Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an autoimmune disease that is influenced by food, an important factor in accelerating its clinical disease activity because of intestinal inflammation ...trough formation of antigen-antibody complex. Food-specific IgG examination can identify the types of person foods consumes that are maybe responsible for disease activity. It is useful in treating IBD without risking malnourishment as it is tailored to the individual immune profile. Method: This is a cross-sectional study involving 113 patients diagnosed with IBD by colonoscopy. Examination of serum IgG specific for 220 types of foods was performed using ELISA and immuno-array techniques. Disease clinical activity was assessed using the Mayo index and Crohn's disease activity index. Results: The highest proportion of dietary IgG in Crohn's disease was peas (100%), barley (97.9%), eggs (95.9%), milk (81.6%), and corn (75.5%); while in ulcerative colitis it was barley (98.4%), peas (96.8%), egg whites (92.2%), corn (82.8%), and prunes (78.1%). In ulcerative colitis, there was a weak negative correlation between cashew nuts IgG (r = -0.347; p = 0.041) and chickpeas IgG (r = -0.473; p = 0.017) with clinical disease activity; while in Crohn's disease, a weak positive correlation with disease activity was seen in barley (r = 0.261; p = 0.042). Conclusion: There was a weak negative correlation between cashew and chickpea-specific IgG antibodies with clinical activity of ulcerative colitis, and a weak positive correlation between barley-specific IgG antibodies and Crohn's disease clinical activity.
Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a mosquito-borne zoonotic phlebovirus, causes serious disease in humans and ruminants. According to the World Health Organization, Rift Valley fever is classified as a ...priority disease, and as such, vaccine development is of high priority due to the lack of licensed vaccines. In this study, a bacterium-like particle vaccine (BLP), RVFV-BLPs, is constructed. A novel display system is described, which is based on non-living and non-genetically modified Gram-positive bacterial cells, designated as Gram-positive enhancer matrix (GEM). The RVFV Gn head protein was displayed on the surface of GEM by co-expression with the peptidoglycan-binding domain (protein anchor) at the C-terminus. We determined that the RVFV Gn head-PA fusion protein was successfully displayed on the GEM. Mice immunized with RVFV-BLPs produced humoral and cellular immunity. Interestingly, comparing the production of RVFV Gn head-specific IgG and its subtype by vaccinating with different antigen doses of the RVFV-BLPs determined that the RVFV-BLPs (50 μg) group showed a greater effect than the other two groups. More importantly, antibodies produced by mice immunized with RVFV-BLPs (50 μg) exhibited potent neutralizing activity against RVFV pseudovirus. RVFV-BLPs (50 μg) also could induce IFN-γ and IL-4 in immunized mice; these mice generated memory cells among the proliferating T cell population after immunization with RVFV-BLPs with effector memory T cells as the major population, which means that RVFV-BLPs is an effective vaccine to establish a long-lived population of memory T cells. The findings suggest that the novel RVFV-BLPs subunit vaccine has the potential to be considered a safe and effective candidate vaccine against RVFV infection.
•SARS-CoV-2-S1/M-reactive-IFN-γ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were detected in less than 30% recovered patients from severe COVID-19.•60% of individuals displayed detectable SARS-CoV-2-RBD-specific IgGs at ...2–5 months following COVID-19 diagnosis.•The presence of comorbidities may hamper persistence of SARS-CoV-2 -S1/M-reactive T cells in recovered COVID-19 patients.
There is an imperative need to determine the durability of adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2. We enumerated SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells targeting S1 and M proteins and measured RBD-specific serum IgG over a period of 2–6 months after symptoms onset in a cohort of subjects who had recovered from severe clinical forms of COVID-19.
We recruited 58 patients (38 males and 20 females; median age, 62.5 years), who had been hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia, 60% with one or more comorbidities. IgG antibodies binding to SARS-CoV-2 RBD were measured by ELISA. SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD69+-expressing-IFNγ-producing-CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were enumerated in heparinized whole blood by flow cytometry for ICS.
