Major allergen from Amaranthus palmeri pollen is a profilin: Isolation, partial characterisation and IgE recognition.

BACKGROUND: Pollens represent a rich source of proteins that are also potential elicitors of IgE-mediated pollen allergy. Sensitisation to panallergens could play an important role in diagnosis and specific immunotherapy, because these molecules are present in different plant pollens and plant foods and have marked structural similarity in different species. Profilins are one of the most common panallergens to be studied because they are responsible for a large number of sensitisations and are clearly related to cross-reactivity and co-sensitisation. This study aimed to isolate and characterise a new allergen of Amaranthus palmeri pollen and to determine its allergenicity. METHODS: A. palmeri pollen profilin was purified using poly-l-proline-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by anion exchanger chromatography. Identification of purified protein was carried out by mass spectrometry. Specific IgE was estimated in sera of patients with positive skin prick test to A. palmeri pollen extract, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Purified protein appeared as a single band at 14 kDa in SDS-PAGE gel. Mass spectrometric analysis of the gel band identified two highly conserved peptides corresponding to allergenic profilins from pollen of other plants. Sera from about 60% of allergic patients have IgE that recognises the purified A. palmeri protein. CONCLUSION: A 14 kDa protein of A. palmeri pollen was purified and identified as allergenic profilin, which was recognised by sera from pollen allergic patients.

CBCovid19EC: A dataset complete blood count and PCR test for COVID-19 detection in Ecuadorian population.

In this work, we present the complete blood count data and PCR test results of a population of Ecuadorians from different provinces, primarily residing in the Andean region, especially in Quito. PCR was the standard test to detect Covid-19 during the pandemic since 2020. The data were obtained between March 1st and August 12th, 2021. Segurilab and Previne Salud laboratories performed the tests. The dataset contains about 400 clinical cases. Each patient agreed to participate in the study by sharing the results of their PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests and CBC (complete blood count). CBC test measured several components and features of the blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. The shared data are intended to provide researchers with input to analyze various events associated with the diagnosis of Covid-19 linked to potential diseases identified in the components measured in the CBC test. These data are helpful for pattern analysis of blood components in modeling prediction and clustering problems. The components measured in the complete blood count and CRP together can be helpful for the analysis of different medical conditions using machine learning algorithms.

Developments in the field of allergy in 2011 through the eyes of Clinical and Experimental Allergy.

As in previous years, we felt it would be of value to our readership to summarize the new information provided by the authors who have published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy in 2011 and set this in the context of recent advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis and management of allergic disease in all its many manifestations. In 2011, about 210 articles were published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy including editorials, reviews, opinion articles, guidelines, letters, book reviews and of course at the heart of the journal, papers containing original data. As before, this review is divided into sections based on the way the journal is structured, although this year we have grouped together all the papers dealing with mechanisms of allergic disease, whether they involve patients (clinical mechanisms), pure in vitro studies (basic mechanisms) or animal models (experimental models), as we felt this was a more coherent way to deal with the subject. In the field of asthma and rhinitis, the relationship between airway inflammation and airway dysfunction was of perennial interest to investigators, as were phenotypes and biomarkers. Aspirin hypersensitivity appeared in studies in several papers and there was new interest in asthma in the elderly. The mechanisms involved in allergic disease describe advances in our understanding of T cell responses, the relationship between inflammation and disease, mast cell and basophil activation, steroid resistance and novel therapies. In the section dealing with epidemiology, studies seeking to identify risk factors for allergic disease including vitamin D are prominent, as once again are studies investigating gene-environment interactions. The clinical allergy section focuses on drug allergy, food allergy and immunotherapy. The area of oral immunotherapy for food allergy is well covered and we were grateful to Stephen Durham for guest editing an outstanding special issue on immunotherapy in the centenary year of Leonard Noon's pioneering work. Lastly, in the field of allergens, the interest in component-resolved diagnosis continues to grow and there are also articles describing important novel cultivars and the effect of food processing on the allergenic properties of foods. Another terrific year, full of important and high-quality work,which the journal has been proud to bring to the allergy community.

