Identification of a common epitope in knottins and phospholipases D present in Loxosceles sp venom by a monoclonal antibody.

In the Americas and specially in Brazil, the Loxosceles intermedia, Loxosceles gaucho and Loxosceles laeta are the three most medically relevant brown spider species, and whose bites can lead to the condition known as loxoscelism. Here, we report the development of a tool capable of identifying a common epitope amongst Loxosceles sp. venom's toxins.

spp. monoclonal antibody against a CPA2 transporter: a promising molecular tool for acanthamoebiasis diagnosis and encystment study.

Free-living amoeba of the genus Acanthamoeba are ubiquitous protozoa involved in opportunistic and non-opportunistic infection in humans, such as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and amoebic keratitis. Both infections have challenging characteristics such as the formation of the resistant cysts in infected tissues, hampering the treatment and most usual diagnosis depending on time-consuming and/or low sensitivity techniques. The use of monoclonal antibodies presents itself as an opportunity for the development of more effective alternative diagnostic methods, as well as an important and useful tool in the search for new therapeutic targets.

Loxoscelism: Advances and Challenges in the Design of Antibody Fragments with Therapeutic Potential.

Envenoming due to spider bites still remains a neglected disease of particular medical concern in the Americas. To date, there is no consensus for the treatment of envenomed patients, yet horse polyclonal antivenoms are usually infused to patients with identified severe medical conditions. It is widely known that venom proteins in the 30-35 kDa range with sphingomyelinase D (SMasesD) activity, reproduce most of the toxic effects observed in loxoscelism.

Biomolecular engineering of antidehydroepiandrosterone antibodies: a new perspective in cancer diagnosis and treatment using single-chain antibody variable fragment.

Aim: To develop a monoclonal antibody against dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and miniaturize it, generating a single-chain antibody variable fragment (scFv) against DHEA as an adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) marker.

Material & Methods: DHEA conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was used as an immunogen to obtain anti-DHEA hybridomas. Variable fragments were cloned from hybridoma 5B7 total RNA, and used to detect DHEA in normal adrenal tissue and ACC cells.

Sevelamer reduces endothelial inflammatory response to advanced glycation end products.

Background: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been related to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes mellitus. We sought to investigate the binding capacity of sevelamer to both AGEs and uremic serum and then test this pharmaceutical effect as a potential vascular anti-inflammatory strategy.

Methods: AGEs were prepared by albumin glycation and characterized by absorbance and electrophoresis.

p-cresol but not p-cresyl sulfate stimulate MCP-1 production via NF-κB p65 in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

Introduction: p-cresol (PC) and p-cresyl sulfate (PCS) are responsible for many of the uremia clinical consequences, such as atherosclerosis in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients.

Objectives: We investigate the in vitro impact of PC and PCS on monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expression via NF-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 in VSMC.

Methods: PCS was synthesized by PC sulfatation.

Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibody against Advanced Glycation End Products in chronic kidney disease.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are toxins that are involved in structural and functional alterations of several organs and tissues, resulting in various pathologies. Several types of AGEs have been described but carboxymethyllysine (CML) is the major antigenic AGE compound. In this study, three different immunogenic carrier proteins (KLH, keyhole limpet hemocyanin; BSA, bovine serum albumin; and HSA, human serum albumin) were modified by glycation.

Synthetic peptides for in vitro evaluation of the neutralizing potency of Loxosceles antivenoms.

An important step in the development of therapeutic antivenoms is the pre-clinical testing using in vivo methods to assess their neutralizing potency. For spider antivenoms (Loxosceles species), horse serum potency against the necrotizing activities of Loxosceles intermedia crude venom is currently tested in rabbits. These procedures are time consuming and involve a large number of animals.