Aug 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2692-1537.ijcv-20-3492
K. Lau KevinCorresponding author
Product Manager, Technical Advisor & Independent Researcher
Mannose binding lectins (MBL), a key molecule in our innate immune response, contributes to host defense against coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV. This article reviews the role of MBL in the innate immune response against coronavirus infections, highlights evidence of MBL’s significance, and suggests dietary MBL supplementation through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as an accessible and viable approach to minimizing COVID-19 infection risk. Increasing consumption of plant lectins (e.g., eating fruits and vegetables) may reduce COVID-19 risks.
Jul 2013 DOI 10.14302/issn.2326-0793.jpgr-13-207
Floros JoannaCorresponding author
Center for Host defense, Inflammation, and Lung Disease (CHILD) Research and Departments of Pediatrics
Surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays a number of roles in lung host defense and innate immunity. There are two human genes, SFTPA1 and SFTPA2, and evidence indicates that the function of SP-A1 and SP-A2 proteins differ in several respects. To investigate the impact of SP-A1 and SP-A2 on the alveolar macrophage (AM) phenotype, we generated humanized transgenic (hTG) mice on the SP-A knockout (KO) background, each expressing human SP-A1 or SP-A2. Using two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) we studied the AM cellular proteome. We compared mouse lines expressing high levels of SP-A1, high levels of SP-A2, low levels of SP-A1, and low levels of SP-A2, with wild type (WT) and SP-A KO mice. AM from mice expressing high levels of SP-A2 were the most similar to WT mice, particularly for proteins related to actin and the cytoskeleton, as well as proteins regulated by Nrf2. The expression patterns from mouse lines expressing higher levels of the transgenes were almost the inverse of one another – the most highly expressed proteins in SP-A2 exhibited the lowest levels in the SP-A1 mice and vice versa. The mouse lines where each expressed low levels of SP-A1 or SP-A2 transgene had very similar protein expression patterns suggesting that responses to low levels of SP-A are independent of SP-A genotype, whereas the responses to higher amounts of SP-A are genotype-dependent. Together these observations indicate that in vivo exposure to SP-A1 or SP-A2 differentially affects the proteomic expression of AMs, with SP-A2 being more similar to WT.