RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Birch pollen-related soya allergy is mediated by Gly m 4. Conformational IgE epitopes of Gly m 4 are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To identify the IgE epitope profile of Gly m 4 in subjects with birch pollen-related soya allergy utilizing an epitope library presented by Gly m 4-type model proteins. METHODS: Sera from patients with (n = 26) and without (n = 19) allergy to soya as determined by oral provocation tests were studied. Specific IgE (Bet v 1/Gly m 4) was determined by ImmunoCAP. A library of 59 non-allergenic Gly m 4-type model proteins harbouring individual and multiple putative epitopes for IgE was tested in IgE binding assays. Primary, secondary and tertiary protein structures were assessed by mass spectrometry, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RESULTS: All subjects were sensitized to Gly m 4 and Bet v 1. Allergen-specific serum IgE levels ranged from 0.94 to > 100 kUA /L. The avidities of serum IgE were 5.06 ng (allergic) and 1.8 ng (tolerant) as determined by EC50 for IgE binding to Gly m 4. 96% (46/48) of the protein variants bound IgE. Model proteins had Gly m 4-type conformation and individual IgE binding clustered in six major surface areas. Gly m 4-specific IgE binding could be inhibited to up to 80% by model proteins harbouring individual IgE binding sites in an epitope-wise equimolar fashion. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed an area under fitted curve of up to 0.88 for model proteins and 0.66 for Gly m 4. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Serum levels and avidity of Gly m 4-specific IgE do not correlate with clinical reactivity to soya. Six IgE-binding areas, represented by 23 amino acids, account for more than 80% of total IgE binding capacity of Gly m 4. Model proteins may be used for epitope-resolved diagnosis to differentiate birch-soya allergy from clinical tolerance.
Asunto(s)
Antígenos de Plantas/inmunología , Mapeo Epitopo , Epítopos de Linfocito B/química , Epítopos de Linfocito B/inmunología , Inmunoglobulina E/inmunología , Modelos Moleculares , Conformación Proteica , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Especificidad de Anticuerpos/inmunología , Antígenos de Plantas/química , Antígenos de Plantas/genética , Betula/inmunología , Reacciones Cruzadas/inmunología , Mapeo Epitopo/métodos , Variación Genética , Humanos , Hipersensibilidad/inmunología , Tolerancia Inmunológica , Inmunoglobulina G/inmunología , Polen/inmunología , Unión Proteica/inmunología , Curva ROC , Proteínas RecombinantesRESUMEN
NIR-FT-Raman spectroscopy was used for identification and quantification of harpagoside in secondary roots of Harpagophytum procumbens as well as in related phytopharmaceutical products, e.g., ethanolic extracts and tablets. Applied Raman mappings reveal the spatial distribution of this valuable iridoid glycoside within the different samples. The same technique can be used for quality control purposes beginning from the plant to its final products. Based on the obtained spectral data and reference HPLC values of harpagoside, a reliable multivariate calibration model was developed.
Asunto(s)
Glicósidos/química , Harpagophytum/química , Fitoterapia , Extractos Vegetales/química , Piranos/química , Comprimidos , Calibración , Glicósidos/aislamiento & purificación , Extractos Vegetales/aislamiento & purificación , Raíces de Plantas/química , Piranos/aislamiento & purificación , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Espectroscopía Infrarroja por Transformada de Fourier , Espectrometría RamanRESUMEN
Integrative medicine implies the ability to extract bits of information from seemingly disparate disciplines, and synthesize them into something that is meaningful. Contemporary medical research is more apt to be driven by purely commercial incentives that not only do not favor integrative efforts, but deliberately suppress them when vested interests are threatened. Good health depends entirely on good communication whenever homeostasis is threatened. This requires a continual and instantaneous exchange of information between the constituency of the internal environment that can only be comprehended by an integrative approach. Various examples are given to illustrate these and other relevant issues.
Asunto(s)
Educación Médica , Filosofía Médica , Práctica Profesional , HumanosAsunto(s)
Dolor/fisiopatología , Estrés Fisiológico/fisiopatología , Animales , Ansiedad/fisiología , Sistema Nervioso Central/fisiología , Estimulación Eléctrica , Endorfinas/fisiología , Encefalinas/fisiología , Humanos , Procesos Mentales/fisiología , Estrés Psicológico/fisiología , Estimulación Eléctrica Transcutánea del NervioRESUMEN
Phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the Ha-ras oncogene product p21 and its nucleotide complexes have been obtained. It is shown that the 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of a number of nucleotide-enzyme complexes show some common features. In particular, the chemical shift values of the beta-phosphorus resonance of enzyme-bound NTP and NDP (N = A, G) of hydrolases exhibit a downfield shift virtually identical for myosin, elongation factor Tu, and the Ha-ras oncogene product p21. This suggests that the stereochemistry around the beta-phosphorus might be similar in these compounds.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Neoplasias/análisis , Nucleótidos/análisis , Oncogenes , Guanosina Difosfato/análisis , Guanosina Trifosfato/análisis , Magnesio/análisis , Espectroscopía de Resonancia Magnética , Proteína Oncogénica p21(ras) , Fósforo , Unión ProteicaRESUMEN
This is an attempt to present a comprehensive overview of two major trends in American medicine which suggests significant evolutionary biopsychosocial developments in the remaining decades of the 20th century. Comments have been confined to the U.S. because it is the geographical country of residence and practice of the authors, and because the U.S. appears to be the locus of two contemporaneous and seemingly antithetical popular movements: quantum leaps in the development and use of medical technology and a groundswell of interest and enthusiasm for health enhancement or wellness which advocates a natural approach to health and emphasizes the central role of the individual in the preservation of health and the prevention of illness. The dynamics of this modern dialectic in American medicine have generated important qualitative consequences in the nature of the doctor-patient relationship and the delivery of health care. They have also, it is submitted, generated the search for a new paradigm which will permit a workable equilibrium between the disparate imperatives of both movements. The delicate process of developing that equilibrium is made more difficult by the co-existence of a host of complex factors, many of which are inextricably interwoven with one or the other of these two major trends.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)