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A travers le declin de la part de la remuneration du travail dans la valeur ajoutee depuis les annees 1980, cet article examine la degradation continue et generalisee du rapport salarial fordiste. Il se concentre sur le sort differencie du salaire direct et du salaire indirect.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, unprecedented population growth, concomitant with limited industrialisation and job creation, have changed the configurations of rural-urban linkages in recent decades. Indeed, as primate cities do not act as strong engines of growth, territorial dynamics are rapidly being reshaped by renewed flows of people, goods, services and information within and between economic sectors, and between rural and urban areas. Rural densification and the fast expansion of small and medium-sized cities is one manifestation of these changes. As a result of silo thinking about rural and urban in most national strategies, plus the widespread informal economy and limited available statistics in the region, these new rural-urban linkages and their contribution to socioeconomic dynamics remain underexplored. Contributing to fill this gap, the aim of this paper is to present and test a method to assess rural-urban linkages and their possible role in territorial development in southern countries. We use a holistic approach and adopt an original posture, taking rural areas as the point of reference. Our method sets proxy indicators for specific information that is missing on rural-urban linkages. These indicators are then used to build a typology of territories according to potential rural-urban linkages, using a multivariate analysis and clustering. When applied to the case of Zimbabwe, the results reveal three types of districts, which differ in terms of the nature, intensity, direction and potential of rural-urban linkages for territorial development. We discuss the method’s suitability in a diagnostic phase and how it could feed strategic thinking to mainstream rural-urban linkages in territorial development actions.

The question of how this spending affects the economic growth is a question as old as economics. While the 19th century showed their countercyclical growth during the phase of depression of the business cycle followed by ratchet effects when economic context is improving, the 20th century has studied the causes of their growth. Economic causes insist first on the correction on income losses and then introduce causality as regards with the dynamics of capital accumulation. At the end of the 1980s, a new assumption (Lucas 1988, Fontvieille 1990) suggests that social spending would have become a driver of growth. This paper searches to verify this assumption. In order to do so, it focuses on the european pathway of social spending development since the 1960s to 2014. It is shown that insofar as social spending is still sensitive to the two last business cycle phase of depression, the 1980s assumption is not invalidated. But the assumption is not verified for other reasons than the expected ones. While social spending avoiding the fall of income used to be countercyclical, the other ones, dedicated to the production of the quality of the people, are becoming acyclical.

We have raised monoclonal antibodies against KLK6 and constructed a ‘sandwich’ type immunoassay using 8A8G3 as capture and 3H3E9 as tracer antibodies. 8A8G3 bound to one side of KLK6, whereas 3H3E9 probably bound near its catalytic site. The assay did not detect complexed forms of KLK6, indicating that it quantifies only free KLK6 (fKLK6). fKLK6 was higher in serum of patients with ovarian cancer (11.34 μg/l±1.37) than in controls (3.39 μg/l±0.42). The cerebrospinal fluid contained high concentrations of fKLK6 (257–965 μg/l). This assay could facilitate the evaluation of fKLK6 in human diseases.

Resume Le cancer de la prostate (CaP) a l’incidence la plus elevee de tous les cancers chez les hommes de plus de 50 ans et represente la deuxieme cause de mortalite par cancer. Le prostate-specific antigen (PSA) est le marqueur le plus couramment utilise pour le diagnostic et le suivi du cancer de la prostate. Le PSA, aussi appele kallicreine 3, est un membre de la famille des kallicreines humaines de type serine proteases qui circule dans le sang sous forme de complexes avec des inhibiteurs de proteases et sous forme libre. Cependant, le PSA libre est aussi un melange heterogene de differentes formes moleculaires : proPSA, formes matures intactes ou clivees. La signification clinique de ces differentes formes n’est pas encore connue, mais leur mesure specifique dans le serum pourrait ameliorer la specificite du PSA pour detecter un cancer ou predire l’evolution d’un traitement. D’autres kallicreines comprenant les kallicreines 2, 11, 4, 14 et 15 sont aussi des marqueurs emergeant comme marqueurs complementaires au PSA pour le cancer de la prostate. Une detection multiple des differentes formes moleculaires du PSA ainsi que de ces kallicreines, en addition avec le PSA total, pourrait ameliorer l’utilite diagnostique du PSA et pourrait ajouter une valeur pronostique en apportant des informations cliniques sur la progression du cancer.

