Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles for targeted delivery.

Unlabelled: A major problem associated with drug therapy is the inability to deliver pharmaceuticals to a specific site of the body without causing nonspecific toxicity. Development of magnetic nanoparticles and techniques for their safe transport and concentration in specific sites in the body would constitute a powerful tool for gene/drug therapy in vivo. Furthermore, drug delivery in vitro could improve further if the drugs were modified with antibodies, proteins, or ligands.

Combined fluticasone propionate and salmeterol reduces RSV infection more effectively than either of them alone in allergen-sensitized mice.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the major cause of bronchiolitis in infants and is a risk factor for the development of asthma. Allergic asthmatics are more susceptible to RSV infection and viral exacerbation.

Methods: Since the effectiveness of corticosteroids in treating RSV infection has been controversial, we tested fluticasone propionate (FP) and salmeterol (Sal) alone versus FP plus Sal (FPS) on RSV-induced airway inflammation.

Somatic translocation and differential expression of Ig mu transgene copies implicate a role for the Igh locus in memory B cell development.

Memory B cells of mice with Ig mu transgenes often carry transgene copies that have moved into the Igh locus via somatic translocation. This phenomenon has been attributed to a selection pressure for somatic hypermutations, which generally are observed at much higher frequencies in translocated copies than in ectopic copies. We tested this idea by immunizing Ig-mu transgenic mice in a manner designed to select B cells that required only one V(H) mutation for a switch in antigenic specificity and recruitment into the memory pool.