The authors are deeply grateful to Pamela Derish for excellent editorial work. The authors have no financial conflict of interest. Figure S1. Influence of PAR2 agonist and IFNγ stimulation on phagocitic activity

of human neutrophils against killed FITC-conjugated S.  aureus. Isolated neutrophils were pre-stimulated with 10−4 M cAP, 10−4M cRP, or 100ng/ml IFNγ, LDE225 manufacturer or a combination of IFNγ and cAP or cRP for 2 hr. Figure S2. Influence of PAR2 agonist and LPS stimulation on phagocitic activity of human neutrophils (A, B) and monocytes (C, D). Isolated leukocytes were pre-stimulated with 10−4 M cAP, or 100 ng/ml LPS, or a combination of LPS and cAP for 2 hr. Subsequently, leukocytes were co-incubated for 30 min with bacteria in the presence or absence of the stimuli mentioned. “
“Fragment 450–650 of the spike (S) protein (S450–650) of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) contains AT9283 epitopes capable of being recognized by convalescent sera of SARS patients. Vaccination of mice with recombinant S450–650 (rS450–650) can induce Abs against SARS-CoV, although

the titer is relatively low. In the present study, a fusion protein linking a fragment (residues 39–272) of murine calreticulin (CRT) to S450–650 in a prokaryotic expression system was created. Compared with target antigen alone, the recombinant fusion product (rS450–650-CRT) has much improved hydrophilicity and immunogenicity. The S450–650-specific IgG Abs of BALB/c mice subcutaneously immunized with rS450–650-CRT were in substantially higher titer (approximately Protein kinase N1 fivefold more). Furthermore, the fusion protein, but not rS450–650 alone, was able to elicit S450–650-specific IgG responses in T cell deficient nude mice. Given that rCRT/39–272 can drive the maturation of bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells, directly activate macrophages and B cells, and also elicit helper T cell responses in vivo, we propose that fragment 39–272 of CRT is an effective molecular adjuvant capable of enhancing target Ag-specific humoral responses

in both a T cell-dependent and independent manner. Fusion protein rS450–650-CRT is a potential candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV infection. Severe acute respiratory syndrome is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV (1). The genome of SARS-CoV encodes several structural proteins, including the S glycoprotein, N protein, M glycoprotein and small E protein, which play synergistic roles in viral infectivity and pathogenicity (1, 2). S protein, with 1255 amino acid residues, is the largest structural protein in the virus. It is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein consisting of two domains, S1 and S2 (2). The former contains a receptor-binding domain responsible for viral binding to the receptor on target cells (3–7).