A dodecapeptide phage-displayed library was screened with the mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) 2E3C2 which competed with human antibodies for the binding to the HCV c100 recombinant protein. Four mimotopes shared a consensus motif with the HCV 1701-1707 sequence corresponding to the carboxyl-terminal domain of the non-structural protein NS4A. However, these mimotopes reacted with 2E3C2 only, whereas the corresponding NS4 epitope defined at the sequence 1698-1709 and displayed on phage was recognized by both 2E3C2 and sera from HCV infected patients. Using the Spot method of multiple peptide synthesis and alanine replacement analysis, the respective reactivities of mAb 2E3C2 and anti-NS4A human antibodies against NS4 were shown to be directed against two slightly different overlapping minimal linear sequences and to involve different critical residues. The phage clone displaying the NS4 epitope was used to study the specific recognition of this epitope by different individual HCV positive sera as well as by two seroconversion panels of sera from HCV infected patients. Compared with the detection by RIBA of the different HCV antigens and c100 particularly, these results indicated that the antibodies directed against the NS4 (1698-1709) epitope were produced early during the course of the disease and decreased later.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural 3 (NS3) protein is composed of an amino terminal protease and a carboxyl terminal RNA helicase. NS3 contains major antigenic epitopes. The antibody response to NS3 appears early in the course of infection and is focused on the helicase region. However, this response cannot be defined by short synthetic peptides indicating the recognition of conformation-dependent epitopes. In this study, we have screened a dodecapeptide library displayed on phage with anti-NS3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that compete with each other and human anti-HCV NS3 positive sera. Two peptides (mimotopes) were selected that appeared to mimic an immunodominant epitope since they were recognized specifically by the different anti-NS3 mAbs of the study and by human sera from HCV infected patients. Homology search between the two mimotopes and the NS3 sequence showed that one of the two peptides shared amino acid similarities with NS3 at residues 1396-1398 on a very accessible loop as visualized on the three-dimensional structure of the helicase domain whereas the other one had two amino acids similar to nearby residues 1376 and 1378. Reproduced as synthetic dodecapeptides, the two mimotopes were recognized specifically by 19 and 22, respectively, out of 49 sera from HCV infected patients. These mimotopes allowed also the detection of anti-NS3 antibodies in sera of HCV patients at the seroconversion stage. These results suggest that the two NS3 mimotopes are potential tools for the diagnosis of HCV infection.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a 237-amino acid glycoprotein, encoded by the hKLK3 gene, is widely used as a serum marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. We report here the localization of a conformational epitope recognized by the anti-total PSA monoclonal antibody (mAb) 11E5C6, by proteolytic degradation of mAb-bound antigen followed by mass spectrometric analyses of the peptides generated. These two technologies, combined with molecular display, allowed the identification of amino acid residues contained within three different peptides distant on the PSA sequence, but close in the PSA three-dimensional structure, that may be part of the mAb 11E5C6 epitope. The last four C-terminal amino acid residues are included in this epitope, as well as certain other C-terminal residues between Y225 and T232. The involvement of the PSA C-terminal end in the mAb 11E5C6 epitope was confirmed by western blotting experiments with the recombinant protein proPSA-RP1, resulting from the cloning of an alternative transcript of the hKLK3 gene, in which the PSA C-terminal end was deleted and replaced by another sequence. Although the anti-total PSA mAb 5D5A5 used as a control bound proPSA-RP1, mAb 11E5C6 did not. The requirement of the C-terminal end for the recognition by mAb 11E5C6 may be useful for the discrimination of PSA-related forms.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a protease which is characteristic of the prostate. It is widely used as a serum marker for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). Nevertheless, for concentrations between 4 and 10 ng/mL, PSA does not enable PCa to be distinguished from benign diseases, such as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). In sera, the use of a ratio between free PSA (PSA uncomplexed with protease inhibitor) and total PSA (free PSA and PSA bound to alpha-1 anti-chymotrypsin) enables the "gray zone" to be reduced, but an important proportion of patients are still wrongly classed. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis, we demonstrated using 52 PCa and 40 BPH well-documented clinical cases that BPH sera show a significantly greater percentage of low-molecular-weight free PSA elements (IwPSA) than PCa sera. In our study, the use of a ratio between IwPSA and standard free PSA enables the correct diagnosis of 100% of PCa and 82.5% of BPH cases as against when 73.1% and 42.5% respectively were correctly diagnozed using the total PSA and the free/total PSA ratio. This important finding may be related to differences in the mechanism secreting PSA from the prostate into the bloodstream. We have shown how a tissue marker may be turned into a powerful tumor marker by events probably unrelated to its expression.

