BACKGROUND Passive transfer of antibodies can be protective in the simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)--rhesus macaque challenge model. The human monoclonal antibody IgG1 b12 neutralizes human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) in vitro and protects against challenge by SHIV. Our hypothesis is that neutralizing antibodies can only completely inactivate a relatively small number of infectiou...

Background.  Detection of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) to influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA) antigens by conventional serological assays is currently the main immune correlate of protection for influenza vaccines However, current prepandemic avian influenza vaccines are poorly immunogenic in inducing nAbs despite considerable protection conferred. Recent studies show that Ab-dependent cell-...

A fluorometric assay for pepsin and pepsinogen was developed using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a substrate. Acid denaturation of EGFP resulted in a complete loss of fluorescence that was completely reversible on neutralization. In the proteolytic assay procedure, acid-denatured EGFP was digested by pepsin or activated pepsinogen. After neutralization, the remaining amount of un...

We report a rapid, higher throughput method for measuring neutralizing antibody to herpes simplex virus (HSV) in human sera. Clinical isolates and sera from the Herpevac Trial for Women were used in a colorimetric assay in which infection of tissue culture (lack of neutralization) was indicated by substrate metabolism by beta-galactosidase induced in the ELVIS cell line. The neutralization assa...

Secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) acts as the first line of defense against respiratory pathogens. In this assay, the variable regions of heavy chain (VH) and Light chain (VL) genes from a mouse monoclonal antibody against H5N1 were cloned and fused with human IgA constant regions. The full-length chimeric light and heavy chains were inserted into a eukaryotic expressing vector and then transfe...

The mechanism by which activated protein C stimulates fibrinolysis was studied in a simple radiolabeled clot lysis assay system containing purified tissue-type plasminogen activator, bovine endothelial plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), plasminogen, 125I-fibrinogen and thrombin. Fibrinolysis was greatly enhanced by the addition of purified bovine activated protein C; however, in the absence...

West Nile (WN) virus was introduced into the United States in 1999, when the first human cases of WN fever and encephalitis appeared in New York City. From there, the virus has spread throughout North America, in some areas cocirculating with the related flavivirus St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus. Public health laboratories currently use an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody capture enzyme-link...

An enzyme immunossay (EIA) was adapted for detection of antibody to varicella-zoster virus, and its sensitivity and specificity were compared with those of neutralization, immune adherence hemagglutination (IAHA), and complement fixation tests. Test sera showed little nonspecific reactivity in the EIA system, and valid results could usually be obtained at serum dilutions as low as 1:8. Demonstr...

Three procedures have been compared for monitoring heparin in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass: (1) activated clotting time (ACT) (2) protamine titration, and (3) fluorometric substrate assay. The ACT monitors the degree of anticoagulation. It is easy to perform and is relatively inexpensive, however, it does not correlate well with heparin levels and may not accurately predict the pr...

Altogether 562 sheep and goat blood serum samples were collected from livestock located in Konya, Burdur, and their environs in Turkey. The samples were tested for bluetongue virus antibodies by ELISA and serum neutralization test (SNT). Fifty-four (17.1%) out of 315 sheep serum samples from Konya and 1 (1.5%) out of 66 sheep serum samples from Burdur were detected as seropositive. Seventy-thre...