Coccidioidomycosis as imported atypical pneumonia in Sweden.

Coccidioidomycosis, an endemic fungal infection of the western hemisphere causes serious disease in immunocompromised individuals. In immunocompetent patients, a moderate flu-like disease may develop. We report here an imported Scandinavian case of a culture-proven coccidioidomycosis, initially presenting as an atypical pneumonia.

Attacin--an insect immune protein--binds LPS and triggers the specific inhibition of bacterial outer-membrane protein synthesis.

Attacin is a 20 kDa antibacterial protein, originally isolated from the immune haemolymph of Hyalophora cecropia. It has been demonstrated previously that attacin causes increased permeability of the outer membrane of Escherichia coli and inhibition of outer-membrane protein synthesis at the transcriptional level. This is accompanied by inhibition of growth.

Gloverin, an antibacterial protein from the immune hemolymph of Hyalophora pupae.

Gloverin is an inducible antibacterial insect protein isolated from pupae of the giant silk moth Hyalophora. It is a basic (pI 8.5) protein with a molecular mass of 13.

Purification of synthetic peptides. Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC).

Immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a useful method for purification of synthetic peptides with an N-terminal metal-binding amino acid such as His, Trp, or Cys, especially when such residues are not present in other parts of the molecule. In solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), capping with acetic anhydride will, in principle, produce truncated peptides as the only side-products due to incomplete couplings. Consequently, only the desired product will carry the affinity label.