RESUMO
The investigation of presumed neutropenia places a burden on the health services, especially those of developing countries, including Jamaica. This may be because the normal ranges used in the laboratory are based on the values generated from the Caucasian population. Previous studies looking at African and Afro-Caribbean groups have found lower counts for these populations compared with Caucasians. To address this issue, 195 healthy adults donating blood at the National Public Health Laboratory and the University Hospital of the West Indies blood banks in Kingston, Jamaica, were screened for complete blood count (CBC) differentials between June 2001 and June 2006. The geometric means for the neutrophil counts were found to be 2.4 x 10(9)/L for men and 2.7 x 10(9)/L for women, with 95% confidence intervals of 2.2-2.8 x 10(9)/L and 2.5-3.1 x 10(9)/L respectively. Values for the Jamaican population were similar to those of other Afro-Caribbean groups. Based on this distribution, 14% of healthy Jamaicans would fall below the normal ranges derived from Caucasians and therefore presumed to have neutropenia. We recommend that the lower reference ranges obtained for Afro-Caribbean adults be adopted for that population.
La investigación de una neutropenia presunta, representa una carga para los servicios de salud, sobre todo en los países en vías de desarrollo, incluyendo Jamaica. La razón de ello puede estribar en que los rangos normales usados en el laboratorio, se basan en valores generados a partir de la población caucásica. Estudios previos sobre los grupos africanos y afro-caribeños, han hallado conteos más bajos para estas poblaciones, en comparación con las caucásicas. A fin de abordar este problema, 195 adultos sanos que donaron sangre al Laboratorio Nacional de Salud Pública y a los bancos de sangre del Hospital Universitario de West Indies en Kingston, Jamaica, fueron tamizados en busca de diferenciales en conteos completos de sangre (CCS), entre junio de 2001 y Junio de 2006. Para los conteos de neutrófilos, se halló que las medias geométricas fueron 2.4 x 10(9)/L para los hombres y 2.7 x 10(9)/L para las mujeres, con intervalos de confianza del 95% equivalentes a 2.2-2.8 x 10(9)/L y 2.5-3.1 x 10(9)/L respectivamente. Los valores para la población jamaicana fueron similares a los de otros grupos afro-caribeños. Sobre la base de esta distribución, el 14% de los jamaicanos saludables caerían por debajo de los rangos normales derivados a partir de los caucásicos, y por consiguiente se presumiría que tienen neutropenia. Nosotros recomendamos que los rangos de referencia más bajos obtenidos para los adultos afro-caribeños sean adoptados para esa población.
Assuntos
Adolescente , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto Jovem , Contagem de Leucócitos/estatística & dados numéricos , Neutropenia/etnologia , População Negra , Doadores de Sangue , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Infecções por HTLV-I/sangue , Jamaica/epidemiologia , Neutropenia/diagnóstico , Valores de ReferênciaRESUMO
The investigation of presumed neutropenia places a burden on the health services, especially those of developing countries, including Jamaica. This may be because the normal ranges used in the laboratory are based on the values generated from the Caucasian population. Previous studies looking at African and Afro-Caribbean groups have found lower counts for these populations compared with Caucasians. To address this issue, 195 healthy adults donating blood at the National Public Health Laboratory and the University Hospital of the West Indies blood banks in Kingston, Jamaica, were screened for complete blood count (CBC) differentials between June 2001 and June 2006. The geometric means for the neutrophil counts were found to be 2.4 x 10(9)/L for men and 2.7 x 10(9)/L for women, with 95% confidence intervals of 2.2-2.8 x 10(9)/L and 2.5-3.1 x 10(9)/L respectively. Values for the Jamaican population were similar to those of other Afro-Caribbean groups. Based on this distribution, 14% of healthy Jamaicans would fall below the normal ranges derived from Caucasians and therefore presumed to have neutropenia. We recommend that the lower reference ranges obtained for Afro-Caribbean adults be adopted for that population.
