Clinical and radiological presentation of parasellar ectopic pituitary adenomas: case series and systematic review of the literature.

PURPOSE: Parasellar ectopic pituitary adenomas (pEPAs) are extremely rare tumors located out of the sella turcica. PEPAs are heterogeneous entities in terms of anatomical localization and secretion of anterior pituitary hormones. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study. Clinical charts' consultation of patients diagnosed with parasellar lesions, to identify all subjects fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of parasellar EPAs. Systematic review of the literature focused on the medical management of prolactin-secreting pEPAs and on the prevalence of radiological bone invasion in pEPAs. RESULTS: We identified four cases of pEPAs: (1) 54-year-old female with a prolactin-secreting suprasellar EPA successfully treated with cabergoline; (2) 74-year-old male with a non-functioning EPA of the sphenoidal sinus treated with endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery; (3) 75-year-old female with a giant lesion of the skull base (maximum diameter 7.2 cm) diagnosed as a non-functioning EPA after biopsy; (4) 49-year-old male with a silent corticotroph EPA of the sphenoidal sinus and clivus. Three out of four cases had radiological evidence of invasion of the surrounding bone structures. A systematic review of the literature highlighted that medical therapy can be effective in prolactin-secreting pEPAs. Overall, we found mention of local invasiveness in 65/147 cases (44.2%), confirmed by radiological signs of bone invasion/erosion. CONCLUSION: Our experience confirms the heterogeneity of pEPAs in terms of clinical and radiological presentation, as well as hormone secretion. PEPAs show a high frequency of radiological bone invasion, though similar to that of sellar pituitary adenomas. Although extremely rare, pEPAs need to be considered in the differential diagnosis of parasellar lesions.

A standardised tool for assessing needs in forensic psychiatric population: clinical validation of the Italian CANFOR, staff version.

BACKGROUND: The Camberwell Assessment of Need - Forensic Version (CANFOR) is a standardised assessment tool specifically designed to assess needs for care in forensic psychiatric populations. The original English version of the instrument has shown good psychometric properties. The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the CANFOR-staff tool. METHOD: After translation and back-translation, the Italian CANFOR tool was administered to a sample of 50 forensic psychiatric patients. Convergent validity was tested using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) by applying Kendall's tau-b. Inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities were measured by ICCs for need dimensions (total and unmet) and Cohen's kappa coefficients for individual need items. RESULTS: Regarding convergent validity, a higher number of needs (total and unmet) were associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms (BPRS). Higher numbers of unmet needs were also associated with lower levels of global functioning (GAF). ICCs for total and unmet needs scores indicated a good level of agreement for inter-rater reliability and a very good level for test-retest, respectively. Regarding the specific items, inter-rater Cohen's kappa was high (moderate to very good agreement) for 18 items in relation to the presence of a need and for 15 items in the rating of an unmet need, whereas Cohen's kappa for test-retest reliability was very high for all the items in the presence of a need and high for 18 of the unmet need domains. CONCLUSIONS: The Italian version of CANFOR has adequate psychometric properties. It can be considered a promising instrument for the assessment of needs of forensic psychiatric patients.

Epidermal growth factor induces the functional expression of dopamine receptors in the GH3 cell line.

GH3 cells are a clonal strain from a rat pituitary tumor that synthesizes and secretes both PRL and GH. The peculiarity of these cells is that they do not express receptors for dopamine; thus the hormone release is insensitive to the inhibitory effect of dopamine and D2 receptor agonists. Exposure of GH3 cells to epidermal growth factor for 4 consecutive days markedly altered the cell morphology, from a spherical appearance to an elongated flattened shape, and increased the cell size. These morphological changes were accompanied by the functional expression of D2 dopamine receptors as shown by the presence of a specific, saturable, and stereoselective high affinity binding for [3H]spiroperidol in epidermal growth factor-treated cells and by the fact that the selective D2 agonist quinpirole recovered the property to inhibit PRL secretion in the cell cultures exposed to the neurotrophic factor. The effect of EGF on the functional expression of D2 receptors was dose dependent (EC50 = 8 pM) and reversible. These data suggest that EGF elicits major effects on the expression of specific genes leading to the differentiation of GH3 cells into lactotroph-like cells endowed with dopamine D2 receptors.

