A phase II open label, randomized clinical trial of atezolizumab with or without human recombinant IL-7 (CYT107) in advanced urothelial cancer.

Purpose: Advanced urothelial cancer generally has high mortality despite modern anti-PD-1/L1 antibody-based combinations. Augmenting checkpoint inhibitor-mediated immune responses with lymphocyte growth factors may improve outcomes. We conducted a randomized phase II study (CITN-14) in 47 patients to explore whether human recombinant IL-7 (CYT107) could be safely combined with PD-L1 inhibition to enhance responses.

Immunoassays and Mass Spectrometry for Determination of Protein Concentrations in Genetically Modified Crops.

Quantifying protein levels in genetically modified (GM) crops is crucial in every phase of development, deregulation, and seed production. Immunoassays, particularly enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, have been the primary protein quantitation techniques for decades within the industry due to their efficiency, adaptability, and credibility. Newer immunoassay technologies like Meso Scale Discovery and Luminex offer enhanced sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities.

Metabolic adaptation of ovarian tumors in patients treated with an IDO1 inhibitor constrains antitumor immune responses.

To uncover underlying mechanisms associated with failure of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) blockade in clinical trials, we conducted a pilot, window-of-opportunity clinical study in 17 patients with newly diagnosed advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer before their standard tumor debulking surgery. Patients were treated with the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat, and immunologic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic characterization of the tumor microenvironment was undertaken in baseline and posttreatment tumor biopsies. IDO1 inhibition resulted in efficient blockade of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation and was accompanied by a metabolic adaptation that shunted tryptophan catabolism toward the serotonin pathway.

Pembrolizumab induces HIV latency reversal in people living with HIV and cancer on antiretroviral therapy.

In people living with HIV (PLWH) on antiretroviral therapy (ART), virus persists in a latent form where there is minimal transcription or protein expression. Latently infected cells are a major barrier to curing HIV. Increasing HIV transcription and viral production in latently infected cells could facilitate immune recognition and reduce the pool of infected cells that persist on ART.

New interpretable machine-learning method for single-cell data reveals correlates of clinical response to cancer immunotherapy.

We introduce a new method for single-cell cytometry studies, FAUST, which performs unbiased cell population discovery and annotation. FAUST processes experimental data on a per-sample basis and returns biologically interpretable cell phenotypes, making it well suited for the analysis of complex datasets. We provide simulation studies that compare FAUST with existing methodology, exemplifying its strength.