rendered background IgE levels only. In accordance, sera of OVA mice which permitted mast cell degranulation upon OVA trigger in a specific b-hexosaminidase release assay, whereas sera of OVA-AAVLP mice did not contain anaphylactogenic antibodies. In an in vivo anaphylaxis experiment, upon intravenous OVA challenge OVA-immunized mice presented significant drop of body temperature, whereas AAVLP...

Rab27a activity is affected in several mouse models of human disease including Griscelli (ashen mice) and Hermansky-Pudlak (gunmetal mice) syndromes. A loss of function mutation occurs in the Rab27a gene in ashen (ash), whereas in gunmetal (gm) Rab27a dysfunction is secondary to a mutation in the alpha subunit of Rab geranylgeranyl transferase, an enzyme required for prenylation and activation ...

The severe neurodegenerative disorder, Tays-Sachs disease, is caused by a beta-hexosaminidase alpha-subunit deficiency which prevents the formation of lysosomal heterodimeric alpha-beta enzyme, hexosaminidase A (HexA). No treatment is available for this fatal disease; however, gene therapy could represent a therapeutic approach. We previously have constructed and characterized, in vitro, adenov...

The rhizomes of Acorus gramineus have frequently been used in traditional medicine mainly for sedation as well as enhancing brain function. In this study, the anti-allergic activity of A. gramineus was investigated. The 70% ethanol extract of the rhizomes of A. gramineus was found to inhibit the allergic response against 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX)-catalyzed leukotriene (LT) production from rat baso...

Insect β-N-acetyl-D-hexosaminidases with broad substrate-spectrum (IBS-Hex) are the homologues of human β-N-acetyl-D-hexosaminidase A/B (HsHex A/ B). These enzymes are distributed in most insect species and vary in physiological roles. In this study, the gene encoding an IBS-Hex, OfHEX2, was cloned from the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. Recombinant OfHex2 was expressed in Pichia pastor...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB) has been reported to be a useful pharmacological tool in the study of calcium signaling. It is used either as a membrane-permeable inhibitor for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors or a store-operated calcium (Ca2+) entry (SOCE) inhibitor. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of 2-APB on degranulation and cytokine...

It has been proposed that in cultured fibroblasts the final packaging of enzymes in lysosomes requires excretion followed by pinocytosis by neighboring cells via a carbohydrate-specific receptor mechanism. It has also been proposed that the abnormally high activity of lysosomal enzymes in the medium of cultured fibroblasts from patients with I-cell disease (mucolipidosis II) results from an alt...

PURPOSE High-affinity receptor I (FcεRI) on mast cells and basophils plays a key role in the immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated type I hypersensitivity mediated by allergen cross-linking of the specific IgE-FcεRI complex. Thus, prevention of IgE binding to FcεRI on these cells is an effective therapy for allergic disease. We have developed a strategy to disrupt IgE binding to FcεRI using an antibo...

The effects of foods and chemicals related to food hygiene on degranulation were evaluated using a method for assaying the enzyme activity of beta-hexosaminidase as an index of chemical mediator release from RBL-2H3 cells in vitro. Using a previously developed assay system, we had found a large number of inhibitors and promoters of degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells. In the present study, we examin...

Tay-Sachs disease is a lethal neurodegenerative disorder caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme beta-hexosaminidase A and inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion; carriers of the disease are 10 times more frequent in the Ashkenazi Jewish community than in the general population. Over 90% of North American Ashkenazi carriers tested have been shown to have either a splice site mutation ...