Latest PUBLICATIONS

  • A gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist decreases androgen production and spermatogonial multiplication in frog (Rana esculenta): indirect evidence for the existence of GnRH or GnRH-like material receptors in the hypophysis and testis.
    Publication Date: 01/01/1988, on Endocrinology
    by Di Matteo L, Minucci S, Fasano S, Pierantoni R, Varriale B, Chieffi G
    DOI: 10.1210/endo-122-1-62

    The effects of a GnRH antagonist (GnRHA) on GnRH agonist (GnRH*)-induced androgen production and spermatogonial multiplication were studied in the frog, Rana esculenta, in vivo and in vitro. Intact and hypophysectomized (PDX) animals were kept at 22 +/- 2 C and treated with GnRH (45 ng/g BW) and GnRH* plus 1X and 10X concentrations of GnRHA on alternate days for 2 weeks. Androgen concentration in GnRH* plus GnRHA-treated animals decreased in the testis by about 50% with the 10X dose whereas the increase obtained in GnRH*-treated PDX group was completely abolished with the 1X dose. Histological sections were evaluated with respect of the mitotic index (MI) of the primary spermatogonia. Both GnRHA-treated intact and PDX frogs showed a dose-dependent MI decrease which reached 59% and 57% of control, respectively. In vitro incubations were carried out on testis halves at 15 C for 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h with the addition of 1 microgram GnRH* and 1 microgram GnRH* plus 1 or 10 micrograms GnRHA. The stimulatory effect of GnRH* and the inhibitory effect of GnRHA were apparent within 2 h. The basal mitogenic activity was affected by antagonist treatment and the inhibitory effect on the MI was evident within 2-4 h in the 10X-treated groups or within 6-8 h in the 1X treated groups. Since GnRH* and GnRHA bind to the same receptor these data strongly indicate that the effects of putative GnRH-like materials in the frog, Rana esculenta, are mediated throughout stereospecific recognition sites in both pituitary and testis.

  • Mixed transcortical aphasia. On relative sparing of phonological short-term store in a case.
    Publication Date: 01/01/1988, on Neuropsychologia
    by Trojano L, Fragassi NA, Postiglione A, Grossi D
    DOI:

    A case of Mixed Transcortical Aphasia is reported. The patient showed completely impaired verbal comprehension and speech production, with preservation of automatic speaking and singing; repetition was relatively spared. A detailed study of word and nonword repetition is reported, in order to demonstrate that the patient's residual repetition ability is based on relative sparing of short-term phonological store.

  • Fat body involvement in vitellogenin fate in the green frog, Rana esculenta.
    Publication Date: 01/01/1988, on Comparative biochemistry and physiology. A, Comparative physiology
    by Varriale B, Di Matteo L, Minucci S, Pierantoni R, Chieffi G
    DOI:

    1. Since, in Rana esculenta, fat bodies contain vitellogenin, the present study was performed in order to determine whether or not fat bodies are involved in the fate of vitellogenin. 2. The experiment of November shows that fat body excision provokes plasma vitellogenin increase even in animals treated with estradion-17 beta + pituitary crude homogenate (as compared with relative control). The same picture has been shown in the April experiment. 3. The result on protein-bound phosphate in ovaries from the April experiment has shown that fat body extirpation causes a decrease of protein-bound phosphate in the ovary. 4. This results indicates that fat bodies play an important role in sequestrating circulating vitellogenin by the ovary.

  • Annual testicular activity in the gray partridge (Perdix perdix L.).
    Publication Date: 01/10/1987, on General and comparative endocrinology
    by Fraissinet M, Varriale B, Pierantoni R, Caliendo MF, Di Matteo L, Bottoni L, Milone M
    DOI:

    Seasonal changes in plasma androgens, testicular total protein content, gonosomatic index, and spermatogenic activity were studied in the grey partridge, Perdix perdix. Moreover, testicular androgen output after stimulation with ovine LH (oLH) was tested in vitro during different periods of the sexual cycle. Androgens and the gonosomatic index peaked in April, during which all the spermatogenic stages were observed. Total protein content in the testes was highest in January and March. Gonadal responsiveness to oLH was found to increase in the period April-May in coincidence with the hormone peak in the plasma, while February testes were irresponsive.