Detectable SARS-CoV-2-S1/M-reactive CD69+-IFN-γ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were displayed in 17 (29.3%) and 6 (10.3%) subjects respectively, at a median of 84 days after onset of symptoms (range, 58–191 days). Concurrent comorbidities increased the risk (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.03–9.61; P = 0.04) of undetectable T–cell responses in models adjusted for age, sex and hospitalization ward. Twenty-one out of the 35 patients (60%) had detectable RBD-specific serum IgGs at a median of 118 days (range, 60–145 days) after symptoms onset. SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific IgG serum levels were found to drop significantly over time.
A relatively limited number of subjects who developed severe forms of COVID-19 had detectable SARS-CoV-2-S1/M IFNγ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at midterm after clinical diagnosis. Our data also indicated that serum levels of RBD-specific IgGs decline over time, becoming undetectable in some patients.
BACKGROUNDFeather duvet lung (FDL) is an underestimated form of acute and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Serological tests for FDL need to be validated. We investigated the ability of ...recombinant pigeon Proproteinase E (r-PROE) and Immunoglobulin-lambda-like-polypeptide-1 (r-IGLL1) proteins to support the serological diagnosis of FDL, and propose them as a serological tool for clinicians to differentiate cases from FDL and Bird fancier's lung (BFL). METHODSSpecific IgG antibodies against r-PROE and r-IGLL1, analyzed with ELISA, were measured in patients diagnosed with FDL (n=31), BFL (n=15) controls exposed (n=15) and unexposed to feathers (n=15). RESULTSThe sensitivity and specificity of the r-PROE ELISA for the serological diagnosis of FDL cases versus exposed and unexposed controls were 74.2% and 86.7% respectively, with an index threshold of 0.5 (AUC: 0.89). In addition, this serological test was effective to support the serological diagnosis of FDL and BFL cases with significantly different thresholds. The r-IGLL1 ELISA was only effective for the serological diagnosis of BFL. Also, these two serological tests were useful for the diagnosis of both chronic and acute forms. CONCLUSIONSThe new diagnostic test for FDL using r-PROE protein should help to detect overt and hidden cases of FDL. The combination of both test will help the clinician in distinguish between the etiology of birds or feathers duvet.
Objective: We investigated the antibody titer of spike-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies after receiving coronavirus repair uridine ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccine (BNT162b2, Pfizer) in ...health care workers. Methods: At one hospital, health care workers received the vaccination between February and May 2021. A survey using questionnaires and spike-specific IgG antibody tests (Abbott) was conducted in 293 participants who had been vaccinated at least once and consented to this study at the time of medical checkups between April and May 2021. We calculated the antibody titer in each age group and days post-vaccination. We examined whether antibody titers of 4,000 AU/mL or higher (probability of high titer: approximately 95%, Abbott) were associated with adverse reactions after vaccination. In addition (1), the antibody titers at approximately 100 days after the second vaccination in 11 participants were remeasured. Furthermore (2), the antibody titers at approximately 260 days after the second vaccination in 13 participants were remeasured and compared with the initial measurements. Results: Of the participants, 276 were post-2 doses (A), 14 were post-1 dose (B), and 3 discontinued the second vaccination (C) at the time of health checkup. The median antibody titer was 11,045.8 AU/mL (50.7–40,000) in group A, 122.7 AU/mL (2.6–1,127.0) in group B, 27,099.3 AU/mL in one of group C who had recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and 574.2 AU/mL (283.3 and 865.1) in the other two of group C. The median antibody titer was the highest in those in their 20s, and there was a significant difference between those under and above 40 years of age. The median titer was the highest in 2 weeks to 1 month after the second vaccination. After the second dose, fatigue (≥ moderate) was associated with antibody titers of 4,000 AU/mL or higher. The antibody titers of 11 and 13 participants at approximately 100 and 260 days after the second vaccination were significantly lower than those at the first measurement, with median values of 2,838.0 AU/mL (832.9–5,698.6) and 512.0 AU/mL (154.0–1,220.0), respectively. Conclusions: Antibody titers were higher in participants under 40 years of age than those 40 years or older. In addition, the percentage of high antibody titer (≧ 4,000 AU/mL) was higher in those who had severe fatigue after the second vaccination. The peak of antibody titer after the second dose was approximately 1 month, and the titer may decline gradually.
