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Biomedical subjects

M Feuring-Buske

Publications and source records attributed to M Feuring-Buske.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[DNA-chips in the diagnosis of hematological malignancies].

In hematological malignancies, gene expression profiling using DNA-microarrays led to the discovery of novel lymphoma and leukemia subgroups. The heterogeneous entity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma could be subdivided into the germinal center B-cell-like and the activated B-cell-like subtype which differ in pathogenesis and clinical behavior. In leukemia, existing entities defined by morphological, cytogenetic, molecular and immunophenotypic criteria were confirmed on the global gene expression level; in addition, new important molecular subgroups could be identified. In retrospective clinical lymphoma and leukemia studies, robust gene expression signatures were discovered that predict the clinical course at the time of diagnosis. Given the huge potential of the DNA-microarray technology, application in the routine diagnostic setting appears possible.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

[Stem cell therapy. Biology of hematopoietic stem cells].

In recent years much progress has been made in the understanding of the biology of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their involvement in normal blood cell development. Using immunophenotyping it is possible, to enrich HSC, however, so far we are not able to positively select HSC. For the identification, characterization and quantification of HSC it is necessary to use functional assay systems, such as xenotransplantation models. HSC from bone marrow, peripheral blood and in some cases also cord blood have been used for years in transplantation settings especially in patients with leukemia. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying stem cell regulation as well as stem cell self renewal would have clinical implications e. g. for clinical transplantation strategies. A number of hematological diseases such as chronic myeloid leukemia originates from a malignant transformed HSC. A better understanding of the biology of normal as well as malignant HSC is therefore crucial not only for a better understanding of the disease, but also for the development of strategies aiming at the discrimination of normal and malignant stem cell candidates and the development of therapies targeting the leukemic stem cell.

Cell Transformation, Neoplastic↗

[Risk-adapted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia].

Genetic and molecular techniques have provided increasing insights into the biology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These investigations showed that AML is not a homogeneous disease but a heterogeneous group of biologically different subentities. These subentities are currently primarily defined by cytogenetics and molecular markers. They differ substantially in response to therapy and long-term outcome and hence allow different risk groups of patients to be defined. These will guide therapeutic decisions in future therapeutic strategies and may ultimately lead to an individualized treatment concept.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

[Stem cell therapy].

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Cell Differentiation↗

AML1-ETO needs a partner: new insights into the pathogenesis of t(8;21) leukemia.

The detailed characterization of genetic and molecular aberrations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has substantially improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. With an incidence of up to 12% in all AML cases, the translocation t(8;21), forming the AML1-ETO fusion gene, is one of the most common genetic aberrations in AML. Experimental data have shown that AML1-ETO is not sufficient to induce leukemia by itself, but has to collaborate with other genetic alterations for leukemic transformation. These data are supported by observations in AML patients, who recurrently show activating mutations of the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 or c-KIT together with the AML1-ETO fusion gene. These findings might have clinical implications and provide a rationale to test RTK inhibitors in the treatment of patients with core binding factor AML and concurrent activating RTK mutations.

Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21↗

Towards a pathogenesis-oriented therapy of acute myeloid leukemia.

Genetic and molecular techniques have provided increasing insights into the biology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These investigations showed that AML is not a homogeneous disease but a heterogeneous group of biologically different subentities. These subentities are currently primarily defined by cytogenetics by which three main subgroups can be discriminated: AML with balanced translocations, AML with unbalanced aberrations and AML without cytogenetically detectable aberrations. Within the latter group molecular alterations are identified in more than half of cases such as NPM mutations, FLT3 mutations, MLL duplications and mutations of CEBP-alpha. The clinical meaning of these findings is illustrated by substantial differences in response to therapy and long-term outcome. As demonstrated by the recent multicenter trial of the German AML Cooperative Group (AMLCG) and other studies intensification of induction therapy may improve the results in distinct subtypes but fails to do so in others. Therefore, new strategies need to be explored which incorporate the knowledge about the biology of AML to develop biology adapted treatment strategies. This process has just begun and is predominantly determined by the availability of new agents and their evaluation in clinical phase I and II studies. A variety of targets are currently explored and some trials have yielded promising results already. The step towards a biology adapted treatment of AML is long and requires the combined efforts of researchers, clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry. The first steps towards this goal have been taken and give rise to the hope for more effective and more specific therapies of AML.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Improved engraftment of human acute myeloid leukemia progenitor cells in beta 2-microglobulin-deficient NOD/SCID mice and in NOD/SCID mice transgenic for human growth factors.

