Amyloid fibrils are ordered polymers in which constituent polypeptides adopt a non-native fold. Despite their importance in degenerative human diseases, the overall structure of amyloid fibrils remains unknown. High-resolution studies of model peptide assemblies have identified residues forming cross-beta-strands and have revealed some details of local beta-strand packing. However, little is kn...

An antibacterial protein (about 12 kDa) was isolated from human amniotic fluid through dialysis, ultrafiltration and C18 reversed-phase HPLC steps. Automated Edman degradation showed that the N-terminal sequence of the antibacterial protein was NH(2)-Ile-Gln-Arg-Thr-Pro-Lys-Ile-Gln-Val-Tyr-Ser-Arg-His-Pro-Ala-Glu-Asn-Gly-. The N-terminal sequence of the antibacterial protein was found to be ide...

ItL-A antigens prepared from human lymphoid cells by treatment of either intact cells or membranes with papain or nonionic detergents have been shown to contain two polypeptide chains. The antigen prepared by treatment of cells or cell membranes with papain contains polypeptide chains with a mol wt of about 34,000 and 11,000 (1), whereas the detergent-solubilized antigen has polypeptides of too...

β2-Microglobulin (β2M) is believed to have arisen in a basal jawed vertebrate (gnathostome) and is the essential L chain that associates with most MHC class I molecules. It contains a distinctive molecular structure called a constant-1 Ig superfamily domain, which is shared with other adaptive immune molecules including MHC class I and class II. Despite its structural similarity to class I and ...

Dialysis-related amyloidosis is a major complication in long-term hemodialysis patients. In dialysis-related amyloidosis, β2-microglobulin (β2-m) amyloid fibrils deposit in the osteoarticular tissue, leading to carpal tunnel syndrome and destructive arthropathy with cystic bone lesions, but the mechanism by which these amyloid fibrils destruct bone and joint tissue is not fully understood. In t...

We previously discovered one particular HLA-A*02:01 mutant that enhanced peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) recognition in vitro compared to wild-type HLA-A*02:01. This mutant contains a single amino acid substitution from histidine to leucine at position 74 (H74L) that is located in the peptide-binding groove. To investigate the effect of the H74L mutation on the in vivo CTL priming...

INTRODUCTION To evaluate the effectiveness of iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discriminate between symptomatic and asymptomatic myeloma in lumbar bone marrow without visible focal lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS The lumbar spine was examined with 3-T MRI in 11 patients with asymptomatic myelom...

Problems frequently encountered in kidney malfunction include abnormal fluid levels in the body, increased acid levels, abnormal levels of Urea, Glucose, Endothelin, β2-Microglobulin and Complement Factor D. Parameters characterizing the structure of dialyzers are very important because they decide overall clearance of toxin molecules and at the same time should allow retaining useful molecules...

Solitary bone plasmacytomas and plasma cell myeloma are clonal proliferations of plasma cells. Many patients with solitary bone plasmacytomas develop plasma cell myeloma on follow-up. We present a case of a 70-year-old man who presented with fracture and a lytic lesion in the subtrochanteric region of the left femur and was assigned a diagnosis of solitary bone plasmacytoma. He received local c...

The HLA class I antigen processing machinery (APM) plays a crucial role in the anticancer immune response. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of APM components in esophageal cancer. A total of 11 esophageal cancer cell lines were evaluated by Western blot analysis for 13 HLA class I APM components. There was a different expression pattern among cancer cell lines for H...