Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2003

The potential therapeutic activity of a killer toxin produced by the yeast Pichia anomala (PaKT) characterized by its wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity has been exploited through the simulation of its interaction with the specific cell wall receptor (KTR) of PaKTsensitive microorganisms by the idiotypic network. Killer antiidiotypes (PaKTantiId) produced by idiotypic vaccination with a PaKT-neutralizing monoclonal antibody have p Read More

After 200 years of practice, vaccinology has proved to be very effective in preventing infectious diseases. However, several human and animal pathogens exist for which vaccines need to be improved or simply have not yet been discovered. The era of molecular genetic has given a new breath for vaccine development with the achievement of the “Third Generation of Vaccines”: the DNA vaccine. In this article, we review Read More

Increasing attention has been paid to technology used for the delivery of genetic materials into cells for gene therapy and the generation of genetically engineered cells. So far, viral vectors have been mainly used because of their inherently high transfection efficiency of gene. However, there are some problems to be resolved for the clinical applications, such as the pathogenicity and immunogenicity of viral vectors the Read More

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a naturally occurring single chain polypeptide of 7649 Da that is produced primarily in the liver. The metabolic activities of IGF-I are similar to those of insulin and its effects on growth, development, regeneration and metabolism have been widely studied. Indeed, IGF-I is currently being used clinically for the treatment of growth related disorders and its therapeutic value is also being evalua Read More

Hepatitis B (HB) in haemodialysis patients results in morbidity and mortality, through chronicity, which leads to cirrhosis and liver carcinoma, even after renal transplantation. Hepatitis B vaccination is protective against HB virus infection.Suppressed immunity in renal failure leads to low HB vaccination success rates. Uremia, inadequate dialysis, use of low biocompatibility dialysis material, hyperparathyroidism, anemia, iron Read More