Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), the most potent toxins known, are among the most dangerous potential bioterrorism threats.  They cause botulism, a severe disease that can cause paralysis in humans and...
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Collagen, the most abundant protein in vertebrates, serves as the fundamental structural protein for vertebrate tissues. Collagen is a fibrous protein consisting of three polypeptide chains that fold ...
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Quorum sensing is a process used by some bacteria to coordinate behavior based on local population density. To communicate, bacteria release signaling molecules into the environment. When a certain nu...
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Pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract can induce inflammatory responses that negatively affect the ability of animals to efficiently digest food and absorb nutrients. Endotoxin, a characte...
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Avian influenza causes significant economic losses for poultry producers worldwide and can be transmitted to humans and other mammals. The surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (N...
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Influenza is caused by the eight-segmented influenza virus. Vaccines can be used to prevent influenza, but traditional methods for producing influenza vaccine are slow and cumbersome. To generate reco...
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The H1N1 influenza virus, known as the “swine flu,” has been declared a pandemic.  While this virus is less virulent than many circulating strains of flu virus, it has become the subject of signi...
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Influenza is a major disease in humans that can be prevented by vaccination. Because new epidemic strains arise every year or two, influenza vaccines must be adapted almost every year.  Live attenuat...
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Quorum sensing is a process used by some bacteria to coordinate behavior based on local population density. To communicate, bacteria release signaling molecules, including low molecular weight ligands...
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Vitamin D is a highly potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and plays an established role in cellular differentiation. A recently discovered class of vitamin D analogs, the 19-nor-vitamin D compound...
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Vitamin D is a highly potent regulator of calcium homeostasis and plays an established role in cellular differentiation. A recently discovered class of vitamin D analogs, the 19-nor-vitamin D compound...
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Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder in which an individual lacks the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) that converts the amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine.  If left untreated, the b...
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Ribonucleases are enzymes that catalyze the degradation of RNA. Levels of RNase activity are controlled in vivo by a ribonuclease inhibitor (RI), which binds strongly to an RNase to completely inhibit...
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Ribonucleases are enzymes that catalyze the degradation of RNA. Levels of RNase activity are controlled in vivo by a ribonuclease inhibitor (RI), which binds strongly to an RNase to completely inhibit...
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The extensive use of neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors to treat influenza virus infections by reducing viral sialidase activity requires close monitoring for resistant variants. However, cultured cells do...
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Under physiological conditions, bone tissue regeneration involves a complex interplay of multiple biologically active molecules and stem cells. The molecules are often presented sequentially in cascad...
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The normal growth and development of tissue requires a complex interplay of multiple signals from multiple genes in well-defined locations, leading to the controlled differentiation of precursor cells...
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Dendritic cells play an important role in the process of initiating immune response. They are present in small quantities in tissues, such as skin and lung, that are in contact with the external envir...
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Collagen, the most abundant protein in vertebrates, provides structure for tissues and plays a key role in wound healing. In connective tissue, individual collagen molecules are wound together in tigh...
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Collagen is the most abundant protein in vertebrates. It serves as the fundamental structural protein for vertebrate tissues and is critically important in wound healing. Many diseases, including arth...
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No effective therapy currently exists for the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This disease, which is characterized by the weakening of vol...
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