Chemokine CC-ligand 5 production and eosinophil activation into the upper airways of aspirin-sensitive patients.

BACKGROUND: Airway eosinophilia is a hallmark of aspirin-sensitive asthma/rhinitis. OBJECTIVE: We have investigated chemokine CC-ligand 5 (CCL5) production and its association with eosinophil activation in the upper airways of aspirin-sensitive patients both in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: Twenty aspirin-sensitive asthma/rhinosinusitis patients, 18 atopic-tolerant asthma/rhinosinusitis patients and 15 healthy control subjects took part in the study. All subjects were challenged with saline and lysine-acetylsalicylic acid (L-asa) on separate occasions. Nasal lavages were obtained at baseline and 120 min after challenge and analysed for mediators' release. RESULTS: When compared with control subjects, the baseline levels of CCL5 were significantly increased in both sensitive and tolerant patients (there was no significant difference in CCL5 concentrations between these two groups, P>0.05). However, L-asa nasal challenge induced significantly increased levels of CCL5 in the sensitive patients but not in the tolerant subjects (median: 380 vs. 140 pg/mL, P<0.0001). Similarly, the concentrations of both eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and cysteinil leukotriene (cys-LTs) were increased significantly in the aspirin-sensitive but not in the tolerant patients. There was a trend towards a significant correlation between CCL5 and ECP concentrations in the sensitive patients following L-ASA challenge. On incubation with aspirin, nasal tissue derived from aspirin-sensitive but not that derived from tolerant subjects released increased CCL5 levels in culture. As determined by immunohistochemistry, CCL5 was predominantly localized to the nasal airway epithelium. CONCLUSION: Altogether, these findings suggest that CCL5 is released in aspirin-sensitive asthma/rhinosinusitis.

Role of monocyte chemotactic protein-3 and -4 in children with virus exacerbation of asthma.

Macrophages play a crucial role in respiratory viral infections. However, the mechanisms by which these cells are recruited locally are not fully understood. The current authors studied the role of the chemokines monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, -2, -3 and -4 on monocyte/macrophage recruitment during respiratory viral infections. Levels of these chemokines were investigated in nasal aspirates from 6-12-yr-old children suffering from respiratory viral infections, caused by rhinoviruses, influenza viruses, parainfluenza viruses, adenoviruses and respiratory syncytial virus. MCP-3 and -4 were significantly higher in samples derived from virus-infected children compared with samples from the same children when they had been asymptomatic. Concentrations of both chemokines were found to significantly correlate with the number of recruited nasal macrophages. Chemotaxis assays showed that purified MCP-3 and -4 from nasal aspirates showed biological activity in vitro. There were no significant differences in MCP-1 and -2 levels between both groups. The present data indicates that monocyte chemotactic protein-3 and -4 may have an important role in macrophage recruitment in children with proven upper respiratory viral infections. These chemokines could be potential targets for therapeutic intervention in respiratory viral infections.

High household infestation rates by synanthropic vectors of Chagas disease in southern Ecuador.

Entomological surveys were conducted in five rural communities (138 domiciliary units [DUs]) in the southern Andes of Ecuador. Adobe walls and ceramic tile roofs were predominant construction materials. A 35% house infestation rate with Panstrongylus chinai (Del Ponte, 1929) (0.7%), Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus (Champion, 1899) (0.7%), Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Lent & León, 1958) (27%), and/or Triatoma carrioni (Larrousse, 1926) (7%) was found. Adults and nymphs of R. ecuadoriensis and T. carrioni were found in intradomiciliary and peridomiciliary areas. Breeding triatomine colonies were present in 85% of infested DUs, and the average insect crowding was 52+/-113 triatomine bugs per infested house. T. cruzi-like organisms were found by microscopic examination in the feces or hindgut but not the salivary glands of 4% of examined R. ecuadoriensis and 12% T. carrioni. Serological tests detected a general anti-T. cruzi antibody seroprevalence of 3.9% (n = 1136). Only 2% of individuals had heard of Chagas disease, and although triatomines were reported as a major nuisance by the population they were not considered vectors of disease. Additional baseline field research is needed for the design and implementation of a Chagas disease control program in the region.

