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Biomedical subjects

C Lahoz

Publications and source records attributed to C Lahoz.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Allergy to goat and sheep cheese with good tolerance to cow cheese.

BACKGROUND: We report on a patient who experienced allergic reactions after eating goat cheese and after touching goat and sheep cheese, but not after consuming cow's milk dairy products. OBJECTIVE: To assess the allergenicity and IgE-binding capacity of the caseins from the three different species. METHODS: Skin prick tests were carried out using whole milk and caseins from three different species (goat, sheep and cow), and whey fractions of cow's milk. Total serum IgE and specific IgE to cow's milk proteins were measured by CAP system and specific IgE against caseins and whole milk were determined by ELISA technique. To evaluate allergenic cross-reactivity, inhibition of the IgE ELISA activity to goat's milk and goat casein was tested for the three caseins. SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting was used to determine IgE binding bands in caseins. RESULTS: Skin tests were positive to sheep and goat's milk, sheep and goat casein, as well as to sheep and goat cheese. Total serum IgE was 66 kU/L and IgE determinations by CAP were negative. IgE ELISA against the caseins from goat and sheep was strongly positive, whereas it was negative to cow casein. ELISA inhibition assays revealed a high degree of cross-reactivity between goat casein and sheep casein. Immunoblotting showed three IgE-binding bands in goat casein at 31, 27 and 22 kDa, which may correspond to alpha-, beta- and gamma-caseins. A band at about 31 kDa was observed in sheep casein and another band at 34 kDa was recognized in cow casein. CONCLUSION: This patient developed allergy to goat and sheep cheese with good tolerance to cow's milk. We identified goat casein as the main allergen causing sensitization in this patient as demonstrated by in vivo and in vitro tests. A high degree of cross-reactivity between goat and sheep casein was observed.

Allergens↗
PubMed1999

Aspirin inhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and tumour necrosis factor-alpha release by cultured smooth muscle cells.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory related cardiovascular disease, i.e. cardiac allograft rejection, myocarditis, septic shock, are accompanied by cytokine production, which stimulates the expression of inducible nitric oxide (iNOS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aim of the present study was to examine whether anti-inflammatory doses of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) could regulate iNOS protein expression in bovine vascular smooth muscle cells (BVSMCs) in culture. RESULTS: Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta, 0.03 U mL-1) induced nitric oxide release by BVSMCs. Aspirin inhibited nitric oxide release from IL-1 beta-stimulated BVSMCs in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, aspirin significantly inhibited iNOS protein expression in BVSMCs and reduced the translocation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B). Furthermore, aspirin and the blockade of NO generation by BVSMCs reduced the production of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) by these cells. CONCLUSION: High doses of aspirin inhibited iNOS protein expression in BVSMCs and decreased NF-kappa B mobilization. The inhibition of iNOS expression by aspirin was further associated with a reduced ability of BVSMCs to produce TNF-alpha. This study could provide new mechanisms of action for aspirin in the treatment of the inflammation-related cardiovascular diseases.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMed1999

[Huntington chorea: clniical and molecular analysis in Asturian patients].

UNLABELLED: AIM AND PATIENTS: To analyse 38 patients with Huntington's disease from 27 families. RESULTS: The CAG repeat at the huntingtin gene was expanded between 40 and 72 times. The size in normal chromosomes varied from 12 to 30 repeats. We found a significantly negative correlation between the number of CAG-repeats and the age of clinical manifestations. However, age and clinical characteristics of the first symptoms were highly variable between patients with a similar size of the expanded allele. Patients who inherited the disease from their fathers showed a higher number of repeats than those who received the disease from their mothers. However, in one case of father to son transmission we observed a reduction of the number of CAG repeats. CONCLUSIONS: These data make it difficult to use the molecular analysis for the presymptomatic diagnosis of clinical course in individuals carrying the expansion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Galectin-3 down-regulates IL-5 gene expression on different cell types.

