Terumasa Miyamoto

Adjuvant activity of diesel-exhaust particulates for the production of IgE antibody in mice

The prevalence rate of allergic rhinitis caused by pollen has strikingly increased in Japan in the last three decades. The number of diesel cars in use has also rapidly increased in the country. This fact urged us to study the effects of particulates emitted from diesel cars on the production of IgE antibody. The primary IgE antibody responses in mice immunized with intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OA) mixed with diesel-exhaust particulates (DEP) were higher than those in the animals immunized with OA alone. This effect of DEP on the production of IgE antibody in mice was also demonstrated when mice were immunized with repeated injections of dinitrophenylated-OA. In addition, persistent IgE-antibody response to major allergen of Japanese cedar pollen (JCPA), a most common pollen causing allergic rhinitis in Japan, was observed in mice immunized with JCPA mixed with DEP but not in the animals immunized with JCPA alone. The results do indicate that the adjuvant activity of DEP can not be excluded as a possible cause of the associated change in the number of diesel cars and allergic rhinitis caused by pollen in Japan.

Diesel-exhaust particulates inoculated by the intranasal route have an adjuvant activity for IgE production in mice

Our previous study indicated that the IgE antibody responses in mice immunized with intraperitoneal injection of the antigens mixed with diesel-exhaust particulates (DEP) were higher than those in the animals immunized with the antigens alone. We examined the adjuvant activity of DEP inoculated by the intranasal route, i.e., the natural entrance of DEP. In 3-week interval immunization, the IgE antibody responses in mice immunized with intranasal inoculation of ovalbumin (OA) mixed with DEP were higher than responses in the animals immunized with OA alone. DEP had an adjuvant activity for anti-OA IgE antibody production, even in a small dose such as 1 micrograms administered with a 3-week interval. Also in 1-week interval immunization, the enhancing effect of DEP on anti-OA IgE antibody production was demonstrated when mice were immunized with intranasal inoculation of OA and DEP. The possibility cannot be excluded that DEP, which are kept buoyant in the environmental atmosphere of urban districts, may exert an adjuvant activity for IgE antibody production after being inhaled into the human body and have some relation to the mechanism of the outbreak of allergic rhinitis caused by pollens in Japan.

Food-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis : a study on 11 Japanese cases

Eleven patients with food-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis were studied. Seven patients experienced anaphylactic symptoms only after eating certain foods, such as shellfish, wheat, and grape before exercise. In the remaining four patients, no specific food could be identified, but the act of eating itself predisposed to anaphylaxis. Their anaphylactic symptoms were all clearly distinguished from cholinergic urticaria by history. Patients who developed anaphylactic symptoms before 20 years of age (N = 7) were atopic themselves or had atopic first-degree relatives. Six patients had increased serum IgE levels, and IgE antibodies against the causative food allergens were detected by the skin prick test or RAST in four cases. In contrast, patients who developed the symptoms after 30 years of age (N = 4) appeared to have a less atopic background, and IgE levels were within normal range except in one case. Three of four patients in the latter group developed symptoms after ingesting food made of wheat followed by exercise. All patients were sensitive to wheat as determined by the skin prick test. In six of 11 patients, a considerable rise in plasma histamine concentration was observed after exercise challenge with treadmill alone, and food intake followed by exercise induced a further increase in one patient.

IgE antibody‐mediated shock reaction caused by topical application of chlorhexidine

A case of an anaphylactic shock following topical application of chlorhexidine preparation is reported. Specific skin‐sensitizing antibodies against chlorhexidine were demonstrated in the serum from the patient by a passive transfer test. IgE antibodies against chlorhexidine were also detected by radioallergosorbent technique (RAST). Paper discs conjugated with chlorhexidine‐HSA (human serum albumin) significantly bound the IgE antibodies. Furthermore, all of the sera from seven other patients with shock reactions following the topical application of chlorhexidine preparation also showed high RAST counts. Both chlorhexidine gluconate and chlorguanide which represents approximately half a molecule of chlorhexidine inhibited the reaction in a dose‐dependent fashion. It is suggested that the shock reactions following topical application of chlorhexidine are mediated by IgE antibodies against chlorhexidine and that chlorhexidine and chlorguanide share the same antigenic determinant.