Una mirada transcompleja de la Violencia Juvenil Delincuencial en Venezuela / A transcomplex look at the delinquent youth violence in Venezuela

Se realizó una investigación bajo el enfoque integrador transcomplejo en la búsqueda de una interpretación transdisciplinaria, multidimensionada y dinámica de la violencia juvenil delincuencial, cuyo propósito fue develar las posturas epistemológicas que subyacen en la lógica de intervención de los diversos sectores de las políticas públicas en relación a la violencia delincuencial, así como la resignificación, mediante un diálogo de saberes, con sujetos significantes y con los significados socioculturalmente construidos del contexto teórico disciplinario de la violencia juvenil delincuencial en el Estado Aragua , con el fin de aportar constructos teóricos que propicien un repensar de las políticas públicas desde una perspectiva transcompleja y transdisciplinaria. La Transmetódica se fundamentó en la transdisciplinariedad, la hermenéutica y la etnografía. Se llevó a cabo en cuatro etapas que confluyeron para desmontar el discurso de los informantes en relación a la realidad y contrastarlos con las corrientes del pensamiento que han sustentado la matriz epistemológica vigente, para luego develar desde una perspectiva transcompleja y multidimensionada los aspectos ocultos en el discurso; brindando la posibilidad de resignificar estos hallazgos hacia una alternativa epistemológica integradora. Se evidencia la necesidad de trascender las lógicas homogeneizadoras de las políticas de control social tradicionales fundamentadas en el etiquetamiento y exclusión social, mediante un proceso masivo de fortalecimiento axiológico y praxiológico de la institucionalidad social, para lograr un cambio paradigmático hacia una nueva visión multidimensionada y transcompleja de la lógica de las estrategias de prevención y control social de la violencia juvenil delincuencial, y su resignificación en un horizonte sociocultural de convivencia pacífica.

An investigation was carried out under the integrative transcomplex approach in the search for a transdisciplinary, multidimensional and dynamic interpretation of juvenile delinquent violence, whose purpose was to reveal the epistemological positions that underlie the intervention logic of the various sectors of public policies in relation to to criminal violence, as well as resignification, through a dialogue of knowledge, with significant subjects and with the socioculturally constructed meanings of the disciplinary theoretical context of juvenile delinquent violence in the State of Aragua, in order to provide theoretical constructs that promote a rethinking of public policies from a transcomplex and transdisciplinary perspective. Transmethodics was based on transdisciplinarity, hermeneutics and ethnography. It was carried out in four stages that converged to disassemble the informants' discourse in relation to reality and contrast them with the currents of thought that have sustained the current epistemological matrix, and then reveal the hidden aspects in the current epistemological matrix from a transcomplex and multidimensional perspective. speech; providing the possibility of resignifying these findings towards an integrative epistemological alternative. There is evidence of the need to transcend the homogenizing logics of traditional social control policies based on labeling and social exclusion, through a massive process of axiological and praxiological strengthening of social institutions, to achieve a paradigmatic shift towards a new multidimensional and trans-complex vision of the logic of the strategies of prevention and social control of delinquent juvenile violence, and its resignification in a sociocultural horizon of peaceful coexistence.

