Biomedical subjects

M Brenden

Publications and source records attributed to M Brenden.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III genetics in two Amerindian tribes from southern Brazil: the Kaingang and the Guarani.

Population genetic studies of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III region, comprising C2, BF and C4 phenotypes, and molecular genetic data are rarely available for populations other than Caucasoids. We have investigated three Amerindian populations from Southern Brazil: 131 Kaingang from Ivaí (KIV), 111 Kaingang (KRC) and 100 Guarani (GRC) from Rio das Cobras. Extended MHC haplotypes were derived after standard C2, BF, C4 phenotyping and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with TaqI, together with HLA data published previously by segregation analysis. C2 and BF frequencies corresponded to other Amerindian populations. C4B*Q0 frequency was high in the GRC (0.429) but low in the Kaingang. Unusual C4 alleles were found, viz. C4A*58, A*55 and C4B*22 (presumably non-Amerindian) and aberrant C4A*3 of Amerindian origin occurring with a frequency of 0.223 in the GRC. C4A*3 bands of homo- and heterozygous individuals carrying this variant were Rodgers 1 positive and Chido 1,3 positive, showed a C4A specific lysis type and a C4A like alpha-chain. Polymerase chain reaction studies and sequencing showed that this is based on a C4A*3 duplication with a regular C4A*3 and a partially converted C4A*0304 carrying the C4B specific epitopes Ch 6 and Ch 1,3. Associations of class III haplotypes with particular RFLP patterns were similar to those reported for Caucasoids. The previously described association between combined C4A and CYP21P deletions and the 6.4 kb TaqI fragment was not seen in these Amerindians. This fragment occurred within a regular two locus gene structure in the Kaingang, representing a "short" gene at C4 locus I. C4 and CYP21 duplications were frequently observed. The distribution of extended MHC haplotypes provides evidence for a close relationship between the KIV and KRC and a larger genetic distance between the two Kaingang groups and the GRC.

Brazil↗

PubMed1997

Cloning, sequencing, and expression of the mig gene of Mycobacterium avium, which codes for a secreted macrophage-induced protein.

Mycobacterium avium is an intracellular pathogen that has evolved to be a frequent cause of disseminated infection in immunocompromised patients. Although these bacilli are readily phagocytized, they are able to survive and even multiply within human macrophages. The process whereby mycobacteria circumvent the lytic functions of the macrophages is currently not well understood, but this is a key aspect in the pathogenicity of all pathogenic mycobacteria. Previously, we identified a gene in M. avium, designated mig (for macrophage-induced gene), the expression of which is induced when the bacilli grow in human macrophages (G. Plum and J. E. Clark-Curtiss, Infect. Immun. 62:476-483, 1994). In the present study we show that (i) the nucleotide sequence of the mig gene has an open reading frame of 295 amino acids with a strong bias for mycobacterial codon usage, (ii) the mig gene also codes for a putative signal peptide of 19 amino acid residues, (iii) mig is induced by acidity to be expressed as an early-secreted 30-kDa protein, and (iv) the Mig protein exhibits an AMP-binding domain signature. However, beyond this motif which is common to enzymes that activate a large variety of substrates, no homologies to known sequences are found. We also show that (v) Mycobacterium smegmatis strains expressing the Mig protein have a limited advantage for survival in macrophages. These findings may be concordant with a role of the mig gene in the virulence of M. avium.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Serum antibody reactivity to recombinant mig and whole cell antigens in Mycobacterium avium infection.

Mycobacterium avium is a significant opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. Moreover, the prevalence of infections in patients without known predisposing conditions has also been increasing in recent years. Patients would greatly benefit from early diagnosis of disseminated infection. Serodiagnostic tests have already been promising in tuberculosis and immunocompetent patients but studies in HIV-infected patients and humoral response to M. avium antigens resulted in conflicting data. We have evaluated the use of the phagocytosis-induced MIG protein of M. avium as a diagnostic antigen. Serum antibody levels of M. avium-infected, HIV-negative patients were significantly elevated for the recombinant MIG (p < 0.001) and also for M. avium whole-cell antigens (p < 0.025) as compared to controls. In contrast, HIV-infected patients with disseminated M. avium infection demonstrated also elevated levels of antibody for the whole-cell antigen (p < 0.00001) but a decreased reactivity for the MIG antigen (p < 0.007). The recombinant antigen proved to have no cross-reactivity with M. tuberculosis antigens as antibody levels were decreased in tuberculosis patients (p < 0.001). Therefore, a simultaneous serological test using recombinant MIG and the whole cell antigens might be helpful in the sometimes problematic diagnosis of M. avium infections in patients without predisposing conditions.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