Galectin-3 is an animal lectin, formerly named epsilon-binding protein or Mac-2, which has been described to play an important role in some inflammatory processes by the implication of different cells and the increase in cell adhesion functions through laminin binding activity. In this work we analyzed the role of galectin-3 in the modulation of Th2 cytokines that have an important role in the development of the inflammatory response. We have found that the addition of galectin-3 to human eosinophils, the eosinophilic cell line EoL-3, PBMC, and an Ag-specific T cell line (CD4+) produced a selective inhibition of IL-5 transcription. No inhibitory effect was found on the IL-4 mRNA transcription rate. The inhibitory effect on IL-5 transcription was reversed by incubation with lactose and using specific Ab against galectin-3. Galectin-3 is able to induce inhibition of the IL-5 released in the supernatants from PBMC stimulated with phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate and anti-CD3. Similar results were obtained when a T-specific cell line was stimulated with Ag. Also, EoL-3 stimulated with anti-CD32 produced IL-5 protein, the synthesis of which was partially inhibited by galectin-3. The present results demonstrate that galectin-3 induces a selective down-regulation of IL-5 expression in different cell types, opening important new possibilities in the regulation of the allergic reactions.

Antigens, Differentiation↗
PubMed1998

[Effects of dietary fat saturation on levels of plasma lipoprotein (a) and lipids].

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein (a) (Lp[a]) is a known risk factor for coronary heart disease. Lp(a) plasma concentration mainly depends on genetic polymorphism. The aim of this study was evaluate the effect of dietary fat saturation on Lp(a) plasma concentration. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty two subjects (eighteen women and twenty four men) were placed in four consecutive 5 weeks diet periods. Energy intake from proteins, carbohydrates and fats was constant during the study and there were only changes on fatty acids composition. First period was enriched in saturated fatty acids (SFA), second period in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and third and fourth periods were enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Fourth period was also enriched in PUFA n-3 (blue fish). RESULTS: Changes on dietary fat saturation had a significant effect on plasma lipids and lipoproteins. Lp(a) plasma concentration was minimum in SFA phase (6.8 [SD 7.3] mg/dl), increasing during MUFA phase (8.7 [8.5] mg/dl) and was maximum in PUFA n-6 and PUFA n-3 (11.5 [11.1] and 12.7 [11.9] mg/dl, respectively) (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Changes on dietary fat saturation significantly modify Lp(a) plasma concentration. These variations went in opposite direction to LDL-cholesterol modifications and were clinically irrelevant.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Glucocorticoids increase IL-10 expression in multiple sclerosis patients with acute relapse.

High doses of glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely employed to treat acute attacks in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Their beneficial effects are partially due to their capacity to regulate the cytokine network. In the present work, we have examined the effect of GCs on the production of the immunosuppressor cytokine IL-10. Blood samples from MS patients suffering an acute relapse were obtained immediately before initiating therapy and after receiving a daily dose of 1 g intravenous methylprednisolone (MP) for four days. Levels of IL-10 mRNA in PBMC were semiquantified by RT-PCR, whereas protein concentration in serum and in cell culture supernatant was measured by ELISA. Our results show that 7 out of the 9 patients studied displayed increased IL-10 mRNA expression as well as higher serum IL-10 concentration following steroid treatment. In contrast, mRNA expression of two inflammatory cytokines, TNFalpha and IFNgamma, decreased following steroid therapy. In vitro experiments employing normal PBMC showed that methylprednisolone (MP) upregulated IL-10 expression as determined by measuring mRNA levels, flow cytometry of intracytoplasmic protein concentration, and the amount of secreted protein. Peak responses of secreted IL-10 by PBMC cultured cells treated with MP were obtained at 48 h. The effect was steroid-specific as IL-10 expression reversed to baseline levels in the presence of the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486. Contrary to the effect of MP on the spontaneous expression of IL-10, this drug downregulated LPS-induced IL-10 synthesis. In fact, the concentration of IL-10 in LPS-induced IL-10 secretion from normal PBMC decreased upon addition of MP to cell cultures. Thus, it seems that MP exerts an opposite effect on the spontaneous and LPS-induced IL-10 production. Our studies indicate that GCs may control inflammatory responses by upregulating production of the immunosuppressor cytokine IL-10.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Human apolipoprotein A-I gene promoter mutation influences plasma low density lipoprotein cholesterol response to dietary fat saturation.

