There is a continuing need for therapeutic interventions for patients with the protein misfolding disorders that result in systemic amyloidosis. Recently, specific antibodies have been employed to treat AL amyloidosis by opsonizing tissue amyloid deposits thereby inducing cell-mediated dissolution and organ improvement. To develop a pan-amyloid therapeutic agent, we have produced an Fc-fusion p...

Adiponectin, a hormone secreted from adipocytes, is closely associated with psoriasis and suppresses psoriasiform inflammation. Recently, small-sized transdermally deliverable 5-mer peptide (GLYYF; P5) was discovered as potential adiponectin receptor 1 agonist. This study aims at confirming the reduction of protein level in human skin investigating whether functional replenishment by topical P5...

To search for enhancers and/or inhibitors of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV, a salmonid rhabdovirus) infectivity, a total of 51 peptides from a pepscan of viral envelope protein G, a recombinant peptide from protein G (frg11) and 80 peptide mixtures from an alpha-helix-favoured combinatorial library were screened. However, contrary to what occurs in many other enveloped viruses, onl...

Peptide-based vaccines are attractive approaches for cancer immunotherapy; but the success of these vaccines in clinical trials have been limited. Our goal is to improve immune responses and anti-tumor effects against a synthetic, multi-epitope, long peptide from rat Her2/neu (rHer2/neu) using the help of CD4+ T cells and appropriate adjuvant in a mouse tumor model. Female BALB/c mice were vacc...

The crystal structures of the human MHC class I allele HLA-B*5101 in complex with 8-mer, TAFTIPSI, and 9-mer, LPPVVAKEI, immunodominant peptide epitopes from HIV-1 have been determined by x-ray crystallography. In both complexes, the hydrogen-bonding network in the N-terminal anchor (P1) pocket is rearranged as a result of the replacement of the standard tyrosine with histidine at position 171....

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection can lead to congenital hearing loss and mental retardation. Upon immune suppression, reactivation of latent HCMV or primary infection increases morbidity in cancer, transplantation, and late stage AIDS patients. Current treatments include nucleoside analogues, which have significant toxicities limiting their usefulness. In this study we screened a panel of...

The cutaneous inflammation associated with acne vulgaris is caused by the anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes through activation of the innate immune system in the skin. Current standard treatments for acne have limitations that include adverse effects and poor efficacy in many patients, making development of a more effective therapy highly desirable. In the present study, we demonstrat...

The 29-kDa subtilase homologue, Tri r 2, derived from the dermatophyte fungus Trichophyton rubrum, exhibits unique immunologic characteristics in its ability to elicit immediate (IH) and delayed-type (DTH) hypersensitivity skin tests in different individuals. Thus, Tri r 2 provides a model for comparing the T cell repertoire in subjects with distinct immune responses to a single Ag. Recombinant...

The crystal structure of the mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule H-2Dd with an immunodominant peptide, designated P18-I10 (RGPGRAFVTI), from human immunodeficiency virus envelope glycoprotein 120 was determined at 3.2 A resolution. A novel orientation of the alpha3 domain of Dd relative to the alpha1/alpha2 domains results in significantly fewer contacts between alpha3...