BACKGROUND Molecular allergens enable the definition of sensitization profiles in allergic patients. AIM To validate the most helpful allergens for the diagnosis of latex allergy in different clinical situations. METHODS 130 patients suspected to be allergic to latex with positive IgE against natural rubber latex (NRL) have been studied: 97 were confirmed as latex allergic (among which 55 p...

Acid unfolding of non-inhibited papain at pH 2 was studied by means of spectroscopic and electrophoresis techniques as well as activity assays. We found a molten globule like species (A state) similar to that previously reported for bromelain and S-carboxy-methyl-papain. We demonstrated that this A state is not thermodynamically stable but a metastable conformer which decays into an unfolded co...

The amino acid sequences of ananain (EC3.4.22.31) and stem bromelain (3.4.22.32), two cysteine proteases from pineapple stem, are similar yet ananain and stem bromelain possess distinct specificities towards synthetic peptide substrates and different reactivities towards the cysteine protease inhibitors E-64 and chicken egg white cystatin. We present here the complete amino acid sequence of ana...

1. The characteristics of benzofuroxan (benzofurazan 1-oxide, benzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole N-oxide) that relate to its application as a reactivity probe for the study of environments of thiol groups are discussed. 2. To establish a kinetic and mechanistic basis for its use as a probe, a kinetic study of its reaction with 2-mercaptoethanol was carried out. 3. This reaction appears to proceed by a rat...

This paper focuses on the development of intelligent controllers for use in a process of enzyme recovery from pineapple rind. The proteolytic enzyme bromelain (EC 3.4.22.4) is precipitated with alcohol at low temperature in a fed-batch jacketed tank. Temperature control is crucial to avoid irreversible protein denaturation. Fuzzy or neural controllers offer a way of implementing solutions that ...

Enzymatic debridement is a therapeutic strategy used clinically to remove necrotic tissue from wounds. Some of the enzymes utilized for debridement have been tested against bacterial pathogens, but the effectiveness of these agents in dispersing clinically relevant biofilms has not been fully characterized. Here, we developed an in vitro Staphylococcus aureus biofilm model that mimics wound-lik...

Enzyme stability is critical in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Investigations on this subject have drawn attention because of its practical application. Bromelain is a thiol-endopeptidase, obtained from pineapple (Ananas comosus), known for its clinical and therapeutic applications, particularly to selective burn debridement and improvement of antibiotic action and anti-...

Murine B-1 cells are thought to develop from Ig- progenitors early in ontogeny and to expand by self-renewal. To examine the early development of Ig+ precursors of B-1 cells for bromelain-treated mouse RBC, the transient presence of RidA, a rat anti-Id mAb for V(H)11/Vkappa9-type anti-bromelain-treated mouse Abs, was produced in neonatal mice. The presence of RidA during days 0 to 10 of age res...

Stem bromelain that had been irreversibly inhibited with 1,3-dibromo[2-(14)C]-acetone was reduced with sodium borohydride and carboxymethylated with iodoacetic acid. After digestion with trypsin and alpha-chymotrypsin three radioactive peptides were isolated chromatographically. The amino acid sequences around the cross-linked cysteine and histidine residues were determined and showed a high de...

It has been known that the agglutinability of human red cells is changed or enhanced by treatments with proteolytic enzymes or neuraminidase. In this paper, the serological properties of agglutinogens developed by proteolytic enzymes (bromelin, ficin, papain, trypsin and pronase) and neuraminidase are investigated by using antisera to trypsin- and neuraminidase-treated red cells. The adsorption...