Evolution is an incredible process, allowing life to adapt to changes in its environment. In the 1990s, the lab of Frances Arnold showed how we can turn this process to our advantage by manipulating microbes into evolving in a certain way, which could lead to new drugs and other breakthroughs. The discovery earned Arnold the 2018 Nobel Prize in...
Tag: <span>antibodies</span>
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Scientists delineate pathway that helps us make antibodies
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AUGUSTA, Ga. (March 13, 2019) – Our bodies are continuously concocting specific antibodies to thwart invaders like a virus or even pollen, and scientists have new information about how the essential production gets fired up and keeps up. It’s a key protective mechanism that the scientists want to...
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Types of Antibodies
Antibodies are glycoproteins, termed as immunoglobulins (Igs), which are produced in response to an immune reaction and specifically bind to antigens responsible for initiating the reaction. Antibody structure An antibody is composed of two heavy chains (50 KD each) and two light chains (25 KD each), which are joined by disulfide bonds to form a ‘Y’ shaped structure (150...
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The role of PCSK9 in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
This article by Dr Eleni Theocharidou et al. is published in Current Pharmaceutical Design, Volume 24, Issue 31, 2018 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS Statin treatment exhibits a beneficial effect in patients of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and non–alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Statins are common treatments for such conditions. The role of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type-9 (PCSK9) in the pathogenesis of NAFLD is summarized...
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Polymer antibodies efficiently target and eliminate cancer cells
MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY A joint research team from Russia and the U.K. has demonstrated the possibility of developing a new type of anti-neoplastic drugs based on nanoMIPs, or “plastic antibodies.” NanoMIPs are synthetic polymers that can function as antibodies, selectively binding to target proteins on the surface of cancer cells. This approach could lead...
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Bad antibodies made good: The immune system’s secret weapon uncovered
The ‘bad apples’ of the immune system are also its secret weapon, according to major Australian research published today in the world-leading journal Science. In a world first, scientists from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research have revealed how a population of ‘bad’ antibodies in the immune system – which are usually ‘silenced’ because they can...