No abstract

Periplaneta americana is the predominant cockroach (CR) species and a major source of indoor allergens in Thailand. Nevertheless, data on the nature and molecular characteristics of its allergenic components are rare. We conducted this study to identify and characterize the P. americana allergenic protein. A random heptapeptide phage display library and monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific to a the P. americana component previously shown to be an allergenic molecule were used to identify the MAb-bound mimotope and its phylogenic distribution. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, peptide mass fingerprinting, and BLAST search were used to identify the P. americana protein containing the MAb-specific epitope. We studied the allergenicity of the native protein using sera of CR-allergic Thai patients in immunoassays. The mimotope peptide that bound to the MAb specific to P. americana was LTPCRNK. The peptide has an 83–100% identity with proteins of Anopheles gambiae, notch homolog scalloped wings of Lucilia cuprina, delta protein of Apis mellifera; neu5Ac synthase and tyrosine phosphatase of Drosophila melanogaster, and a putative protein of Drosophila pseudoobscura. This finding implies that the mimotope-containing molecule of P. americana is a pan-insect protein. The MAb-bound protein of P. americana was shown to be arginine kinase that reacted to IgE in the sera of all of the CR-allergic Thai patients by immunoblotting, implying its high allergenicity. In conclusion, our results revealed that P. americana arginine kinase is a pan-insect protein and a major CR allergen for CR-allergic Thai patients.

Background: Cockroach (CR) allergens frequently cause severe asthma in CR-sensitized subjects. Allergen-specific immunotherapy causes a shift of allergic Th2 responses towards Th1 and/or regulatory T cell (Treg) responses which reduce airway inflammation and prevent disease progression. Data are relatively limited on immunotherapy via CR allergy vaccine. Methods: The therapeutic efficacy of an intranasal liposome-adjuvant vaccine made of a refined Periplaneta americana arginine kinase (AK) was compared to the liposome-entrapped P. americana crude extract (CRE) vaccine. Adult BALB/c mice were rendered allergic to CRE. Three allergic mouse groups were immunized intranasally on alternate days with 8 doses of liposome-entrapped CRE (L-CRE), liposome-entrapped AK and placebo, respectively. One week later, all mice received a nebulized CRE provocation. Evaluation of vaccine efficacy was performed 1 day after provocation. Results: Liposome-entrapped native AK attenuated airway inflammation after the CRE provocation and caused a shift of allergic Th2 to Th1 and Treg responses. The L-CRE also induced a shift from the Th2 to the Th1 response but did not induce a Treg response and could not attenuate the airway inflammation upon allergen reexposure. Conclusions: Intranasal liposome-adjuvant CR allergy vaccine containing native AK (Per a 9) is better than L-CRE in attenuating allergic airway inflammation. The findings of this study not only document a more comprehensive and beneficial immune response induced by the refined allergen vaccine but also raise the point that the shift from the Th2 to the Th1 response alone might not correlate with improved airway histopathology, clinical outcome and quality of life.

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis characterized by septicaemia, encephalitis, and abortion or stillbirth. Regular monitoring of its prevalence in food and characterization of its phenotypes and genotypes are necessary for disease surveillance and tracing the epidemic outbreaks. In this study, the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in raw meats marketed in Bangkok was 15.4%. The bacteria isolated from meat were serotyped and genotyped using enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus–polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR). Their virulence-associated genes, antimicrobial susceptibility, and ability to invade intestinal epithelial cells were studied. All 22 L. monocytogenes strains isolated from 104 raw meat samples carried virulence-associated genes, such as actA, flaA, hlyA, iap, inlA, inlB, and prfA. These were serotype 4b, suggesting their pathogenic and epidemic potential. These isolates could be classified into six ERIC-PCR groups: A-F. The majority (59.1%) of the isolates belonged to Group A, and three isolates were Group D which was closely related to the Group A. Two isolates each were Group C and E, and one isolate each was group B and F. Although the isolates belonged to the same serotype and genotype and were all equipped with the virulence-associated genes, they showed a different cell invasion capability and antibiotic susceptibility. All the isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, amikacin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, imipenem, penicillin G, sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and tetracycline. However, one isolate showed only intermediate susceptibility to tetracycline. The data provide the first molecular insight into the L. monocytogenes isolates in Thailand and elucidate a potential risk of people contracting listeriosis.

