Mutated cancer autoantigen implicated cause of paraneoplastic myasthenia gravis.

Introduction: Antitumor immune responses are postulated to initiate paraneoplastic neurological disorders when proteins that are normally restricted to neural cells are expressed as oncoproteins. Mutated oncopeptides could bypass self-tolerant T cells to activate cytotoxic effector T lymphocytes and requisite helper T lymphocytes to stimulate autoantibody production by B lymphocytes.

Methods: We investigated muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antigen expression at transcriptional and protein levels in a small-cell lung cancer line (SCLC) established from a patient with AChR-immunoglobulin G (IgG)-positive myasthenia gravis.

PEGylation of vesicular stomatitis virus extends virus persistence in blood circulation of passively immunized mice.

We are developing oncolytic vesicular stomatitis viruses (VSVs) for systemic treatment of multiple myeloma, an incurable malignancy of antibody-secreting plasma cells that are specifically localized in the bone marrow. One of the presumed advantages for using VSV as an oncolytic virus is that human infections are rare and preexisting anti-VSV immunity is typically lacking in cancer patients, which is very important for clinical success. However, our studies show that nonimmune human and mouse serum can neutralize clinical-grade VSV, reducing the titer by up to 4 log units in 60 min.

Neutralization capacity of measles virus H protein specific IgG determines the balance between antibody-enhanced infectivity and protection in microglial cells.

Neutralizing antibodies directed against measles virus (MV) surface glycoproteins prevent viral attachment and entry through the natural receptors. H protein specific IgG can enhance MV infectivity in macrophages via Fcγ receptor (FcγR)-dependent mechanism. H-specific IgM, anti-F antibodies and complement cascade activation are protective against antibody-mediated enhancement of MV infection.

Safety studies on intrahepatic or intratumoral injection of oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus expressing interferon-beta in rodents and nonhuman primates.

Toxicology studies were performed in rats and rhesus macaques to establish a safe starting dose for intratumoral injection of an oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus expressing human interferon-beta (VSV-hIFNbeta) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). No adverse events were observed after administration of 7.59 x 10(9) TCID(50) (50% tissue culture infective dose) of VSV-hIFNbeta into the left lateral hepatic lobe of Harlan Sprague Dawley rats.

Concentrations and correlations for eight metals in human liver.

This study was undertaken to determine concentrations for eight metals in human liver and investigate correlations among these metals as well as subject age. Autopsy specimens from 32 males, ranging from 38-88 years of age, were analyzed for calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), magnesium (Mg), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn). Respective mean concentrations were 49.

Immunoglobulin g antibody-mediated enhancement of measles virus infection can bypass the protective antiviral immune response.

Antibodies to viral surface glycoproteins play a crucial role in immunity to measles by blocking both virus attachment and subsequent fusion with the host cell membrane. Here, we demonstrate that certain immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies can also enhance the entry of measles virus (MV) into monocytes and macrophages. Antibody-dependent enhancement of infectivity was observed in mouse and human macrophages using virions opsonized by a murine monoclonal antibody against the MV hemagglutinin (H) glycoprotein, polyclonal mouse anti-MV IgG, or diluted measles-immune human sera.