In situ imaging of honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom components from aqueous and aluminum hydroxide-adsorbed venom immunotherapy preparations.

BACKGROUND: Treatment with aqueous and aluminum hydroxide (Al[OH](3))-adsorbed purified honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom (HBV) preparations can reduce the incidence of side effects associated with venom immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to assess these purified HBV immunotherapy preparations in situ. METHODS: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) was used to visualize the distribution of HBV components. The preparations were administered on the back legs of naive Wistar rats. The rats were killed, and cryosectioned tissue sections were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining and MALDI-MSI analyses. RESULTS: Low-density maps of tissue distribution of HBV peptides, such as secapin, mast cell degranulating peptide, and melittin (Api m 4) were detected in the tissue after administration of HBV immunotherapy preparations. In addition, release of biogenic amines, cytokines, and leukotrienes was observed, and the distribution of HBV allergens, such as Api m 1 and Api m 2, was shown. At the 24-hour time point, the major HBV allergen Api m 1 was still detected at the site of Al(OH)(3)-adsorbed HVB injection, whereas in the case of aqueous HBV preparation, all the allergens, as well as most of the biogenic amines, were cleared at the 24-hour time point. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that the majority of low-molecular-weight HBV components are rapidly removed from the site of venom immunotherapy administration. Furthermore, Al(OH)(3)-adsorbed HBV preparation demonstrated a depot effect, prolonging the availability of bee venom allergens at the site of administration.

Skeletal muscle degeneration induced by venom phospholipases A2: insights into the mechanisms of local and systemic myotoxicity.

Local and systemic skeletal muscle degeneration is a common consequence of envenomations due to snakebites and mass bee attacks. Phospholipases A2 (PLA2) are important myotoxic components in these venoms, inducing a similar pattern of degenerative events in muscle cells. Myotoxic PLA2s bind to acceptors in the plasma membrane, which might be lipids or proteins and which may differ in their affinity for the PLA2s. Upon binding, myotoxic PLA2s disrupt the integrity of the plasma membrane by catalytically dependent or independent mechanisms, provoking a pronounced Ca2+ influx which, in turn, initiates a complex series of degenerative events associated with hypercontraction, activation of calpains and cytosolic Ca(2+)-dependent PLA2s, and mitochondrial Ca2+ overload. Cell culture models of cytotoxicity indicate that some myotoxic PLA2s affect differentiated myotubes in a rather selective fashion, whereas others display a broad cytolytic effect. A model is presented to explain the difference between PLA2s that induce predominantly local myonecrosis and those inducing both local and systemic myotoxicity. The former bind not only to muscle cells, but also to other cell types, thereby precluding a systemic distribution of these PLA2s and their action on distant muscles. In contrast, PLA2s that bind muscle cells in a more selective way are not sequestered by non-specific interactions with other cells and, consequently, are systemically distributed and reach muscle cells in other locations.

In vivo kinetics of the immunoglobulin E response to allergen: bystander effect of coimmunization and relationship with anaphylaxis.

BACKGROUND: Murine models of hypersensitivity to allergens are useful tools for the evaluation of preclinical strategies to down-regulate the IgE response. OBJECTIVE: To monitor the long-term kinetics of T and B cell responses to allergen as a function of allergen dosage and to investigate the effect of parallel immunization with a second antigen; to correlate B cell response with anaphylaxis. METHODS: CBA/J mice were sensitized every other week by subcutaneous injections of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and/or ovalbumin (OVA) adsorbed to alum. Specific antibody isotype responses, T cell proliferation, T cell cytokine production and anaphylaxis were assessed throughout the sensitization phase. RESULTS: Low-dose immunization with PLA2 (0.1 microg) favoured a long-term, specific T helper (Th)2 response with high IgE and IL-4 production in contrast to high-dose PLA2 (10 microg) immunization, which biased the immune response towards a Th1 response with high IgG2a and low IL-4 production. Parallel immunization with an unrelated antigen (ovalbumin) had a significant bystander effect on the immunization with PLA2, which was also dose-dependent. Finally, although anaphylaxis as measured by rectal temperature drop was allergen-specific, it could be induced in the high- and low-dose immunization groups, and was not solely dependent on IgE levels. CONCLUSION: Though low-dose allergen immunization appears to induce an efficient IgE response, the intensity and quality of this response may be modulated by bystander effects of parallel immunization and does not correlate strictly with anaphylaxis. This observation has relevance to the design of clinical immunotherapy protocols using murine model-based data.

A high affinity acceptor for phospholipase A2 with neurotoxic activity is a calmodulin.

One of the high affinity binding proteins for ammodytoxin C, a snake venom presynaptically neurotoxic phospholipase A(2), has been purified from porcine cerebral cortex and characterized. After extraction from the membranes, the toxin-binding protein was isolated in a homogenous form using wheat germ lectin-Sepharose, Q-Sepharose, and ammodytoxin-CH-Sepharose chromatography. The specific binding of (125)I-ammodytoxin C to the isolated acceptor was inhibited to different extents by some neurotoxic phospholipases A(2), ammodytoxins, bee venom phospholipase A(2), agkistrodotoxin, and crotoxin; but not by nontoxic phospholipases A(2), ammodytin I(2), porcine pancreatic phospholipase A(2), and human type IIA phospholipase A(2); suggesting the significance of the acceptor in the mechanism of phospholipase A(2) neurotoxicity. The isolated acceptor was identified as calmodulin by tandem mass spectrometry. Since calmodulin is generally considered as an intracellular protein, the identity of this acceptor supports the view that secretory phospholipase A(2) neurotoxins have to be internalized to exert their toxic effect. Moreover, since ammodytoxin is known to block synaptic transmission, its interaction with calmodulin as an acceptor may constitute a valuable probe for further investigation of the role of the latter in this Ca(2+)-regulated process.

