Search results for " DNA"

Vaccination with ENO1 DNA Prolongs Survival of Genetically Engineered Mice with Pancreatic Cancer

2013

Background & Aims Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an aggressive tumor, and patients typically present with late-stage disease; rates of 5-year survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy are low. Antibodies against α-enolase (ENO1), a glycolytic enzyme, are detected in more than 60% of patients with PDA, and ENO1-specific T cells inhibit the growth of human pancreatic xenograft tumors in mice. We investigated whether an ENO1 DNA vaccine elicits antitumor immune responses and prolongs survival of mice that spontaneously develop autochthonous, lethal pancreatic carcinomas. Methods We injected and electroporated a plasmid encoding ENO1 (or a control plasmid) into Kras G12D /Cre (KC) mice …

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF) and multilineage CSF recruit human monocytes to express granulocyte CSF

1989

Abstract We assessed the capacity of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and multilineage (Multi)-CSF to induce release of granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) by highly purified peripheral blood monocyte (Mo) preparations. Our results reveal that GM-CSF and Multi-CSF, either alone or in a synergistic concert, activate Mo to transcribe G-CSF messenger (m) RNA and release biologically active G- CSF protein into their culture supernatants. G-CSF had no regulatory effect on Mo expression of cytoplasmic G-CSF mRNA levels and G-CSF protein secretion by itself. These differential actions of CSFs provide further insight into self-regulatory mechanisms within the growth f…

Hemocyanin in mollusks--a molecular survey and new data on hemocyanin genes in Solenogastres and Caudofoveata.

2008

The most common respiratory protein of mollusks is the blue, copper-containing hemocyanin (van Holde and Miller, 1995). It is not bound to hemocytes but suspended in the hemolymph. Its molecular mass ranges from 3500 10 to 8000 10 Da (dalton) or even more (Herskovits, 1988). These differences in molecular weight are due to the fact that the basic decamers that constitute the barrel-shaped protein may aggregate to didecamers or multidecameric elongated particles (Herskovits, 1988). In cephalopods and chitons (Polyplacophora), there are exclusively decamers, whereas in protobranch bivalves and gastropods the predominantly observed aggregation state is didecamers (Herskovits, 1988; van Holde a…

Absence of the lactase-persistence-associated allele in early Neolithic Europeans.

2007

Lactase persistence (LP), the dominant Mendelian trait conferring the ability to digest the milk sugar lactose in adults, has risen to high frequency in central and northern Europeans in the last 20,000 years. This trait is likely to have conferred a selective advantage in individuals who consume appreciable amounts of unfermented milk. Some have argued for the “culture-historical hypothesis,” whereby LP alleles were rare until the advent of dairying early in the Neolithic but then rose rapidly in frequency under natural selection. Others favor the “reverse cause hypothesis,” whereby dairying was adopted in populations with preadaptive high LP allele frequencies. Analysis based on the cons…

A single mutation in the recombinant light chain of tetanus toxin abolishes its proteolytic activity and removes the toxicity seen after reconstituti…

1994

Specific proteolysis by the tetanus toxin light chain of a vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP) involved in exocytosis is thought to underlie its intracellular blockade of neurotransmitter release. To substantiate this mechanism, recombinant light chain was expressed as a maltose binding protein-light chain fusion product in Escherichia coli. After purification of affinity chromatography and cleavage with factor Xa, the resultant light chain was isolated and its identity confirmed by Western blotting and N-terminal sequencing. It exhibited activity similar to that of the native light chain in proteolyzing its target in isolated bovine small synaptic vesicles and in hydrolyzing a 62-re…

Production and characterization of the recombinant Sphingomonas chlorophenolica pentachlorophenol 4-monooxygenase.

2001

Abstract Pentachlorophenol 4-monooxygenase (PCP4MO) from Sphingomonas chlorophenolica is a flavoprotein that hydroxylates PCP in the presence of NADPH and oxygen. In order to investigate the structure and function of active site, recombinant PCP4MO (rePCP4MO) was produced in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein. Moreover, a tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease cleavage site (EKLYFQG) was introduced into GST-PCP4MO and a his-tagged TEV protease was employed. Hence, a two-step purification protocol was developed which allowed obtaining 15–20 mg of rePCP4MO from 1 L culture. The rePCP4MO revealed identity with native enzyme by SDS–PAGE and N-terminal sequence analy…

Frequency of polymorphisms of signal peptide of TGF-beta1 and -1082G/A SNP at the promoter region of Il-10 gene in patients with carotid stenosis

2006

The role of inflammation in atherosclerosis is well recognized. We have evaluated the allele frequencies of the +869T/C and +915G/C polymorphisms (SNPs) at the TGF-beta1 gene and -1082G/A SNP at IL-10 promoter sequence, two well-known immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory cytokines, in patients with carotid stenosis. Our data suggest a lack of association between these SNPs and the susceptibility to atherosclerosis although other reports have demonstrated this association. These results may be due to the pleiotropic effects of the cytokines and/or differences in haplotype combination that should be investigated to elucidate the role of TGF-beta1 and IL-10 polymorphisms in atherosclerosis.

Cell-Free Fetal DNA and Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis of Chromosomopathies and Pediatric Monogenic Diseases: A Critical Appraisal and Medicolegal R…

2022

Cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) analysis is a non-invasive prenatal diagnostic test with a fundamental role for the screening of chromosomic or monogenic pathologies of the fetus. Its administration is performed by fetal DNA detection in the mother’s blood from the fourth week of gestation. Given the great interest regarding its validation as a diagnostic tool, the authors have set out to undertake a critical appraisal based on a wide-ranging narrative review of 45 total studies centered around such techniques. Both chromosomopathies and monogenic diseases were taken into account and systematically discussed and elucidated. Not surprisingly, cell-free fetal DNA analysis for screening purposes …

Understanding the microbial biogeography of ancient human dentitions to guide study design and interpretation

2022

©. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This document is the Published manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in FEMS Microbes. To access the final edited and published work see DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtac006 The oral cavity is a heterogeneous environment, varying in factors such as pH, oxygen levels, and salivary flow. These factors affect the microbial community composition and distribution of species in dental plaque, but it is not known how well these patterns are reflected in archaeological dental calculus. In most archaeological studies, a single sample of dental calculus is studied p…

Liquid biopsy in colorectal carcinoma: the search for potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers

Background: Liquid biopsy is considered a repeatable, non-invasive and dynamic tool. It could be able to recover from liquid samples (expecially blood)) cancer-specific informations (miRNAs, circulating-free DNA (cfDNA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and exosomes) by overcoming the limitations associated with traditional tissue biopsy. Aim: to investigate the potential prognostic and predictive role of blood cancer-related biomarkers such as cfDNA or ctDNA and exosomal DNA in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Results: cfDNA or ctDNA and exosomal DNA could have a potential applicability in CRC management. New generation technologies are able to identify clinically relevant genomic alteration…