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The incidence of prostate cancer has increased dramatically during the last 10-15 years and it is now the commonest cancer in males in developed countries. The increase is mainly caused by the increasing use of opportunistic screening or case-finding based on the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in serum. With this approach, prostate cancer is detected 5-10 years before giving rise t

Background:  A unique feature of alveolar mast cells is their low high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) expression. Recent discoveries in uncontrolled asthma suggest that the appearance of FcεRI-expressing alveolar mast cells may be a novel disease-specific feature of allergic asthma. This study investigates whether increased FcεRI-expressing alveolar mast cells are present in patients with mild alle

Protein ADP-ribosylation is a reversible post-translational modification that regulates important cellular functions. The identification of modified proteins has proven challenging and has mainly been achieved via enrichment methodologies. Random mutagenesis was used here to develop an engineered Af1521 ADP-ribose binding macro domain protein with 1000-fold increased affinity towards ADP-ribose. T

We have characterized 2 distinct mechanisms through which infectious agents may promote platelet adhesion and thrombus formation in flowing blood, thus contributing to the progression of disease. In one case, the process initiates when the integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3) mediates platelet arrest onto immobilized bacterial constituents that have bound plasma fibrinogen. If blood contains antibodies agai

EndoS from Streptococcus pyogenes efficiently hydrolyzes the functionally important and conserved N-linked glycan of IgG in human blood. Repeated i.v. administration of EndoS in rabbits completely hydrolyzes the glycans of the whole IgG pool, despite the generation of anti-EndoS antibodies. EndoS administration had no apparent effects on the health of the animals. EndoS hydrolysis of the IgG glyca

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of invasive bacterial infections in human newborns. A key GBS virulence factor is its capsular polysaccharide (CPS), displaying terminal sialic acid (Sia) residues which block deposition and activation of complement on the bacterial surface. We recently demonstrated that GBS Sia can bind human CD33-related Sia-recognizing immunoglobulin (Ig) superfami

Angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer and is now a validated therapeutic target in the clinical setting. Despite the initial success, anti-angiogenic compounds impinging on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway display limited survival benefits in patients and resistance often develops due to activation of alternative pathways. Thus, finding and validating new targets is highly warr