The immunomodulatory proteins present in garlic have recently been shown to be identical to the garlic lectins ASA I and ASA II [Clement F, Pramod SN, Venkatesh YP. Int. Immunopharmacol. 2010; 10: 316-324]. In this study, the stability of garlic lectins as a function of pH, temperature and denaturants has been examined in relation to biological activity (hemagglutination and hagocytosis). Stabi...

The adenovirus fiber mediates the agglutination of erythrocytes. Based on differential hemagglutinating properties, subgenus D adenoviruses can be subdivided into clusters DI, DII, and DIII. While subgenus DI adenoviruses agglutinate rat and human erythrocytes, DII adenoviruses simply agglutinate rat erythrocytes and DIII adenoviruses display no or only weak rat erythrocyte agglutination. Amino...

Several strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited the ability to hemagglutinate erythrocytes. Hydrophobic bond-breaking agents, but not sugars and saccharides, were effective inhibitors of hemagglutination. The results suggest the involvement of hydrophobic bonds in hemagglutination reactions of P. aeruginosa.

Recent outbreaks of bluetongue virus (BTV) serotypes 2 and 8 in many European countries provided an opportunity to investigate the possibility of improving the safety of the modified live vaccines administered mainly in South Africa. Modified live vaccines (MLV) released at a titre of 5 x 104 PFU/mL, raised concerns and prompted the need to determine the minimum titre which will still be pro...

INTRODUCTION Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in 1986 and has gradually replaced the plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine. No published data are available on the immunogenicity of hepatitis B vaccines in Nigerians. The current study aimed to evaluate protective sero-conversion rates after vaccination with Shanvac-B rDNA hepatitis B vaccine in Nigerian subjects between January and Se...

The present study reports on the treatment of bleeding episodes and the natural history of factor VIII inhibitors in 4 patients with acquired haemophilia A postpartum. Low titre type II factor VIII inhibitors in 3 patients and high titre type I inhibitor in 1 patient became apparent immediately to 7 months after delivery. High dose human factor VIII concentrate substitution was effective in con...

A passive hemagglutination inhibition assay was studied by using a hyperimmune serum from rabbits immunized with whole yeast cells (Candida albicans group A). This technique was effective at detecting small amounts of laboratory-prepared mannan or a whole-cell extract of C. albicans. Of 32 patients with documented disseminated candidiasis that were tested, 19 showed evidence of circulating anti...

A specific hemagglutination reaction has been described (1) between the sera of tuberculous experimental animals or human beings and sheep erythrocytes treated with extracts or products of the culture filtrates of tubercle bacilli. Observations on this reaction have been confirmed and extended by other investigators (2-6). The present paper is concerned with a modification of this test which in...