CD4 Inhibits Helper T Cell Activation at Lower Affinity Threshold for Full-Length T Cell Receptors Than Single Chain Signaling Constructs.

CD4 T cells are crucial for effective repression and elimination of cancer cells. Despite a paucity of CD4 T cell receptor (TCR) clinical studies, CD4 T cells are primed to become important therapeutics as they help circumvent tumor antigen escape and guide multifactorial immune responses. However, because CD8 T cells directly kill tumor cells, most research has focused on the attributes of CD8 TCRs.

A Canstatin-Derived Peptide Provides Insight into the Role of Capillary Morphogenesis Gene 2 in Angiogenic Regulation and Matrix Uptake.

Capillary Morphogenesis Gene 2 protein (CMG2) is a transmembrane, integrin-like receptor and the primary receptor for the anthrax toxin. CMG2 also plays a role in angiogenic processes. However, the molecular mechanism that mediates the observed CMG2-related angiogenic effects is not fully elucidated.

A synthetic heparinoid blocks Tau aggregate cell uptake and amplification.

Tau aggregation underlies neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. We and others have proposed that transcellular propagation of pathology is mediated by Tau prions, which are ordered protein assemblies that faithfully replicate and cause specific biological effects. The prion model predicts the release of aggregates from a first-order cell and subsequent uptake into a second-order cell.

Galloyl Carbohydrates with Antiangiogenic Activity Mediated by Capillary Morphogenesis Gene 2 (CMG2) Protein Binding.

We previously showed that a small molecule of natural origin, 1,2,3,4,6-penta- O-galloyl-β-d-glucopyranose (PGG), binds to capillary morphogenesis gene 2 (CMG2) with a submicromolar IC and also has antiangiogenic activity in vitro and in vivo. In this work, we synthetized derivatives of PGG with different sugar cores and phenolic substituents and tested these as angiogenesis inhibitors. In a high-throughput Förster resonant energy transfer-based binding assay, we found that one of our synthetic analogues (1,2,3,4,6-penta- O-galloyl-β-d-mannopyranose (PGM)), with mannose as central core and galloyl substituents, exhibit higher (up to 10×) affinity for CMG2 than the natural glucose prototype PGG and proved to be a potent angiogenesis inhibitor.

Whole blood and urine bioactive Hepcidin-25 determination using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Hepcidin is a small cysteine-rich signaling peptide that regulates blood serum iron concentrations [1-4]. Patients with chronic inflammation are known to have elevated levels of hepcidin in their blood and urine and often suffer from anemia as a result [5-10]. Measuring and quantifying the amount of active hepcidin in blood and urine can help to determine the cause and severity of the anemia thereby helping physicians determine the correct course of treatment [11-16].