Contribution of molecular diagnosis of allergy to the management of pediatric patients with allergy to pollen

BACKGROUND

Component-resolved diagnosis based on recombinant allergens facilitates treatment of multiple sensitization and/or crossreactivity in allergic patients.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the usefulness of molecular diagnosis in childhood allergies.

METHODS

A total of 162 children aged 4-16 years diagnosed with allergic rhinitis or asthma/rhinitis caused by pollen were referred for recombinant allergen-based diagnosis in 2006. Specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E against pollen allergens and purified recombinant Phleum pratense pollen allergens were measured using an in vitro quantitative assay, and considering the recombinant allergens Phl p 1+Phl p 5 as P pratense--specific allergens and Phl p 7+Phl p 12 as cross-reacting allergens. Conditional probability was calculated to determine the relationship between values for specific IgE against major allergens and those for cross-reacting allergens.

RESULTS

Specific IgE antibodies against P pratense were detected in 99.4% of serum samples, and cross-reacting allergens in 46%. Multiple sensitization to pollen was documented in 38% of patients, with Plantago lanceolata as the main cause. Conditional probability calculations showed that patients with specific IgE values of 75-80 kU(A)/L to Phl p 1+Phl p 5 were 75% (95% confidence interval) more likely to present values > or = 2 kUA/L to Phl p 7+Phl p 12.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that recombinant DNA technology can help diagnose allergy in cases of multiple sensitization and crossreactivity, and is therefore a promising option for improving prognosis and management of allergic pediatric populations.

A short-term exposure of cucumber plants to rising atmospheric CO2 increases leaf carbohydrate content and enhances nitrate reductase expression and activity

Nitrate reductase (NR; EC 1.6.6.1) is the first enzyme of the nitrate-assimilatory pathway and is regulated transcriptionally and post-translationally by several metabolic and environmental signals. To investigate whether NR is controlled by the rate of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in cucumber (Cucumis sastivus L.), intact plants were exposed, after the dark period, to light under different atmospheric CO2 concentrations (100, 400 and 2,000 microL x L(-1)) for 2 h. The in-vivo rates of net CO2 assimilation correlated with atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The CO2-fixation rate under 2,000 microL x L(-1) CO2 was 2.4- and 5.4-fold higher than under 400 and 100 microL x L(-1), respectively. Stomatal conductances and transpiration rates were almost identical after the 2-h light period under the various CO2 concentrations tested. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations caused concomitant increases in the contents of starch and soluble sugars in the leaves and a decrease in the nitrate content. The activity and activation state of NR were both higher under elevated CO2 than under low CO2. High CO2 also enhanced NR-gene expression in the leaves. Sugars were supplied via roots to intact carbohydrate-starved plants and NR mRNA levels were analysed after 7 h. Fructose markedly stimulated NR-gene transcription in both leaves and roots. It is concluded that, in cucumber plants, the rate of CO2 assimilation controls the rate of nitrate assimilation by modulation of NR expression and activity, and that sugars are presumably involved as regulatory metabolites.

Cellular redox state and activating protein-1 are involved in ascorbate effect on calcitriol-induced differentiation

Ascorbate has been related to the differentiation of several mesenchymal cells including haematopoietic cells. We have previously demonstrated that ascorbate enhances the activity of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1 alpha,25(OH)2D3) on monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells. Here, we show that ascorbate-mediated modification of cellular redox state and AP-1 (activating protein-1) DNA binding during early phases are related to the enhancing effect of ascorbate on differentiation. Ascorbate, but not its fully oxidized form, dehydroascorbate, or an ascorbate analogue with a low rate of oxidation, ascorbate-2-phosphate, enhanced the differentiation induced by 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3, modified cytosolic reactive oxygen species levels and mitochondrial redox potential (delta psi m), and modulated AP-1 DNA binding in HL-60 cells. Ascorbate itself increased AP-1 binding to DNA in noninduced cells, whereas it inhibited AP-1 binding in 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3-induced cells. However, ascorbate increased the mRNA levels of c-jun, junB, and c-fos in 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3-induced cells. Taken together, these results suggest that the enhancing effect of ascorbate on HL-60 differentiation induced by 1 alpha, 25(OH)2D3 is related to its effect on the cellular redox state and the modulation of AP-1 activity.

