A series of 27 B-cell lymphomas (designated the CH series), induced in B10.H-2aH-4b p/Wts mice by intense adoptive immunization with sheep erythrocytes, was found to represent a subset of the total B-cell repertoire. This subset was characterized by expression of a limited number of Ig heavy chain variable regions, as evidenced by the presence of cross-reactive idiotypes and common antigen bind...

Background Bromelain is the generic name given to the set of derived endopeptidases belonging to members of the Bromeliaceae family, which belongs to the pineapple (Ananas comosus), being able to break the peptide bond, separating proteins and amino acids [1]. Bromelain possesses a wide range of therapeutic benefit as property of facilitating digestion of proteins, meat softening, ability to fa...

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common long-term illnesses in the United States, affecting approximately 14 percent of the population. CRS is a challenging condition to treat, partly due to its multifaceted, poorly understood pathophysiology. Treatment goals include maintaining open drainage and decreasing inflammation while improving tissue integrity and limiting causative fact...

Interactions between model enzymes and the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) homotrimeric spike were addressed. We digested influenza virions (naturally occurring strains and laboratory reassortants) with bromelain or subtilisin Carlsberg and analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry the resulting HA2 C-terminal segments. All cleavage sites, together with (minor) sites detected in undigested HAs...

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) has been used in the past to study the thermal unfolding of many different viruses. Here we present the first DSC analysis of rabies virus. We show that non-inactivated, purified rabies virus unfolds cooperatively in two events centered at approximately 62 and 73 °C. Beta-propiolactone (BPL) treatment does not alter significantly viral unfolding behavior,...

Tenderness, the single most important palatability factor affecting consumer satisfaction of beef, is mainly associated with the structural integrity of myofibrillar and connective tissue proteins. One approach to increasing beef tenderness is to significantly reduce the amount of detectable connective tissues without causing extensive degradation of muscle fibers. This purpose may be achieved ...

Stem bromelain, a cysteine protease isolated from pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory treatment, yet its mechanism of action remains unclear. Curious as to whether bromelain might affect selectin-mediated leukocyte rolling, we studied the ability of bromelain-treated human neutrophils to tether to substrates presenting immobilized P-selectin or E-selectin under shear stress. Bromelain tr...

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women. The available chemotherapy drugs have been associated with many side effects. Bromelain has novel medicinal qualities including anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, fibrinolytic and anti-cancer functions. Commercially available bromelain is obtained through tedious methods; therefore, recombinant bromelain may provide a cheaper and s...

The ability to modulate immune responses is a major aim of many vaccine and immunotherapeutic development programs. Bromelain, a mixture of cysteine proteases, modulates immunological responses and has been proposed to be of clinical use. However, the identity of the immune cells affected by bromelain and the specific cellular functions that are altered remain poorly understood. To address thes...

Clinical trials that test the efficacy of Phlogenzym (consisting of the hydrolytic enzymes bromelain and trypsin and the anti-oxidant rutosid) as a treatment for T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis are presently ongoing. We tested the effects of Phlogenzym treatment in the murine model for MS, experimental allergic ence...