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Alessandra Coscia

Publications and source records attributed to Alessandra Coscia.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Relationship between maternal- and fetal-specific IgE.

AIM: A positive correlation between maternal and cord-blood IgE levels is well documented for total IgEs, but not for specific IgEs. The difficulty in detecting specific cord-blood IgEs is due to their low concentrations, which hinder their dosage by low-sensitivity methods. The study aimed to correlate maternal and foetal specific IgEs against individual cow's milk proteins, detected by highly sensitive and specific techniques. METHODS: Cow's milk specific IgE detection was performed by chemiluminescence on 52 specimens of maternal and cord blood after cow's milk protein separation by 1D and 2D gel electrophoresis. Cow's milk protein (CMP) antigens were identified by mass spectrometry techniques. RESULTS: Specific IgEs for CMPs were found in 25/52 (48.1%) of maternal sera and in 19/52 (37%) of cord-blood sera. In order of decreasing frequency, the proteins found were BSA, IgG heavy chain, caseins and, in a single case, b-lactoglobulin. Positive cord-blood sera in all cases corresponded to a positive maternal result, and maternal and foetal immunoreactivity patterns were closely correlated. Moreover, in no case was there a positive cord-blood response with a negative maternal response. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates a close relationship between maternal and cord-blood specific IgE patterns. The phenomenon observed could provide a model to elucidate the general production method of foetal IgEs, which might only be produced in the presence of both the corresponding maternal IgE and the related allergen.

Allergens↗
PubMed2004

Differences in size at birth are determined by differences in growth velocity during early prenatal life.

Physiologic interindividual differences in neonatal size are traditionally thought of as determined by differences in fetal growth occurring only in the second half of pregnancy. Whether possible differences in early intrauterine growth velocity are the effect of random growth fluctuations or may affect size at birth is still debated. This article aims at evaluating to what extent differences in neonatal size are accounted for by differences in fetal growth velocity. We analyzed the fetal growth of 130 healthy singletons for whom head (HC) and abdomen (AC) circumferences and femur diaphysis length (FDL) longitudinal profiles were available, together with the measures of weight (BW), length (BL), and head circumference (BHC) at birth. Individual profiles were fitted with ad-hoc models. Neonatal traits were transformed into standard deviation scores (SDS). Neonates in the upper third of BW-SDS distribution (3618+/-43 g, mean+/-SEM) had, at 22 wk of gestational age, AC growth velocity higher by 0.55+/-0.10 mm/wk than those in the lower third (2902+/-36 g). Neonates in the upper third of BL-SDS distribution (51.7+/-0.21 cm) had, at 20 wk, FDL growth velocity higher by 0.11+/-0.05 mm/wk than those in the lower third (48.2+/-0.18 cm). Neonates in the upper third of BHC-SDS distribution (35.7+/-0.13 cm) had, at 18 wk, HC growth velocity higher by 0.57+/-0.20 mm/wk than those in the lower third (33.3+/-0.11 cm). The differences in growth velocity remain constant throughout the second and third trimester for AC, and tend to vanish in the third trimester for HC and FDL. The differences in fetal growth velocity, which in our study were observed as early as mo 4, suggest that the genetic component plays an important role in fetal growth and is precociously expressed.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2004

Cow's milk allergens identification by two-dimensional immunoblotting and mass spectrometry.

Cow's milk allergy (CMA) has become a common disease in early childhood, its prevalence ranging from 1.6% to 2.8% among children younger than 2 years of age. The role of different cow's milk protein (CMP) in the pathogenesis of CMA is still controversial. Even if the proteins most frequently and most intensively recognized by immunoglobulin E (IgE) seem to be the most abundant in milk (caseins and beta-lactoglobulin), with an although great variability all milk proteins appear to be potential allergens, even those that are present in trace amounts (i.e., lactoferrin, IgG, and BSA). In this work proteomics techniques have been applied for CMP allergens analysis. Allergens have been identified by immunoblotting following resolution of CMP components by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Sera from 20 milk-allergic subjects, as proven by oral provocation test, CAP-RAST and skin prick test, have been used for cow's milk major allergen identification. Cow's milk proteins and their isoforms were identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF)-mass spectrometry. In our group of patients, the prevalence of CMP allergens, i.e., the total number of subjects sensitized to CMP divided by the total number of the subjects enrolled in the study, was: 55% alpha(s1)-casein, 90% alpha(s2)-casein, 15% beta-casein, 50% kappa-casein, 45% beta-lactoglobulin, 45% BSA, 95% IgG-heavy chain, 50% lactoferrin, and 0% alpha-lactalbumin.

Allergens↗
PubMed2003

Structural proteome of human colostral fat globule membrane proteins.

Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) contains proteins derived from the apical membrane of secreting epithelial cells of the mammary gland. Between 2-4% of total human milk protein content is associated with the fat globule fraction, as MFGM proteins. While MFGM proteins have very low classical nutritional value, they play important roles in various cell processes and defence mechanisms for the newborn. To date, fewer than 30 human MFGM proteins have been identified and characterized, either by immunological methods or by Edman sequencing and mass spectrometry. This study aimed to update the structural proteome of human colostral MFGM proteins and to create an annotated two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) MFGM protein database available on-line. More than one hundred 2-DE spots derived from human colostral MFGM proteins were investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and proteins were identified by three different software packages available on the web (PeptIdent, MS-Fit and ProFound); uncertain identifications were solved by nanoelectrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry using SEQUEST software.

Databases, Protein↗