In an in vivo study, the fluorescent signal of EGBP-AOC-Cy5.5 treated mouse was mainly detected in the tumor and kidney. eFT-508 Among the three derivatives, EGBP-AOC-Cy5.5 was the optimized optical imaging agent for U87MG EGER positive tumors in the animal model. This study demonstrated the EGBP-Linker-Cy5.5 conjugates may be useful as a potential EGFR target optical probe. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Despite nine decades of Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination, tuberculosis continues to be a major global health challenge. Clinical trials worldwide have proved the inadequacy of the BCG vaccine in

preventing the manifestation of pulmonary tuberculosis in adults. Ironically, the efficacy of

BCG is poorest in tuberculosis endemic areas. Factors such as nontuberculous or environmental mycobacteria and helminth infestation have been suggested to limit the efficacy of BCG. Hence, in high TB-burden countries, see more radically novel strategies of vaccination are urgently required. Here we showcase the properties of lipidated promiscuous peptide vaccines that target and activate cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems by employing a Toll-like receptor-2 agonist, S[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]cysteine (Pam2Cys). Such a strategy elicits robust protection and enduring memory responses by type 1 T helper cells (Th1). Consequently, lipidated peptides may yield a better vaccine than BCG.”
“Opioid neurotransmission has been implicated in reinforcement-related processes for several drugs of abuse, including opiates, stimulants, and alcohol. However, less is known about its role in the motivational effects of nicotine and nicotine-associated environmental cues.

This study investigated whether pretreatment with naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, alters conditioned incentive salience of nicotine cues under two conditions:

cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking Celecoxib after extinction and cue-maintained responding during extinction. The effect of naltrexone on nicotine self-administration during the maintenance phase was also examined.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in daily 1-h sessions to self-administer nicotine (0.03 mg/kg/infusion, i.v.) on a fixed-ratio 5 schedule and associate a conditioned stimulus (CS) with each nicotine delivery. Once responding was extinguished by saline substitution for nicotine and omission of the CS, the reinstatement tests were conducted following subcutaneous administration of naltrexone (0, 0.25, 1, 2 mg/kg). In separate groups of rats, naltrexone (0, 2 mg/kg) was chronically given before each extinction sessions, where responses on the active lever resulted in presentations of the CS without nicotine infusion (saline substitution). Self-administration/naltrexone tests were conducted in different groups of rats receiving similar nicotine self-administration training.