Magnetoelastic Immunosensor via Antibody Immobilization for the Specific Detection of Lysozymes

This article describes our journey and success stories in the development of chemical warfare detection, detailing the range of unique chemical probes and methods explored to achieve the specific detection of individual agents in realistic environments.

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Immunomodulating nano-adaptors potentiate antibody-based cancer immunotherapy

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-21497-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cheng-Tao Jiang ◽

Kai-Ge Chen ◽

An Liu ◽

Hua Huang ◽

Ya-Nan Fan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cells ◽

T Cell ◽

Immune Responses ◽

Cancer Immunotherapy ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Noncovalent Interactions ◽

Killer Cell ◽

Antibody Immobilization ◽

Effector Cells ◽

Nanoparticle Surface

AbstractModulating effector immune cells via monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and facilitating the co-engagement of T cells and tumor cells via chimeric antigen receptor- T cells or bispecific T cell-engaging antibodies are two typical cancer immunotherapy approaches. We speculated that immobilizing two types of mAbs against effector cells and tumor cells on a single nanoparticle could integrate the functions of these two approaches, as the engineered formulation (immunomodulating nano-adaptor, imNA) could potentially associate with both cells and bridge them together like an ‘adaptor’ while maintaining the immunomodulatory properties of the parental mAbs. However, existing mAbs-immobilization strategies mainly rely on a chemical reaction, a process that is rough and difficult to control. Here, we build up a versatile antibody immobilization platform by conjugating anti-IgG (Fc specific) antibody (αFc) onto the nanoparticle surface (αFc-NP), and confirm that αFc-NP could conveniently and efficiently immobilize two types of mAbs through Fc-specific noncovalent interactions to form imNAs. Finally, we validate the superiority of imNAs over the mixture of parental mAbs in T cell-, natural killer cell- and macrophage-mediated antitumor immune responses in multiple murine tumor models.

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SCOPE enables type III CRISPR-Cas diagnostics using flexible targeting and stringent CARF ribonuclease activation

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25337-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jurre A. Steens ◽

Yifan Zhu ◽

David W. Taylor ◽

Jack P. K. Bravo ◽

Stijn H. P. Prinsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Diagnostic Tool ◽

Nasal Swab ◽

Rna Binding ◽

Seed Region ◽

Base Pairing ◽

Specific Detection ◽

Type Iii ◽

Single Host ◽

Target Rna

AbstractCharacteristic properties of type III CRISPR-Cas systems include recognition of target RNA and the subsequent induction of a multifaceted immune response. This involves sequence-specific cleavage of the target RNA and production of cyclic oligoadenylate (cOA) molecules. Here we report that an exposed seed region at the 3′ end of the crRNA is essential for target RNA binding and cleavage, whereas cOA production requires base pairing at the 5′ end of the crRNA. Moreover, we uncover that the variation in the size and composition of type III complexes within a single host results in variable seed regions. This may prevent escape by invading genetic elements, while controlling cOA production tightly to prevent unnecessary damage to the host. Lastly, we use these findings to develop a new diagnostic tool, SCOPE, for the specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 from human nasal swab samples, revealing sensitivities in the atto-molar range.

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The benefit of the diffusion kurtosis imaging in presurgical evaluation in patients with focal MR-negative epilepsy

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92804-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Michaela Bartoňová ◽

Marek Bartoň ◽

Pavel Říha ◽

Lubomír Vojtíšek ◽

Milan Brázdil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Refractory Epilepsy ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Epileptogenic Zone ◽

Diffusion Weighted Mri ◽

Specific Detection ◽

Presurgical Evaluation ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Specific Restriction ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis ◽

Selection Of

AbstractThe effectivity of diffusion-weighted MRI methods in detecting the epileptogenic zone (EZ) was tested. Patients with refractory epilepsy (N=25) who subsequently underwent resective surgery were recruited. First, the extent of white matter (WM) asymmetry from mean kurtosis (MK) was calculated in order to detect the lobe with the strongest impairment. Second, a newly developed metric was used, reflecting a selection of brain areas with concurrently increased mean Diffusivity, reduced fractional Anisotropy, and reduced mean Kurtosis (iDrArK). A two-step EZ detection was performed as (1) lobe-specific detection, (2) iDrArK voxel-wise detection (with a possible lobe-specific restriction if the result of the first step was significant in a given subject). The method results were compared with the surgery resection zones. From the whole cohort (N=25), the numbers of patients with significant results were: 10 patients in lobe detection and 9 patients in EZ detection. From these subsets of patients with significant results, the impaired lobe was successfully detected with 100% accuracy; the EZ was successfully detected with 89% accuracy. The detection of the EZ using iDrArK was substantially more successful when compared with solo diffusional parameters (or their pairwise combinations). For a subgroup with significant results from step one (N=10), iDrArK without lobe restriction achieved 37.5% accuracy; lobe-restricted iDrArK achieved 100% accuracy. The study shows the plausibility of MK for detecting widespread WM changes and the benefit of combining different diffusional voxel-wise parameters.

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