The effect of dietary intake of the acidic protein fraction of bovine colostrum on influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.

Acidic protein levels in the milk decrease markedly as lactation progresses, suggesting that it is an important part of the colostrum. However, little attention has been paid to their biological function. In this study, we isolated the acidic protein fraction of bovine colostrum (AFC, isoelectric point <5) by anion-exchange chromatography, and investigated the effect of its dietary intake on influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. 100% of mice infected with 1 LD50 of the virus survived when administered AFC for 14 days prior to infection, compared with 33% survival when administered phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Moreover, consumption of AFC reduced the weight loss associated with infection. We propose that dietary intake of AFC has a prophylactic effect on influenza A virus infection.

The production and immunogenicity of human papillomavirus type 58 virus-like particles produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of most cases of cervical cancer. HPV type 58 (HPV58) is the second most frequent cause of cervical cancer and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) in Asia and South / Central America, respectively. However, there is no vaccine against HPV58, although there are commercially available vaccines against HPV16 and 18. In this study, we produced HPV58 L1 protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and investigated its immunogenicity. We first determined the optimum period of culture for obtaining HPV58 L1. We found that a considerable portion of the HPV58 L1 resulting from 48 h culture cannot be recovered by purification, while the HPV58 L1 resulting from 144 h culture is recovered efficiently: the yield of HPV58 L1 finally recovered from 144 h culture was 2.3 times higher than that from 48 h culture, although the production level of L1 protein from 144 h culture was lower than that from 48 h culture. These results indicate that the proportion of functional L1 protein from 144 h-cultured cells is significantly higher than that of 48 h-cultured cells. The HPV58 L1 purified from the 144 h culture was correctly assembled into structures similar to naturally occurring HPV virions. Immunization with the HPV58 L1 efficiently elicited anti-HPV58 neutralizing antibodies and antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell proliferations, without the need for adjuvant. Our findings provide a convenient method for obtaining substantial amounts of highly immunogenic HPV58 L1 from S. cerevisiae.

A single serum dilution enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for determining anti-human papillomavirus (HPV) antibody titres in humans immunised with prophylactic HPV vaccines.

Two types of prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are currently available. However, there is no simple monitoring system for assessing acquired immunity that can cope simultaneously with large numbers of serum samples. Approximately 30% of women with normal cytology are known to be seropositive for HPV types 16 and 18 because of the high prevalence of these HPV types. Therefore, to be useful the monitoring system has to discriminate clearly between vaccine recipients and other serology groups. However, there has never been any focus on developing a method to satisfy this condition. In this study, we developed a high-throughput single-serum-dilution enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) system for determining anti-HPV antibody titres following vaccination. We optimised the conditions for each ELISA step to increase its accuracy and precision and to avoid the high background of non-specific reactions that is a major problem for serology assays. The new ELISA system has superior linearity, accuracy and reproducibility. Moreover, it clearly discriminated between antibody levels in vaccine recipients and those in other serology groups such as individuals with normal cervical cytology and those with cervical cancer. Therefore, this single-serum-dilution ELISA should be very useful for assessing the acquired immunity of HPV vaccine recipients.

A four-week, randomized, double-blind trial of the efficacy and safety of SKI306X: a herbal anti-arthritic agent versus diclofenac in osteoarthritis of the knee.

The efficacy and safety of SKI306X, an herbal anti-arthritic agent, was compared with that of diclofenac sodium for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. In a randomized, double-blind, active comparator-controlled trial, a total of 249 patients were randomly assigned to receive either 200 mg of SKI306X three times daily or 100 mg of diclofenac sustained release (SR) once daily. Clinical efficacy variables (visual analog scale, Lesquesne index and global satisfaction score) and adverse events were monitored at baseline and 2nd and 4th weeks of treatment. SKI306X demonstrated efficacy statistically comparable to that of diclofenac, as assessed by the VAS and patients' and investigators' global satisfaction score. Both treatments were well tolerated, however, the SKI306X treatment group experienced less heartburn (4.0% versus 13.7%, p = 0.015, chi-square test). In this four-week trial, SKI306X was well tolerated and demonstrated clinical efficacy comparable to that of diclofenac SR.