Marie-France Dumon

Plasma lipids in HIV-infected patients: a prospective study in 95 patients

Abstract. The present study aimed to determine plasma lipid levels in 95 HIV‐infected patients divided into four groups according to the CD4 lymphocyte counts comparatively to a control group of 20 HIV‐negative normolipidaemic subjects. A relationship between lipidic abnormalities and immune or nutritional status was also investigated. The patients below 200 CD4 lymphocyte mm‐3 (groups 1 and 2) had significantly lower total cholesterol than the controls. The patients below 400 CD4 lymphocytes mm‐3 (groups 1, 2, 3) had significantly higher triglycerides and Lp(a) but lower LDL‐cholesterol than the controls. In all HIV‐positive patients, whatever their CD4 lymphocyte count, HDL‐C and apoA1 were lower than in the controls. By multivariate analysis triglycerides were positively correlated to acute opportunistic infections and to interferon‐α levels, while cholesterol was negatively correlated to TNF‐α, and LDL‐C was positively correlated to albuminaemia. The latter parameter was the only lipidic value to correlate with nutritional markers. The contamination route, or the presence of wasting, was not correlated to any lipidic disorder.

Relationship between red blood cell antioxidant enzymatic system status and lipoperoxidation during the acute phase of malaria

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and aggrevation of the disease in patients with malaria. METHODS AND RESULTS In the present study lipoperoxidation was demonstrated during the acute phase of malaria by a significant decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The lowest values of PUFA were obtained for C20:4 and C22:6, which were the main targets of reactive oxygen species (ROS) when parasitemia was higher than 1%. Similarly, plasma vitamins E and A were significantly reduced during the acute phase of malaria owing to their consumption in part as antioxidants. However, evaluation of the antioxidant enzymatic system in red blood cells of malaria patients indicated no significant difference from controls. Only superoxide dismutase activity tended to decrease when parasitemia increased. CONCLUSION The results suggest that superoxide radicals are the main ROS produced during the acute phase of malaria, and that rejuvenation of RBC during hemolysis involving increased enzyme activities interacts to protect RBC from excessive superoxide radical production.

Isoelectric focusing (IEF) and immunofixation for determination of disialotransferrin

OBJECTIVES A new simplified method for detection and quantitation of disialontransferrin in serum is described. DESIGN AND METHODS The method is based on polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing, direct immunofixation with a specific antibody, and measurement by computerized scanning densitometry. Disialotransferrin levels were determined in 24 teetotallers and 34 alcoholics at 3 moments during detoxification. Three groups of drinkers were arranged: group 1 (without), group 2 (with light), and group 3 (with severe hepatitis). RESULTS The metho showed very good reproducibility and accuracy with a coefficient of variation between 5 to 8%. Alcoholic patients could be clearly separated from teetotallers, with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 94%. After 12 days of alcohol withdrawal, disialotransferrin values declined in alcoholics but remained slightly high. They were not influenced by the severity of liver disease. No significant difference was found between the 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS An easy-to-perform, sensitive, and inexpensive method has been developed to quantify disialotransferrin that can be used by laboratories almost everywhere.

A 'Fish-eye disease' familial condition with massive corneal opacities and hypoalphalipoproteinaemia : clinical, biochemical and genetic features

