Targeting Tumor Antigen 5T4 Using CAR T Cells for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells represent a novel targeted approach to overcome deficits in the ability of the host immune system to detect and subsequently eradicate tumors. The identification of antigens expressed specifically on the surface of tumor cells is a critical first step for a targeted therapy that selectively targets cancer cells without affecting normal tissues. 5T4 is a tumor-associated antigen expressed on the cell surface of most solid tumors.

Efficacy and safety of namilumab, a human monoclonal antibody against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) ligand in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with either an inadequate response to background methotrexate therapy or an inadequate response or intolerance to an anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) biologic therapy: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Namilumab (AMG203), an immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), was evaluated in a phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with an inadequate response to methotrexate (MTX-IR) or anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy (TNF-IR).

Methods: Subcutaneous namilumab (20, 80, or 150 mg) or placebo was administered at baseline and weeks 2, 6, and 10 in patients on stable background methotrexate therapy who were with MTX-IR or TNF-IR. Primary endpoint was mean change from baseline in the 28-joint Disease Activity Score, C-reactive protein version (DAS28-CRP) at week 12 comparing each of the three doses of namilumab to placebo.

Multiplex transcriptional analysis of paraffin-embedded liver needle biopsy from patients with liver fibrosis.

Background: The possibility of extracting RNA and measuring RNA expression from paraffin sections can allow extensive investigations on stored paraffin samples obtained from diseased livers and could help with studies of the natural history of liver fibrosis and inflammation, and in particular, correlate basic mechanisms to clinical outcomes.

Results: To address this issue, a pilot study of multiplex gene expression using branched-chain DNA technology was conducted to directly measure mRNA expression in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded needle biopsy samples of human liver. Twenty-five genes were selected for evaluation based on evidence obtained from human fibrotic liver, a rat BDL model and in vitro cultures of immortalized human hepatic stellate cells.

Safe, long-term hepatic expression of anti-HCV shRNA in a nonhuman primate model.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronically infects 2% of the world population and effective treatment is limited by long duration and significant side-effects. Here, we describe a novel drug, intended as a "single-shot " therapy, which expresses three short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) that simultaneously target multiple conserved regions of the HCV genome as confirmed in vitro by knockdown of an HCV replicon system. Using a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype 8 vector for delivery, comprehensive transduction of hepatocytes was achieved in vivo in a nonhuman primate (NHP) model following a single intravenous injection.

What are the best reference values for a normal serum alanine transaminase activity (ALT)? Impact on the presumed prevalence of drug induced liver injury (DILI).

Background: In clinical research, the definition of the upper limit of normal (ULN) is rarely detailed. For alanine transaminase (ALT), there are several definitions of ULN-ALT but no recognized global reference. Furthermore the inter-laboratory variability of results expressed using ULN-ALT is higher than using the actual value of ULN expressed in IU/L.

Recommendations to qualify biomarker candidates of drug-induced liver injury.

Certain compounds that induce liver injury clinically are not readily identified from earlier preclinical studies. Novel biomarkers are being sought to be applied across the pharmaceutical pipeline to fill this knowledge gap and to add increased specificity for detecting drug-induced liver injury in combination with aminotransferases (alanine and aspartate aminotransferase)--the current reference-standard biomarkers used in the clinic. The gaps in the qualification process for novel biomarkers of regulatory decision-making are assessed and compared with aminotransferase activities to guide the determination of safe compound margins for drug delivery to humans where monitoring for potential liver injury is a cause for concern.

Enhancing the utility of alanine aminotransferase as a reference standard biomarker for drug-induced liver injury.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the most frequent cause of discontinuation of new chemical entities during development. DILI can either be intrinsic/predictable or an idiosyncratic type. These two forms of DILI are contrasted in their manifestation and diagnosis.

In vivo effects of the Epstein-Barr virus small RNA EBER-1 on protein synthesis and cell growth regulation.

Recent studies have suggested a role for the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA EBER-1 in malignant transformation. EBER-1 inhibits the activity of the protein kinase PKR, an inhibitor of protein synthesis with tumour suppressor properties. In human 293 cells and murine embryonic fibroblasts, transient expression of EBER-1 promoted total protein synthesis and enhanced the expression of cotransfected reporter genes.