Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) is a key enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis and catalyzes the decarboxylative condensation of l-serine and palmitoyl coenzyme A (CoA) to form 3-ketodihydrosphingosine (KDS). Eukaryotic SPTs comprise tightly membrane-associated heterodimers belonging to the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent alpha-oxamine synthase family. Sphingomonas paucimobilis, a sphing...

BACKGROUND Sensitization toward allergens, as determined by skin prick test (SPT) or specific IgE (sIgE), is a predictor for the later presence of allergy-related disease (atopic eczema, allergic rhinoconjuctivitis and asthma). However, it is not known whether SPT or sIgE should be the preferred test. The aim of this study was to compare the predictive ability of SPT and sIgE when performed in ...

Previous studies suggest that children with egg allergy may be able to tolerate baked egg. Reliable predictors of a successful baked egg challenge are not well established. We examined egg white-specific IgE levels, skin-prick test (SPT) results, and age as predictors of baked egg oral food challenge (OFC) outcomes. We conducted a retrospective chart review of children, aged 2-18 years, receivi...

CONTEXT Evidenced-based treatment trials for adolescents with bulimia nervosa are largely absent. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relative efficacy of family-based treatment (FBT) and supportive psychotherapy (SPT) for adolescents with bulimia nervosa. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING The University of Chicago from April 1, 2001, through June 30, 2006. PARTICIPANTS Eighty patients,...

The host response to infection and inflammation is associated with multiple alterations in lipid metabolism. We have shown that endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] stimulates hepatic sphingolipid synthesis and increases ceramide and glucosylceramide (GlcCer) content in circulating lipoproteins in Syrian hamsters. LPS also increases the activity and mRNA levels of serine palmitoyltransferase (S...

The ORM1 ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae )-like proteins (ORMDLs) and their yeast orthologs, the ORMs, regulate the initiating and rate-limiting enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis, serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) ( 1–4 ). The three ORMDL isoforms (ORMDL1–3) are small (17.5 kDa) hydrophobic membrane proteins that are situated in the endoplasmic reticulum along with SPT. The three isoforms are high...

Solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas is one of the most uncommon histotypes of all exocrine pancreatic neoplasms. Disorganization of E-cadherin and β-catenin mutations, two key components of the Wnt signal transduction pathway, has been implicated in the development of SPT, but not other pancreatic tumors. Loss of E-cadherin/β-catenin proteins and tyrosine phosphorylation of E-cadh...

The study involved 286 patients (17-58 years, 55.9% females and 44.1% males). SPT was performed with extracts “Mixture of trees” (Diater Laboratorios, Spain). The study of allergen components was made by ImmunoCAP. We evaluated the efficiency of SLIT by visual analogue scale. 98.3% patients had positive SPT to extract “Mixture of trees”. N=281:191 (68.1%) individuals were positive to birch extr...

We describe a case of allergy caused by ingestion of eggplant in an atopic subject. Symptoms included urticaria, itching of the throat, and hoarseness. Skin prick test (SPT) was positive with 4 varieties of eggplant; however, allergen-specific immunoglobulin E was not detected. SPT with fractions of green long eggplant extract obtained by dialysis and ultrafiltration suggested the allergen to b...