title: Molecular and immunological characterization of the C-terminal region of a new Echinococcus granulosus Heat Shock Protein 70.
abstract: By screening an expression library of Echinococcus granulosus with IgE from sera of patients with cystic echinococcosis (CE) and allergic reactions, we isolated the C-terminal region of a new heat shock protein (HSP)70 of E. granulosus. The protein, named Eg2HSP70, has close homology with the C-terminal region of Dermatophagoides farinae and human HSP70. We investigated the humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to this antigen in patients with CE grouped according to the presence of allergic reactions. Immunoblotting detected total IgG, IgG4 and IgE specific to Eg2HSP70 (83% of sera contained IgG, 31% IgG4 and 57% IgE). No significant difference was found in immunoglobulin percentages according to the presence of allergic reactions. Immunoblotting inhibition showed that no IgG or IgE specific to Eg2HSP70 cross-reacted with D. farinae or human HSP70. Eg2HSP70-stimulated PBMC from 26 patients produced significantly greater amounts of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-10 than unstimulated cultures in all patients, irrespective of the presence of allergic reactions (P < 0.05). They also produced significantly greater amounts of IL-4 than unstimulated cultures exclusively in patients with allergic reactions (P < 0.05). These findings show that Eg2HSP70 is a new antigenic molecule inducing both B and T cell responses.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortona
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Margutti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Delunardo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaccari
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riganò
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Profumo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Buttari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teggi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siracusano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000485:Allergens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000276:immunology*; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015723:Gene Library; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins