Generation of monoclonal antibodies reactive against subtype specific conserved B-cell epitopes on haemagglutinin protein of influenza virus H5N1.

H5-specific monoclonal antibodies may serve as valuable tools for rapid diagnosis of H5N1 avian influenza virus. Therefore, conserved H5-specific sequences of the haemagglutinin (HA) protein were expressed in Pichia pastoris and used for generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The two mAbs, FD6 and HE4, were strongly reactive against native HA protein and exhibited specificity for subtype H5.

Antibody responses in humans infected with newly emerging strains of West Nile Virus in Europe.

Infection with West Nile Virus (WNV) affects an increasing number of countries worldwide. Although most human infections result in no or mild flu-like symptoms, the elderly and those with a weakened immune system are at higher risk for developing severe neurological disease. Since its introduction into North America in 1999, WNV has spread across the continental United States and caused annual outbreaks with a total of 36,000 documented clinical cases and ∼1,500 deaths.

The evolution of the histone methyltransferase gene Su(var)3-9 in metazoans includes a fusion with and a re-fission from a functionally unrelated gene.

Background: In eukaryotes, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is a common mechanism involved in gene silencing and the establishment of heterochromatin. The loci of the major heterochromatic H3K9 methyltransferase Su(var)3-9 and the functionally unrelated gamma subunit of the translation initiation factor eIF2 are fused in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we examined the phylogenetic distribution of this unusual gene fusion and the molecular evolution of the H3K9 HMTase Su(var)3-9.