Search results for "SERUM"

GENETIC, VIROLOGICAL AND CLINICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA DEVELOPEMENT IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HBV AND HCV INFECTION

Sensitive Screening of New Psychoactive Substances in Serum Using Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

2021

Abstract Analysis of new psychoactive substances (NPS) still poses a challenge for many institutions due to the number of available substances and the constantly changing drug market. Both new and well-known substances keep appearing and disappearing on the market, making it hard to adapt analytical methods in a timely manner. In this study we developed a qualitative screening approach for serum samples by means of liquid chromatography--quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Samples were measured in data-dependent auto tandem mass spectrometry mode and identified by fragment spectra comparison, retention time and accurate mass. Approximately 500 NPS, including 195 synthetic cannabino…

Major Congenital Anomalies in Babies Born With Down Syndrome

2014

Previous studies have shown that over 40% of babies with Down syndrome have a major cardiac anomaly and are more likely to have other major congenital anomalies. Since 2000, many countries in Europe have introduced national antenatal screening programs for Down syndrome. This study aimed to determine if the introduction of these screening programs and the subsequent termination of prenatally detected pregnancies were associated with any decline in the prevalence of additional anomalies in babies born with Down syndrome. The study sample consisted of 7,044 live births and fetal deaths with Down syndrome registered in 28 European population-based congenital anomaly registries covering seven m…

Heat inactivation of fetal bovine serum increases protein contamination of extracellular vesicles

2022

Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released in cell cultures are influenced by the cell culture conditions, such as the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS). FBS contains EVs and it is usually depleted of EVs by ultracentrifugation (UC) and/or heat inactivated (HI). Several studies have evaluated the effect of different UC protocols for FBS by evaluating both cells and EVs. However, less is known about the effect of HI on the cells and the released EVs. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the effect of HI on EV purity. Methods: To determine the effect of heat inactivation, three different protocols were applied based on different combinations of: 1) UC at 118,000 × g for 18h …

Recombinant Semliki Forest virus vectors encoding hepatitis B virus small surface and pre-S1 antigens induce broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies

2012

Most hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines consist of viral small surface (S) protein subtype adw2 expressed in yeast cells. In spite of good efficacy, HBV-genotype and subtype differences, escape mutants and insufficient Th1 activation remain potential problems. To address these problems, we generated recombinant Semliki Forest virus (rSFV) vectors encoding S protein, subtype adw2 or ayw2, or a fragment of the large surface protein, amino acids 1-48 of the pre-S1 domain, fused to S (pre-S1.1-48/S). The antigen loop in S protein and the selected pre-S1 sequences are known targets of neutralizing antibodies. BALB/c mice were immunized intravenously with 10(7) rSFV particles and 10(8) rSFV particl…

Viral Hepatitis — An Update

1983

In 1973, Feinstone and co-workers [52] were the first to report the visualization of virus-like particles by immune electron microscopy in acute phase stool specimens of human volunteers who developed hepatitis following inoculation with MS-1 strain of hepatitis A virus [18]. Soon thereafter morphologically identical particles were recovered from the stool of individuals acquiring hepatitis during natural outbreaks of the disease [39, 64].

The binding of intravenous and oral biliary contrast agents to human and bovine serum albumin

1978

The binding of two homologous series of oral and intravenous biliary contrast agents to human and bovine serum albumin was investigated using the gel filtration technique. All intravenous compounds are bound to human serum albumin via one high affinity and several low affinity binding sites. Within the concentration range investigated, about 3--5 high affinity binding sites for the oral compounds were found on human serum albumin. In general, the intravenous compounds have a greater affinity for human serum albumin than the oral compounds. No significant differences were found for the binding of the oral compounds to human or bovine serum albumin, while the intravenous compounds have a high…

Human histidine-rich glycoprotein expressed in SF9 insect cells inhibits apatite formation

1997

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is structurally related to the alpha2-HS glycoprotein/fetuin family of mammalian plasma proteins; both belong to the cystatin superfamily of proteins. We expressed recombinant human HRG and alpha2-HS in Sf9 insect cells for functional analysis. Recombinant HRG bound heparin and fibrinogen while alpha2-HS did not. Both proteins inhibited the formation of apatite, recombinant HRG (IC50 approximately 1 microM) with 2-fold lower molar activity than alpha2-HS (IC50 approximately 0.5 microM). The inhibition in vitro of apatite formation suggests a new function for plasma HRG protein, inhibition of phase separation in blood vessels.

Uptake of endocytic markers by rice cells: variations related to the growth phase.

2001

Endocytosis is now considered a basic cellular process common to plant cells. Although both non-specific and receptor-mediated endocytosis appear to take place in plant cells, the physiological role of the latter remains unclear. We have investigated the endocytic process in rice cell suspensions using two biotinylated proteins, peroxidase and bovine serum albumin (bHRP and bBSA), as markers. First, we show that markers are internalized by rice cells and appear in intracellular membranes. The uptake of the two markers is temperature dependent, saturable with time and markers dose and it is competed by free biotin. Thus, it shows the properties of a receptor-mediated process. We also show th…

Diagnosing HIV infection using flow cytometry: From antigenic analyses to a specifically dedicated bead-based assay to measure viral load.

2009

SINCE the discovery of HIV in 1984 (1,2), millions have been infected and have died of AIDS. In 2006, the World Health Organization identified 40 million HIV-infected subjects, noting that antiretroviral therapy was required throughout the world (Fig. 1; http://www.who.int/hiv/data/en/index.html). Today, the situation is very similar and the HIV pandemic remains a major world health problem (3). The treatment of AIDS with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) involves regular monitoring of different blood parameters, requiring the development of convenient and accurate methods that can evaluate HIV infection even in resource-poor countries (4,5). In addition to CD4 cell count, which …