Type 1-prophospholipase A2 propeptide immunoreactivity is released from activated granulocytes.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a ELISA assay to measure release of type 1-phospholipase A2 propeptide from activated granulocytes. Human type 1-prophospholipase A2 (1-proPLA2) is biosynthesized and stored as inactive zymogen. Activation involves tryptic-like cleavage at the N-terminus, with equimolar release of the heptapeptide DSGISPR. METHODS: Using antibodies directed to the carboxyterminus of synthetic DSGISPR we developed a sensitive solid-phase ELISA specific for the released propeptide that accurately reports the activation of 1-proPLA2. The presence of the 1-proPLA2 precursor itself can be determined by trypsinization of the sample and subsequent assay for free DSGISPR. RESULTS: Using this ELISA, we demonstrated the presence of immunoreactive DSGISPR and its 14 kDa 1-proPLA2-like precursor in human granulocytes, but their absence in human macrophages and lymphocytes. Stimulation of cultured granulocytes with 1 pM of TNF alpha or GM-CSF caused rapid release of DSGISPR and precursor into the surrounding medium. The immunoreactive signal coeluted with standard synthetic DSGISPR on G50 Sephadex chromatography. CONCLUSION: Release of DSGISPR immunoreactivity appears to be a specific consequence of granulocyte activation of potential relevance to the clinical pathophysiology of conditions like acute lung injury.

Fosfolipasa A2 y ruptura prematura de membranas / Phospolipase A2 and premature rupture of membranes

Se determinó la actividad de fosfolipasa A2 en líquidos amnióticos jóvenes: 1.782. En los líquidos amnióticos de término, la actividad fue de 10.693. La actividad detectada en los LA de ruptura prematura de membranas fue de 29.077 en el grupo con infección y 12.357 para las muestras sin infección. Se observó que el líquido amniótico joven posee la menor actividad. El grupo con infección mostró la mayor actividad. El aumento significativo en la actividad de la fosfolipasa A2 en los líquidos amnióticos de término y con RPM en comparación con la observada en los líquidos jóvenes permite suponer la participación activa de la forma soluble de estaenzima como mediador en el aumento de Prostaglandina E2 observado en el LA de los dos primeros grupos. Por ello, se puede inferir que la FLA2 podría ser un mediador central en el macanismo de ruptura de membranas tanto en el trabajo de parto normal, como en la RPM

Pancreatic phospholipase A2 in proximal tubules of rat kidney in experimental acute pancreatitis and after intravenous injection of the enzyme.

Kinetics and distribution of i.v. human pancreatic phospholipase A2 (h-PLA2) were determined in intact and nephrectomized rats, and tissue localization of rat pancreatic PLA2 (r-PLA2) was studied by immunohistochemistry in experimental acute pancreatitis. The concentration of h-PLA2 and the catalytic activity of phospholipase A2 in plasma decreased exponentially in intact and nephrectomized animals after the injection. The initial 15-min half-life was considerably longer in nephrectomized animals, and higher h-PLA2 concentrations and PLA2 catalytic activities were found in plasma. h-PLA2 was localized in endocytotic vesicles and apical cytoplasmic vacuoles in proximal tubule cells of the kidney. The intensity of the immunoreaction decreased considerably between 15 and 50 min in these cells. No signs of tubular damage were seen by light microscopy. Neither immunoreactive h-PLA2 nor PLA2 catalytic activity was found in urine. r-PLA2 was observed in proximal tubule cells 15 min after an injection of sodium taurocholate (necrotizing pancreatitis group) or saline (edematous pancreatitis group) into the pancreatic duct. Signs of tubular damage were present in necrotizing pancreatitis, but tubular morphology was normal in the animals with edematous pancreatitis. We conclude that the proximal tubule cells of the kidney participate in the metabolism of circulating pancreatic PLA2, and considerably higher PLA2 levels persist in plasma in nephrectomized animals. Endogenous pancreatic PLA2 is detected in kidneys in acute pancreatitis.

A predictive model for the clearance of soluble phospholipase A2 during septic shock.

Circulating phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has been recognized as a mediator of cardiovascular collapse in septic shock. Proximal mediators of endotoxemia, including tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1, induce PLA2 synthesis and release, but the factors regulating PLA2 elimination are unknown. Similarly, the kinetics of PLA2 clearance during recovery from septic shock have not been examined. An autoregressive mathematical model was developed to describe the rate of PLA2 clearance during the recovery phase of septic shock. This model (which estimates that the current day's PLA2 level is 77% of the previous day's level), accounted for 89% of the variability seen in the data. The estimated circulating half-life of soluble PLA2 in septic shock in man was 32 hours. Since elevation in serum PLA2 activity is closely associated with bacteremia or endotoxemia, a significant deviation from predicted PLA2 values may denote impending relapse.