Biomedical subjects

T Reunala

Publications and source records attributed to T Reunala.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

Wheat starch-containing gluten-free flour products in the treatment of coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. A long-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether wheat starch-based gluten-free products are safe in the treatment of gluten intolerance. METHODS: The study involved 41 children and adults with coeliac disease and 11 adults with dermatitis herpetiformis adhering to a gluten-free diet for 8 years on average. Thirty-five newly diagnosed coeliac patients at diagnosis and 6 to 24 months after the start of a gluten-free diet and 27 non-coeliac patients with dyspepsia were investigated for comparison. Daily dietary gluten and wheat starch intake were calculated. Small-bowel mucosal villous architecture, CD3+, alphabeta+, and gammadelta+ intraepithelial lymphocytes, mucosal HLA-DR expression, and serum endomysial, reticulin, and gliadin antibodies were investigated. RESULTS: Forty of 52 long-term-treated patients adhered to a strict wheat starch-based diet and 6 to a strict naturally gluten-free diet; 6 patients had dietary lapses. In the 46 patients on a strict diet the villous architecture, enterocyte height, and density of alphabeta+ intraepithelial lymphocytes were similar to those in non-coeliac subjects and better than in short-term-treated coeliac patients. The density of gammadelta(+)cells was higher, but they seemed to decrease over time with the gluten-free diet. Wheat starch-based gluten-free flour products did not cause aberrant upregulation of mucosal HLA-DR. The mucosal integrity was not dependent on the daily intake of wheat starch in all patients on a strict diet, whereas two of the six patients with dietary lapses had villous atrophy and positive serology. CONCLUSION: Wheat starch-based gluten-free flour products were not harmful in the treatment of coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

IgE antibodies to prohevein, hevein, and rubber elongation factor in children with latex allergy.

BACKGROUND: Prohevein (Hev b 6.01) and hevein (Hev b 6.02) have been shown to be major IgE-binding allergens in health care workers and other adult patients allergic to natural rubber latex (NRL). Rubber elongation factor (REF; Hev b 1) and the 23/27 kd NRL allergen (Hev b 3) are characteristic of children with latex allergy who have spina bifida and other children requiring multiple operations at an early age. In addition, there are children with latex allergy and no history of multiple operations in whom sensitizing allergens are not known. OBJECTIVES: We studied IgE antibodies to NRL allergens in children with latex allergy who had not undergone surgery and compared the findings with those in children with latex allergy and a history of multiple operations. METHODS: Sera from 30 children with latex allergy who had not undergone surgery, 12 children with latex allergy with a history of multiple operations, and 19 control children without evidence of NRL allergy were examined. Immunoblotting was used to study IgE binding to NRL proteins, and purified prohevein, hevein, and REF were used in ELISA to measure specific IgE antibodies. RESULTS: In immunoblotting, sera from 21 (70%) children who had not undergone surgery and from 4 (33%) children with a history of multiple operations showed IgE binding to a 20-kd protein band (known to contain prohevein), and 9 (30%) and 8 (67%) sera, respectively, to a 14-kd protein band (known to contain REF). In ELISA, sera from 26 (86%) children who had not undergone surgery and from 7 (58%) children with a history of multiple operations had IgE antibodies to prohevein and 19 (63%) and 7 (58%) sera, respectively, to hevein. Eight (27%) sera from the children who had not undergone surgery had IgE antibodies to REF in contrast to 8 (67%) sera from children with a history of multiple operations. CONCLUSIONS: The IgE antibody pattern differs between children with latex allergy who had not undergone surgery and those with a history of multiple operations. The major allergens in children with no history of surgery appear to be prohevein and hevein and not REF, a finding that agrees well with that reported for health care workers with allergy to latex.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Hevein-like protein domains as a possible cause for allergen cross-reactivity between latex and banana.

