Two of Them Do It Better: Novel Serum Biomarkers Improve Autoimmune Hepatitis Diagnosis.

Background: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver disease of unknown aetiology and characterized by continuing hepatocellular inflammation and necrosis. Autoantibodies represent accessible markers to measure the adaptive immune responses in the clinical investigation. Protein microarrays have become an important tool to discriminate the disease state from control groups, even though there is no agreed-upon standard to analyze the results.

Identification of new autoantigens by protein array indicates a role for IL4 neutralization in autoimmune hepatitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an unresolving inflammation of the liver of unknown cause. Diagnosis requires the exclusion of other conditions and the presence of characteristic features such as specific autoantibodies. Presently, these autoantibodies have relatively low sensitivity and specificity and are identified via immunostaining of cells or tissues; therefore, there is a diagnostic need for better and easy-to-assess markers.

Protective activity of Streptococcus pneumoniae Spr1875 protein fragments identified using a phage displayed genomic library.

There is considerable interest in pneumococcal protein antigens capable of inducing serotype-independent immunoprotection and of improving, thereby, existing vaccines. We report here on the immunogenic properties of a novel surface antigen encoded by ORF spr1875 in the R6 strain genome. An antigenic fragment encoded by spr1875, designated R4, was identified using a Streptococcus pneumoniae phage displayed genomic library after selection with a human convalescent serum.

Immunoprotective activities of a Streptococcus suis pilus subunit in murine models of infection.

Pili of gram-positive bacteria are key virulence factors and their subunits are considered excellent vaccine candidates. Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic agent that can cause epidemics of life-threatening infections in humans, but the functional role or immunoprotective potential of its pilus components have not been studied yet. Using a selective proteomics approach, we have identified a surface protein of serotype 2 S.