Lyme disease is caused by bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii) that are delivered by a bite from an infected tick (Figure 1). The Centers for Disease Control (1) recommend a preventative (prophylactic) single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline for adults bitten by a mosquito with a high probability of carrying the Lyme-causing … Read more
Extracellular signaling molecules mediate the communication between cells or tissues. These can be small proteins (peptides), large proteins, lipids, protein and lipid complexes, carbohydrates, gases, amino acids, nucleic acids, amino acids, and various small organic molecules. These signals can function locally, affecting cells that are near the cells producing the signal, or can function systemically … Read more
Although genomic (DNA) and transcriptomic (messenger RNA) data are easier to collect and analyze, these are only two of the relevant types of “omic” data that are important for understanding disease and the response to treatments. Proteomic, metabolomic, and lipidomic data are also contain information that can be used diagnostically, prognostically, in developing treatment … Read more
This commentary on the power of proteomics highlights research showing how proteomics can advance the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, a type of vascular disease. Langley and colleagues use mass spectrometric analysis to define a 4-protein signature that predicts patients with atherosclerosis who are at risk for a vascular event, such as stroke or heart attack.This study … Read more
T cells are a major component of the adaptive immune system. The video shows the intracellular events that let T cells learn about and recognize virus-infected cells. Infected cells can use the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I or MHC II pathway to signal to T cells that they are infected. Both pathways rely on the … Read more