Background: Bcl-2 oncoprotein has an important role in cell development, maturation and acts as an anti-apoptotic factor in various neoplastic processes. Aims: With the hypothesis that an increased expression of Bcl-2 oncoprotein in smooth muscle cells of uterine leiomyoma relative to that of normal myometrium may be one of the molecular bases for the enhanced growth of the neoplasm, its levels...

AIM To detect and quantify dentine sialoprotein (DSP) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of luxated teeth. METHODOLOGY Eighteen subjects were enroled and distributed as follows. Group I (n = 6, positive control): subjects with primary second molar teeth undergoing physiological root resorption. Group II (n = 6, negative control): subjects with permanent mature maxillary central incisors. ...

The immunotoxicity of three generations of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers (G-4, G-5 and G-6) was evaluated in mouse macrophage cells in vitro. Using the Alamar blue and MTT assays, a generation dependent cytotoxicity of the PAMAM dendrimers was found whereby G-6 > G-5 > G-4. The toxic response of the PAMAM dendrimers correlated well with the number of surface primary amino groups, with incre...

Methods for the evaluation of root rot disease in sugarbeet caused by pathogenic fungi historically have relied on visual assessment. In an initial attempt to develop complementary means to detect and quantitate root rot disease caused by Aphanornyces cochlioides, antiserum was produced in rabbits that had been immunized with a cell-wall preparation of this organism. Specificity tests using enz...

We have developed a high-throughput protein expression and interaction analysis platform that combines cDNA phage display library selection and massive gene sequencing using the 454 platform. A phage display library of open reading frame (ORF) fragments was created from mRNA derived from different tissues. This was used to study the interaction network of the enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a ...

The association between human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and oral cancer has been widely reported. However, detecting anti-HPV antibodies in patient sera to determine risk for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been well studied. In the present investigation, a total of 206 OSCC serum samples from the Malaysian Oral Cancer Database & Tissue Bank System, with 134 control serum sampl...

Human bait is traditionally used to assess man-vector contact, which is a key point in the study of the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. However, in highly endemic foci, where this method should be avoided, this information could be obtained by blood meal analysis of engorged insects. In the village El Ingenio, Miranda State, Venezuela, Lutzomyia ovallesi and Lutzomyia gomezi are vectors ...

BACKGROUND Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a chronic infection that is widely distributed in the population. CMV infects a range of tissues, including endothelium, and viral replication is suppressed by the host immune system. Infection is associated with increased risk of mortality from vascular disease in older people, but the mechanisms behind this have not been determined. AIM We investigated th...

INTRODUCTION Hepatitis co-infection with HIV is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. METHODS This cross sectional study was carried out among HIV positive patients and HIV negative blood donors, HIV infected patients were recruited from the antiretroviral therapy clinics of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, in Nigeria. The diagnosis of HIV infection among patients an...

In vitro selection has been an essential tool in the development of recombinant antibodies against various antigen targets. Deep sequencing has recently been gaining ground as an alternative and valuable method to analyze such antibody selections. The analysis provides a novel and extremely detailed view of selected antibody populations, and allows the identification of specific antibodies usin...