Allergy to Uncommon Pets: New Allergies but the Same Allergens.

The prevalence of exotic pet allergies has been increasing over the last decade. Years ago, the main allergy-causing domestic animals were dogs and cats, although nowadays there is an increasing number of allergic diseases related to insects, rodents, amphibians, fish, and birds, among others. The current socio-economic situation, in which more and more people have to live in small apartments, might be related to this tendency. The main allergic symptoms related to exotic pets are the same as those described for dog and cat allergy: respiratory symptoms. Animal allergens are therefore, important sensitizing agents and an important risk factor for asthma. There are three main protein families implicated in these allergies, which are the lipocalin superfamily, serum albumin family, and secretoglobin superfamily. Detailed knowledge of the characteristics of allergens is crucial to improvement treatment of uncommon-pet allergies

Allergy-associated biomarkers in early life identified by Omics techniques

The prevalence and severity of allergic diseases have increased over the last 30 years. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for these diseases is a major challenge in current allergology, as it is crucial for the transition towards precision medicine, which encompasses predictive, preventive, and personalized strategies. The urge to identify predictive biomarkers of allergy at early stages of life is crucial, especially in the context of major allergic diseases such as food allergy and atopic dermatitis. Identifying these biomarkers could enhance our understanding of the immature immune responses, improve allergy handling at early ages and pave the way for preventive and therapeutic approaches. This minireview aims to explore the relevance of three biomarker categories (proteome, microbiome, and metabolome) in early life. First, levels of some proteins emerge as potential indicators of mucosal health and metabolic status in certain allergic diseases. Second, bacterial taxonomy provides insight into the composition of the microbiota through high-throughput sequencing methods. Finally, metabolites, representing the end products of bacterial and host metabolic activity, serve as early indicators of changes in microbiota and host metabolism. This information could help to develop an extensive identification of biomarkers in AD and FA and their potential in translational personalized medicine in early life

Further Insights into the Gut Microbiota of Cow’s Milk Allergic Infants: Analysis of Microbial Functionality and Its Correlation with Three Fecal Biomarkers

Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is one of the most prevalent food allergies in children. Several studies have demonstrated that gut microbiota influences the acquisition of oral tolerance to food antigens at initial stages of life. Changes in the gut microbiota composition and/or functionality (i.e., dysbiosis) have been linked to inadequate immune system regulation and the emergence of pathologies. Moreover, omic sciences have become an essential tool for the analysis of the gut microbiota. On the other hand, the use of fecal biomarkers for the diagnosis of CMA has recently been reviewed, with fecal calprotectin, α-1 antitrypsin, and lactoferrin being the most relevant. This study aimed at evaluating functional changes in the gut microbiota in the feces of cow’s milk allergic infants (AI) compared to control infants (CI) by metagenomic shotgun sequencing and at correlating these findings with the levels of fecal biomarkers (α-1 antitrypsin, lactoferrin, and calprotectin) by an integrative approach. We have observed differences between AI and CI groups in terms of fecal protein levels and metagenomic analysis. Our findings suggest that AI have altered glycerophospholipid metabolism as well as higher levels of lactoferrin and calprotectin that could be explained by their allergic status.This research was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/01087 and PI20/01366) and Fundación Sociedad Española de Alergia e Inmunología Clínica (FSEAIC_2016). It was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund “Investing in your future” for the thematic network and co-operative research centers ARADyAL RD16/0006/0015 and RD16/0006/0026. T.B-T is supported by FPI-CEU predoctoral fellowship. D.B. acknowledges financial support from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/00044)

Socio-geographical disparities of obesity and excess weight in adults in Spain: insights from the ENE-COVID study