The synthetic peptides E30D and D10P that correspond to prostate specific antigen (PSA) sequences 60-91 and 78-89, respectively, and contain the kallikrein loop were used to immunize mice to obtain anti-PSA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).Antipeptide mAb characteristics were studied using biosensor technology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and analyzing the mAb effects on PSA-alpha1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) complex formation and PSA enzymatic activity. Epitope mapping of these mAbs was performed using overlapping peptide synthesis on nitrocellulose membrane.Anti-E30D mAbs bound PSA coated on the solid phase only, whereas anti-D10P mAbs recognized PSA in detection as well as in capture. However, these mAbs appeared to be anti-total PSA mAbs. Anti-E30D and anti-D10P mAbs were directed against linear epitopes corresponding to residues H74-Y77 and N84-R88, respectively, of the PSA sequence. Anti-D10P mAb recognition of PSA and PSA-ACT complex was equimolar, although an existing molecular model suggested that the sequence corresponding to anti-D10P mAb epitope was involved in the interaction site of PSA with ACT. Furthermore, we were unable to inhibit the enzymatic activity of PSA as well as PSA-ACT complex formation. Finally, the epitope N84-R88 overlapped the cleavage site R85-F86 of PSA.The linear anti-D10P mAb epitope is located outside of the PSA-ACT binding site. However, these mAbs may be of value for evaluating the presence of different molecular PSA forms in sera.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the main marker for prostate cancer (PCa), is released from the prostate into the blood stream at nanogram level and may increase in PCa and nonmalignant disease such as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). More recently, advantage was taken of PSA's ability to bind to protease inhibitors in serum in order to improve discrimination between PCa and BPH, using the free PSA to total PSA ratio. The understanding of this phenomenon at molecular level, which is still unknown, may promise new improvements in the field of diagnostics. For this purpose, we determined the pattern of PSA forms in PCa and BPH sera, using the high resolving power of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) in conjunction with the high sensitivity of chemiluminescence detection. Serum PSA differs drastically from seminal PSA: apart from complexed forms, serum PSA shows few cleaved forms. Moreover, 2-DE patterns from PCa are relatively homogeneous, whereas patterns from BPH may in some cases present a higher proportion of cleaved forms and in other cases present slightly more basic spots. We therefore demonstrated, for the first time, that an increase in the free to total PSA ratio in BPH cases may be due to cleaved PSA forms (which are enzymatically inactive and unable to bind inhibitors), or possibly related to basic free PSA, which may represent the zymogen forms.

