Inhaled nebulized glatiramer acetate against Gram-negative bacteria is not associated with adverse pulmonary reactions in healthy, young adult female pigs.

The developmental speed of new antimicrobials does not meet the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria sufficiently. A potential shortcut is assessing the antimicrobial activity of already approved drugs. Intrudingly, the antibacterial action of glatiramer acetate (GA) has recently been discovered.

Spatio-temporal regulation of ADAR editing during development in porcine neural tissues.

Editing by ADAR enzymes is essential for mammalian life. Still, knowledge of the spatio-temporal editing patterns in mammals is limited. By use of 454 amplicon sequencing we examined the editing status of 12 regionally extracted mRNAs from porcine developing brain encompassing a total of 64 putative ADAR editing sites.

Object recognition as a measure of memory in 1-2 years old transgenic minipigs carrying the APPsw mutation for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a disabling, fatal disease, where animal models potentially can enable investigation of aetiology and treatment. The first litter of Göttingen minipigs carrying a mutation for human AD was born in 2007, showing transgene expression. In human AD patients, memory impairment is the most striking and consistent feature.

Characterization and expression analysis in the developing embryonic brain of the porcine FET family: FUS, EWS, and TAF15.

The FET protein family consists of FUS (TLS), EWS (EWSR1), and TAF15. The FET proteins bind DNA and RNA and are involved in transcriptional regulation and RNA processing. Translocations involving the FET genes have been identified in human sarcomas, and mutations in the FUS and TAF15 genes are associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Protein replacement therapy partially corrects the cholesterol-storage phenotype in a mouse model of Niemann-Pick type C2 disease.

Niemann-Pick type C2 (NPC2) disease is a fatal autosomal recessive neurovisceral degenerative disorder characterized by late endosomal-lysosomal sequestration of low-density lipoprotein derived cholesterol. The breach in intracellular cholesterol homeostasis is caused by deficiency of functional NPC2, a soluble sterol binding protein targeted to the lysosomes by binding the mannose-6-phosphate receptor. As currently there is no effective treatment for the disorder, we have investigated the efficacy of NPC2 replacement therapy in a murine gene-trap model of NPC2-disease generated on the 129P2/OlaHsd genetic background.

[Rare form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease].

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most common type of prion disease. A considerable variation in disease phenotype is seen, primarily influenced by a naturally occurring polymorphism in the prion protein gene. We present a case of sporadic CJD of atactic type.

Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase expression profiling and isoform detection in the developing porcine brain.

Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) enzymatic activity is essential for the biosynthesis of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters, and AADC activity is functionally associated with a number of human neuronal disorders. Here we describe the molecular characterization of AADC from the pig. Pig AADC shows a high degree of similarity to human and rodent AADC at the cDNA and protein level.

Specific recognition of the C-terminal end of A beta 42 by a high affinity monoclonal antibody.

The neurotoxic peptide A beta(42) is derived from the amyloid precursor protein by proteolytic cleavage and is deposited in the brain of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study we generate a high affinity monoclonal antibody that targets the C-terminal end of A beta(42) with high specificity. By this is meant that the paratope of the antibody must enclose the C-terminal end of A beta(42) including the carboxy-group of amino acid 42, and not just recognize a linear epitope in the C-terminal part of A beta.

A reassessment of the neuropathology of frontotemporal dementia linked to chromosome 3.

A large Danish family has previously been reported in which autosomal dominant frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is genetically linked to chromosome 3 (FTD-3). A mutation was recently identified in the CHMP2B gene that is probably responsible for causing disease in this family. Because of its neuropathologic findings, FTD-3 was originally categorized as a subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, termed "dementia lacking distinctive histopathology.

Identification and characterization of GFAPkappa, a novel glial fibrillary acidic protein isoform.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the principal component of the intermediary filaments in mature astrocytes of the central nervous system (CNS). The protein consists of three domains: the head, the coiled-coil, and the tail. Here, we describe the isolation of an evolutionary conserved novel GFAP isoform, GFAPkappa, produced by alternative splicing and polyadenylation of the 3'-region of the human GFAP pre-mRNA.