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Objective and Design: Ca2+ signaling is critical for mast cell activation by antigen stimulation, and we previously described that the signaling can be mimicked by Ca2+-ATPase inhibitors. We therefore investigated the effect of the Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor and antigen stimulation on the gene expression profiles of RBL-2H3 mast cells.¶ Material: A Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor, 2,5-di( tert-butyl)-1,4-hydroquinone (DTBHQ), an antigen (dinitrophenylated BSA), a high-density oligonucleotide microarray (Affymetrix GeneChip) technique, and a well-characterized rat mast cell line RBL-2H3 were used.¶ Treatment: RBL-2H3 cells were activated for 3 h with 10 μM DTBHQ, which increases cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, or 10 μmg/ml antigen, which cross-links IgE receptors, and the mRNA expression profiles (8,799 genes) were analyzed with GeneChip arrays (n = 3).¶ Methods: Expression levels were measured by GeneChip, and the differences were tested by Welch's t-test and P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Values are expressed as means ±SEM.¶ Results: The genes, including MCP-1, GADD45, Relaxin H1, CSF-1, c-jun-oncogene, Pyk-2, NKR-P2 and CREM, were significantly up-regulated by both DTBHQ and antigen stimuli, whereas the genes including interleukin (IL)-3, IL-4, IL-9, IL-13, GADD153, butyrate response factor, and Fas ligand, were up-regulated by DTBHQ alone. On the other hand, the expression of several genes, including GATA-1, were down-regulated by DTBHQ stimulation.¶ Conclusions: These results suggest 1) that DTBHQ seems to induce proinflammatory responses by stimulating the production of several cytokines through the expression of several transcription factors, 2) that the changes in gene expression profile induced by DTBHQ and by IgE receptor cross-linking in mast cells were almost the same, but many more stress-inducible genes like GADD153 were up-regulated by the former. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most convenient method of monitoring the occurrence of IgE antibodies specific for novel proteins in genetically modified (GM) foods. The levels of IgE specific for a recombinant protein, Cry1Ab, were determined using an ELISA method. A soluble form of the Cry1Ab protein purified from pCold1 vector-transformed Escherichia coli pTf16/BL21 was used as the ELISA coating antigen, and 1M NaCl was used as the washing buffer to remove IgE non-specifically bound to the coated antigen. Sera from 44 patients allergic to major food allergens were obtained, diluted 20-fold, tested, and found no identifiable IgE above background levels. We also tested sera from patients with corn allergy against whole extracts of non-GM and GM-corn (MON 810) using immunoblotting. The staining patterns were similar for the two types of corn. These results indicate that significant levels of IgE antibodies specific to Cry1Ab were not found in the sera of Japanese patients with food allergies.

For monitoring the occurrence of IgE antibody specific for novel proteins in genetically modified (GM) foods, ELISA is the most convenient method. The levels of IgE specific for recombinant proteins, phosphinothricin-N-acetyltransferase (PAT), CP4-EPSPS, and Cry9C were determined by ELISA using the sera from patients allergic to known allergens. Ovalbumin (OVA) and OVA-positive patient sera were used as positive control. In the ELISA, 20-fold-diluted sera tested were mostly negative for the specific IgE. However, the PAT-specific, but not CP4-EPSPS- or Cry9C-specific IgE in some patients was apparently higher than that of the healthy volunteers. To clarify the binding specificity of the antibody, we pre-incubated the sera with soluble PAT, but the inhibition was marginal, suggesting that the binding was non-specific. Therefore, we used 1M NaCl as a washing buffer to remove IgE non-specifically bound to the coated PAT. This washing step efficiently decreased non-specific binding. In contrast, OVA-specific IgE binding to OVA-coated plate was not affected by the washing. Finally, in this pilot study significant levels of IgE antibodies specific for the three proteins were not detected in the sera of Japanese food-allergy patients.

Background: We have already reported that antigen-specific IgG1 antibody production in WBB6F1-W/Wv (W/Wv) mice after oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) was extremely high. Active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA) was induced in these mice after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of OVA, and Th2-dominant helper T-cell activation occurred. In this study, we examined the effect of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) conjugation of OVA on oral immunization of W/Wv mice., Methods: W/Wv mice were sensitized by administration of 0.1 mg OVA or CpG ODN-OVA by gavage every day for 4 weeks, and the serum titers of OVA-specific IgG1, IgE, and IgG2a antibody were determined. ASA was induced by i.p. injection of OVA, and the changes in body temperature were monitored. In vitro production of Th1- and Th2- type cytokines by splenocytes re-stimulated with antigen was also measured., Results: The antigen-specific IgG1 antibody titer in the CpG ODN-OVA-sensitized W/Wv mice was lower than in the OVA-sensitized group, but the IgG2a titer was higher. ASA was not induced by i.p. OVA challenge. There were significant increases in the production of Th1-type cytokine (IFN-gamma) by splenocytes in the CpG ODN-OVA-sensitized mice, but the Th2-type cytokine (IL-4) level in the splenocyte culture medium was lower., Conclusions: These results indicated that oral administration of CpG ODN-OVA conjugate significantly induced antigen-specific Th1 responses and reduced Th2 responses (allergic reactions) on re-stimulation. These findings suggest that CpG ODN-antigen conjugate may be useful as an oral vaccine.

