Clipmarks | Antibodies Clips

How Long Does Flu Immunity Last?

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:10:22 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

How Long Does Flu Immunity Last?

Influenza victims crowd into an emergency hospital near Fort Riley, Kansas in 1918.

Every year in the fall, physicians dispense a new flu vaccine. Typically it is designed to protect against the three flu strains that epidemiologists predict will be the most pervasive that season. But how often have patients received the flu shot, only to catch a bad illness anyway? The problem is that cold and flu viruses mutate so rapidly that sometimes they're unrecognizable to the antibodies created by the body in response to any particular vaccine. It turns out, however, that those antibodies — unlike those against illnesses like tetanus or whooping cough — can provide a formidable and life-long defense against the flu, as long as they're pitted against the correct strain.

Tags: health

ref 1

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:42:14 GMT

clipped by: hdl1987

Clip Source: cshprotocols.cshlp.org

This protocol describes a triple-label, fluorescent-antibodystaining procedure that uses three different primary antiseragenerated in three different species. Biotin and rhodamine-streptavidinare used for the most critical of these antibodies, as theyhave the best signal-to-noise ratio. Fluorescein is used tovisualize the second antibody, while Cy5 is used for the third.Cy5 is only poorly visible using a standard fluorescence microscope,but is used by the third channel on many laser-scanning confocalmicroscopes. Obviously, other fluorescent tags, as well as doubleand single fluorescent stains, are possible. Although thesemethods are useful for visualizing genetic mosaic clones inwandering larval stage imaginal discs and pupal tissues fromDrosophila, the immunohistological techniques are generallyapplicable to the description of protein expression.

HIV HBV note

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:47 GMT

clipped by: mbucherl
clipper's remarks: Using CAPCTM to mesasure
http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/73E54182-9ECE-4BC6-9043-89100B60D844.asp

Clip Source: www.aidsmap.com

Occult hepatitis B is more common in people with HIV, but occult hepatitis C is rare

Occult or hidden hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was strongly linked to HIV-related immune suppression in a cohort of US women, but occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was rare, according to a presentation on Thursday at the XVII International AIDS Conference.

At the baseline study visit, the researchers screened the women for HBsAg (detectable in 2.6%), hepatitis B core antibodies (positive in 52%), and HCV antibodies (positive in 54%).

At the second time-point, they measured HBV DNA and HCV RNA using the ultrasensitive Roche COBAS TaqMan nucleic acid assay, with a limit of detection of 15 IU/mL for HBV and 11 IU/mL for HCV. At the third time-point, they again measured both serological markers and HBV DNA and HCV RNA.

Antibodies still protect 1918 flu survivors

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:51:48 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: In those days, they sure knew how to make antibodies

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Maggie Fox

Antibodies from survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic, the worst in human memory, still protect against the highly deadly virus, researchers report.

The findings by a team of influenza and immune system experts suggest new and better ways to fight viruses - especially new pandemic strains that emerge and spread before a vaccine can be formulated.

These survivors, now aged 91 to 101, all lived through the pandemic as children.

Their immune systems still carry a memory of that virus and can produce proteins called antibodies that kill the 1918 flu strain with surprising efficiency, the researchers report in the journal Nature.

"It was very surprising that these subjects would still have cells floating in their blood so long afterward," says Dr James Crowe of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, who helped lead the study.

"The antibodies that we isolated are remarkable antibodies. They grab onto the virus very tightly and they virtually never fall off," says Crowe.

Transfusions Infected with HIV

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:56:31 GMT

clipped by: Imnclady

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Blood transfusions give Argentine patients HIV

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Two intensive-care patients contracted HIV after receiving blood transfusions at public hospitals in the Argentine province of Cordoba, a newspaper reported Friday.

An unidentified donor gave blood at a Cordoba city hospital in December, testing negative for HIV, Health Minister Oscar Gonzalez was quoted by Cordoba's La Voz del Interior newspaper as saying.

When the donor returned in May to give blood again, tests came back positive for the virus — but the blood had already been distributed, the newspaper said, citing Gonzalez.

A so-called "window period" of 16 to 22 days can pass between exposure to HIV and the time antibodies can be detected in a standard blood test. During that time, a person can be contagious.

About 120,000 people are infected with HIV in Argentina, Latin America's fourth-most populous nation, which also has the fourth-highest number of cases in the region, according to the U.N.