BACKGROUND: Patients allergic to natural rubber latex (NRL) frequently exhibit immediate hypersensitivity reactions to banana, but the molecular basis of these putative cross-reactions is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to examine whether proteins resembling hevein, a major NRL allergen, exist in banana and whether coexisting allergy to NRL and banana can be explained by IgE cross-reactivity to these proteins. METHODS: Allergens in banana cross-reacting with hevein were identified by IgE immunoblot inhibition. The cross-reacting proteins were purified by reversed-phase chromatography and characterized by amino acid sequencing. Allergen cross-reactivity was further assessed by IgE ELISA, IgE ELISA inhibition, and skin prick testing. RESULTS: In immunoblotting, 9 of 15 sera from patients allergic to NRL with IgE to hevein showed IgE binding to 32- and 33-kd banana proteins. These 2 protein bands were also targets to IgG from a hevein-immunized rabbit. IgE binding to both 32- and 33-kd protein bands was totally inhibited by hevein (10 ng/mL) in all 5 sera from patients allergic to NRL sera studied. N-terminal sequencing of the purified 32- and 33-kd proteins revealed 80% identity to the N-terminus of hevein. An internal peptide (19 amino acids) of the 33-kd protein gave over 90% identity to endochitinases of several plants. In ELISA all 15 sera from patients allergic to NRL had IgE to the purified 32-kd banana protein. In ELISA inhibition hevein (10 ng/mL) inhibited approximately 50% of IgE binding to the solid-phase 32-kd banana protein in a pool of sera from patients allergic to NRL. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the commonly occurring hypersensitivity to banana in patients allergic to NRL could be explained by cross-reacting IgE antibodies binding to epitopes in hevein and in a hevein-like domain of a previously undescribed endochitinase in banana.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Rapid decrease of endemic gonorrhea in Finland.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of gonorrhea has decreased in several European countries while a recent epidemic has occurred in Russia and the Baltic countries. In 1990, Finland had a higher gonorrhea incidence than the other Nordic countries. Therefore we studied prospectively the epidemiology of gonorrhea with special reference to the endemic or imported source of infection. STUDY DESIGN: The study included three gonorrhea patient series from STD clinics in Helsinki in 1990 to 1995. Each series covered a 12-month period. Case controls with Chlamydia trachomatis infection were included. Demographic and epidemiological findings, including source partner profiles, were analyzed. RESULTS: Gonorrhea decreased rapidly during the study period. In 1990 to 1991, there were 490 patients (3.3% of all patient visits); in 1992 to 1993, 162 (1.3%); and in 1994 to 1995, only 92 patients (0.9%) with gonorrhea. The change in the prevalence was highly significant (p < 0.0001) and was entirely because of the decreased number of endemic infections. The rate of imported gonorrhea remained constant with 50 to 60 patients, although traveling had increased markedly to Russia and Estonia where the incidence of gonorrhea was very high. Thirty-one percent of the patients with endemic gonorrhea but only 14% with imported gonorrhea (p < 0.0001) had a concomitant C. trachomatis infection. The prevalence of chlamydia decreased from 10.2 to 8.1% (p < 0.001), but in contrast to gonorrhea the source of infection was mainly endemic (89% to 97%) during the whole study period. The patients with gonorrhea were older and had a higher frequency of casual source partners than those with chlamydia. Overall, from 80% to 74%) of the men and from 48% to 33% of the women had contracted infection from a casual partner. CONCLUSION: The present study documented a rapid decrease of endemic gonorrhea in Finland, whereas the rate of imported gonorrhea remained constant. Demographic findings or source partner profiles of patients with gonorrhea or chlamydia gave no obvious explanation for the rapid decline of endemic gonorrhea, which is in sharp contrast to C. trachomatis infection.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Measurement of natural rubber latex allergen levels in medical gloves by allergen-specific IgE-ELISA inhibition, RAST inhibition, and skin prick test.