International audience; Objectives: Annexin A3 (ANXA3) is a potential marker for prostate cancer (PCa). We aimed to develop robust immunoassays suitable for quantifying ANXA3 in urine samples obtained following digital rectal examination (DRE) in order to facilitate the diagnostic performance evaluation of this marker. Design and methods: Anti-ANXA3 monoclonal antibodies were generated and their epitopes mapped. Two different ANXA3 assay prototypes were established on the VIDAS (R) automated immunoanalyser and analytical validation was carried out using post-DRE urine samples obtained from patients with PCa (n = 23) or benign prostate hyperplasia (n = 31). Results: The assays had the same capture antibody (TGC44) but different detection antibodies (13A12 or 5C5), recognizing novel distinct epitopes. Both had a lower limit of quantification

International audience; Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a serum marker that is widely used for the diagnosis of prostatic diseases. Various subforms of free PSA, which are associated with prostate cancer differently, have been identified in sera. Thus, specific detection of certain subforms could permit discrimination between benign and malignant cases. Although the monoclonal antibody 5D3D11 displays the desired selectivity, its relative weak binding affinity prevents its development into an effective diagnostic tool. The directed-evolution strategy presented here succeeds in enhancing affinity and immunoassay sensitivity while maintaining selectivity. Starting without structural data, we constructed four independent phage-display single-chain variable fragment (scFv) libraries targeting hot spots from CDR-L1, H1, H2, and H3. Mutations derived from each library were combined, yielding further affinity gains. This constitutes the first demonstration of additivity for independently selected complementarity-determining region (CDR) hot-spot mutations. The X-ray structure of the Fab′ 5D3D11–PSA complex (after it became available) inspired the design of two new libraries targeting CDR-L3 that resulted in other higher-affinity variants. Attempts at combining the new variants with previous ones did not result in further gains, suggesting that mutations from the two strategies provide alternative but noncomplementary solutions for affinity enhancement of 5D3D11. The results can be interpreted to provide a plausible explanation for the observed lack of additivity. Finally, with respect to the wild-type scFv, the best binders show an enhancement of sensitivity in sandwich immunoassay. Its ability to discriminate between prostate cancer sera and benign prostatic hyperplasia sera has now been confirmed through the dosage of 63 patients.

Human prostate-specific antigen (PSA or human kallikrein-related peptidase 3) present in small quantities in the sera of healthy men becomes elevated in prostate cancer (PCa) and other prostate disorders. The ability to identify the free PSA fraction associated with PCa could increase the reliability of the PSA diagnostic test. Here we present the crystal structure of human PSA from seminal fluid in a sandwich complex with two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). MAb 5D5A5 captures total PSA with exceptionally high affinity, and mAb 5D3D11 selectively discriminates between free PSA subforms that are more abundant in sera from patients with PCa. Although the antigen is not of seric origin, several insights into cancer diagnosis can be discerned from this complex. MAb 5D3D11 recognizes a PSA conformation different from that previously reported. Interacting with the kallikrein loop, the PSA N-linked glycan attached to asparagine 61 is an uncommonly complex sialated triantennary chain. O-linked glycosylation is observed at threonine 125. The description of how PSA subforms in prostatic fluid can be discriminated using pairs of antibodies is a first step in the design of new strategies that are capable of real discrimination among PSA subforms, which will lead to the formulation of more reliable diagnostic tests. In a companion article [Muller, B. H., Savatier, A., L'Hostis, G., Costa, N., Bossus, M., Michel, S., et al. (2011). In vitro affinity maturation of an anti-PSA antibody for prostate cancer diagnostic assay. J. Mol. Biol.], we describe engineering efforts to improve the affinity of mAb 5D3D11, a first step towards such goal.

Latino-américaniste reconnu, primé par la chaire Julio Cortazar, docteur honoris causa de l’Université autonome de Mexico et de l’Université de Guadalajara au Mexique, Pierre Salama a publié de très nombreux livres, la plupart traduits en espagnol / portugais. Membre du comité de rédaction de plusieurs revues étrangères, il a participé à la fondation et au conseil de rédaction de la revue Critiques de l’Économie politique. Il a fondé et dirigé pendant de nombreuses années le Groupe de Recherc...

