Polypeptide tag technology is widely used for protein detection and affinity purification. It consists of two fundamental elements: a peptide sequence and a binder which specifically binds to the peptide tag. In many tag systems, antibodies have been used as binder due to their high affinity and specificity. Recently, we obtained clone Ra48, a high-affinity rabbit monoclonal antibody (mAb) against dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1). Here, we report a novel tag system composed of Ra48 antibody and its epitope sequence. Using a deletion assay, we identified EEAAGIARP in the C-terminal region of DRD1 as the minimal epitope of Ra48 mAb, and we named this sequence the “AGIA” tag, based on its central sequence. The tag sequence does not include the four amino acids, Ser, Thr, Tyr, or Lys, which are susceptible to post-translational modification. We demonstrated performance of this new tag system in biochemical and cell biology applications. SPR analysis demonstrated that the affinity of the Ra48 mAb to the AGIA tag was 4.90 × 10−9 M. AGIA tag showed remarkably high sensitivity and specificity in immunoblotting. A number of AGIA-fused proteins overexpressed in animal and plant cells were detected by anti-AGIA antibody in immunoblotting and immunostaining with low background, and were immunoprecipitated efficiently. Furthermore, a single amino acid substitution of the second Glu to Asp (AGIA/E2D) enabled competitive dissociation of AGIA/E2D-tagged protein by adding wild-type AGIA peptide. It enabled one-step purification of AGIA/E2D-tagged recombinant proteins by peptide competition under physiological conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of the AGIA system makes it suitable for use in multiple methods for protein analysis.
Carbonate apatite (CO 3 Ap), fabricated by dissolution-precipitation reaction based on an appropriate precursor, is expected to be replaced by bone according to bone remodeling cycle. One of the precursor candidates is gypsum because it shows self-setting ability, which then enables it to be shaped and molded. The aim of this study, therefore, was to fabricate CO 3 Ap blocks from set gypsum. Set gypsum was immersed in a mixed solution of 0.4 mol/L disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na 2 HPO 4 ) and 0.4 mol/L sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO 3 ) at 80-200°C for 6-48 h. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that CO 3 Ap block was fabricated by dissolution-precipitation reaction in Na 2 HPO 4 -NaHCO 3 solution using set gypsum in 48 h when the temperature was 100°C or higher. Conversion rate to CO 3 Ap increased with treatment temperature. CO 3 Ap block containing a larger amount of carbonate was obtained when treated at lower temperature.
Despite the inclusion of an unfavorable group of patients with large tumors, our results for survival and tumor control rates are comparable to those of published series. The Cyberknife provides the advantage of allowing for fractionated treatment to multiple or large-size tumors.
Moyamoya disease is a progressive steno-occlusive condition of the main intracranial arteries that results in the compensatory formation of fragile moyamoya vessels at the base of the brain. RNF213 is the most significant susceptibility gene and is often found with the p.Arg4810Lys founder variant in East Asian patients. We identified three putatively deleterious variants of this gene from three pediatric patients: two were novel, and one was a recurrent missense variant previously reported in other pediatric patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.