[Oncology '96].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F Hartmann.
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Geldanamycin belongs to the family of benzoquinoid ansamycin tyrosine-kinase inhibitors. We have examined its effects on Her-2/neu kinase activity, protein expression level, and proliferation of Her-2+ malignant cells. In SK-BR-3 breast-cancer cells, short-time treatment with geldanamycin completely abrogated gp30-ligand-induced activation of Her-2 without a change of receptor-expression level. Longer treatment of intact cells with geldanamycin induced decreased steady-state Her-2 autophosphorylation activity, which correlated with reduction of Her-2 protein expression and phosphotyrosine content of several proteins. The decrease was time- and dose-dependent, starting after 1 hr at 100 nM concentration and reaching completion by 24 hr. The reduction of the Her-2 protein level probably resulted from increased degradation, since the Her-2 mRNA level remained constant. Geldanamycin effects were not specific for Her-2, since the non-receptor tyrosine-kinase fyn was inhibited equally. In contrast to these results, protein-kinase-C activity was not affected. In 3 other malignant cell lines expressing different amounts of Her-2 (SK-BR-3 > SK-OV-3 > OVCAR3 > MCF7), geldanamycin also effectively reduced Her-2-kinase activity proportionally to the decrease of protein expression. In contrast, in a [3H]-thymidine-uptake assay, cell growth was meaningfully inhibited by geldanamycin at nanomolar concentrations only in SK-BR-3 (IC50 2 nM) and MCF7 (IC50 20 nM), while OVCAR3 was only moderately sensitive (IC50 2 microM) and SK-OV-3 was clearly resistant to geldanamycin. In direct comparison with herbimycin A, another benzoquinoid ansamycin that has been more thoroughly characterized, the biologic effects of geldanamycin were more pronounced.
We evaluated the feasibility of collecting peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) following two cycles of induction chemotherapy with idarubicin, cytarabine and etoposide (ICE), and one cycle of consolidation therapy with high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone (HAM). Thirty-six patients of the multicentre treatment trial AML HD93 were enrolled in this study, and a sufficient number of PBPC was harvested in 30 (83%). Individual peak concentrations of CD34+ cells in the blood varied (range 13.1-291.5/microl; median 20.0/microl). To reach the target quantity of 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg, between one and six (median two) leukaphereses (LP) were performed. The LP products contained between 0.2 x 10(6) and 18.9 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg (median 1.2 x 10(6)/kg). Multivariate analysis showed that the white blood cell count prior to HAM and the time interval from the start of HAM therapy to reach an unsupported platelet count > 20 x 10(9)/l were predictive for the peak value of CD34+ cells in the blood during the G-CSF stimulated haematological recovery. In 16 patients an intraindividual comparison was made between bone marrow (BM) and PBPC grafts. Compared to BM grafts, PBPC grafts contained 14-fold more MNC, 5-fold more CD34+ cells and 36-fold more CFU-GM. A CD34+ subset analysis showed that blood-derived CD34+ cells had a more immature phenotype as indicated by a lower mean fluorescence intensity for HLA-DR and CD38. In addition, the proportion of CD34+/Thy-1+ cells tended to be greater in the PBPC grafts. The data indicate that sufficient PBPC can be collected in the majority of patients with AML following intensive double induction and first consolidation therapy with high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone.
