RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The dawn of the "omics" technologies has changed allergy research, increasing the knowledge and identification of new allergens. However, these studies have been almost restricted to Dermatophagoides spp. Although Blomia tropicalis has long been established as a clinically important source of allergens, a thorough proteomic characterization is still lacking for this dust mite. OBJECTIVE: To increase knowledge of B. tropicalis allergens through proteomic analysis. METHODS: Eleven in-bred lineages of B. tropicalis were obtained from 11 unique different pregnant females. Their somatic extracts were analyzed and compared with a commercially available extract by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). RESULTS: Considerable differences in the protein expression profiles were found among the breeds, and most of them displayed higher expression levels of major allergens than the commercially available extract. Blo t 2 was the most prominent allergenic protein in the analyzed extracts. Six identified allergens and 14 isoforms have not yet been recognized by IUIS. Conversely, 3 previously recognized B. tropicalis allergens were not found. CONCLUSIONS: The clear impact of inbreeding on allergen content shown by our study leads us to conclude that the quantification and/or identification of allergens from in-bred lines should be routinely considered for mite cultivation in order to select breeds with higher amounts of major allergens. In this sense, LC-MS/MS may be a useful method to achieve this quality control for research and commercial purposes.
Assuntos
Alérgenos/imunologia , Extratos Celulares/imunologia , Hipersensibilidade/imunologia , Feromônios/imunologia , Sarcoptidae/imunologia , Alérgenos/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Animais Endogâmicos , Variação Biológica da População , Extratos Celulares/química , Cromatografia Líquida , Feminino , Humanos , Feromônios/isolamento & purificação , Gravidez , Especificidade da Espécie , Espectrometria de Massas em Tandem , TranscriptomaRESUMO
Allergic asthma has emerged as an important public health problem of urban populations in developed countries. Very often herbal medicine is used to treat this widespread disease, due to the lack of efficacy and the important side effects related to the classical drugs in use. Along this line, Ocimum gratissimum (Og) is a plant widely used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammatory disorders, such as asthma. In the present study we evaluated the immunomodulatory effects of Og and rosmarinic acid (RA, a polyphenolic compound) in a murine model of respiratory allergy induced by the Blomia tropicalis (Bt) mite. The respiratory allergy was induced in A/J mice by administration of Bt extract and the treatment was done using 25, 50 or 100mg/kg of an Og methanolic extract or using 2, 20 or 200mg/kg of RA. We then evaluated the changes induced by these drugs on immunological parameters related to the allergic process, which are up-regulated in this allergic model. The treatment of animals with 100mg/Kg Og and 200mg/Kg RA led to a significant reduction in the numbers of leukocytes/eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL); eosinophil peroxidase activity in BAL; presence of mucus in respiratory tract, histopathological changes in the lung, and IL-4 in BAL. These results suggest that the methanolic extract of Og and the polyphenol RA have therapeutic potential in this murine model of respiratory allergy to a clinically relevant human sensitizer allergen.
Assuntos
Cinamatos/uso terapêutico , Depsídeos/uso terapêutico , Eosinófilos/imunologia , Fatores Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Ocimum/química , Extratos Vegetais/uso terapêutico , Hipersensibilidade Respiratória/tratamento farmacológico , Sarcoptidae/imunologia , Animais , Líquido da Lavagem Broncoalveolar/citologia , Líquido da Lavagem Broncoalveolar/imunologia , Cinamatos/administração & dosagem , Cinamatos/isolamento & purificação , Depsídeos/administração & dosagem , Depsídeos/isolamento & purificação , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Peroxidase de Eosinófilo/metabolismo , Eosinófilos/efeitos dos fármacos , Eosinófilos/enzimologia , Fatores Imunológicos/administração & dosagem , Fatores Imunológicos/isolamento & purificação , Interleucina-4/imunologia , Pulmão/efeitos dos fármacos , Pulmão/imunologia , Pulmão/patologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos , Extratos Vegetais/administração & dosagem , Extratos Vegetais/isolamento & purificação , Hipersensibilidade Respiratória/imunologia , Hipersensibilidade Respiratória/patologia , Mucosa Respiratória/imunologia , Ácido RosmarínicoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides siboney and Blomia tropicalis are the most important allergenic mites in Cuba. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of polysensitization and correlation of the skin prick test (SPT) reaction size to these mites in asthmatic patients. METHODS: A total of 232 adult patients with asthmatic symptoms caused by house dust and positive SPT to at least one mite were included. Standardized allergenic extracts were used in SPT. RESULTS: A total of 88.4% of patients were positive to D. siboney, 87.1% to D. pteronyssinus, and 68.1% to B. tropicalis. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides species was predominant, demonstrated by the fact that 31.9% of patients showed positive SPT to either D. siboney or D. pteronyssinus only, whereas only 5.6% was sensitized solely to B. tropicalis. Nevertheless, most patients (58.6%) were polysensitized to the 3 species. The mean wheal size produced by the different allergens in positive patients was similar (n.s. p > 0.05). Reaction size was strongly correlated (r = 0.71, p = 5.3 x 10-09) between D. siboney and D. pteronyssinus, whereas no significant correlation was found between D. pteronyssinus or D. siboney and B. tropicalis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the need to include the 3 allergens in diagnostic panels and for combined allergen-specific immunotherapy.