Collagen metabolism in human aqueous humor from primary open-angle glaucoma. Decreased degradation and increased biosynthesis play a role in its pathogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of aqueous humor from patients with glaucoma on collagen turnover. METHODS: The aqueous humor of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), chronic angle-closure glaucoma, congenital glaucoma, neovascular glaucoma, and senile cataract (control group) was analyzed for its capacity to induce fibroblast proliferation, collagen synthesis, collagenolytic activity, and production of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1. All data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Aqueous humor derived from patients with POAG induced a significant decrease of functional collagenase activity (mean +/- SE, 9.12 +/- 1.33 microgram of degraded collagen per milligram of incubated protein vs 20.94 +/- 4.14 micrograms from the control group, P < .05). The enzymatic activity in the other types of glaucoma was similar to that of controls. The POAG samples had a significantly higher concentration of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (mean +/- SE, 3.11 +/- 0.58 vs 0.91 +/- 0.13 micrograms/mL from controls; P < .05). The amount of immunoreactive tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 found in the other three groups was not significantly different from the control. Aqueous humor stimulated fibroblast proliferation in all cases, but significant differences were not observed between the POAG samples (mean +/- SE, 20,285 +/- 4642 cpm/mg of incubated protein) and the control group samples (26,550 +/- 3688 cpm/mg of incubated protein). Primary open-angle glaucoma fluids increased collagen synthesis significantly compared with the control group (mean +/- SD, 3352 +/- 630 vs 985 +/- 285, P < .05), and the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: An increase of collagen synthesis and a decrease of collagen degradation may contribute to an excessive deposit of collagen with loss of the trabecular cells during the development of POAG, and aqueous humor must be considered as a microenvironment that affects the metabolism or function of the trabecular meshwork or both.

Fetal development in alloxan-treated rats.

The effect of alloxan on embryo and fetal development in rats was evaluated. Alloxan was injected intraperitoneally (ip) in pregnant rats at doses of 80 to 150 mg/kg at Day 0 (day of fertilization), and 110 mg/kg at Day 4 of pregnancy. Hyperglycemia was rarely produced at alloxan doses from 80 to 100 mg/kg, and the frequency of malformations observed was low. Higher doses (110 to 150 mg/kg) caused severe hyperglycemia, and maternal or embryonic death. When 110 mg/kg was administered on Day 4 of gestation (the day before embryo implantation), all rats had resorption nodules and litters with embryos with delayed growth. We recommend the induction of diabetes mellitus on Day 4 of pregnancy for studies of diabetes-gestation interaction.

Beta-2-microglobulin as the main component of primary amyloidosis located in the larynx.

A case of primary amyloidosis located in the larynx in which Beta-2-microglobulin (beta 2m) was the main component of the tissue is presented. Indirect immunofluorescence performed with monoclonal anti-human beta 2 m antibody (BBM1) showed a positive reaction, as did Congo red stain, and both patterns were similar. A significant increase in serum beta 2 m was observed; however, the clinical condition associated with this elevation remains unclear. We suggest that beta 2m is not only the main component of secondary amyloidosis in terminal nephropathy patients undergoing hemodialysis for prolonged periods, but that it could be part of the structure of other types of amyloid--either primary or secondary.

Perceived consequences of teenage childbearing among adolescent girls in an urban sample.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived positive consequences of teenage childbearing among female adolescents, and to determine whether perceived consequences of teenage childbearing are associated with other attitudes and sexual risk behaviors. METHODS: The sample consisted of 584 female students attending three urban high schools in Los Angeles, California. The respondents' mean age was 15.8 years, and 72% were Hispanic/Latina. Respondents completed a paper-and-pencil survey assessing their attitudes and risk behaviors relevant to teenage pregnancy. Multiple regression and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between perceived consequences of teenage childbearing and demographic variables, educational variables, parental characteristics, psychosocial variables, attitudes, and sexual behavior. RESULTS: Higher scores on a scale of perceived positive consequences of teenage childbearing were associated with increased risk of sexual intercourse and unprotected sexual intercourse. Higher scores on this scale were found among girls who were Latinas, were non-U.S. natives, had low levels of expected educational attainment, had low parental monitoring, had good communication with parents, and wished to have many children. CONCLUSION: Potential strategies for preventing adolescent pregnancy include educating girls about the difficulties of teenage childbearing, countering their positive illusions about the expected benefits, and teaching them more adaptive ways to meet their emotional needs.

Concurrent prediction of drug use among high-risk youth.

