The flesh-eating bacterium group A Streptococcus (GAS) binds and activates human plasminogen, promoting invasive disease. Streptococcal surface enolase (SEN), a glycolytic pathway enzyme, is an identified plasminogen receptor of GAS. Here we used mass spectrometry (MS) to confirm that GAS SEN is octameric, thereby validating in silico modeling based on the crystal structure of Streptococcus pne...

SEN virus (SENV) is a circular, single stranded DNA virus that has been first characterized in the serum of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patient. Eight genotypes of SENV (A-H) have been identified and further recognized as variants of TT virus (TTV) in the family Circoviridae. Here we describe the first genomic characterization of a SENV isolate (5-A) from South Americ...

The demand for privacy of digital data and of algorithms for handling more complex structures have increased exponentially over the last decade. This goes in parallel with the growth in communication networks and their devices and their increasing capabilities (Sen, 2013a; Sen, 2012d; Sen, 2012c; Bandyopadhyay & Sen, 2011; Sen, 2011b; Sen, 2011c; Sen, 2010c). At the same time, these devices and...

BACKGROUND Viral hepatitis with various forms of acute and chronic liver disease as potential and ultimately fatal sequelae presents a public health problem worldwide. METHODS Recent published reports on the global epidemiology and prophylaxis of viral hepatitis were reviewed. RESULTS With the advances in novel technologies, eight distinct types of hepatitis virus have been described: Hepat...

The hallmark of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs or prion diseases) is the accumulation of an abnormally folded, partially protease-resistant form (PrP-res) of the normal protease-sensitive prion protein (PrP-sen). PrP-sen is attached to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. In vitro, the anchor and the local membrane environment are important for the ...

In the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, normal prion protein (PrP-sen) is converted to a protease-resistant isoform, PrP-res, by an apparent self-propagating activity of the latter. Here we describe new, more physiological cell-free systems for analyzing the initial binding and subsequent conversion reactions between PrP-sen and PrP-res. These systems allowed the use of antibodies to ...