Abstract. A Caucasian family of mediterranean origin comprising a patient whose parents were first cousins, his wife and their three children, and his two sisters have been studied. The patient and his two daughters were afflicted with the same corneal opacities and hypoalphalipoproteinaemia. The disease was shown to be transmitted as a non‐sex‐linked recessive trait. The corneal opacities develop at the end of the second decade of life and consist of numerous minute greyish dots in the entire corneal stroma that give the cornea a misty appearance. Vision slowly deteriorated from 40 years of age. At about 50 years of age, except in one of the two daughters who showed Marfanoid syndrome, the three patients had good general health and no symptoms of atherosclerosis. Biochemical investigations showed hypoalphalipoproteinaemia (with a faint fast‐moving HDL band on polyacrylamide gel gradient electrophoresis and small arcs of HDL2 and HDL3 of low mobility determined by agarose gel immunoelectrophoresis), low total cholesterol (3·5–4·9 mmol l‐1), slightly decreased cholesteryl ester/total cholesterol ratio (0·52–0·63), extremely low HDL cholesterol (0·20–0·21 mmol l‐1), mild hypertriglyceri‐daemia (1·94–3·80 mmol l‐1), and striking deficiency in apo A‐I and apo A‐II (0·45–0·72, 0·08–0·16 g l‐1, respectively). The esterification of HDL cholesterol was low while that of LDL and VLDL was nearly normal. Other laboratory values were normal. The HDL subspecies and major apolipoprotein isoforms have been studied to differentiate FED from Tangier disease, LCAT deficiency, as Apo A‐I, A‐II, C‐II, C‐III deficiencies and variants. The data is discussed in comparison with the other familial syndromes of lipid deposition at the corneae associated with dyslipopro‐teinaemias. Two of the three patients may be classified as having ‘Fish‐eye disease’ as the three index patients described by Carlson in 1982 [1].

Acides gras membranaires et anti-oxydants sériques chez 77 patients infectés par le VIH

We have measured the fatty acid (FA) composition of erythrocyte membranes and plasma anti-oxidants in HIV+ patients. Saturated FA are higher and poly-unsaturated FA lower than in controls (P = 0.02). Selenium (Se) is lower in patients less than 400 CD4 cells/mm3 (P = 0.002). Vitamin A is lower in the HIV+ regardless of the CD4 cell count. Se and vitamin A are correlated to nutritional markers (body mass index and albumin).

Apolipoprotein A-I: Deficiency in Tangier Disease

The near absence of apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) characterizes Tangier disease. However, no unequivocal evidence of a molecular defect in apo A-I or apo A-I gene has been established (1-13). It could signify that the molecular defect is not necessarily the same in every patient.

Familial Hypocholesterolemia and HDL Deficiency

Familial hypocholesterolemia and HDL deficiency are often associa ted in a heterogeneous family of hereditary diseases.

Modified lipid-protein interactions in Tangier β lipoprotein (LDL2) demonstrated by fluorescence quenching

Fluorescence quenching by iodide ions has been found to be higher in isolated Tangier low density lipoprotein (LDL2) than in isolated normal LDL2. Apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 is the main protein component of these lipoproteins and its tryptophanyl residues (Trp) are known to be the most hydrophobic and to be responsible for protein fluorescence. Trp exposure can thus be calculated; it was 0.50 in Tangier and 0.42 and 0.41 in insulin-dependent diabetics (IDD) and normal controls, respectively. The greater fluorescence quenching of Tangier LDL2 reveals a shallower embedding of Trp which is principally due to a lowered free cholesterol (FC) level in the shell and a smaller lipid core, itself dependent on a drop in cholesterol esters (CE). This is in accordance with the electrophoretic properties of Tangier LDL2 and suggests that Tangier LDL2 may be considered to be modified.

Interféron et facteur de nécrose tumorale sériques chez 95 patients infectés par le VIH

We have measured TNF-α and interferonα in 95 HIV positive patients and 20 healthy subjects. TNF-α was higher in the HIV+ patients ( P = 0.0001) and was correlated to the CD4 cell count ( P = 0.02) and cholesterol (negatively) ( P = 0.04). Interferon-α was correlated to the wasting syndrome ( P = 0.002), hypertriglyceridemia ( P = 0.004) and haematocrit ( P = 0.04).

Heterogeneity of HDL in crossed immunoelectrophoresis with continuous gradient polyacrylamide gel in the first dimension and one or two antibody layers in the second dimension

We describe a new method of immunoelectrophoresis with a continuous gradient polyacrylamide gel in the first dimension and an agarose-dextran gel in the second dimension with one or two layers of antibody. The use of a polyacrylamide gel in the first dimension allows better resolution of lipoproteins than with crossed immunoelectrophoresis using agarose gel in both dimensions. The use of two layers of antibody in the second dimension also enhances the specificity of characterization and the resolution of the separation. Thus, using a layer of anti-apo A-I combined with a layer of anti-apo A-II, three particles containing only apo A-I and three containing both apo A-I and A-II could be separated.