[Humoral immune response to structural and nonstructural proteins of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the natural history of the disease].

A hundred and ninety-one patients who had fallen ill with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) after bites by virus-carrying ticks were examined to reveal the characteristics of antibody production of the major classes of immunoglobulins (IgM and IgG) against structural protein E of the TBE virus and nonstructural protein NS1 of the TBE viral replicative complex in the natural history of an infectious process in different forms and variants of the disease. In the two-wave course of TBE, the infectious process is characterized by a delayed antibody production, lower levels of specific antibodies against virion protein E in the acute phase of disease during the first wave of fever. The development of meningocerebral syndromes at the peak of the second fever wave is observed in patients with the delayed accumulation and low levels of IgG antibodies.

Solid-phase profiling of proteins.

Protein array technologies refer to any fabrication and use of any arrays containing multiple proteins captured on solid surfaces. This valuable tool is used for high-throughput protein-protein interaction studies, protein marker discovery and other applications. This unit provides basic protocols for biomarker discovery and protein-protein interactions.

Induction of a protein-targeted catalytic response in autoimmune prone mice: antibody-mediated cleavage of HIV-1 glycoprotein GP120.

We have induced a polyclonal IgG that degrades the HIV-1 surface antigen, glycoprotein gp120, by taking advantage of the susceptibility of SJL mice to a peptide-induced autoimmune disorder, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Specific pathogen-free SJL mice were immunized with structural fragments of gp120, fused in-frame with encephalitogenic peptide MBP(85-101). It has resulted in a pronounced disease-associated immune response against antigens.

Autoantibodies to myelin basic protein catalyze site-specific degradation of their antigen.

Autoantibody-mediated tissue destruction is among the main features of organ-specific autoimmunity. This report describes "an antibody enzyme" (abzyme) contribution to the site-specific degradation of a neural antigen. We detected proteolytic activity toward myelin basic protein (MBP) in the fraction of antibodies purified from the sera of humans with multiple sclerosis (MS) and mice with induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Use of surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight to identify heat shock protein 70 isoforms in closely related species of the virilis group of Drosophila.

The 70-kDa heat shock protein (Hsp) family in all Drosophila species includes 2 environmentally inducible family members, Hsp70 and Hsp68. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed an unusual pattern of heat shock-inducible proteins in the species of the virilis group. Trypsin fingerprinting and microsequencing of tryptic peptides using ProteinChip Array technology identified the major isoelectric variants of Hsp70 family, including Hsp68 isoforms that differ in both molecular mass and isoelectric point from those in Drosophila melanogaster.