ,差异有统计学意义 (P <0 .0 5 )。FN黏附的膀胱肿瘤细胞在不同浓度MMC作用 2h和 12h后平均凋亡率分别为 1.4 %和 1.0 % ,而BSA组的细胞平均凋亡率为4 .9%和 8.2 % ,两组比较差异有统计学意义 (P <0 .0 1)。结论 :与FN黏附后的膀胱肿瘤细胞对化疗药物MMC的敏感性下降 ,细胞存活率增高 ;FN能抑制MMC引起的膀胱肿瘤细胞凋亡 ,产生药物耐受。     

纤维连接蛋白与动脉粥样硬化的关系

炎症机制在动脉粥样硬化斑块的发生、发展中扮演了重要角色。近年来,不断有研究证实前炎性因子纤维连接蛋白(fibronectin,Fn)密切参与了此过程,并与急性冠状动脉综合征的发生有着极强的关联性。本文就Fn与急性冠状动脉综合征的关系及其应用前景进行综述。     

Proteases and antiproteases related to the coagulation system in plasma and ascites — An approach to differentiate between malignant and cirrhotic ascites

Summary The concentrations of several proteases and antiproteases known to be present in ascites were tested in plasma and ascitic fluid with regard to their ability to separate ascites according to malignant or nonmalignant disease. Seventeen patients with proven malignant ascites and 37 with ascites due to liver cirrhosis were included. Activities of plasminogen, ₂-antiplasmin, antithrombin-III, and factor V, and the concentration of ₁-protease inhibitor were significantly higher in the plasma of patients with malignant ascites than in cirrhotic patients. Fibronectin, plasminogen, ₂-macroglobulin, ₁-protease inhibitor, antithrombin-III, and albumin revealed higher concentrations or activities in malignant ascites than in cirrhotic ascites. Due to a wide variation of most parameters, only fibronectin, antithrombin III, and ₁-protease inhibitor in ascites had a sensitivity and specificity higher than 90% for malignant ascites. When the specific protein/albumin ratio was used, only the accuracy of fibronectin was increased reaching a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. The plasma/ascites gradients of the proteins assessed differed significantly, that of fibronectin being much higher (22±7) than that of all other proteins. In malignant ascites fibronectin concentration was only correlated with ₁-protease inhibitor concentration but not with the concentration or activity of all other proteins, while in cirrhotic ascites most proteins revealed a positive correlation.The determination of the fibronectin concentration or the fibronectin/albumin ratio in ascites can differentiate malignant and nonmalignant ascites. All other proteases and antiproteases assessed are of lesser value for this purpose, although most are significantly increased in ascites and plasma of patients with malignant disorders.Abbreviations ₂AP ₂-Antiplasmin - ₁PI ₁-Protease inhibitor - AT III Antithrombin III - FDP Fibrin(ogen) degradation products - FM Fibrin monomers - ₂MG ₂-Macroglobulin - PTT Partial thromboplastin time - RT Reptilase time     

NIH 3T3细胞转化前后细胞骨架及细胞表面纤维粘连蛋白的免疫荧光观察

本实验用抗纤维粘连蛋白(FN)亲和层析纯抗体和抗管蛋白抗体及鬼笔环肽,以免疫荧光组织化学方法,对NIH3T3细胞转染人肺腺癌细胞系AGZY基因组DNA前后细胞表面FN及细胞内骨架系统进行染色观察。结果表明,细胞在发生转化后,微丝及微管均表现出明显受损,细胞骨架结构不清,呈现为弥散样荧光;细胞表面FN大量减少,仅及正常NIH3T3细胞的1/9,其分布也由细丝形成的网状,变成斑点或斑块状。这一结果进一步证实,细胞恶变是涉及到细胞骨架系统及膜表面糖蛋白变化的复杂过程,并预示这些变化可能就是导致细胞形态发生变化、细胞失去正常生长调控的原因之一。     

消化道癌症患者血浆纤维连接蛋白的变化及其与微血管的关系

分析27例消化道癌症患者(其中胃癌18例,食道癌与结肠癌9例)和6例胃溃疡病人的血浆纤维连接蛋白(Fn)的变化。结果发现三者间无明显差异(P>0.05),但胃癌病人中有转移病灶者(n=7)及伴胃炎者(n=10)与相应对照组比,血浆Fn有非常明显降低(p<0.01)。胃癌组织中Fn免疫荧光主要集中在胃癌病人胃壁组织多形核白细胞浸润的炎症区及微血管周围,癌变区Fn免疫荧光很弱,甚至消失。对上述变化的意义进行了讨论。     

细胞因子调节对纤连蛋白在孕早期小鼠子宫内膜表达的研究

目的:通过研究细胞因子对FN表达的调节,探讨FN在围着床期子宫内膜表达的调节机理。方法:给孕早期小鼠注射不同的细胞因子,收集子宫内膜。分别用Immuno-blot法及RT-PCR法测定子宫内膜FN蛋白和nRNA的水平。结果:LIF低、高剂量组的FNmRNA和蛋白水平都比对照组高,统计分析差异有显著性（P<0.05,P<0.01）,IL-1和IL-1ra各组FN水平与对照组比无显著差异。结论:LIF在转录和转录后水平上调早期子宫内膜FN的表达,LIF参与着床与调节粘附分子的表达有关。IL-1系统则不影响子宫内膜FN的合成。     