Glucocorticoids are well known for their anti-inflammatory effect through the regulation of gene expression in many types of immune cells, including mast cells. However, the genes that are involved in suppression of mast cell-mediated inflammation by glucocorticoids have not been fully identified. Therefore, we examined the dexamethasone (Dex)-responsive genes in RBL-2H3 mast cells using a high-density oligonucleotide microarray technique. Gene expression profiling revealed that the antigen-induced up-regulation of pro-inflammatory factors, including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, was markedly inhibited by 100 nM Dex. On the other hand, Dex treatment itself caused the substantial up-regulation of many genes, including phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase (PNMT) and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CISH), in the mast cells. The expression of these two genes significantly increased 6 h after Dex exposure and lasted for more than 24 h. Considering that PNMT is the rate-determining enzyme in epinephrine synthesis and that CISH is a suppressor of cytokine signaling, these Dex-responsive genes may be potential anti-inflammatory factors. Thus, gene expression profiling suggested that Dex might exert its anti-inflammatory effect through two pathways in mast cells: the suppression and induction of potentially pro- and anti-inflammatory factors, respectively.

We have already reported that WBB6F1-W/W(v) (W/W(v)) mice, which have mutations in the c-kit gene, are highly susceptible to oral sensitization, and that the proportion of TCRgammadelta-T cells among the intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) (gammadelta-IELs) of W/W(v) is much lower than in congenic wild-type (+/+) mice. In this study we examined an inhibitory role of gammadelta-IELs in oral sensitization using two different methods. First, wild-type (+/+) mice were sensitized by oral administration of 1.0 mg ovalbumin (OVA) by gavage every day for 9 weeks after anti-TCRgammadelta antibody treatment 4 times. The treatment resulted in an enhanced OVA-specific IgG1 antibody production, active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA), and Th2-dominant cytokine production. Next, W/W(v) mice whose bone marrow cells were reconstituted from C57BL/6J mice for 5 months were sensitized by oral administration of OVA. The OVA-specific IgG1 antibody titer in the bone marrow-reconstituted W/W(v) mice was neither significantly enhanced, nor ASA was induced. The proportion of gammadelta-IELs in the reconstituted mice was much higher than that in the untreated W/W(v) mice. The above findings suggest that the decrease or increase in number of gammadelta-IELs enhances or decreases oral sensitization respectively. These results show that gammadelta-IELs have an important role in the oral tolerance to food antigens.

Background: The allergenic potential of chicken egg white ovomucoid (OVM) is thought to depend on its stability to heat treatment and digestion. Pepsin-digested fragments have been speculated to continue to exert an allergenic potential. OVM was digested in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) to examine the reactivity of the resulting fragments to IgE in sera from allergic patients., Methods: OVM was digested in SGF and subjected to SDS-PAGE. The detected fragments were then subjected to N-terminal sequencing and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry analysis to confirm the cleavage sites and partial amino acid sequences. The reactivity of the fragments to IgE antibodies in serum samples from patients allergic to egg white was then determined using Western blotting (n=24)., Results: The rate of OVM digestion depended on the pepsin/OVM ratio in the SGF. OVM was first cleaved near the end of the first domain, and the resulting fragments were then further digested into smaller fragments. In the Western blot analysis, 93% of the OVM-reactive sera also bound to the 23.5- to 28.5-kDa fragments, and 21% reacted with the smaller 7- and 4.5-kDa fragments., Conclusion: When the digestion of OVM in SGF was kinetically analyzed, 21% of the examined patients retained their IgE-binding capacity to the small 4.5-kDa fragment. Patients with a positive reaction to this small peptide fragment were thought to be unlikely to outgrow their egg white allergy. The combination of SGF-digestibility studies and human IgE-binding experiments seems to be useful for the elucidation and diagnosis of the allergenic potential of OVM.

Mast-cell-deficient WBB6F1-W/W(v) mice (W/W(v)) and congenic wild-type (+/+) mice were sensitized by oral administration of 0.1 or 1.0 mg ovalbumin (OVA) in the form of gavage every day for 9 weeks, and active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA) was induced by intraperitoneal injection of OVA. Production of OVA-specific IgG1 in response to oral sensitization of the W/W(v) mice was very high, and the production of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 by splenocytes re-stimulated with OVA in vitro was increased. These findings suggest that Th2-dominant helper T-cell activation had occurred. By contrast, production of OVA-specific IgG1 was low in +/+ mice, and no significant increase in production of Th2-type cytokines by the splenocytes of +/+ mice was observed. Population analysis in Peyer's patches by flow cytometry revealed that the proportion of the CD11c(+) cell in the W/W(v) mice was slightly increased after antigen stimulation. Analysis of the cell surface markers of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) by flow cytometry showed that the proportion of TCRgammadelta-T cells was extremely lower in the W/W(v) mice, especially in the antigen sensitized group. The proportion of TCRgammadelta-T cells in the splenocytes of W/W(v) mice was also lower than in +/+ mice. Taken together, the above findings indicate that W/W(v) mice seems to be a good model not only for studying the induction mechanism of food allergy but for examining the role of TCRgammadelta-T cells in food-induced hypersensitivity.