Exposure to natural rubber latex (NRL) medical gloves poses risks to patients sensitized to NRL and to users of protective gloves. Previous studies have shown that extractable allergen levels of the gloves vary widely. Since most of the available laboratory methods of NRL allergen measurement lack adequate validation, we wanted to evaluate the performance of a recently developed competitive IgE-ELISA-inhibition method in relation to the skin prick test (SPT) and RAST inhibition, as well as to extractable protein quantification and an immunochemical latex antigen assay (LEAP). Twenty samples of surgical (n = 14) and examination gloves (n = 6), covering > 90% of medical gloves marketed in Finland in 1994-5, were collected by the Finnish National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, coded, extracted, and analyzed by the five methods. The IgE-ELISA inhibition correlated highly significantly with SPT (r = 0.94) and RAST inhibition (r = 0.96). Likewise, ELISA inhibition and RAST inhibition showed highly significant correlation (P = 0.96, P < 0.0001 in all three instances). Protein quantification by a modified Lowry method also correlated highly significantly with SPT (r = 0.80), RAST inhibition (r = 0.82), and ELISA inhibition (r = 0.81, P < 0.0001 in all three instances). Clearly weaker correlation, though statistically significant (r = 0.48, P = 0.03), was found between SPT and the LEAP assay. An NRL standard preparation was assigned an arbitrary content of 100,000 allergen units (AU) per ml. In relation to this standard, the NRL allergen level was considered low (< 10 AU/ml) in 11, moderate (10-100 AU/ml) in two, and high (> 100 AU/ml) in seven of the 20 glove brands analyzed. In conclusion, the results of a novel IgE-ELISA-inhibition method of measuring NRL allergen levels in medical gloves correlated highly significantly with those of SPT. The ELISA method was found to be sensitive, reproducible, technically easy, inexpensive, and suitable for the analysis of large numbers of NRL products. The results of extensive market surveys in 1994 and 1995, communicated to the medical community in Finland, appear to have had a clear effect in moving glove purchasing policies toward the use of low-allergen gloves.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Comparison of performances of two commercially available tests, a PCR assay and a ligase chain reaction test, in detection of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

The diagnostic performance of a PCR test (Roche Cobas Amplicor CT/NG Test) and that of a ligase chain reaction (LCR) test (Abbott LCx Chlamydia trachomatis assay) were compared by using endocervical and urethral swab specimen culture as a reference test. First-void urine (FVU) and endocervical and urethral swab specimens were collected from 1,015 unselected patients attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic and a clinic for adolescents in Helsinki, Finland. Chlamydia trachomatis was cultured from samples from the endocervix or urethra. PCR was performed with fresh and frozen urine and the culture transport medium. LCR was performed with fresh and frozen urine and LCx swab transport medium. Diagnostic consistency and diagnostic accuracy were statistically tested. The test results were identical for 984 patients (97%). Discrepant results were observed for 31 patients. Overall, LCR and PCR showed excellent kappa coefficients of consistency for both swab and FVU specimens (0.93 and 0.95, respectively). Sixty-one patients (6%) were culture positive. Testing of FVU by LCR or PCR increased the overall positivity rates to 7.0 and 7.7%, respectively. While PCR of FVU detected the greatest number of C. trachomatis infections (sensitivity, 96.1%), for some PCR-positive FVU specimens the results could not be confirmed (specificity, 99.6%). PCR and LCR were more sensitive than culture (sensitivities, 92 and 93% versus 79% for culture) in the diagnosis of genital C. trachomatis infection. In conclusion, both tests can be recommended for use in the clinical laboratory and for the screening of asymptomatic C. trachomatis infections.

