Publications by authors named "Alvaro Rossan de Brandao Prieto da Silva"

Article Synopsis
  • - The SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) protein is crucial for diagnosis, and a specific 35 kDa fragment (N122-419) was engineered to minimize non-specific antibody binding while being expressed in E. coli.
  • - N122-419 was successfully extracted and solubilized under specific conditions that maintain its structure, yielding high amounts of pure protein quickly without the need for dialysis.
  • - Antibody binding tests confirmed that this fragment can effectively differentiate between COVID-19-positive and negative patient sera, suggesting its potential for broader applications in protein refolding.
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Osteoclasts (OCs) are important for bone maintenance, calcium balance, and tissue regeneration regulation and are involved in different inflammatory diseases. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of venom and its low and high molecular mass (HMM and LMM) fractions on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-derived OCs' in vitro differentiation. , a Brazilian lanced-head viper, presents a rich but not well-explored, venom composition.

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Belonging to the Viperidae family, are widely distributed in South America, tropical savanna ecoregion (Cerrado) of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay with medical importance in Brazil. Accidents caused by this species have a rapid local action with the development of tissue inflammation, causing erythema, pain, and increased clotting time, which can culminate in gangrene or tissue necrosis. venom has a rich composition that remains underexplored, which is of utmost importance, both for elucidating the envenoming process and the vast library of new bioactive molecules kind of venom can offer.

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Ant species have specialized venom systems developed to sting and inoculate a biological cocktail of organic compounds, including peptide and polypeptide toxins, for the purpose of predation and defense. The genus comprises predatory giant ants that inoculate venom capable of causing long-lasting local pain, involuntary shaking, lymphadenopathy, and cardiac arrhythmias, among other symptoms. To deepen our knowledge about venom composition with regard to protein toxins and their roles in the chemical-ecological relationship and human health, we performed a bottom-up proteomics analysis of the crude venom of the giant ant , popularly known as the "false" tocandiras.

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Marine invertebrates, such as sponges, tunicates and cnidarians (zoantharians and scleractinian corals), form functional assemblages, known as holobionts, with numerous microbes. This type of species-specific symbiotic association can be a repository of myriad valuable low molecular weight organic compounds, bioactive peptides and enzymes. The zoantharian (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) is one such example of a marine holobiont that inhabits the coastal reefs of the tropical Atlantic coast and is an interesting source of secondary metabolites and biologically active polypeptides.

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Toxins have been shown to have many biological functions and to constitute a rich source of drugs and biotechnological tools. We focus on toxins that not only have a specific activity, but also contain residues responsible for transmembrane penetration, which can be considered bioportides-a class of cell-penetrating peptides that are also intrinsically bioactive. Bioportides are potential tools in pharmacology and biotechnology as they help deliver substances and nanoparticles to intracellular targets.

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During the cloning of abundant cDNAs expressed in the Micrurus corallinus coral snake venom gland, several putative toxins, including a phospholipase A2 homologue cDNA (clone V2), were identified. The V2 cDNA clone codes for a potential coral snake toxin with a signal peptide of 27 amino acid residues plus a predicted mature protein with 119 amino acid residues. The deduced protein is highly similar to known phospholipases A2, with seven deduced S-S bridges at the same conserved positions.

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