Quantitative measurement of serum allergen-specific IgE on protein chip.
(1/1981)
Type I allergy is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated hypersensitivity disease inflicting more than quarter of the world population. In order to identify allergen sources, skin provocation test and IgE serology was performed using allergen extracts. Such process identifies allergen-containing sources but cannot identify the disease-eliciting allergenic molecules. Recently, microarray technology has been developed for allergen-specific IgE detection using rolling circle amplification. This study was carried out to evaluate protein chip technology for the quantitative measurement and limits of sensitivity of multiple allergen-specific IgE by an immunofluorescence assay. Significance of positive calibrators was tested using purified human IgE. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), egg white, milk, soybean, and wheat were used as allergens and human serum albumin as negative control. Sensitivity and clinical efficacy of protein chip were evaluated using allergy immune serum for Dp. The fluorescent intensities for purified human IgE as calibrator were well correlated with the concentrations of human IgE. Two-fold dilution of serum allowed an optimal reaction with Dp (1 mg/ml) at which serum Dp-specific IgE levels by protein chip were compatible with those by UniCap. The sensitivity of protein chip in this study was found at level of 1 IU/ml of IgE. Dp-specific IgE levels by protein chip correlated well with those of UniCap by comparing 10 atopic dermatitis. Additional 18 sera were tested for above multiple antigens other than Dp and significant results were obtained for many antigens as well as Dp. These results indicated that spotting of heterogeneous protein mixture on protein chip and the quantitative measurement of serum allergen-specific IgE levels using immunofluorescence assay can be successfully applied in the clinical laboratory for the diagnosis of allergy and could be applied to diagnosis of autoimmune and infectious diseases (+info)
Normal, benign, preneoplastic, and malignant prostate cells have distinct protein expression profiles resolved by surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.
(2/1981)
PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to discover protein biomarkers that differentiate malignant from nonmalignant cell populations, especially early protein alterations that signal the initiation of a developing cancer. We hypothesized that Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry-assisted protein profiling could detect these protein alterations. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Epithelial cell populations [benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and prostate cancer (PCA)] were procured from nine prostatectomy specimens using laser capture microdissection. Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry analysis was performed on cell lysates, and the relative intensity levels of each protein or peptide in the mass spectra was calculated and compared for each cell type. RESULTS: Several small molecular mass peptides or proteins (3000-5000 Da) were found in greater abundance in PIN and PCA cell lysates. Another peak, with an average mass of 5666 Da, was observed to be up-regulated in 86% of the BPH cell lysates. Higher levels of this same peak were found in only 22% of the PIN lysates and none of the PCA lysates. Expression differences were also found for intracellular levels of prostate-specific antigen, which were reduced in PIN and PCA cells when compared with matched normals. Although no single protein alteration was observed in all PIN/PCA samples, combining two or more of the markers was effective in distinguishing the benign cell types (normal/BPH) from diseased cell types (PIN/PCA). Logistic regression analysis using seven differentially expressed proteins resulted in a predictive equation that correctly distinguished the diseased lysates with a sensitivity and specificity of 93.3 and 93.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that the protein profiles from prostate cells with different disease states have discriminating differences. These differentially regulated proteins are potential markers for early detection and/or risk factors for development of prostate cancer. Studies are under way to identify these protein/peptides, with the goal of developing a diagnostic test for the early detection of prostate cancer. (+info)
Directed evolution of high-affinity antibody mimics using mRNA display.
(3/1981)
We constructed a library of >10(12) unique, covalently coupled mRNA-protein molecules by randomizing three exposed loops of an immunoglobulin-like protein, the tenth fibronectin type III domain (10Fn3). The antibody mimics that bound TNF-alpha were isolated from the library using mRNA display. Ten rounds of selection produced 10Fn3 variants that bound TNF-alpha with dissociation constants (K(d)) between 1 and 24 nM. After affinity maturation, the lowest K(d) measured was 20 pM. Selected antibody mimics were shown to capture TNF-alpha when immobilized in a protein microarray. 10Fn3-based scaffold libraries and mRNA-display allow the isolation of high-affinity, specific antigen binding proteins; potential applications of such binding proteins include diagnostic protein microarrays and protein therapeutics. (+info)
Autoantibody profiling for the study and treatment of autoimmune disease.
(4/1981)
Proteomics technologies enable profiling of autoantibody responses using biological fluids derived from patients with autoimmune disease. They provide a powerful tool to characterize autoreactive B-cell responses in diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Autoantibody profiling may serve purposes including classification of individual patients and subsets of patients based on their 'autoantibody fingerprint', examination of epitope spreading and antibody isotype usage, discovery and characterization of candidate autoantigens, and tailoring antigen-specific therapy. In the coming decades, proteomics technologies will broaden our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of and will further our ability to diagnose, prognosticate and treat autoimmune disease. (+info)
Effect of rosiglitazone on the differential expression of diabetes-associated proteins in pancreatic islets of C57Bl/6 lep/lep mice.
