Assessment of potential adjuvanticity of Cry proteins.

Genetically modified (GM) crops have achieved success in the marketplace and their benefits extend beyond the overall increase in harvest yields to include lowered use of insecticides and decreased carbon dioxide emissions. The most widely grown GM crops contain gene/s for targeted insect protection, herbicide tolerance, or both. Plant expression of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) insecticidal proteins have been the primary way to impart insect resistance in GM crops.

Safety assessment of biotechnology products for potential risk of food allergy: implications of new research.

Food allergy is a potential risk associated with use of transgenic proteins in crops. Currently, safety assessment involves consideration of the source of the introduced protein, in silico amino acid sequence homology comparisons to known allergens, physicochemical properties, protein abundance in the crop, and, when appropriate, specific immunoglobulin E binding studies. Recently conducted research presented at an International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute-hosted workshop adds to the scientific foundation for safety assessment of transgenic proteins in five areas: structure/activity, serum screening, animal models, quantitative proteomics, and basic mechanisms.

Utility of rodent models for evaluating protein allergenicity.

Animal models are needed to assess novel proteins produced through biotechnology for potential dietary allergenicity. The exact characteristics that give certain foods allergenic potential are unclear, but must include both the potential to sensitize (induce IgE) as well as the capacity to avoid induction of oral tolerance (specific inhibition of IgE production). EPA has developed two complementary mouse models; one which distinguishes allergenic from non-allergenic food extracts using oral sensitization with adjuvant (cholera toxin) and another which further distinguishes highly potent allergens following oral administration without adjuvant based on the development (or not) of tolerance.

Failure to induce oral tolerance in mice is predictive of dietary allergenic potency among foods with sensitizing capacity.

Animal models are needed to assess novel proteins produced through biotechnology for potential dietary allergenicity. Currently proposed rodent models evaluate sensitizing potential of food extracts or proteins following parenteral administration or oral administration with adjuvant. However, food allergy requires not only the potential to induce immunoglobulin (Ig) E but also the capacity to avoid induction of oral tolerance (specific inhibition of IgE production).

Differences in allergenic potential of food extracts following oral exposure in mice reflect differences in digestibility: potential approaches to safety assessment.

An animal model for food allergy is needed to assess genetically modified food crops for potential allergenicity. The ideal model must produce allergic antibody (IgE) to proteins differentially according to known allergenicity before being used to accurately identify potential allergens among novel proteins. The oral route is the most relevant for exposure to food antigens, and a protein's stability to digestion is a current risk assessment tool based on this natural route.

Cyclooxygenase-2-mediated prostaglandin E2 production in mesenteric lymph nodes and in cultured macrophages and dendritic cells after infection with Salmonella.

Although numerous studies have demonstrated the ability of intestinal epithelial cells to produce PGs after infection with wild-type strains of Salmonella, few studies have focused on Salmonella-induced prostanoids in mucosal lymphoid tissues. This is surprising in view of the profound effects PGs can have on the host response. To begin to address PG production at mucosal sites, mice were orally inoculated with Salmonella, and at varying times postinfection cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA expression and PGE(2) synthesis were investigated.

Cultured astrocytes express toll-like receptors for bacterial products.

It has become apparent that astrocytes may be important contributors to inflammatory immune responses within the brain in response to microbial challenges. To date, the mechanisms that underlie activation of this major glial cell type by such challenges have not been investigated. In the present study, we present evidence for members of a recently discovered family of receptors for highly conserved microbial components, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), in isolated cultures of primary murine astrocytes.