  • Occurrence and sequence complexity of polyadenylated RNA in squid axoplasm.
    Publication Date: 01/09/1987, on Journal of neurochemistry
    by Capano CP, Giuditta A, Castigli E, Kaplan BB
    DOI:

    Axoplasmic RNA from the giant axon of the squid (Loligo pealii) comprises polyadenylated [poly (A)+] RNA, as judged, in part, by hybridization to [3H]polyuridine and by in situ hybridization analyses using the same probe. The polyadenylate content of axoplasm (0.24 ng/microgram of total RNA) suggests that the poly(A)+ RNA population makes up approximately 0.4% of total axoplasmic RNA. Axoplasmic poly(A)+ RNA can serve as a template for the synthesis of cDNA using a reverse transcriptase and oligo(deoxythymidine) as primer. The size of the cDNA synthesized is heterogeneous, with most fragments greater than 450 nucleotides. The hybridization of axoplasmic cDNA to its template RNA reveals two major kinetic classes: a rapidly hybridizing component (abundant sequences) and a slower-reacting component (moderately abundant and rare sequences). The latter component accounts for approximately 56% of the total cDNA mass. The rapidly and slowly hybridizing kinetic components have a sequence complexity of approximately 2.7 kilobases and 3.1 X 10(2) kilobases, respectively. The diversity of the abundant and rare RNA classes is sufficient to code for one to two and 205, respectively, different poly(A)+ RNAs averaging 1,500 nucleotides in length. Overall, the sequence complexity of axoplasmic poly(A)+ RNA represents approximately 0.4% that of poly(A)+ mRNA of the optic lobe, a complex neural tissue used as a standard. Taken together, these findings indicate that the squid giant axon contains a heterogeneous population of poly(A)+ RNAs.

  • Seasonal plasma and intraovarian sex steroid profiles, and influence of temperature on gonadotropin stimulation of in vitro estradiol-17 beta and progesterone production, in Rana esculenta (Amphibia: Anura).
    Publication Date: 01/08/1987, on General and comparative endocrinology
    by Pierantoni R, Varriale B, Fasano S, Minucci S, Di Matteo L, Chieffi G
    DOI:

    Seasonal plasma and intraovarian estradiol-17 beta (E) and progesterone (P) fluctuations were studied by specific radioimmunoassay in the frog, Rana esculenta. Moreover, incubations of ovine-luteinizing hormone (oLH)-stimulated ovarian pieces at two different temperatures (15 and 24 degrees) have been carried out in order to evaluate the dependence of E and P output on this exogenous factor. Estradiol showed similar changes in plasma and ovaries, while P profile was better evidenced in the gonads since this hormone fluctuated in plasma, giving pulses of difficult interpretation. A shift from E to P production by the ovary near the ovulatory period (February-March) was noted. In vitro experiments were carried out using approximately equal-sized ovarian fragments containing follicles ranging from 0.7 to 1 mm and classified as early vitellogenic. High temperature induced oLH-stimulated P production within 6 h, while E increased after 24 h concomitantly with a P decline. At 15 degrees the stimulatory effect of oLH was achieved only on E output in the incubation medium after 24 h. In conclusion, our results in the frog, R. esculenta, show that E and P intervene at peak values separately during the annual cycle and that the temperature has an important role in the regulation of the steroid hormone-releasing activity.

  • Phenotype heterogeneity among hemizygotes in a family biochemically screened for adrenoleukodystrophy.
    Publication Date: 01/04/1987, on American journal of medical genetics
    by Cotrufo R, Melone MA, Monsurro MR, Di Iorio G, Carella C, Moser HW
    DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.1320260410

    We report on two clinically, neurologically normal relatives of a boy affected by adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD); they were found repeatedly to have the biochemical defect of an ALD hemizygote. The assay consisted in the determination of very-long-chain fatty acids in lyophilized and reconstituted plasma. While no evidence of neurologic disease (leukodystrophy or myeloneuropathy) was present in these hemizygotes, adrenocortical insufficiency provoking compensatory high ACTH release was found in both. These findings should be taken into consideration when counseling families in which cases with clinically expressed ALD are represented in several generations.

