The ternary complex consisting of a 65-kDa peptide originating from the proteoglycan core protein and a 43-kDa link protein bound to hyaluronic acid was purified from a clostripain digest of the rat chondrosarcoma aggregating proteoglycan and 14C-carbamylated with potassium [14C]cyanate. At a pH of 8.0, 14C-carbamylation of the alpha-NH2 groups in the N-terminal amino acids was favored over car...

A previously described VPAC2-selective agonist, BAY 55-9837 (peptide HSDAVFTDNYTRLRKQVAAKKYLQSIKNKRY), had several limitations with respect to its potential as an insulin secretagogue for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. These limitations were primarily poor stability in aqueous buffer and short duration of action in vivo. In this report, we describe a series of novel analogs of BAY 55-9837 th...

Monocyte recruitment to the central nervous system (CNS) is a necessary step in the development of pathologic inflammatory lesions in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of multiple sclerosis. Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, a potent agonist for directed monocyte migration, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of EAE. Here we report that deficiency in CC...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Experimental stroke induces a biphasic effect on the immune response that involves early activation of peripheral leukocytes followed by severe immunodepression and atrophy of the spleen and thymus. In tandem, the developing infarct is exacerbated by influx of numerous inflammatory cell types, including T and B lymphocytes. These features of stroke prompted our use of rec...

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of intensive insulin therapy for patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. METHODS A total of 219 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned into insulin group (n = 55), gliclazide group (n = 52), metformin group (n = 55) and pioglitazone group (n = 57). On the basis of diet and physical interve...

OBJECTIVES Blood-based Interferon-Gamma Release Assays (IGRA) identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) sensitisation with increased specificity, but sensitivity remains impaired in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected persons. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test contains peptide 38-55 of Rv2654c, based on data indicating differential recognition between tuberculosis patients and BCG va...

CART peptides are important neurotransmitters, but little is known about their receptors or signaling pathways in cells. In this study we describe the effects of CART 55-102 on the stimulation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) in a pituitary-derived cell line. CART 55-102 treatment resulted in markedly enhanced ERK phosphorylation in AtT20 and GH3 cells, but had no significant effect...

CD74, the cell-surface form of the MHC class II invariant chain, is a key inflammatory factor that is involved in various immune-mediated diseases as part of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) binding complex. However, little is known about the natural regulators of CD74 in this context. In order to study the role of the HLA-DR molecule in regulating CD74, we used the HLA-DRα1 dom...