Correlates of drug use were examined in a continuation high school sample (n = 1.315), using canonical correlation analysis. Fourteen demographic, attitudes/belief, and psychosocial pressure/ anxiety-type variables were included as concurrent predictors. Eight drug-use-related measures were also placed into the analysis as outcome variables. Two factors were revealed. White ethnicity, not being Latino, all attitude/belief measures, and family conflict and depression showed relatively high loadings on the first predictor factor, and were associated with all drug-use measures. Latino ethnicity and being relatively unacculturated (i.e., tending to speak Spanish), most of the attitude/belief measures (but not sensation seeking or spirituality), and perceived peer approval to use drugs, trait anxiety, and depression showed relatively high loadings on the second predictor factor, and were associated with the hard-drug-use measures. These results suggest that there is a subgroup of unacculturated Latino youth who are anxious, who perceive they will achieve peer approval by using drugs, and who tend to use hard drugs. Indicated drug abuse prevention strategies may need to be tailored to this subgroup when developing and implementing programming.

[Variations in the uric acid levels in pregnancy hypertension]. / Variación de niveles de ácido úrico en los trastornos hipertensivos del embarazo.

The objective was to analyse the levels of uric acid in the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The research involves the study of 137 patients that suffered any hypertensive disease associated with pregnancy, hospitalized on the Luis Castelazo Ayala Hospital. The patients were classified according to the ACOG. The levels of uric acid observed were measured and compared against one control group and between them. The levels of uric acid observed in any hypertensive state of pregnancy are superior to the ones observed in then control group. On patients with chronical hypertension complicated with preeclampsia, the levels of uric acid were above the levels observed on patients with chronic hypertension itself. It is not known with certainty, but some authors think that the problem es rather tubular than glomerular. There is not an exact explanation about uric acid's depuration. Nevertheless, the common characteristic is a reduction of renal perfusion. Uric acid is related with the degree of severity. Moreover, uric acid is a good indicator for the detection of hypertensive states of pregnancy.

Three-yr follow-up of a type 1 diabetes mellitus patient with an islet xenotransplant.

In order to alleviate the shortage of human donors, the use of porcine islets of Langerhans for xenotransplantation in diabetic patients has been proposed as a solution. To overcome rejection, we have developed a procedure for protecting the islets by combining them with Sertoli cells and placing them in a novel subcutaneous device, that generates an autologous collagen covering. A type 1 diabetic woman was closely monitored for 10 months, and then transplanted in two devices with two months of difference and a third time after 22 months. Here we present a three-yr follow-up. The close monitoring induced a rapid decrease in exogenous insulin requirements, which stabilized between 19 and 28 IU/d for nine months. After transplantation, the requirements reduced further to below 6 IU/d and for some weeks she was insulin free. Glycosylated hemoglobin levels decreased concomitantly. Porcine insulin could be detected in the serum after a glucose challenge and insulin positive cells inside a removed device after two yr. No complications have arisen and no porcine endogenous retrovirus infection has been detected through PCR and RT-PCR. This case demonstrates the feasibility of using the xenotransplantation of porcine cells to alleviate metabolic complications and insulin requirements in type 1 diabetic patients.

CC chemokine ligand 1 is released into the airways of atopic asthmatics.

CC chemokine ligand (CCL)1/I-309 is a potent attractant for T-helper cell type 2 lymphocytes. The present study investigates whether this cytokine is released in the bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) of asthmatic patients. Measurements of CCL1 using ELISA showed that levels of this cytokine were significantly elevated in BALF from asthmatics compared with normals (median (range) 193 (120-449) pg.mL(-1) versus 30 (21-55) pg.mL(-1)). Differential cell counts in BALF showed that either lymphocyte or eosinophil numbers were elevated in asthmatic compared with normal subjects (10.8 x 10(3).mL(-1) versus 1.0 x 10(3).mL(-1) and 1.7 x 10(3).mL(-1) versus 0.2 x 10(3).mL(-1), respectively). There was a trend towards a significant correlation between CCL1 levels and lymphocyte numbers in BALF. Separation of BALF using sequential CCL1 affinity column and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography allowed detection of biologically active CCL1. Using immunohistochemistry, CCL1 immunoreactivity was localised predominantly to the airway epithelium. Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between CC chemokine ligand 1 levels and epithelial cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and between these cells and lymphocyte numbers. Moreover, interleukin-4, interleukin-13 and interferon-gamma stimulated primary bronchial airway epithelial cells to release CC chemokine ligand 1. These findings suggest that CC chemokine ligand 1 may play a role in lymphocyte recruitment in bronchial asthma.

