Early combination therapy of COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

Purpose: Prolonged shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been observed in immunocompromised hosts. Early monotherapy with direct-acting antivirals or monoclonal antibodies, as recommended by the international guidelines, does not prevent this with certainty. Dual therapies may therefore have a synergistic effect.

Efficacy of cytokine-induced killer cells targeting CD40 and GITR.

Since the publication of a novel protocol in 1991, cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells have shown promising results in the treatment against neoplastic diseases. Despite ongoing preclinical and clinical studies, CIK cell treatment in the context of human monoclonal antibodies targeting tumor-necrosis factor receptors remains overlooked. The present study investigated whether a combination of CIK cells with human monoclonal antibody anti-CD40 and anti-Glucocorticoid-induced TNF-related protein (GITR) would lead to further cytotoxicity against tumor cells expressing CD40 and GITR ligand (L).