Abstract: Novel exendin peptide compounds are provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides peptides and peptide analogues that mimic the structural and pharmacological properties of human ApoA-I. The peptides and peptide analogues are useful to treat a variety of disorders associated with dyslipidemia.

Abstract: The testing of tumor cells, including human tumors capable of metastases, in assays employing fibronectin-depleted substrates is described. Ex vivo induction of cells, including biopsied human cells, is performed with invasion-inducing agents. Additionally, anti-cancer chemotherapeutics are described. Specifically, chemotherapeutic agents which have anti-metastatic and anti-growth properties are described including non-peptide compositions of matter.

Abstract: The invention provides peptides, and compositions containing those peptides, that increase the amount of fibronectin in tissue. These compositions are useful for encouraging the maintenance and development of healthy skin, for preventing and treating wrinkles, and for treating wounds. The peptides can be formulated into therapeutic compositions, lotions, creams, skin coverings and wound dressings that facilitate healing and healthy skin development, discourage scarring and wrinkling, and ameliorate the effects of healing.

Abstract: Polypeptides and methods of use including treating bacterial infection and/or endotoxemia, decreasing the amount of TNF-?, inhibiting endothelial cell proliferation, inhibiting angiogenic-factor mediated inter-cellular adhesion molecule expression down-regulation, and inhibiting angiogenesis.

Abstract: A method for treating mammalian articular cartilage disorders, more particularly osteoarthritis, and trauma-related cartilage injuries using insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is provided. The method comprises increasing the amount of IGF-I at the diseased or injured articular site to a therapeutically effective level that is capable of maintenance and/or regeneration of cartilage, which is beneficial to the long-term treatment of osteoarthritis and trauma-related injuries to cartilage tissues. In one embodiment of the invention, single doses of at least 0.01 mg of pharmaceutically effective IGF-I are administered intermittently such that the duration of time off of therapy is greater than the time on therapy, more preferably with a frequency of administration of about once per week or less.

Abstract: The present invention provides an agent for preventing and/or treating cachexia comprising TCF-II as an effective ingredient. An agent for preventing and treating cachexia caused by cancer, acquired immunodeficient syndrome (AIDS), cardiac diseases, infectious disease, shock, burn, endotoxinemia, organ inflammation, surgery, diabetes, collagen diseases, radiotherapy, chemotherapy is provided by the present invention.

Abstract: The instant invention provides methods, reagents, and computational tools for designing non-natural substrate analogs for enzymes, especially for designing unnatural amino acid analogs for aminoacyl tRNA Synthetases (AARSs), such as the Phe tRNA Synthetase. The instant invention also provides methods to incorporate unnatural amino acid analogs, especially those with interesting functional groups, into protein products to generate proteins of modified or novel functions.

Abstract: A method for predicting the elution time of a peptide in chromatographic and electrophoretic separations by first providing a data set of known elution times of known peptides, then creating a plurality of vectors, each vector having a plurality of dimensions, and each dimension representing the elution time of amino acids present in each of these known peptides from the data set. The elution time of any protein is then be predicted by first creating a vector by assigning dimensional values for the elution time of amino acids of at least one hypothetical peptide and then calculating a predicted elution time for the vector by performing a multivariate regression of the dimensional values of the hypothetical peptide using the dimensional values of the known peptides. Preferably, the multivariate regression is accomplished by the use of an artificial neural network and the elution times are first normalized using a transfer function.

Abstract: The present invention provides synthetic ?-secretase peptide substrates useful in various assays for measuring ?-secretase activity. Antibodies that recognize the synthetic substrates and uses of the antibodies in various assays are disclosed. The herein disclosed peptide substrates are hydrolyzed at rates substantially faster than the attendant Swedish mutant APP from which the substrate sequences are derived.

Abstract: Novel pseudopeptide analogs of the insect allatostatin neuropeptide family which possess biological activity mimicking that of the naturally occurring neuropeptides are disclosed. By addition of a hydrophobic moiety to an active portion of the allatostatin peptides, analogs are produced which exhibit an overall amphiphilic nature and which are capable of penetrating the insect cuticle while still retaining biological activity. Furthermore, by substituting sterically hindered amino acids or aromatic acids for any or all of the first, third or fifth amino acid residues of the allatostatin C-terminal pentapeptide, analogs may be produced which are resistant to degradation by insect peptidases while still retaining biological activity. The analogs may be used for insect control by disrupting critical reproductive and/or developmental processes normally regulated by allatostatins in insects.