  • Acetylcholinesterase in neuroblastoma and neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells: cellular localization and molecular forms.
    Publication Date: 01/01/1987, on International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience
    by Melone MA, Longo A, Taddei C, Augusti-Tocco G
    DOI:

    The cellular localization of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was investigated at the electron microscope (E.M.) in a neuroblastoma and neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid line, which differ for their ability to establish synaptic contacts. Only cells of the latter line show association of AChE to the plasmamembrane, while in the former the activity is mainly intracellular. Sucrose sedimentation analysis of AChE molecular forms has shown no significant differences in the distribution of the two forms, G2 and G4, between the two cell lines. On the contrary a marked difference is observed in the ability of the cell to release the enzyme in the culture medium. In fact the cells lacking AChE on their surface release in the medium a much higher proportion of their enzyme, than the cells showing AChE association to their plamamembrane. The possible role of two alternative fates for AChE, secretion or membrane insertion, in determining the observed differences of enzyme localization is discussed.

  • Regulation of androgen production by frog (Rana esculenta) testis: an in vitro study on the effects exerted by estradiol, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, testosterone, melatonin, and serotonin.
    Publication Date: 01/12/1986, on General and comparative endocrinology
    by Pierantoni R, Varriale B, Minucci S, Di Matteo L, Fasano S, D'Antonio M, Chieffi G
    DOI:

    The possible role of estradiol-17 beta (E2), testosterone (T), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), melatonin, and serotonin on the regulation of androgen (A) production by the frog, Rana esculenta, testes was studied in vitro. E2 (10(-6) M) inhibited A production whether alone or in combination with oLH (20 micrograms) after 6 hr incubation. After 24 hr incubation. A production was reduced by E2 concentration of around 10(-6) and 10(-9) M. Melatonin and serotonin did not induce any change whichever experimental condition was used. Preincubation for 6 hr with 10(-6) M T or DHT enhanced the oLH-stimulated A production after 18 hr incubation. These data suggest that steroids may regulate their intratesticular levels without passing into the blood stream.

  • Plasma and testicular estradiol and plasma androgen profile in the male frog Rana esculenta during the annual cycle.
    Publication Date: 01/12/1986, on General and comparative endocrinology
    by Varriale B, Pierantoni R, Di Matteo L, Minucci S, Fasano S, D'Antonio M, Chieffi G
    DOI:

    Seasonal plasma and testicular estradiol levels were measured in the male frogs, Rana esculenta, by radioimmunoassay. In plasma samples a simultaneous measurement of androgens was carried out in order to investigate a possible relationship between androgens and estradiol-17 beta. Concomitantly with the estradiol-17 beta peak in plasma and testes during the April-May period, plasma androgens sharply decreased.

  • Synthesis of rat brain DNA during acquisition of an appetitive task.
    Publication Date: 01/09/1986, on Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior
    by Giuditta A, Perrone Capano C, D'Onofrio G, Toniatti C, Menna T, Hyden H
    DOI:

    We have examined the incorporation of [3H-methyl]thymidine into DNA extracted from several brain regions of rats learning a reverse handedness task, of control rats allowed to use their preferred paw, and of control rats left in their home cages. In learning animals, decrements in percent incorporation were observed in the visual cortex, remaining brain, hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. In the latter two regions less marked decreases were present in the active control group. No variation occurred in the sensory-motor cortex. In learning rats the specific radioactivity of neuronal DNA was markedly decreased in the hippocampus and remaining brain. In the former region, a less marked decrease was present in active control rats. In subcellular fractionation studies it was observed that decreases in DNA specific radioactivity prevailed in the mitochondrial fraction isolated from the hippocampus and visual cortex of learning rats. Brain radioactive DNA was widely distributed among fractions differing in their degree of repetitiveness. Its pattern of distribution did not coincide with that of bulk DNA and differed significantly among behavioural groups. The results suggest a non random origin of newly-synthesized brain DNA and its involvement in learning.

