In a large scale clinical survey of Scottish pigeon fanciers, 277 people completed a detailed questionnaire and provided a venous blood sample. There were 29 (10.4%) who fulfilled the clinical criteria for pigeon breeders' disease used in the study and 84 (30.3%) who showed a significant serum IgG antibody response to pigeon gammaglobulin (4 pg/ml) and were considered to have been sensitised. I...

The burden of disease during seasonal influenza epidemics is felt most keenly among the very young and the elderly. Although vaccination effectively protects children and young adults against infection, it has limited efficacy in elderly individuals. This has been linked to a reduced ability to induce a robust serum antibody response. In this issue of the JCI, Sasaki et al. identify some of the...

BACKGROUND In the present study, we analyzed the presence of antibodies to four different influenza viruses (pH1N1, hH1N1, swH1N1, and swH3N2) in the sera of 2094 backyard pigs from Mexico City. The sera were obtained between 2000 and 2009. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis of the 2000-2009 period to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against pH1...

The antibody profile during and after the six-dose primary vaccination series with anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA, Biothrax) was characterized in 86 human volunteers. Ninety-three percent of recipients developed IgG antibodies to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) after two doses, and 100% were seropositive after dose #3. Geometric mean concentrations (GMC) of IgG to PA measured before a...

These studies were carried out to investigate the potential helper T cell repertoire specific for the random copolymer poly(L-Glu55,L-Ala35, L-Phe9)n(GL phi 9) of responder, nonresponder, and (responder x nonresponder)F1 murine strains. We tested the ability of these T cells to collaborate with dinitrophenyl (DNP)-specific primary and secondary B lymphocytes of each strain in response to the an...

Oral immunization of mice with Escherichia coli-expressed Plasmodium yoelii merozoite surface protein 4/5 or the C-terminal 19-kDa fragment of merozoite surface protein 1 induced systemic antibody responses and protected mice against lethal malaria infection. A combination of these two proteins administered orally conferred improved protection compared to that conferred by either protein admini...

Antibodies are now indispensable tools for all areas of cell biology and biotechnology as well as for diagnosis and therapy. Antigen-specific single immunoglobulin variable domains that bind to native antigens can be isolated and manipulated using yeast intracellular antibody capture technology but converting these to whole monoclonal antibody requires that complementary variable domains (VH or...

BACKGROUND Long-term microscopic agglutination test (MAT) results after vaccination with 4-serovar Leptospira vaccines are not available for all vaccines used in client-owned dogs. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To determine antibody responses of client-owned dogs given 1 of 4 commercially available Leptospira vaccines. ANIMALS Healthy client-owned dogs (n = 32) with no history of Leptospira vaccina...

The traditional definition of natural antibodies (NAbs) states that these antibodies are present prior to the body encountering cognate antigen, providing a first line of defense against infection thereby, allowing time for a specific antibody response to be mounted. The literature has a seemingly common definition of NAbs; however, as our knowledge of antibodies and B cells is refined, re-eval...

A procedure is described for the production of a highly concentrated Bacteroides nodosus bacterin. An oil adjuvant bacterin which elicited the best antibody response in rabbits produced a response in sheep which lasted for at least 6 months.