phosphatidic acid (LPA) is a membrane-derived lysophospholipid with wide-ranging effects on multiple lung cells including airway epithelial and smooth muscle cells. LPA can augment migration and cytokine synthesis in lymphocytes, but its potential effects on Th2 cytokines have not been well studied. We examined the effects of physiological concentrations of LPA on IL-13 gene expression in human T cells. The Jurkat T cell line and human peripheral blood CD4ϩ T cells were incubated with LPA alone or with 1) pharmacological agonists of different signaling pathways, or 2) antibodies directed against the T cell receptor complex and costimulatory molecules. Luciferase-based reporter constructs driven by different lengths of the human IL-13 promoter were transfected by electroporation in Jurkat cells treated with and without LPA. The effects of LPA on IL-13 mRNA stability were examined using actinomycin D to halt ongoing transcription. Expression of mRNA encoding LPA 2 and LPP-1 increased with T cell activation. LPA augmented IL-13 secretion under conditions of submaximal T cell activation. This was observed using pharmacological agonists activating intracellular calcium-, PKC-, and cAMP-dependent signaling pathways, as well as antibodies directed against CD3 and CD28. LPA only slightly prolonged IL-13 mRNA half-life in submaximally stimulated Jurkat cells. In contrast, LPA significantly enhanced transcriptional activation of the IL-13 promoter via regulatory elements contained within proximal 312 bp. The effects of LPA on IL-13 promoter activation appeared to be distinct from those mediated by GATA-3. LPA can augment IL-13 gene expression in T cells, especially under conditions of submaximal activation.T lymphocytes; transcription factors; inflammation; lysophospholipids; transcriptional regulation LYSOPHOSPHATIDIC ACID (LPA) is a lysophospholipid with farreaching effects on different cell types ranging from platelet activation to enhancing cell proliferation. LPA binds to several members of a family of G protein-coupled receptors including LPA 1 , LPA 2 , and LPA 3 (formerly known as endothelial differentiation gene or Edg receptor-2, -4, and -7, respectively). A fourth LPA receptor related to the purinergic receptor family was recently identified (37). LPA is detectable in normal serum at a concentration in the micromolar range, where it is bound by both albumin and gelsolin (33). Major sources of LPA include platelets, epithelial cells, and certain tumor cells (24).LPA is generated by the action of both secretory phospholipase A 2 (via hydrolysis of phosphatidic acid) and lysophopholipase D (via cleavage of extracellular lysophosphatidylcholine) on membrane phospholipids, with the latter pathway representing a potential pathway of cell activation in cancer (14,34).Although most studies to date have examined the effects of LPA on structural tissue cells such as endothelium and epithelium, emerging data suggest that LPA and related lysosphingolipids [e.g., sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)] activate circulating leukocyte...

Periodic monitoring of Staphylococcus aureus characteristics in a locality is imperative as their drug-resistant variants cause treatment problem. In this study, antibiograms, prevalence of toxin genes (sea-see, seg-ser, seu, tsst-1, eta, etb, and etd), PFGE types, accessory gene regulator (agr) groups, and ability to form biofilm of 92 S. aureus Thailand clinical isolates were investigated. They were classified into 10 drug groups: groups 1–7 (56 isolates) were methicillin resistant (MRSA) and 8–10 (36 isolates) were methicillin sensitive (MSSA). One isolate did not have any toxin gene, 4 isolates carried one toxin gene (seq), and 87 isolates had two or more toxin genes. No isolate had see, etb, or tsst-1; six isolates had eta or etd. Combined seg-sei-sem-sen-seo of the highly prevalent egc locus was 26.1%. The seb, sec, sel, seu, and eta associated significantly with MSSA; sek was more in MRSA. The sek-seq association was 52.17% while combined sed-sej was not found. Twenty-three PFGE types were revealed, no association of toxin genes with PFGE types. All four agr groups were present; agr group 1 was predominant (58.70%) but agr group 2 strains carried more toxin genes and were more frequent toxin producers. Biofilm formation was found in 72.83% of the isolates but there was no association with antibiograms. This study provides insight information on molecular and phenotypic markers of Thailand S. aureus clinical isolates which should be useful for future active surveillance that aimed to control a spread of existing antimicrobial resistant bacteria and early recognition of a newly emerged variant.

Subclinical mastitis is a persistent problem in dairy farms worldwide. Environmental Escherichia coli is the bacterium predominantly responsible for this condition. In Thailand, subclinical mastitis in dairy cows is usually treated with various antibiotics, which could lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria. E. coli is also a reservoir of many antibiotic resistance genes, which can be conveyed to other bacteria. In this study, the presence of E. coli in milk and water samples was reported, among which enteropathogenic E. coli was predominant, followed by enteroaggregative E. coli and enterohemorrhagic E. coli, which was found only in milk samples. Twenty-one patterns of antibiotic resistance were identified in this study. Ampicillin- and carbenicillin-resistant E. coli was the most common among the bacterial isolates from water samples. Meanwhile, resistance to ampicillin, carbenicillin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim was the pattern found most commonly in the E. coli from milk samples. Notably, only the E. coli from water samples possessed ESBL phenotype and carried antibiotic resistance genes, blaTEM and blaCMY-2. This indicates that pathogenic E. coli in dairy farms is also exposed to antibiotics and could potentially transfer these genes to other pathogenic bacteria under certain conditions.

Venomous snakebites are an important health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the largest venomous snake found in South and Southeast Asia. In this study, the O. hannah venom proteome and the venom components cross-reactive to N. kaouthia monospecific antivenin were studied. O. hannah venom consisted of 14 different protein families, including three finger toxins, phospholipases, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, cobra venom factor, muscarinic toxin, L-amino acid oxidase, hypothetical proteins, low cysteine protein, phosphodiesterase, proteases, vespryn toxin, Kunitz, growth factor activators and others (coagulation factor, endonuclease, 5’-nucleotidase). N. kaouthia antivenin recognized several functionally different O. hannah venom proteins and mediated paratherapeutic efficacy by rescuing the O. hannah envenomed mice from lethality. An engineered human ScFv specific to N. kaouthia long neurotoxin (NkLN-HuScFv) cross-neutralized the O. hannah venom and extricated the O. hannah envenomed mice from death in a dose escalation manner. Homology modeling and molecular docking revealed that NkLN-HuScFv interacted with residues in loops 2 and 3 of the neurotoxins of both snake species, which are important for neuronal acetylcholine receptor binding. The data of this study are useful for snakebite treatment when and where the polyspecific antivenin is not available. Because the supply of horse-derived antivenin is limited and the preparation may cause some adverse effects in recipients, a cocktail of recombinant human ScFvs for various toxic venom components shared by different venomous snakes, exemplified by the in vitro produced NkLN-HuScFv in this study, should contribute to a possible future route for an improved alternative to the antivenins.