Seafood consumption habits of South Carolina shrimp baiters.

Shrimp baiting is a fishing technique used by many South Carolinians and has been regulated in the state since the late 1980s. A postcard survey was developed and included with 400 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) annual surveys of registered shrimp baiters over a two-year period. The survey contained questions concerning frequency, portion size, baiting locations, and preparation techniques for shrimp as well as other species consumed and demographic information.

A prospective study of multiple protein biomarkers to predict progression in diabetic chronic kidney disease.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy imposes a substantial cardiovascular and renal burden contributing to both morbidity and excess mortality. Progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in diabetes mellitus is variable, and few biomarkers are available to predict progression accurately. Identification of novel predictive biomarkers may inform clinical care and assist in the design of clinical trials.

Development of a novel clinical biomarker assay to detect and quantify aggrecanase-generated aggrecan fragments in human synovial fluid, serum and urine.

Objective: Proteolytic degradation of aggrecan in articular cartilage is a hallmark feature of osteoarthritis (OA). The present study was aimed at developing a sensitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of aggrecanase-cleaved fragments of aggrecan in human serum and urine to facilitate the clinical development of aggrecanase inhibitors for OA.

Methods: The BC3 monoclonal antibody that detects the ARGS neoepitope sequence in aggrecanase-cleaved aggrecan was engineered and optimized using complementarity determining region (CDR)-saturation mutagenesis to improve its binding affinity to the neoepitope.

Characterization of metalloprotease cleavage products of human articular cartilage.

Objective: To identify, characterize, and compare proteolysis peptide products generated by metalloprotease digests of human articular cartilage.

Methods: Human articular cartilage was digested by the addition of exogenous metalloproteases, including matrix metalloproteinases 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, and 13 and aggrecanases ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5. Proteolyzed peptide products were identified by proteomics methods using mass spectrometry.

Characterization and application of a vinblastine-selected CACO-2 cell line for evaluation of p-glycoprotein.

The role of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of membrane transporters is well documented in tumor cell multidrug resistance. More recently, growing evidence of their influence on oral bioavailability, drug excretion rates, and drug-drug interaction potential at the intestinal level has stimulated much investigation. Our laboratory is interested in evaluating the apical (AP) ABC transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp [mdr-1]) for its role in xenobiotic efflux at the intestinal level.