Initiating mechanisms of food allergy: Oral tolerance versus allergic sensitization

Immediately after birth the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, which represents the greatest body surface area exposed to the outside environment, is confronted with a large variety of foreign antigens. The immune system of the intestine now has to meet the task of discriminating between pathogens and harmless antigens, such as food proteins...

Innate, adaptive and regulatory responses in schistosomiasis: Relationship to allergy

Helminth infections have profound effects on the immune system. Here, recent insights in the molecular interactions between schistosomes and the host are described with respect to adaptive but also with respect to innate immune responses. Furthermore, the different mechanisms of immune hyporesponsiveness are depicted with emphasis on regulatory...

Expression and production of llama variable heavy-chain antibody fragments (VHHs) by Aspergillus awamori

We report the expression and production of llama variable heavy-chain antibody fragments (VHHs) by Aspergillus awamori. Fragments encoding VHHs were cloned in a suitable Aspergillus expression vector and transformants secreting VHH fragments were analysed for integrated gene copy-numbers, mRNA levels and protein production. Functional V HHs were...

The production of antibody fragments and antibody fusion proteins by yeasts and filamentous fungi

In this review we will focus on the current status and views concerning the production of antibody fragments and antibody fusion proteins by yeasts and filamentous fungi. We will focus on single-chain antibody fragment production (scFv and VHH) by these lower eukaryotes and the possible applications of these proteins. Also the coupling of...

Is Candida albicans a trigger in the onset of coeliac disease?

Coeliac disease is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease of the small intestine that is induced by ingestion of gluten proteins from wheat, barley, or rye. We postulate that Candida albicans is a trigger in the onset of coeliac disease. The virulence factor of C albicans - hyphal wall protein 1 (HWP1) - contains aminoacid sequences that are...

Continued expression of anti-soy protein antibodies in rats bred on a soy protein-free diet for one generation: The importance of dietary control in oral sensitization research

Background: One of the major factors that may have negatively affected the results of many oral sensitization studies in animals has been unscheduled dietary preexposure of the test animals or their parental generations to the antigen under investigation. Objective: The influence of dietary preexposure to soy protein on oral sensitization...

Recent advances in the large-scale production of antibody fragments using lower eukaryotic microorganisms

New monoclonal antibodies against the putative immunosuppressive site of retroviral p15E

Both retroviral infections as well as human tumors may cause immunosuppression. One of the factors involved in immunosuppression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCC-HN) is a protein related in the retroviral protein p15E. A conserved, 17-amino acid sequence represents the immunosuppressive epitope of retroviral...

gp39-CD40 interactions are essential for germinal center formation and the development of B cell memory

gp39, the ligand for CD40 expressed on activated CD4+ T helper cells, is required for the generation of antibody responses to T-dependent (TD) antigens. Treatment of mice with anti-gp39 in vivo inhibits both primary and secondary antibody formation to TD, but not T-independent antigens. However, the role of this receptor-ligand pair in the...

Immunological functions and in vivo cell-cell interactions of T cells in the spleen

The spleen is an important lymphoid organ, involved in immune responses against all types of antigen that appear in the circulation. Its complex anatomical organization, with distinct compartments containing specialized cell types, provides a microenvironment which allows different cell-cell interactions and determines the direction of...

Induction of type II collagen-specific antibody production in blood lymphocyte cultures of Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with collagen-induced arthritis using the immobilized native antigen

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Rhesus monkeys previously immunized with bovine type II collagen to induce arthritis were cultured with the same antigen. Because the native protein is poorly soluble in culture medium a heating step is often used. The antigen in this form induced PBMC proliferation, but epitopes for the induction...

Absence of a correlation between humoral and cellular responses to vaccinia virus and products of the major histocompatibility complex in rhesus monkeys

62 Rhesus monkeys were tested at different times after vaccinia virus infection for virus-specific induction of lymphocyte proliferation in vitro or antibody production in vivo. No association was found between identifiable RhLA-controlled antigens and the strength of the cellular proliferative and/or humoral response. Chemicals/CAS: Antibodies,...