Molecular Imaging of Mesothelin-Expressing Ovarian Cancer with a Human and Mouse Cross-Reactive Nanobody.

Mesothelin is an epithelial marker highly expressed at the cell surface of cancer cells from diverse origins, including ovarian and pancreatic adenocarcinomas and mesotheliomas. Previously, we identified and characterized an antimesothelin nanobody (NbG3a) for in vitro diagnostic applications. The main goal of this research was to establish the potential of NbG3a as a molecular imaging agent.

CheV: CheW-like coupling proteins at the core of the chemotaxis signaling network.

Microbes have chemotactic signaling systems that enable them to detect and follow chemical gradients in their environments. The core of these sensory systems consists of chemoreceptor proteins coupled to the CheA kinase via the scaffold or coupler protein CheW. Some bacterial chemotaxis systems replace or augment CheW with a related protein, CheV, which is less well understood.

Functional analysis of the Helicobacter pylori flagellar switch proteins.

Helicobacter pylori uses flagellum-mediated chemotaxis to promote infection. Bacterial flagella change rotational direction by changing the state of the flagellar motor via a subcomplex referred to as the switch. Intriguingly, the H.

A fixed-time diffusion analysis method determines that the three cheV genes of Helicobacter pylori differentially affect motility.

Helicobacter pylori is a chemotactic bacterium that has three CheV proteins in its predicted chemotaxis signal transduction system. CheV proteins contain both CheW- and response-regulator-like domains. To determine the function of these proteins, we developed a fixed-time diffusion method that would quantify bacterial direction change without needing to define particular behaviours, to deal with the many behaviours that swimming H.

Helicobacter pylori uses motility for initial colonization and to attain robust infection.

Helicobacter pylori has been shown to require flagella for infection of the stomach. To analyze whether flagella themselves or motility is needed by these pathogens, we constructed flagellated nonmotile mutants. This was accomplished by using both an insertion mutant and an in-frame deletion of the motB gene.