(5/1981)
The insulin sensitizer drug, rosiglitazone, has been shown to have a protective effect on pancreatic islet cell structure and function in animal models of type 2 diabetes. The identification of new molecular targets associated both with islet cell dysfunction and protection is a crucial research goal. In the present study, a proteomics approach has been used to identify such targets. Obese C57Bl/6J lep/lep mice and lean littermates were given the insulin sensitizer drug BRL49653, rosiglitazone. It normalized the impaired glucose tolerance in lep/lep mice but had no significant effect on glucose tolerance in the lean mice. Pancreatic islet polypeptides were arrayed by a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis system that separated more than 2500 individual spots. Three overexpressed and six underexpressed proteins were significant (p < 0.05) between lep/lep and lean mice, and four were modulated significantly (p < 0.05) by the rosiglitazone treatment of the obese mice. The identity of these differentially expressed proteins was made using mass spectrometric analysis and provided evidence that differential expression of actin-binding proteins may be an important aspect of defective islet function. Rosiglitazone increased carboxypeptidase B expression in both lep/lep and normal mice suggesting that this might be an independent effect of rosiglitazone that contributes to improved insulin processing. (+info)
Contribution of human alpha-defensin 1, 2, and 3 to the anti-HIV-1 activity of CD8 antiviral factor.
(6/1981)
It has been known since 1986 that CD8 T lymphocytes from certain HIV-1-infected individuals who are immunologically stable secrete a soluble factor, termed CAF, that suppresses HIV-1 replication. However, the identity of CAF remained elusive despite an extensive search. By means of a protein-chip technology, we identified a cluster of proteins that were secreted when CD8 T cells from long-term nonprogressors with HIV-1 infection were stimulated. These proteins were identified as alpha-defensin 1, 2, and 3 on the basis of specific antibody recognition and amino acid sequencing. CAF activity was eliminated or neutralized by an antibody specific for human alpha-defensins. Synthetic and purified preparations of alpha-defensins also inhibited the replication of HIV-1 isolates in vitro. Taken together, our results indicate that alpha-defensin 1, 2, and 3 collectively account for much of the anti-HIV-1 activity of CAF that is not attributable to beta-chemokines. (+info)
The predicted candidates of Arabidopsis plastid inner envelope membrane proteins and their expression profiles.
(7/1981)
Plastid envelope proteins from the Arabidopsis nuclear genome were predicted using computational methods. Selection criteria were: first, to find proteins with NH(2)-terminal plastid-targeting peptides from all annotated open reading frames from Arabidopsis; second, to search for proteins with membrane-spanning domains among the predicted plastidial-targeted proteins; and third, to subtract known thylakoid membrane proteins. Five hundred forty-one proteins were selected as potential candidates of the Arabidopsis plastid inner envelope membrane proteins (AtPEM candidates). Only 34% (183) of the AtPEM candidates could be assigned to putative functions based on sequence similarity to proteins of known function (compared with the 69% function assignment of the total predicted proteins in the genome). Of the 183 candidates with assigned functions, 40% were classified in the category of "transport facilitation," indicating that this collection is highly enriched in membrane transporters. Information on the predicted proteins, tissue expression data from expressed sequence tags and microarrays, and publicly available T-DNA insertion lines were collected. The data set complements proteomic-based efforts in the increased detection of integral membrane proteins, low-abundance proteins, or those not expressed in tissues selected for proteomic analysis. Digital northern analysis of expressed sequence tags suggested that the transcript levels of most AtPEM candidates were relatively constant among different tissues in contrast to stroma and the thylakoid proteins. However, both digital northern and microarray analyses identified a number of AtPEM candidates with tissue-specific expression patterns. (+info)
Amelioration of ozone-induced lung injury by anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
(8/1981)
Ozone (O(3)) is a significant component of atmospheric air pollution and produces detrimental effects in the lung. Although the mechanism of O(3)-induced lung inflammation and injury is unclear, the increased release of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by lung cells following O(3) exposure may shed some light on this subject. To investigate the role of TNF-alpha in the O(3)-induced pulmonary insult, we intraperitoneally injected rats with either rabbit preimmune serum or rabbit antirat TNF-alpha 1 h prior to O(3) exposure. Approximately 12 h after the end of O(3) exposure the animals were sacrificed, the lungs lavaged, and tissue samples collected for expression of cytokine genes relevant to inflammation. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed for albumin as a marker of pulmonary epithelial permeability changes and for fibronectin for its role in lung injury and repair. The lavage cells were collected, counted, and identified to quantitate the inflammatory response. Ozone exposure resulted in a significant increase in BALF albumin and fibronectin as compared to air-exposed controls and a significant increase in BALF polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Antibody treatment produced a significant decrease in BALF albumin and PMNs as compared to O(3)-exposed rats given preimmune serum. Antibody treatment did not affect the BALF fibronectin concentration or the total cell count in the BAL. Tissue analysis for gene arrays revealed an activation of IL-1alpha, IL-6, and IL-10 in animals exposed to O(3). The gene expression was downregulated in animals treated with anti-TNF-alpha antibody prior to O(3) exposure. The results suggest a central role for TNF-alpha in the mechanistic pathways critical to lung inflammation. The significance of TNF-alpha in the inflammation and epithelial injury produced by ozone exposure reflects its overall contribution through modulation of other cytokines. (+info)