Human prostate-specific antigen (PSA or KLK3) is an important marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. This is an androgen-regulated glycoprotein of the kallikrein-related protease family secreted by prostatic epithelial cells. Its physiological function is to cleave semenogelins in the seminal coagulum and its enzymatic activity is strongly modulated by zinc ions. Here we present the first crystal structure of human PSA in complex with monoclonal antibody (mAb) 8G8F5 that enhances its enzymatic activity. The mAb recognizes an epitope composed of five discontinuous segments including residues from the kallikrein loop and stabilizes PSA in an "open and active conformation" that accelerates catalysis. We also present the crystal structure of PSA in complex with both the mAb 8G8F5 and a fluorogenic substrate Mu-KGISSQY-AFC, derived from semenogelin I. By exploiting the inhibition of PSA by zinc ions, we were able to obtain a substrate acyl intermediate covalently linked to the catalytic serine, at pH 7.3 but not at pH 5.5. Moreover, the inhibition of PSA activity by zinc was found to be modulated by pH variations but not by the antibody binding. The correlation of the different data with the physiological conditions under which PSA can cleave semenogelins is discussed.

Les observations quantitatives concernant les depenses sociales se multiplient. Jusqu’a present, les rapports entre ces depenses (education, sante, protection de la vieillesse) et la croissance economique de longue periode ont ete envisages separement. Les resultats obtenus sur chacune des composantes des depenses sociales n’ont donc ete que tres rarement confrontes. L’objet de cet article est d’interpreter la contribution recurrente de ces depenses a la croissance et, notamment, leur role dans les processus de sortie de crise. Pour cela, l’article avance une caracterisation economique de ces depenses : les resultats relatifs a chacun de ces champs sont soumis a une interrogation concernant leur caractere unitaire. Dans cette optique, nous construisons un indicateur synthetique de developpement des hommes dont nous proposons une conceptualisation.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural 3 (NS3) protein is composed of an amino terminal protease and a carboxyl terminal RNA helicase. NS3 contains major antigenic epitopes. The antibody response to NS3 appears early in the course of infection and is focused on the helicase region. However, this response cannot be defined by short synthetic peptides indicating the recognition of conformation-dependent epitopes. In this study, we have screened a dodecapeptide library displayed on phage with anti-NS3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that compete with each other and human anti-HCV NS3 positive sera. Two peptides (mimotopes) were selected that appeared to mimic an immunodominant epitope since they were recognized specifically by the different anti-NS3 mAbs of the study and by human sera from HCV infected patients. Homology search between the two mimotopes and the NS3 sequence showed that one of the two peptides shared amino acid similarities with NS3 at residues 1396-1398 on a very accessible loop as visualized on the three-dimensional structure of the helicase domain whereas the other one had two amino acids similar to nearby residues 1376 and 1378. Reproduced as synthetic dodecapeptides, the two mimotopes were recognized specifically by 19 and 22, respectively, out of 49 sera from HCV infected patients. These mimotopes allowed also the detection of anti-NS3 antibodies in sera of HCV patients at the seroconversion stage. These results suggest that the two NS3 mimotopes are potential tools for the diagnosis of HCV infection.

Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an important marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer, and the free PSA/total PSA ratio has been shown to be efficient for distinguishing prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia. We report here the characterization of seven mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and the partial localization of two conformational epitopes identified by anti-free PSA mAbs.Methods: The mAbs were studied by competition and sandwich assays, and the epitope localization of the two anti-free PSA mAbs (6C8D8 and 5D3D11) was performed using phage displayed peptide libraries and molecular modeling.Results: The seven mAbs were classified into three groups according to their recognition specificities and their ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity of PSA and the formation of PSA-α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) complex. Among the anti-free PSA mAb group, 6C8D8 recognized the phage displayed peptide RKLRPHWLHFHPVAV, two parts of which presented similarities with two regions distant on the PSA sequence but joined in the tridimensional structure. mAb 5D3D11 recognized the peptide DTPYPWGWLLDEGYD, which is similar to a PSA region located on the board of the groove containing the PSA enzymatic site. Both epitopes were located in the theoretical ACT binding site described previously. Moreover, these mAbs were able to inhibit the enzymatic activity of PSA.Conclusions: These epitope localizations are in agreement with the ability of both mAbs to inhibit enzymatic activity and ACT fixation. The results presented here could bring information for the generation of clinically relevant PSA assays.

