Avigdor Shafferman

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..We list more than 30 novel B. anthracis immunoreactive virulence-related proteins which could be useful in diagnosis, pathogenesis studies, and future anthrax vaccine development...

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..This study demonstrates that a combination of the bioinformatic and proteomic strategies may be useful in promoting the development of next generation anthrax vaccine...

..Studies with recombinant IsdK demonstrate specific binding to haemoglobin...

..On a practical note, it is demonstrated that the attenuated Vollum ΔhtrA is highly efficacious in protecting guinea pigs against a lethal anthrax challenge...

..These observations have novel implications for the development of vaccines/therapies against Y. pestis and shed new light on the virulence strategies of Y. pestis in nature...

..Thus it could serve as a basis for a very potent live vaccine against bubonic and pneumonic plague...

..These data extend our understanding of the immune mechanisms required for the development of a rapid and effective post-exposure therapy against plague...

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..The impact of overall findings on the potential use of serum neutralizing activity as a correlate of protective immunity is discussed...

..In conclusion, these experiments demonstrate that cAb29 exerts its potent neutralizing activity in a unique manner by blocking the prepore-to-pore conversion process...

..The results also underscore the role of the acyl pocket subsite of cholinesterases in maintaining the catalytically viable conformation of the catalytic histidine...

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..enterocolitica WA O:8. We suggest that the relative inferiority of Y. pestis in triggering cell death in macrophages may be advantageous for its in vivo propagation in the early stages of infection...

..We propose that MntA is a novel B. anthracis virulence determinant essential for the development of anthrax disease, and that B. anthracisDeltamntA strains have the potential to serve as platform for future live attenuated vaccines...

..This selected 4-PEG F338A-AChE can serve as a paradigm for new generation OP-bioscavengers, specifically tailored for prophylactic treatment against toxic OP-agents...

..anthracis virulence in general and in particular for the design of relevant next-generation anthrax vaccines...

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..The present study demonstrates that certain charged and uncharged ligands, like analogues of physostigmine and physovenine, seem to be accommodated by the enzyme mostly through hydrophobic interactions...

..These studies suggest that the combination of "rigidity" and flexibility within the HuAChE gorge are an essential element of its molecular design...

..Protocols will be provided for application of these methods to analyze the anti-B. anthracis antibody repertoire of hyperimmune sera or sera from convalescent and from DNA-vaccinated animals...

..pestis harboring the plasmid failed to do so. Taken together, these results suggest that virulence plasmid-dependent impairment of DC migration is the major mechanism utilized by Y. pestis to subvert DC function...

..3-1.5 LD50). These findings together with the observations that the PEGylated rHuAChE exhibits unaltered biodistribution and high bioavailability present a case for using PEGylated rHuAChE as a very efficacious bioscavenger of OP agents...

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..Thus, elucidation of the functional architecture of the HuAChE active center is bound to be of considerable utility in the current effort to design novel covalent AChE inhibitors as therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease (AD)...

..This extended residence time is similar to that displayed by native macaque butyrylcholinesterase (9950 min), which is the prevalent cholinesterase form in the circulation of adult macaques...

..We suggest that PA inactivation during storage is associated with susceptible deamidation sites, which are intimately involved in both mechanisms of PA cleavage by furin and PA-receptor binding...

..e. either alone or in conjunction with active vaccination, can rescue ECTV infected mice...

..tularensis dataset of known CTL epitopes. The generality and power of the high density cluster-based approach suggest that it can be a valuable tool for identification of novel CTLs in proteomes of other bacterial pathogens...

..anthracis strain Vollum spores...

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..anthracis protein targets for further evaluation in detection, diagnostics, therapy and prophylaxis, and contributed to the elucidation of some aspects of the pathogenesis of the disease...

..This Kimberley53pcm mutant was superior to the EV76 live vaccine strain because it induced 10- to 100-fold-higher antibody titers to the protective V and F1 antigens and because it conferred efficacious protective immunity...

..A delay in onset of both antibiotic treatments allowed the rescue of all LVS-infected animals. However, for animals infected with SchuS4, only ciprofloxacin was efficacious and prolongation of treatment rescued all animals...

..Such different orientations of the charged leaving group in the HuAChE adducts of the VX enantiomers seem to be a consequence of intramolecular interactions with the bulky phosphorus alkoxy group...

..tularensis in the early stages of infection, and that DC trafficking plays a role in pathogen dissemination. This underscores the therapeutic potential of DC migration impairing drugs in tularemia treatment...

..Therefore, to allow for the establishment of memory-dependent protection prior to the expected onset of disease, booster immunizations should not be used without concomitant antimicrobial treatment in postexposure scenarios...

..tularensis intended to gain better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pathogenesis and virulence, as well as for vaccine development studies...

..Taken together, these observations indicate that a tailored genetic vaccine based on a bacterial protein can be used to confer protection against plague in mice without resorting to regimens involving the use of purified proteins...

..tularensis, could be applied in immunoinformatic analyses of many other complex pathogen genomes...

..Vaccine efficiency is not impaired, providing a non-prohibitive VIG dose is used. Thus, VIG can be used as a prophylactic measure against post-vaccinal complications but could also serve for post-exposure treatment against smallpox...

..Scenarios of sudden biothreats have prompted demand for rapidly protective vaccination. However, the feasibility of short-term vaccination (i.e., vaccination shortly before exposure) with vaccinia virus (VACV) is uncertain...

..This study provides evidence that glycan loading, together with N-glycan terminal processing and enzyme subunit oligomerization, operate in a hierarchical and concerted manner in determining the pharmacokinetic characteristics of AChE...

..pestis and Y. enterocolitica O:8 virulent strains shows some critical disparity in YopJ/YopP-related effects on immune cells. Involvement of yopJ in virulence was evaluated in mouse model of bubonic plague...

..These results suggest that the incorporation of rhamnose into the spore coat of B. anthracis is required for optimal interaction with macrophages but is not required for full virulence in this animal model...

..anthracis produces and secretes the NheA subunit of NHE. A NheA deletion mutant was not attenuated in the guinea pig suggesting that NheA is not absolutely required for virulence...

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..In conclusion, pressure and thermal stability of mutants provided evidence that the residue E202 is a determinant of structural and functional stability of HuAChE...

..The results from kinetic studies and molecular simulations suggest that the differential reactivity toward the VX enantiomers is mainly a result of a different interaction of the charged leaving group with Asp74...

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