Design and Construction of a Synthetic Nanobody Library: Testing Its Potential with a Single Selection Round Strategy.

Nanobodies (Nbs) are single domain antibody fragments derived from heavy-chain antibodies found in members of the Camelidae family. They have become a relevant class of biomolecules for many different applications because of several important advantages such as their small size, high solubility and stability, and low production costs. On the other hand, synthetic Nb libraries are emerging as an attractive alternative to animal immunization for the selection of antigen-specific Nbs.

Design and characterization of a novel dimeric blood-brain barrier penetrating TNFα inhibitor.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) inhibitors could prevent neurological disorders systemically, but their design generally relies on molecules unable to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This research was aimed to design and characterize a novel TNFα inhibitor based on the angiopeptide-2 as a BBB shuttle molecule fused to the extracellular domain of human TNFα receptor 2 and a mutated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) dimerization domain. This new chimeric protein (MTV) would be able to trigger receptor-mediated transcytosis across the BBB via low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP-1) and inhibit the cytotoxic effect of TNFα more efficiently because of its dimeric structure.

New insights on the interaction mechanism of rhTNFα with its antagonists Adalimumab and Etanercept.

TNFα is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is a therapeutic target for inflammatory autoimmune disorders. Thus, TNFα antagonists are successfully used for the treatment of these disorders. Here, new association patterns of rhTNFα and its antagonists Adalimumab and Etanercept are disclosed.

Species of sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) collected from natural reserves in the Pacific and Darien regions of Colombia.

Introduction: The departments of Chocó and Antioquia in Colombia show climatic and vegetation conditions favoring the establishment of vector species of the genus Lutzomyia and the transmission of Leishmania spp. to human populations entering conserved forest environments.

Objective: To report the species of Phlebotomine sandflies present in three natural reserves in the Darien and Pacific regions of Colombia.

Almendravirus: A Proposed New Genus of Rhabdoviruses Isolated from Mosquitoes in Tropical Regions of the Americas.

The Rhabdoviridae is a diverse family of negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, many of which infect vertebrate hosts and are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods. Others appear to be arthropod specific, circulating only within arthropod populations. Herein, we report the isolation and characterization of three novel viruses from mosquitoes collected from the Americas.

[New records of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) near the Amoya River in Chaparral, Tolima].

Introduction: In Colombia, the diversity of phlebotomine sand flies is high, with 162 recorded species, and which include vectors of Leishmania spp.

Objective: To identify the sand fly species of medically importance in the area of influence from Amoyá River Hydroelectric Project, Colombia.

Materials And Methods: Sand flies were collected with CDC light traps, Shannon traps and sticky traps, from 15 villages in Chaparral County,Tolima.

[Combined liver-kidney transplantation: report of a case].

End stage renal disease is not an absolute contraindication for liver transplantation (LT) in patients with end stage liver disease. Actuarial patient and graft survival are comparable for children and adults who undergo LT alone and liver-kidney transplantation (LKT). The most common indications for LKT are the primary hyperoxaluria type I (PH1) and the liver and renal polycystic disease.