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The antigenicity of two recombinant NS3 proteins cloned in E. coli was compared by ELISA. The truncated rNS3 recombinant protein encompasses the amino acids from 1234 to 1432 of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) polyprotein, and the CIB-c33c protein encloses the entire HCV c33c sequence (aa 1192-1457). Seroconversion sera to NS3 from the Boston Biomedical panel PHV908 were used for evaluation. Our results show that the CIB-c33c protein has a better antigenicity than the rNS3 protein. Antigen CIB-c33c was recognized by the sera at the HCV seroconversion phase exclusively with antibodies against the NS3 region. Comparisons between both proteins suggest that the 25 aa fragment sequence presented at the c33c carboxyl-terminal is important for antibody recognition. The synthetic peptide encompassing this 25 amino acid fragment was not recognized by sera in seroconversion for HCV, suggesting that this fragment requires the presence of the remaining c33c region to expose its antigenicity. The new variant of the c33c protein obtained (CIB-c33c), expressed at high levels in E. coli and highly purified (>90% of purity) by onestep metal affinity chromatography, showed improved antigenic properties. Moreover, it increased the performance of anti-HCV diagnosis, and was able to detect sera in the seroconversion phase, thereby reducing the diagnostic seronegative window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historical tag of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) as carcinogenesis promoter has not been uniformly reproduced, since, in some experiments, malignant cells are bound to growth inhibition and apoptosis. The present study intends to obtain additional data on the interaction of EGF with cancer cells by analyzing its effect in vitro on the growth of cultured A431 cells, and in vivo on nude mice xenotransplanted with this cell line; identifying, in addition, the gene expression patterns for a selected group of genes related to EGF and cancer pathways in the solid tumor. EGF-treated animals showed significantly smaller tumor volumes than controls, suggesting cellular growth inhibition mediated by this factor. Similar results were obtained regarding the proliferation of cultured A431 when treated with 2.2, 33 and 165 nM of EGF. These results may imply a common mechanism for the EGF-mediated growth inhibition of A431 cells in both biological conditions (in vivo and in vitro). The action of EGF at nanomolar concentrations may trigger a transient recovery of the tumor suppressor ability of tumor cells through the reduction of the biological action of mutated TP53, cell cycle arrest due to a decrease in Cdk4 expression levels and the initiation of caspase through the activation of CASP9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the development, validation, and registration of an anti-transglutaminase system called HerberFast Line. The focus of the article is the contribution the system is making to the diagnosis of Celiac disease (CD) in patients in Cuba. Topics include an overview of CD, which is a common enteropathy in human beings resulting from food intolerance, and an example of how the HeberFast Line anti-transglutaminase system functions. The system's clinical sensitivity and specificity in the areas of immunochromatographic assay, ELISA, and indirect immunofluorescence are also discussed. A brief analysis of CD prevalence studies in risk groups such as patients with giardiasis and patients with type 1 diabetes is presented.

El artículo enfoca en el sistema de diagnóstico HeberFast Line antitransglutaminasa para la detección de anticuerpos de clase IgA e IgG relacionados con la enfermedad celíaca (EC). Se describe la sensibilidad y especificidad clínica en ensayos inmunocromatológicos, de ELISA y de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Se ofrece además un breve análisis de la prevalencia de EC en grupos de riesgo como pacientes con giardiasis y aquellos con Diabetes tipo 1.

Celiac Disease (CD) is present in 1 to 16.4% of patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 disease. The most important serological markers of CD are anti-endomysial, anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTGA) and anti-glyadin antibodies. In this work, the frequency of tTGA in the Cuban population of diabetic patients was determined, by analyzing 208 subjects (116 male and 92 female; 19.04-years-old in average, ranging 2-58 years) suffering from type 1 diabetes mellitus. The tTGA were determined in the sera of patients as whole tTGA by an immunochromatographic test (HeberFast Line® anti-transglutaminase), and also as IgA tTGA by ELISA. Fourteen subjects were identified as positive by both assays, two of them showing gastrointestinal symptoms, being submitted to duodenal biopsy. Six of them consented with this analysis, showing morphological changes consistent with celiac disease and accounting for 2.88% prevalence in the diabetic population. This study confirms the prevalence of the celiac disease in diabetic patients in Cuba, and highlights the relevance of screening for this disease among them even in the absence of celiac disease-associated symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies suggest that celiac disease is common in many developing countries. Taking into account the disease may be underdiagnosed in Cuba, the main objectives of this study were to assess the presence of celiac disease related to antibodies in a cohort of apparently healthy children from Pinar del Río province and to evaluate a new rapid test for detecting celiac disease antibody in blood, serum and plasma samples. A total of 595 apparently healthy children with no record of first degree relatives suffering from celiac disease, were screened for Tissue transglutaminase antibodies by one-step immunochromatographic. The results were compared with commercials ELISA kits. In the study seven subjects (1.18%) were identified as positive by immunochomatographic assay and by Celikey IgG Antibody Assay with a 100% of concordance and only five subjects (0.84%) by Celikey IgA Antibody Assay. The achievement of the intestinal biopsy was offered to all positive individuals. This study demonstrates that one-step immunochromatographic assay is an appropriate tool to detect celiac disease-associated to antibodies and provides further evidence of the prevalence of possible undiagnosed celiac disease among healthy children in Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]