Tacrolimus (Tac) is the cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy after solid organ transplantation and will probably remain so. Excluding belatacept, no new immunosuppressive drugs were registered for the prevention of acute rejection during the last decade. For several immunosuppressive drugs, clinical development halted because they weren't sufficiently effective or more toxic. Areas covered: Current methods of monitoring Tac treatment, focusing on traditional therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), controversies surrounding TDM, novel matrices, pharmacogenetic and pharmacodynamic monitoring are discussed. Expert opinion: Due to a narrow therapeutic index and large interpatient pharmacokinetic variability, TDM has been implemented for individualization of Tac dose to maintain drug efficacy and minimize the consequences of overexposure. The relationship between predose concentrations and the occurrence of rejection or toxicity is controversial. Acute cellular rejection also occurs when the Tac concentration is within the target range, suggesting that Tac whole blood concentrations don't necessarily correlate with pharmacological effect. Intracellular Tac, the unbound fraction of Tac or pharmacodynamic monitoring could be better biomarkers/tools for adequate Tac exposure - research into this has been promising. Traditional TDM, perhaps following pre-emptive genotyping for Tac-metabolizing enzymes, must suffice for a few years before these strategies can be implemented in clinical practice.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17425255.2017.1395413 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Bioelectricity Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697.
Loss-of-function sequence variants in , which encodes the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.1, cause Episodic Ataxia Type 1 (EA1) and epilepsy. Due to a paucity of drugs that directly rescue mutant Kv1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405.
Dysregulation of GABAergic inhibition is associated with pathological pain. Consequently, enhancement of GABAergic transmission represents a potential analgesic strategy. However, therapeutic potential of current GABA agonists and modulators is limited by unwanted side effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Cancer Biology & Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive sarcomas and the primary cause of mortality in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). These malignancies develop within preexisting benign lesions called plexiform neurofibromas (PNs). PNs are solely driven by biallelic loss eliciting RAS pathway activation, and they respond favorably to MEK inhibitor therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Laboratory of Precision Medicine and Biopharmaceuticals, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Recurrent missense mutations in the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have been identified across various human cancers. Among these mutations, the active S310F mutation in the HER2 extracellular domain stands out as not only oncogenic but also confers resistance to pertuzumab, an antibody drug widely used in clinical cancer therapy, by impeding its binding. In this study, we have successfully employed computational-aided rational design to undertake directed evolution of pertuzumab, resulting in the creation of an evolved pertuzumab variant named Ptz-SA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOtol Neurotol
February 2025
Edwin L. Steele Laboratories, Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Background Introduction: Vestibular schwannoma (VS) tumors typically present with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Losartan has recently demonstrated prevention of tumor-associated SNHL in a mouse model of VS through suppression of inflammatory and pro-fibrotic factors, and the current study investigates this association in humans.
Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients with unilateral VS and hypertension followed with sequential audiometry at a tertiary referral hospital from January 1994 to June 2023.
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