Assuntos
Contagem de Leucócitos/estatística & dados numéricos , Neutropenia/etnologia , Adolescente , Adulto , População Negra , Doadores de Sangue , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Feminino , Infecções por HTLV-I/sangue , Humanos , Jamaica/epidemiologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Neutropenia/diagnóstico , Valores de Referência , Adulto JovemRESUMO
A novel antimicrobial peptide, anoplin, was purified from the venom of the solitary wasp Anoplius samariensis. The sequence was mostly analyzed by mass spectrometry, which was corroborated by solid-phase synthesis. Anoplin, composed of 10 amino acid residues, Gly-Leu-Leu-Lys-Arg-Ile-Lys-Thr-Leu-Leu-NH2, has a high homology to crabrolin and mastoparan-X, the mast cell degranulating peptides from social wasp venoms, and, therefore, can be predicted to adopt an amphipathic alpha-helix secondary structure. In fact, the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of anoplin in the presence of trifluoroethanol or sodium dodecyl sulfate showed a high content, up to 55%, of the alpha-helical conformation. A modeling study of anoplin based on its homology to mastoparan-X supported the CD results. Biological evaluation using the synthetic peptide revealed that this peptide exhibited potent activity in stimulating degranulation from rat peritoneal mast cells and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, this is the first antimicrobial component to be found in the solitary wasp venom and it may play a key role in preventing potential infection by microorganisms during prey consumption by their larvae. Moreover, this peptide is the smallest among the linear alpha-helical antimicrobial peptides hitherto found in nature, which is advantageous for chemical manipulation and medical application.
Assuntos
Antibacterianos/isolamento & purificação , Oligopeptídeos/química , Oligopeptídeos/isolamento & purificação , Venenos de Vespas/química , Venenos de Vespas/isolamento & purificação , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Antibacterianos/química , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Peptídeos Catiônicos Antimicrobianos , Degranulação Celular , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão , Dicroísmo Circular , Feminino , Mastócitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Mastócitos/fisiologia , Testes de Sensibilidade Microbiana , Modelos Moleculares , Oligopeptídeos/farmacologia , Ratos , Alinhamento de Sequência , Espectrometria de Massas por Ionização e Dessorção a Laser Assistida por Matriz , Venenos de Vespas/farmacologia , VespasRESUMO
Micro-scale (sub-pmol) isolation and sequence determination of three peptides from the venom of the solitary spider wasp Cyphononyx dorsalis is described. We isolated two novel peptides Cd-125 and Cd-146 and a known peptide Thr(6)-bradykinin from only two venom sacs of solitary spider wasp Cyphononyx dorsalis without bioassay-guided fractionation, but instead guided by MALDI-TOF MS. The MALDI-TOF MS analysis of each fraction showed the purity and molecular weight of the components, which led to the isolation of the peptides virtually without loss of sample amount. The sequences of the novel peptides Cd-125 (Asp-Thr-Ala-Arg-Leu-Lys-Trp-His) and Cd-146 (Ser-Glu-Thr-Gly-Asn-Thr-Val-Thr-Val-Lys-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Leu-Arg) were determined by Edman degradation together with mass spectrometry, and finally corroborated by solid-phase synthesis. The known peptide Thr(6)-bradykinin (Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Thr-Pro-Phe-Arg) was identified by comparison with the synthetic authentic specimen. This is the first example for any kinins to be found in Pompilidae wasp venoms. The procedure reported here can be applicable to studies on many other components of solitary wasp venoms with limited sample availability.
Assuntos
Venenos de Vespas/química , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Feminino , Espectrometria de Massas , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Venenos de Vespas/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
Helicobacter pylori infection is common in Jamaica. Describing its epidemiology in a population-based study depends largely on serology, but serologic assays have not been validated in this population. To address this issue, we examined the presence of H. pylori infection in 30 sequential adult patients with gastroduodenal symptoms by three biopsy-based methods (rapid urease test, histology, and culture) as well as by one research and two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). A patient was considered H. pylori positive if the organism was detected by at least one biopsy-based method. Eighteen (60%) of the 30 patients were H. pylori positive by these criteria, whereas 21 (70%) were seropositive for H. pylori immunoglobulin G by our research ELISA. The presence of H. pylori infection in patients with gastric cancer and those with chronic gastritis was missed by biopsy-based methods but was detected by serologic assays. This observation indicates that serologic assays may be better suited for the detection of this infection in a population in which H. pylori-associated pathology is prevalent. The performance of our research ELISA in detecting biopsy-based H. pylori-positive cases was excellent, with a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 75%, respectively. Molecular genotyping of the isolates revealed that the predominant H. pylori genotypes in this cohort of Jamaicans were cagA(+) vacA slb-m1, and iceA2. The validated serologic assay enables us to interpret epidemiologic data from population-based studies in Jamaica by comparison to those from other populations.