Prospective study of atopic status in infants of the cohort in Tokyo, Japan

Several risk factors for the development of allergic diseases are considered including, for example, the level of IgE in cord blood or in the peripheral blood of neonates and the antigenic effect of some foods that are ingested by both babies and mothers during pregnancy and during the lactation period. However, not all infants with atopic diathesis develop allergic diseases. To clarify the risk factors and the mechanism for developing allergic diseases, particularly bronchial asthma (BA), we prospectively investigated atopic diatheses and symptoms in children in a cohort using a questionnaire method. The factors correlated to development of allergic diseases, as a whole, at the age of 5–6 years were atopic family history and any allergic symptom at 4 months of age. However, not all subjects with atopic dermatitis developed BA later on. High levels of total IgE and positive IgE antibody against egg white were not risk factors for developing BA at the age of 5–6 years

Photosensitized Protein-Damaging Activity, Cytotoxicity, and Antitumor Effects of P(V)porphyrins Using Long-Wavelength Visible Light through Electron Transfer

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a less-invasive treatment for cancer through the administration of less-toxic porphyrins and visible-light irradiation. Photosensitized damage of biomacromolecules through singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation induces cancer cell death. However, a large quantity of porphyrin photosensitizer is required, and the treatment effect is restricted under a hypoxic cellular condition. Here we report the phototoxic activity of P­(V)­porphyrins: dichloroP­(V)­tetrakis­(4-methoxyphenyl)­porphyrin (CLP­(V)­TMPP), dimethoxyP­(V)­tetrakis­(4-methoxyphenyl)­porphyrin (MEP­(V)­TMPP), and diethyleneglycoxyP­(V)­tetrakis­(4-methoxyphenyl)­porphyrin (EGP­(V)­TMPP). These P­(V)­porphyrins damaged the tryptophan residue of human serum albumin (HSA) under the irradiation of long-wavelength visible light (>630 nm). This protein photodamage was barely inhibited by sodium azide, a quencher of ¹O₂. Fluorescence lifetimes of P­(V)­porphyrins with or without HSA and their redox potentials supported the electron-transfer-mediated oxidation of protein. The photocytotoxicity of these P­(V)­porphyrins to HeLa cells was also demonstrated. CLP­(V)­TMPP did not exhibit photocytotoxicity to HaCaT, a cultured human skin cell, and MEP­(V)­TMPP and EGP­(V)­TMPP did; however, cellular DNA damage was barely observed. In addition, a significant PDT effect of these P­(V) porphyrins on a mouse tumor model comparable with the traditional photosensitizer was also demonstrated. These findings suggest the cancer selectivity of these P­(V)­porphyrins and lower carcinogenic risk to normal cells. Electron-transfer-mediated oxidation of biomacromolecules by P­(V)­porphyrins using long-wavelength visible light should be advantageous for PDT of hypoxic tumor