IgE Epitope Profiling for Allergy Diagnosis and Therapy - Parallel Analysis of a Multitude of Potential Linear Epitopes Using a High Throughput Screening Platform.

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is pivotal for manifestation and persistence of most immediate-type allergies and some asthma phenotypes. Consequently, IgE represents a crucial target for both, diagnostic purposes as well as therapeutic approaches. In fact, allergen-specific immunotherapy - aiming to re-route an IgE-based inflammatory response into an innocuous immune reaction against the allergen - is the only curative approach for IgE-mediated allergic diseases known so far.

Identification of novel antibody-reactive detection sites for comprehensive gluten monitoring.

Certain cereals like wheat, rye or barley contain gluten, a protein mixture that can trigger celiac disease (CD). To make gluten-free diets available for affected individuals the gluten content of foodstuff must be monitored. For this purpose, antibody-based assays exist which rely on the recognition of certain linear gluten sequence motifs.

Absence of the Epithelial Glycocalyx As Potential Tumor Marker for the Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer.

Detection of cancer at an early stage is pivotal for successful treatment and long term survival, yet early diagnosis requires sensitive and specific markers that can be easily detected by screening procedures. Differences in the surface structure of tumor and healthy cells, if sufficiently pronounced and discernible, may serve that purpose. We analyzed the luminal surface of healthy and neoplastic human colorectal tissues for the presence and architecture of the glycocalyx-a dense network of highly glycosylated proteins-using transmission electron microscopy.

Influence of targeting ligand flexibility on receptor binding of particulate drug delivery systems.

Receptor-mediated drug targeting via nanoengineered particulate delivery systems is an emerging field. However, little is known about how such magic bullets should be assembled to yield optimal targeting efficiency. Here we investigated the influence of targeting ligand flexibility on binding of ligand-coated microparticles to cell surface receptors.

Contribution of serum immunoglobulin transudate to the antibody immune status of murine intestinal secretions: influence of different sampling procedures.

Serum immunoglobulin transudation into the murine gut after intragastric immunization with the model antigen ovalbumin and cholera toxin adjuvant was investigated with regard to the mucosal sampling technique applied. The levels of serum-derived immunoglobulin A (IgA) turned out to be lowest in feces, intermediate in gut lavage fluid specimens, and highest in filter wick-collected samples. However, these levels did not exceed 2% of total and specific IgA in any mucosal sample type, except after the administration of very high antigen doses (> or =1 mg of antigen per g of body weight), when transudation rates of up to 31% could be measured in filter wick-collected samples from individual animals.