Cervix Uteri↗

PubMed1998

Tolerance to oats in dermatitis herpetiformis.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies on coeliac disease have shown that oats can be included in a gluten-free diet without adverse effects on the small bowel. The presence of a rash is also a sensitive indicator of gluten ingestion in dermatitis herpetiformis, and this was used to study whether patients with this disease could also tolerate oats. PATIENTS/METHODS: Eleven patients with dermatitis herpetiformis in remission on a gluten-free diet were challenged daily with 50 g oats for six months. Clinical symptoms were recorded, serum samples taken, and skin and small bowel biopsies performed before and after the oat challenge. A control group comprised of 11 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis on a conventional gluten-free diet was also studied. RESULTS: Eight patients challenged with oats remained asymptomatic, two developed a transient rash, and one withdrew because of the appearance of a more persistent but mild rash. Three of the 11 controls also developed a transient rash. IgA endomysial antibodies remained negative in all patients. The small bowel villous architecture, the densities of intraepithelial CD3 and alpha/beta and gamma/delta T cell receptor positive lymphocytes and crypt epithelial cell DR expression remained unaltered during the oat challenge. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm the absence of oat toxicity on the gluten sensitive small bowel mucosa and suggest that the rash in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis is not activated by eating oats.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Dermatitis herpetiformis: coeliac disease of the skin.

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is a lifelong, gluten-sensitive, blistering skin disease with pathognomonic immunoglobulin (Ig)A deposits in the papillary dermis. Less than 10% of patients with DH have gastrointestinal symptoms suggestive of coeliac disease, yet they all have gluten-sensitive enteropathy. The rash, too, responds to gluten withdrawal. Therefore, DH provides a unique example of the frequent existence of gastroenterologically 'silent' but dermatologically active coeliac disease. DH and coeliac disease are strictly associated with class II HLA alleles A1*0501 and B1*02 encoding the HLA-DQ2 heterodimer. Coeliac disease segregates in the families of patients with DH, also supporting a shared genetic background. Monozygotic twins, one with DH and the other with coeliac disease, show that environmental, not genetic, factors seem to be responsible for the development of the rash in DH. A clinically silent but immunologically active coeliac disease in the gut could well produce IgA autoantibodies which react also with the connective tissue in the skin. The antigen for deposited IgA and its role, if any, in the blister formation in DH remains, however, to be elucidated.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Effects of skin mast cells on bleeding time and coagulation activation at the site of platelet plug formation.

We studied the effects of stimulated skin mast cells on bleeding time and thrombin generation which was measured using prothrombin fragment F 1+2 (F 1+2) and thrombin-antithrombin-III-complex (TAT). In 10 patients with urticaria pigmentosa (chronic cutaneous mast cell accumulation) the mean bleeding time was significantly prolonged in wounds made on urticaria pigmentosa lesions vs. normal skin (460 +/- 34 vs. 342 +/- 27 s, p = 0.005). In 10 atopic subjects skin incisions were made on prick-tested sites 30, 60, 120 and 240 min after administration of an allergen (acute mast cell stimulation), histamine or vehicle. The mean bleeding time was significantly prolonged at all time points, being maximal at 120 min (60% prolonged) in wounds made on allergen-stimulated skin areas (p < 0.01) compared with histamine or vehicle sites. Administration of allergen or histamine lowered the TAT concentration in the bleeding-time blood. Furthermore, TAT and F 1+2 levels in the bleeding-time blood were lower at 60, 120 and 240 min after allergen or histamine application in comparison with samples collected at 30 min. We conclude that skin mast cells can regulate primary hemostasis by prolonging bleeding time and by inhibiting thrombin generation.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Altered skin sensitivity in chronic itch: role of peripheral and central mechanisms.

