We developed a novel immunochromatographic assay (ICA) (EZ-Step VanA rapid kit; Dinona, Korea) for the detection of VanA ligase from vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Of eight monoclonal antibodies screened by ELISAs, the VanA ligase ICA constructed with 1H9 plus 3G11 showed the greatest reactivity. The detection limit of the kit was 6.3 × 10(6) CFU per test. Of 127 vancomycin-resistant m...

At present, the circulating bioactivity of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is estimated by immunological measurements of IGF-I levels. However, immunoassays ignore the modifying effects of the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) on the interaction between IGF-I and the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR). Therefore, we developed an IGF-I kinase receptor activation assay (KIRA) based on cells transfected wit...

Vasopressin (VP)-like immunoreactivity has long been known in the hydra nervous system, but has not yet been structurally identified. In this study, using HPLC fractionation and an immunological assay, we have purified two peptides, FPQSFLPRGamide and SFLPRGamide, from Hydra magnipapillata. Both the peptides shared the same C-terminal structure, -PRGamide, with Arg-VP. The nonapeptide proved to...

R é s u m é » ImmuKnow® is a non-invasive biomarker of patient cellular immune status. It helps identify transplant patients at risk of overor under-immunosuppression after transplantation. ImmuKnow® detects intracellular ATP synthesis in stimulated CD4+ cells from whole blood. The amount of ATP produced refl ects global T cell function of patients exposed to a combination of immunosuppressive ...

We describe a comparative evaluation of commercial fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed test kits, using 150 selected patient sera. The ability of the test kits to detect reactive sera varied from 82.5 to 95%; that for nonreactive sera varied from 80.9 to 96.4%. Reproducibility of reactive and nonreactive results, measured by between-assay and within-assay studies, averaged 42%. The results...

A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) test was developed to differentiate between H1 and H3 subtypes of swine influenza virus (SIV). The sensitivity and specificity of this test was evaluated by comparing the results of the PCR test with subtyping results of an immunological assay performed at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). The test was performed on 68...

In vitro measurements of the immune response in patients with cancer can be divided into those that estimate nonspecific and those that estimate tumor-specific immune responses. Contained herein is a review of these measurements, especially as they relate to studies that have been reported in patients with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). In vitro tumor-specific immunity has been extensively ...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is an autoimmune disease of central nervous system. since different types of immune cells are involved in ms pathogenesis, in this study we aimed to evaluate serum levels of several immunological components including soluble cd4 (scd4), scd8, scd163, and immunoglobulins as markers of activity of t-cells, macrophages, and b-cells in different types of ms. serum levels of ...

The interaction of T cells with antigen-presenting cells results in the formation of a contact face, termed the immunological synapse. The prototypical dynamics of this process are well established and involve cessation of crawling, a highly fluid 'immature' synapse phase during which signaling is initiated, and ultimately the formation of a 'mature' synapse characterized by centralized and per...

We characterized rabbit antisera to synthetic human calcitonin that specifically recognize the aminoand carboxy-terminal regions of calcitonin (antisera 1-506 and HMS-385, respectively), by both classical (parallelism of dose-response curves) and (owing to the unavailability of a variety of analog fragments of human calcitonin) biochemical plus enzymic alteration of synthetic human calcitonin. ...