Light exacerbates local and global effects induced by pH unfolding of Ipilimumab.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an essential class of therapeutic proteins for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and rare diseases. During their production, storage, and administration processes, these proteins encounter various stressors such as temperature fluctuations, vibrations, and light exposure, able to induce chemico-physical modifications to their structure. Viral inactivation is a key step in downstream processes, and it is achieved by titration of the mAb at low pH, followed by neutralization.

Catechol-induced covalent modifications modulate the aggregation tendency of α-synuclein: An in-solution and in-silico study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) stands as a challenging neurodegenerative condition characterized by the emergence of Lewy Bodies (LBs), intracellular inclusions within dopaminergic neurons. These LBs harbor various proteins, prominently including α-Synuclein (Syn) aggregates, implicated in disease pathology. A promising avenue in PD treatment involves targeting Syn aggregation.

Assessing the physicochemical stability and intracellular trafficking of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China in 2019 has had a profound impact on humanity in every facet. While vaccines against this viral pathogen have been approved a year later, limitations to this therapeutic intervention persist, such as drug sensitivity to transportation and storage conditions, as well as significant financial losses from non-injected resuspended vials. Our research delves into the effects of thermal denaturation (4 - 40 °C) and light irradiation (720 and 10460 kJ/m) on the mRNA-based vaccines BNT162b2 from BioNTech/Pfizer and mRNA-1273 from Moderna.

Environmental Signals Act as a Driving Force for Metabolic and Defense Responses in the Antarctic Plant .

During evolution, plants have faced countless stresses of both biotic and abiotic nature developing very effective mechanisms able to perceive and counteract adverse signals. The biggest challenge is the ability to fine-tune the trade-off between plant growth and stress resistance. The Antarctic plant has managed to survive the adverse environmental conditions of the white continent and can be considered a wonderful example of adaptation to prohibitive conditions for millions of other plant species.

Biodiversity and Bioprospecting of Fungal Endophytes from the Antarctic Plant .

Microorganisms from extreme environments are considered as a new and valuable reservoir of bioactive molecules of biotechnological interest and are also utilized as tools for enhancing tolerance to (a)biotic stresses in crops. In this study, the fungal endophytic community associated with the leaves of the Antarctic angiosperm was investigated as a new source of bioactive molecules. We isolated 132 fungal strains and taxonomically annotated 26 representative isolates, which mainly belonged to the Basidiomycota division.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethanol and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid affect the aggregation process of E46K variant of α-synuclein at different extent: Insights into the interplay between protein dynamics and catechol effect.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic multifactorial disease, whose etiology is not completely understood. The amyloid aggregation of α-synuclein (Syn) is considered a major cause in the development of the disease. The presence of genetic mutations can boost the aggregation of the protein and the likelihood to develop PD.

Managing antibody stability: Effects of stressors on Ipilimumab from the commercial formulation to diluted solutions.

The stability of the monoclonal antibody Ipilimumab, the active ingredient of Yervoy®, used for the treatment of different types of cancer, has been investigated. Shaking/temperature, light exposure and dilution, protein drug renowned stressors, were applied on a 30-45-day series of experiments to observe the physicochemical and biological behavior of the molecule. Ipilimumab demonstrated stability under shaking and heat up to 45 days, without any unfolding during the induced combined stressors.

Structural Features and Toxicity of α-Synuclein Oligomers Grown in the Presence of DOPAC.

The interplay between α-synuclein and dopamine derivatives is associated with oxidative stress-dependent neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). The formation in the dopaminergic neurons of intraneuronal inclusions containing aggregates of α-synuclein is a typical hallmark of PD. Even though the biochemical events underlying the aberrant aggregation of α-synuclein are not completely understood, strong evidence correlates this process with the levels of dopamine metabolites.