Nodular prurigo (NP) is a chronic skin disease causing severe itch of unknown origin in restricted skin areas surrounded by healthy skin areas. In the present investigation we studied cutaneous sensibility in five NP-patients and in five control subjects. Pain thresholds were determined with short argon laser pulses using two different sizes of stimulus surface (diameters 2 and 4 mm), tactile threshold with calibrated monofilaments and skin blood flow with a laser Doppler flowmeter. We also studied the effect of prolonged capsaicin treatment which should predominantly impair the function of nociceptive C-fibers. In both the itching and healthy skin areas the pain thresholds were lower in NP-patients than in healthy control subjects. Before capsaicin, an increase in stimulus area produced an equal decrease in pain threshold in all subjects. Following prolonged capsaicin treatment the pain threshold obtained with a large but not a small stimulus surface was elevated to control levels in NP-patients. Tactile thresholds in NP-patients were lower than in control subjects, and this abnormality was reversed by capsaicin. The basal skin blood flow level was more labile (fluctuating) in itching skin areas than in healthy skin areas of NP-patients. Capsaicin reduced blood flow fluctuation in the itching area. A lowered pain threshold not only in the itching area but also in the healthy skin area of NP-patients suggests that central convergence of itch and pain may contribute to increased pain sensitivity in chronic itch. Capsaicin-reversible abnormal fluctuation of the blood flow in the itching skin area might be explained by abnormal spontaneous activity of nociceptive peripheral nerve fibers and a consequent release of vasoactive agents from their terminals (axon reflex). The decreased tactile threshold and the elevation of it by capsaicin indicates that also the mechanisms underlying tactile sensibility are changed in chronic itch patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Natural rubber latex allergy in children who had not undergone surgery and children who had undergone multiple operations.

BACKGROUND: Children with spina bifida and other children requiring multiple surgical procedures represent a well-known risk group for natural rubber latex allergy. Children not undergoing surgery can also be sensitized, but findings in this group of children with latex allergy have not been thoroughly examined. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the frequency of latex allergy in a large group of children admitted for inhalant or food allergy testing for the purpose of collecting information on a series of children with latex allergy and comparing the symptoms and findings between those not undergoing surgery and those undergoing multiple operations. METHODS: Children admitted to the allergy laboratory of Tampere University Hospital were screened by skin prick tests (SPTs) with latex glove extract. All children with allergy as determined by the screening or admitted because of suspected latex allergy were reexamined from 1995 to 1996. For a definite diagnosis of latex allergy, positive SPT, latex RAST, and latex glove use test results were required. RESULTS: From 1992 to 1995, a total of 3269 children were skin prick tested with latex glove extract, and 55 (1.7%) had a positive response. On reexamination, 37 (1.1%) children had positive responses to SPTs, and 33 (1.0%) were confirmed to have latex allergy by means of RASTs and latex glove use tests. Since 1988, we have identified a total of 30 children with latex allergy who had not undergone surgery and 12 who underwent multiple operations. The clinical histories were similar in both groups; the mean ages at diagnosis were 5.7 and 8.1 years, and the frequency of atopy was 97% and 83%, respectively. Symptoms had occurred in 63% of the children who had not undergone surgery and in 75% of the children who underwent multiple operations. Contact urticaria was the most frequent symptom, and only one child had intraoperative anaphylaxis. Balloons, followed by gloves, were the most common latex products causing symptoms. The children with latex allergy who had not undergone surgery and those who underwent multiple operations showed no significant differences in SPT responses to commercial latex allergen extract or in specific IgE levels. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of latex allergy among children admitted for inhalant or food allergy testing was 1%. Although multiple operations at an early age are a well-known risk factor for latex allergy, the majority of children with latex allergy identified at screening or admitted because of suspicion of latex allergy belonged to the group of children who had not undergone surgery. One third of all the children studied were free of symptoms, indicating that screening with SPTs can be a valuable tool for detecting occult latex allergy in children.

Child↗

PubMed1997

Density of gamma/delta+ T cells in the jejunal epithelium of patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis is increased with age.