Almost all prostate cancers respond to androgen deprivation treatment but many recur. We postulated that risk of hormone escape--frequency and delay--are influenced by hormone therapy modalities. More, hormone therapies induce crucial biological changes involving androgen receptors; some might be targets for escape prevention. We investigated the relationship between the androgen deprivation treatment and the risk of recurrence using nude mice bearing the high grade, hormone-dependent human prostate cancer xenograft PAC120. Tumor-bearing mice were treated by Luteinizing-Hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH) antagonist alone, continuous or intermittent regimen, or combined with androgen receptor (AR) antagonists (bicalutamide or flutamide). Tumor growth was monitored. Biological changes were studied as for genomic alterations, AR mutations and protein expression in a large series of recurrent tumors according to hormone therapy modalities. Therapies targeting Her-2 or AKT were tested in combination with castration. All statistical tests were two-sided. Tumor growth was inhibited by continuous administration of the LH-RH antagonist degarelix (castration), but 40% of tumors recurred. Intermittent castration or complete blockade induced by degarelix and antiandrogens combination, inhibited tumor growth but increased the risk of recurrence (RR) as compared to continuous castration (RR(intermittent): 14.5, RR(complete blockade): 6.5 and 1.35). All recurrent tumors displayed new quantitative genetic alterations and AR mutations, whatever the treatment modalities. AR amplification was found after complete blockade. Increased expression of Her-2/neu with frequent ERK/AKT activation was detected in all variants. Combination of castration with a Her-2/neu inhibitor decreased recurrence risk (0.17) and combination with an mTOR inhibitor prevented it. Anti-hormone treatments influence risk of recurrence although tumor growth inhibition was initially similar. Recurrent tumors displayed genetic instability, AR mutations, and alterations of phosphorylation pathways. We postulated that Her-2/AKT pathways allowed salvage of tumor cells under castration and we demonstrated that their inhibition prevented tumor recurrence in our model.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used as a serum marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. To evaluate two anti-free PSA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as potential tools in new generations of more relevant PSA assays, we report here their properties towards the recognition of specific forms of free PSA in seminal fluids, LNCaP supernatants, 'non-binding' PSA and sera from cancer patients. PSA from these different origins was immunopurified by the two anti-free PSA mAbs (5D3D11 and 6C8D8) as well as by an anti-total PSA mAb. The composition of the different immunopurified PSA fractions was analysed and their respective enzymatic activities were determined. In seminal fluid, enzymatically active PSA was equally purified with the three mAbs. In LNCaP supernatants and human sera, 5D3D11 immunopurified active PSA mainly, whereas 6C8D8 immunopurified PSA with residual activity. In sera of prostate cancer patients, we identified the presence of a mature inactive PSA form which can be activated into active PSA by use of high saline concentration or capture by an anti-total PSA mAb capable of enhancing PSA activity. According to PSA models built by comparative modelling with the crystal structure of horse prostate kallikrein described previously, we assume that active and activable PSA could correspond to mature intact PSA with open and closed conformations of the kallikrein loop. The specificity of 5D3D11 was restricted to both active and activable PSA, whereas 6C8D8 recognized all free PSA including intact PSA, proforms and internally cleaved PSA.Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used as a serum marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. To evaluate two anti-free PSA monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as potential tools in new generations of more relevant PSA assays, we report here their properties towards the recognition of specific forms of free PSA in seminal fluids, LNCaP supernatants, 'non-binding' PSA and sera from cancer patients. PSA from these different origins was immunopurified by the two anti-free PSA mAbs (5D3D11 and 6C8D8) as well as by an anti-total PSA mAb. The composition of the different immunopurified PSA fractions was analysed and their respective enzymatic activities were determined. In seminal fluid, enzymatically active PSA was equally purified with the three mAbs. In LNCaP supernatants and human sera, 5D3D11 immunopurified active PSA mainly, whereas 6C8D8 immunopurified PSA with residual activity. In sera of prostate cancer patients, we identified the presence of a mature inactive PSA form which can be activated into active PSA by use of high saline concentration or capture by an anti-total PSA mAb capable of enhancing PSA activity. According to PSA models built by comparative modelling with the crystal structure of horse prostate kallikrein described previously, we assume that active and activable PSA could correspond to mature intact PSA with open and closed conformations of the kallikrein loop. The specificity of 5D3D11 was restricted to both active and activable PSA, whereas 6C8D8 recognized all free PSA including intact PSA, proforms and internally cleaved PSA.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an important marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. Free PSA has been shown to be more extensively cleaved in sera from benign prostatic hyperplasia patients than in sera from prostate cancer patients. Moreover, the presence of enzymatically activatable PSA was characterized previously in sera from patients with prostate cancer by the use of the specific anti-free PSA monoclonal antibody (mAb) 5D3D11. As an attempt to obtain ligands for the specific recognition of different PSA forms including active PSA, phage-displayed linear and cyclic peptide libraries were screened with PSA coated directly into microplate wells or presented by two different anti-total PSA mAbs. Four different phage clones were selected for their ability to recognize PSA and the inserted peptides were produced as synthetic peptides. These peptides were found to capture and to detect specifically free PSA, even in complex biological media such as sera or tumour cell culture supernatants. Alanine scanning of peptide sequences showed the involvement of aromatic and hydrophobic residues in the interaction of the peptides with PSA whereas Spotscan analysis of overlapping peptides covering the PSA sequence identified a peptide binding to the kallikrein loop at residues 82-87, suggesting that the peptides could recognize a non-clipped form of PSA. Moreover, the PSA-specific peptides enhance the enzymatic activity of PSA immobilized into microplate wells whereas the capture of PSA by the peptides inhibited totally its enzymatic activity while the peptide binding to PSA had no effect in solution. These PSA-specific peptides could be potential tools for the recognition of PSA forms more specifically associated to prostate cancer.Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an important marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. Free PSA has been shown to be more extensively cleaved in sera from benign prostatic hyperplasia patients than in sera from prostate cancer patients. Moreover, the presence of enzymatically activatable PSA was characterized previously in sera from patients with prostate cancer by the use of the specific anti-free PSA monoclonal antibody (mAb) 5D3D11. As an attempt to obtain ligands for the specific recognition of different PSA forms including active PSA, phage-displayed linear and cyclic peptide libraries were screened with PSA coated directly into microplate wells or presented by two different anti-total PSA mAbs. Four different phage clones were selected for their ability to recognize PSA and the inserted peptides were produced as synthetic peptides. These peptides were found to capture and to detect specifically free PSA, even in complex biological media such as sera or tumour cell culture supernatants. Alanine scanning of peptide sequences showed the involvement of aromatic and hydrophobic residues in the interaction of the peptides with PSA whereas Spotscan analysis of overlapping peptides covering the PSA sequence identified a peptide binding to the kallikrein loop at residues 82-87, suggesting that the peptides could recognize a non-clipped form of PSA. Moreover, the PSA-specific peptides enhance the enzymatic activity of PSA immobilized into microplate wells whereas the capture of PSA by the peptides inhibited totally its enzymatic activity while the peptide binding to PSA had no effect in solution. These PSA-specific peptides could be potential tools for the recognition of PSA forms more specifically associated to prostate cancer.