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Background Food allergies are a growing health problem, and the development of therapies that prevent disease onset is limited by the lack of adjuvant-free experimental animal models. We compared allergic sensitization in patients with food allergy or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome ( WAS) and defined whether spontaneous disease in Was −/− mice recapitulates the pathology of a conventional disease model and/or human food allergy. Methods Comparative Immuno CAP ISAC microarray was performed in patients with food allergy or WAS. Spontaneous food allergy in Was −/− mice was compared to an adjuvant-based model in wild-type mice ( WT- OVA/alum). Intestinal and systemic anaphylaxis was assessed, and the role of the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor (Fcε RI) in allergic sensitization was evaluated using Was −/− Fcer1a −/− mice. Results Polysensitization to food was detected in both WAS and food-allergic patients which was recapitulated in the Was −/− model. Oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) in Was −/− mice induced low titers of OVA-specific IgE compared to the WT- OVA/alum model. Irrespectively, 79% of Was −/− mice developed allergic diarrhea following oral OVA challenge. Systemic anaphylaxis occurred in Was −/− mice (95%) with a mortality rate >50%. Spontaneous sensitization and intestinal allergy occurred independent of Fcε RI expression on mast cells (MCs) and basophils. Conclusions Was −/− mice provide a model of food allergy with the advantage of mimicking polysensitization and low food-antigen IgE titers as observed in humans with clinical food allergy. This model will facilitate studies on aberrant immune responses during spontaneous disease development. Our results imply that therapeutic targeting of the IgE/Fcε RI activation cascade will not affect sensitization to food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cysteinyl leukotrienes contribute to Th2-type inflammatory immune responses. Their levels in oesophageal tissue, however, do not distinguish patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) from controls. Objective We asked whether mRNA levels of leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S), a key regulator of leukotriene production, could serve as a marker for EoE. Methods Digital mRNA expression profiling (nCounter® Technology) was performed on proximal and distal oesophageal biopsies of 30 paediatric EoE patients and 40 non-EoE controls. Expression data were confirmed with RT- qPCR. LTC4S mRNA levels were quantified in whole blood samples. Leukotriene E4 was measured in urine. Results LTC4S mRNA levels were elevated in proximal (2.6-fold, P < 0.001) and distal (2.9-fold, P < 0.001) oesophageal biopsies from EoE patients. Importantly, increased LTC4S mRNA transcripts identified a subpopulation of EoE patients (28%). This patient subgroup had higher serum IgE levels (669 U/mL vs. 106 U/mL, P = 0.01), higher mRNA transcript numbers of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) (1.6-fold, P = 0.009) and CD4 (1.4-fold, P = 0.04) but lower IL-23 mRNA levels (0.5-fold, P = 0.04). In contrast, elevated levels of IL-23 mRNA were found in oesophageal biopsies of patients with reflux oesophagitis. LTC4S mRNA transcripts in whole blood and urinary excretion of leukotriene E4 were similar in EoE patient subgroups and non-EoE patients. Conclusion & Clinical Relevance Elevated oesophageal expression of LTC4S mRNA is found in a subgroup of EoE patients, concomitant with higher serum IgE levels and an oesophageal transcriptome indicative of a more-pronounced allergic phenotype. Together with TSLP and IL-23 mRNA levels, oesophageal LTC4S mRNA may facilitate diagnosis of an EoE subpopulation for personalized therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leprosy is of interest to immunologists because the varied clinical manifestations of the disease correlate closely with the immunological spectrum. Resistance to infection is dependent on appropriate cell-mediated immunity, but patients with the lepromatous form fail to respond to antigens of M. leprae. In vitro studies have revealed the existence of T-suppressor cells of the phenotype CD8+, CD3+, HLA-DR+, FcR+, 9·3-, which are restricted by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens. Several new candidate vaccines against leprosy have been effective in breaking immunological unresponsiveness and engendering cell-mediated immunity in leproma- tous leprosy patients, including the combination of BCG + killed M. leprae. Because BCG has unique adjuvant properties, we have begun to use molecular genetic approaches to develop BCG into a multivaccine vehicle capable of immunizing simultaneously against several pathogens. Both phage- based and plasmid-based strategies have been successfully developed for introducing selectable markers into BCG for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent development of vectors and methodologies to introduce recombinant DNA into members of the genus Mycobacterium has provided new approaches for investigating these important bacteria. While most pathogenic mycobacteria are slow-growing, Mycobacterium smegmatis is a fast-growing, non-pathogenic species that has been used for many years as a host for mycobacteriophage propagation and, recently, as a host for the introduction of recombinant DNA. Its use as a cloning host for the analysis of mycobacterial genes has been limited by its inability to be efficiently transformed with plasmid vectors. This work describes the isolation and characterization of mutants of M. smegmatis that can be transformed, using electroporation, at efficiencies 104 to 105 times greater than those of the parent strain, yielding more than 105 transformants per μg of plasmid DNA. The mutations conferring this efficient plasmid transformation (Ept) phenotype do not affect phage transfection or the integration of DNA into the M. smegmatis chromosome, but seem to be specific for plasmid transformation. Such Ept mutants have been used to characterize plasmid DNA sequences essential for replication of the Mycobacterium fortuitum plasmid pAL5000 in mycobacteria by permitting the transformation of a library of hybrid plasmid constructs. Efficient plasmid transformation of M. smegmatis will facilitate the analysis of mycobacterial gene function, expression and replication and thus aid in the development of BCG as a multivalent recombinant vaccine vector and in the genetic analysis of the virulence determinants of pathogenic mycobacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food allergies are a growing health problem, and the development of therapies that prevent disease onset is limited by the lack of adjuvant-free experimental animal models. We compared allergic sensitization in patients with food allergy or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and defined whether spontaneous disease in Was -/- mice recapitulates the pathology of a conventional disease model and/or human food allergy., Methods: Comparative ImmunoCAP ISAC microarray was performed in patients with food allergy or WAS. Spontaneous food allergy in Was -/- mice was compared to an adjuvant-based model in wild-type mice (WT-OVA/alum). Intestinal and systemic anaphylaxis was assessed, and the role of the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor (FcεRI) in allergic sensitization was evaluated using Was -/- Fcer1a -/- mice., Results: Polysensitization to food was detected in both WAS and food-allergic patients which was recapitulated in the Was -/- model. Oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) in Was -/- mice induced low titers of OVA-specific IgE compared to the WT-OVA/alum model. Irrespectively, 79% of Was -/- mice developed allergic diarrhea following oral OVA challenge. Systemic anaphylaxis occurred in Was -/- mice (95%) with a mortality rate >50%. Spontaneous sensitization and intestinal allergy occurred independent of FcεRI expression on mast cells (MCs) and basophils., Conclusions: Was -/- mice provide a model of food allergy with the advantage of mimicking polysensitization and low food-antigen IgE titers as observed in humans with clinical food allergy. This model will facilitate studies on aberrant immune responses during spontaneous disease development. Our results imply that therapeutic targeting of the IgE/FcεRI activation cascade will not affect sensitization to food., (© 2017 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.)