A. Annovazzi

CD95 and CD95-ligand expression in endocrine pancreas of NOD, NOR and BALB/c mice

Summary The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse is widely used to study the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. However, the mechanisms responsible for beta-cell destruction, in this model, are still poorly defined. The CD95/CD95L system among other effector systems has been implicated in beta-cell death. In this study we investigated in NOD, non-obese resistant (NOR) and Balb/c mice the expression of CD95 and CD95L in alpha and beta pancreatic cells by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. We demonstrate that alpha cells in the islets of Langherans constitutively express CD95L forming a natural shield around beta cells. [Diabetologia (1997) 40: 1476–1479]

Reduced cumulative incidence of diabetes but not insulitis following administration of chimeric human IL-15–murine IgG2b in NOD mice

It has been recently demonstrated that apoptosis is involved in beta‐cell destruction in the NOD mouse model of diabetes. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether IL‐15, a cytokine involved in the modulation of the apoptotic process, is capable of modifying the natural history of diabetes and/or insulitis in pre‐diabetic NOD mice. The rationale for the use of IL‐15‐IgG2b recombinant cytokine is related to its long half‐life (28 ± 4 h).

False-negative Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy in histopathologically proved recurrent high-grade oligodendroglioma.

Tc-99m MIBI is a small lipophilic radioligand that enters cells by diffusion and is preferentially trapped in mitochondria. As a result of the high mitochondrial activity in tumors, Tc-99m MIBI accumulates significantly more in tumor tissue compared with normal tissues. Accordingly, Tc-99m MIBI has been used successfully to visualize primary, metastatic, and recurrent tumor. In brain tumors, Tc-99m MIBI SPECT has been shown to identify tumor recurrence after treatment in high-grade gliomas. In this report, early (30 minutes after injection) and delayed (4 hours after injection) Tc-99m MIBI SPECT did not visualize a histopathologically proved recurrent high-grade oligodendroglioma. Increased vascular supply, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, high-grade cancer, and viability of tumor cells are decisive factors related to increased Tc-99m MIBI uptake in brain tumors. However, the authors’ results suggest that still other mechanisms may be involved in Tc-99m MIBI accumulation, which may account for false-negative imaging in brain tumors.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: The Use of Radiolabelled Cytokines for In Vivo Evaluation of Inflammatory Activity

This chapter deals with new possibilities of using nuclear medicine imaging to evaluate the activity of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and therapy follow-up.