Decreased content of met-enkephalin-like peptides in superior cervical and coeliac ganglia of aged rats.

Enkephalin like peptides seem to have an important regulatory role at ganglia level. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the content of enkephalin-like peptides in sympathetic ganglia is affected by the aging process. The results show that the enkephalin like peptides content is low in superior cervical and coeliac ganglia of aged rats (25 months). The age-related decrease of enkephalin content in these structures may be of importance in determining an altered sympathetic control during aging.

Age related changes of enkephalin in rat spinal cord.

Met-enkephalin immunoreactive material content was found to be decreased in the cervical and thoracic segments of the spinal cord from rats aged 25 months as compared to young, 3-month-old, rats. No age-related variations were detectable at the lumbar level. Bio-Gel P 30 column chromatography of thoracic segment extracts indicates that the composition of the immunoreactive material is similar in the two age-groups investigated. At the thoracic level opiate receptor binding was also measured. Opiate receptor number is increased in the thoracic segments of the spinal cord from older rats. These age-related changes in immunoreactive Met-enkephalin content and opiate receptor number at spinal levels may contribute to determine an altered pain sensitivity during aging.

Striatal adenylate cyclase-inhibiting dopamine D2 receptors are not affected by the aging process.

Radioreceptor binding studies with various labelled ligands and positron emission tomography have revealed a decline in D2 receptor concentration with age in both animal and human caudate nucleus. In this study we found that during senescence the functional characteristics of D2 receptors that inhibit adenylate cyclase (AC) are unchanged, by measuring the extent of inhibition of AC activity by dopamine mimetic drugs as a direct indicator of D2 receptor function.

Chronic lead exposure differentially affects dopamine transport in rat striatum and nucleus accumbens.

Dopamine release and uptake were investigated in striatum and nucleus accumbens slices of rats chronically exposed to lead. No indication of altered endogenous dopamine release under basal or depolarized conditions was observed in both areas. On the other hand lead intoxication inhibited striatal dopamine uptake while stimulating it at the mesolimbic level. Cocaine binding, that is related to the uptake system, appeared to be down-regulated in the striatum and unaffected in the nucleus accumbens. The results suggest that chronic lead might interfere with dopaminergic transmission at the presynaptic level through specific and differential interactions with the uptake process depending on the area examined.

Quantitative studies on the adsorption of proteins to the bare silica wall in capillary electrophoresis. III: Effects of adsorbed surfactants on quenching the interaction.

The efficacy of two classes of surfactants, non-ionic and zwitterionic, in quenching the interaction of proteins with the naked silica wall in capillary electrophoresis, is evaluated. The class of non-ionic detergents is found to be rather inefficient in preventing protein binding to the fused-silica surface, since large amounts (up to 10%) are required for reducing such interactions by 90%. Conversely, zwittergents appear to be much more efficient, since, in the case of sulphobetain SB-16, 90% binding inhibition is achieved at a concentration of surfactant of only 0.3%. In this last case, it is found that the binding inhibition closely follows the values of critical micellar concentrations (CMCs) of the various surfactants, those having the lowest CMC value exhibiting the highest inhibition power. The CMC values also follow a hydrophobicity scale, suggesting that the most hydrophobic zwittergents are the ones that shield more efficiently the silica surface.

General experimental aspects of the use of isoelectric buffers in capillary electrophoresis.