Information on the comparative digestibility of food allergens and non-allergenic proteins is crucial when stability to digestion is to be used as a criterion to assess the allergenic potential of novel proteins. Preheating effect on in vitro digestibility has not been fully examined. In this study we investigated the preheating effect of in vitro digestibility of several proteins and their proteolytic fragments in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Five major food allergens, ovalbumin (OVA), ovomucoid (OVM), beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI), four proteins of unproven allergenicity, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxidase (RBC), phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) and zein from corn, and plant lectin, concanavalin A (Con A) were preheated (at 100 degrees C for 5 min) or not preheated, and then digested in SGF or SIF. Food allergens were relatively stable in both SGF and SIF. Among the allergens, digestibility of OVA in both SGF and SIF was markedly decreased, and BLG and STI were relatively stable after preheating. Digestibility of ConA in SGF and SIF was markedly decreased by preheating. Digestibility of non-allergenic proteins in SGF was higher than the allergenic proteins. From these results, because of the marked increase of the digestibility in several proteins by preheating, systematic information concerning the effect of food treatment on protein digestion is necessary to assess the relationship between allergenic potential and the digestibility of food protein.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for determining the enzymatic activity of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSP synthase), an enzyme of the shikimate pathway, was developed. EPSP synthase catalyzes the formation of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) from shikimate-3-phosphate (S-3-P) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in microorganisms and plants. The enzymatic activity of EPSP synthase was assessed by the determination of EPSP after a 30-min incubation with S-3-P and PEP using the LC/MS system. EPSP synthase activity is given in terms of the produced EPSP (pmol/min/mg protein). Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl glycine)-tolerant EPSP synthase from the Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 (CP4-EPSP synthase) in genetically modified soybeans (GM-soybeans) was found to have an enzymatic activity of 736 EPSP pmol/min/mg protein in the presence of 3 nmol of S-3-P. In contrast, the enzyme activity of non-GM-soybeans was 21 EPSP pmol/min/mg protein. The EPSP synthase activity was markedly decreased in the non-GM-soybeans by the addition of glyphosate, but the enzyme activity of the GM-soybeans was only slightly decreased with this treatment. This LC/MS system could also be applicable to the measurement of EPSP synthase activity in different plant species and the detection of herbicide-tolerant EPSP synthase in GM foods.

Subchronic animal feeding studies to examine the effect on the immune system of genetically modified corn CBH351, which contains the Cry9C protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies tolworthi, were conducted in female BN rats and B10A mice. The studies were designed to compare the effect of a line of genetically modified corn CBH351 (GM corn) with that of isoline corn (non-GM corn). Heat-treated corn meal was incorporated into the diets of the rats and mice at a concentration of 50%. The study duration was 13 weeks. Growth, food intake, and organ weights of the thymus, spleen, and liver were compared between animals fed the non-GM and GM lines. The histological findings in thymus, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, Peyer's patches, small intestines, liver, kidney, and bone marrow, and the presence of Cry9C-specific IgE, IgG, IgG1 and IgA antibodies in serum were also compared. The results showed no significant differences in growth, feeding value, or the histological findings in immunity-related organs between the animals fed the GM and non-GM lines. Production of Cry9 C-specific IgE and IgA was not detected in the serum of either group. Production of Cry9C-specific IgG and IgG1 was slightly increased in the 50% GM groups of BN rats. No Cry9C-specific IgG or IgG1 was detected in the serum of BN rats fed the diet containing 5% GM-corn In conclusion, no immunotoxic activity was detected in the GM-corn-fed rats and mice in this subchronic dietary study.

We performed experiments on in vitro digestion of newly expressed proteins by SGF (simulated gastric fluid) and SIF (simulated intestinal fluid) to assess the allergenicity of food components derived from biotechnological modification. For newly expressed proteins, we chose CP4-EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4) and Cry1Ab derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain HD-1. The former is expressed in GM-soybeans and the latter is expressed in GM-corns. Firstly, we examined the digestibility of purified CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab by SGF. Both proteins were rapidly digested within 60 sec. After preheating, the digestibility by SGF was slightly increased. Secondly, CP4-EPSPS in GM-soybean extracts and Cry1Ab in GM-corn extracts were digested by SGF. The digestion time of both proteins by SGF was almost the same as that of the purified proteins. Thirdly, the digestibility of CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab by SIF was examined. The digestion time of these proteins was 240 min or more. However, digestibility of these proteins by SIF was dramatically increased by preheating, and the digestion time was less than 5 sec. Fourthly, CP4-EPSPS in GM-soybean extracts and Cry1Ab in GM-corn extracts were digested by SIF. Digestion time of both proteins by SIF was almost the same as that of the purified proteins. From these results, we concluded that the digestibility of both CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab by SGF and SIF was increased by preheating. Therefore, we suggest that the allergenicity of both proteins should be extremely low because of the easy digestibility of these proteins by SGF and also by SIF with preheating.