Drug-binding cavities in long-lived biologics: cause for concern but also potential benefit.

Universally present but overlooked cavities or pockets in long-lived biopharmaceuticals, such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are capable of binding small drugs. Such direct interactions can alter the pharmacokinetics of drugs and potentially affect clinical outcome. The extreme differences in the pharmacokinetic properties of these 2 classes of drugs largely account for such effects.

Protective effect of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in a model of endotoxic shock: action mechanisms and role of CNTF receptor alpha.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) inhibits the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice and protects against LPS lethality when coadministered with its soluble receptor (sCNTFR alpha). Both of these activities are abolished in adrenalectomized (ADX) mice. LPS-induced pulmonary polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) infiltration and nitric oxide (NO) production were also inhibited by CNTF + sCNTFR alpha but not by CNTF alone.

A shared, non-canonical DNA conformation detected at DNA/protein contact sites and bent DNA in the absence of supercoiling or cognate protein binding.

A hybrid protein (H144), consisting of Lac repressor and T7 endonuclease I, binds at the lac operator and cleaves relaxed double-stranded DNA at distal but distinct sites. These sites are shown here to coincide with a bacterial promoter, a phage T7 promoter, a site for gyrase and intrinsically bent DNA. The targets do not seem to share a particular DNA sequence, and in bent DNA, cleavage occurs at the physical center rather than at the common A-tracts.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor protects striatal output neurons in an animal model of Huntington disease.

Huntington disease is a dominantly inherited, untreatable neurological disorder featuring a progressive loss of striatal output neurons that results in dyskinesia, cognitive decline, and, ultimately, death. Neurotrophic factors have recently been shown to be protective in several animal models of neurodegenerative disease, raising the possibility that such substances might also sustain the survival of compromised striatal output neurons. We determined whether intracerebral administration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor, neurotrophin-3, or ciliary neurotrophic factor could protect striatal output neurons in a rodent model of Huntington disease.