UNLABELLED: The specificity, toxicity and efficacy of lead (212Pb) radioimmunotherapy were evaluated in nude mice bearing the SK-OV-3 human ovarian tumor cell line expressing the HER2/neu proto-oncogene. METHODS: The therapeutic agent used was the tumor-specific anti-HER2/neu monoclonal antibody AE1 conjugated to 212Pb, 212Bi being the daughter and thus the source of the alpha-particle and beta emissions. A bifunctional derivative of tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (p-SCN-Bz-DOTA) was used to couple 212Pb to the anti-HER2/neu monoclonal antibody AE1. The chelating agent did not alter the binding affinity to its antigenic target or the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of the AE1 antibody. Toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of 212Pb-AE1 were evaluated in nude mouse ascites or solid tumor models, wherein SK-OV-3 cells were administered i.p. or s.c., respectively. RESULTS: The dose-limiting acute toxicity after i.v. administration of 212Pb-AE1 was bone marrow suppression, which was observed at doses above 25 microCi. Therefore, doses of 10 and 20 microCi were used in efficacy trials. The i.p. administration of 212Pb-AE1 3 days after i.p. tumor inoculation led to a significant (P2 = 0.015) prolongation of tumor-free survival. In a second model, i.v. treatment with 212Pb-AE1 3 days after s.c. tumor inoculation prevented subsequent tumor development in all animals treated with 10 or 20 microCi of 212Pb-AE1 (P2 = 0.002 compared to control groups). This efficacy in the adjuvant setting was antibody specific because treatments with equivalently labeled control antibody or unlabeled AE1 antibody or no treatment were less effective. The rate of growth of small (mean tumor volume, 15 mm3) SK-OV-3 tumors was modestly inhibited. However, tumor growth was not inhibited in mice bearing larger (mean tumor volume, 146 mm3) SK-OV-3 tumors by the administration of a single dose of 10 or 20 microCi of 212Pb-AE1. CONCLUSION: Lead-212-AE1 as an intact radiolabeled monoclonal antibody may be of only modest value in the therapy of bulky solid tumors due to the short physical half-life of 212Pb and time required to achieve a useful tumor-to-normal tissue ratio of radionuclide after administration. However, the radiolabeled monoclonal antibody may be useful in therapy of tumors in the adjuvant setting. Furthermore, 212Pb may be of value in select situations, including treatment of leukemia, intercavitary therapy or strategies that target vascular endothelial cells of tumors.
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Bispecific monoclonal antibodies (Bi-MAbs) with dual specificity for tumor-associated antigens (TAA) and a triggering molecule of an immunologic effector cell, respectively, open the possibility to specifically target to and activate cytotoxic effector cells (macrophages, T-cells, NK cells) at the tumor site. Using appropriately designed Bi-MAbs and unstimulated human NK cells and T-cells, respectively, we were able to cure SCID mice xenografted with human Hodgkin's tumors. This approach was also effective in disseminated tumors and when treatment was delayed until three weeks after the inoculation of the tumor, thus establishing this approach as the most effective model of an immunomodulating therapy of human neoplasms. Early observations with an ongoing phase I/II study with CD16/CD30 Bi-MAb in patients with refractory Hodgkin's disease confirm the expected low toxicity. If these observations can be confirmed in larger clinical studies, effector cell activating Bi-MAbs could become an important weapon in the remaining fight for the conquest of Hodgkin's disease.
Local administration of high-dose r-TNF alpha with IFN gamma in the limbs of melanoma patients has proved to be a very promising treatment. To understand the role played by the effect of TNF on melanoma cells in tumor destruction, we have investigated the expression of TNF-receptors in melanoma cells using monoclonal antibodies specific for the type-A (75-kDa) and the type-B (55-kDa) TNF receptors. Flow cytometric analysis of cultured melanoma cells indicated the presence of both types of receptor. Quantificative differences in the relative levels of receptors were observed for different cells lines, although the type-B receptor was generally more strongly expressed. Similar results were obtained by immunohistochemistry on cryosections from tumor samples. Positive staining of variable intensity was observed for the type-B TNF-receptor in a high percentage of tumor cells. The type-A TNF-receptor was also detected, but with a weaker staining. The total TNF-binding activity of cultured melanoma cells, as measured by binding of 125I-labeled TNF alpha, was up-regulated between 2- and 4-fold by incubation of cells with activators of protein kinase A or IFN gamma. Treatment of cultured melanoma cells with dbc-AMP resulted in a selective induction of type-A TNF-receptors, without affecting the type-B receptor level. In contrast, IFN gamma was able to induce either type of receptor in a cell-line-dependent fashion. Addition of TNF alpha to melanoma cells induced the activation of the nuclear transcription factor kappa B, as measured in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, thus indicating the biological significance of the TNF-receptors on these cells.