Four acidic, isoelectric buffers, for peptide and protein separations, have been recently described and adopted in capillary zone electrophoresis: cysteic acid [Cys-A, isoelectric point (pI) 1.85], iminodiacetic acid (IDA, pI 2.23), aspartic acid (Asp, pI 2.77) and glutamic acid (Glu, pI 3.22). These four buffers allow to explore an acidic portion of the titration curves of macroions, covering about 1.6 pH units (from pH 1.85 to ca. 3.45), thus permitting resolution of compounds having coincident titration curves at a given pH value. Given the rather acidic pI values of these buffers, their long-term stability has been investigated, by monitoring pH and conductivity changes upon increasing storage times. When dissolved in plain water, all four buffers appear to give constant pH and conductivity readings up to 15 days; after that, the conductivity keeps steadily increasing in a similar fashion. The same parameters, when the same buffers are dissolved in 6 M urea, appear to be stable for only one week, with the conductivity progressively augmenting after this period. A similar behaviour is exhibited by histidine (pI 7.70), a neutral, isoelectric buffer adopted for separation of DNA fragments. By mass spectrometry, Cys-A shows minute amounts (ca. 1%) of a degradation product after ageing for 3 weeks; in the same time period, Glu is extensively degraded (20%). No degradation species could be detected in IDA and Asp solutions. It is additionally shown that the acidic buffers are not quite stationary in the electric field, but can be transported at progressively higher rates (according to the pI value) from the cathodic to the anodic vessel. This is due to the fact that, at their respective pI values, a fraction of the amphotere has to be negatively charged in order to provide counterions to the excess of protons due to bulk water dissociation. Guidelines are given for the proper use and storage of such buffers.

Plasma prolactin concentrations in lead exposed workers.

Plasma Prolactin (Prl) Zinc protoporphyrin (Zpp) and blood lead concentrations (PbB) were measured in 76 exposed male workers. All of them were employed in small (not more than 30 persons) pewter factories and were randomly selected from those regularly controlled by the National Health Service, Occupational Health Unit of Brescia (USSL 41). Although all plasma Prl values were within the normal range, the mean value of the subgroup having Zpp and PbB higher than 40 micrograms/dl was significantly higher (+47%) than that observed in the group of workers having Zpp and PbB less than 40 micrograms/dl. The data indicate the possibility of a lead-induced Prl secretion dysfunction, probably mediated by a decrease in dopaminergic inhibitory control.

Characterization of polymeric buffers for operating membrane-trapped enzyme reactors in an electric field.

A novel class of amphoteric, polymeric buffers, is described, consisting of grafting onto growing polyacrylamide chains weakly acidic and basic acrylamido-monomers (called Immobilines; protolytic groups as N-substituents on the nitrogen of the amido bond), for operating a membrane-immobilized enzyme reactor (MIER) in an electric field. With these soluble, polymeric buffers, it is possible to operate the membrane reactor at any optimum of pH activity, for any given enzyme, in the pH 3-10 scale. Such buffers, being amphoteric, are confined in the enzyme reaction chamber by the same isoelectric trapping mechanism. The best buffers were found to be those polymerized in presence of 9% neutral monomer (acrylamide) and containing 20 mM Immobiline as buffering ion. To decrease their viscosity in solution, the polymeric buffers are synthesized at high temperatures (70 degrees C) and in presence of a chain-transfer agent. The weight average molecular size in these conditions has been found to be ca. 200,000 Da. These buffers exhibited excellent performance in a variety of enzyme reactions in the MIER, such as in the case of penicillin G acylase and histidine decarboxylase and were found to greatly stabilize enzyme activity, permitting operation of the MIER over extended periods of time. As an example, in a penicillin G acylase reactor, >75% enzyme activity was maintained over a 10-d cycle of operation, while with conventional buffers more than 90% inactivation was experienced over the same period of time. This novel class of macromolecular, amphoteric buffers could also be exploited in other types of conventional bioreactors not based on an isoelectric trapping mechanism.

The state of the art of dynamic coatings.