Toxocarosis is a zoonotic disease caused by migration and subsequent localization of nematode larvae of Toxocara spp. in human organs and tissues, which is manifested with development of various ...non-specific clinical symptoms. Main diagnostic methods are serological and consists in proving the presence of anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies in patient's sera. In humans, anti-Toxocara IgG has been shown to persist in the serum for a long time and cannot be used to distinguish between past and recent infection.
Aim of the present work is to investigate the diagnostic significance of the specific IgG avidity level, determined by an immuno enzyme test developed by us, and the presence of anti-Toxocara IgA for distinguishing between acute and chronic toxocarosis.
The study included 130 patients with positive results in routine serological ELISA and Western blot tests and with clinical symptoms of visceral and ocular toxocarosis. The results revealed low IgG avidity (≤40%) in nine (7.3%) and presence of anti-Toxocara IgA antibodies in 36 (26.2%) of the subjects. Low avidity of IgG antibodies was found only in the first tests, and a presence of specific IgA for up to 9 months. The results of our study give us reason to believe that determination of the IgG avidity in toxocarosis is of greater diagnostic value than the presence of IgA to establish the stage of the disease.
Display omitted
•The main methods of diagnosing the human toxocarosis is serological.•The diagnosis of the recent infection is difficult.•ELISA IgG and Western blot, cannot distinguish past from recent infection.•Specific IgA antibodies persist for up to 9 months after infection.•Low avidity of specific IgG antibodies is a better marker of the recent infection.
Toxoplasma gondii
is a worldwide zoonotic protozoan. Donkeys are often susceptible to many pathological agents, acting as carriers of pathogens for other animal species and humans. However, data on ...the prevalence of
T. gondii
in donkeys during lactation and on the status of antibodies against
T. gondii
in donkey milk are lacking. A cross-sectional study evaluated the variation of the anti-
T. gondii
antibodies in the blood and milk of domestic donkeys during lactation. A total of 418 domestic donkeys were randomly selected from the Shandong province, eastern China from January 2019 to March 2020. The anti-
T. gondii
antibodies were found in 11.72% (49/418) serum and 9.81% (41/418) milk samples using a commercial ELISA kit, respectively. There was a very high consistency between the serum and milk (Spearman’s coefficient = 0.858,
p
-value < 0.0001 and Kendall’s tau = 0.688,
p
-value < 0.0001), particularly at the 45th to 60th day of lactation. The present results of the statistical analysis showed that the history of abortion (
p
= 0.026; adjusted OR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.15–4.20) and cat in the house (
p
= 0.008; adjusted OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.26–4.44) were significantly associated with
T. gondii
infection in the domestic donkeys. This is the first report to detect antibodies against
T. gondii
in donkey milk in China. These results indicate a potential risk of humans contracting the infection through the consumption of raw milk from the naturally infected donkeys.
Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), which causes Rift Valley fever (RVF), is a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen that causes serious morbidity and mortality in livestock and humans. RVF is a World Health ...Organization (WHO) priority disease and, together with rabies, is a major health burden in Africa. Here, we present the development and characterization of an inactivated recombinant RVFV and rabies virus (RABV) vaccine candidate (rSRV9-eGn). Immunization with rSRV9-eGn stimulated the production of RVFV-specific IgG antibodies and induced humoral and cellular immunity in mice but did not induce the production of neutralizing antibodies. IgG1 and IgG2a were the main isotypes observed by IgG subtype detection, and IgG3 antibodies were not detected. The ratios of IgG1/IgG2a > 1 indicated a Type 2 humoral immune response. An effective vaccine is intended to establish a long-lived population of memory T cells, and mice generated memory cells among the proliferating T cell population after immunization with rSRV9-eGn, with effector memory T cells (TEM) as the major population. Due to the lack of prophylactic treatment experiments, it is impossible to predict whether this vaccine can protect animals from RVFV infection with only high titres of anti-RVFV IgG antibodies and no neutralizing antibodies induced, and thus, protection confirmation needs further verification. However, this RVFV vaccine designed with RABV as the vector provides ideas for the development of vaccines that prevent RVFV and RABV infections.
PDF