Abstract: Co-administration of a lysostaphin or other anti-staphylococcal agent which cleaves cross-links of peptidoglycans of staphylococci cell walls such as lysostaphin and an antibiotic effective against staphylococci due to antibiotic activity mediated by cell-wall activity is effective against staphylococcal infection, even staphylococci that may be resistant to one or other of lysostaphin or the cell-wall active antibiotic. Co-administration simultaneously suppresses the generation of antibiotic-resistant mutant strains. Effective cell-wall active antibiotics include ?-lactams and glycopeptides.

Abstract: The present invention provides three-dimensional structural information from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus which is a histone deacetylase-like protein (HDLP). HDLP shares 35.2% amino acid sequence identity with human histone deacetylase (HDAC1). The present invention further provides three-dimensional structural information of HDLP bound by inhibitor molecules. The three-dimensional structural information of the present invention is useful to design, isolate and screen deacetylase inhibitor compounds capable of inhibiting HDLP, HDAC family members and HDLP-related molecules. The invention also relates to nucleic acids encoding a mutant HDLP which facilitates the determination of the three-dimensional structure of HDLP in the presence of a zinc atom.

Abstract: The present invention provides an agent for preventing and/or treating cachexia comprising TCF-II as an effective ingredient. An agent for preventing and treating cachexia caused by cancer, acquired immunodeficient syndrome (AIDS), cardiac diseases, infectious disease, shock, burn, endotoxinemia, organ inflammation, surgery, diabetes, collagen diseases, radiotherapy, chemotherapy is provided by the present invention.

Abstract: An immunogenic detoxified protein is provided which comprises the amino acid sequence of subunit A of an E. coli heat labile toxin (LT-A) or a fragment thereof in which at least amino acid Ala-72, numbered relative to SEQ ID NO:1, of the A subunits mutated, preferably by substitution with Arg. The toxoid is useful as vaccine against an enterotoxigenic strain of E. coli and is produced by recombinant DNA means by site-directed mutagenesis. It is also an effective adjuvant.

Abstract: The present invention provides functional nucleic acid probes, and methods of using functional nucleic acid probes, for binding a target to carry out a desired function. The probes have at least one functional nucleic acid, at least one regulating nucleic acid, and at least one attenuator. The functional nucleic acid is maintained in an inactive state by the attenuator and activated by the regulating nucleic acid only in the presence of a regulating nucleic acid target. In its activated state the functional nucleic acid can bind to its target to carry out a desired function, such as generating a signal, cleaving a nucleic acid, or catalyzing a reaction.

Abstract: A new family of proteins, the SARA proteins, has been identified. These proteins bind to receptor-regulated Smad proteins and modulate signal transduction by TGF?, activin and bone morphogenetic protein.

Abstract: The invention provides a method to screen for a modulator of enzymatic activity comprising the step of monitoring the association or dissociation of a pair of polypeptides which can associate as a dimer. The polypeptide pair comprises a first polypeptide comprising detection means and a site of post-translational modification and a second polypeptide comprising detection means.

Abstract: A mathematical contouring algorithm that automatically determines the planning volume of a sarcoma prior to designing a brachytherapy treatment plan. The algorithm, utilizing computational geometry, numerical interpolation and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, returns the planning volume in digitized and graphical forms in a matter of minutes. Such an automatic procedure reduces labor time and provides a consistent and objective method for determining planning volumes. In addition, a definitive representation of the planning volume allows for sophisticated brachytherapy treatment planning approaches to be applied when designing treatment plans, so as to maximize local tumor control and minimize normal tissue complications.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to perform the clustering and assembling of nucleic acid base sequences at a high speed. Partial sequences 102 are extracted from each input sequence 101 and entered into a fixed-length partial sequence table 103. In the case where a sequence overlapping with a consensus sequence 104 is searched while making reference to the fixed-length partial sequence table 103 and consequently a partial sequence 102, which exactly matches with a sequence defined by a fixed length window 105 scanning along the consensus sequence, is found to be present, whether the whole input sequence can be assembled or not is determined by comparing the sequences. If it is possible to assemble the sequences, they are assembled into a consensus sequence and also joined into the same cluster. The clustering and assembling are performed by repeatedly processing this procedure based on greedy method until no unprocessed input nucleic acid base sequence is left.