Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 433 in total

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  1. Zulkipli AF, Zakaria NM, Abdikarim MH, Azlan M, Abdullah N, Nor NM, et al.
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2018 Jul;29(2):53-76.
    PMID: 30112141 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2018.29.2.5
    Macrophage apoptosis exerts an efficient mechanism in controlling intracellular infection during innate immune response against various pathogens including malaria parasites. This study was carried out to determine the apoptosis activity in mouse macrophage cell line J774A.1 infected with a Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) clone and a recombinant BCG clone expressing the C-terminus of merozoite surface protein-1 (BCG-MSP1C) of Plasmodium falciparum for 48 h. In this study, a parent BCG cells was used as a control. The nuclear staining with Hoechst 33342 showed that the BCG-MSP1C cells was capable of increasing the nuclear condensation and morphological stages of apoptosis in the infected cells compared to the BCG-infected cells and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cells. The flow cytometric analysis using Annexin-V and Propidium iodide (PI) staining confirmed that the BCG-MSP1C cells significantly increased the percentage of early apoptotic activity in the infected macrophage higher than the one stimulated by the parent BCG cells and LPS. This apoptotic response corresponded with the reduction of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression and higher p53 expression. The colorimetric assay demonstrated that the BCG cells capable of stimulating higher production of caspase-1, -3, -8 and -9 while the BCG-MSP1C cells stimulated the expression of caspase-1 and -9 in the infected macrophages, suggesting the involvement of mitochondrial-mediated (intrinsic) pathway of apoptosis. In conclusion, both the BCG and BCG-MSP1C cells are capable of inducing macrophage apoptosis activity in the mouse macrophage cell line J774A.1. This mechanism is important for the elimination of pathogens such as malaria parasite during the phagocytosis activity of macrophage. However, the BCG-MSP1C cells showed higher apoptosis activity than those produced by the parent BCG cells.
  2. Zulkefli NF, Alias NH, Jamaluddin NS, Abdullah N, Abdul Manaf SF, Othman NH, et al.
    Membranes (Basel), 2021 Dec 25;12(1).
    PMID: 35054552 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12010026
    The discharge of massive amounts of oily wastewater has become one of the major concerns among the scientific community. Membrane filtration has been one of the most used methods of treating oily wastewater due to its stability, convenience handling, and durability. However, the continuous occurrence of membrane fouling aggravates the membrane's performance efficiency. Membrane fouling can be defined as the accumulation of various materials in the pores or surface of the membrane that affect the permeate's quantity and quality. Many aspects of fouling have been reviewed, but recent methods for fouling reduction in oily wastewater have not been explored and discussed sufficiently. This review highlights the mitigation strategies to reduce membrane fouling from oily wastewater. We first review the membrane technology principle for oily wastewater treatment, followed by a discussion on different fouling mechanisms of inorganic fouling, organic fouling, biological fouling, and colloidal fouling for better understanding and prevention of membrane fouling. Recent mitigation strategies to reduce fouling caused by oily wastewater treatment are also discussed.
  3. Zuhainis Saad W, Abdullah N, Alimon AR, Yin Wan H
    Anaerobe, 2008 Apr;14(2):118-22.
    PMID: 18083606
    The effects of phenolic monomers (i.e. rho-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rho-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillin) on the enzymes and fermentation activities of Neocallimastix frontalis B9 grown in ball-milled filter paper and guinea grass media were studied. The enzymes studied were carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase), filterpaperase (FPase), xylanase and beta-glucosidase. At 96 h of incubation, N. frontalis grown in ball-milled filter paper medium produced comparable xylanase and CMCase activities (0.41, 0.5 micromol/min/mg protein) while in guinea grass medium, N. frontalis produced higher xylanase activity than that of CMCase activity (2.35, 0.05 micromol/min/mg protein). The other enzymes activities were low. When N. frontalis was grown in ball-milled filter paper medium, only acetic acid was produced. However, when grown in guinea grass medium, the major end-product was acetate, but propionic, butyric and isovaleric were also produced in lesser amount. Vanillin showed the least inhibitory effects to enzyme activities of N. frontalis B9 grown in both ball-milled filter paper and guinea grass media. For total volatile fatty acid production, all phenolic monomers showed inhibitory effects, but rho-coumaric and ferulic acids were the stronger inhibitors than rho-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillin.
  4. Zeng X, Abdullah N, Liang B
    Heliyon, 2023 Dec;9(12):e23071.
    PMID: 38144303 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23071
    Wind energy is a clean and renewable source that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. To smooth the impact of wind energy fluctuations on the power grid and power supply, much research has predicted the wind speed of wind farms to estimate power generation. However, most studies overlook the nonlinear relationship between wind speed and power generation, and data sources are usually limited to one or two wind farms. This study constructs a wind power density prediction model based on the LightGBM and artificial neural network to solve the above problems. Its data collection process does not require meteorological measurement equipment and has good universality, stability, and robustness. LightGBM is used to extract feature information and then train it using an artificial neural network, which has a high tolerance for data loss. The model performance was validated using data from six terrains from 2020 to 2022. While results showed that the average prediction error was 71.68 % less than 2 % and 82.188 % less than 6 %, with an average R2 of 0.9755 and an average correlation coefficient of 0.9875, proving the practical significance of the model that can be used to guide electricity trade.
