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Caraballo L, Zakzuk J, Lee BW, Acevedo N, Soh JY, Sánchez-Borges M, Hossny E, García E, Rosario N, Ansotegui I, Puerta L, Sánchez J, Cardona V. Particularities of allergy in the Tropics. World Allergy Organ J 2016; 9:20. [PMID: 27386040 PMCID: PMC4924335 DOI: 10.1186/s40413-016-0110-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Allergic diseases are distributed worldwide and their risk factors and triggers vary according to geographical and socioeconomic conditions. Allergies are frequent in the Tropics but aspects of their prevalence, natural history, risk factors, sensitizers and triggers are not well defined and some are expected to be different from those in temperate zone countries. The aim of this review is to investigate if allergic diseases in the Tropics have particularities that deserve special attention for research and clinical practice. Such information will help to form a better understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of allergic diseases in the Tropics. As expected, we found particularities in the Tropics that merit further study because they strongly affect the natural history of common allergic diseases; most of them related to climate conditions that favor permanent exposure to mite allergens, helminth infections and stinging insects. In addition, we detected several unmet needs in important areas which should be investigated and solved by collaborative efforts led by the emergent research groups on allergy from tropical countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Caraballo
- />Institute for Immunological Research, University of Cartagena, Cra. 5 # 7-77, Cartagena, Colombia
| | - Josefina Zakzuk
- />Institute for Immunological Research, University of Cartagena, Cra. 5 # 7-77, Cartagena, Colombia
| | - Bee Wah Lee
- />Khoo Teck Puat- National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
- />Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nathalie Acevedo
- />Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Translational Immunology Unit, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jian Yi Soh
- />Khoo Teck Puat- National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
- />Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mario Sánchez-Borges
- />Allergy and Clinical Immunology Department, Centro Médico- Docente La Trinidad and Clínica El Avila, Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Elham Hossny
- />Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Unit, Children’s Hospital, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Elizabeth García
- />Allergy Section, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Nelson Rosario
- />Federal University of Parana, Rua General Carneiro, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Ignacio Ansotegui
- />Department of Allergy and Immunology, Hospital Quirón Bizkaia, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Leonardo Puerta
- />Institute for Immunological Research, University of Cartagena, Cra. 5 # 7-77, Cartagena, Colombia
| | - Jorge Sánchez
- />Department of Pediatrics, Graduate Program on Allergology, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Victoria Cardona
- />Allergy Section, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
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Fitzsimmons CM, Falcone FH, Dunne DW. Helminth Allergens, Parasite-Specific IgE, and Its Protective Role in Human Immunity. Front Immunol 2014; 5:61. [PMID: 24592267 PMCID: PMC3924148 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Th2 immune response, culminating in eosinophilia and IgE production, is not only characteristic of allergy but also of infection by parasitic worms (helminths). Anti-parasite IgE has been associated with immunity against a range of helminth infections and many believe that IgE and its receptors evolved to help counter metazoan parasites. Allergens (IgE-antigens) are present in only a small minority of protein families and known IgE targets in helminths belong to these same families (e.g., EF-hand proteins, tropomyosin, and PR-1 proteins). During some helminth infection, especially with the well adapted hookworm, the Th2 response is moderated by parasite-expressed molecules. This has been associated with reduced allergy in helminth endemic areas and worm infection or products have been proposed as treatments for allergic conditions. However, some infections (especially Ascaris) are associated with increased allergy and this has been linked to cross-reactivity between worm proteins (e.g., tropomyosins) and highly similar molecules in dust-mites and insects. The overlap between allergy and helminth infection is best illustrated in Anisakis simplex, a nematode that when consumed in under-cooked fish can be both an infective helminth and a food allergen. Nearly 20 molecular allergens have been isolated from this species, including tropomyosin (Ani s 3) and the EF-hand protein, Ani s troponin. In this review, we highlight aspects of the biology and biochemistry of helminths that may have influenced the evolution of the IgE response. We compare dominant IgE-antigens in worms with clinically important environmental allergens and suggest that arrays of such molecules will provide important information on anti-worm immunity as well as allergy.
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Zheng Y, Blair D, Bradley JE. Phyletic distribution of fatty acid-binding protein genes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77636. [PMID: 24155969 PMCID: PMC3796463 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 09/13/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are a family of fatty acid-binding small proteins essential for lipid trafficking, energy storage and gene regulation. Although they have 20 to 70% amino acid sequence identity, these proteins share a conserved tertiary structure comprised of ten beta sheets and two alpha helixes. Availability of the complete genomes of 34 invertebrates, together with transcriptomes and ESTs, allowed us to systematically investigate the gene structure and alternative splicing of FABP genes over a wide range of phyla. Only in genomes of two cnidarian species could FABP genes not be identified. The genomic loci for FABP genes were diverse and their genomic structure varied. In particular, the intronless FABP genes, in most of which the key residues involved in fatty acid binding varied, were common in five phyla. Interestingly, several species including one trematode, one nematode and four arthropods generated FABP mRNA variants via alternative splicing. These results demonstrate that both gene duplication and post-transcriptional modifications are used to generate diverse FABPs in species studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yadong Zheng
- School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, CAAS, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - David Blair
- James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Janette E. Bradley
- School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Sereda MJ, Hartmann S, Büttner DW, Volkmer R, Hovestädt M, Brattig N, Lucius R. Characterization of the allergen filarial tropomyosin with an invertebrate specific monoclonal antibody. Acta Trop 2010; 116:61-7. [PMID: 20525500 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2010] [Revised: 05/25/2010] [Accepted: 05/27/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Tropomyosins of invertebrates are pan-allergens responsible for wide spread allergic reactions against seafood and arthropods. As invertebrate tropomyosins are highly conserved, helminth tropomyosins are likely to show properties similar to these medically important allergens. Studies with a monoclonal antibody, NR1, raised against tropomyosin of the rodent filarial nematode Acanthocheilonema viteae revealed a B cell epitope common to helminths and marine mollusks, which does not occur in vertebrate tropomyosin. This antibody detected tropomyosin of A. viteae, other filariids, nematodes, trematodes and a cestode, and recognized as well tropomyosin of oyster, squid and octopus, but not of arthropods and vertebrates. Immunohistological analyses of A. viteae, Onchocerca volvulus and other nematodes using NR1 showed that tropomyosin is located in the fibrillar part of the body wall muscles and the uterus, and is also conspicuous in muscles of the pharynx, the vagina and other organs of the nematodes. The abundance of a pan-allergen like tropomyosin in parasitic worms and the counterintuitive, but well documented protection against allergic reactivity by some chronic helminth infections is discussed.
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