The present review highlights the mechanisms of action and efficiency of three major classes of dynamic coatings so far adopted in capillary electrophoresis: (i) amines to oligo-amines, (ii) neutral synthetic and natural polymers, and (iii) neutral and zwitter-ionic surfactants. Their merits and efficacy have been explored in depth via a novel quantitation technique consisting of eluting, by frontal analysis, any adsorbed proteinaceous material, which can then be correctly quantified as a peak as it moves in front of the detector window. This is achieved by loading sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles onto the cathodic side and migrating them electrophoretically into the capillary lumen, where they efficiently sweep any adsorbed polypeptide material. It is found that a common trend, for all quenchers, is linked to a hydrophobicity scale: the more hydrophobic the inhibitor, the better it minimizes potential interactions of macromolecules with the wall. This seems to be true for all the classes of dynamic modifiers tested. Finally, we describe a novel, dynamic to static quencher: it is a quaternary piperazine, bearing a reactive iodine atom at the end of a butyl tail (N(methyl-N-omega-iodo-butyl),N'-methyl piperazine). This molecule first binds to the wall, at alkaline pH values, via ionic and hydrogen bonds. Once docked onto the wall, the reactive tail forms a covalent link with the silica surface, to which it then remains permanently affixed.

Potassium channels involved in the transduction mechanism of dopamine D2 receptors in rat lactotrophs.

1. Radioactive rubidium (86Rb+) efflux was used to measure potassium (K+) permeability in a study designed to asses both the presence and the sensitivity to ions and drugs of the K+ channels in the plasma membrane of rat lactotrophs. 2. Rb+ efflux from Rb+-pre-loaded lactotrophs into nominally calcium-free solution containing 5 mM-K+ was linear from 1 to 60 s, with a calculated rate of about 0.1%/s. Raising K+ concentrations to depolarize the cells stimulated the Rb+ efflux (0.2%/s), which was already significant after 1 s of exposure of the cell to 100 mM-K+. This component of Rb+ efflux has been designated component V (sensitive to voltage and Ca2+ independent). 3. Addition of Ca2+ to 5 mM-K+ solution had no effect on resting Rb+ efflux (0.1%/s), but did further stimulate Rb+ efflux into K+-rich solutions. This component, which has been designated component C, was completely inhibited by 0.5 mM-cadmium. These data fit the view that the increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration during depolarization opens certain (Ca2+-activated) K+ channels. 4. K+ efflux was differently affected by K+ channel blockers. Tetraethylammonium (TEA) inhibited both V and C components while 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) inhibited the component V without modifying the C component of Rb+ efflux. 5. Dopamine appears to affect both types of Rb+ efflux components. Dopamine increased the efflux of Rb+ in a nominally Ca2+-free medium containing 5 mM-K+ (component V). This effect was statistically significant 15 s after exposure of the cells to 10 nM-dopamine. Increasing the concentrations of K+ to gradually depolarize the cells enhanced the rate of increase of Rb+ efflux induced by dopamine, being evident in the initial 2-5 s of incubations. Dopamine also increased Rb+ efflux in a 5 mM-K+ solution containing 1 mM-Ca2+ (component C). This effect was rapid (2-5 s) and inhibited by 0.5 mM-cadmium. The combined action of dopamine on both component C and V caused the cells to be less sensitive to depolarizing concentrations of K+. The increase in Rb+ efflux and the enhancement of prolactin release induced by high concentrations of K+ were, indeed, prevented by exposure of the cells to 10 nM-dopamine. 6. The effects of dopamine on either component V or component C were pharmacologically characterized as D2 receptor mediated, being mimicked by selective D2 receptor agonists (quinpirole and RU 24213) and stereospecifically blocked by the D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Identification and characterization of postsynaptic D1- and D2-dopamine receptors in the cardiovascular system.

Measuring adenylate cyclase activity (AC) as a biochemical index of dopamine (DA) receptor function, we obtained evidence for the presence in rabbit vasculature of both D1 receptors associated with stimulation of AC and of D2 receptors coupled with AC in an inhibitory way. The cAMP generating system in rabbit mesenteric artery was stimulated by DA and several DA agonists, an effect antagonized by the D1-receptor blocker SCH 23390 and by other neuroleptic drugs. When activation of D1 sites was impeded by SCH 23390, DA, (-)apomorphine, and (-)NPA inhibited cAMP formation. In addition, selective D2 agonists inhibited basal AC activity even when there was no D1-receptor blockade. The relative order of potency of various neuroleptics in antagonizing bromocriptine-induced inhibition of AC confirmed the D2 nature of these binding sites. Inhibition of AC activity elicited by bromocriptine remained unchanged after chemical sympathectomy, suggesting that vascular D2 receptors inhibiting AC activity are located postsynaptically in the arterial wall.

