Covalent modification of protein by drugs may disrupt self-tolerance, leading to lymphocyte activation. Until now, determination of the threshold required for this process has not been possible. Therefore, we performed quantitative mass spectrometric analyses to define the epitopes formed in tolerant and hypersensitive patients taking the β-lactam antibiotic piperacillin and the threshold required for T cell activation. A hydrolyzed piperacillin hapten was detected on four lysine residues of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated from tolerant patients. The level of modified Lys541 ranged from 2.6 to 4.8%. Analysis of plasma from hypersensitive patients revealed the same pattern and levels of modification 1–10 d after the commencement of therapy. Piperacillin-responsive skin-homing CD4+ clones expressing an array of Vβ receptors were activated in a dose-, time-, and processing-dependent manner; analysis of incubation medium revealed that 2.6% of Lys541 in HSA was modified when T cells were activated. Piperacillin–HSA conjugates that had levels and epitopes identical to those detected in patients were shown to selectively stimulate additional CD4+ clones, which expressed a more restricted Vβ repertoire. To conclude, the levels of piperacillin–HSA modification that activated T cells are equivalent to the ones formed in hypersensitive and tolerant patients, which indicates that threshold levels of drug Ag are formed in all patients. Thus, the propensity to develop hypersensitivity is dependent on other factors, such as the presence of T cells within an individual’s repertoire that can be activated with the β-lactam hapten and/or an imbalance in immune regulation.
ackground An autoimmune and inflammatory illness called rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks normal cells in your body. Interleukin-35 is a brand-new cytokine that belongs to the immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory IL-12 family. β -herpesvirus that produces inflammation and stays dormant in its host for life is the human cytomegalovirus. Human herpesvirus (HCMV) has been at the core of several RA-related theories. Objective The current study looked at the association between RA and serum IL-35 levels as well as the association between RA and CMV. Patients and methods Blood samples were taken in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Typical Rheumatology Unit from January 2022 to Mars 2022 for the curre
... Show MoreBackground: Thermocycling simulates the temperature dynamics in the oral environment. This in vitro study done to measure and compare the effect of thermocycling on the shear bond strength of stainless steel and sapphire brackets bonded to human enamel teeth using light cured orthodontic adhesive and debonded at various time, and to measure adhesive remnant index after debonding. Materials and Methods: one-hundred-twenty extracted upper first premolars for orthodontic reason were used in this study; depending on weather thermocycled or not, the sample was divided into two main groups, then within each group 30 teeth were used for stainless-steel brackets (Bionic®) and for sapphire brackets (Pure®). Both groups were subdivided into three
... Show MoreBackground: Eucalyptus extracts and derivatives are natural substances with potent antimicrobial properties. This study investigated the in- vitro effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on the antifungal activity of alcoholic and aqueous Eucalyptus extracts against Candida albicans, a common oral pathogen. Materials and Method: Ten isolates of Candida albicans were isolated from dental students’ salivary samples. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts were prepared from fresh Eucalyptus leaves using maceration. The sensitivity of Candida albicans isolates to various concentrations of Eucalyptus extracts ranging from 50 to 250 (mg/mL) was evaluated via agar well diffusion method, while the agar streaking method was used to assess the minimum
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to investigate the possible production of Thioflavin T and the effect of NaCl concentrations and growth phases on the growth rate, doubling time and proline of C. saipanensis N. Hanagata (Scenedesmaceae, Shaerophleales). The alga was cultured in BG 11 medium and six NaCl concentrations were used in the experiments during different growth phases. The results have unveiled the presence of Triflavin T in the alga. The study results showed a growth rate decrease at all NaCl concentrations except in control treatment, while the doubling time, was recorded highest value (14 days) at the NaCl concentration of 0.08 M. The highest value of Proline (0.509 mg. Lˉ¹) was recorded at the treatment of 0.08 M of NaCl and recorded
... Show MoreAb – initio restricted Hartree - Fock method within the framework of large unit cell (LUC) formalism is used to investigate the electronic structure of Si and Ge nanocrystals. The surface and core properties are investigated. A large unit cell of 8 atoms is used in the present analysis. Cohesive energy, energy gap, conduction and valence band widths are obtained from the electronic structure calculations. The results are compared with available experimental data and theoretical results of other investigators. The calculated lattice constant is found to be slightly larger than the corresponding experimental value because we use only 8 atoms and we compared the results with that of the bulk crystals, nanoclusters are expected to have str
... Show MoreIn this work, thermodynamic efficiency of individual cell and stack of cells (two cells) has been computed by studying the variation of voltage produced during an operation time of 30 min as a result of the affected parameters:- stoichiometric feed ratio, flow field design on single cell and feed distribution on stack of cells. The experiments were carried out by using two cells, one with serpentine flow field and the other with spiral flow field. These cells were fed with hydrogen and oxygen at low volumetric flow rates from 1 to 2 ml/sec and stoichiometric ratios of fuel (H2) to oxidant (O2) as 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1 respectively. The results showed that
... Show MoreOptoelectronic devices, widely used in high energy and nuclear physics applications, suffer severe radiation damage that leads to degradations in its efficiency. In this paper, the influence of gamma radiation (137Ce source) and beta radiation (90Sr source) on the photoelectric parameters of the Si solar cell, based on the I–V characterization at different irradiation exposer, has been studied. The penetrating radiation produces defects in the base material, may be activated during its lifetime, becoming traps for electron–hole pairs produced optically and, this will, decrease the efficiency of the solar cell. The main objective of the paper is to study and measure changes in the I–V characteristics of solar cells, such as efficienc
... Show MoreThe spectral propetties (absorption and fluorescence) of Coumarine-47 laser dye have been studied. This type of laser dye belong the Coumarine family and it has dissolved in chloroform at different concentrations (1x10-5, 5x10-5, and 1x10-4 M) at room temperature. The achieved results have been pointed out to increase in the absorption and fluorescence as the concentration increased which are agreements with Beer – Lambert law. These have been also showed an expansion in the spectral range of absorption and fluorescence with a noticed shift in the direction of longer wavelength (Red-shift) with increasing concentration. The quantum efficiency of the dissolved C47 in chloroform has been computed by using the brevious concentrations
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