BackgroundIn Spain, differences in the prevalence of obesity and excess weight according to sex and sociodemographic factors have been described at the national level, although current data do not allow to delve into geographical differences for these conditions. The aim was to estimate national and regional prevalences of adult obesity and excess weight in Spain by sex and sociodemographic characteristics, and to explore difference sources of inequalities in its distribution, as well as its geographical pattern.MethodENE-COVID study was a nationwide representative seroepidemiological survey with 57,131 participants. Residents in 35,893 households were selected from municipal rolls using a two-stage random sampling stratified by province and municipality size (April–June 2020). Participants (77.0% of contacted individuals) answered a questionnaire which collected self-reported weight and height, as well as different socioeconomic variables, that allowed estimating crude and standardized prevalences of adult obesity and excess weight.ResultsCrude prevalences of obesity and excess weight were higher in men (obesity: 19.3% vs. 18.0%; excess weight: 63.7% vs. 48.4%), while severe obesity was more prevalent in women (4.5% vs. 5.3%). These prevalences increased with age and disability, and decreased with education, census tract income and municipality size. Differences by educational level, relative census income, nationality or disability were clearly higher among women. Obesity by province ranged 13.3–27.4% in men and 11.4–28.1% in women; excess weight ranged 57.2–76.0% in men and 38.9–59.5% in women. The highest prevalences were located in the southern half of the country and some north-western provinces. Sociodemographic characteristics only explained a small part of the observed geographical variability (25.2% obesity).ConclusionObesity and overweight have a high prevalence in Spain, with notable geographical and sex differences. Socioeconomic inequalities are stronger among women. The observed geographical variability suggests the need to implement regional and local interventions to effectively address this public health problem

Social mobility and healthy behaviours from a gender perspective in the Spanish multicase-control study (MCC-Spain)

There is evidence for the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on healthy behaviours but the effect of social mobility (SM) is not yet well known. This study aims to analyse the influence of origin and destination SES (O-SES and D-SES) and SM on healthy behaviours and co-occurrence, from an integrated gender and age perspective. Data were obtained from the controls of MCC-Spain between 2008-2013 (3,606 participants). Healthy behaviours considered: healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption, non-smoking and physical activity. SM was categorized as stable high, upward, stable medium, downward or stable low. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were adjusted. Those aged <65, with a low O-SES, D-SES and stable low SM are less likely to have healthy behaviours in the case of both women (physically active: OR = 0.65 CI = 0.45-0.94, OR = 0.71 CI = 0.52-0.98, OR = 0.61 CI = 0.41-0.91) and men (non-smokers: OR = 0.44 CI = 0.26-0.76, OR = 0.54 CI = 0.35-0.83, OR = 0.41 CI 0.24-0.72; physically active: OR = 0.57 CI = 0.35-0.92, OR = 0.64 CI = 0.44-0.95, OR = 0.53 CI = 0.23-0.87). However, for those aged ≥65, this probability is higher in women with a low O-SES and D-SES (non-smoker: OR = 8.09 CI = 4.18-15.67, OR = 4.14 CI = 2.28-7.52; moderate alcohol consumption: OR = 3.00 CI = 1.45-6.24, OR = 2.83 CI = 1.49-5.37) and in men with a stable low SM (physically active: OR = 1.52 CI = 1.02-1.26). In the case of men, the same behaviour pattern is observed in those with a low O-SES as those with upward mobility, with a higher probability of co-occurring behaviours (three-to-four behaviours: OR = 2.00 CI = 1.22-3.29; OR = 3.13 CI = 1.31-7.48). The relationship of O-SES, D-SES and SM with healthy behaviours is complex and differs according to age and gender.This research was supported by the “Acción Transversal del Cancer”, approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers on 11th October 2007, by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FEDER [grant number:PI08/1770, PI08/0533, PI08/1359, PS09/00773-Cantabria, PS09/01286-León, PS09/01903-Valencia, PS09/02078-Huelva, PS09/ 01662-Granada, PI11/01403, PI11/01889-FEDER, PI11/00226, PI11/01810, PI11/02213, PI12/00488, PI12/00265, PI12/01270, PI12/00715, PI12/00150, PI14/01219, PI14/0613, PI15/00069, PI15/00914, PI15/01032, PI11/01810, PI14/01219, PI11/02213, PIE16/00049, PI17/01179, PI17-00092], by the Fundación Marqués de Valdecilla [grant number: API 10/09], by the ICGC International Cancer Genome Consortium CLL (The ICGC CLL-Genome Project is funded by Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) through the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)), by the Red Temática de Investigación del Cáncer (RTICC) del ISCIII [grant number: RD12/0036/0036], by the Junta de Castilla y León [grant number: LE22A10-2], by the Consejería de Salud of the Junta de Andalucía [grant number: PI-0571-2009, PI-0306-2011, salud201200057018tra], by the Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana [grant number: AP_061/10], by the Recercaixa [grant number: 2010ACUP00310], by the Regional Government of the Basque Country, by the Consejería de Sanidad de la Región de Murcia, by the European Commission [grant number: FOOD-CT-2006-036224-HIWATE], by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) Scientific Foundation [grant number: GCTRA18022MORE], by the Catalan Government-Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) [grant number: 2014SGR647, 2014SGR850 and 2017SGR723], by the Fundación Caja de Ahorros de Asturias and by the University of Oviedo. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S

