Journal Club #6: DPP-4 Inhibition can Improve the Resolution of Glomerular Injury in a Rat Glomerular Nephritis Model
DPP-4 inhibitor preventive treatments in nephritic rats significantly reduced the number of crescents, glomerulosclerosis, tubular injury, and renal fibrosis compared with that of untreated nephritic rats. In the short-term group (7-14 days), the DPP-4 inhibition significantly reduced proteinuria and serum urea levels by Day 14 (therapeutic). On the other hand, in the long-term group (3-8 weeks), the DPP-4 inhibition resulted in 25% lower proteinuria levels by the 3-5 weeks timepoint (preventative). Furthermore, DPP-4 function and glomeruli fibrosis histology were evaluated by measuring serum chemokine levels and Sirius Red staining, respectively. Read More
Journal Club #5: Osteochondral Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Biodegradable Zinc Oxide Scaffolds as Confirmed by Analyzing Type I and Type II Collagen Production
Mesenchymal stem cells cultured on 2.5% ZnO composite scaffold produced the highest type II collagen indicating a mature marker of hyaline cartilage, and low type I collagen associating with immature chondrocytes. In addition to collagen analysis, the ECM were analyzed with cell numbers, glycosaminoglycan levels, as well as several gene expression. Read More
Journal Club #4: Evaluating the Neutralizing Immune Response in SARS-CoV-2 Infection By Serological Assays
Antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) in ELISA and Plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT) were analyzed in the serum of 150 patients. The results show viral infection elicits robust neutralizing antibody titers in most individuals which last beyond 6 months. Read More
Journal Club #3: Interleukin-4 Receptor alpha Subunit Deficiency Alleviates Intestinal Inflammation in a Mouse Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-Induced Colitis Model by Enhancing the Intestinal Mucosal Barrier
Interleukin-4 receptor alpha subunit knockout mice showed alleviated intestinal inflammation in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model compared to wild-type mice. The remission of disease activities was caused by an improved intestinal mucosal barrier function as evaluated with FITC-Dextran (4kDa). Read More
Journal Club #2: Exosomes From Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Can Expedite ECM Development as Confirmed by Analyzing GAG and Collagen Production levels
Extracellular vesicles from human mesenchymal stem cells which express CD9 and CD63 can expedite chondrogenesis in early-stage 3D human degenerative disc cell cultures. This was confirmed by increased levels of glycosaminoglycan and total collagen production and cell maturation markers such as IL-6 and IL-8 in the culture media. Read More
Journal Club #1: Evaluating Immune Responses in a Mouse House Dust Mite (HDM)-induced Asthma Model Using Mouse Anti-HDM Antibody Assays.
Prophylactic effects of five different Lactobacillus casei strains on house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma were individually evaluated by assaying for anti-HDM IgG1 and IgE levels responsible for the Th2 reaction, and IgG2b levels responsible for the Th1 reaction using anti-HDM antibody assay kits. Read More
Cytokine & Chemokines in Disease: Allergies
Cytokines and chemokines are key modulators of immune responses and play diverse roles in inflammatory diseases. Here, we discuss the role of specific cytokines and chemokines in allergies and hypersensitivity reactions. Read More
Cytokines & Chemokines in Disease: Cancer
Cytokines and chemokines are key modulators of immune responses and play diverse roles in inflammatory diseases. Here, we discuss the role of specific cytokines and chemokines in cancer and tumor metastasis. Read More
Cytokines & Chemokines in Disease: Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Nephritis
Cytokines and chemokines are key modulators of immune responses and play diverse roles in inflammatory diseases. Here, we discuss the role of specific cytokines and chemokines in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and membranous nephropathy/nephritis. Read More
Cytokines & Chemokines in Disease: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Cytokines and chemokines are key modulators of immune responses and play diverse roles in inflammatory diseases. Here, we discuss the role of specific cytokines and chemokines in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Read More
Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Disease Development
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are primarily responsible for the physiological and pathological turnover of tissues throughout the body. While normally expressed in low levels in tissues of healthy adults, MMPs are up-regulated at sites of tissues damage to facilitate tissue repair. Additionally, several disease states, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer, also have increased MMP activity. This blog discusses the various MMPs in the progression of those diseases. Read More
Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs): Multi-Faceted Family of Endopeptidases
MMPs are a family of endopeptidases with a wide array of substrates, ranging from collagen and other ECM constituents to cytokines/chemokines, and even other MMPs. As such, MMPs have a complex biological role involving several different signaling pathways. Read here to learn more about basic MMP structure and the role of MMPs in physiological processes. Read More
Type I & Type II Collagen: Structure Influences Staining Patterns
Fibrillar collagens have a unique structure that influence collagen sample preparation and the immunostaining patterns of collagen samples. As such, understanding collagen structure is vital for interpreting SDS-gel and Western Blot results. Here, Chondrex, Inc. scientists share important information about collagens structure and its implications for collagen immunostaining. Read More
Ovalbumin Epitopes in Cell-Mediated Immunity, Humoral Immunity, and Anti-OVA Monoclonal Antibodies
Ovalbumin has long been used as an antigen in pre-clinical allergic disease research. To better understand how ovalbumin immunizations influence immune responses, extensive research has been done to identify T-cell and B-cell epitopes of Ovalbumin. This blog discusses the significance of various OVA epitopes for cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. Read More
Ovalbumin: Ideal Model Antigen for Immunology Research
Ovalbumin (OVA), the primary egg white allergen in infants, was used extensively in early immunology studies investigating antibody-antigen interactions. This historical usage, along with the commercial availability of purified OVA and Anti-OVA Antibody Detection Kits, has OVA a convenient and cost effective model antigen for a variety of research topics: IgE-mediated allergies, vaccines, and oncology. Read this blog to learn more! Read More
COVID-19 Research Tools
While our main focus are proteins, antibodies, and assay kits for pre-clinical autoimmune diseases research, Chondrex, Inc. is also committed to helping researchers around the world fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a list of products we've identified as important for COVID-19 research, with a list of references that provides more information on their relevance to SARS-CoV-2 infections. Read More
Understanding Chondrex Inc.'s "Grades" of Purified Collagen
Chondrex, Inc. provides a wide selection or different types and species of collagen that are carefully prepared with specific uses in mind. Each grade of collagen contains specific qualities that make it suitable for unique applications: cell culture, tissue engineering, ELISAs, and in vivo uses. This article discusses these differences to help you decide which of our purified collagen proteins are right for you. Read More
Andrographolide: Potential Treatment for Ulcerative Colitis & Other Inflammatory Diseases
Andrographolide, a component of the medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata, is a bioactive compound with many biological effects ranging from anti-inflammatory to anti-tumor activities. In a recent study, an andrographolide derivative conjugated with lipoic acid, termed AL-1, was evaluated for its ability to treat a the DSS-Induced Colitis Model of ulcerative colitis (UC). Not only could AL-1 reduce the disease severity, it helped to resolve a key feature that drives the intestinal inflammation characteristic of the DSS-colitis model. This research has promising results for new therapeutics to treat human UC. Read More
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps: not just for catching pathogens.
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) are exactly as they sound: a web-like structure released from activated neutrophils that can trap and kill pathogens. While the primary function appears to be prolonging the antimicrobial functions of neutrophils, even after cell death, NETs have become a target of research for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and SLE, as well as cancer. Research studying the role of NETs in a variety of disease states could deepen our understanding of inflammatory diseases while providing new avenues for therapeutic development. Read More
Gastrointestinal Microbiota & Reproducibility of Animal Disease Models
Differences in gastrointestinal microbiota contribute to phenotypic variance in experimental disease models, lowering the reproducibility of many preclinical animal model studies. As experts in conducting preclinical animal model experiments, Chondrex, Inc. can help you identify sources of microbial variation in your experiments, as well as make a few recommendations to increase the reproducibility of your experiments. Continue reading to find out how to limit gastrointestinal microbiota variance in your experimental disease model experiments! Read More