Protein-Based Drugs in Perspective

Since the commercial introduction of insulin in 1923, thyroid hormone in 1934, factor VIII in 1948, and calcitonin in 1970, plenty of new proteins have been firmly established as therapeutic agents. Currently there is great interest in production of the protein-based drugs which are used for both preventative and therapeutic purposes. Generally, the pharmaceutical proteins perform the same function as naturally-occurring proteins in body. Traditionally animal and plant sources have been used to obtain protein-based drugs which are indeed expensive and available in the limited supply. For instance, the human growth hormone was taken from human corpses and insulin required to treat diabetes was collected from slaughtered pigs, cows and other animals. Nowadays, the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology has enabled the production of large quantities of protein drugs as cost-efficient sources. The cloned genes are then genetically engineered into microorganisms or animals to produce the protein of interest. Production of protein-based drugs in rDNA technology can be achieved through the transgenic animals (pharming), microorganisms or through hybridomas. Of the more than 200 pharmaceutical proteins which have been investigated to date, more than half are undergoing research and development, about 100 are in clinical trials, and a dozen or so have already been marketed. The most important indications for them are cardiovascular disorders, tumors, autoimmune diseases, and infections. Overall, the protein-based drugs have found significant therapeutic potential, various clinical applications and growing market worldwide. On the other hand, several research centers/institutes in the field of life sciences have been established in our universities during the past decade. Now, these research centers and institutes could be pioneer for acquiring the big responsibility in different stages of production and commercialization of many protein-based drugs.  Reza Yousefi     Assistant Professor of Biochemistr

Effects of different tumors on the steady-state heat distribution in the human eye using the 3D finite element method

In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element method is developed to simulate the heat distribution in the human eye with different types of tumors to understand the effect of tumors on heat distribution in the human eye. The human eye is modeled as a composition of several homogeneous regions and the physical and thermal properties of each region used in this study are more accurate than the models used in previous studies. By considering the exact and complicated geometry of all parts, the finite element method is a proper solution for solving the heat equation inside the human eye. There are two kinds of boundary conditions called the radiation condition and the Robin condition. The radiation boundary condition is modeled as a Robin boundary condition. For modeling eye tumors and their effect on heat distribution, we need information about eye tumor properties such as heat conductivity, density, specific heat, and so on. Thanks to no accurate reported information about eye tumor properties, the properties of other types of tumors such as skin, and bowel tumors are used. Simulation results with different parameters of eye tumors show the effect of eye tumors on heat distribution in the human eye.Comment: 15 pages, 6 Figures, 5 Table

A Comparative study on the chaperone-like activity of camel and bovine β-caseins

     Molecular chaperones are characterized by a general behavior, arresting the exposed hydrophobic surfaces of denaturing substrate proteins. In the present study, the capacity of β-caseins (β-CN) from camel and bovine milk in suppression of thermal aggregation process of apo-yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) was assessed. Apo-I enzyme was prepared by removal of the structural zinc; while apo-II-protein was obtained by depleting conformational and catalytic zinc atoms. Fluorescence spectroscopy using ANS probe revealed greater hydrophobic surface in apo-II ADH. Considerable decrease in aggregation of the heat treated protein molecules was observed upon exposing to β-CNs (camel, bovine). Bovine β-CN afforded more adverse effects on thermal aggregation. A direct correlation between casein’s chaperone activity and structural stability of the substrate proteins was displayed. Moreover, an association between casein source and chaperone-like activity is suggested

Detecting the role of land use / land cover on river bank processes (Study area: Talar River, Iran)

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Theorie und Praxis der Toleranz: wie ich sie sehe; eine philosophische Sicht

Es geht in diesem Artikel darum, die Theorie und Praxis der Toleranz so darzustellen, wie ich diese verstehe. Meine Ausgangsfragen lauten: Wie sind interkulturelle und interreligiöse Toleranz und integrative Verständigung möglich? Wie können wir mit der Pluralität unterschiedlicher Einstellungen und Überzeugungen in Theorie und Praxis umgehen