Immunoenzyme analysis of ovarian metastatic antigen-8]

Immunoenzymatic method for the determination of new ovarian-metastatic antigen-8 in human blood serum was worked out. OMA-8 level was studied in blood serum of 40 healthy women, 40 healthy men, 16 neonates, 33 pregnant women, 103 patients with genital tumours. It was found out that OMA-8 level in blood serum of healthy women changed between 2 to 15.4 micrograms/l, in men between 5-17.0 microgramS/l. OMA-8 concentration higher than 15.4 micrograms/ was considered elevated. The elevated OMA-8 level was marked in neonates (100%) and in pregnant (39.3%). High level was discovered in the amniotic fluid.     

Detection of Helicobacter pylori in cow's milk

AIMS: To investigate the existence of Helicobacter pylori in cow's milk as one of the foods which most Japanese children eat. METHODS AND RESULTS: Detection of H. pylori was demonstrated by the semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a culture method and electron microscopy. Semi-nested PCR demonstrated the ureA gene of H. pylori in 13 of 18 (72.2%) raw milk samples and in 11 of 20 (55%) commercial pasteurized milk samples. Helicobacter pylori binding immunomagnetic beads with H. pylori-specific goat anti-H. pylori antibody was shown by electron microscopy in both raw and pasteurized milk positive for the ureA gene. Helicobacter pylori was cultured in one raw milk sample, whereas it was not cultured in pasteurized milk samples. CONCLUSIONS, SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: There is a possibility that cow's milk is a transmission vehicle in childhood H. pylori infection, although we failed to confirm the survival of H. pylori in pasteurized milk.     

Immunoenzyme analysis in pneumococcal infection

Complex protein preparations obtained from pneumococci have been used for the serological examination of patients with pneumococcal infection. The proposed system of ELISA permits the detection of positive results in about 70% of cases. The specificity of the method is 95%. Special attention is paid to the determination of the criterion indicating the presence of positive results.     

The complete amino acid sequence of bovine milk angiogenin

The amino acid sequence of angiogenin isolated from bovine milk was deduced by gas-phase sequencing of the protein and its fragments. The protein contains 125 residues and has a calculated molecular mass of 14,577 Da. The sequence is highly homologous (65% identity) to the sequence of human angiogenin, most of the differences being the result of conservative replacements. Like human angiogenin, the bovine protein is also homologous to bovine pancreatic RNase A (34% identity) and the three major active site residues known to be involved in the catalytic process, His-14, Lys-41 and His-115, are conserved. When tested against conventional substrates for RNase A activity, bovine angiogenin displays the same selective ribonucleolytic activity as human angiogenin. The sequence of bovine angiogenin contains the cell recognition tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp which is not present in the human protein.     

Thermal inactivation of Bacillus anthracis spores in cow's milk

Decimal reduction time (time to inactivate 90% of the population) (D) values of Bacillus anthracis spores in milk ranged from 3.4 to 16.7 h at 72 degrees C and from 1.6 to 3.3 s at 112 degrees C. The calculated increase of temperature needed to reduce the D value by 90% varied from 8.7 to 11.0 degrees C, and the Arrhenius activation energies ranged from 227.4 to 291.3 kJ/mol. Six-log-unit viability reductions were achieved at 120 degrees C for 16 s. These results suggest that a thermal process similar to commercial ultrahigh-temperature pasteurization could inactivate B. anthracis spores in milk.     

Immunoenzyme analysis using paper disks

Filter paper discs have been used in the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) as solid phase instead of polystyrene plates. The use of paper discs has made it possible to achieve a multiple increase in the sensitivity of sandwich EIA, thus permitting the detection of Yersinia pestis capsular antigen at a concentration of 0.4 ng/ml. Paper discs can be used not only for the sorption of antigen and antibodies, but also for the affinity purification of preparations.     

High-performance thin-layer chromatography-bioautography for multiple antibiotic residues in cow's milk

An analytical method to identify and quantify multiple antibiotic residues (chloramphenicol, ampicillin, benzylpenicillin, dicloxacillin and erythromycin) in cow's milk by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with bioautography was developed. The test microorganism used for bioautography was Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633. Antibiotic residues were extracted with acetonitrile, fat eliminated with petroleum ether and residues isolated with dichloromethane The sensitivity of the method guarantees the detection of the above-mentioned antibiotics at levels below maximum residue limits (MRL) allowed for milk. Percentage recoveries ranged between 90 and 100%, with coefficients of variation between 7.2 and 21.3%. Some advantages of this methodology over thin-layer chromatography (TLC)/bioautography are also discussed.     

Immunoenzyme analysis of human IgG in the kinetic mode

A kinetic sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of human IgG (used as a model antigen) has been developed. Rabbit antihuman IgG has been used both for coating polystyrene microtitration plates and for the preparation of the conjugate of anti-human IgG with horse-radish peroxidase. The kinetics of the reaction of the antigen and the antibody-peroxidase conjugate with the reagents immobilized on polystyrene plates has been studied. The assay is optimized with respect to its sensitivity and the duration of intervals for every stage of the assay. The optimal time of the assay is about 10-15 minutes. The correlation between sensitivity and the duration of every stage of the assay has been established.     

Immunoenzyme assay for detection of T-2 toxin in contaminated grain]

Based on indirect solid-phase competitive enzyme immunoassay, a method for determination of T-2 toxin in grain was designed. Determination errors were measured on samples of contaminated grain. The method makes allows determination of the toxin levels ranging from 30 to 1000 ng/g.