Tags: aids, hiv, health, argentina

Heat Shock Protein Resources

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:48:51 GMT

clipped by: mackieimages
clipper's remarks: very useful list of resources for heat shock proteins

Clip Source: www.assaydesigns.com

Heat Shock Protein Resources

Online Reference Tools

Hsp conference (Nov. 2008)

Heat Shock Protein Gene Table

Tutorial: Heat Shock Proteins and the Stress Response

Citation Database

Heat Shock Research Portal

Heat shock protein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chaperone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cell Stress links

Molecular Chaperone Club

Hsp90 website

Picard laboratory

Chaperome.org site

Literature

Reference Guide: Heat Shock Proteins and the Cellular Stress Response
This comprehensive guide to heat shock proteins (Hsps) focuses on the function of Hsps alone and in complexes as molecular chaperones. This compilation includes a comprehensive review by Dr. William J. Welch of the major Hsp families, their associated co-chaperones, and their function in the context of the cellular response to stress. Download PDF | Request a print copy

Tags: heat shock protein, eicosanoid, immunoassay, prostaglandin, oxidative stress, elisa kits, antibodies, apoptosis, cellular stress

Assay Designs Technical Support Protocols

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:02:06 GMT

clipped by: mackieimages
clipper's remarks: Great resource anyone in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, and scientific research communities. Company seems to have a huge selection of elisa kits, heat shock proteins and other kits and reagents.

Clip Source: assaydesigns.com

Technical Support Protocols The following protocols are commonly requested from our Technical Support Staff.
Protocols
Determining Cross Reactivity	Extraction Efficiency
Small Peptide Extraction	Western Blot Protocol
Corticosterone Analysis for Bird Serum/Plasma Samples	Data Reduction
GPCR Activation-state Specific Antibodies

Lysine cold sore remedy

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:41:21 GMT

clipped by: dynamiclear
clipper's remarks: why lysine can treat cold sore

Clip Source: altmedicine.about.com

Lysine is an essential amino acid, meaning that we must get it through food or supplements because the body can't make it on its own. It's used to make protein, which we need to produce infection-fighting antibodies, enzymes, hormones, and body tissues. Lysine has been found to inhibit the spread of the herpes simplex virus.

Using magnetic nanoparticles to combat cancer

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:56:52 GMT

clipped by: unbeliever

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Magnetic Nanoparticles Capture Ovarian Cancer Cells

a potential new treatment against cancer that attaches magnetic nanoparticles to cancer cells, allowing them to be captured and carried out of the body.

This technology may be of special importance in the treatment of ovarian cancer where the malignancy is typically spread by free-floating cancer cells released from the primary tumor into the abdominal cavity.

This technology holds more promise than solely using antibodies to fight cancer because there seems to be less potential for the body to develop an immune response due to the unique peptide-targeting strategy, and the composition of the magnetic nanoparticles.

Tags: nanotechnology, cancer

Tobacco 'could help treat cancer'

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:03:23 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The tobacco plant - responsible for millions of cancer cases - may actually offer the means to treat one form of the disease, a study suggests.

US scientists used the plant to "grow" key components of a cancer vaccine.

The National Academy of Sciences study suggests they could be used to tackle a form of lymphoma.

The ironic new role for tobacco is the work of researchers from Stanford University in California.

They are using the plants as factories for an antibody chemical specific to the cells which cause follicular B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

These antibodies are put into a patient newly-diagnosed with the disease, to "prime" the body's immune system to attack any cell carrying them.

If successful, this would mean the body would then recognise and destroy the lymphoma cells.

However, a plant-grown vaccine would be much cheaper and in theory could carry less risk to the patient, as animal cells might hold unknown viruses.

Tags: cancer, tobacco

Plants make vaccine for treating type of cancer

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:18:31 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.

The treatments, which would vaccinate cancer patients against their malignant cells, could lead to earlier personalized therapy to tackle follicular B-cell lymphoma, an immune-system malignancy diagnosed in about 16,000 people each year.

The standard treatment, chemotherapy, has such severe side effects that patients often opt for watchful waiting in the early stages of illness.

However, plant-grown vaccines, which lack side effects, could allow earlier, more aggressive management of the cancer.