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos/sangue , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática/métodos , Infecções por Helicobacter/diagnóstico , Helicobacter pylori/imunologia , Gastropatias/microbiologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Biópsia , Meios de Cultura , Feminino , Gastrite/microbiologia , Gastrite/patologia , Infecções por Helicobacter/epidemiologia , Infecções por Helicobacter/microbiologia , Helicobacter pylori/classificação , Helicobacter pylori/genética , Helicobacter pylori/isolamento & purificação , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Jamaica/epidemiologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Gastropatias/epidemiologia , Gastropatias/patologia , Neoplasias Gástricas/microbiologia , Neoplasias Gástricas/patologia , Urease/metabolismoAssuntos
Dermatite/etiologia , Infecções por HTLV-I/complicações , Relação CD4-CD8 , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Dermatite/imunologia , Seguimentos , Antígenos HLA/genética , Infecções por HTLV-I/imunologia , Haplótipos , Humanos , Imunoglobulinas/sangue , Masculino , Estudos Prospectivos , Subpopulações de Linfócitos TRESUMO
The structural specificity of alpha-PMTX, a novel peptide toxin derived from wasp venom has been studied on the neuromuscular synapse in the walking leg of the lobster. alpha-PMTX is known to induce repetitive action potentials in the presynaptic axon due to sodium channel inactivation. We synthesized 29 analogs of alpha-PMTX by substituting one or two amino acids and compared threshold concentrations of these mutant toxins for inducing repetitive action potentials. In 13 amino acid residues of alpha-PMTX, Arg-1, Lys-3 and Lys-12 regulate the toxic activity because substitution of these basic amino acid residues with other amino acid residues greatly changed the potency. Determining the structure-activity relationships of PMTXs will help clarifying the molecular mechanism of sodium channel inactivation.
Assuntos
Junção Neuromuscular/fisiologia , Neurotoxinas/metabolismo , Canais de Sódio/metabolismo , Transmissão Sináptica/fisiologia , Venenos de Vespas/metabolismo , Substituição de Aminoácidos/genética , Animais , Proteínas de Insetos , Nephropidae , Junção Neuromuscular/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurotoxinas/genética , Neurotoxinas/toxicidade , Ligação Proteica , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Transmissão Sináptica/efeitos dos fármacos , Venenos de Vespas/genética , Venenos de Vespas/toxicidadeRESUMO
A new mast cell degranulating peptide, eumenine mastoparan-AF (EMP-AF), was isolated from the venom of the solitary wasp Anterhynchium flavomarginatum micado, the most common eumenine wasp found in Japan. The structure was analyzed by FAB-MS/MS together with Edman degradation, which was corroborated by solid-phase synthesis. The sequence of EMP-AF, Ile-Asn-Leu-Leu-Lys-Ile-Ala-Lys-Gly-Ile-Ile-Lys-Ser-Leu-NH(2), was similar to that of mastoparan, a mast cell degranulating peptide from a hornet venom; tetradecapeptide with C-terminus amidated and rich in hydrophobic and basic amino acids. In fact, EMP-AF exhibited similar activity to mastoparan in stimulating degranulation from rat peritoneal mast cells and RBL-2H3 cells. It also showed significant hemolytic activity in human erythrocytes. Therefore, this is the first example that a mast cell degranulating peptide is found in the solitary wasp venom. Besides the degranulation and hemolytic activity, EMP-AF also affects on neuromuscular transmission in the lobster walking leg preparation. Three analogs EMP-AF-1 approximately 3 were snythesized and biologically tested together with EMP-AF, resulting in the importance of the C-terminal amide structure for biological activities.
Assuntos
Degranulação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Mastócitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Venenos de Vespas/química , Venenos de Vespas/farmacologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão , Feminino , Hemólise/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Espectrometria de Massas , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Nephropidae , Conformação Proteica , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Espectrofotometria Ultravioleta , Venenos de Vespas/isolamento & purificaçãoRESUMO
A new strategy to characterize glutaminergic blocker acylpolymines stored in a spider venom with mass spectrometry is described. The crude spider venom extracts are amenable to direct MALDI mass spectrometry analysis which provides a rapid and accurate means of measuring the molecular weights of acylpolyamines without the isolation of individual samples. Compared with the previously developed mu-column HPLC/MS method, this procedure provides more efficient detection and identification of complex venom constituents. Twenty-five acylpolyamines were detected from Brazilian garden spider Nephilengys cruentata crude venom extracts by both HPLC/MS and MALDI-mass spectrometry. These acylpolyamine structures were determined by high-energy collision induced dissociation MS/MS method. Most of the compounds were classified into the previously reported generalized structures types A to D, which were found from the venom of Nephilengys borbonica. The structures of four acylpolyamines (M + H)+, m/z 623, 646, 688, and 745, which were not contained in the venom of Nephilengys borbonicare were determined to have arginine at the polyamine chain terminal and were named NPTX-622, -645, -687, and -744, respectively.