BACKGROUND: The value of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) in Crohn's disease (CD) is still under discussion. In a previous study 2 g 5-ASA per day were inferior to a standard glucocorticoid treatment with 6-methylprednisolone (6-MPred) (Can J Gastroenterol 1990; 4: 446-51). In the present study we tested whether in active CD response rates to 4.5 g 5-ASA/day were not different from those to 6-MPred. METHODS: Multicenter randomized double-blind double-dummy trial. 34 patients with active CD (CDAI > 150) were included. 17 patients were in the 5-ASA group (Salofalk, 4.5 g/day), 17 patients in the 6-MPred group (Urbason, initial dose 48 mg/day, weekly tapering). Duration of treatment was 8 weeks. Main outcome measure was remission of CD (CDAI < 150) and decrease of at least 60 points. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable with respect to demographic and clinical parameters. The median CDAI decrease in the 5-ASA group was 85, in the 6-MPred group 122 (p = 0.7437). The median AUC of the CDAI in the 5-ASA group was 1027, in the 6-MPred group 950 (p = 0.137). The median AUC of the CDAI per treatment day was 22.94 in the 5-ASA group, and 17.33 in the 6-MPred group (p = 0.0555). On an intention-to-treat basis remission rates after 8 weeks were 40.0% in the 5-ASA group and 56.3% in the 6-MPred group (p = 0.5867). CONCLUSIONS: Response rates to 5-ASA or 6-MPred were not significantly different although there was a trend towards a higher efficacy of 6-MPred. 5-ASA may be considered as alternative treatment in patients with activer CD who are intolerant to or refuse glucocorticoids.
The efficacy, specificity, and toxicity of bismuth (212Bi) alpha particle-mediated radioimmunotherapy was evaluated in nude mice bearing a murine lymphoma transfected with the human CD25 [human Tac; interleukin 2 receptor alpha (IL-2R alpha)] gene. The therapeutic agent used was the tumor-specific humanized monoclonal antibody anti-Tac conjugated to 212Bi. The human IL-2R alpha-expressing cell line was produced by transfecting the gene encoding human Tac into the murine plasmacytoma cell line SP2/0. The resulting cell line, SP2/Tac, expressed approximately 18,000 human IL-2R alpha molecules/cell. Following s.c. or i.p. injection of 2 x 10(6) SP2/Tac cells into nude mice, rapidly growing tumors developed in all animals after a mean of 10 and 13 days, respectively. The bifunctional chelate cyclohexyldiethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid was used to couple 212Bi to the humanized anti-Tac monoclonal antibody. This immunoconjugate was shown to be stable in vivo. Specifically, in pharmacokinetic studies in nude mice, the blood clearance patterns of i.v. administered 205/206Bi-anti-Tac and coinjected 125I-anti-Tac were comparable. The toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of 212Bi-anti-Tac were evaluated in nude mouse ascites or solid tumor models wherein SP2/Tac cells were administered either i.p. or s.c., respectively. The i.p. administration of 212Bi-anti-Tac, 3 days following i.p. tumor inoculation, led to a dose-dependent, significant prolongation of tumor-free survival. Doses of 150 or 200 microCi prevented tumor occurrence in 75% (95% confidence interval, 41-93%) of the animals. In the second model, i.v. treatment with 212Bi-anti-Tac 3 days following s.c. tumor inoculation also resulted in a prolongation of the period before tumor development. However, prevention of tumor occurrence decreased to 30% (95% confidence interval, 11-60%). In both the i.p. and s.c. tumor trials, 212Bi-anti-Tac was significantly more effective for i.p. (P2 = 0.0128 50/100 microCi 212Bi-anti-Tac versus 50/100 microCi Mik beta; P2 = 0.0142 150/200 microCi anti-Tac versus 150/200 microCi Mik beta) and for s.c. tumors (P2 = 0.0018 100 microCi anti-Tac versus 100 microCi Mik beta; P2 = 0.0042 200 microCi anti-Tac versus 200 microCi Mik beta 1) than the control antibody Mik beta 1 coupled to 212Bi at comparable dose levels. In contrast to the efficacy observed in the adjuvant setting, therapy of large, established s.c. SP-2/Tac-expressing tumors with i.v. administered 212Bi-anti-Tac (at doses up to 200 microCi/animal) failed to induce tumor regression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Tumor immunotherapy should increase both the number of T cells that kill the tumor and the likelihood that those cells are activated at the tumor site. Bispecific monoclonal antibodies (Bi-mAbs) were designed that bound to a Hodgkin's tumor-associated antigen (CD30) on the tumor and to either CD3 or CD28 on the T cell. Immunodeficient mice were cured of established human tumors when mice were treated with both the CD3-CD30 and the CD28-CD30 Bi-mAbs and then given human peripheral blood lymphocytes that had been incubated with the CD3-CD30 Bi-mAb and cells that expressed CD30. The enrichment of human T cells within the tumor and the fact that established tumors can be cured may indicate in situ activation of both the T cell receptor and the costimulatory pathway.
