Activation of host innate immune responses was studied in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SCV)-infected human A549 lung epithelial cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs). In all cell types, SCV-specific subgenomic mRNAs were seen, whereas no expression of SCV proteins was found. No induction of cytokine genes (alpha interferon [IFN-alpha], IFN-beta, interleukin-28A/B [IL-2...

Three isostructural interwoven 3,4-connected mesoporous metal-organic frameworks of pto-a topology (UTSA-28-Cu, UTSA-28-Zn, and UTSA-28-Mn) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Because of their metastable nature, their gas sorption properties are highly dependent on the metal ions and activation profiles. The most stable, UTSA-28a-Cu, exhibits promising gas storage and separation ca...

INTRODUCTION Production of antibodies against specific proteins of testis germ cells is of great significance for the investigation of processes involved in spermatogenesis, study of infertility problems and determination of the probable role of these proteins as cancer-testis antigens. Murine Testis Specific Recombinant Protein 101 (mTEX101) is a 38kDa, GPI-anchored protein which is expressed ...

The NKG2 family receptors are C-type lectin, type II transmembrane molecules, and play important roles in regulation of natural killer (NK) cell functions against tumor and virus. NKG2F is a new member of NKG2 family, and may possibly associate with DAP 12 to activate NK cells. Since lacking available antibody against human NKG2F, the features of NKG2F expression on NK cells remains unclear. In...

Simple methods for measuring the levels of serum antibody against canine distemper virus (CDV) would assist in the effective vaccination of dogs. To develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for CDV, we expressed hydrophilic extra-viral domain (HEVD) protein of the A75/17-CDV H gene in a pET 28a plasmid-based Escherichia (E.) coli vector system. Expression was confirmed by d...

Plant lectins are proteins that possess at least one non-catalytic domain, which could reversibly bind to specific monosaccharides or oligosaccharides. The important roles played by plant lectins in immune regulation, signaling pathways, and plant defense could be attributed to their specific binding activities with carbohydrates. In this study, a Pinellia integrifolia lectin gene, designated p...

This study establishes the recombinant expression system of MAF-1 (Musca domestica antifungal peptide-1) and demonstrates the antifungal activity of the expression product and shows the relationship between biological activity and structure. The gene segments on mature peptide part of MAF-1 were cloned, based on the primers designed according to the cDNA sequence of MAF-1. We constructed the re...

Although blood-feeding hookworms infect over a billion people worldwide, little is known about the molecular mechanisms through which these parasitic nematodes cause gastrointestinal hemorrhage and iron deficiency anemia. A cDNA corresponding to a secreted Kunitz type serine protease inhibitor has been cloned from adult Ancylostoma ceylanicum hookworm RNA. The translated sequence of the A. ceyl...

Lignosus rhinocerotis (Tiger milk mushroom) is an important folk medicine for indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. We previously reported its de novo assembled 34.3 Mb genome encoding a repertoire of proteins including a putative bioactive fungal immunomodulatory protein. Here we report the cDNA of this new member (FIP-Lrh) with a homology range of 54-64% to FIPs from other mushroom species, t...