Populations of triple negative and hormone receptor positive HER2 negative breast tumors share immune gene profiles.

In breast cancer, triple negative (TN) breast cancer has most responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Lymphocyte infiltrate does not impact prognosis in Hormone receptor positive HER2 negative (HR + HER2-) breast tumors and few HR + HER2- tumors respond to ICI. We contrasted immune-associated gene expression between 119 TN and 475 HR + HER2- breast tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and confirmed our findings in 299 TN and 1369 HR + HER2- breast tumors in the METABRIC database.

Exploration of Tumor Biopsy Gene Signatures to Understand the Role of the Tumor Microenvironment in Outcomes to Lisocabtagene Maraleucel.

In the TRANSCEND NHL 001 study, 53% of patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) treated with lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) achieved a complete response (CR). To determine characteristics of patients who did and did not achieve a CR, we examined the tumor biology and microenvironment from lymph node tumor biopsies. LBCL biopsies from liso-cel-treated patients were taken pretreatment and ∼11 days posttreatment for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF).

Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab Combined with Daratumumab in Daratumumab-Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients.

Daratumumab is active both as a single agent and in combination with other agents in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. However, the majority of patients will develop daratumumab-refractory disease, which carries a poor prognosis. Since daratumumab also has immunomodulatory effects, addition of the PD-L1 blocking antibody durvalumab at the time of progression may reverse daratumumab-resistance.

Lisocabtagene maraleucel for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas (TRANSCEND NHL 001): a multicentre seamless design study.

Background: Lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) is an autologous, CD19-directed, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product. We aimed to assess the activity and safety of liso-cel in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas.

Methods: We did a seamless design study at 14 cancer centres in the USA.

Population Pharmacokinetics of an Anti-PD-L1 Antibody, Durvalumab in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies.

Background And Objectives: Durvalumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death ligand 1, has been approved for urothelial carcinoma and stage III non-small cell lung cancer by the US Food and Drug Administration and is being evaluated in various malignancies. The objective of this study was to develop a population-pharmacokinetic model of durvalumab in patients with various hematologic malignancies and to investigate the effects of demographic and disease factors on the pharmacokinetics in this population.

Methods: A total of 1812 concentrations from 267 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or Hodgkin lymphoma were included in the analysis.

The Broad Anti-AML Activity of the CD33/CD3 BiTE Antibody Construct, AMG 330, Is Impacted by Disease Stage and Risk.

The CD33/CD3-bispecific T-cell engaging (BiTE) antibody construct, AMG 330, potently lyses CD33+ leukemic cells in vitro. Using specimens from 41 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), we studied the factors that might contribute to clinical response or resistance. For this purpose, thawed aliquots of primary AML samples were immunophenotypically characterized and subjected to various doses of AMG 330 in the presence or absence of healthy donor T-cells.

Mutations affecting the SAND domain of DEAF1 cause intellectual disability with severe speech impairment and behavioral problems.

Recently, we identified in two individuals with intellectual disability (ID) different de novo mutations in DEAF1, which encodes a transcription factor with an important role in embryonic development. To ascertain whether these mutations in DEAF1 are causative for the ID phenotype, we performed targeted resequencing of DEAF1 in an additional cohort of over 2,300 individuals with unexplained ID and identified two additional individuals with de novo mutations in this gene. All four individuals had severe ID with severely affected speech development, and three showed severe behavioral problems.

Cellular determinants for preclinical activity of a novel CD33/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody, AMG 330, against human AML.

CD33 is a valid target for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) but has proven challenging for antibody-drug conjugates. Herein, we investigated the cellular determinants for the activity of the novel CD33/CD3-directed bispecific T-cell engager antibody, AMG 330. In the presence of T cells, AMG 330 was highly active against human AML cell lines and primary AML cells in a dose- and effector to target cell ratio-dependent manner.

Evidence for endotoxin contamination in plastic Na+-heparin blood collection tube lots.

Background: Biomarker assays are often conducted on whole blood samples in the course of drug development studies. Because bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (endotoxin) contamination is known to cause spontaneous cytokine production by monocytes, contamination of blood collection tubes may interfere with biomarker assay results.

Methods: Whole blood from healthy donors was collected into plastic or glass sodium (Na(+))-heparin Vacutainer() blood collection tubes and heparinized syringes.

Dynamic anchoring of PKA is essential during oocyte maturation.

In the final stages of ovarian follicular development, the mouse oocyte remains arrested in the first meiotic prophase, and cAMP-stimulated PKA plays an essential role in this arrest. After the LH surge, a decrease in cAMP and PKA activity in the oocyte initiates an irreversible maturation process that culminates in a second arrest at metaphase II prior to fertilization. A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) mediate the intracellular localization of PKA and control the specificity and kinetics of substrate phosphorylation.

Deletion of the RIIbeta-subunit of protein kinase A decreases body weight and increases energy expenditure in the obese, leptin-deficient ob/ob mouse.

Disruption of the RIIbeta regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) results in mice with a lean phenotype, nocturnal hyperactivity, and increased resting metabolic rate. In this report, we have examined whether deletion of RIIbeta would lead to increased metabolism and rescue the obese phenotype of the leptin-deficient ob/ob (ob) mouse. Body weight gain and food consumption were decreased, whereas basal oxygen consumption and nocturnal locomotor activity were increased in the double mutant animals compared with ob mice.