Introduction: Commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits designed for pertussis diagnostic purposes are frequently used to assess antibody responses to pertussis vaccines in clinical trials, but have limited accuracy and are not calibrated against international standards. We developed a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL)-based multiplexed assay and compared its performance to two commercial Bordetella pertussis ELISA kits and to historical in-house ELISAs.
Methods: The ECL assay quantifies serum concentrations of antibodies against four B.
Emergency use authorization of COVID vaccines has brought hope to mitigate pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there remains a need for additional effective vaccines to meet the global demand and address the potential new viral variants. mRNA technologies offer an expeditious path alternative to traditional vaccine approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe World Health Organization (WHO) international standard rabies immune globulins (SRIGs) allow the standardisation of the cell-based rapid fluorescent-focus inhibition test (RFFIT) for rabies virus neutralising antibody measurement. SRIG stocks have been depleted. We describe the preparation and qualification of two internal rabies reference standards (IRRSs), calibrated against WHO SRIGs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAFAP-110 is an actin-binding and -crosslinking protein that is enriched in Src and phorbol ester (PE)-induced podosomes. In vascular smooth muscle cells endogenous AFAP-110 localized to actin stress fibers and, in response to treatment with phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), to actin-rich podosomes. Since PEs can activate PKCalpha, AFAP-110 is a substrate of PKCalpha and PKCalpha-AFAP-110 interactions direct podosome formation, we sought to identify a PE-induced phosphorylation site in AFAP-110 and determine whether phosphorylation is linked to the formation of podosomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA rate-limiting step in breast cancer progression is acquisition of the invasive phenotype, which can precede metastasis. Expression of cell-surface proteases at the leading edge of a migrating cell provides cells with a mechanism to cross tissue barriers. A newly appreciated mechanism that may be relevant for breast cancer cell invasion is the formation of invadopodia, well-defined structures that project from the ventral membrane and promote degradation of the extracellular matrix, allowing the cell to cross a tissue barrier.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExoenzyme S (ExoS) is a bifunctional toxin directly translocated into eukaryotic cells by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III secretory (TTS) process. The amino-terminal GTPase-activating (GAP) activity and the carboxy-terminal ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADPRT) activity of ExoS have been found to target but exert opposite effects on the same low-molecular-weight G protein, Rac1. ExoS ADP-ribosylation of Rac1 is cell line dependent.
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