The kidneys are a major target of PAPS. The histologic lesions of PAPS nephropathy are vascular; among them thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is the most characteristic. It is still not clear in the ...literature whether the nephropathy can be the unique manifestation of PAPS in the absence of other thrombotic processes; that is: do the renal microthrombotic lesions allow to make the diagnosis of PAPS in presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies (APA)? With this purpose we present three clinical cases. The first patient had severe hypertension C4 hypocomplementemia, thrombocytopenia, and mitralic valve insufficiency. LAC and anti-cardiolipin antibodies at high titre were positive. The histologic picture was characterized by basement membrane reduplication and arteriolar mucoid degeneration, which are features of early phase of TMA. The second patient had severe hypertension. The detection of anti-cardiolipin antibodies was performed several times and resulted positive three times, four months after the diagnosis as well. The renal histologic features were consistent with late lesions of TMA. The third patient had severe hypertension, rapidly progressive renal failure, tricuspidal valve insufficiency and two positive anti-phospholipid antibodies determinations three weeks apart (in two occasions anti-cardiolipin and in one occasion LAC as well were found). The renal lesions were characteristic for TMA. In conclusion we think that patients with TMA and anti- phospholipid antibodies can be considered affected by PAPS, as the thrombotic process is represented by thrombosis in preglomerular arterioles, which leads to TMA.
Endosperm development in maize seed involves the multiplication, enlargement, and differentiation of cells with consequent accumulation of storage products. The storage protein genes, encoding zeins, ...and glutelins (multigene families) are expressed and developmentally regulated by different loci. Wild-type lines and genotypes carrying mutations at loci affecting zein synthesis (o2, o7, fl2, and pro1) were characterized at the molecular level and investigated by Northern analysis in order to define the expression of structural and regulatory genes. In situ hybridization in both wild-type and mutant lines was performed to visualize the spatial distribution of transcripts representing each gene family, during endosperm development. The zein and glutelin mRNAs are expressed in all endosperm cells, except for the aleurone layer. However, each mRNA type accumulates at a different level in the various endosperm regions, thus allowing to recognize specific territories of expression for each storage protein mRNA within the tissue. The spatial expression patterns appear early for each gene type and are maintained during the course of endosperm development. Also, the quantitative distribution of the some transcripts in endosperm of mutant lines is specific for each mutant and different from that of the wild-type. Furthermore, the amount of the O2 transcript, present in the nucleus and cytoplasm of wild-type cells, varies substantially in the different o2 mutations considered, in one mutant almost exclusively confined within the nucleus. These data suggest a specific control of the spatial expression of storage protein genes and a heterogeneous molecular composition of protein bodies throughout the endosperm tissue.
