Turning foe into friend with lentiviral vectors
...l response is dependent on the presentation of the antigen by host dendritic cells (DCs). As part of earlier strategies, the antigen of interest has been transferred to host DCs (by a process called "transduction") outside the body a...Chemical in broccoli blocks growth of prostate cancer cells
...DHT stimulates the expression of prostate specific antigen (PSA), which acts as a growth factor for prostate cancer. When androgen-dependent cells were treated with DIM, the researchers found a drop in the level of PSA. "There are lots of things that can stop growth, but the fact that DIM decreases the expr...JCI Table of Contents, May 1, 2003
...ction of immune tolerance to coagulation factor IX antigen by in vivo hepatic gene transfer AUTHOR CONTACT: Roland W. Herzog The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Phone: 215-590-4907 Fax: 215-590-3660 E-mail: rwherzog@mail.med.upenn.edu View the PDF of...Five UCSF faculty scientists elected to National Academy of Sciences
...als involving interactions between molecules on an antigen presenting cell and T cells. CD28, a T cell transmembrane protein that binds to molecules expressed on B cells and macrophages, initiates an unidentified signaling event which may activate genes that regulate lymphokine activity. His laboratory seeks...A new mechanism that triggers autoimmune disease
...t certain antibodies in female mice attached to an antigen in the cells of their babies. That process then stimulated a response by T-cells, which attacked the ovaries of the baby mice. Eighty to 90 percent of the baby mice had ovarian destruction or inflammation in the study, an indication of autoimmune dis...Microgel polymer beads may provide general vehicle for vaccines, gene therapy
...r approaches include encapsulating viral or cancer antigen proteins in other materials, such as bubbles of fa...ls chew up and display bits of protein - so called antigen presentation. The assay indicates whether the delivery mechanisms are working and having the desired...Technique brings immune-based therapies closer to reality
...t cancers and viral infections. Using artificial antigen presenting cells, or aAPCs, the scientists converted run-of-the-mill immune cells into a horde of specific, targeted invader-fighting machines, they report in the advance online version of Nature Medicine on April 21. "The ability to make vast ...UW researchers find second anthrax toxin receptor
...three components. One toxic component, protective antigen (PA), must attach, or bind, to a receptor before the rest of the toxin can enter cells. Once attached, PA transports the other components - edema factor and lethal factor - into the cells, where they produce effects that can lead quickly to devastati...New immune-boosting cancer treatment shows promise
...inical trials of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 blockade therapy were published online on April ...lating molecule, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), inhibits activated immune system T cells, and prevents them from attacking the bodys own...Sudden removal of fat impairs immune function in rodents, biologists find
...oups were then exposed to an immune system-roiling antigen called keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) four weeks after surgery. The other half of each group received KLH 12 weeks after surgery. KLH is known to induce a strong immune response in voles and hamsters without making the animals sick. After a few days...Combination therapy improves anthrax survival
...o attack a part of the toxin called the protective antigen and prevent it from doing damage. "In animals i...inactivated anthrax bacteria or against protective antigen in combination with ciprofloxacin produced 100 percent survival."...Making a safer anthrax vaccine using spinach
...iology's Biodefense Research Meeting. "Protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis is one of the three components of the anthrax toxin," says Alexander Karasev, a lead researcher on the study. "Purified PA is currently used as a vaccine against anthrax. However, the licensed vaccine derived from apathog...Backstage with a command performer
...difference between destroying a potentially lethal antigen or not. Since the late 1970s, the genes for makin...uvre. A B cell that is mature enough to respond to antigen does so by combining genes in a process called immunoglobulin gene rearrangement. Many possible comb...Targeted immunotherapy eradicates cancer in mice
...ng Cancer Center (MSKCC) genetically engineered an antigen receptor, introduced it into cultured human T cell...dified T cells, now able to recognize the targeted antigen present on the tumor cells, eradicated the cancer. The research will be published in the Marc...PNNL expands blood serum protein library
...uld be identified. For example, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was identified in the sample using this approach. The reference value for PSA is in extremely low abundance in women, along the order of less than 1 picogram per milliliter. Detecting its presence provided a control to learn how well PNNL's a...Blasting antibodies with lasers provides direct way of measuring their flexibilities
...del). There are lots of ideas about mechanisms of antigen recognition postulated in the literature, but what...lly examine the details of antibody recognition of antigen at the molecular level, which involves bond vibrations that ever-so-slightly displace atoms a millio...JCI Table of Contents, November 18, 2002
...lergic reactions? Or, inimmunology-speak, why does antigen exposure via airway epithelia oftenresult in a Th2...ntlylocally in the pulmonary tract. In response to antigen uptake, theseresident antigen-presenting cells secrete Th2-promoting cytokines, includingIL-10 and I...Scientists decipher genetic code of malaria parasite
...t that there were not counterparts for many of the antigen genes that might be useful for the development of ...a vaccine. In contrast, a large family of variant antigen genes in the rodent malaria were identified which are very similar to a family of genes involved in ...New study expands look at high-dose vitamin D with docetaxel for advanced prostate cancer patients
...duction of 50 percent or more in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in patients. PSA is a substance produced within the prostate gland, and a high PSA level may indicate the presence of cancer. In patients with advanced prostate cancer, many clinicians use elevated PSA levels as an indicator of disease p......ells just hours before transplantation before the antigen is introduced and then giving lower-than-usual doses of just one anti-rejection drug beginning one day after transplantation. Nine living donor-kidney transplant patients transplanted 40 years ago were treated in a similar fashion. Seven have been d...