  5. Zawawi NK, Taha M, Ahmat N, Wadood A, Ismail NH, Rahim F, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2016 Feb;64:29-36.
    PMID: 26637946 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2015.11.006
    Newly synthesized benzimidazole hydrazone derivatives 1-26 were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Compounds 1-26 exhibited varying degrees of yeast α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 values between 8.40 ± 0.76 and 179.71 ± 1.11 μM when compared with standard acarbose. In this assay, seven compounds that showed highest inhibitory effects than the rest of benzimidazole series were identified. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by different spectroscopic methods adequately. We further evaluated the interaction of the active compounds with enzyme with the help of docking studies.
  6. Zawawi NK, Taha M, Ahmat N, Wadood A, Ismail NH, Rahim F, et al.
    Bioorg Med Chem, 2015 Jul 1;23(13):3119-25.
    PMID: 26001340 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2015.04.081
    A library of novel 2,5-disubtituted-1,3,4-oxadiazoles with benzimidazole backbone (3a-3r) was synthesized and evaluated for their potential as β-glucuronidase inhibitors. Several compounds such as 3a-3d, 3e-3j, 3l-3o, 3q and 3r showed excellent inhibitory potentials much better than the standard (IC50=48.4±1.25μM: d-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone). All the synthesized compounds were characterized satisfactorily by using different spectroscopic methods. We further evaluated the interaction of the active compounds and the enzyme active site with the help of docking studies.
  7. Zawawi NK, Rajput SA, Taha M, Ahmat N, Ismail NH, Abdullah N, et al.
    Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 2015 Oct 15;25(20):4672-6.
    PMID: 26330080 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2015.08.022
    Apoptotic cell death is the cause of the loss of insulin-producing β-cells in all forms of diabetes mellitus. The identification of small molecules capable of protecting cytokine-induced apoptosis could form the basis of useful therapeutic interventions. Here in, we present the discovery and synthesis of new benzimidazole derivatives, capable of rescuing pancreatic β-cells from cytokine-induced apoptosis. Three hydrazone derivatives of benzimidazole significantly increased the cellular ATP levels, reduced caspase-3 activity, reduced nitrite production and increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines. These findings suggest that these compounds may protect β-cells from the harmful effects of cytokines and may serve as candidates for therapeutic intervention for diabetes.
  8. Zakaria SM, Abdullah N, Md Akhir N, Amin AS, Mohd Shukry ANA, Abdul Rashid MR, et al.
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Sep 27;19(19).
    PMID: 36231521 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912219
    During the pandemic, the lives of B40 single mothers were severely affected, especially in terms of social, economic, and psychological factors. The reduction of income caused by the crisis has forced single mothers and their children to live frugally and without luxury. They also had to perform more than one job at a time during the pandemic to meet their children's needs. A qualitative study has been conducted to explore the perceptions of quality of life during the pandemic among B40 single mothers. Respondents were selected based on demographic characteristics established before the study. A focus group discussion has been conducted on ten (10) B40 single mothers in Balik Pulau, Penang. Single mothers were selected based on purposive sampling. They had to meet the inclusive criteria required to participate in the study, specifically: aged between 20 and 60 years old, belonged to the B40 income category, had children under 18 years old living together, and became single mothers due to divorce or death of husbands. The focused group discussion explored issues related to qualities of life during the pandemic. B40 single mothers expressed their concern about access to health facilities, security in residence, children's education, and economic stability. These areas of life quality have been significantly affected especially during Movement Control Order (MCO). In short, the quality of life of these single mothers has been significantly affected by the pandemic. Their vulnerability towards stress, anxiety, and depression have worsened due to financial issues. Besides the need for emotional and social support, this study found that these single mothers entail financial support.
  9. Zain RB, Ghani WM, Razak IA, Latifah RJ, Samsuddin AR, Cheong SC, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2009 Jul-Sep;10(3):513-8.
    PMID: 19640201
    BACKGROUND: The rising burden of cancer in the developing world calls for a re-evaluation of the treatment strategies employed to improve patient management, early detection and understanding of the disease. There is thus an increasing demand for interdisciplinary research that integrates two or more disciplines of what may seemed to be highly unrelated and yet very much needed as strategies for success in research. This paper presents the processes and barriers faced in building partnerships in oral cancer research in a developing country.