A 12-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat, being treated with methimazole for hyperthyroidism, developed chronic cholangitis with portal fibrosis and chronic cholecystitis. The common bile duct was not patent, which necessitated cholecystojejunostomy. Four days after surgery, the cat developed suppurative cholangio-hepatitis caused by a beta-lactam resistant Enterococcus. The cat's condition was further complicated by the concurrent development of hypokalemic polymyopathy. On the basis of minimum inhibitory concentrations, the Enterococcus was determined to be susceptible to vancomycin and resistant to numerous antibiotics commonly used for treatment of infections caused by Enterococcus spp. The cat recovered without evidence of adverse effects attributable to vancomycin.
Balb/c mice were immunized with cells from the mouse mastocytoma line P815 transfected with an HLA-A1 gene. The splenocytes of the immunized mice were fused with cells from the murine myeloma NS-1. In an initial screening, supernatants of growing cultures were tested for their binding capacity to the immunizing P815/A1+ cells as well as to P815/A2+ cells. Three out of 756 hybrids produced antibodies which bound to P815/A1+ cells only. They were cloned and further analyzed for their binding reactivity to reference B-lymphoblastoid cells from the Tenth International Histocompatibility Workshop. One monoclonal antibody, designated 6B11, reacted only with HLA-A1+ cells, while the two other antibodies, 3G3 and 7F10, appeared to detect antigenic determinants shared by HLA-A1, A3, A11, A26, and A30 (3G3) and by HLA-A1, A3, A11, A26, A28 and A30 (7F10). Flow cytometric studies on B-lymphoblastoid cell lines as well as on a series of tumor cell lines, including melanoma and colon carcinoma lines, confirmed the specificity of these antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies 7F10 and 6B11 were found to be of the IgM class and 3G3 of the IgG1 class. By complement-dependent 51Cr release experiments it was further shown that the two IgM antibodies 7F10 and 6B11 were able to lyse all cell lines of the HLA-A1 haplotype tested.
It has been hypothesized that the beneficial effect on hepatic encephalopathy of lactulose or neomycin might be exerted by their effect on intermediary glutamine metabolism and ammonia generation within enterocytes. We examined glutamine consumption and the production of alanine and ammonia (net substrate exchange in nmol min-1 g-1) in isolated vascularly and luminally perfused small intestine from rats with and without pretreatment with lactulose (2.0 g/kg) or paromomycin (60 mg/kg). Without pretreatment, 50 mM lactulose or 1 mM paromomycin were equally ineffective to significantly reduce the consumption of arterial glutamine (-92 +/- 5 vs. -80 +/- 6 vs. -71 +/- 6 for controls, lactulose, or paromomycin; mean +/- SEM, n = 6 each, n.s. by analysis of variance), and the production of alanine (41 +/- 3 vs. 44 +/- 3 vs. 61 +/- 7, n.s.) or ammonia (42 +/- 6 vs. 42 +/- 6 vs. 38 +/- 6, n.s.). Similarly, glutamine utilisation, and the release of alanine and ammonia were not different after pretreatment for 10 days. Also, both agents did not reduce glutamine absorption from the lumen (-170 +/- 9 vs. -171 +/- 6 vs. -219 +/- 25, n = 5 each) or the concomitant vascular release of metabolic products alanine (92 +/- 7 vs. 78 +/- 10 vs. 77 +/- 10 vs. 77 +/- 7, n.s.) and ammonia (73 +/- 6 vs. 69 +/- 7 vs. 65 +/- 8, n.s.). Our results do not support the hypothesis, that lactulose or paromomycin reduce ammonia generation by small intestinal mucosa through a specific effect on intermediary glutamine metabolism.
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The fermentation product lavendustin A (1) is a protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor whose active pharmacophore has previously been shown to reside in the more simplified salicyl-containing benzylamine 2. Amine 2 bears some structural resemblance to two other natural product PTK inhibitors, erbstatin (3) and piceatannol (4). Non-amine containing analogues of 2 were therefore synthesized which incorporated additional aspects of either erbstatin or piceatannol. Examination of these inhibitors in immunoprecipitated p56lck, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and c-erb B-2/HER 2/neu PTK preparations showed that compound 12 (IC50 = 60 nM) was one of the most potent p56lck inhibitors reported to date. These results demonstrate that nitrogen is not an essential component of the lavendustin A pharmacophore 2 and that 1,2-diarylethanes and -ethenes bearing a salicyl moiety appear to be valuable structural motifs for the construction of extremely potent PTK inhibitors.
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