Anti-OVA (aa 323-339) polyclonal antibody

Changing the immune responses to allergens is the cornerstone of allergen immunotherapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy that consists of repeated administration of increasing doses of allergen extract is potentially curative. The major inconveniences of allergen-specific immunotherapy include failure to modify immune responses, long-term treatment leading to non-compliance and the potential for developing life-threating anaphylaxis. Here we investigated the effect of a novel liposomal formulation carrying low dose of allergen combined with CpG-ODN, a synthetic TLR9 agonist, on established allergic lung inflammation. We found that challenge with allergen (OVA) encapsulated in cationic liposome induced significantly less severe cutaneous anaphylactic reaction. Notably, short-term treatment (three doses) with a liposomal formulation containing co-encapsulated allergen plus CpG-ODN, but not allergen or CpG-ODN alone, reversed an established allergic lung inflammation and provided long-term protection. This liposomal formulation was also effective against allergens derived from Blomia tropicalis mite extract. The attenuation of allergic inflammation was not associated with increased numbers of Foxp3-positive or IL-10-producing regulatory T cells or with increased levels of IFN-gamma in the lungs. Instead, the anti-allergic effect of the liposomal formulation was dependent of the innate immune signal transduction generated in CD11c-positive putative dendritic cells expressing MyD88 molecule. Therefore, we highlight the pivotal role of dendritic cells in mediating the attenuation of established allergic lung inflammation following immunotherapy with a liposomal formulation containing allergen plus CpG-ODN.

Natural phenomena act as external cues that stimulate the reproductive activity of many marine organisms. In this study, we report the gonadal maturation in relation to the lunar cycle of wild-caught Atlantic sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata (Echinodermata: Arbaciidae, an edible marine invertebrate), in the Gulf of Mexico. Weekly changes in gonadal development were observed histologically according to the lunar cycle during the summer months from May to July. Histological observations revealed that testes were developed synchronously around the new moon in June and July. Several testes collected in the same moon phase contained residual sperm (7%) or testicular lobules/acini fully occupied by mature sperm (46%). Cyclic ovarian development was also observed during the summer months, some ovaries collected around the new moon in June and July contained oocytes at maturation stage (ova: 39-71%) or empty follicles, suggesting that the Atlantic sea urchin spawns according to the lunar cycle in the Gulf of Mexico. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the lunar reproductive rhythm of Arbacia species in the Gulf of Mexico.