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Cardiovascular disorders associated with endothelial dysfunction, like atherosclerosis, have decreased endothelial nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. L-arginine, the primary substrate for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), is important in the regulation of NO production. Arginase competes with eNOS for L-arginine and has been implicated in the endothelial dysfunction. NIH investigators have generated transgenic mice with human ArgII (hArgII) gene under control of endothelial-specific Tie2 promoter. In these mice, hArgII was expressed at very high levels in all tissues except liver.

TBEV causes serious illnesses from meningitis to meningo-encephalitis, totaling 3,000 cases of hospitalization in Europe and between 5,000-10,000 cases in Russia reported every year. The Far Eastern hemorrhagic TBEV strains are associated with a mortality rate (between 1-2%), higher than other strains isolated in the Siberia or Western Europe. There is a high proportion (up to 46%) of TBEV patients with temporary or permanent neurological sequelae.

Species of Bacillus, such as Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus subtilis, are attractive microorganisms for recombinant protein production in view of their fast growth rate, high yield, and ability to secrete produced products directly into the medium. Bacillus anthracis is also attractive in view of its ability to produce anthrax toxin and ability to fold proteins correctly. This application claims a B. anthracis strain in which more than one secreted protease is inactivated by genetic modification.

One of the primary means for treating HIV infection is the use of antiviral nucleotide or nucleoside analogs. These analogs work by inhibiting the activity of reverse transcriptase, the enzyme responsible for preparing the HIV genome for integration into the DNA of the host cell. Although these analogs do not have an effect on the polymerases responsible for replicating the human genome, the polymerase responsible for replicating the mitochondrial genome is sensitive to these analogs.

The invention is a STAT5 mutant mouse that can be used in research related to cancer, autoimmunity and infectious diseases as well as drug screening. The mouse model itself has multiple immunological defects resulting in formation of STAT5 dimers but not tetramers.

Airway diseases, such as Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), constitute a major health burden worldwide. It is estimated, for example, that nearly 15.0% of the adult population in the US are affected with such diseases, and the economic cost burden is over $23 billion annually. Unfortunately, the current options for treatment of such diseases are quite limited, consisting only of bronchodilators and inhaled steroids. The need for a novel and more effective class of therapeutics agents is imperative.

There are two related technologies, the first being small molecule inhibitors of the malarial plasmodial surface anion channel (PSAC) and the second being the PSAC protein itself as a vaccine candidate. The PSAC protein is produced by the malaria parasite within host erythrocytes and is crucial for mediating nutrient uptake. In vitro data show that the PSAC inhibitors are able to inhibit growth of malaria parasites, have high specificity, and low toxicity.

There is no vaccine for malaria, and there is growing resistance to existing anti-malarial drugs. Sexual stage-specific antigens are of interest as vaccine candidates because disruption of these antigens would reduce the fertility and, thus, the infectivity of the parasite.

JC Virus causes a fatal disease in the brain called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) that occurs in many patients with immunocompromised conditions. The finding of JCV DNA in the patients with neurological symptoms of PML is a diagnostic criterion and is needed to confirm the diagnosis of PML to rule out other neurological conditions. Certain JC virus variants are known to have a greater association with PML. For example, "Prototype" JC virus is far more pathogenic than "Archetype" JC virus.

The NIH announces a novel method for fast, simple, and accurate detection of nucleic acids outside the modern laboratory. Nucleic acid testing is highly specific and often provides definitive identification of a disease or pathogen. Methods to detect nucleic acid sequences and identify a disease or pathogen are dominated by PCR, but applying PCR-based techniques in remote settings is challenging. Researchers at the NIH have developed a universal, colorimetric, nucleic acid-responsive diagnostic system that uses two short peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes and does not rely on PCR.