egg-white and Autoimmune-Diseases

In this review I have described the pathophysiology of allergic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Situations where the intestine cannot be a complete barrier to foreign allergens and antigens were discussed and etiological factors of gastrointestinal allergy were detailed. Clinical features of gastrointestinal allergy include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and colic, intestinal hemorrhage and malabsorption as well as symptoms and signs outside the gastrointestinal tract such as chronic rhinitis and asthma in the respiratory system, urticaria, angioedema and eczema as dermatological signs, headache, insomnia, hyperkinesis as central nervous system manifestations, failure to thrive and anaphylaxis as constitutional reactions. Milk allergy was discussed as an example of food allergy. Immunology of the gastrointestinal tract was presented, with examples of four types of hypersensitivity reactions, and gastrointestinal disturbances of immunodeficiency disorders and syndromes were named. Lastly, the autoimmune mechanism and the gut were described, with particular discussion of ulcerative colitis as an example of an autoimmune disease.

Topics: Allergens; Animals; Antibodies; Autoimmune Diseases; B-Lymphocytes; Dysgammaglobulinemia; Egg White; Egg Yolk; Female; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes; Intestinal Diseases; Male; Milk; New Jersey; Permeability

Hybrid F1 mice derived from inbred parental mouse strains are extensively used as animal models of human autoimmune diseases and transplantation. It is generally believed that with regard to immunologic studies, hybrid F1 mice behave in a consistent manner, equivalent to any other inbred mouse strain. In this study, we report that in comparison to inbred parental strains, individual hybrid F1 mice revealed a broad heterogeneity of proliferative response to the immunodominant determinants within hen eggwhite lysozyme (HEL). Of five parental strains tested, individual mice of three strains responding to only a few dominant HEL determinants (B6, BALB/c, and B10.PL) showed quite homogeneous patterns of response, whereas two mouse strains responsive to several determinants of HEL revealed either relative homogeneity (CBA/J mice) or heterogeneity (SJL mice) of response. However, in SJL mice, responses to major, dominant determinants of HEL were quite consistent. On the contrary, regardless of the consistency of response of parental strains, all three of F1 mice [[B6 x BALB/c]F1, [B6 x CBA/J]F1, and [SJL x B10.PL]F1] revealed significantly greater heterogeneity of response, which even involved the major, dominant determinants of HEL. We attribute the above heterogeneity of response to the competitive as well as aleatory nature of the interaction between various factors, including the coexistence of different MHC (parental as well as hybrid MHC) molecules, determinant capture, and the T cell repertoire. These results have important implications for studies on autoimmunity, infection, and vaccine design in human populations, where heterozygosity is the norm rather than the exception.

Topics: Animals; Autoimmune Diseases; Chickens; Crosses, Genetic; Egg White; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; Female; Immunodominant Epitopes; Infections; Injections, Subcutaneous; Lymph Nodes; Lymphocyte Activation; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred CBA; Mice, Inbred Strains; Muramidase; Peptides; T-Lymphocyte Subsets

A new low-molecular weight protein inhibitor of cysteine proteinases, human cystatin, was isolated from sera of patients with autoimmune diseases. It inhibits papain, human cathepsin H and cathepsin B. According to its partially determined amino-acid sequence, human cystatin is highly homologous to egg white cystatin, but only distantly related to stefin, the cytosolic protein inhibitor of cysteine proteinases isolated from human polymorphonuclear granulocytes. Very probably human cystatin is identical with human gamma-trace, a microprotein of known sequence but hitherto unknown function.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Autoimmune Diseases; Chickens; Cystatin C; Cystatins; Cysteine Endopeptidases; Egg White; Endopeptidases; Glomerulonephritis; Humans; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; Molecular Weight; Protease Inhibitors; Proteins

Topics: Animals; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Autoantigens; Autoimmune Diseases; Egg White; Rabbits