Summary
Recently, chicken egg yolk was recognized as an inexpensive antibody source, and the therapeutic usefulness of egg yolk immunoglobulin Y (IgY) in oral passive immunization has been ...investigated. Although multiple antibiotic treatments eradicate most Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections, therapy fails in 10–15% of cases due to the development of drug resistance. Consequently, it is important that new, more broadly based therapies for the treatment of H. pylori infection should be identified. The present study evaluated the effect, on H. pylori infection, of IgY prepared from egg yolk of hens immunized with H. pylori urease (anti‐HpU IgY). Seventeen asymptomatic volunteers diagnosed as H. pylori‐positive by the 13C‐urea breath test (UBT) were orally administered anti‐HpU IgY for 4 weeks. Four weeks later, UBT values were significantly decreased although no case showed H. pylori eradication. An H. pylori‐positive 53‐year‐old female gastritis patient administered anti‐HpU IgY plus lansoprazole for 8 weeks showed a decrease in serum pepsinogen (PG) I and UBT values as well as an increase in the PG I/II ratio. In conclusion, anti‐HpU IgY may mitigate H. pylori‐associated gastritis and partially attenuate gastric urease activity. Furthermore, anti‐HpU IgY combined with antacids appears to ameliorate gastric inflammation. These encouraging results may represent a novel approach to the management of H. pylori‐associated gastroduodenal disease.
To examine the origin of intestinal mucosal T cells and, in particular, unconventional CD8 alpha alpha(+) T cells, we have undertaken a thorough analysis of the gut immune compartment in euthymic and ...athymic mice carrying either wild-type or mutant transcription factor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor-gamma t (ROR gamma t). We identified a previously unrealized complexity of gut cryptopatch (CP) cells that challenges the previous assertion that CP cells comprise ROR gamma t-expressing adult counterparts of fetal lymphoid tissue inducer (Lti) cells. We showed that many CP cells express intermediate T cell differentiation markers, whether or not they express ROR gamma t, and found that CPs are not completely dependent on ROR gamma t, as previously reported, but merely fewer in number in the ROR gamma t-deficient condition. Indeed, c-kit(+)IL-7R(+)Lin(-)ROR gamma t(-) cells inside the CP and c-kit(+)IL-7R(+)Lin(-)ROR gamma t(-) and c-kit(+)IL-7R(+)Lin(-)ROR gamma t(low) cells outside the CP basically remain in the gut mucosa of ROR gamma t-deficient ROR gamma t(EGFP/EGFP) mice. Consistent with these non-Lti-like c-kit(+)IL-7R(+)Lin(-) cells being gut T cell progenitors, ROR gamma t-deficient mice develop the normal number of intestinal mucosal T cells. These results clearly reassert the intraintestinal differentiation of the body's largest peripheral T cell subpopulation.
Background Metabolic syndrome and obesity are known risk factors for gastro‐esophageal reflux disease (GERD), especially for erosive esophagitis. Although non‐erosive reflux disease (NERD) is ...probably associated with obesity or other metabolic syndrome, there is little direct evidence to support this assertion.
Methods Workers in Keio University who underwent a general health examination between September 2006 and August 2007 were enrolled. Reflux symptom questionnaires were administered and metabolic parameters were obtained. The severity of gastro‐esophageal reflux (GER) was scored using a validated scale of videoesophagography.
Key Results Two hundred and eighty‐three subjects (243 men and 40 women; mean age 49.8 ± 6.9 years) with no radiographic evidence of erosive esophagitis were enrolled. The severity of GER was worse among men than among women, whereas the severity of reflux symptoms was worse among women. The severity of GER was associated with age and serum triglyceride levels in men, and with the serum low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in women. The severity of reflux symptoms, however, was not associated with metabolic parameters. There were more women than men with reflux symptoms but without GER (‘presumed’ functional heartburn group), compared with subjects with neither GER nor reflux symptoms. In men, the presence of both reflux symptoms and GER (‘presumed’ NERD group) was associated with the serum triglyceride levels.
Conclusions & Inferences While NERD is associated with serum lipid levels, functional heartburn is not. The prevalence of GER was greater among men; conversely, the prevalence of functional heartburn was greater among women.
Summary
Background
Ghrelin, a recently discovered peptide hormone, has been shown to be produced mainly by the A‐like cells of the gastric mucosa. Ghrelin not only stimulates growth hormone (GH) ...release but also promotes gastric motility. While the effect of ghrelin on the gastric acid secretion in rats has been reported, no such reports appeared to date from studies in humans.
Aim
To investigate the effect of ghrelin administration on the gastric pH in humans, using a novel wireless pH capsule (Bravo, Medtronic, Shoreview, MN, USA).
