We have developed an immunization procedure for the production of effective anti-beta-amyloid (anti-Abeta) antibodies, using filamentous phage displaying only 4 amino acids. The EFRH sequence, encompassing amino acids 3-6 of the 42 residues of Abeta peptide, was found previously to be the main regulatory site for amyloid modulation and the epitope of anti-aggregating antibodies. Engineered filamentous phage enable the display of various numbers of EFRH copies on the phage and serve as potent carriers of antigens. In the present study we have found that phage displaying high EFRH copy number are effective in eliciting humoral response against the EFRH sequence, which in turn relieves the amyloid burden in the brains of amyloid precursor protein Tg mice and improves their ability to perform cognitive tasks.

-Paenibacillus larvae larvae, a Gram-positive and spore-forming bacterium, is the cause of American foulbrood. We investigated the resistance of larvae of different ages from different colonies against P. larvae larvae. We prepared ethanol-water-extracts from two, three, four and five day old larvae and also larvae in two capped stages to test the ability of the homogenates to inhibit the growth of P. larvae larvae in vitro. There were age and colony dependent differences in the inhibiting potentials of larvae. The results suggest that the concentration of the inhibiting substance(s) in the extract might be responsible for the known different degree of resistance against P. larvae larvae in vivo. Our results further show that the extracts of the two-, three-and four-day-old larvae have the ability to inhibit the growth of P. larvae larvae very well, while starting around day five the inhibiting effect is gradually reduced.Apis mellifera carnica / Paenibacillus larvae larvae / honeybee larvae / age-related resistance /

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