Distribution of collagens and fibronectin in the subepicardium during avian cardiac development

Summary The development of the layer of connective tissue between ventricular epicardium and myocardium was studied during chick morphogenesis using electron microscopy, light microscopy and immunohistochemical techniques. This layer, called the subepicardium, increases rapidly in volume from embryonic day 6 to 11 (E6–E11) during mesenchymal cell invasion. Fibrous, matrix components are initially apparent at E11 to E16, and as fibrous connective tissue structures accumulate, subepicardial volume decreases. Antibody labeling shows that fibronectin is an early, prominent constituent of the subepicardium, and by E8, the subepicardium is the cardiac site most enriched in fibronectin. Collagen type III is present in circumferentially-oriented fibers at E8. During subsequent cardiac growth, collagen type III fibers become broadly distributed in the subepicardium, with some fibers appearing to attach myocardium to epicardium. Collagen type I fibers are not apparent until E10. At E12 collagen type I fibers are distributed circumferentially around the heart in bundles crimped into waves of low amplitude. Other collagen type I fibers are oriented radially in the subepicardium. During late cardiac morphogenesis and in fully-differentiated hearts, fibronectin and collagen types I and III are more concentrated in the subepicardium than within the myocardium. These observations suggest that the composition and organization of the subepicardial connective tissue may make important contributions to cardiac mechanics from the latter half of embryonic development through adulthood.     

TPA-induced cohort migration of well-differentiated human rectal adenocarcinoma cells: cells move in a RGD-dependent manner on fibronectin produced by cells, and phosphorylation of E-cadherin/catenin complex is induced independently of cell-extracellular matrix interactions

 We have already presented a two-dimensional cell motility assay using a highly metastatic variant (L-10) of human rectal adenocarcinoma cell line RCM-1 as a motility model of tumour cells of epithelial origin. In this model, L-10 cells showed locomotion as a coherent sheet when stimulated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), and we called this type of movement ”cohort migration”. Electron and immunoelectron microscopic study of the migrating cell sheets demonstrated localized release from cell–cell adhesion only at the lower portion of the cells with loss of E-cadherin immunoreactivity, and this change was associated with increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the E-cadherin–catenin complex, including β-catenin. Cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions involved in this TPA-induced cohort migration and their effect on tyrosine phosphorylation of the E-cadherin-catenin complex have now been investigated. L-10 cell cohort migration was almost completely inhibited by addition of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide into the medium, and thus RGD dependent. Cohort migration was stimulated on type I and IV collagens, fibronectin (FN)- and laminin-coated substratum, but was inhibited by RGD only on FN-coated surface. By using immunofluorescent techniques, FN was demonstrated preferentially around migrating cells, and a protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, inhibited the migration by about 75%. FN produced by L-10 cells were found to be mostly EDA+ FN when analysed by RT-PCR. Moreover, anti-FN antibody, but not anti-vitronectin antibody, inhibited the TPA-induced cohort migration almost completely. Thus, it was likely that L-10 cells produced FN themselves and moved on the FN substrate in an RGD-dependent manner. However, stimulation of migration by type I collagen coating and inhibition by RGD treatment did not affect the tyrosine phosphorylation of the E-cadherin–catenin complex induced by TPA, indicating that cell–cell interactions were adjusted to suit cell migration, irrespective of the condition of cell–ECM adhesion, during TPA-induced cohort migration. Received: 31 December 1997 / Accepted: 2 April 1998     

Evidence for the involvement of receptors for fibronectin in the promotion of chick tail segmentation

Summary In the chick embryo the paraxial mesoderm forms about 50–53 pairs of somites, the precise number depending on the extent to which segmentation proceeds along the tail. However, the terminal mesoderm of the tail fails to segment despite the fact that it appears to contain a reservoir of potential somites. Why does this mesoderm not segment? Some clues can be obtained by comparing this non-segmenting region with the segmental plate in the trunk. We and others have shown that in the trunk region of the chick, cell adhesion plays a major role in somitogenesis and that this increased cell adhesion is associated with compaction of segments of mesoderm immediately prior to segmentation. This compaction can be brought about prematurely by fibronectin and by the specific adhesion peptide GRGDS. The terminal mesoderm in the tail resembles the segmental plate mesoderm in the trunk in undergoing compaction in response to fibronectin and GRGDS. The tail mesoderm differs from the segmental plate mesoderm in that it can also respond to peptides closely related to GRGDS. The response suggests that, whereas the integrin receptors for fibronectin and GRGDS appear to be specific in the presomitic trunk mesoderm, responding only to the specific adhesion-peptide GRGDS, the tail mesoderm may contain more heterogeneous sets of receptors within the integrin/VLA family that respond to a wider variety of ligands. Coincident with these differences is the phenomenon of regional cell death in the tail bud mesoderm. All of these factors are thought to play a role in the extent of segmentation in the paraxial mesoderm of the embryonic chick.