"This would be a way to treat cancer without side effects,"

"The idea is to marshal the body's own immune system to fight cancer."

Tags: cancer, vaccine, biotechnology

'Snow flea antifreeze protein' could help improve organ preservation

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:04:44 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: A fascinating case of bio mimicry.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Scientists in Illinois and Pennsylvania are reporting development of a way to make the antifreeze protein that enables billions of Canadian snow fleas to survive frigid winter temperatures.

Their laboratory-produced first-of-a-kind proteins could have practical uses in extending the storage life of donor organs and tissues for human transplantation, the researchers indicate in a report scheduled for the July 9 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The researchers made synthetic sfAFP, and showed that it has the same activity as the natural protein.

They also produced variants, including one form of sfAFP with a molecular architecture that is the reverse, or "mirror image," of natural sfAFP and different from any other protein found in living things on Earth.

The mirror-image form of sfAFP appears less likely to trigger harmful antibodies and more resistant to destruction by natural enzymes

Tags: molecular biology, biomimicry, organ preservation

HIV Vaccine Plans canceled

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:20:47 GMT

clipped by: wintertown

Clip Source: www.time.com

Fauci says the decision doesn't spell the end for the cell-based approach — he just believes more basic work is necessary to understand how these approaches work.

On July 17, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, scrapped plans for a large clinical trial of the government's most advanced HIV vaccine candidate to date. The vaccine, a two-shot injection, was designed to fight HIV infection a new way — by activating the body's cell-based immune responses rather than by relying on antibodies to HIV.

The decision did not come as a complete surprise, since a similar and widely publicized vaccine developed by Merck failed to prevent infection

. At issue is the fact that researchers still don't know exactly how the body defends against HIV. Without critical knowledge of the precise immune factors, or correlates, that prevent infection, testing any vaccine candidate that functions by triggering immune defenses would be guesswork.

Pathologists Believe They Have Pinpointed Achilles Heel of HIV

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:57:49 GMT

clipped by: pitim
clipper's remarks: Sudhir Paul, Ph.D., pathology professor in the UT Medical School, said, “Unlike the changeable regions of its envelope, HIV needs at least one region that must remain constant to attach to cells. If this region changes, HIV cannot infect cells. Equally important, HIV does not want this constant region to provoke the body’s defense system. So, HIV uses the same constant cellular attachment site to silence B lymphocytes - the antibody producing cells. The result is that the body is fooled into making abundant antibodies to the changeable regions of HIV but not to its cellular attachment site. Immunologists call such regions superantigens. HIV’s cleverness is unmatched. No other virus uses this trick to evade the body’s defenses.”

Clip Source: www.scienceblog.com

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston believe they have uncovered the Achilles heel in the armor of the virus that continues to kill millions.

The weak spot is hidden in the HIV envelope protein gp120. This protein is essential for HIV attachment to host cells, which initiate infection and eventually lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. Normally the body’s immune defenses can ward off viruses by making proteins called antibodies that bind the virus. However, HIV is a constantly changing and mutating virus, and the antibodies produced after infection do not control disease progression to AIDS. For the same reason, no HIV preventative vaccine that stimulates production of protective antibodies is available.

The Achilles heel, a tiny stretch of amino acids numbered 421-433 on gp120, is now under study as a target for therapeutic intervention.

Achilles Heel Of HIV Found?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:54:51 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: “Unlike the changeable regions of its envelope, HIV needs at least one region that must remain constant to attach to cells. If this region changes, HIV cannot infect cells. Equally important, HIV does not want this constant region to provoke the body’s defense system. So, HIV uses the same constant cellular attachment site to silence B lymphocytes - the antibody producing cells. The result is that the body is fooled into making abundant antibodies to the changeable regions of HIV but not to its cellular attachment site. Immunologists call such regions superantigens. HIV’s cleverness is unmatched. No other virus uses this trick to evade the body’s defenses.”
Paul’s group has engineered antibodies with enzymatic activity, also known as abzymes, which can attack the Achilles heel of the virus in a precise way. “The abzymes recognize essentially all of the diverse HIV forms found across the world. This solves the problem of HIV changeability. The next step is to confirm our theory in huma

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

The Achilles heel, a tiny stretch of amino acids numbered 421-433 on gp120, is now under study as a target for therapeutic intervention.

Tags: aids, hiv