Enhancing Effect of Suspended Particulate Matter on the IgE Antibody Production in Mice

Suspended particulate matter (SPM), suspended in the polluted environmental atmosphere, are perpetually inhaled into the human body and are considered to have profound effects on human health. This study investigated the enhancing effect of SPM on the IgE antibody production in mice. The IgE antibody responses in mice immunized with intranasal administration of ovalbumin (OA) plus SPM at 3-week intervals were higher than responses in the animals immunized with OA alone. When the dose of OA administered as an antigen was 0.25 microgram, the time course and magnitude of enhancement by SPM was comparable to those by killed Bordetella pertussis, a common adjuvant. SPM had an enhancing effect on IgE antibody production even in a small dose such as 0.25 microgram administered at 3-week intervals. The possibility cannot be excluded that the natural exposure of humans to SPM in the environmental atmosphere may explain the high prevalence rate of allergic rhinitis caused by pollens in polluted districts in Japan.

Altered frequency of initiation sites of DNA replication in Werner's syndrome cells

SummaryDNA replication of cultured fibroblasts of early passage derived from Werners syndrome (adult progeria) patients and from normal subjects were compared by DNA fiber autoradiography. The frequency of replication initiation was decreased in Werners syndrome cells derived from five patients compared with that in normal cells derived from three persons of different ages. The rate of DNA chain elongation did not differ between Werners syndrome cells and normal cells.

Platelet-Activating Factor in Late Asthmatic Response

The role of platelet-activating factor (PAF) in the late asthmatic responses was studied. The concentrations of lyso-form of PAF in plasma were measured at 0 and 20 min, and 6 and 24 h after the antigen inhalation challenge among patients with bronchial asthma. PAF activities were measured by their aggregating ability of washed rabbit platelets after acetylation of lyso-PAF into the biological active form of PAF, when there were no detectable amounts of PAF in plasma. The concentrations of lyso-PAF were found to be significantly increased in patients with the late asthmatic response compared with patients with the single immediate response at 6 h after the antigen challenge. In contrast, lyso-PAF levels were not significantly different at 20 min after the antigen challenge between these two groups. PAF inactivator activity in plasma increased when there was a decrease in the lyso-PAF level. These results suggest that PAF may participate in the late asthmatic response and may provide a new insight into the pathogenesis and the treatment of bronchial asthma.

Prolongation of S phase and whole cell cycle in Werner's syndrome fibroblasts

Abstract The cell cycle was determined in early passage fibroblasts from Werners syndrome and normal subjects. The average cell cycle time was prolonged in Werners syndrome cells due to changes in the duration of S phase. Using alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation, the rate of DNA elongation was examined, and no difference was observed between Werners syndrome cells and normal cells.

Atopic allergy in Japanese subjects: Studies primarily with radioallergosorbent test

Abstract The radioallergosorbent test (RAST) was performed on the sera of 65 Japanese patients with bronchial asthma to show the allergic similarities between extracts of house dust originating in Japan and in the United States, and between an extract of the mite Dermatophagoides farinae . Patients whose sera were shown to be positive by RAST to house dust or mite extract reacted positively to inhalation provocation tests with these substances. In general, when the RAST was negative, the inhalation provocation test was also negative. The end point of intracutaneous test titration with the mite extract correlated well with the level of specific IgE to mite as determined by RAST, thereby indicating that the end point of intracutaneous testing provides a good indication of the serum level of allergen-specific IgE. The lowest concentration of anti-IgE producing a positive skin reaction did not, however, correlate well with the IgE level in the serum.

Cross-antigenicity among six species of dust mites and house dust antigens

Abstract Body and excreta of Dermatophagoides farinae were found to be an important allergen in house dust. However, house dust contained more than 35 species of mites. The major mites in house dust are Glycyphaginae and D. pteronyssinus , which make up 31.8 per cent and 27.2 per cent, respectively. D. farinae comprises only 4 per cent of the total mites, as an average, in house dust in Japan. Consequently antigenic relationships between house dust and 6 species of mites, including D. farinae , were studied by the method of the skin testing and the in vitro neutralization of skin-sensitizing antibody. It was found that D. farinae was most closely related to house dust antigen in comparison with 5 other species of mites: Chortoglyphus arcuatus , Blomia sp., Aleuroglyphus ovatus, Suidasia nesbitti , and Tyrophagus putrescentiae . Cross-antigenicity was found among these mites although this was not complete, and it was considered that each species of mite had its own characteristic antigen. Moreover, the antigenicity of D. farinae was quite potent, and D. farinae appeared to possess the major common antigen among these species of mites. Consequently the existence of identical antigenicity between house dust and D. farinae was not surprising even though D. farinae constituted only a few per cent of the mites in house dust in number. D. farinae and C. arcuatus were more potent in skin reactivity in comparison with other species of mites, but cross-antigenicity between these 2 species of mites was not as close as that between the other species. The bodies of mites had identical antigenicity with the excreta.