Isolation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from preserved human tumor tissue specimens for downstream characterization.

Immunophenotyping of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) by flow cytometry can predict clinical efficacy of immunotherapy. However, several obstacles need to be overcome for developing a flow cytometry assay starting from solid tumor specimens. Here, we show a detailed enzyme-based protocol to isolate TILs from human tumor tissues.

Scleroderma "en coup de sabre" With Epilepsy and Uveitis Successfully Treated With Tocilizumab.

Case history of a small girl outlet with epilepsy, followed by scleroderma skin damage and uveitis, neurovasculitis with white matter foci in brain on the side of skin lesion in two months, immunologic disease activity. Resistance to conventional immunosuppressive therapy forced us to initiate the treatment with tocilizumab. It was well tolerated and led to significant improvement of brain, ocular and skin manifestations.

Enamino-oxindole HIV protease inhibitors.

We have designed and synthesized a series of HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) with enamino-oxindole substituents optimized to interact with the S2' subsite of the HIV protease binding pocket. Several of these inhibitors have sub-nanomolar K(i) and antiviral IC(50) in the low nM range against WT HIV and against a panel of multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains.

In-use stability modeling.

Experimental design and modeling of in-use stability testing are presented in this paper. In-use open container degradation is considered in terms of time open container or/and the number of instances that the same container is used. Degradation is estimated based on two models, the fixed and the general model.

Novel uncomplexed and complexed structures of plasmepsin II, an aspartic protease from Plasmodium falciparum.

Malaria remains a human disease of global significance and a major cause of high infant mortality in endemic nations. Parasites of the genus Plasmodium cause the disease by degrading human hemoglobin as a source of amino acids for their growth and maturation. Hemoglobin degradation is initiated by aspartic proteases, termed plasmepsins, with a cleavage at the alpha-chain between residues Phe33 and Leu34.

Structures of Ser205 mutant plasmepsin II from Plasmodium falciparum at 1.8 A in complex with the inhibitors rs367 and rs370.

Plasmepsin II is one of the four catalytically active plasmepsins found in the food vacuole of Plasmodium falciparum. These enzymes initiate hemoglobin degradation by cleavage at the alpha-chain between Phe33 and Leu34. The crystal structures of Ser205 mutant plasmepsin II from P.

A synthetic HIV-1 Rev inhibitor interfering with the CRM1-mediated nuclear export.

The HIV-1 Rev protein is an essential regulator of the HIV-1 mRNA expression that promotes the export of unspliced and partially spliced mRNA. The export receptor for the leucine-rich nuclear export signal (NES) of Rev has recently been recognized as CRM1. We identified a low molecular weight compound PKF050-638 as an inhibitor of HIV-1 Rev.

Utility of (His)6 tag for purification and refolding of proplasmepsin-2 and mutants with altered activation properties.

Plasmepsin-2 is a malarial aspartic proteinase that has been implicated in the initial steps of hemoglobin degradation in parasites and thus represents an attractive antimalarial target. Escherichia coli expressed proplasmepsin-2 is capable of activation at acidic pH by autocatalytic cleavage of the pro part region, which results in products of different length. We designed a 10-amino-acid deletion in the pro part region that allows faster generation of homogeneous enzyme upon activation.