La renovación de la palabra en el bicentenario de la Argentina : los colores de la mirada lingüística

El libro reúne trabajos en los que se exponen resultados de investigaciones presentadas por investigadores de Argentina, Chile, Brasil, España, Italia y Alemania en el XII Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Lingüística (SAL), Bicentenario: la renovación de la palabra, realizado en Mendoza, Argentina, entre el 6 y el 9 de abril de 2010. Las temáticas abordadas en los 167 capítulos muestran las grandes líneas de investigación que se desarrollan fundamentalmente en nuestro país, pero también en los otros países mencionados arriba, y señalan además las áreas que recién se inician, con poca tradición en nuestro país y que deberían fomentarse. Los trabajos aquí publicados se enmarcan dentro de las siguientes disciplinas y/o campos de investigación: Fonología, Sintaxis, Semántica y Pragmática, Lingüística Cognitiva, Análisis del Discurso, Psicolingüística, Adquisición de la Lengua, Sociolingüística y Dialectología, Didáctica de la lengua, Lingüística Aplicada, Lingüística Computacional, Historia de la Lengua y la Lingüística, Lenguas Aborígenes, Filosofía del Lenguaje, Lexicología y Terminología

Estudio proteómico de la alergia a pescado en España : caracterización de alérgenos a nivel epitómico y molecular

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Agrícola. Fecha de lectura: 14-01-201

Novel liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method for sensitive determination of the mustard allergen Sin a 1 in food

Mustard is a condiment added to a variety of foodstuffs and a frequent cause of food allergy. A new strategy for the detection of mustard allergen in food products is presented. The methodology is based on liquid chromatography analysis coupled to mass spectrometry. Mustard allergen Sin a 1 was purified from yellow mustard seeds. Sin a 1 was detected with a total of five peptides showing a linear response (lowest LOD was 5 ng). Sin a 1 was detected in mustard sauces and salty biscuit (19 ± 3 mg/kg) where mustard content is not specified. Sin a 1, used as an internal standard, allowed quantification of this mustard allergen in foods. A novel LC/MS/MS SRM-based method has been developed to detect and quantify the presence of mustard. This method could help to detect mustard allergen Sin a 1 in processed foods and protect mustard-allergic consumers

The 3D model of the lipase/acyltransferase from [i]Candida parapsilosis[/i], a tool for the elucidation of structural determinants in CAL-A lipase superfamily

Because lipids are hydrophobic, the development of efficient bioconversions in aqueous media free of organic solvents is particularly challenging for green oleochemistry. Within this aim, enzymes exhibiting various abilities to catalyze acyltransfer reaction in water/lipid systems have been identified. Among these, CpLIP2 from Candida parapsilosis has been characterized as a lipase/acyltransferase, able to catalyze acyltransfer reactions preferentially to hydrolysis in the presence of particularly low acyl acceptor concentration and high thermodynamic activity of water (aw > 0.9). Lipase/acyltransferases are thus of great interest, being able to produce new esters at concentrations above the thermodynamic equilibrium of hydrolysis/esterification with limited to no release of free fatty acids. Here, we present a 3D model of CpLIP2 based on homologies with crystallographic structures of Pseudozyma antarctica lipase A. Indeed, the two enzymes have 31% of identity in their primary sequence, yielding a same general structure, but different catalytic properties. The quality of the calculated CpLIP2 model was confirmed by several methods. Limited proteolysis confirmed the location of some loops at the surface of the protein 3D model. Directed mutagenesis also supported the structural model constructed on CAL-A template: the functional properties of various mutants were consistent with their structure-based putative involvement in the oxyanion hole, substrate specificity, acyltransfer or hydrolysis catalysis and structural stability. The CpLIP2 3D model, in comparison with CAL-A 3D structure, brings insights for the elucidation and improvement of the structural determinants involved in the exceptional acyltransferase properties of this promising biocatalyst and of homologous enzymes of the same family

Allergy to Prairie Dog Lipocalins

Depto. de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularFac. de Ciencias QuímicasTRUEpu