Vaccines based on peptide mimics (mimotopes) of conformational tumor antigen epitopes have been investigated for a variety of human tumors including breast cancer, tumors expressing the carcinoembryonic antigen, B cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and melanoma. In our previous work, we designed a vaccine based on a mimotope of the high molecular weight-melanoma associated antigen (HMW-MAA) that eli...

The budding and fission of vesicles during membrane trafficking requires many proteins, including those that coat the vesicles, adaptor proteins that recruit components of the coat, and small GTPases that initiate vesicle formation. In addition, vesicle formation in vitro is promoted by the hydrolysis of acyl-CoA lipid esters. The mechanisms by which these lipid esters are directed to the appro...

Previously synthesized poly(methacrylic acid-co-cholesteryl methacrylate) P(MAA-co-CMA) copolymers were examined as potential drug delivery vehicles. P(MAA-co-CMA) copolymers were fluorescently labelled and imaged in SHEP and HepG2 cells. To understand their cell internalization pathway endocytic inhibition studies were conducted. It was concluded that P(MAA-co-CMA) are taken up by the cells vi...

Scavenger receptors on sinusoidal liver endothelial cells (SECs) eliminate potentially harmful modified proteins circulating through the liver. It was shown recently that aldehyde-modified proteins bind to scavenger receptors and are associated with the development/progression of alcoholic liver diseases. For these studies, rat livers were perfused in situ with 125I-formaldehyde-bovine serum al...

Atherosclerosis is widely accepted to be a chronic inflammatory disease, and the immunological response to the accumulation of LDL is believed to play a critical role in the development of this disease. 1,4-Dihydropyridine-type MAA-adducted LDL has been implicated in atherosclerosis. Here, we have demonstrated that pure MAA-modified residues can be chemically conjugated to large proteins withou...

Bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) is a gold standard test for identification of milk quality, but its results are influenced by several interventional factors. Recently, application of acute phase proteins and especially milk amyloid A (MMA) has been considered as accurate parameters for milk quality study. The current research was done to evaluate the accuracy of MMA, BTSCC, fat, protein an...

BACKGROUND The macro-aggregated albumin lung perfusion scan (99mTc-MAA) is a diagnostic method for hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). GOAL To determine the sensitivity of 99mTc-MAA in diagnosing HPS, to establish the utility of 99mTc-MAA in determining the influence of HPS on hypoxemia in patients with concomitant pulmonary disease and to determine the correlation between 99mTc-MAA values and ot...

Novel pH-responsive complexation hydrogels containing pendent glucose (P(MAA-co-MEG)) or grafted PEG chains (P(MAA-g-EG)) were synthesized by photopolymerization. The feasibility of these hydrogels as oral protein delivery carriers was evaluated. The pH-responsive release behavior of insulin was analyzed from both P(MAA-co-MEG) and P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels. In acidic media (pH 2.2), insulin releas...

UNLABELLED Indium-111-labeled macroaggregated albumin (MAA) would be suitable for combined pulmonary perfusion and ventilation scan using a 99mTc ventilation agent. METHODS MAA suspended in 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.8, was incubated with 111In-chloride for 30 min at room temperature. An in vitro study of the obtained 111In-MAA was performed for labeling efficiency and stability in hum...

Background and Aim Mastitis is one of the most vital noteworthy monetary risks to dairy ranchers and affects reproductive performance in dairy cattle. However, subclinical mastitis (SCM) negatively affects milk quality and quantity and associated with economic losses as clinical mastitis. It is recognizable only by additional testing. Somatic cell count (SCC) is currently used worldwide for the...