Ascorbate stabilization is stimulated in rho(0)HL-60 cells by CoQ10 increase at the plasma membrane

Long-term treatment with ethidium bromide of HL-60 cells induced a mitochondria-deficient rho degree cell line, where mitochondrial DNA can not be identified by PCR and cytochrome c oxidase activity was 80% decreased. These cells showed a progressive increase of ascorbate stabilization which was 52% higher in the established rho degree HL-60 cells. Both CoQ10 and NADH-ascorbate free radical reductase of the plasma membrane were increased in rho(0)HL-60 cells compared to parental cells, while NADH-cytochrome c reductase was unchanged. CoQ10 is a component of the ascorbate stabilization activity in the plasma membrane that would provide both a mechanism to deplete the excess of NADH produced in rho(0)HL-60 cells and for resistance to oxidative stress.

Purification and substrate inactivation of xanthine dehydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by a procedure which includes several conventional steps (gel filtration, anion exchange chromatography and preparative gel electrophoresis). The purified protein exhibited a specific activity of 5.7 units/mg protein (turnover number = 1.9 .10(3) min-1) and a remarkable instability at room temperature. Spectral properties were identical to those reported for other xanthine-oxidizing enzymes with absorption maxima in the 420-450 nm region and a shoulder at 556 nm characteristic of molybdoflavoproteins containing iron-sulfur centers. Chlamydomonas XDH was irreversibly inactivated upon incubation of enzyme with its physiological electron donors xanthine and hypoxanthine, in the absence of NAD+, its physiological electron acceptor. As deduced from spectral changes in the 400-500 nm region, xanthine addition provoked enzyme reduction which was followed by inactivation. This irreversible inactivation also took place either under anaerobic conditions or whenever oxygen or any of its derivatives were excluded. Adenine, 8-azaxanthine and acetaldehyde which could act as reducing substrates of XDH were also able to inactivate it upon incubation. The same inactivating effect was observed with NADH and NADPH, electron donors for the diaphorase activity associated with xanthine dehydrogenase. In addition, partial activities of XDH were differently affected by xanthine incubation. We conclude that xanthine dehydrogenase inactivation by substrate is due to an irreversible process affecting mainly molybdenum center and that sequential and uninterrupted electron flow from xanthine to NAD+ is essential to maintain the enzyme in its active form.

Distinction between Hypoxanthine and Xanthine Transport in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells consumed hypoxanthine and xanthine by means of active systems which promoted purine intracellular accumulation against a high concentration gradient. Both uptake and accumulation were also observed in mutant strains lacking xanthine dehydrogenase activity. Xanthine and hypoxanthine uptake systems exhibited very similar Michaelis constants for transport and pH values, and both systems were induced by either hypoxanthine or xanthine. However, they differed greatly in the length of the lag phase before uptake induction, which was longer for hypoxanthine than for xanthine. Cells grown on ammonium and transferred to hypoxanthine media consumed xanthine before hypoxanthine, whereas cells transferred to xanthine media did not take up hypoxanthine until 2 hours after commencing xanthine consumption. Metabolic and photosynthetic inhibitors such as 2,4-dinitrophenol, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea, and carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone inhibited to a different extent the hypoxanthine and xanthine uptake. Similarly, N-ethylmaleimide abolished xanthine uptake but slightly affected that of hypoxanthine. Hypoxanthine consumption was inhibited by adenine and guanine whereas that of xanthine was inhibited only by urate. We conclude that hypoxanthine and xanthine in C. reinhardtii are taken up by different active transport systems which work independently of the intracellular enzymatic oxidation of these purines.