Heat-Induced Structural Changes Affect OVA-Antigen Processing and Reduce Allergic Response in Mouse Model of Food Allergy

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The egg protein ovalbumin (OVA) belongs to six most frequent food allergens. We investigated how thermal processing influences its ability to induce allergic symptoms and immune responses in mouse model of food allergy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Effect of increased temperature (70°C and 95°C) on OVA secondary structure was characterized by circular dichroism and by the kinetics of pepsin digestion with subsequent HPLC. BALB/c mice were sensitized intraperitoneally and challenged with repeated gavages of OVA or OVA heated to 70°C (h-OVA). Levels of allergen-specific serum antibodies were determined by ELISA (IgA and IgGs) or by β-hexosaminidase release test (IgE). Specific activities of digestive enzymes were determined in brush border membrane vesicles of jejunal enterocytes. Cytokine production and changes in regulatory T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen were assessed by ELISA and FACS. Heating of OVA to 70°C caused mild irreversible changes in secondary structure compared to boiling to 95°C (b-OVA), but both OVA treatments led to markedly different digestion kinetics and Tregs induction ability in vitro, compared to native OVA. Heating of OVA significantly decreased clinical symptoms (allergic diarrhea) and immune allergic response on the level of IgE, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13. Furthermore, h-OVA induced lower activities of serum mast cell protease-1 and enterocyte brush border membrane alkaline phosphatase as compared to native OVA. On the other hand h-OVA stimulated higher IgG2a in sera and IFN-γ secretion by splenocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Minor irreversible changes in OVA secondary structure caused by thermal processing changes both its digestion and antigenic epitopes formation, which leads to activation of different T cell subpopulations, induces shift towards Th1 response and ultimately reduces its allergenicity

Serum activities of adenosine deaminase, dipeptidyl peptidase IV and prolyl endopeptidase in patients with fibromyalgia: diagnostic implications

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with number of symptoms that present challenge in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Patients with FM show abnormal profile of purines in plasma. In this work, we measured serum activities of enzymes involved in purine metabolism, namely total adenosine deaminase (ADE) and its isoforms (ADE1 and ADE2), ecto- ATPase, and 5′- nucleotidase (5′-NT). We also measured activity of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) and prolyl endopeptidase (PEP). Spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods were used for enzyme activity determinations. Enzyme activities were measured in sera of 24 patients with FM that were not undergoing pharmacological treatment during the study. Control group comprised 32 healthy control subjects. Significantly higher activities of total ADE (P = 0.025) and ADE2 (P = 0.011) were observed in FM patients, while no significant differences in ADE1, ecto-ATPase, and 5′-NT activities (P > 0.05) were found when compared to healthy controls. Moreover, increase in the activity of DPPIV (P = 0.015) and lower activity of PEP (P = 0.011) were also found in the FM group. ROC analysis pointed to different diagnostic sensitivities/specificities for individual enzyme activities measured as follows: ADE (50.0/87.5), ADE2 (41.7/90.6), DPPIV (62.5/71.9), and PEP (83.3/62.5). ADE2 and PEP were shown to be independent predictors of FM, while combination of the two gives AUC of 0.786 (95 % confidence interval of 0.656–0.885, P < 0.05). Our results are showing that serum activities of ADE2 and PEP could be useful as biomarkers for FM diagnosis. However, relatively low diagnostic sensitivity of ADE2 and specificity of PEP must be taken into account

Profiling colorectal cancer in the landscape personalized testing—advantages of liquid biopsy

Drug‐specific therapeutic approaches for colorectal cancer (CRC) have contributed to significant improvements in patient health. Nevertheless, there is still a great need to improve the personalization of treatments based on genetic and epigenetic tumor profiles to maximize the quality and efficacy while limiting cytotoxicity. Currently, CEA and CA 19‐9 are the only validated blood biomarkers in clinical practice. For this reason, laboratories are trying to identify new specific prognostics and, more importantly, predictive biomarkers for CRC patient profiling. Thus, the unique landscape of personalized biomarker data should have a clinical impact on CRC treatment strategies and molecular genetic screening tests should become the standard method for diagnosing CRC. This review concentrates on recent molecular testing in CRC and discusses the potential modifications in CRC assay methodology with the upcoming clinical application of novel genomic approaches. While mechanisms for analyzing circulating tumor DNA have been proven too inaccurate, detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells and protein analysis of exosomes represent more promising options. Blood liquid biopsy offers good prospects for the future if the results align with pathologists’ tissue analyses. Overall, early detection, accurate diagnosis and treatment monitoring for CRC with specific markers and targeted molecular testing may benefit many patients

PODIPLOMINIŲ STUDIJŲ POREIKIO ĮVERTINIMAS VISUOMENĖS SVEIKATOS SPECIALISTŲ POŽIŪRIU

Šiame straipsnyje apžvelgti 2010 metais vykdyto tyrimo rezultatai tarp visuomenės sveikatos specialistų. Tyrimu siekta išsiaiškinti, kaip visuomenės sveikatos profesionalai vertina savo žinias įvairiose visuomenės sveikatos srityse ir kokias su moderniosios visuomenės sveikatos priežiūra susijusias profesines kompetencijas jie pageidauja pagilinti. Tyrimo objektas – Kauno, Šiaulių ir Marijampolės visuomenės sveikatos centrų bei jų filialų darbuotojai, taip pat Kauno bei Šiaulių visuomenės sveikatos biurų darbuotojai. Tyrimo metu buvo išdalinta 190 anketų. Anketas užpildė ir grąžino 148 respondentai (atsako dažnis 77 proc.). Rezultatai. Įvertinus respondentų podiplominių studijų kvalifikacijos kėlimo poreikį ir galimybes, paaiškėjo, kad tik puse (47,6 proc.) visuomenės sveikatos specialistų turi galimybę tobulinti profesinius įgūdžius. Visuomenės sveikatos specialistai didžiausią žinių trūkumą nurodė turintys šiose srityse: pagrindinių sveikatos priežiūros rodiklių interpretavimas ir vertinimas, epidemiologinių visuomenės sveikatos duomenų vertinimas, įvykdytų tyrimų analizė, sveikatos sistemos ekonominių rodiklių vertinimas. Kaip dažniausią būdą profesiniam raštingumui gerinti didžioji dalis visuomenės sveikatos profesionalų (69,2 proc.) rinkosi mažai patikimas priemones - įvairius seminarus ar tobulinosi savarankiškai (internetas, vadovėliai, kita literatūra).This article is an overview of a conducted survey among Public health professionals in 2010. The aim of the study is to examine how Public health professionals assess their knowledge in various areas of public health workforce and what new Public health-related professional competencies they wish to improve most. The object of research – Public health professionals of Kaunas, Siauliai and Marijampole Public health centers and their branches, as well as office workers of Kaunas, Siauliai and Marijampole Public health bureaus. There were 190 questionnaires delivered, 148 questionnaires were filled in and returned by respondents (response rate: 77%). Results. It was estimated that almost half (47.6%) of public health professionals have an opportunity to improve their professional skills. Public health experts indicated the greatest lack of knowledge at the following fields: the analysis and explanation (interpretation) of basic health indicators; public health epidemiological data evaluation; a research data analysis and health economic data assessment. As the most common method to improve the professional competence, 69.2% respondents chose a few trusty tools - various workshops or studied independently (internet, textbooks or other literature)