Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is accompanied by goblet cell metaplasia and mucus hypersecretion. Trefoil factor family (TFF) peptides represent major secretory products of the respiratory tract and are synthesized together with mucins. In the murine lung, TFF2 is mainly expressed, whereas TFF1 transcripts represent only a minor species. TFF peptides are well known...

The subcellular location of IL-1 beta was determined using a postsectioning immunoelectron microscopic method on ultrathin frozen sections of human monocytes stimulated with LPS. This methodology permits access of antibody probes to all sectioned intracellular compartments, and their visualization at high resolution. Staining was performed with a rabbit antibody that specifically recognized ami...

There is currently no "gold standard" test for the diagnosis of late-stage Chagas' disease. As a result, protection of the blood supply in areas where Chagas' disease is endemic remains problematic. A panel of 709 serum samples from subjects with confirmed Chagas' disease (n = 195), healthy controls (n = 400), and patients with other parasitic diseases (n = 114) was used to assess enzyme-linked...

TB immunodiagnostics based on antibody and antigen detection for early detection and monitoring tubercular infections at low cost and flexible to adapt to field laboratories are a boon to developing countries. In this context we have explored in-house developed penicillinase based ELISA assays for the detection of antigen, antibody as well as immune-complexed antigen using various excretory sec...

The clinical diagnosis of trichinellosis is difficult because its clinical manifestations are nonspecific. Detection of anti-Trichinella IgG by ELISA using T. spiralis muscle larval excretory-secretory (ES) antigens is the most commonly used serological method for diagnosis of trichinellosis, but the main disadvantage is false negativity during the early stage of infection. There is an obvious ...

Toxocariasis is a frequent helminthiasis that can cause visceral and ocular damage in humans specially in children. The identification of specific antigens of Toxocara canis is important in order to develop better diagnostic techniques. Ten rabbits were infected orally with a dose of 5000 Toxocara canis embryonated eggs. Rabbits were bled periodically and an ELISA assay was performed to determi...

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite classified in the phylum Apicomplexa, which includes numerous notable human and animal pathogens (Plasmodium species, Cryptosporidium species, Neospora caninum, etc.). The invasive stages of apicomplexans are characterized by the presence of an apical complex composed of specialized cytoskeletal and secretory organelles, includin...

An evaluation of the humoral response based on secretory immunoglobulin A levels in the saliva of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) acid-fast bacillus-positive (TB-AFB+) patients against a recombinant 38 kDa antigen (Ag38-rec) is reported. A total of 60 saliva samples consist of 30 TB-AFB+ patients and 30 healthy controls were tested against 500 ng of semi-purified antigen using the dot blot method. ...

A variety of techniques, including the use of live oral vaccines, have been used to deliver antigens to the gut-associated lymphoid tissues in an attempt to initiate production of specific secretory immunoglobulin A for protection against pathogens that colonize or cross mucosal surfaces to initiate infection. A number of attenuated Salmonella mutants are able to interact with the lymphoid tiss...

BACKGROUND Macrophage immune responses are affected by the secretory proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). This study aimed to examine the immune responses of macrophages to Mtb secretory antigens, namely ESAT-6, CFP-10, and ESAT-6/CFP-10. METHODS THP-1 cells (a human monocytic cell line) were cultured and differentiated to macrophages by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The cytotoxic...