0000000000140395
AUTHOR
Hansjoerg Schild
Analysis of protein composition of red wine in comparison with rosé and white wines by electrophoresis and high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS).
Wine proteins not only influence wine stability but are also being discussed as potential allergens. Proteins from red, rose, and white wines were enriched by dialysis and lyophilization followed by separation by SDS-PAGE. Significant differences were detected in the protein compositions of the analyzed wine varieties, and the major protein bands were identified by mass spectrometry after in-gel digestion with trypsin. In German Portugieser red wine, a total of 121 tryptic peptides were identified, which were attributed to 12 grape proteins and 6 proteins derived from yeast. Among the identified constituents are several proteins considered to influence wine stability and previously describe…
A Role for NFAT in Innate Immunity: Neutrophil Effector Functions in Patients after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Under Cyclosporine Α Treatment
Abstract Background and Aims: Patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) suffer from immunodeficiency, in part due to long-term immunosuppressive medication e.g. by calcineurin inhibitors like cyclosporine A (CsA). Additionally, these patients have an increased risk for opportunistic fungal infections like invasive aspergillosis (IA). The nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is known as an important transcription factor in signaling-pathways downstream of calcineurin in the adaptive immune systems, e.g. in T cells, but also plays an important role in innate immune response as indicated by recent data in rodent models. These studies showed a relevant impac…
The Impact of NFAT Inhibition on Neutrophil Antifungal Defense and Myelopoiesis in Cyclosporine A Treated and NFATc1LysM Mice
Abstract Background and Aims: Immunodeficient patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are heavily threatened by opportunistic fungal infections like invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), partly due to immunosuppressive medication e.g. by calcineurin inhibitors like cyclosporine A (CsA) or tacrolimus. It is well known that the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is an important transcription factor downstream of calcineurin in the adaptive immune system especially in T cells. Additionally, there is a growing body of evidence that NFAT also plays a substantial role in innate immune response against invasive fungal diseases by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), as…
Cockroach allergens Per a 3 are oligomers
Allergens from cockroaches cause major asthma-related health problems worldwide. Among them Per a 3 belongs to the most potent allergens. Although the sequences of some members of the Per a 3-family are known, their biochemical and biophysical properties have not been investigated. Here we present for the first time a thorough structural characterization of these allergens, which have recently been tested to induce an increase of allergy specific indicators in blood of Europeans. We isolated two Per a 3 isoforms, which occur freely dissolved in the hemolymph as hexamers with molecular masses of 465+/-25kDa (P II) and 512+/-25kDa (P I). Their sedimentation coefficients (S(20,W)) were determi…
Transcutaneous Immunization with a Solid Nanoscopic Imiquimod Suspension Enhances Tumor Rejection
Abstract Introduction: Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a novel vaccination strategy to induce strong therapeutic cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses by directly targeting skin-resident professional antigen-presenting cells (APC). This vaccination approach is very promising to overcome current limitations of standard vaccination approaches that are mostly effective in prophylaxis, but not in the treatment of diseases. In this context, we have developed a TCI method based on a synthetic TLR7 agonist imiquimod that partial tumor protection in experimental rodent models. In our present work, we describe a novel optimized formulation of imiquimod in a solid suspension of crystalline imiq…
Immunotherapy in gastrointestinal cancer: Recent results, current studies and future perspectives
The new therapeutic approach of using immune checkpoint inhibitors as anticancer agents is a landmark innovation. Early studies suggest that immune checkpoint inhibition might also be effective in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. To improve the efficacy of immunotherapy, different strategies are currently under evaluation. This review summarises the discussion during the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer Translational Research Meeting in Mainz in November 2014 and provides an update on the most recent results of immune therapy in gastrointestinal cancers. Knowledge of potential relationships between tumour cells and their microenv…
Purification and structural characterisation of lipid transfer protein from red wine and grapes
Lipid transfer proteins (LTP) play a major role in plant defence and are of particular interest due to their known ability to cause allergic reactions. These proteins are expressed in grapes and also remain detectable after vinification, especially in red wine. However, it remains unknown whether the protein undergoes any changes during the vinification process. Here, we present a purification method for LTPs from Dornfelder grapes and wine. By liquid-chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) we identified LTPs from two different species (Vitis vinifera and Vitis aestivalis). Additionally, the purified LTPs were characterised using spectrometric methods, confirming their high purity and s…
The Imatinib and Nilotinib Induced Modulation of the Proteasomal Activity and Antigen Processing in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells
Abstract Abstract 2748 The tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) Imatinib mesylate (IM, Gleevec, Glivec) and nilotinib (NI, Tasigna, AMN) are currently used in treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). IM has been described to influence the function and differentiation of antigen presenting cells, to inhibit the effector function of T lymphocytes and to decrease the immunogenicity of CML cells by downregulation of tumor associated antigens. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of IM and NI on proteasomal activity in IM-sensitive or IM/NI- resistant CML cells as well as in patient samples using a biotinylated active site-directed probe, which, covalently binds and labels proteasomal …
Interaction of TLR2 and TLR4 ligands with the N-terminal domain of Gp96 amplifies innate and adaptive immune responses.
Activation of dendritic cells by ligands for Toll-like receptors (TLR) is a crucial event in the initiation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Several classes of TLR ligands have been identified that interact with distinct members of the TLR-family. TLR4 ligands include lipopolysaccharide derived from different Gram-negative bacteria and viral proteins. Recent reports have demonstrated the TLR-mediated activation of dendritic cells by heat shock proteins (HSPs). However, doubts were raised as to what extent this effect was due to lipopolysaccharide contaminations of the HSP preparations. We re-examined this phenomenon using Gp96 or its N-terminal domain, nominally endotoxin-free (0.5 …
The Impact of NFAT Inhibition on Neutrophil Effector Functions in Patients after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and on Neutrophil Antifungal Defense and Myelopoiesis in Cyclosporin Α Treated and NFATc1LysM Mice
Abstract Background and Aims: Immunosuppressive medication e.g. by calcineurin inhibitors substantially contributes to the risk for opportunistic fungal infections in patients after allogeneic transplantation (HSCT). It is well known that the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is an important transcription factor downstream of calcineurin especially in T cells. Additionally, recent data in rodent models indicate that NFAT also seems to play a relevant role in innate antifungal immune responses by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), as well as in regulation of myelopoiesis and myeloid differentiation. Methods: Firstly, isolated PMN from healthy donors were analyzed in vitro in absen…