Clinical adjuvant combinations stimulate potent B-cell responses in vitro by activating dermal dendritic cells.

CD14(+) dermal DCs (CD14(+) DDCs) have a natural capacity to activate naïve B-cells. Targeting CD14(+) DDCs is therefore a rational approach for vaccination strategies aimed at improving humoral responses towards poorly immunogenic antigens, for example, HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins (Env). Here, we show that two clinically relevant TLR ligand combinations, Hiltonol plus Resiquimod and Glucopyranosyl lipid A plus Resiquimod, potently activate CD14(+) DDCs, as shown by enhanced expression of multiple cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40 and TNF-α).

Characterization of European forage maize lines for stover composition and associations with polymorphisms within O-methyltransferase genes.

Cell wall components, such as lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses, play an important role in the conversion efficiency of corn stover into ethanol. Understanding the molecular basis of cell wall formation is fundamental for marker assisted selection to develop lines more suitable for ethanol production. In this study, we evaluated a set of 40 European forage maize lines for cellulose, lignin, total hemicellulose, glucuronoarabinoxylan (GAX), and monosaccharides, such as arabinose (ara), xylose (xyl), and glucuronic acid (GlcA).

Visualization and detection of infectious coxsackievirus replication using a combined cell culture-molecular beacon assay.

Rapid detection of infectious viruses is of central importance for public health risk assessment. By directly visualizing newly synthesized viral RNA with molecular beacons (MBs), we have developed a generalized method for the rapid and sensitive detection of infectious viruses from cell culture. An MB, CVB1, specifically targeting the 5' noncoding region of the enterovirus genome was designed and synthesized.

Real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification assay for detection of hepatitis A virus.

A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) assay in combination with a molecular beacon was developed for the real-time detection and quantification of hepatitis A virus (HAV). A 202-bp, highly conserved 5' noncoding region of HAV was targeted. The sensitivity of the real-time NASBA assay was tested with 10-fold dilutions of viral RNA, and a detection limit of 1 PFU was obtained.

Combined immunomagnetic separation-molecular beacon-reverse transcription-PCR assay for detection of hepatitis A virus from environmental samples.

In this study, a molecular-beacon-based real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay was developed to detect the presence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in environmental samples. A 125-bp, highly conserved 5' noncoding region of HAV was targeted. The sensitivity of the real-time RT-PCR assay was tested with 10-fold dilutions of viral RNA, and a detection limit of 1 PFU was obtained.