A Human Monoclonal Antibody Against Deacetylated PNAG for Use as an Antimicrobial Agent

Biofilms are complex microbial communities, surface attached and held together by self-produced polymer matrices.  These matrices are mainly composed of polysaccharides, secreted proteins and nucleic acids.  Poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (PNAG) is a highly conserved surface polysaccharide expressed by a range of bacterial, fungal and protozoan microorganisms.

T-cell Phenotypes Associated with Clinical Response to Adoptive Immunotherapy

Adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) utilizes tumor-reactive T cells to induce disease remission. While ACT has been used effectively to treat metastatic melanoma and certain epithelial cancers, most patients do not respond to treatment. Although the mechanisms underlying this variable response to therapy are not fully elucidated, the phenotype of the adoptively transferred cell is known to be a key determinant of treatment efficacy.

Enhanced Immunogenicity Against HIV-1 Using a DNA-prime Poxvirus Vaccination

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a method of stimulating an immune response in humans at risk for infection by, or already infected with, an Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 retrovirus. This method utilizes deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccines to stimulate CD8+ T cell immune responses. The DNA vaccine encodes antigens known to be effective against retroviruses, such as HIV-1gag, gp120, nefCTL, and proCTL. The same antigens are also expressed by the pox virus vaccine, which elicits an increased immune response when combined with the DNA vaccine.

Single Domain Antibodies (Nanobodies) Targeting SARS-CoV-2 for treating COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide public health crisis with over 100 million confirmed cases and 2.4 million deaths as of February 2021. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. SARS-COV-2 infects hosts via its spike (S) protein. The S protein contains the receptor binding domain (RBD) that binds to the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on human cells to facilitate viral entry and infection. There are few therapeutics available for COVID-19 patients that directly target SARS-CoV-2.

Codon Deoptimized (CD) Poliovirus Seed Strains for Use in an Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine

Polio is a disabling and potentially fatal infectious disease. Sabin Oral Poliovirus Vaccine (OPV) and Salk Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) have been crucial in the global poliovirus eradication efforts and substantial decrease in disease incidence rates. However, recent findings showed that Sabin OPV strains, due to their genetic instability, may revert to virulence and spread among communities, resulting in circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). Salk IPV, which is made by inactivating live poliovirus,

Remotely Monitored Mouse Feeding Experimentation Device

How much does a mouse eat per day? If a researcher is conducting dietary studies, the answer is very important. For instance, obesity studies require accurate measures of feeding. Existing automated methods for taking feeding measurements are expensive and use specialized caging that is not compatible with typical vivarium colony racks. As a result, many researchers simply weigh food each day or two to determine how much food the mice ate. This is time-consuming, can be error prone, and provides a low temporal resolution view of feeding.

Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease with Synthetic Amphipathic Peptides

The invention is directed to treatment of chronic kidney disease by administering a synthetic, amphipathic helical peptide known as 5A-37pA, and novel derivatives thereof. Scientists at NIDDK have demonstrated that invention peptides antagonize activity of a particular scavenger receptor known as CD36. Using an in vivo model, NIDDK scientists have shown that invention peptides slowed progression of chronic kidney disease and can potentially be utilized as a therapeutic treatment.

New Cholera Vaccine and Method for Conjugating Bacterial Polysaccharides to Proteins

A new conjugate vaccine for cholera has been developed. The invention includes a new method to conjugate the O-specific polysaccharide-core part of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide and protein subcomponents. Conventional technology has entailed chemical treatment of both components to introduce linkers, which made them amenable for covalent linking. The new method simplifies production by utilizing squaric acid chemistry for conjugating the free amine-containing species (e.g. polysaccharides) directly to amine-containing species (e.g.

Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) for Detection of DNA or RNA and Identification of a Disease or Pathogen

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.
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