    METHODS: A case study was undertaken in a developing country (Malaysia) to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the situation leading to the formation of a multidisciplinary research partnership in oral cancer. Following the formalization of the partnership, further evaluation was undertaken to identify measures that can assist in sustaining the partnership.

    RESULTS: The group identifies its strength as the existence of academia, research-intensive NGOs and good networking of clinicians via the existence of the government's network of healthcare provider system who are the policy makers. The major weaknesses identified are the competing interest between academia and NGOs to justify their existence due to the lack of funding sources and well trained human resources.

    CONCLUSIONS: With the growing partnership, the collaborative group recognizes the need to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for the sharing and usage of resources in order to safeguard the interest of the original partners while also attending to the needs of the new partners.
  10. Zahra SA, Purba LDA, Abdullah N, Yuzir A, Iwamoto K, Lei Z, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2023 Apr 04;329:138595.
    PMID: 37023906 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138595
    Limited information is available on the characteristics of algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (AGS) treating real wastewater, especially on its alginate-like exopolymers (ALE) production. In addition, the effect of target microalgae species inoculation on the system performance has not been fully understood. This study aimed to reveal the effect of microalgae inoculation on the characteristics of algal-bacterial AGS and its ALE production potential. Two photo-sequencing batch reactors (PSBR) were employed, namely R1 with activated sludge and R2 with Tetradesmus sp. and activated sludge being inoculated, respectively. Both reactors were fed with locally sourced municipal wastewater and operated for 90 days. Algal-bacterial AGS were successfully cultivated in both reactors. No significant difference was observed between the performances of R1 and R2, reflecting that the inoculation of target microalgae species may not be crucial for the development of algal-bacterial AGS when treating real wastewater. Both reactors achieved an ALE yield of about 70 mg/g of volatile suspended solids (VSS), indicating that a substantial amount of biopolymer can be recovered from wastewater. Interestingly, boron was detected in all the ALE samples, which might contribute to granulation and interspecies quorum sensing. The enrichment of lipids content in ALE from algal-bacterial AGS treating real wastewater reveals its high resource recovery potential. Overall, the algal-bacterial AGS system is a promising biotechnology for simultaneous municipal wastewater treatment and resource (like ALE) recovery.
  11. Yuzir A, Abdullah N, Chelliapan S, Sallis P
    Bioresour Technol, 2013 Apr;133:158-65.
    PMID: 23422308 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2013.01.086
    The effects of Mecoprop (RS)-MCPP were investigated in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBr) fed with synthetic wastewater containing stepwise increases in Mecoprop concentration, 5-200 mg L(-1) over 240 days. Effects were observed in terms of soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency, volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, and methane yield. Soluble COD removal efficiency was stable at Mecoprop concentrations below 200 (±3) mg L(-1), with an average of 98 (±0.7)% removal. However, at 200 (±3) mg L(-1) Mecoprop, the COD removal efficiency decreased gradually to 94 (±1.5)%. At 5 mg L(-1) Mecoprop, acetic and propionic acid concentrations increased by 60% and 160%, respectively. In contrast, when Mecoprop was increased to 200 (±3) mg L(-1), the formation and degradation of acetate was unaffected by the higher Mecoprop concentration, acetate remaining below 35 mg L(-1). Increases in the Mecoprop specific utilization rate were observed as Mecoprop was increased stepwise between 5 and 200 mg L(-1).
  12. Yusoff NM, Abdullah WZ, Ghazali S, Othman MS, Baba AA, Abdullah N, et al.
    Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol, 2002 May;42(2):164-6.
    PMID: 12069143 DOI: 10.1111/j.0004-8666.2002.00164.x
    OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of factor V Leiden mutation in Malay women with recurrent spontaneous abortion and to clarify the contribution of the factor V Leiden mutation to recurrent miscarriages in these women.