Previous studies have shown that the A to G transition occurring at position -75 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site in the human apolipoprotein A-I gene may affect plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) response to changes in amount of dietary fat. We have examined the response to dietary fat saturation as a function of this mutation in 50 men and women. Subjects were first fed a saturated (SAT) fat diet (35% fat, 17% SAT) for 28 days, followed by a diet rich in monounsaturated fatty (MUFA) acids (35% fat, 22% MUFA) for 35 days and a diet rich in polyunsaturated (PUFA) fat (35% fat, 13% PUFA) for 35 days. All meals were prepared and consumed at the study sites. Lipoproteins were measured at the end of each diet period. The allele frequency for the A allele was 0.13. Subjects carrying the A allele had higher plasma cholesterol, LDL-C and triglyceride levels than those homozygotes for the G allele. As compared to the SAT diet, a PUFA diet induced significantly greater plasma total (P = 0.003) and LDL-C decreases (P = 0.001) in G/A women (-1.62 and -1.32 mmol/l, respectively) than in G/G subjects (-0.87 and -0.74 mmol/l for plasma and LDL-C, respectively). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that in women, the variability in LDL-C response from a diet rich in SAT fat to a diet rich in PUFA was primarily due to LDL-C levels (during the SAT phase), accounting for 55.1% of the variance, waist to hip ratio (W/H; 11.4%) and the G/A polymorphism (10%). Whereas in men the major determinant of this response was smoking (21.4%). In conclusion, the G/A polymorphism appears to have a small but significant effect on plasma LDL-C responsiveness to changes in dietary fat saturation specially in women.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Olive pollen allergy: searching for immunodominant T-cell epitopes on the Ole e 1 molecule.

BACKGROUND: The amino-acid and nucleotide sequence of Ole e 1 (the major antigen of olive pollen) has been described and the IgE antibody response to this major allergen was associated with DR7/DQ2 antigens. With this previous data we try to define the T-cell epitopes implicated in Ole e 1 reactivity. OBJECTIVES: To study the recognition of T cells (derived from allergic and non-allergic Ole e 1 patients) to Ole e 1 synthetic peptides in order to define immunodominant T-cell epitopes. METHODS: We have compared the proliferative response of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Ole e 1 sensitized patients vs. non-sensitized controls, induced by 14 Ole e 1 synthetic peptides. Thirty subjects were classified in two groups: group 1 (non-responders against Ole e 1, n=16) and group 2 (Ole e 1 responders, n=14), according to their clinical parameters and the presence or not in their sera of the significant Ole e 1 IgE antibody levels. RESULTS: Our results shown that it is possible to find T cells reactive to Ole e 1 peptides in patients with and without significant levels of Ole e 1 IgE antibodies. However, the percentage of response was higher in patients with IgE antibodies 71.4% vs 25%), and the recognition profile was different: the control group showed a broad reactivity pattern, in contrast, the response by the 'Ole e 1 responders' group was mainly directed against three peptides of the carboxi-terminal region, peptides 10 (91-102), 12 (109-120) and 13 (119-130), with a response frequency of 35.7, 28.5 and 28.5%, respectively. By direct and inhibition test no antibody response was found against the synthetic peptides. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the regions between 91 and 102 and 109-130 aminoacids on the Ole e 1 molecule are immunodominant T-cell epitopes. These epitopes are not recognized by IgE antibodies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Frequency of ApoB and ApoE gene mutations as causes of hypobetalipoproteinemia in the framingham offspring population.

Hypobetalipoproteinemia (HBLP) is characterized by plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein B (apoB) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) below the fifth percentile. Some forms of HBLP have been shown to be due to truncated forms of apoB-100. A total of 3873 subjects participating in the Framingham Offspring Study had LDL-C levels measured every 4 to 5 years throughout a 25-year period. Seventy-five subjects were identified with persistent HBLP, defined as an LDL-C <70 mg/dL on at least 2 observations, for a prevalence of 1.9% in this population. Compared with subjects with LDL- C >/=70 mg/dL, subjects with HBLP had significantly lower mean levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, triglyceride, and apoB; higher levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol; and a higher prevalence of the E2/E3 genotype: 38.7% versus 10.9% (P<0.001). Men with HBLP had a larger mean LDL particle size than did men with an LDL- C >/=70 mg/dL. One individual had a truncated apoB as a cause of HBLP, for a prevalence of 0.03%. Medical causes of HBLP included 2 cases of Crohn's disease, 1 of hemochromatosis, and 1 of hepatitis. Three subjects with HBLP developed coronary heart disease, for an incidence of 4% compared with 5% in those with an LDL- C >/=70 mg/dL (P=NS). The incidence of cancer was 8% in those with HBLP compared with 4% in those with an LDL-C >/=70 mg/dL (P=0.21). In conclusion, a truncated apoB was a rare cause of HBLP, whereas the E2/E3 genotype was a much more common cause. A large prospective study is needed to evaluate the incidence of cancer and atherosclerosis in subjects with HBLP.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Cytokine mRNA expression in lung tissue from toxic oil syndrome patients: a TH2 immunological mechanism.

