Human plasma cells engineered to secrete bispecifics drive effective in vivo leukemia killing.

Bispecific antibodies are an important tool for the management and treatment of acute leukemias. As a next step toward clinical translation of engineered plasma cells, we describe approaches for secretion of bispecific antibodies by human plasma cells. We show that human plasma cells expressing either fragment crystallizable domain-deficient anti-CD19 × anti-CD3 (blinatumomab) or anti-CD33 × anti-CD3 bispecific antibodies mediate T cell activation and direct T cell killing of B acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia cell lines in vitro.

Virological Control by the CD4-Binding Site Antibody N6 in Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Rhesus Monkeys.

Passive immunotherapy against HIV-1 will most likely require broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) with maximum breadth and potency to ensure therapeutic efficacy. Recently, the novel CD4 binding site antibody N6 demonstrated extraordinary neutralization breadth and potency against large panels of cross-clade pseudoviruses. We evaluated the antiviral activity of N6-LS, alone or in combination with the established V3-glycan antibody PGT121, in chronically simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-SF162P3-infected macaques.

Zika Virus Persistence in the Central Nervous System and Lymph Nodes of Rhesus Monkeys.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is associated with severe neuropathology in neonates as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome and other neurologic disorders in adults. Prolonged viral shedding has been reported in semen, suggesting the presence of anatomic viral reservoirs. Here we show that ZIKV can persist in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and lymph nodes (LN) of infected rhesus monkeys for weeks after virus has been cleared from peripheral blood, urine, and mucosal secretions.

Ad26/MVA therapeutic vaccination with TLR7 stimulation in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys.

The development of immunologic interventions that can target the viral reservoir in HIV-1-infected individuals is a major goal of HIV-1 research. However, little evidence exists that the viral reservoir can be sufficiently targeted to improve virologic control following discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy. Here we show that therapeutic vaccination with Ad26/MVA (recombinant adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) prime, modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) boost) and stimulation of TLR7 (Toll-like receptor 7) improves virologic control and delays viral rebound following discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys that began antiretroviral therapy during acute infection.

Protective efficacy of multiple vaccine platforms against Zika virus challenge in rhesus monkeys.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is responsible for a major ongoing epidemic in the Americas and has been causally associated with fetal microcephaly. The development of a safe and effective ZIKV vaccine is therefore an urgent global health priority. Here we demonstrate that three different vaccine platforms protect against ZIKV challenge in rhesus monkeys.