New therapies, including the anti‐cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)‐4 antibody, ipilimumab, is approved for metastatic melanoma. Prognostic biomarkers need to be identified, because the treatment has serious side effects. Serum samples were obtained before and during treatment from 56 patients with metastatic or unresectable malignant melanoma, receiving treatment with ipilimumab in a national ...

The GABA_B receptor (GABA_B-R) is a heterodimeric class C G protein-coupled receptor comprised of the GABA_B1a/b and GABA_B2 subunits. The endogenous orthosteric agonist γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA) binds within the extracellular Venus flytrap (VFT) domain of the GABA_B1a/b subunit. The receptor is associated with numerous neurological and ...

N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are widely expressed in the brain. GluN2B subunit‐containing NMDARs has recently attracted significant attention as potential pharmacological targets, with emphasis on the functional properties of allosteric antagonists. We used primary cultures from chicken embryo forebrain (E10), expressing native GluN2B‐containing NMDA receptors as a novel model system. ...

Ocean acidification threatens to disrupt interactions between organisms throughout marine ecosystems. The diversity of reef-building organisms decreases as seawater CO2 increases along natural gradients, yet soft-bodied animals, such as sea anemones, are often resilient. We sequenced the polyA-enriched transcriptome of adult sea anemone Anemonia viridis and its dinoflagellate symbiont sampled along ...

<i>Background - </i>Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can progress to cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease in a substantial proportion of patients. The infection is frequently asymptomatic, leaving many infected individuals unaware of the diagnosis until complications occur. This advocates the screening of healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HCV ...

Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is a rare disease that may cause serious bleedings in the fetus or neonate of a woman who has developed antibodies against the fetus’ platelets. Development of FNAIT has been linked to the presence of platelet reactive CD4 T cells that help B cells to develop into antibody producing plasma cells. To be able to conduct research on such T cells, ...

Population databases containing allele frequencies of the genetic markers used for DNA-profiling are necessary for forensic geneticist to be able to perform statistical calculations on the statistical weight of DNA-evidence. However, allele frequencies differ from population to population, it is therefore important to establish population databases for specific graphical areas or population groups. ...

The increasing emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria worldwide is recognised as a severe threat to public health on a global scale. Without effective antimicrobial agents to treat bacterial infections, modern medicine will be set back several decades and deaths caused by bacterial infections will increase. The most widely used class of antimicrobials, is -lactams, and the increase in resistance ...

Post-translational modifcation of intracellular proteins with a single N-acetylglucosamine sugar (O-GlcNAcylation) regulates signaling, proliferation, metabolism and protein stability. In breast cancer, expression of the enzyme that catalyzes O-GlcNAcylation – O-GlcNAc-transferase (OGT), and the extent of protein O-GlcNAcylation, are upregulated in tumor tissue, and correlate with cancer progression. ...

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are important nosocomial pathogens. Invasive VRE infections are difficult to treat since common therapeutic options including ampicillin and glycopeptides often fail. In vitro, most VRE remain susceptible to last-resort antibiotics such as linezolid, tigecycline and daptomycin. However, neither tigecycline nor linezolid act in a bactericidal manner, and ...