Increased density of gamma/delta T cell receptor (TCR)+ intraepithelial lymphocytes is the only characteristic in the jejunum of patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis which is not normalized on a gluten-free diet. We explored the age-dependent changes in intraepithelial gamma/delta and alpha/beta TCR+ cells from 137 biopsies from patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis and from controls. Biopsy specimens from 100 patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis and from 37 controls were studied with an immunohistochemical method using MoAbs to T cell receptors and peroxidase staining. An increase in the density of intraepithelial gamma/delta T cells above the mean +2 s.d. of the density in controls was present in 97 of 100 specimens from patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. The density of gamma/delta+ cells of patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis on a normal gluten-containing diet showed a positive correlation with age (r = 0.45, P < 0.0001). In controls, the density of gamma/delta+ cells remained low throughout the age-range studies, from age 0.6-57 years. In controls, alpha/beta+ cells increased with age (r = 0.57, P < 0.001). The increase in density of intraepithelial lymphocytes with age is in agreement with their thymus-independent character and local proliferation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Human papillomavirus DNA in urine specimens of men with condyloma acuminatum.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Because warts are often found in the male urethra, human papillomavirus (HPV) may well be present in urine of patients with urethral condylomata. GOAL: To detect HPV DNA in urine specimens of men with condylomata acuminata using polymerase chain reaction. STUDY DESIGN: Forty-seven urine specimens and 25 paraffin-embedded tissues of condylomata acuminata were obtained from men. Of the 47 urine specimens, 29 were from patients with urethral condylomata, 3 from patients with penile condylomata only, and 15 from control subjects without condylomata. Both L1 consensus primers and type-specific primers for-HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, and 33 were used. RESULTS: HPV DNA was detected in 22 of the 29 (76%) urine specimens from patients with urethral condylomata, in none of the 3 urine specimens from patients with penile condylomata, and in none of the 15 controls. Paraffin-embedded tissues of all 25 condylomas were positive for HPV DNA. The HPV types detected in urine were identical to those detected in urethral condylomas. CONCLUSIONS: HPV DNA is present in urine of patients with urethral condylomata. Urine may be used for noninvasive screening of asymptomatic HPV infections of the male genital tract. Detection of HPV DNA in urine may be useful for monitoring the response to treatment of urethral condylomata.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Urokinase plasminogen activator is expressed by basal keratinocytes before interstitial collagenase, stromelysin-1, and laminin-5 in experimentally induced dermatitis herpetiformis lesions.

We studied the temporal expression of interstitial collagenase, stromelysin-1 and -2, and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) mRNAs by in situ hybridization in eight patients with dermatitis herpetiformis. To induce blisters, 50% potassium iodide patch tests were performed, and serial biopsy specimens were taken at 4, 12, and 24 h. Additional samples were taken from occasional spontaneous blisters. Components of the basement membrane, laminin-5, laminin-1, and type VII collagen, were examined immunohistochemically in relation to matrix metalloproteinase expression. At 12 h, when no blisters were seen, uPA mRNA was present in basal keratinocytes in five of eight samples, whereas interstitial collagenase and stromelysin-1 mRNA were not detected. At this time, immunohistochemistry failed to show changes in the basement membrane. At 24 h, uPA, collagenase, and stromelysin-1 mRNAs were present in basal keratinocytes, suggesting an activation of latent forms of the two latter enzymes by the uPA-plasmin pathway. Signal for stromelysin-2 was not detected. Furthermore, disruptions of laminin-1 and type VII collagen were evident. The data suggest that stromelysin-1 and interstitial collagenase may contribute to the degradation of basement membrane in dermatitis herpetiformis. Intracellular staining for laminin-5 co-localized with collagenase mRNA in basal keratinocytes. Because laminin-5 is essential for adhesion of keratinocytes to basement membrane and for establishment of focal adhesions on migrating cells, its production may reflect a regenerative response after the destruction of basement membrane components.

Collagen↗

PubMed1997

Detection of mosquito saliva-specific IgE antibodies by capture ELISA.

We developed an IgE-capture ELISA and measured mosquito saliva-specific IgE antibodies in 27 children sensitive to mosquito bites. Children with large 15-min bite wheals had significantly higher (P < 0.0005) mosquito saliva-specific IgE levels than children with small wheals. In the latter group, the saliva-specific IgE level was significantly higher (P = 0.031) than the levels of six infants never exposed to mosquitoes. A positive correlation (r = 0.65; P = 0.0002) was found between the size of the 15-min wheal and the mosquito saliva-specific IgE antibody levels. These results further support the role of mosquito saliva-specific IgE antibodies in the pathogenesis of mosquito-bite whealing. Compared to immunoblotting, IgE-capture ELISA provides a quantitative method to measure mosquito saliva-specific IgE antibodies.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Intraepithelial lymphocytes bearing the gamma/delta receptor in the oral and jejunal mucosa in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis.

