ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND IMMUNOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON FIBROUS PROTEINS FROM COWRY SHELL , LINNAEUS).

Background: Biomaterials are non-drug substances used to treat, enhance or replace functions of body tissues or organs. Natural sources of biomaterials have recently become the focus of several research activities. Cowry shell constitutes one of the most promising natural sources of biomaterials because of its chemical stability, biodegradability and biocompatibility in the body.

Preliminary report of HLA (DNA) typing of Nigerians using sequence-specific primer technique.

Aims And Objectives: This communication is an attempt to present the experience and a preliminary report of results over a one-year period.

Patients And Methods: From December 2011 to December 2012, a prospective determination of the HLA types of 20 individuals referred to the Tissue Typing Laboratory of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife was done. These consisted of prospective transplant recipients, their donors, and a migrant pair for kinship determination.

Iron status in HIV-1 infection: implications in disease pathology.

Background: There had been conflicting reports with levels of markers of iron metabolism in HIV infection. This study was therefore aimed at investigating iron status and its possible mediation of severity of HIV- 1 infection and pathogenesis.

Method: Eighty (80) anti-retroviral naive HIV-1 positive and 50 sero-negative controls were recruited for the study.

On the possible function of Telfairia occidentalis agglutinin in the plant.

The fate of Telfairia occidentalis seed Agglutinin, TOA, has been monitored during germination. While the level of the Agglutinin in the cotyledons decreased sharply in the first three days to about half of the initial level, it stabilises at this level for the following twelve days. In this interval, Agglutinin activity becomes manifest in the radicle on the fourth day, peaking on the fifth and decreasing rapidly thereafter.

Activation of CD8+ T lymphocytes in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease directed against the insulin-secreting beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. We have previously shown that in organ-specific autoimmune diseases, Graves' disease (GD), and IDDM, the antigen that is specific for each of these disorders (i.e.

Antibody to gp39, the ligand for CD40 significantly inhibits the humoral response from Graves' thyroid tissues xenografted into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice.

Experimental evidence suggests that interference with gp39-CD40 interactions may have therapeutic potential in prevention of certain autoimmune disorders (i.e., collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis).

Characterization of isolectins in Tetracarpidium conophorum seeds (Nigerian walnut).

A lectin preparation obtained from Tetracarpidium conophorum (Nigerian walnut) by affinity chromatography of seed extracts on lactose-agarose has been shown to contain two components by gel filtration on Sephadex G150. The larger component Tetracarpidium conophorum agglutinin I (TCAI) is a disulphide-bonded 70 kDa homodimer whereas the second component TCAII is a 34 kDa monomeric protein. Amino terminal aminoacid sequencing shows identity in TCAI and TCAII for the first fifteen residues after which the sequences diverge.

Some factors affecting the quantitation of rheumatoid factors by enzyme immunoassay.

Some factors affecting the use of enzyme-labelled antibody to human IgM or enzyme-labelled human IgG for the detection and assay of IgM RFs by enzyme immunoassay have been investigated. IgM RF levels, obtained by standard radioimmunoassay techniques, showed a better agreement with those obtained with enzyme-labelled antibody than with enzyme-labelled human IgG. Immuno-adsorption studies using a sheep cell agglutination test (SCAT) confirmed a partial loss of antigenicity of the IgG molecules due to glutaraldehyde treatment, which increased with the length of time of exposure to glutaraldehyde.