The MRC OX52 monoclonal antibody is a marker of rat T lymphocytes. We have cloned by polymerase chain reaction the rat homologue of CD6, and fluorescein-activated cell sorter analysis and immunoprecipitations using OX52 in COS7 cells transfected with rat CD6 cDNA showed that CD6 is the cell-surface molecule recognized by OX52. Immunoprecipitation analysis showed that CD6 coprecipitated with CD5, which in turn, was coprecipitated equivalently with CD2, CD6, and the T cell receptor (TCR), but the fraction of CD5 associated with CD6 was highly phosphorylated in kinase assays, in marked contrast with the low level of phosphorylation of CD5 associated with TCR or CD2. Examination of protein kinases associating with these antigens showed that paradoxically, CD2 coprecipitated the highest amount of Lck and Fyn. CD6 also associated with Lck, Fyn, and ZAP-70, although at lower levels but additionally coprecipitated the Tec family kinase Itk, which is absent from CD2, CD5, and TCR complexes. Lck together with Itk was the best combination of kinases, effectively phosphorylating synthetic peptides corresponding to a cytoplasmic sequence of CD5. Overall, our results suggest that CD6 has an important role in the regulation of CD5 tyrosine phosphorylation, probably as a result of its unique feature of associating with kinases of different families.

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Deglutition complaints are frequent after thyroidectomy. The purpose of this study was to follow-up on patients with thyroidectomy indication to compare the videoendoscopic evaluation of swallowing on the seventh day (early postoperative, EPO) and on the 60th day after thyroidectomy, (late postoperative, LPO) and to compare patients that evolved with normal laryngeal mobility (NLM) and abnormal laryngeal mobility (ALM). Nasofibroscopic evaluation was performed preoperatively (PRE), on the EPO and LPO. Two groups were compared: ALM and NLM. The majority of people were women, age bracket 46-65, who underwent total thyroidectomy and with high frequency of carcinoma. 30 out of the 54 patients in the study had change in swallowing (55 %). Dysphagia occurred in 87 % (13/15) of patients with ALM in the EPO and remained in 67 % of them in the LPO. In the NLM group, dysphagia occurred in 44 % (17/39) in EPO and 25 % in LPO. There was a statistical difference between PRE and EPO, and PRE and LPO (P < 0,001). In the ALM group, liquid penetration and aspiration were identified in 33 % of the cases during EPO (P = 0,014); retention of food occurred in 87 % in EPO and in 60 % in LPO (P < 0,001). Dysphagia occurs in patients after thyroid surgery (regardless of larynx mobility alteration) and characterized by stasis of food in the oro and hypopharynx, which is also noticed in LPO, though more frequently in EPO.

It is widely recognized that smelling food results in a mouth-watering feeling and influences appetite. However, besides changes in volume, little is known about the effects that food odours have on the composition of saliva. The aim of the present study was to access the effects that smelling bread has on saliva proteome and to compare such effects with those of chewing and ingesting it. Besides a significant increase in saliva flow rate, together with a decrease in total protein concentration, bread odour induced changes in the proportion of different salivary proteins. The expression levels of two spots of cystatins and two spots of amylase increased due to olfactory stimulation, similar to what happened with bread mastication, suggesting that odour can allow anticipation of the type of food eaten and consequently the physiological oral changes necessary to that ingestion. An interesting finding was that bread odour increased the expression levels of several protein spots of immunoglobulin chains, which were decreased by both bread or rice mastication. This may be of clinical relevance since food olfactory stimulation of salivary immunoglobulins can be used to potentiate the oral immune function of saliva. Moreover, the effects of bread odour in the levels of salivary proteins, previously observed to be involved in oral food processing led to the hypothesis of an influence of this odour in the sensory perception of foods further ingested. Further studies are needed to elucidate this point, as well as whether the changes observed for bread odour are specific, or if different food odours lead to similar salivary proteome responses.

Sensory perception of starch‐based products associates with salivary α‐amylase enzymatic activity. Besides this, other proteins relate to taste sensitivity and oral food processing. As such, the participation of different salivary constituents in starch‐rich food's sensory evaluation cannot be excluded. This study aims to identify salivary proteins altered by bread mastication and correlated with sensory ratings. In Experiment 1 the effect of bread mastication in α‐amylase enzymatic activity and SDS PAGE profiles between is assessed (N = 64). In Experiment 2, a sub‐sample of these individuals (N = 22) is subjected to sensory tests and the sensory ratings obtained are correlated with saliva protein composition. Salivary α‐amylase activity, in the supernatant of saliva collected after bread mastication, is negatively correlated with sweetness and saltiness ratings. Moreover, saltiness is positively correlated with the expression levels of carbonic anhydrase VI. Bread roughness presented a positive association with α‐amylase enzymatic activity and a negative association with S‐type cystatin expression levels. Despite further studies are needed to clarify the negative association between salivary amylase enzymatic activity and sweetness ratings, observed in this study, these results reinforce the role of α‐amylase and highlights that other salivary proteins can also influence starch‐based sensory perception.

This study showed that under active ethanol consumption, expansions of discrete CD8+ T-cell subsets occur within the CD8+ T-cell pool, that molecules of the MHC-class I locus seem to influence the extent of the expansions, and that high numbers of CD8+CD28- T cells are associated with low levels of liver enzymes in AHD.

Summary.We characterized the genetic nature of bthalassaemia in northern Portugal. Of the 164 patients studied three were b-thalassaemia major cases (one IVS-1-6/ bЊ39 and two homozygous IVS-1-110). The analysis of the frequency of each mutation in the families revealed that the codon 6(¹A) mutation was unexpectedly frequent (40%) and associated with the b-globin haplotype E, and not with the usual European and North African CD6(¹A) haplotypes. In contrast, the frequency of IVS-1-6 (8%) and bЊ39 (19%) was found to be lower than in the rest of the country. The frequency of all other mutations was similar to previous reports for central/southern Portugal.Six families carried none of the most frequent mutations in the Mediterranean area. These families were studied by gene sequencing, revealing that three families carried a previously described mutation (CD16 G → A). The remaining families carried previously unidentified mutations: one showed an 86 bp insertion in exon 2 (named HGSA) and two showed a deletion of a cytidine in codon 11 (CD11(¹C)).The results, showing a high frequency (82%) of bЊ mutations, strongly indicates that genetic counselling should be intensified as a means of preventing the spread of the severe mutations found.

Background: Oral food perception plays a major role in food acceptance, although the way it relates with food preferences and final choices in adults is still debatable. The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship between gustatory function, dietary habits and fruit and vegetable preferences. Methods: Recognition thresholds, suprathreshold and hedonics were accessed for sweet, bitter, sour, salty and astringency in 291 adult participants. A Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and a questionnaire for assessment of preferences for individual fruit and vegetables were filled by the participants. Results: Three clusters were obtained: “most sensitive”, “less sensitive” and “less sensitive only for sour”. The less sensitive cluster showed lower preferences for fruit and vegetables and higher intake of sweets and fast foods, whereas higher preferences for sweet veggies were observed in the “most sensitive” cluster. Basic tastes and astringency hedonics did not associate with fruit and vegetable preferences, but the sensitivity for these oral sensations did. Conclusions: Taste and astringency sensitivities are related with the preference for fruit and vegetables, being also associated with some dietary habits. The effectiveness of the strategies to promote plant-based healthy food consumption may benefit from the knowledge of individuals’ gustatory function.