Vaccine vectors derived from a large collection of simian adenoviruses induce potent cellular immunity across multiple species.

Replication-defective adenovirus vectors based on human serotype 5 (Ad5) induce protective immune responses against diverse pathogens and cancer in animal models, as well as elicit robust and sustained cellular immunity in humans. However, most humans have neutralizing antibodies to Ad5, which can impair the immunological potency of such vaccines. Here, we show that rare serotypes of human adenoviruses, which should not be neutralized in most humans, are far less potent as vaccine vectors than Ad5 in mice and nonhuman primates, casting doubt on their potential efficacy in humans.

Reversine, a novel Aurora kinases inhibitor, inhibits colony formation of human acute myeloid leukemia cells.

The demonstration that the small synthetic molecule reversine [2-(4-morpholinoanilino)-N6-cyclohexyladenine] promotes the dedifferentiation of committed cells into multipotent progenitor-type cells has raised hopes on the exploitation of this small chemical tool for the generation of stem cells. Here, we show that reversine causes a failure in cytokinesis and induces polyploidization. These effects of reversine are due to the inhibition of Aurora A and B, two related kinases that are implicated in several aspects of mitosis and that are frequently amplified and overexpressed in human tumors.

Effect of late treatment with gamma-hydroxybutyrate on the histological and behavioral consequences of transient brain ischemia in the rat.

It has been previously described that gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) provides significant protection against transient global cerebral ischemia in the rat (four vessel occlusion model), when given 30 min before or 10 min after artery occlusion. Here, we show that in the same rat model, significant protection can also be obtained when treatment is started 2 h after the ischemic episode. In saline-treated animals, 30 min of global ischemia followed by reperfusion caused a massive loss of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 subfield (examined 63 days after the ischemic episode), and an impairment of sensory-motor performance (tested on the 51st and 63rd days after ischemia) and of spatial learning and memory (evaluated starting 46 days after the ischemic episode).

Effect of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in two rat models of focal cerebral damage.

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its lactone, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) have been previously shown to produce a protective effect in animal models of cerebral ischaemia/hypoxia, as well as in human conditions of head injury-induced coma. The aim of the present research was to study the effect of GHB in experimental conditions of focal cerebral damage, either induced by ischaemia or excitotoxicity. Under general anaesthesia, rats were injected into the right striatum with either endothelin-1 (ET-1, 0.