Biology subjects

Hummer, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Hummer, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

PLAbDab-nano: a database of camelid and shark nanobodies from patents and literature

Nanobodies are essential proteins of the adaptive immune systems of camelid and shark species, complementing conventional antibodies. Properties such as their relatively small size, solubility and high thermostability make VHH and VNAR modalities a promising therapeutic format and a valuable resource for a wide range of biological applications. The volume of academic literature and patents related to nanobodies has risen significantly over the past decade. Here, we present PLAbDab-nano, a nanobody complement to the Patent and Literature Antibody Database (PLAbDab). PLAbDab-nano is a selfupdating, searchable repository containing approximately 5000 annotated VHH and VNAR sequences. We describe the methods used to curate the entries in PLAbDab-nano, and highlight how PLAbDab-nano could be used to design diverse libraries, as well as find sequences similar to known patented or therapeutic entries. PLAbDab-nano is freely available as a searchable web server (opig.stats.ox.ac.uk/webapps/plabdab-nano/). Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=193 SRC="FIGDIR/small/604232v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (40K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@5d81d4org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f69f21org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1493c54org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@117e3c5_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

immunology↗

bioRxiv2020

Beyond sharing unpleasant affect - evidence for pain-specific opioidergic modulation of empathy for pain

The neural mechanisms underpinning empathy for pain are still a matter of debate. One of the major questions is whether empathy-related pain responses indicate domain-general vs. pain-specific affective responses. Using fMRI and psychopharmacological experiments, we investigated if placebo analgesia reduces first-hand and empathic experiences of affective touch, and compared them to the effects on pain. Placebo analgesia also affected the first-hand and empathic experience of unpleasant touch, implicating domain-general effects. However, and in contrast to pain and pain empathy, administering an opioid antagonist did not block these effects. Moreover, placebo analgesia reduced neural activity related to both modalities in the bilateral insular cortex, while it specifically modulated activity in the anterior midcingulate cortex for pain and pain empathy. These findings provide causal evidence that one of the major neurochemical systems for pain regulation is involved in pain empathy, and crucially substantiate the role of shared representations in empathy.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Placebo-induced pain reduction is associated with inverse network coupling at rest

Placebos can reduce pain by inducing beliefs in the effectiveness of an actually inert treatment. Such top-down effects on pain typically engage lateral and medial prefrontal regions, the insula, somatosensory cortex, as well as the thalamus and brainstem during pain anticipation or perception. Considering the level of large-scale brain networks, these regions spatially align with fronto-parietal/executive control, salience, and sensory-motor networks, but it is unclear if and how placebos alter interactions between them during rest. Here, we investigated how placebo analgesia affected intrinsic network coupling. Ninety-nine human participants were randomly assigned to a placebo or control group and underwent resting-state fMRI after pain processing. Results revealed inverse coupling between sensory-motor and salience-like networks in placebo but not control participants. Specifically, networks were centered on the bilateral somatosensory cortex, as well as on the brainstem, thalamus, striatal regions, dorsal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and the insula, respectively. Across participants, more negative between-network coupling was associated with lower individual pain intensity as assessed during a preceding pain task, but was unrelated to expectations of medication effectiveness in the placebo group. Altogether, these findings provide initial evidence that placebo analgesia affects the intrinsic communication between large-scale brain networks, even in the absence of pain. We suggest a model where placebo analgesia increases activation within a descending pain-modulatory network, segregating it from somatosensory regions that might code for painful experiences.\n\nHighlightsO_LIPlacebo analgesia affects resting-state connectivity between networks.\nC_LIO_LISalience-related and somatosensory regions are negatively coupled at rest.\nC_LIO_LIThis coupling is negative following placebo, but not in control participants.\nC_LIO_LIMore negative between-network coupling is related to lower pain intensity.\nC_LI

neuroscience↗