Over thousands of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been produced so far, and it would be valuable if these mAbs could be directly converted into catalytic antibodies. We have designed a system to realize the above concept by deleting Pro, a highly conserved residue in CDR-3 of the antibody light chain. The deletion of Pro is a key contributor to catalytic function of the light chain. The S35 and S38 light chains have identical amino acid sequences except for Pro. The former, with Pro did not show any catalytic activity, whereas the latter, without Pro, exhibited peptidase activity. To verify the generality of this finding, we tested another light chain, T99wt, which had Pro and showed little catalytic activity. In contrast, a Pro-deleted mutant enzymatically degraded the peptide substrate and amyloid-beta molecule. These two cases demonstrate the potential for a new method of creating catalytic antibodies from the corresponding mAbs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay6441 | DOI Listing |
Viruses
December 2024
The Sheba Pandemic Preparedness Research Institute (SPRI), Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel.
Background/objectives: Millions of individuals worldwide continue to experience symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and phenotype of multi-system symptoms attributed to Long COVID-including fatigue, pain, cognitive-emotional disturbances, headache, cardiopulmonary issues, and alterations in taste and smell-that have persisted for at least two years after acute infection, which we define as "persistent Long COVID". Additionally, the study aimed to identify clinical features and blood biomarkers associated with persistent Long COVID symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
December 2024
Research Laboratory "New Polymeric Materials", Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, n.a. R.E. Alekseev, 24 Minin Street, 603155 Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya Oblast, Russia.
Anionic thermo- and pH-responsive copolymers were synthesized by photoiniferter reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (PI-RAFT). The thermo-responsive properties were provided by oligo(ethylene glycol)-based macromonomer units containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties. The pH-responsive properties were enabled by the addition of 5-20 mol% of strong (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic) and weak (methacrylic) acids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
December 2024
Institute of Basic Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center "Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences", 142290 Pushchino, Russia.
The redox state of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool in thylakoids plays an important role in the regulation of chloroplast metabolism. In the light, the PQ pool is mostly reduced, followed by oxidation after light cessation. It has been believed for a long time that dark oxidation depends on oxygen, although the precise mechanisms of the process are still unknown and debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxics
December 2024
Environmental, Genetics, and Nutritional Epidemiology Research Center (CREAGEN), Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Background: A limited number of studies have investigated the role of environmental chemicals in the etiology of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We performed a cross-sectional study of the association between exposure to selected trace elements and the biomarkers of cognitive decline.
Methods: During 2019-2021, we recruited 128 newly diagnosed patients with MCI from two Neurology Clinics in Northern Italy, i.
Microorganisms
December 2024
Applied Biotechnology Department, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 411, Sur 411, Oman.
Determining the microbial quality and safety of meat is crucial because of its high potential to harbor pathogens. To address the critical knowledge gap and shed light on potential contamination risk in the meat supply chain, this study aimed to assess the underexplored microbial quality and safety of marketed beef meat in Oman. Thirty-three beef meat samples from six hypermarkets were analyzed for Aerobic Plate Count (APC), Psychrotrophic Bacteria Count (PBC), and coliform and counts.
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