    DESIGN: A prospective case control study between June 1999 and April 2000.

    SETTING: Hospital University Science of Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, and Maternal and Child Health Clinic, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Malaysia.

    SAMPLES: A total of 46 Malay women with a history of three or more first or second trimester miscarriages were studied. The control group consisted of 46 parous women without obstetric complications.

    METHODS: Diagnosis of factor V Leiden mutation was made by examination of factor V Leiden allele product following Mnl I digestion of factor V Leiden alleles amplified by polymerase chain reaction.

    RESULTS: None of the 46 women with recurrent spontaneous abortion carried the mutation. Also, we found no subject carrying the factor V Leiden alleles in the control group.

    CONCLUSION: These results suggest that that there is no association between the factor V Leiden mutation and recurrent spontaneous abortion in the Malay population.
  13. Yusoff J, Ismail A, Abd Manaf MR, Ismail F, Abdullah N, Muhammad R, et al.
    Health Qual Life Outcomes, 2022 Jan 29;20(1):15.
    PMID: 35093066 DOI: 10.1186/s12955-022-01921-1
    BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) is one of the treatment outcome measures in patients with breast cancer. In this study, we measured the QoL of women with breast cancer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) and identified the associated factors.

    METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to December 2017 and involved female patients with breast cancer. The QoL scores and domains were determined using the EuroQol EQ-5D-5L, and were presented as the utility value and visual analog scores, respectively.

    RESULTS: We recruited a total of 173 women, aged 33-87 years. The median VA score was 80.00 (interquartile range [IQR] 70.00-90.00); the median utility value was 0.78 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.65-1.00. Women who did not take traditional medicine had a higher utility index score of 0.092 (95% CI 0.014-0.171), and women with household income of RM3000-5000 had a higher utility index score of 0.096 (95% CI 0.011-0.180).

    CONCLUSION: Traditional medicine consumption and household income were significantly associated with lower QoL. The pain/discomfort domain was the worst affected QoL domain and was related to traditional medicine use and household income. Addressing pain management in patients with breast cancer and the other factors contributing to lower QoL may improve the QoL of breast cancer survivors in the future.