  • In vivo and in vitro stimulatory effect of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (HOE 766) on spermatogonial multiplication in the frog, Rana esculenta.
    Publication Date: 01/08/1986, on Endocrinology
    by Minucci S, Di Matteo L, Pierantoni R, Varriale B, Rastogi RK, Chieffi G
    DOI: 10.1210/endo-119-2-731

    The effects of a GnRH analog (GnRHA), D-Ser-t-Bu6,desGly-NH2(10) (HOE 766) on spermatogenesis were analyzed in the frog, Rana esculenta. Intact animals caught at two different periods of the year (January and March) were treated with HOE 766 (GnRHA, 45 ng/g BW) at low (4 +/- 1 C) and high (22 +/- 2 C) temperatures. Hypophysectomized frogs were used also and, in addition to GnRHA, these animals were treated with crude pars distalis homogenate. In vitro incubations were carried out at 15 C, for 0, 6, and 24 h with the addition of 1 microgram GnRHA. Half of each testis was used as the untreated control. Histological sections of the testes were analyzed for the evaluation of the mitotic index of the primary spermatogonia. Intact March animals had mitotic indices higher than January animals. GnRHA treatment elicited an increase of the mitotic index in both intact and hypophysectomized animals. High temperature potentiated the GnRHA effect while low temperature favored pars distalis treatment. In conclusion, the present results are consistent with the fact that in the frog, R. esculenta, the magnitude of spermatogonial proliferation is temperature dependent, and for the first time it is shown that GnRH-like substances have direct stimulatory effect on the mitotic activity of the primary spermatogonia in a vertebrate.

  • [Unusual histo-cytopathologic findings in a familial case of stiff spine syndrome].
    Publication Date: 01/08/1986, on Acta neurologica
    by Di iorio G, Lus G, De Cristofaro M, Cutillo C, Cecio A, Corona M, Guastafierro VF, Cotrufo R
    DOI:

  • Complexity of nuclear and polysomal RNA from squid optic lobe and gill.
    Publication Date: 01/05/1986, on Journal of neurochemistry
    by Capano CP, Gioio AE, Giuditta A, Kaplan BB
    DOI:

    The sequence complexity of nuclear and polysomal RNA from squid optic lobe and gill was measured by RNA-driven hybridization reactions with single-copy [3H]DNA. At saturation, brain nuclear and polysomal RNAs were complementary to 22.8 and 7.9% of the DNA probe, respectively. Assuming asymmetric transcription, the complexity of nuclear and polysomal RNA was equivalent to 2.5 X 10(8) and 8.8 X 10(7) nucleotides, respectively. Approximately 80-85% of the sequence complexity of brain total polysomal RNA was found in the polyadenylated RNA fraction. In contrast to these findings, nuclear and polysomal RNAs from gill hybridized to 9.1 and 2.9%, respectively, of the single-copy DNA, values that were 2.5-fold lower than those obtained in the CNS. Taken together, the results focus attention on the striking diversity of gene expression in the squid CNS and extend to the cephalopod mollusks the observation that nervous tissue expresses significantly more genetic information than other somatic tissues or organs.

  • Plasma sex hormone profile in Gentile di Puglia ewes during the estrus cycle.
    Publication Date: 01/02/1986, on Journal of endocrinological investigation
    by Dell'Aquila S, Varriale B, Alberico G, Crasto A, Pelosi A, Pierantoni R
    DOI: 10.1007/BF03348071

    The profiles of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), and androstenedione (A), have been studied for the first time in cyclic Gentile di Puglia ewes. Estradiol peaks at estrus whereas progesterone levels are high during the luteal phase. Androstenedione does not show meaningful cyclic fluctuation. All hormones examined show also a pulsatile pattern when plasma was collected hourly.