Objectives-To develop an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using as substrate a synthetic 22-aminoacid peptide, corresponding to the ribosomal P0, P1 and P2 common epitope. To study the specificity and sensitivity of the method and evaluate the frequency and clinical associations of anti-P antibodies in two groups of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients: (a) unselected SLE patients and (b) SLE patients with central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Patients and methods-The C-terminal 22 aminoacid peptide of the ribosomal P proteins (Lys-Lys-Glu-Glu-Lys-Lys-GluGlu-Lys-Ser-Glu-Glu-Glu-Asp-Glu-AspMet-Gly-Phe-Gly-Leu-Phe-Asp) was synthesised according to Merrifield's solid phase procedure. Purification of the peptide was performed by preparative high performance liquid chromatography and confirmed by amino acid analysis. Using this peptide, in a concentration 5 µg/ml, an ELISA was developed. The presence of anti-P antibodies was evaluated by western blot using purified ribosomal proteins from rat liver. Sera from 178 consecutive patients with SLE and 28 patients with SLE and CNS manifestations were tested. Sera from 58 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 57 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome were used as controls. The cut oV point of the assay was defined using 124 normal sera. Results-The specificity of the assay was evaluated by homologous inhibition. Pretreatment of positive sera with soluble 22mer peptide of the ribosomal P proteins resulted in 88% inhibition. The concordance between the peptide assay and western blot was found to be 83%. Thirty three of 178 (18.6%) of the unselected SLE patients had antibodies to P-protein common epitope. Their presence was associated with more active disease (European Consensus Lupus Activity Measurement, ECLAM scoring system) (p<0.001), higher levels of anti-ds DNA antibodies (p<0.05) and lower levels of the C4 component of complement (p<0.01). Eleven of 28 (39.3%) patients with SLE and active CNS involvement had antibodies to P-protein.The overall prevalence of anti-P antibodies in active CNS disease patients was statistically significantly higher, as compared with unselected SLE patients ( 2 =6.04, p<0.05). These antibodies were found in a high proportion of patients without anticardiolipin antibodies (52.4%) and they were associated with diVuse CNS involvement (psychiatric disorders (71%) and epilepsy (75%)). Conclusions-A synthetic analogue of the common epitope of ribosomal P-proteins can be use as an antigen for the detection of anti-P antibodies. These antibodies are associated with active SLE and CNS involvement particularly in patients without anticardiolipin antibodies. (Ann Rheum Dis 2000;59:99-104) Autoantibodies to ribosomal P proteins (anti-P antibodies) were recognised several years ago as a distinct group of autoantibodies directed against the P 0, P 1 , and P 2 proteins located on the larger (60 S) subunit of the eukaryotic ribosomes.1 2 Sera containing anti-P antibodies react preferentially with a common epitope consisting ...

Development of antimicrobial peptides has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to the excessive use of antibiotics, which has led to multiresistant bacteria. Cationic amphiphilic Aib-containing peptide models Ac-(Aib-Arg-Aib-Leu)(n)-NH2, n = 1-4, and sequential cationic polypeptides (Arg-X-Gly)(n), X = Ala, Val, Leu, were prepared and studied for their antimicrobial and hemolytic activity, as well as for their proteolytic stability. Ac-(Aib-Arg-Aib-Leu)(n)-NH2, n = 2, 3 and the polypeptide (Arg-Leu-Gly)(n) exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, and they were nontoxic at their MIC values and resistant, in particular the Aib-peptide models, to enzymatic degradation. The conformational characteristics of the peptide models were studied by circular dichroism (CD). Structure-activity relationship studies revealed the importance of the amphipathic alpha-helical conformation of the reported peptides in inducing antimicrobial effects. It is concluded that peptide models comprising cationic amino acids (Arg), helicogenic and noncoding residues (Aib) and/or hydrophobic and helix-promoting components (Leu) may lead to the development of antimicrobial therapeutics.

The rational design of artificial carriers for anchoring multiple copies of B and/or T cell epitopes, built-in vaccine adjuvants and "promiscuous" T cell epitopes for the construction of conjugates as antigenic substrates or potent immunogens has been the stimulus of intensive efforts nowadays. The unambiguous composition, the reliability and the versatility of the production of reconstituted antigens or immunogens has found a great number of biochemical applications in developing immunoassays of high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility and in generating site-specific antibodies for usage as human vaccine candidates. In this review are summarized different types of artificial carriers currently used as dendrimers bearing branching segments, multimeric core matrices and templates with built-in folding devices. Emphasis is given to the construction and application of a helicoid-type Sequential Oligopeptide Carrier (SOCn) developed in our laboratory. The beneficial structural elements of SOCn induce a favorable arrangement of the conjugated peptides, which also retain their initial "active" conformation, so that potent antigens and immunogens are generated.

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A multifunctional carrier combining B/T cell epitopes (i), a built-in vaccine adjuvant (ii), and a universal T cell epitope (iii) for the construction of potent and specific immunogenic conjugates is presented. The IL-1beta(163-171) fragment known to reproduce the immunostimulatory and adjuvant effects of the whole IL-1beta without possessing any of the pro-inflammatory properties of IL-1beta was covalently anchored to the N-terminus of the Sequential Oligopeptide Carrier, SOC(n), formed by the repeating tripeptide unit Lys-Aib-Gly. A promiscuous T cell epitope derived from the tetanus toxin, TT(593-599), was also positioned in the carboxy terminus of SOC(n) as a universal immunogen to provide broad immunogenicity. Selected B/T cell epitopes from the Sm and La/SSB autoantigens, against which is directed the humoral autoimmunity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's Syndrome, respectively, were coupled to the Lys-N(epsilon)H2 groups of the carrier, and the formulated constructs were administered in animals following the conventional immunization protocol of complete/incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The induced immune responses were compared with that produced when the Sm- and La/SSB-reconstituted immunogenic conjugates were injected alone. High titers of specific antibodies recognizing the priming construct, as well as the cognate autoantigen, were obtained when administered alone without the assistance of Freund's adjuvant. It is concluded that our approach provides the conceptual and experimental framework for the development of multifunctional immunogenic conjugates eliciting enhanced, specific, and prolonged humoral response for usage as human vaccine candidates.