The role of adjuvant in mediating antigen structure and stability.

The purpose of this study was to probe the fate of a model antigen, a cysteine-free mutant of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme, to the level of fine structural detail, as a consequence of its interaction with an aluminum (Al)-containing adjuvant. Fluorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were used to compare the thermal stability of the protein in solution versus adsorbed onto an Al-containing adjuvant. Differences in accessible hydrophobic surface areas were investigated using an extrinsic fluorescence probe, 8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS).

Phenylbutyrate up-regulates the DJ-1 protein and protects neurons in cell culture and in animal models of Parkinson disease.

Parkinson disease is caused by the death of midbrain dopamine neurons from oxidative stress, abnormal protein aggregation, and genetic predisposition. In 2003, Bonifati et al. (23) found that a single amino acid mutation in the DJ-1 protein was associated with early-onset, autosomal recessive Parkinson disease (PARK7).

A single amino acid substitution in ORF1 dramatically decreases L1 retrotransposition and provides insight into nucleic acid chaperone activity.

L1 is a ubiquitous interspersed repeated sequence in mammals that achieved its high copy number by autonomous retrotransposition. Individual L1 elements within a genome differ in sequence and retrotransposition activity. Retrotransposition requires two L1-encoded proteins, ORF1p and ORF2p.

Influence of particle size and antigen binding on effectiveness of aluminum salt adjuvants in a model lysozyme vaccine.

It has been suggested that agglomeration of aluminum salt adjuvant particles during freezing and drying can cause loss of immunogenicity of vaccines formulated with such adjuvants. In this study, we tested this hypothesis and examined the immune response in a murine model to various liquid, freeze-thawed, and lyophilized vaccine formulations, using lysozyme as a model antigen. The various processing techniques and excipient levels resulted in a wide range of particle size distributions (PSDs) and antigen-adjuvant binding levels.