In 1981, an epidemic occurred in Spain, toxic oil syndrome (TOS), in people who consumed rapeseed oil denatured with 2% aniline, and it was one of the largest intoxication epidemics ever recorded. In 1989, a similar disease, eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) was reported in the USA and was associated with the ingestion of L-tryptophan. The pathologic findings in TOS showed primary endothelial injury, with cell proliferation and perivascular inflammatory infiltrates. Immunologic mechanisms have presumably been operative in the pathogenesis and perpetuation of TOS. Our previous findings pointed to a T-cell activation during acute phase of the disease. In order to analyze which T-cell subset is involved on TOS, we have developed an mRNA extraction procedure from paraffin-embedded lung tissues in patients with pulmonary involvement. We analyzed mRNA expression from different cytokines (IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IFN-gamma, GM-CSF) and CD25 (interleukin 2 receptor) and CD23 (low affinity IgE receptor), using RT-PCR technique. In lung tissues from these patients a T-cell activation was observed. We found a significant increase in Th1 (P = 0.006) and Th2 (P = 0.003) cytokine profile in TOS patients with respect to controls. The increment in TH2 response with respect to TH1 is significant (P = 0.03) in TOS lung specimens. Non-significant differences were obtained in other cytokines and receptors studied as IL-1, CD25, CD23 and GM-CSF. Data presented in this paper are the first clear evidence that an immunological mechanism is directly implicated in this illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Study of apoptosis in human lymphocytes by toxic substances implicated in toxic oil syndrome.

Toxic Oil Syndrome is a multisystemic disease that occurred in epidemic proportions in Spain in 1981 caused by the ingestion of rapeseed oil denatured with aniline. Several data implicate T cells in the pathogenesis of the disease. We evaluated the mechanisms of cytotoxicity in human lymphocytes of TOS-related products: aniline, 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol and its mono- and di-oleyl esters and eosinophilia myalgia-related product such as 3-(phenylamino)-L-alanine, which is chemically similar to 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol, and has been found in manufactured L-tryptophan. Our results show that only di-oleyl ester of 3-(N-phenylamino)-1,2-propanediol induces apoptosis in human lymphocytes, in a concentration and time-dependent way, confirmed by morphology, expression of phosphatidylserine in membrane and analysis of DNA degradation.

Alanine↗
PubMed1997

Eosinophils transcribe and translate messenger RNA for inducible nitric oxide synthase.

Because of the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in inflammatory states such as parasitic and hypersensitivity disorders and the fact that eosinophils are one of the cell types implicated, we asked whether eosinophils were able to express mRNA specific to inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and iNOS protein and to secrete nitric oxide. iNOS protein was detected on eosinophil preparations by immunocytochemistry using iNOS mAb. Expression of iNOS protein was also detected by immunoblotting in human purified eosinophils and an eosinophilic leukemia cell line, Eol-3. Nitrite production was detected in the supernatant of human eosinophils and Eol-3 cells cultured for 24 h, and was completely inhibited in the presence of the NOS inhibitor N-methylester-L-arginine. iNOS cDNA was obtained by reverse transcription-PCR. After subcloning, sequencing of the 259-bp fragment from three different human eosinophils cDNAs revealed 97% identity with macrophage/monocyte iNOS. Our studies describe for the first time the presence of iNOS on eosinophil and a putative new role for this cell in inflammatory states such as asthma and parasitic disease.

Animals↗