[Latin American bestiary: animals in the historiography of Latin America]. / Bestiario latinoamericano: los animales en la historiografía de América Latina.

The animal history analyzes the relationships between human societies and non-human animals in the past. As an academic subfield, animal history dates back to the 1980s, but it has its antecedents. In Latin America, there is a rich tradition of writing about animals from the sixteenth century onwards. The last decades have seen a large number of historical texts on animals in Latin America that cover various topics: domestic animals, animals and military conquest, animals and science, animals and the Columbian exchange, among others. Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean have received much of the attention. This essay recapitulates this literature and identifies patterns, issues, and debates.

La historia de los animales analiza las relaciones entre sociedades humanas y animales no-humanos en el pasado. Como subcampo académico, la historia animal se remonta a la década de 1980, pero tiene sus antecedentes. En América Latina, existe una rica tradición de escritos sobre animales del siglo XVI en adelante. Las últimas décadas han visto un gran número de textos históricos sobre animales en América Latina que cubre temas variados: animales domésticos, animales y conquista militar, animales y ciencia, animales y el intercambio colombino, entre otros. Brasil, México y el Caribe han recibido gran parte de la atención. Este ensayo recapitula esta literatura e identifica patrones, problemáticas, y debates.

Novel class of pain drugs based on antagonism of NGF.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) was identified originally as a survival factor for sensory and sympathetic neurons in the developing nervous system. In adults, NGF is not required for survival but it has a crucial role in the generation of pain and hyperalgesia in several acute and chronic pain states. The expression of NGF is high in injured and inflamed tissues, and activation of the NGF receptor tyrosine kinase trkA on nociceptive neurons triggers and potentiates pain signalling by multiple mechanisms. Inhibition of NGF function and signalling blocks pain sensation as effectively as cyclooxygenase inhibitors and opiates in rodent models of pain. Several pharmaceutical companies have active drug-discovery and development programs that are based on a variety of approaches to antagonise NGF, including NGF 'capture', blocking the binding of NGF to trkA and inhibiting trkA signalling. NGF antagonism is expected to be a highly effective therapeutic approach in many pain states, and to be free of the adverse effects of traditional analgesic drugs.

Bestiario latinoamericano: los animales en la historiografía de América Latina / Latin American bestiary: animals in the historiography of Latin America

Resumen La historia de los animales analiza las relaciones entre sociedades humanas y animales no-humanos en el pasado. Como subcampo académico, la historia animal se remonta a la década de 1980, pero tiene sus antecedentes. En América Latina, existe una rica tradición de escritos sobre animales del siglo XVI en adelante. Las últimas décadas han visto un gran número de textos históricos sobre animales en América Latina que cubre temas variados: animales domésticos, animales y conquista militar, animales y ciencia, animales y el intercambio colombino, entre otros. Brasil, México y el Caribe han recibido gran parte de la atención. Este ensayo recapitula esta literatura e identifica patrones, problemáticas, y debates.

Abstract The animal history analyzes the relationships between human societies and non-human animals in the past. As an academic subfield, animal history dates back to the 1980s, but it has its antecedents. In Latin America, there is a rich tradition of writing about animals from the sixteenth century onwards. The last decades have seen a large number of historical texts on animals in Latin America that cover various topics: domestic animals, animals and military conquest, animals and science, animals and the Columbian exchange, among others. Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean have received much of the attention. This essay recapitulates this literature and identifies patterns, issues, and debates.

Generating bispecific human IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies from any antibody pair.

Bispecific antibodies and antibody fragments are a new class of therapeutics increasingly utilized in the clinic for T cell recruitment (catumaxomab anti-EpCAM/CD3 and blinatumomab anti-CD19/CD3), increase in the selectivity of targeting, or simultaneous modulation of multiple cellular pathways. While the clinical potential for certain bispecific antibody formats is clear, progress has been hindered because they are often difficult to manufacture, may suffer from suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties, and may be limited due to potential immunogenicity issues. Current state-of-the-art human IgG-like bispecific technologies require co-expression of two heavy chains with a single light chain, use crossover domains to segregate light chains, or utilize scFv (single-chain fragment variable)-Fc fusion. We have engineered both human IgG1 and IgG2 subtypes, with minimal point mutations, to form full-length bispecific human antibodies with high efficiency and in high purity. In our system, the two antibodies of interest can be expressed and purified separately, mixed together under appropriate redox conditions, resulting in a formation of a stable bispecific antibody with high yields. With this approach, it is not necessary to generate new antibodies that share a common light chain, therefore allowing the immediate use of an existing antibody regardless of whether it has been generated via standard hybridoma or display methods. We demonstrate the generality of the approach and show that these bispecific antibodies have properties similar to those of wild-type IgGs, and we further demonstrate the utility of the technology with an example of a CD3/CD20 bispecific antibody that effectively depletes B cells in vitro and in vivo.