Current Drug Discovery Technologies - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2011

The authors in this thematic issue provide a comprehensive summary of most recent knowledge on the relation of natural products and monoclonal antibody (MAb) in order to expand the new technologies for drug discovery. Although MAbs are now indispensable in the biological field, they are rare phytochemical research areas except naturally occurring therapeutic medicines like morphine, taxol and vinblastine and s Read More

A monoclonal antibody (MAb-4A4) against Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) showing extensive crossreactivity against various cannabinoids was prepared. Using this antibody, a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was developed to detect Δ9-THCA in the range of 1 to 100 μg/ml. Various cannabinoids including Δ9-THC (Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), Δ8-THCA (Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), Δ8-THC (Δ8- Read More

The crude-rhizome extract of P. japonicus was loaded on the immunoaffinity column conjugated with antiginsenoside- Rb1 monoclonal antibody (MAb) and washed with the washing solvent, followed by elution solvent, to give fraction 2 containing higher concentration of compound 1. Compound 1 clearly indicated a dammarane saponin having protopanaxadiol as a framework and three sugars in a molecule suggesting Read More

Single-chain variable fragment (scFv) enhanced solasodine glycoside accumulation in Solanum khasianum hairy root cultures transformed by the scFv against solamargine (As-scFv) gene. The scFv protein was expressed at a high level in inclusion bodies of E. coli. After being renatured, the scFv protein was purified in a one-step manner by metal chelate affinity chromatography. The yield of refolded and purified scFv was 12. Read More

We produced anti-ginsenoside Re (GRe)-4G10 monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes GRe and used this to prepare an immunoaffinity column to remove GRe from American ginseng berry extract (AGBE) (thus producing GRe knock-out AGBE (GRe-KO-AGBE)). We compared the anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects of AGBE and GRe- KO-AGBE in adult diabetic C57BL/6J ob/ob mice. Fasting blood glucose levels and body Read More

Ginsenosides contained in Panax species were separated by silica gel TLC blotted to a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane which was dipped in a sodium periodide (NaIO4) solution and reacted with protein, preparing a ginsenoside-protein conjugate for binding a ginsenoside on a PVDF membrane. The blotted spots were stained by anti-ginsenoside-Rb1 monoclonal antibody (MAb) and anti-ginsenoside-Rg1MAb, respectiv Read More

It is important to know the localization of medicinal substance, Rb1, of Ginseng, Panax ginseng, in this plant in order to achieve efficient extraction of Rb1 or to culture producing cells. In this report, we describe the localization of Rb1 in various parts of the plant as determined by immunofluorescence (IF) and immunoelectron microscopies (IEM). Using IF, we show that Rb1 is localized to chloroplasts, peroxisomes a Read More

In a previous study, we reported the preparation, characterization, variation, specificity, and sensitivity of an anti-aristolochic acid-II (AA-II) monoclonal antibody. The preparation procedure was as follows. AA-II conjugated with bovine serum albumin was used as an antigen for immunizing BALB/c mice. Splenocytes isolated from the immunized mice were fused with an aminopterin-sensitive mouse myeloma cell Read More

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) are a structurally heterogeneous family of enzymes present in prokaryotes, archaea and eukaryotes. They catalyze the attachment of tRNA to its corresponding amino acid via an aminoacyl adenylate intermediate. Errors in protein synthesis will occur if an incorrect amino acid is attached to the tRNA. To prevent such errors, AARSs have evolved editing mechanisms that eliminate incorre Read More