Lymphocytes bearing T cell receptor (TcR) gamma/delta are increased in the jejunal mucosa of patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and coeliac disease. In this study, we examined whether increased numbers of gamma/delta TcR positive lymphocytes occur in the oral mucosa of patients with DH. Oral and jejunal mucosal biopsies were taken from 13 newly diagnosed and 13 gluten free diet (GFD)-treated patients with DH. Monoclonal antibodies and avidin-biotin peroxidase method was used for staining, and TcR positive cells were counted from the buccal and jejunal epithelium. Very few gamma/delta TcR positive lymphocytes were seen in the buccal epithelium of untreated or GFD-treated DH patients (median 0.4 and 0.3 cells/mm2), whereas alpha/beta TcR positive lymphocytes were frequent in both groups of DH patients (154 and 250 cells/mm2) and healthy controls (135 cells/mm2). The numbers of gamma/delta TcR positive intraepithelial lymphocytes were significantly increased in the jejunum of both untreated (43 cells/mm) and GFD-treated (27 cells/mm) DH patients compared to control patients (2.2 cells/mm). The present study did not, therefore, disclose any evidence for active recruitment of gamma/delta TcR positive lymphocytes in the oral epithelium, but showed substantial amounts of intraepithelial alpha/beta TcR positive lymphocytes both in DH patients and healthy controls.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Age-related appearance of amyloid P component in human renal glomeruli.

Amyloid P component (AP) is a matrix glycoprotein of adult renal glomeruli. To establish whether the deposition of AP in glomeruli is an age-related phenomenon, this study used indirect immunofluorescence (IF) to investigate 34 renal biopsy specimens and 11 renal autopsy specimens. The biopsy specimens were taken from 9 patients (age range from 2 to 38 years) with normal glomerular morphology and from 25 patients (age range from 4 to 56 years) with various renal diseases. All autopsy specimens (age range form 2 months to 28 years) showed normal glomerular morphology. AP was not detected in glomeruli before age 6. By age 14, the IF intensity reached the level of the adult specimens, in which a strong fluorescence was seen along the basement membranes and within the mesangial matrix. In renal diseases, glomerular AP also appeared after age 6, although varying in its location and intensity. In conclusion, our results indicate that the appearance of AP in glomeruli is an age-related phenomenon, the pattern of which varies in renal diseases.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Characterization of Aedes communis, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi mosquito saliva antigens by immunoblotting.

BACKGROUND: Mosquito bites cause immediate wheals and delayed bite papules in sensitized subjects having saliva-specific IgE and IgG4 antibodies. At present, mosquito saliva antigens are not well characterized. METHODS: To identify immunogenic proteins in mosquito saliva and study their cross-reactivity we immunized mice with Aedes communis, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi bites. Immune sera were used in immunoblotting and immunoblot inhibition experiments. RESULTS: The main A. communis saliva antigens were 22-, 30-, and 36-kD, A. aegypti saliva antigens 31-, 36-, 46- and 64- to 66-kD, and A. stephensi saliva antigen 46-kD proteins. Most of the saliva antigens appeared to be species-specific and only weak cross-reactivity was observed with heterologous immune sera. Distinct cross-reactivity was observed only between saliva proteins of A. communis and Aedes punctor, two taxonomically closely related species. Human IgE and IgG4 antibodies from mosquito-bite-sensitive children bound to the same saliva proteins as antibodies from the immunized animals. CONCLUSIONS: This study disclosed several immunogenic proteins in Aedes and Anopheles mosquito saliva and suggests that these proteins can also be allergenic in man.

Aedes↗