Methods
Four healthy volunteers (male; average age, 35.0 years; Helicobacter pylori‐negative) were enrolled. The pH capsule was attached endoscopically to the gastric mucosa and the data were transmitted to a portable receiver. Thirty minutes after a stabilization period, synthetic ghrelin (5 μg/kg body weight) was injected intravenously into the subjects and the data were monitored for more than 120 min while the subjects lay supine.
Results
The average minimum gastric pH in four cases (1.2 ± 0.10) was significantly decreased after injection of ghrelin, as compared with the basal pH value (1.8 ± 0.06). The serum gastrin level, however, showed no change after the ghrelin injection.
Conclusion
These results suggest that exogenous ghrelin could enhance gastric acid secretion in humans.
The interaction of mucosal lymphocytes and intestinal epithelial cells is thought to be important in regulating immune response in the intestinal mucosa, but conclusive evidence is limited. Here we ...demonstrate the expression of IL-7 mRNA in human intestinal mucosa by combined reverse transcription PCR and Southern blot hybridization. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization confirm the presence of IL-7 in intestinal epithelial cells, especially in epithelial goblet cells. Moreover, IL-7 receptor expression in mucosal lymphocytes is demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, as well as by Southern blot and flow cytometric analysis of freshly isolated lamina propria lymphocytes. In contrast, IL-7 receptor could not be detected in the cell surface of freshly isolated PBLs. The functional activity of IL-7 receptor is demonstrated by the utility of recombinant IL-7 to stimulate the growth of lamina propria lymphocytes, and conversely inhibit CD3-dependent proliferation of these cells. In contrast, IL-7 caused no significant increase in DNA synthesis and cell numbers when added to PBLs. These findings suggest that human intestinal epithelial cells and epithelial goblet cells produce IL-7, and locally produced IL-7 may serve as a potent regulatory factor for intestinal mucosal lymphocytes.
The TEIL (Tobacco EIN3-Like) gene is a tobacco homologue of arabidopsis Ethylene Insensitive 3 (EIN3), and the gene product binds an 8 bp sequence in the tobacco PR1a promoter in a sequence specific ...manner. It was found here that accumulation of TEIL transcript was induced by wounding and preceded basic PR gene expression. To study the downstream signalling pathway of TEIL, TEIL was overexpressed under the control of the constitutive 35S promoter in tobacco plants. In 35S::TEIL lines, basic PR genes, which are wound-, jasmonate-, and ethylene-inducible, were expressed constitutively. Next, the conserved 781 bp sequence among tobacco EIN3-like (EIL) protein genes was introduced as an inverted-repeat (IR) into tobacco to suppress expression of these genes. In two independent IRTEIL lines, the TEIL transcript was not found and transcripts of other tobacco EILs, NtEIL3, and NtEIL5, were reduced. In IRTEIL plants, wound-, jasmonate-, and ACC-induced accumulation of basic PR gene transcripts was significantly inhibited. These results indicate that TEIL functions upstream of tobacco basic PR genes in wound signalling via not only ethylene but also jasmonate. In 35S::TEIL plants, the pistil length of the flower was longer with a slight protrusion of the stigma compared with the control. In IRTEIL plants, the length of the stamens was shorter than the control with significant protrusion of the stigma in the flower. These observations indicate the involvement of tobacco EILs in flower development.
We have cloned a novel ABC transporter gene PMR5 from the phytopathogenic fungus Penicillium digitatum by RT-PCR using degenerate primers. The deduced amino acid sequence of PMR5 showed 37% identity ...to PMR1 from the same fungus, 71% identity to AtrB from Aspergillus nidulans, and 65% identity to BcatrB from Botrytis cinerea. Disruption mutants for PMR5 were generated in two independent P. digitatum strains and their phenotypes were characterized. These mutants displayed increased sensitivity to thiabendazole (a benzimidazole), benomyl (a benzimidazole), dithianon (a quinone), resveratrol (the phytoalexin of grape), and camptothecin (an alkaloid). Delta pmr1 disruption mutants were previously reported to show resistance to demethylation inhibitors (DMIs). These mutants were found also to display increased sensitivity to phloretin (the phytoanticipin of apples), camptothecin and oligomycin (an antibiotic). Transcription of PMR1 and PMR5 was strongly induced in response to several toxicants, including DMIs that specifically induced PMR1. In contrast, dithianon and resveratrol specifically induced PMR5 transcription. These findings indicate that expression of the two ABC transporter genes is regulated differently, and that they have complementary roles in multidrug resistance, with each having different substrate-specificities.
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