PubMed1994

An estimate on the frequency of duplicated haplotypes and silent alleles of human C4 protein polymorphism. II. Investigations in healthy Negro families.

The first investigation of complete MHC marker data in South African Negroes by segregation analysis in 11 families with up to three generations is presented, including quantitative evaluation of C4 allotype patterns and C4 beta chain determinations according to Steuer et al. (1). The frequency of homo- and heteroduplicated, hybrid, and non-expressed C4 alleles was determined from C4 protein phenotyping, including C4 alpha and beta chains, quantitative estimates of the relative electrophoretic C4 banding patterns by scanning densitometry, and from the other classical MHC markers by submitting all results to the family analysis program (FAP). From unrelated non-diseased individuals (n = 105) in these families with 62 haplotypes, the following frequencies were observed for non-expressed alleles: C4A*Q0 0.1189, C4B*Q0 0.2552, and for the total of heteroduplicated alleles: C4A 0.0645, C4B 0.0608. Applying additionally quantitative determinations of C4 banding patterns, homoduplications such as C4A*3 A*3, C4B*1 B*1, C4B*3 B*3, and the heteroduplication C4A*3 A*2 were assumed. In the investigated individuals the heteroduplications of C4A*12 and C4A*3 with the A*91 allele and of C4B*2 with C4B*92 were observed. It was concluded that not only allele frequencies but also the frequency of heteroduplications seems to be of specific ethnic character. Furthermore, the prior hypothesis that deletion or non-expression at one C4 locus is accompanied by duplication at the other was only confirmed for non-expressed B-alleles with C4A*3 A*91 or C4A*12 A*91.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alleles↗

PubMed1993

Humoral and cellular immunity in HIV positive and HIV negative Helicobacter pylori infected patients.

The prevalence of H. pylori associated gastritis seems to be different in HIV positive and HIV negative patients. Therefore a correlation to immunodeficiency can be postulated. The histology of gastritis, status of H. pylori infection and parameters of humoral and cellular immune response were investigated in 41 HIV positive and 47 HIV negative patients, who were subjected to upper endoscopy for the evaluation of gastrointestinal symptoms. In HIV positive patients 37% had active chronic gastritis against 62% of the HIV negative patients. In 73% of HIV positive cases of active chronic gastritis H. pylori was detected by bacteriological culture and/or Warthin-Starry stain. In HIV negative patients active chronic gastritis was always associated to H. pylori infection. Production of antibodies as measured by two commercially available ELISA tests was significant in HIV positive and HIV negative patients; both tests correlated well with H. pylori detection by culture or direct microscopy. Immunoglobulin class specific immunoblots corresponded to the ELISA results in HIV negative patients but to a lesser extent in the HIV positive group which was assumed to be related to unspecific polyclonal activation in these patients. Systemic cellular immunity was investigated by proliferation assays of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Proliferative response to the unspecific mitogen PHA was reduced in HIV positive patients. A sonicated H. pylori antigen failed to induce lymphocyte proliferation. The antimitogenic effect was also seen in case of coincubation with PHA. This observation was independent of H. pylori and HIV infection status. We conclude that in HIV positive as in HIV negative patients active chronic gastritis is predominantly related to H. pylori infection. The prevalence of H. pylori associated gastritis in HIV positive patients is significantly reduced (p < 0.025) compared to HIV negative controls. Decreased susceptibility to H. pylori infection in HIV positive patients may not be explained by the abnormal reactivity of their humoral or cellular immune response.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Association of C4B deficiency (C4B*Q0) with erythema nodosum in leprosy.

