Allergenic Lipid Transfer Proteins from Plant-Derived Foods Do Not Immunologically and Clinically Behave Homogeneously: The Kiwifruit LTP as a Model

BACKGROUND: Food allergy is increasingly common worldwide. Tools for allergy diagnosis measuring IgE improved much since allergenic molecules and microarrays started to be used. IgE response toward allergens belonging to the same group of molecules has not been comprehensively explored using such approach yet. OBJECTIVE: Using the model of lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) from plants as allergens, including two new structures, we sought to define how heterogeneous is the behavior of homologous proteins. METHODS: Two new allergenic LTPs, Act d 10 and Act c 10, have been identified in green (Actinidia deliciosa) and gold (Actinidia chinensis) kiwifruit (KF), respectively, using clinically characterized allergic patients, and their biochemical features comparatively evaluated by means of amino acid sequence alignments. Along with other five LTPs from peach, mulberry, hazelnut, peanut, mugwort, KF LTPs, preliminary tested positive for IgE, have been immobilized on a microarray, used for IgE testing 1,003 allergic subjects. Comparative analysis has been carried out. RESULTS: Alignment of Act d 10 primary structure with the other allergenic LTPs shows amino acid identities to be in a narrow range between 40 and 55%, with a number of substitutions making the sequences quite different from each other. Although peach LTP dominates the IgE immune response in terms of prevalence, epitope recognition driven by sequence heterogeneity has been recorded to be distributed in a wide range of behaviors. KF LTPs IgE positive results were obtained in a patient subset IgE positive for the peach LTP. Anyhow, the negative results on homologous molecules allowed us to reintroduce KF in patients' diet. CONCLUSION: The biochemical nature of allergenic molecule belonging to a group of homologous ones should not be taken as proof of immunological recognition as well. The availability of panels of homologous molecules to be tested using microarrays is valuable to address the therapeutic intervention

E.: Effects of prolonged treatment with lithium and tricyclic antidepressanta on discharge frequency, norepinephrine respoies and beta receptor binding in rat cerebellum: Electrophysiological and biochemical comparison

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Malignant paraganglioma of retroperitoneum. Light, electron microscopic and ultrasonographic study.

A malignant retroperitoneal nonchromaffin paraganglioma in a thirty-four-year-old man was studied by light and electron microscopy. Histologically, the tumor cells displayed a tendency to surround granular, eosinophilic intercellular material and to form nests and pseudo-acini. Ultrastructurally, the tumor was composed of moderately well-differentiated epithelial cells intermixed with sparse sustentacular cells. An organoid pattern, reminiscent of the functional anatomic unit of nonchromaffin paraganglia, was seen occasionally. Epithelial cells formed pseudo-acini around dilated microvillous processes. These morphologic features are consistent with the neurocrestal origin of paragangliomas. The patient died ten months after presentation despite an initial favorable response to irradiation

Trypanosoma cruzi - Derived Sugar Epitopes - Synthesis and Immunology

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease. As of today no effective vaccine has been developed for it. Certain developmental stages of T.cruzi express cell surface oligosaccharides with terminal alpha-galactosyl and rhamnosyl residues, which are believed to be highly immunogenic in humans. The exact structures and sizes of these epitopes are still unknown. Our quest is to shine light on the chemical structures of immunogenic alpha-Gal and alpha-Rha containing mono-, di-, and trisaccharides that are conjugated to a keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) carrier protein through a combination of chemical synthesis and immunological studies. The compounds synthesized were screened for their ability to be recognized by Chagasic antibodies in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The best recognized sugar-KLH conjugates were used to immunize alpha-1,3 Gal T-KO mice, which do not express cell surface proteins with terminal alpha-galactosides, and are therefore a suitable model for humans. We have successfully synthesized and conjugated a library of nine saccharides with terminal alpha-galactosyl or rhamnosyl moieties, which elicit various levels of antibody production in mice. Upon challenge of the immunized mice with lethal doses of live T. cruzi, prolonged survival was observed when compared to the control group. The work presented here has implications for the development of a carbohydrate-based vaccine for Chagas disease