HcRNAV is a small icosahedral virus that infects the shellfish-killing marine dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama, which harbors a dicistronic linear single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) genome ca. 4.4 kb in length. Its major capsid protein (MCP) gene sequence is not expressed by various strains of Escherichia coli, possibly because of a codon usage problem. To solve this problem, a chemically mo...

For monoclonal antibody therapeutics to access target antigen in extravascular compartments, an antibody drug delivery technology is required that has the dual properties of 1) transendothelial migration of the antibody and 2) endocytosis of the antibody into the target cell. These two objectives may be achieved with antibody cationization, and the present studies examine the feasibility of cat...

Protective antigen (PA), one of the components of the anthrax toxin, is the major component of human anthrax vaccine (Biothrax). Human anthrax vaccines approved in the United States and Europe consist of an alum-adsorbed or precipitated (respectively) supernatant material derived from cultures of toxigenic, non-encapsulated strains of Bacillus anthracis. Approved vaccination schedules in humans...

Fluid obtained from HeLa cell cultures infected with poliomyelitis viruses served as a complement-fixing antigen. When used in the native state, i.e. untreated in any way, the fluids acted as homotypically specific antigens. When heated, however, the antigenicity was broadened and a high degree of heterotypic reactivity was encountered. Data are presented indicating that the observed group reac...

The dot immunobinding assay, a rapid, visually read test, was adapted for serodiagnosis and follow-up of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). Purified gp43 antigen was tested before and after sodium metaperiodate treatment. To evaluate the assay, it was tested with sera from PCM, histoplasmosis, Jorge Lobo's disease, aspergillosis, candidiasis, and cryptococcosis patients and healthy subjects. Native ...

Fc glycosylation of immunoglobulins is necessary for antibody effector functions. These glycans of immunoglobulins are often referred as glycoforms and they can be heterogeneous due to the variations in glycosylation machinery present in the endoplastic reticulum (ER) and in the Golgi. In the absence of a generic culturing protocol that can render a consistent glycosylation pattern, monitoring ...

Multiphoton intravital microscopy of lymph nodes has revolutionized the study of the early events leading to induction of acquired immunity. Using this technique, Junt et al. (2007) report in a recent issue of Nature that macrophages of the mouse lymph node subcapsular sinus facilitate B cell activation in vivo by collecting and displaying native antigen.

The gene coding for the major capsid protein (VP60) from rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter. The recombinant VP60 produced in yeast was antigenically similar to the viral polypeptide as determined with a polyclonal serum. Electron microscopic observation of the recombinant yeast-derived antigen revealed the pres...

Preparations of IgG2b purified from several mouse hybridoma clones were highly susceptible, compared to other subclasses, to peptic digestion under conditions usually used to prepare F (ab')2 fragments. Analyses of the digestion products revealed that no F (ab')2 was produced and that the main product was a Fab-like fragment. Demonstration of the hinge disulfides in the Fc portion clearly indic...

The objective of the paper is to develop a “lab-on-a-chip” device for early disease (pancreatic cancer) diagnosis by using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Magnetic microbeads, which are functionalized for target molecules (antigens), are immobilized by antigen-antibody reactions on the surface of a microwave circuit. These magnetic labels are detected inductively using FMR, which detects a singl...