A considerable number of studies have postulated significant associations between susceptibility to the different clinical manifestations of leprosy and the MHC. In this investigation, the association between the MHC class III complement proteins C2, BF, C4A and C4B and leprosy in a patient population of Southern Brazil was studied. A total of 109 non-related leprosy patients was investigated; 73 presented with lepromatous leprosy (LL), 46 of them had the immunopathological reaction of erythema nodosum (ENL), the remaining 36 were tuberculoid, borderline and indeterminate leprosy (TIBL) patients. The control group included 172 healthy individuals matched with the patients according to their ethnic and geographical origin. C2, BF, C4A and C4B allotypes were determined by standard technologies including Western blots for C2 and C4 variant alleles with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Non-expressed ('silent') C4 alleles in hemizygously deficient individuals were estimated semiquantitatively on the basis of the C4A and C4B isotype ratio and by the MASC ('minimal chi-square') method. The results showed a significantly elevated presence of the non-expressed C4B allele (C4B*Q0) in the LL and ENL patient groups in comparison with the controls. The most significant difference was observed in the ENL group when compared with the controls. In addition, all patients who were homozygously C4B-deficient had ENL, and most of them had the BF*F1 allele. The comparison between LL patients with and without ENL also showed a statistically significant difference in the presence of C4B*Q0, indicating that C4B deficiency itself is associated with ENL. The relative risk of LL patients with the C4B*Q0 allele suffering from ENL was 5.3 compared with LL patients without C4B*Q0. Since immune complexes (IC) are considered to be the pathogenic cause of ENL, our findings indicate that C4B deficiency may play an important role in the abnormal immune response against Mycobacterium leprae and in the lack of IC clearance, leading to ENL reactions. Individuals with this allele seem to be at a higher risk of developing pathological immune reactivity in lepromatous leprosy.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Apparently non-expressed alleles of factor B (BF) code for hypomorphic proteins.

In three families with an apparent non-expressed factor B (BF) allele (BF*Q0), advanced methods of isoelectric focusing for the determination of BF F subtypes revealed different hypomorphic BF products (BF QL) with functional hemolytic activity expressed by the assumed BF*Q0 allele. A Taq I and a Msp I restriction fragment length polymorphism as well as the Ba fragment of the expression products showed banding patterns for the BF*QL alleles corresponding to BF S types, whereas an altered Bb fragment was seen in two BF QL products. In one family an intragenic recombination site within the Bb part of the BF gene was assumed. Investigations of factor B and its conversion fragments, as demonstrated by the used methods, allow to complement molecular genetic investigations of BF*Q0 alleles in heterozygous genotypes on a protein level. We conclude that apparently non-expressed alleles of factor B code for hypomorphic but functionally active proteins.

Alleles↗

PubMed1991

Association of major histocompatibility complex class III complement components C2, BF, and C4 with Brazilian paracoccidioidomycosis.

A genetic influence of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the susceptibility and the development of the different clinical forms of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) has been postulated. In the present investigation allotypes of MHC-coded class III gene products (complement components C2, BF, C4A, and B) were determined in 69 Brazilian PCM patients and 225 healthy control individuals matched for ethnic and geographic origin. The frequency of the non-expressed C4B allele (C4B*Q0) was significantly elevated in comparison to the controls (p less than 0.01; Fisher's exact test). Three out of 69 patients had a complete C4B deficiency as against 2 among 223 control individuals. The C4A*Q0 allele was also more frequent in the patients. Other C4 alleles were not seen to differ between the two groups. The analysis of BF allotypes showed a non-significant predominance of the rarer allele BF*S07 in the patients, whereas no difference in the distribution of C2 alleles was seen. The data on MHC class III association may support the hypothesis of immune response modulation in PCM and suggest a functional genetic role of complement action against the fungus and in the outcome of PCM infection. We conclude that MHC class III products, especially C4B*Q0, are associated with chronic uni- or multifocal PCM and may influence the course of the infection.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Factor B reference typing report.

