Mite-specific immunotherapy using allergen and/or bacterial extracts in atopic patients in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and antibody response changes after specific immunotherapy (SIT) using Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) allergens with or without bacterial extracts in Brazilian mite-atopic patients. METHODS: One-hundred patients with allergic rhinitis were selected for a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and distributed into 4 groups: Dpt (Dpt allergen extract), Dpt+MRB (Dpt allergen plus mixed respiratory bacterial extracts), MRB (MRB extract only) and placebo. Rhinitis symptom and medication scores; skin prick test (SPT) to Dpt extract; and serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E, IgG4, and IgG1 levels to Dpt, Der p 1, and Der p 2 allergens were evaluated before and after a year of treatment. RESULTS: After 1 year, the SPT response was reduced in the Dpt group (P=.03), whereas IgE levels to Der p 2 decreased only in the Dpt (P = .048) and Dpt+MRB (P = .005) groups. IgG4 and IgG1 levels to Dpt and Der p 1 increased in the Dpt group (P < .05), whereas in the Dpt + MRB group the IgG1 level only increased to Dpt (P=.001) and the IgG4 only increased to Der p 1 (P=.049). IgE levels to Dpt decreased only in the MRB (P= .005) and Dpt + MRB (P= .001) groups. Rhinitis symptom and medication scores fell in all groups, including the placebo group (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: SIT using Dpt extract alone was effective in reducing SPT response and IgE levels to Der p 2 allergen, while bacterial extracts induced decreases in IgE levels to whole Dpt extract. However, only groups receiving Dpt allergen had higher levels of IgG1 and IgG4 to Dpt and Der p 1 after a year of treatment.

Tomato spotted wilt virus L RNA encodes a putative RNA polymerase.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the large (L) genome segment of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has been determined. The RNA is 8897 nucleotides long and contains complementary 3' and 5' ends, comprising 62 nucleotides at the 5' end and 66 nucleotides at the 3' end. The RNA is of negative polarity, with one large open reading frame (ORF) located on the viral complementary strand. This ORF corresponds to a primary translation product of 2875 amino acids in length, with a predicted Mr of 331,500. Comparison with the polymerase proteins of other negative-strand viruses indicates that this protein most likely represents the viral polymerase. The genetic organization of TSWV L RNA is similar to that of the L RNA segments of Bunyamwera and Hantaan viruses, animal-infecting representatives of the Bunyaviridae.