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In vivo co-administration of probiotic LAB with Der p 1 might prevent the development of the mite allergic response. The probiotic L. plantarum was shown to display in vitro therapeutic potentials for the treatment of allergy and to trigger the immune system by a TLR2- and MyD88-dependent signalling pathway.

Primary infection with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy can induce fetal pathology and abortion in both humans and animals. The present study describes the development of an experimental model of congenital toxoplasmosis in the guinea pig. In this animal model, we evaluated the protective effect of vaccination with a recombinant form of SAG1 against maternofetal transmission of tachyzoites. The presence of parasites in fetuses was determined by nested PCRs and by an in vivo readout after fetal brain homogenate injections in mice. The absence of parasites was demonstrated in 66 to 86% of fetuses derived from adult guinea pigs immunized with SAG1 and challenged with the mildly virulent T. gondii strain C56. In contrast, more than 80% of fetuses from mock-immunized guinea pigs were infected. The protection was not correlated with titers of antibody to SAG1. Our results indicated that this experimental model constitutes a relevant model for evaluation of vaccine candidates against congenital toxoplasmosis and that SAG1 elicits significant protection against maternofetal transmission.

A cDNA clone for the histamine HI receptor was isolated from a human lung cDNA library; it encoded a protein of 487 amino acids which showed characteristic features of G-protein-coupled receptors. The percentages of identity of the deduced amino acid sequence with bovine, rat and guinea pig H, histamine receptors were 82.6%, 79.4% and 73.3%, respectively, whereas these percentages decreased to 74.6%, 66% and 56.7% for the amino acid sequence of the third intracellular loop. The human H,-receptor cDNA was transfected into Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) via an eukaryotic expression vector ; the receptor protein present on cell membranes specifically bound [3H]mepyramine with a Kd of 3.7 nM. The binding was displaced by H,-histamine-receptor antagonists and histamine. Northern blot analysis indicated the presence of two histamine HI receptor mRNAs of 3.5 kb and 4

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