The most successful alternative to traditional surgery for ocular muscle spasm treatment is the intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin (BTX), which allows maintenance dynamics and absence scars. However, main BTX disadvantage its nonpermanent effect. A possible way overcoming this obstacle could be represented by enzymatic using plant toxins known as ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs). I...

PURPOSE The immunotoxin, ricin-mAb 35, composed of ricin conjugated to a monoclonal antibody against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of skeletal muscle, has been proposed as a potential new agent for treatment of focal muscle dystonias. It has been demonstrated that direct injection of ricin-mAb 35 into rabbit extraocular muscle (EOM) results in significant muscle loss within 1 week. In th...

There is no FDA-approved vaccine for the potent plant toxin ricin. We have developed a recombinant ricin vaccine, RiVax. Without adjuvant it is safe and immunogenic in mice, rabbits, and humans. Based on our studies in mice, we now report the results of a small clinical trial with Alhydrogel-adsorbed RiVax.

Anti-B4-blocked Ricin (Anti-B4-bR) is an immunotoxin comprised of the anti-B4 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) and the protein toxin "blocked ricin." The anti-B4 MoAb is directed against the B-lineage-restricted CD19 antigen expressed on more than 95% of normal and neoplastic B cells. Blocked ricin is an altered ricin derivative that has its nonspecific binding eliminated by chemically blocking the g...

CD19 (B4) is a signal transduction molecule restricted to the B-cell lineage and the target of the immunotoxin anti-B4-blocked ricin (anti-B4-bR), which is composed of the monoclonal antibody (MoAb) anti-B4 and the modified plant toxin blocked ricin. To explore the influence of conjugation of blocked ricin to anti-B4 on functional activation of CD19, we investigated the effects of anti-B4-bR, a...

There is little published data on the performance of biological indicator tests and immunoassays that could be used by first responders to determine if a suspicious powder contains a potential biothreat agent. We evaluated a range of biological indicator tests, including 3 protein tests, 2 ATP tests, 1 DNA test, and 1 FTIR spectroscopy instrument for their ability to screen suspicious powders f...

Ricin is a potent toxin and a potential bioterrorism weapon with no specific countermeasures or vaccines available. The holotoxin is composed of two polypeptide chains linked by a single disulfide bond: the A-chain (RTA), which is an N-glycosidase enzyme, and the B-chain (RTB), a lectin polypeptide that binds galactosyl moieties on the surface of the mammalian target cells. Previously (McHugh e...

The effect of Adriamycin and ricin, singly and together, on the survival of L1210 leukemic cells in mice has been assessed by spleen colony and end-point dilution assays. Adriamycin, as well as ricin, had a stronger effect on leukemic than on normal bone marrow cells. Rapidly proliferating normal cells were as sensitive to Adriamycin as were the leukemic bone marrow cells. In contrast, the pref...