Thyroid disease is a medical condition that affects the function of the thyroid gland (the endocrine organ found at the front of the neck that produces thyroid hormones). The symptoms of the disease vary depending on the type. There are four general types: 1) hypothyroidism (low function) caused by not having enough thyroid hormones; 2) … Read more
Serology is the scientific study of serum and other bodily fluids. The term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given microorganism), foreign proteins (in response to mismatched blood transfusion), or to one’s own proteins (autoimmune disease). Serological tests … Read more
Infectious disease is defined by the pathology associated with infection. Infection is the invasion of an organism’s tissues by disease-causing intruders, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to these intruders and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease can be the result of the intruder’s damaging activity, by its produced toxins, by the … Read more
Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells. The three main purposes of metabolism are: the conversion of food to energy to run cellular processes, the conversion of food to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates, and the elimination of wastes. These enzyme-catalysed reactions allow organisms to grow, … Read more
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the group of anomalies that involve the circulatory system (heart and/or blood vessels). Examples of CVD are coronary artery diseases (such as angina and myocardial infarction, aka heart attack), stroke, many heart-related ailments, venous thrombosis, and peripheral artery disease. T Arteriosclerosis (hardening and loss of elasticity of the artery walls) and … Read more
Preface This paper is mainly based on the publication of the National Research Council (US) Committee on Methods of Producing Monoclonal Antibodies. Monoclonal Antibody Production. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1999, referred to in the text as (NCR 1999) a few times. ISBN: 0-309-51904-7, 74 pages, 6 x 9 PMID: 22934324, http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9450.html Large parts … Read more
For both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, cancer/tumour markers are being monitored to get an idea about the status of the disease. However, most individual cancer markers are not highly specific, because they are not exclusively expressed and secreted by tumour cells. Therefore, instead of the mere presence of one marker, specificity is often obtained by … Read more
Inflammation is the body’s generic response to pathogens, irritants, or damaged cells, and it is considered a hallmark of the innate immune response. Its function is to eliminate the initial causes of cell damage, to remove necrotic cells and tissues and to initiate tissue repair. The classical signs of acute inflammation are heat, pain, redness … Read more
Hormones are signalling molecules secreted by glands (endocrine signalling system) for communication between organs and tissues for physiological regulation and behaviour. They affect their target cells by binding to a specific receptor to activate a signal transduction pathway. Upon secretion, certain hormones are water-soluble and are readily transported through the circulatory system, while others are … Read more
Phage display is a rapidly evolving technology that has been used to support a range of applications depending on the nature of the phage display library. These include epitope mapping, receptor and ligand identification, protein-protein interaction studies, recombinant antibody production, directed evolution of proteins, and drug discovery. The widespread utility of this technology is backed … Read more