Specific serum and mucosal antitoxin levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in rats immunized with Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT). Immunization by means of a parenteral prime followed by peroral boosts was the only approach that aroused titers of both serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antitoxin and mucosal secretory IgA antitoxin that were increased fourfold or m...

A synthetic gene encoding a tetramer of the repeated subunit EENVEHDA of the Plasmodium falciparum antigen Pf155/RESA was expressed in a dual-expression system. The resulting fusion proteins, designated ZZ-M1 and BB-M1, comprised the EENVEHDA repeats and either two immunoglobulin G-binding domains from staphylococcal protein A or the human serum albumin-binding domains from streptococcal protei...

A new gene encoding the Hc domain of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin serotype F (FHc) was designed and completely synthesized with oligonucleotides. A soluble recombinant Hc of C. botulinum neurotoxin serotype F was highly expressed in Escherichia coli with this synthetic FHc gene. Subsequently, the purified FHc was used to vaccinate mice and evaluate their survival against challenge with acti...

An experimental allergic encephalomyelitis was induced by bovine myelin basic protein (MBP) and bovine galactocerebroside (GC) on male guinea pigs. Animals were divided into five experimental and one control groups. Among the five experimental groups, three were inoculated with 75 micrograms, 150 micrograms and 300 micrograms of MBP, respectively, to see the dose dependency of demyelination. Th...

Previous passive antibody transfer experiments have indicated that immunity to a 46-kilodalton membrane glycoprotein (M-2) of Leishmania amazonensis may protect against infection with this parasite. In the studies described in this paper, we investigated the ability of the purified M-2 molecule to elicit a protective immune response in conjunction with Freund incomplete and complete adjuvants, ...

We previously showed that pathological adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA), a chronic pain model, is associated with an increase in the number of Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) in lumbar spinal cord neurons; maximal Fos-LI corresponds to the peak of pathological and behavioral signs of the disease. On the other hand, AIA is prevented in rats that have previously been injected with diluted comp...

Introduction: Apoptosis dysregulation plays a substantial role in the pathophysiology of chronic inflammation and its related symptoms such as edema. Regulation of NF-ĸB activation is involved in apoptosis pattern change. The current study aimed at verifying the effects of local inflammation on edema and changes in apoptotic markers, and investigating the possible role of NF-ĸB in apoptosis pat...