Mannosylated self-peptide inhibits the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis via expansion of nonencephalitogenic T cells

Tolerance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in SJL mice can be induced by immunization with a mannosylated form of the proteolipid protein (M-PLP139-151), despite the presence of CFA. The state of tolerance is characterized by poor delayed-type hypersensitivity responses and the absence of clinical EAE symptoms. In vivo...

Immunization with mannosylated peptide induces poor T cell effector functions despite enhanced antigen presentation

In this study, we investigated the development of T cell responses in mice after administration of a mannosylated ovalbumin peptide (M-OVA323-339). Immunization with M-OVA323-339 in complete adjuvant resulted in enhanced antigen presentation in draining lymph nodes. Monitoring the fate of CFSE-labeled ovalbumin peptide-specific TCR transgenic...

Intragastric immunization with recombinant Lactobacillus casei expressing flagellar antigen confers antibody-independent protective immunity against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis

A recombinant Lactobacillus casei expressing a flagellar antigen from Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis was constructed and evaluated as a mucosal vaccine. Intragastric immunization of the recombinant strain conferred protective immunity against Salmonella infection in mice. This immunization did not result in antigen-specific antibody in...

Tolerization of an established αb-crystallin-reactive T-cell response by intravenous antigen

Tolerance induction to prevent activation of a naïve T-cell repertoire has been well documented in rodents and can be readily achieved by intravenous, oral or intranasal administration of antigen in the absence of adjuvants. In autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) the presence of an established memory/effector T-cell repertoire...

Dose-response relationships and threshold levels in skin and respiratory allergy

A literature study was performed to evaluate dose-response relationships and no-effect levels for sensitization and elicitation in skin- and respiratory allergy. With respect to the skin, dose-response relationships and no-effect levels were found for both intradermal and topical induction, as well as for intradermal and topical elicitation of...

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...

Food allergy: What do we learn from animal models?

Purpose of review This review summarizes selected articles on animal models of food allergy published in 2003. The research areas that are covered include mechanistic studies, the search for new therapies, as well as screening models for hazard identification of potential allergens. Recent findings Novel treatment options of both prevention and...

Ara h 8, a Bet v 1-homologous allergen from peanut, is a major allergen in patients with combined birch pollen and peanut allergy

We recently described patients with soybean allergy mainly mediated by cross-reactivity to birch pollen allergens. A majority of those patients were reported to have peanut allergy. We sought to study the occurrence of peanut allergy in patients allergic to birch pollen and characterized the Bet v 1-homologous peanut allergen Ara h 8....

The flavones luteolin and apigenin inhibit in vitro antigen-specific proliferation and interferon-gamma production by murine and human autoimmune T cells

Plant-derived flavonoids are inhibitors of various intracellular processes, notably phosphorylation pathways, and potential inhibitors of cellular autoimmunity. In this study, the inhibiting effects of various flavonoids on antigen-specific proliferation and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by human and murine autoreactive T cells were...

Assessment of the allergic potential of food protein extracts and proteins on oral application using the Brown Norway rat model

The need for widely accepted and validated animal models to test the potential allergenicity and potency of novel (biotechnology-derived) proteins has become an important issue for their safety evaluation.In this article, we summarize the results of the development of an oral sensitization protocol for food proteins in the rat. Young Brown...

HLA-class II-associated control of antigen recognition by T cells in leprosy: A prominent role for the 30/31-kDa antigens

The recognition of 16 mycobacterial Ags by a panel of T cell lines from leprosy patients and healthy exposed individuals from an endemic population was examined within the context of expressed HLA-DR molecules. Although overall no significant differences were found between the frequencies of Ag recognition in the different subject groups, when...

Antigen-specific therapies in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is the major neurological disease of young adults in the western world, affecting about 1 per 1,000. It is characterised by chronic or recurrent lesions of inflammatory damage in the white matter of the central nervous system. Within such lesions, the protective myelin sheath is stripped off axons by infiltrated macrophages...

Clonal antibody dominance after influenza vaccination in IgA nephropathy patients and controls

Chemicals/CAS: hemagglutinin, 37333-12-3; sialidase, 9001-67-6; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Antibodies, Viral; Hemagglutinins, Viral; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin G; Influenza Vaccine; Neuraminidase, EC 3.2.1.18

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...