Application of organic nanotubes (ONTs) into drug nanocarriers ultimately requires validation in live animals. For improving the dispersibility in biological media and in vivo distribution, the outer surface of an ONT was functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) via the coassembly of an ONT-forming lipid with 5-20 mol% of a PEG-tethered lipid analogue (PEG-lipid). Firstly, the effect of PE...

BACKGROUND It is uncertain whether a 4-week induction period of pegylated interferon and ribavirin increases early virological response (EVR) in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients. METHODS HIV and HCV genotype 1- and 4-coinfected subjects were randomized to receive pegylated interferon-α2a 270 μg/week plus ribavirin 1,600 mg daily and epoetin-β for 4 weeks, followed by pegylated interferon-α2a at st...

AIMS To compare interferon monotherapy with its combination with lamivudine for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive hepatitis B treatment. METHODS Two independent researchers identified pertinent randomized controlled trials. The trials were evaluated for methodological quality and heterogeneity. Rates of sustained virological and biochemical responses, and HBeAg clearance and seroconversi...

Reactive oxygen species enhance or impair autoregulation. Because superoxide is a vasoconstrictor, we tested the hypothesis that stretch generates superoxide that mediates myogenic responses. Increasing perfusion pressure of mouse isolated perfused renal afferent arterioles from 40 to 80 mm Hg reduced their diameter by 13.3±1.8% (P<0.001) and increased reactive oxygen species (ethidium: dihydro...

Poly(ethylene glycol)-conjugated (or PEGylated) proteins are an increasingly important class of therapeutic proteins that offer improved in vivo circulation half lives over their corresponding native forms. Their production involves covalent attachment of one or more poly(ethylene glycol) molecules to a native protein, followed by purification. Because of the extremely high costs involved in pr...

Alginate lyase enzymes represent prospective biotherapeutic agents for treating bacterial infections, particularly in the cystic fibrosis airway. To effectively deimmunize one therapeutic candidate while maintaining high level catalytic proficiency, a combined genetic engineering-PEGylation strategy was implemented. Rationally designed, site-specific PEGylation variants were constructed by orth...

INTRODUCTION Hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia is a common syndrome in patients with bone marrow failure. However, hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia is an immune-mediated disease that does not appear to be caused by any of the known hepatitis viruses including hepatitis C virus. In addition, to the best of our knowledge there are no reported cases of patients with chronic hepatitis C viru...

A long-acting factor VIII (FVIII) as a replacement therapy for hemophilia A would significantly improve treatment options for patients with hemophilia A. To develop a FVIII with an extended circulating half-life, but without a reduction in activity, we have engineered 23 FVIII variants with introduced surface-exposed cysteines to which a polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer was specifically conjug...

Optimising non-viral vectors for neuronal siRNA delivery presents a significant challenge. Here, we investigate a co-formulation, consisting of two amphiphilic cyclodextrins (CDs), one cationic and the other PEGylated, which were blended together for siRNA delivery to a neuronal cell culture model. Co-formulated CD-siRNA complexes were characterised in terms of size, charge and morphology. Stab...

The mechanism underlying subcutaneous absorption of macromolecules and factors that can influence this process were studied in rats using PEGylated erythropoietins (EPOs) as model compounds. Using a thoracic lymph duct cannulation (LDC) model, we showed that PEGylated EPO was absorbed from the subcutaneous injection site mainly via the lymphatic system in rats, which is similar to previous repo...