Mohamad Alaa Terkawi

Bone is a mineralized and elastic connective tissue that provides fundamental functions in the human body, including mechanical support to the muscles and joints, protection of vital organs and storage of minerals. Bone is a metabolically active organ that undergoes continuous remodeling processes to maintain its architecture, shape, and function throughout life. One of the most important medical discoveries of recent decades has been that the immune system is involved in bone remodeling. Indeed

Dense granule antigen proteins derived from Toxoplasma gondii (TgGRAs) are potential antigens for the development of diagnostic tools. TgGRA7 and TgGRA14 were detected in the peritoneal fluid of T. gondii-infected mice, suggesting that TgGRAs may be highly antigenic proteins. Here, TgGRA7 and TgGRA14 were evaluated as candidates for the development of a marker for a rapid diagnostic test. The specificity and sensitivity of purified recombinant proteins of TgGRA7 and TgGRA14 were compared in an i

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a musculoskeletal disease characterized by cartilage degeneration and stiffness, with chronic pain in the affected joint. It has been proposed that OA progression is associated with the development of low-grade inflammation (LGI) in the joint. In support of this principle, LGI is now recognized as the major contributor to the pathogenesis of obesity, aging, and metabolic syndromes, which have been documented as among the most significant risk factors for developing OA. The

Our results provide new insight into the pathologic mechanisms of OA and suggest that noncanonical pyroptosis in chondrocytes represents an attractive therapeutic target for treatment.

Five Babesia bovis recombinant proteins, including merozoite surface antigen 2c (BbMSA-2c), C-terminal rhoptry-associated protein 1 (BbRAP-1/CT), truncated thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (BbTRAP-T), spherical body protein 1 (BbSBP-1), and spherical body protein 4 (BbSBP-4), were evaluated as diagnostic antigens to detect the infection in cattle. The recombinant proteins were highly antigenic when tested with experimentally B. bovis-infected bovine serum in Western blot analysis. Furthe

In the present study, we examined the contributions of macrophages to the outcome of infection with Babesia microti, the etiological agent of human and rodent babesiosis, in BALB/c mice. Mice were treated with clodronate liposome at different times during the course of B. microti infection in order to deplete the macrophages. Notably, a depletion of host macrophages at the early and acute phases of infection caused a significant elevation of parasitemia associated with remarkable mortality in th

A gene encoding a Babesia bovis protein that shares significant degree of similarity to other apicomplexan thrombospondin-related anonymous proteins (TRAPs) was found in the genomic database and designated as BbTRAP2. Recombinant protein containing a conserved region of BbTRAP2 was produced in E. coli. A high antigenicity of recombinant BbTRAP2 (rBbTRAP2) was observed with field B. bovis-infected bovine sera collected from geographically different regions of the world. Moreover, antiserum agains

Periprosthetic osteolysis induced by orthopedic implant-wear particles continues to be the leading cause of arthroplasty failure in majority of patients. Release of the wear debris results in a chronic local inflammatory response typified by the recruitment of immune cells, including macrophages. The cellular mediators derived from activated macrophages favor the osteoclast-bone resorbing activity resulting in bone loss at the site of implant and loosening of the prosthetic components. Emerging

We developed an <i>in vitro</i> co-culture model to study the impact of stimulation of macrophage by cartilage fragments on the expression of chondrocyte carbolic factors. Our results revealed that cartilage fragments triggered macrophages inflammatory response that enhanced the production of chondrocyte catabolic factors.

Serological immunoscreening was used to identify a gene encoding heat shock protein-70 from Babesia gibsoni (BgHSP-70) that showed high homology with HSP-70s from other apicomplexan parasites. This gene corresponded to a full-length cDNA containing an open reading frame of 1968 bp predicted to result in a 70-kDa mature protein consisting of 656 amino acids. Analysis of the expression levels of BgHSP-70 indicated elevated transcription from cultured parasites incubated at 40 degrees C for 1 h, bu