CCL chemokines and asthma.

Airway eosinophilia is a characteristic of bronchial asthma. Eosinophils are considered to cause tissue damage through the release of toxic proteases, lipid mediators, cytokines and oxygen free radicals. The discovery of chemokines and the demonstration that some members of this cytokine superfamily are implicated in the recruitment of eosinophils offers an opportunity for a novel therapeutic approach in asthma.

HLA frequencies in a Mexican Mestizo population.

The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the distribution of HLA antigens in Mexican Mestizos since, in our previous report, very few specificities were explored for this population. The Mestizos are primarly a mixture of Caucasians (Spaniards) and Mexican Indians and account at the present time for about 95% of the total Mexican population. A and B antigens were typed on isolated cells using a microlymphocytotoxicity technique. Antigen, gene and haplotype frequencies were calculated including the significance for delta values. The results clearly showed that the HLA distribution differs from other ethnic groups and the predominant antigens are A2, A9, B5, Bw35 and B40, but the general pattern clearly shows the participation in genetical composition of Spanish and Mexican Indian backgrounds. The most frequent haplotypes were A2-B5, A9-Bw35, A9-B40 and A2-B40, which are also the most common in some Mongoloid populations.

The monocyte-derived chemokine is released in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of steady-state asthmatics.

Infiltration of the airways by T helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes is a well-recognized feature of bronchial asthma. Monocyte-derived chemokine (MDC) is a potent attractant which activates Th2 lymphocytes via the chemokine receptor CCR4. We have investigated both leukocyte recruitment and MDC release into the airways of asthmatic patients. Differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid showed that numbers of lymphocytes and eosinophils were elevated in asthmatics compared with normal subjects (median, 6.1 vs. 1.0 x 10(3)/ml, P < 0.005 and 1.4 vs. 0.24 x 10(3)/ml, P = 0.001, respectively). By enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay it was demonstrated that MDC concentrations were significantly elevated in BAL fluid from asthmatics compared with normals (medians 282 pg/ml, range 190-780 pg/ml vs. median 29 pg/ml range 17-82 pg/ml, P < 0.001). Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between MDC levels and the bronchoconstrictive response to methacholine [PC20 forced expiratory volume (FEV)1, r = -0.78, P = 0.001], suggesting that MDC may be involved in the severity of the disease. By immunohistochemistry, MDC was localized predominantly to the bronchial epithelium in bronchial biopsies derived from stable asthmatics. Moreover, primary human airway epithelial cells were found to release MDC upon cytokine stimulation. These findings suggest that MDC may play a major role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma.

72-kD (MMP-2) and 92-kD (MMP-9) type IV collagenase production and activity in different histologic types of lung cancer cells.

In this study we examined the production of gelatinases A and B (MMP-2 and MMP-9), and their natural inhibitors TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in cell lines derived from different histologic types of lung cancer. Gelatinolytic activity was measured by zymography and radiolabeled gelatin degradation. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis were performed to corroborate the presence of immunoreactive MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 proteins. The highest gelatinolytic activity was identified in the cell extracts from a small-cell carcinoma cell line. MMP-9 was observed in all samples as a proenzyme, while MMP-2 was present as zymogen in the squamous-cell and in the small-cell carcinomas, and in its active form in one squamous-cell carcinoma cell line. TIMPs were also present in the neoplastic lung cell lines. TIMP-1 was observed in the media of all cells as a 21-kD band, and as TIMP-1 polymers with the exception of the small-cell carcinoma samples. TIMP-2 was found as higher-order molecular immunoreactive complexes that may correspond to proMMP-2/TIMP-2 complexes. These results demonstrate that lung neoplastic cells produce both MMP-2 and MMP-9 and their inhibitors, with the small-cell carcinoma cell extracts showing the highest enzymatic activity. This gelatinolytic activity fits well with the clinical metastatic behavior of this type of lung cancer.