In a factor B (BF) Reference Typing of the VIth Complement Genetics Workshop and Conference, Mainz, FRG, 1989, 99 samples from 13 laboratories, including 18 families, were investigated with the majority of presently known typing procedures. Among the major ('standard') allotypes BF SO4 was found to be new. For the group of common BF F subtypes samples from 11 laboratories including complete family data from 5 laboratories were compared. The subtypes BF FA and FB were recognized and confirmed to be identical in the samples from all groups. Within a third group rare subtype variants of F and S were compared and characterized. In samples submitted from individuals with assumed non-expressed (BF*QO) alleles unexpected and hypomorphic gene products were seen. The investigation of DNA samples for restriction fragment length polymorphisms from the same set of individuals revealed a correlation of the Msp I 0.7-kb fragment with BF F, and confirmed the correlation of a Taq I 6.6-kb fragment with BF FA.

Alleles↗

PubMed1990

C4 reference typing report.

Human C4 is most polymorphic at the protein level, distinction between allotypes of the C4A and C4B proteins resting on electrophoretic migration patterns and difference in hemolytic activity. The aim of the C4 reference typing has been the definition of reference variants, the assignment of rare variants, and the investigation of duplicated, deleted, or non-expressed and hybrid genes. Samples from 136 individuals, predominantly with known segregation, from 16 laboratories were investigated by standard electrophoretic techniques, for their relative hemolytic activity, reactivity with monoclonal antibodies and Rg/Ch reagents, alpha-, and beta-chain types, relative electrophoretic migration distance, as well as the C4/21-OH-TaqI RFLPs. The results were evaluated in three groups; they consisted in the definition of the eight most common C4 alleles, and the ten Rg/Ch standard phenotypes in group I. In group II twelve C4A and fourteen C4B duplications among 96 complotypes, as well as eighteen deleted/non-expressed C4A and twenty-two C4B alleles, and hybrid alleles were seen by correlation of lytic activity, electrophoretic mobility, and monoclonal and/or Rg/Ch reactivity. Group III consisted of the newly defined allotypes A 8, A 7, A 58, A 55, A 45, B 45, B 35, and B 22, furthermore of alleles subdividing the A 1/A 91, and the B 13/B 12/B 11 regions. The reference typing has allowed reclassification of the majority of described C4 allotypes and resulted in a revision of the C4 nomenclature.

Blood Grouping and Crossmatching↗

PubMed1990

Relative electrophoretic migration distances for the classification of C4 allotypes.

For the definition of common C4 allotypes relative electrophoretic migration (RM) values were determined. A set of standard C4 variants were investigated by prolonged agarose gel electrophoresis and subsequent immunofixation with specific antiserum. RM distances were measured by laser densitometry. Using an arbitrary standard of 100 units for the migration distance between the C4B 1 and C4A 3 bands a total deviation of +/- 6.45% in more than 108 single determinations was found. The common C4 alleles used for standardization were C4A*6, C4A*4, C4A*3, C4A*2, C4B*5, C4B*3, C4B*2, C4B*1. In addition, side by side comparison and admixture of known variants will be necessary for the differentiation of some of the closely migrating allotypes. RM values are now available for eight alleles frequently found in all populations for future comparison and designation of newly discovered C4 allotypes.

Complement C4↗

PubMed1989

Human BF*F-subtypes: segregation analysis with inclusion of MHC haplotypes.

The segregation of factor B(BF)F subtypes was analyzed in conjunction with other MHC markers in 15 families with 89 offspring. Informative data for BF F subtypes were obtained from 11 families, 6 of them with known recombinant individuals for the HLA-B/DR/GLO region. The subtypes did not contribute further to the localization of the cross-overs, but followed the known segregation of conventional BF allotypes. In 2 families of one kinship, the recognition of heterozygous BF*FAFB individuals could be established following the inclusion of three generations. The rarer of the two BF F subtype alleles, BF*FA, is positively associated with the HLA haplotypes BW62, CW3, C4A*3 and A29, CWX, B44, C4A*3, B*1, DR7. BF F subtypes are regarded as a very useful additional tool for studies of MHC organization and disease association.

Alleles↗