  14. Yunus R, Salleh SF, Abdullah N, Biak DR
    Bioresour Technol, 2010 Dec;101(24):9792-6.
    PMID: 20719502 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.07.074
    Various pre-treatment techniques change the physical and chemical structure of the lignocellulosic biomass and improve hydrolysis rates. The effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre prior to acid hydrolysis has been evaluated. The main objective of this study was to determine if ultrasonic pre-treatment could function as a pre-treatment method for the acid hydrolysis of OPEFB fibre at a low temperature and pressure. Hydrolysis at a low temperature was studied using 2% sulphuric acid; 1:25 solid liquid ratio and 100 degrees C operating temperature. A maximum xylose yield of 58% was achieved when the OPEFB fibre was ultrasonicated at 90% amplitude for 45min. In the absence of ultrasonic pre-treatment only 22% of xylose was obtained. However, no substantial increase of xylose formation was observed for acid hydrolysis at higher temperatures of 120 and 140 degrees C on ultrasonicated OPEFB fibre. The samples were then analysed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to describe the morphological changes of the OPEFB fibre. The SEM observations show interesting morphological changes within the OPEFB fibre for different acid hydrolysis conditions.
  15. Yulistiani D, Jelan ZA, Liang JB, Yaakub H, Abdullah N
    Asian-Australas J Anim Sci, 2015 Apr;28(4):494-501.
    PMID: 25656207 DOI: 10.5713/ajas.14.0406
    A digestibility study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementing mulberry foliage and urea rice-bran as a source of fermentable energy and protein to 12 sheep fed diets based on urea-treated rice straw (TRS). The three dietary treatments were: T1, TRS with mulberry; T2, TRS with 50% mulberry replaced with rice bran and urea; and T3, TRS with rice bran and urea. The study was arranged in a completely randomized design with four replications for each treatment. The sheep were fed one of the three diets and the supplements were offered at 1.2% of the body weight (BW) and the TRS was provided ad libitum. There were no differences (p>0.05) among the three treatment groups with respect to dry matter (DM) intake (76.8±4.2 g/kg BW(0.75)) and DM, organic matter (OM), and crude protein (CP) digestibility (55.3±1.22; 69.9±0.85; 46.3±1.65% respectively for DM, OM, and CP). The digestibility of fiber (neutral detergent fiber [NDF] and acid detergent fiber) was significantly lower (p<0.05) for T3 (46.2 and 46.6 respectively) compared to T1 (55.8 and 53.7 respectively) and T2 (54.1 and 52.8 respectively). Nitrogen (N) intake by sheep on diet T3 was significantly (p<0.05) higher than sheep fed diet T1. However, N balance did not differ among the three diets (3.0±0.32 g/d). In contrast, the rumen ammonia (NH3-N) concentrations in sheep fed T2 and T3 were significantly (p<0.05) higher than in sheep fed T1. The NH3-N concentrations for all three diets were above the critical value required for optimum rumen microbial growth and synthesis. Total volatile fatty acid concentrations were highest (p<0.05) in T1 (120.3 mM), whilst the molar proportion of propionic acid was highest in T3 (36.9%). However, the microbial N supply in sheep fed T1 and T3 was similar but was significantly (p<0.05) higher than for sheep fed T2. It was concluded that mulberry foliage is a potential supplement of fermentable energy and protein for sheep fed TRS based diet. The suggested level of supplementation is 1.2% of BW or 32% of the total diet since it resulted in similar effects on the intake of DM, OM, and NDF, digestibility of DM, OM, and CP, N utilization and microbial supply when compared to rice bran and urea supplementation.
  16. Yee LS, Abu Bakar MF, Abdullah N, Abu Bakar FI, Fatmawati S
    J Complement Integr Med, 2023 Dec 01;20(4):772-778.
    PMID: 37561949 DOI: 10.1515/jcim-2020-0141
    OBJECTIVES: An increase in gout prevalence has drawn attention among society and this situation drives the exploration of more favourable treatment using traditional medicinal plants which are rich in phenolic and flavonoid to avoid the side effects of modern medication. However, there are only few studies regarding the optimization of phytochemicals and anti-gout properties of medicinal plants and their combinations. The objectives of this study were to determine the optimal formulation of Strobilanthes crispus, Orthosiphon stamineus Benth and Stevia rebaudiana with maximum total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as minimum IC50 of in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity and to examine their correlations among the formulations.

    METHODS: Plant extracts from hot water infusion were tested for the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and enzyme inhibition through Folin-ciocalteu assay, aluminium chloride method and xanthine oxidase inhibition assay, respectively. Simplex-centroid mixture design was applied in this study and 13 polyherbal formulations were generated by Design Expert Software.

    RESULTS: Linear, special cubic and quadratic models were selected to describe the interaction effect between polyherbal formulations and their responses. Low IC50 value (13.90 μg/mL) of xanthine oxidase activity was found in the binary combination of O. stamineus and S. rebaudiana and this probably related to its high phenolic and flavonoid contents as xanthine oxidase inhibition and phytochemicals were correlated.

