Antimicrobial silk clothing in the treatment of atopic dermatitis proves comparable to topical corticosteroid treatment.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is aggravated by mechanical irritation and bacterial colonization. OBJECTIVE: This study compared the efficacy of an antimicrobial silk fabric (DermaSilk) with that of a topical corticosteroid in the treatment of AD. METHODS: Fifteen children were enrolled and wore a dress, where the left side was made of DermaSilk and the right side was made of cotton. The right arm and leg were treated daily with the corticosteroid mometasone for 7 days. The treatment efficacy was measured with a modified EASI (Eczema Area and Severity Index) and with an assessment by the patients/parents and by a physician. All patients were evaluated at baseline, as well as 7 and 21 days after the initial examination. RESULTS: All parameters showed that, irrespective of the treatment, there was a significant decrease of eczema after 7 days. No significant difference between DermaSilk-treated and corticosteroid-treated skin could be observed. CONCLUSION: DermaSilk showed potential to become an effective treatment of AD.

Direct intralymphatic injection of peptide vaccines enhances immunogenicity.

Research to enhance the efficiency of vaccines focuses mainly on improving either the adjuvant or the type and form of the antigen. This study evaluates the influence of the administration route on the efficiency of a peptide-based vaccine. Peptide vaccines are generally administered subcutaneously or intradermally, from where they must reach secondary lymphatic organs to induce an immune response. We analyzed the efficacy of peptide vaccines administered directly into a lymph node. Using a MHC class I-binding peptide from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, we found that intralymphatic injection enhanced immunogenicity by as much as 10(6) times when compared to subcutaneous and intradermal vaccination. Intralymphatic administration induced CD8 T cell responses with strong cytotoxic activity and IFN-gamma production that conferred long-term protection against viral infections and tumors. These results should have immediate implications for clinical immunotherapy of infectious disease and cancer.

Toll-like receptor ligands as adjuvants in allergen-specific immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) leads to long-term amelioration of T-helper type 2 (Th2)-mediated allergic symptoms and is therefore recommended as a first line therapy for allergies. The major disadvantage of SIT is its low efficiency, requiring treatment over years. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluated the potential of Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands to facilitate Th1-type immune responses. METHODS: The immunogenicity and therapeutic potential of the major bee venom allergen phospholipase A2 (PLA2) combined with various TLR ligands were tested in mice and compared with immune responses induced by conventional aluminium-based preparations. RESULTS: Regarding total IgG against PLA2, TLR2/4-binding lipopolysaccharide and TLR3-binding polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic (PolyI:C) were the superior adjuvants for prophylactic vaccination. However, TLR9-binding phosphorothioate-modified cytosine-guanosine-rich oligonucleotide (CpG), TLR-3-binding PolyI:C, and TLR2/6-binding peptidoglycan skewed the immune responses more towards IgG2a isotype and Th1 cytokines. Furthermore, in a therapeutic approach, CpG, PolyI:C and TLR7/8-binding 3M003 had immune modulating properties as they suppressed established IgE titres. CONCLUSION: The potential of TLR ligands to adjuvate the immunogenicity of bee venom PLA2 and to skew the Th1-Th2 balance proved very heterogeneous. With respect to SIT, CpG, PolyI:C, and 3M003 were very promising. Hence, TLR ligands should be considered as adjuvants or immune modulators in SIT in human as to improve its efficiency regarding the Th1-Th2 balance of the immune response with a likely effect on therapy duration.

Bacillus subtilis metabolism and energetics in carbon-limited and excess-carbon chemostat culture.

The energetic efficiency of microbial growth is significantly reduced in cultures growing under glucose excess compared to cultures growing under glucose limitation, but the magnitude to which different energy-dissipating processes contribute to the reduced efficiency is currently not well understood. We introduce here a new concept for balancing the total cellular energy flux that is based on the conversion of energy and carbon fluxes into energy equivalents, and we apply this concept to glucose-, ammonia-, and phosphate-limited chemostat cultures of riboflavin-producing Bacillus subtilis. Based on [U-(13)C(6)]glucose-labeling experiments and metabolic flux analysis, the total energy flux in slow-growing, glucose-limited B. subtilis is almost exclusively partitioned in maintenance metabolism and biomass formation. In excess-glucose cultures, in contrast, uncoupling of anabolism and catabolism is primarily achieved by overflow metabolism, while two quantified futile enzyme cycles and metabolic shifts to energetically less efficient pathways are negligible. In most cultures, about 20% of the total energy flux could not be assigned to a particular energy-consuming process and thus are probably dissipated by processes such as ion leakage that are not being considered at present. In contrast to glucose- or ammonia-limited cultures, metabolic flux analysis revealed low tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle fluxes in phosphate-limited B. subtilis, which is consistent with CcpA-dependent catabolite repression of the cycle and/or transcriptional activation of genes involved in overflow metabolism in the presence of excess glucose. ATP-dependent control of in vivo enzyme activity appears to be irrelevant for the observed differences in TCA cycle fluxes.