Broadly neutralizing human antibodies against Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a significant worldwide threat to human health, as emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants exhibit resistance to therapeutic antibodies and the ability to evade vaccination-induced antibodies. Here, we aimed to identify human antibodies (hAbs) from convalescent patients that are potent and broadly neutralizing toward Omicron sublineages.

Methods: Using a single B-cell cloning approach, we isolated BA.

Broadly neutralizing antibodies against Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 derived from mRNA-lipid nanoparticle-immunized mice.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten human health worldwide as new variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerge. Currently, the predominant circulating strains around the world are Omicron variants, which can evade many therapeutic antibodies. Thus, the development of new broadly neutralizing antibodies remains an urgent need.

Oral administration of ATCC393 promotes angiogenesis by enhancing neutrophil activity in a murine hind-limb ischemia model.

Angiogenesis is a highly regulated biological event and requires the participation of neutrophils, which are innate immune cells, to initiate the systematic responses. Some strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can be used for probiotics that provide functional modifications in our immune systems. Here, we show that oral administration of ATCC393 promoted inflammatory angiogenesis accompanied by enhanced neutrophil activity.

Selectin-Binding Assay by Flow Cytometry.

Cell-cell interactions mediated by selectins and their ligand glycans play pivotal roles in a variety of biological processes represented by leukocyte recruitment to inflammatory sites, lymphocyte homing, and extravasation of cancer cells. The interactions are enhanced at least partly through the upregulation of the selectin-ligand glycan expression, which is observed, for instance, during the activation of leukocytes or epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cancer cells. Selectin-binding assays such as cell adhesion assay or rolling assay have long been used to directly evaluate the activity of these cells in the selectin-mediated processes.

Gangliosides and Tumors.

Tumor-associated gangliosides play important roles in regulation of signal transduction induced by growth-factor receptors including EGFR, FGFR, HGF and PDGFR in a specific microdomain called glycosynapse in the cancer cell membranes, and in interaction with glycan recognition molecules involved in cell adhesion and immune regulation including selectins and siglecs. As the genes involved in the synthesis and degradation of tumor-associated gangliosides were identified, biological functions became clearer from the experimental results employing forced overexpression and/or knockdown/knockout of the genes. Studies on the regulatory mechanisms for their expression also achieved great advancements.

Improvement of in vivo antimicrobial activity of HBcARD peptides by D-arginine replacement.

We previously identified a novel antimicrobial peptide with a broad spectrum bactericidal activity from human hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein (HBc) arginine-rich domain (ARD). We compared the antimicrobial activities of HBcARD peptides from different hepadnaviruses which share similar amino acid sequences. In general, mammalian HBcARD peptides exhibited stronger antimicrobial activity than avian peptides.

GenoWatch: a disease gene mining browser for association study.

A human gene association study often involves several genomic markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or short tandem repeat polymorphisms, and many statistically significant markers may be identified during the study. GenoWatch can efficiently extract up-to-date information about multiple markers and their associated genes in batch mode from many relevant biological databases in real-time. The comprehensive gene information retrieved includes gene ontology, function, pathway, disease, related articles in PubMed and so on.

Loop 1 structure of the leishmanial ICAM-L molecule is crucial for parasite binding and infection of host macrophages.

The binding of each intercellular adhesive molecule (ICAM) molecule fragment from Leishmania amazonensis (ICAM-L) to host macrophages was investigated using an indirect immunofluorescent sandwich technique, based on the observation that ICAM-L can block the uptake of L. amazonensis on the macrophage surface and all prepared ICAM-L fragments can react with rabbit anti-ICAM-L antiserum. The ICAM-L fragments lacking the loop 1 (LI) structure failed to bind to macrophages, and the disruption of the LI structure by mercaptoethanol led to the failure of binding.

Cloning and characterization of the endogenous retroviral-tRNA(Glu) multigene family from human genomes of different racial backgrounds.

An 8.3-kb human endogenous retroviral-tRNA(Glu) (HERV-E)-encoding cDNA clone and a 1.5-kb genomic clone were isolated from a Chinese-derived cervical cancer cell line, CC7T, and their sequences determined.

Vitamin K3-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death are accompanied by altered expression of c-fos and c-myc in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Vitamin K3 is known to inhibit the growth of various rodent and human tumor cells. However, the molecular mechanism of its action is still elusive. We have found that vitamin K3 induces cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, as evaluated by flow cytometry and DNA gel electrophoresis.

Differential induction of c-fos and c-jun proto-oncogenes and AP-1 activity by tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate in cells at different stages of tumor promotion in vitro.

A two-stage (initiation and promotion) model of chemical transformation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts was used to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tumor promotion in vitro. C3H10T1/2 cells which had been initiated with a subcarcinogenic dose (0.5 micrograms ml-1) of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) were isolated after 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA) treatment lasting 12, 24 or 36 days.