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Researchers at NIH have developed islet beta cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor knockout mouse. The mice were generated by crossing floxed mouse M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor mice with mice in which Cre recombinase was controlled by the beta-cell specific rat insulin promoter (RIP-Cre mice).

The invention provides a novel delivery system for delivering an encircling suture which includes two separate hollow limbs held together at an articulation by the suture to be delivered. The suture can extend through the hollow limbs, which slide along the suture. The distal ends of the limbs can be compressed into a desired delivery shape that allows the limbs to be advanced through the lumen of a delivery catheter (e.g., a transcutaneous, transvascular or intraluminal catheter) into any body cavity.

Researchers at NIH have generated transgenic mice in which the M3 muscarinic receptor is overexpressed in pancreatic beta cells. This was done by placing the receptor gene under the control of the 650 bp rat insulin promoter II (RIP II). The resulting mice show a pronounced increase in glucose tolerance and enhanced plasma insulin levels. Strikingly, these mutant mice were resistant to diet-induced glucose intolerance and hyperglycemia.

Legionnaires' disease is caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella. CDC scientists have developed a real-time multiplex PCR assay for diagnosis and identification of Legionella strains. The assay consists of five sets of primers (targeting L. bozemanii, L. dumoffii, L. feeleii, L. longbeachae, or L. micdadei) and corresponding probes. Each probe is labeled with a different fluorophore which allows the detection of a particular strain in a single tube reaction.

A specific and sensitive TaqMan-based real-time (rt) RT-PCR assay has been developed by CDC scientists for detection of noroviruses in clinical and environmental specimens. This assay can be implemented to rapidly detect and distinguish norovirus strains from genogroups I and II, which are responsible for the majority of human infections. Additionally, the assay is multiplexed with an internal extraction control virus (coliphage MS2) to validate the results of the assay.

Two isoforms of sphingosine kinase, sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) and sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2), convert sphingosine to sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in mammalian cells. While the importance of SphK1 has been known for some time, information about SphK2 is still being revealed. Therefore, researchers at NIH have developed an antibody against mouse SphK2, which can be used to further understand the role of this enzyme.

The cleavage of sphingoid base phosphates by sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) lyase to produce phosphoethanolamine and a fatty aldehyde is the final degradative step in the sphingolipid metabolic pathway. Researchers at NIH injected rabbits with the C-terminal peptide of the mouse S1P lyase — 551-TTDPVTQGNQMNGSPKPR-568 — to develop an antibody that can be used in western blotting to study this pathway.

Legionella pneumophila is the causative species in most cases of Legionnaires' disease (LD). CDC scientists have developed a real-time PCR assay capable of detecting all Legionella species and discriminating L. pneumophila from other Legionella species. LD is typically difficult to diagnose from a clinical standpoint as it confers no unique clinical features or symptoms. This assay provides a rapid and accurate alternative to laborious PCR assays, prone to aberrant results.

This invention relates to selective detection of human rhinovirus (HRV) in biological media. Specifically, this invention discloses a real-time TaqMan RT-PCR assay targeting the 5'-noncoding region of the HRV genome. This is a one-step, real-time nucleic acid assay that offers rapid, sensitive, and quantitative results. The assay is validated against all 100 recognized HRV prototype strains.

Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria that causes anthrax infection in humans. CDC inventors have identified epitope sequences of B. anthracis protective antigen (PA) that may be useful for development of peptide-based anthrax vaccines. This invention also relates to methods for determining whether post-vaccination protection is achieved. Specifically, this invention relates to a screening method for determining protection against B.