We have identified an acceptor site on HIV gp120, where foreign protein sequences can be inserted while retaining the native conformation of gp120. The resulting hybrids showed dual antigenicity, normal glycosylation, and high affinity binding of the CD4 receptor. This site allows insertion of highly immunogenic proteins such as core antigen of hepatitis B virus. By combining the immunogenicity...

Clefts on protein surfaces are avoided by antigen-combining sites of conventional antibodies, in contrast to heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs) of camelids that seem to be attracted by enzymes' substrate pockets. The explanation for this pronounced preference of HCAbs was investigated. Eight single domain antigen-binding fragments of HCAbs (VHH) with nanomolar affinities for lysozyme were isolated ...

KAl(SO4)2.12H2O is found to efficiently and heterogeneously catalyze the one-pot three-component reaction of 2-(nitromethylene)imidazolidine, malononitrile and aldehydes under mild conditions to afford the corresponding tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine in good yields and short reaction times. Docking  study  of  some  compounds  in  the  active  site  of  α-glucosidase demonstrated  that  these...

Characterization of immunodominant T cell sites has been effectively performed by a number of laboratories (reviewed in 1) using protein sequence variants, cleavage fragments, and synthetic peptides . Some studies (2) have been interpreted as supportive of the possibility of multiple conformations of peptide antigen and/or multiple antigen-binding sites on the la molecule . The possibility that...

The site on influenza virus N9 neuraminidase recognized by NC41 monoclonal antibody comprises 19 amino acid residues that are in direct contact with 17 residues on the antibody. Single sequence changes in some of the neuraminidase residues in the site markedly reduce antibody binding. However, two mutants have been found within the site, Ile368 to Arg and Asn329 to Asp selected by antibodies ot...

This paper presents a dual-recognition model of the T-cell receptor that has been constructed to account for the phenomenon of MHC restriction as well as the paradoxical ability of T-cells to be both multispecific and precisely specific at the same time. In our model the combining sites for antigen and MHC are not independent as in classical dual-recognition models, but interact with each other...

The initiation of DNA replication, which is one of the fundamental processes in eukaryotic cells, is not understood at the molecular level. Therefore, several laboratories are attempting to understand this process using the simian virus 40 replication system; a relatively simple and well-characterized model for studies of eukaryotic DNA replication. The replication initiator encoded by simian v...

TriFabs are IgG-shaped bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) composed of two regular Fab arms fused via flexible linker peptides to one asymmetric third Fab-sized binding module. This third module replaces the IgG Fc region and is composed of the variable region of the heavy chain (VH) fused to CH3 with "knob"-mutations, and the variable region of the light chain (VL) fused to CH3 with matching "holes"...

The p12 protein of murine leukemia virus (MuLV) group-specific antigen (Gag) is associated with the preintegration complex, and mutants of p12 (PM14) show defects in nuclear entry or retention. Here we show that p12 proteins engineered to encode peptide sequences derived from known viral tethering proteins can direct chromatin binding during the early phase of viral replication and rescue a let...

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) cause sporadic and epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide. They are classified into two major genogroups (GI and GII), with each genogroup further divided into multiple genotypes. Susceptibility to these viruses is influenced by genetically determined histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) expression. HBGAs function as cell attachment factors by binding to a surface-exposed reg...