A Novel Cross-Immune Antigen Vaccine Platform for Influenza Virus Type A.

We have developed a novel cross-immune antigen vaccine platform for influenza A virus. The vaccine antigen is a fusion protein of headless hemagglutinin (HA) and matrix protein 1 (M1), which possess B-cell and T-cell epitopes, respectively, that are conserved among subgroup A viruses. The single molecule of headless HA and M1 fusion protein forms an oligomer by self-assembly of M1.

Do pet dogs reciprocate the receipt of food from familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics?

Reciprocity is one of the most prominent explanations for the evolution of stable cooperation. Although reciprocity has been studied for decades in numerous animal species and behavioural contexts, its underlying proximate mechanisms remain unclear. Domestic dogs provide a useful model species for the study of proximate mechanisms, though there are currently inconsistent findings regarding dogs' propensity to reciprocate.

Dogs fail to reciprocate the receipt of food from a human in a food-giving task.

Domestic dogs have been shown to reciprocate help received from conspecifics in food-giving tasks. However, it is not yet known whether dogs also reciprocate help received from humans. Here, we investigated whether dogs reciprocate the receipt of food from humans.

Targeting heparanase to the mammary epithelium enhances mammary gland development and promotes tumor growth and metastasis.

Heparanase is an endoglucuronidase that uniquely cleaves the heparan sulfate side chains of heparan sulfate proteoglycans. This activity ultimately alters the structural integrity of the ECM and basement membrane that becomes more prone to cellular invasion by metastatic cancer cells and cells of the immune system. In addition, enzymatically inactive heparanase was found to facilitate the proliferation and survival of cancer cells by activation of signaling molecules such as Akt, Src, signal transducer and activation of transcription (Stat), and epidermal growth factor receptor.