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Characterization of the proteins of guinea-pig hair and hair-follicle tissue.

ABSTRACT: This work forms a part of a study of the mechanism and control of protein synthesis in the hair follicle and concerns the characterization of the proteins of hair-follicle tissue and for comparative reasons those of the hair itself. 1. Five different groups of reduced carboxymethylated proteins were delineated from both tissues; these were: group 1A proteins, which appeared to be aggregates of the group 2 proteins; group 1B proteins, soluble at pH4.4, which were thought to originate from the medulla and inner-rootsheath layers; group 2 proteins, which were defined as the main low-sulphur keratin proteins insoluble at pH4.4; group 3 proteins, the precise origin of which is not known; and the group 4 proteins, which were defined as the main high-sulphur keratin proteins soluble at pH4.4. 2. With the single exception of the group 1B proteins, the types and properties of all hair and hair-follicle proteins were identical as far as could be determined by use of such criteria as multiplicity of components, molecular charge, molecular weight and amino acid composition. 3. Two significant quantitative differences were noted: in follicle extracts there were more group 2 proteins but less group 3 and group 4 proteins than in hair extracts; and secondly, in the follicle group 4 proteins, there were more proteins of lowest molecular weight and S-carboxymethylcysteine content, but fewer proteins of the highest molecular weight and S-carboxymethylcysteine conent than in the hair group 4 proteins. 4. These quantitative differences are discussed in terms of the mechanism of synthesis of the keratin proteins. 5. Follicle group 1B proteins are postulated to have arisen from the trichohyalin droplets of the developing medulla and inner-root-sheath layers of the follicle and may be precursors of the proteins of the mature medulla and inner root sheath.

SUBMITTER: Steinert PM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1165892 | biostudies-other | 1973 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Infections with Sudan virus (SUDV), a member of the genus Ebolavirus, result in a severe hemorrhagic fever with a fatal outcome in over 50% of human cases. The paucity of prophylactics and therapeutics against SUDV is attributed to the lack of a small-animal model to screen promising compounds. By repeatedly passaging SUDV within the livers and spleens of guinea pigs in vivo, a guinea pig-adapted SUDV variant (SUDV-GA) uniformly lethal to these animals, with a 50% lethal dose (LD50) of 5.3 × 10(-2) 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50), was developed. Animals infected with SUDV-GA developed high viremia and died between 9 and 14 days postinfection. Several hallmarks of SUDV infection, including lymphadenopathy, increased liver enzyme activities, and coagulation abnormalities, were observed. Virological analyses and gross pathology, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry findings indicate that SUDV-GA replicates in the livers and spleens of infected animals similarly to SUDV infections in nonhuman primates. These developments will accelerate the development of specific medical countermeasures in preparation for a future disease outbreak due to SUDV.A disease outbreak due to Ebola virus (EBOV), suspected to have emerged during December 2013 in Guinea, with over 11,000 dead and 28,000 infected, is finally winding down. Experimental EBOV vaccines and treatments were administered to patients under compassionate circumstances with promising results, and availability of an approved countermeasure appears to be close. However, the same range of experimental candidates against a potential disease outbreak caused by other members of the genus Ebolavirus, such as Sudan virus (SUDV), is not readily available. One bottleneck contributing to this situation is the lack of a small-animal model to screen promising drugs in an efficient and economical manner. To address this, we have generated a SUDV variant (SUDV-GA) that is uniformly lethal to guinea pigs. Animals infected with SUDV-GA develop disease similar to that of SUDV-infected humans and monkeys. We believe that this model will significantly accelerate the development of life-saving measures against SUDV infections.

Project description:BackgroundSalivary proteins of Triatoma infestans elicit humoral immune responses in their vertebrate hosts. These immune responses indicate exposure to triatomines and thus can be a useful epidemiological tool to estimate triatomine infestation. In the present study, we analyzed antibody responses of guinea pigs to salivary antigens of different developmental stages of four T. infestans strains originating from domestic and/or peridomestic habitats in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. We aimed to identify developmental stage- and strain-specific salivary antigens as potential markers of T. infestans exposure.Methodology and principal findingsIn SDS-PAGE analysis of salivary proteins of T. infestans the banding pattern differed between developmental stages and strains of triatomines. Phenograms constructed from the salivary profiles separated nymphal instars, especially the 5th instar, from adults. To analyze the influence of stage- and strain-specific differences in T. infestans saliva on the antibody response of guinea pigs, twenty-one guinea pigs were exposed to 5th instar nymphs and/or adults of different T. infestans strains. Western blot analyses using sera of exposed guinea pigs revealed stage- and strain-specific variations in the humoral response of animals. In total, 27 and 17 different salivary proteins reacted with guinea pig sera using IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. Despite all variations of recognized salivary antigens, an antigen of 35 kDa reacted with sera of almost all challenged guinea pigs.ConclusionSalivary antigens are increasingly considered as an epidemiological tool to measure exposure to hematophagous arthropods, but developmental stage- and strain-specific variations in the saliva composition and the respective differences of immunogenicity are often neglected. Thus, the development of a triatomine exposure marker for surveillance studies after triatomine control campaigns requires detailed investigations. Our study resulted in the identification of a potential antigen as useful marker of T. infestans exposure.

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Characterization of the proteins of guinea-pig hair and hair-follicle tissue.

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