Safety, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics of VGX-1027-A novel oral anti-inflammatory drug in healthy human subjects.

VGX-1027, a novel oral immune modulator, is under development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of single (1-800 mg) and multiple (40-400 mg) oral doses were evaluated in 2 clinical studies. The doses were well tolerated up to 800 mg in a single dose and 200 mg twice daily in multiple doses.

Effector T Cell Egress via Afferent Lymph Modulates Local Tissue Inflammation.

Memory/effector T cells recirculate through extralymphoid tissues by entering from blood and egressing via afferent lymph. Although T cell entry into effector sites is key to inflammation, the relevance of T cell egress to this process is unknown. In this study, we found that Ag recognition at the effector site reduced the tissue egress of proinflammatory Th1 cells in a mouse model of delayed hypersensitivity.

Tolerability of intramuscular and intradermal delivery by CELLECTRA(®) adaptive constant current electroporation device in healthy volunteers.

DNA vaccines are being developed as a potentially safe and effective immunization platform. However, translation of DNA vaccines into a clinical setting has produced results that have fallen short of those generated in a preclinical setting. Various strategies are being developed to address this lack of potency, including improvements in delivery methods.

Elevated TRF2 in advanced breast cancers with short telomeres.

Telomere repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) binds directly to telomeres and preserves the structural integrity of chromosome ends. In vitro models suggest that expression of TRF2 protein increases during mammary cancer progression. However, a recent study has reported that TRF2 mRNA levels tend to be lower in clinical specimens of malignant breast tissue.

Elevated expression of nuclear Hsp90 in invasive breast tumors.

With the current trend for early breast cancer detection, there is also a growing demand for discovering markers to assist in the patient risk stratification. Molecular chaperones play essential roles in the post-translational maturation of oncogenic client proteins and are strongly associated with carcinogenesis. To better define the role of chaperones in breast cancer, tissue arrays were immunostained for the chaperones Hsp90 and p23 and assessed in terms of reactivity, intensity and cellular localization.