    CONCLUSIONS: The suggested optimal formulation was comprised of 44.26 % O. stamineus and 55.74 % S. rebaudiana and it could be developed as an alternative treatment for gout.

  17. Yadzir ZH, Misnan R, Abdullah N, Arip M, Murad S
    PMID: 21710860
    The aim of this study was to identify the major allergens of wildflower honey in local patients with atopic disease. SDS-PAGE revealed ten protein bands of 25 to 110 kDa, with a heavy cluster in region of 40-75 kDa. Immunoblotting demonstrated seven IgE-binding bands of 39 to 110 kDa. The 60 kDa protein had the highest frequency of IgE-binding (100%) followed by 54 kDa protein (95%), thus identified as the major allergens of wildflowerhoney. Our findings indicate that the allergen extract used for diagnosis of honey allergy contains both the 54 kDa and 60 kDa proteins.
  18. Yadzir ZH, Misnan R, Abdullah N, Bakhtiar F, Arip M, Murad S
    PMID: 20578555
    Allergy to different classes of mollusks, including squid, which are members of the class Cephalopods has been reported. Tropomyosin, a major muscle protein, is the only well-recognized allergen in squid. The aim of this study was to characterize IgE-binding proteins of local Loligo edulis (white squid) consumed in Malaysia. Protein profiles and IgE-binding proteins were detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting using sera from 23 patients with positive skin prick test to raw squid extract. SDS-PAGE of the raw extract exhibited 21 protein bands (10-170 kDa) but those ranging from 19 to 29 kDa and 41 to 94 kDa were not found in the cooked extract. Immunoblotting of raw extract demonstrated 16 IgE-binding bands, ranging from 13 to 170 kDa. A heat-resistant 36 kDa protein, corresponding to squid tropomyosin, was identified as the major allergen of both extracts. In addition, a 50 kDa heat-sensitive protein was shown to be a major allergen of the raw extract. Our findings indicate that the allergen extract used for diagnosis of squid allergy should contain both the 36 kDa and 50 kDa proteins.
  19. Yadzir ZH, Misnan R, Bakhtiar F, Abdullah N, Murad S
    PMID: 26504467 DOI: 10.1186/s13223-015-0099-4
    Many types of shellfish including oysters are sometime cooked before ingestion and it has been demonstrated that cooking may affect the allergenicity of food. Therefore, the aim of our present study is to identify major and minor allergens of tropical oyster (Crassostrea belcheri) and to investigate the effect of different cooking processing on the allergenicity of this oyster.
  20. Yadzir ZH, Misnan R, Abdullah N, Bakhtiar F, Arip M, Murad S
    Asian Pac J Trop Biomed, 2012 Jan;2(1):50-4.
    PMID: 23569834 DOI: 10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60189-5
    OBJECTIVE: To characterize the major allergens of Macrobrachium rosenbergii (giant freshwater prawn).

    METHODS: Raw and cooked extracts of the giant freshwater prawn were prepared. The IgE reactivity pattern was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting technique with the sera of 20 skin prick test (SPT) positive patients. The major allergen identified was then characterized using the proteomics approach involving a combination of two-dimensional (2-DE) electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics tools.

    RESULTS: SDS-PAGE of the raw extract showed 23 protein bands (15-250 kDa) but those ranging from 40 to 100 kDa were not found in the cooked extract. From immunoblotting experiments, raw and cooked extracts demonstrated 11 and 5 IgE-binding proteins, respectively, with a molecular mass ranging from 15 to 155 kDa. A heat-resistant 36 kDa protein was identified as the major allergen of both extracts. In addition, a 42 kDa heat-sensitive protein was shown to be a major allergen of the raw extract. The 2-DE gel fractionated the prawn proteins to more than 50 different protein spots. Of these, 10 spots showed specific IgE reactivity with patients' sera. Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis led to identification of 2 important allergens, tropomyosin and arginine kinase.

    CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the availability of such allergens would help in component-based diagnosis and therapy of prawn allergies.

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