Dopamine uptake is differentially regulated in rat striatum and nucleus accumbens.

Active uptake of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine) is sodium- and temperature-dependent, strongly inhibited by benztropine and nomifensine, and present in corpus striatum and nucleus accumbens. In rat striatum dopamine uptake is related to a receptor that is specifically labelled by [3H]cocaine in the presence of Na+ and is located on dopaminergic terminals. The dopamine uptake is differentially affected in the two areas by single or repeated injections of cocaine. Cocaine inhibits dopamine uptake in slices of corpus striatum. Moreover Na+-dependent [3H]cocaine binding is not detectable in nucleus accumbens. Nomifensine inhibits [3H]dopamine uptake by interacting with low- and high-affinity sites in corpus striatum, but shows only low affinity for dopamine uptake in nucleus accumbens. The present data indicate that different mechanisms are involved in the regulation of dopamine uptake in corpus striatum and nucleus accumbens.

Identification of neurotensin receptors associated with calcium channels and prolactin release in rat pituitary.

Neurotensin (NT) is now reasonably well established as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator candidate in the CNS. In the present study, we characterized the NT receptors in dispersed cells from the anterior lobe of rat pituitary and investigated the involvement of both cyclic AMP and calcium in the release of prolactin (PRL) induced by NT receptor stimulation. The [3H]NT binding to membranes from anterior pituitary dispersed cells was found saturable and stereospecific. Scatchard analysis of the data gave a straight line indicating a Bmax value of 121 +/- 11 fmol/mg protein and a KD value of 1.4 +/- 0.2 nM. The calculated IC50 values for [3H]NT binding were 5.8 nM for NT, 7.8 nM for L-Phe-NT, and 3,000 nM for the pharmacologically inactive form D-Phe-NT. NT, up to a concentration of 1 microM, did not affect the cyclic AMP generating system in homogenates of anterior pituitary from male or lactating female rats. The same pattern of results was obtained for cyclic AMP formation in intact cells. NT and its analogs stereospecifically enhanced the influx of calcium into dispersed cells from rat anterior pituitary. The effect was time- and dose-dependent. It appeared to be associated with neurotransmitter-operated calcium channels since: preincubation of the cells with tetrodotoxin did not affect the increase in calcium influx induced by NT; concentrations of verapamil that counteract the influx of calcium induced by potassium lacked the capacity to modify the influx of calcium induced by NT; and NT lost its capacity to release PRL in the absence of extracellular calcium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dopaminergic inhibition of prolactin release and calcium influx induced by neurotensin in anterior pituitary is independent of cyclic AMP system.

The present study demonstrates that 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (DA, dopamine) prevents neurotensin (NT) stimulation of both prolactin (PRL) release and calcium influx by interacting with specific receptors that are functionally linked to calcium channels. As shown by the studies with dispersed cells from rat anterior pituitary, the pharmacology of the control of PRL release and calcium influx, both induced by NT, was found to be typical of a DAergic process. This was demonstrated by the order of potency of agonists in inhibiting PRL release and calcium influx (DA greater than epinephrine greater than norepinephrine much greater than isoproterenol); by the high affinity of antagonists such as haloperidol and fluphenazine for this process; and by the high degree of stereoselectivity of sulpiride. Specific D2 receptor agonists, such as bromocriptine and lisuride, and the specific D2 receptor antagonist (-)-sulpiride were found to be highly potent on the DA receptors negatively coupled with calcium channels and PRL release. DA was found to lack the capacity to change the influx of calcium induced by either the sodium channel activator veratridine or high extracellular potassium levels, thus indicating a specific action of this amine on calcium channels sensitive to NT. In a range of concentrations that are effective in inhibiting either the calcium influx or the PRL release, both induced by NT, DA did not alter the cyclic AMP generating system. DA (from 1.0 nM to 50 nM) did not affect adenylate cyclase activity in rat pituitary gland homogenates and did not modify intracellular cyclic AMP levels in pituitary cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)