Studies presented here introduce another perspective on the mechanisms responsible for IgM autoantibody production. A unique subpopulation of B lymphocytes (Ly-1 B) that concomitantly expresses IgM, IgD, Ia, and Ly-1 membrane glycoproteins is present at higher frequencies in NZB and NZB-related mice. The Ly-1 B subpopulation in these autoimmune animals is responsible for the "spontaneous" IgM s...

Most medications, herbal preparations, and nutraceutical supplements have notable effects on biochemical pathways and may influence wound healing, coagulation, and cardiovascular function. They can also interact with other drugs. A large portion of the data available regarding the effects of naturopathic medicines is anecdotal. Marketing of certain products may be misleading and potentially har...

Enzymatic synthesis of oligopeptides from l-phenylalanine ethyl ester hydrochloride (l-Phe-Et.HCl) and other l-form hydrophobic amino acid ester hydrochlorides in water miscible organic cosolvents was studied. Different proteases, water miscible cosolvents, and effect of different ratios of water miscible cosolvents for protease-catalyzed oligo-phenylalanine [oligo(l-Phe)] were compared. The im...

BACKGROUND Walnut (Juglans regia L.), that belongs to the Juglandaceae family, is one of the nuts commonly found in Chinese diets. Researchers had obtained peptides from walnut protein hydrolysates, and these peptides exhibited the high antioxidant activities. The objective of this study was to develop a simple and convenient method for a facile and reproducible preparation of antioxidant pepti...

In a first step toward understanding the molecular basis of pineapple fruit development, a sequencing project was initiated to survey a range of expressed sequences from green unripe and yellow ripe fruit tissue. A highly abundant metallothionein transcript was identified during library construction, and was estimated to account for up to 50% of all EST library clones. Library clones with metal...

The virulence of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is attributed to their ability to adhere via fimbrial adhesins to specific receptors located on the intestinal mucosa. A novel approach to preventing ETEC induced diarrhoea would be to prevent attachment of ETEC to intestine by proteolytically modifying the receptor attachment sites. This study aimed to examine the effect of bromelain, a ...

Background Bioactive peptides can prevent damage associated with oxidative stress in the human body when consumed regularly. Recently year, peptides have attracted immense interest because of their beneficial functional properties, safety and little or no side effects when used at high concentration. Most antioxidant peptide has small size less than 1 kDa and contains high proportion of hydroph...

A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells monophenotypically express the placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP)-like enzyme shown by its catalytic and antigenic characteristics, properties which are shared by the Nagao isozyme. More specifically, it is L-leucine sensitive just as is the rare placental D-variant of PLAP and the testicular heat-stable enzyme. Collectively, these are all referred to as...

We examined the mechanism of action and compared the anthelmintic efficacy of cysteine proteinases from papaya, pineapple, fig, kiwi fruit and Egyptian milkweed in vitro using the rodent gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Within a 2 h incubation period, all the cysteine proteinases, with the exception of the kiwi fruit extract, caused marked damage to the cuticle of H. polygyr...

Bromelain is an extract obtained from the pineapple plant and is used as a traditional folk remedy for several ailments. In this review, a comprehensive electronic database search was carried out to compile available literature on therapeutic implications of bromelain. Pharmaceutical value of bromelain has been demonstrated in different surgical sub-specialties. Diverse biological processes lik...