Primitive malignant progenitors defined as nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) leukemia-initiating cells or NOD/SL-IC from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can be detected and quantitated in sublethally irradiated NOD/SCID mice. However, there is variability in the levels of bone marrow (BM) engraftment obtained after intravenous injection of cells from different AML samples. In the current study, AML cell engraftment in standard NOD/SCID mice was compared to that obtained with NOD/SCID mice transgenic for the human growth factor genes Steel factor (SF), interleukin-3 (IL-3) and granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (N/S-S/GM/3) as well as beta 2 microglobulin-null NOD/SCID (N/S-beta 2m(-/-)) mice. Three of the eight AML samples that failed to engraft in standard NOD/SCID animals showed easily detectable and up to 70-fold increased in the number of leukemic cells in BM 8-12 weeks post-transplantation in each of the N/S-beta 2m(-/-) and N/S-S/GM/3 mouse strains. In two of the four AML samples studied at limiting dilution, the frequency of NOD/SL-IC detected was increased six- and seven-fold. Thus, in these novel mouse strains a broader spectrum of AML patient samples can be evaluated for their progenitor content and potentially studied for their response to innovative therapeutics in vivo.

Acute Disease↗

New insights into the biology of acute myeloid leukemia and their impact on treatment.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous group of disorders that can be discriminated by morphology, immunophenotyping or more recently by cytogenetic and molecular techniques. By cytogenetics two major groups of AML can be discriminated: One group with detectable chromosomal aberrations accounting for approximately 52 % of all de novo AML and the second group without cytogenetically detectable karyotype abnormalities. In the first group two major subtypes can be further distinguished. The first group comprises AML with balanced aberrations mainly consisting in t(8;21), t(15;17) and inv(16). The second group comprizes cases with unbalanced aberrations including particularly 5q-, 17q- -5 and AML with complex karyotypes. AMLs with balanced aberrations have a good prognosis with long term survival being achieved in approximately 60 %-80 % of cases. AMLs with non-balanced aberrations on the other hand have a poor prognosis with only 10 %-15 % long-term survivors. AMLs with no detectable abnormalities or other cytogenetic aberrations comprise a group with an intermediate prognosis in which long term survival is achieved in approximately 25 %-30 % of cases. Biologically, AMLs with balanced aberrations regularly involve the deregulation of transcription factors resulting in an impairment of cell differentiation and proliferation. AMLs with unbalanced aberrations are mostly characterized by a loss of genetic material resulting in an alteration of cell cycle control and DNA repair. A new view on the biology of AML has recently been made possible through the analysis of gene expression profiles. This technique is still under investigation. First results, however, already show that gene expression patterns have a high diagnostic potential and allow to detect biology subgroups with a high accuracy. Furthermore, by this technique pathways can be identified that are altered in the leukemic process. Gene expression profiling therefore opens a new and exciting perspective in leukemia biology and therapy that may have substantial impact on the improvement of diagnosis and more importantly may guide therapeutic strategies.

Acute Disease↗

Transcription of AML1 in hematopoietic subfractions of normal adults.

The transcription factor AML1 (CBFA2) is indispensable for early fetal hematopoiesis, but also transactivates target genes which are important for further downstream hematopoiesis. However, little is known about the impact of AML1 on lineage-committed stages. We investigated the transcription of AML1 in subfractions of four normal adult bone marrow aspirates isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. AML1 is transcribed in early (CD34+/CD38-) and late (CD34+/CD38+) hematopoietic progenitors, B-cell precursors (CD10+/CD19+) as well as in immature monocytes (CD14-/CD11c+), myeloid (CD15+/CD33+ and CD15+/CD33-) and erythroid (GPA+/CD3-/CD45-) cells, but not in T lymphocytes (GPA-/CD3+/CD45+). These data suggest that in adult hematopoiesis AML1 may be critically involved in differentiation of early hematopoietic progenitors, erythroid cells, and lymphoid precursors. These subfractions are interesting targets to study the importance of AML1 in definitive hematopoiesis.

Adult↗

Hoechst 33342 efflux identifies a subpopulation of cytogenetically normal CD34(+)CD38(-) progenitor cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Efflux of Hoechst 33342 from normal hematopoietic cells identifies a "side population" (SP(+)) of negatively staining cells that, in the mouse, are largely CD34(-) and are enriched for primitive progenitors. To further characterize human SP(+) cells, blood or bone marrow from 16 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was analyzed for their presence, immunophenotype, and cytogenetic and functional properties, and for the relation between SP phenotype and multidrug resistance-1 (MDR-1) expression. The mean percentages of SP(+) and MDR(+) cells was 8.1% (range, 0.5%-29.9%) and 12.8% (range, 0%-54.8%), respectively, with no correlation between the 2 values. The percentages of SP(+) cells that were CD34(+)CD38(-), CD34(+)CD38(+), or CD34(-) were 12% (range, 0.4%-50%), 25% (range, 0.5%-96%), and 63% (range, 4%-99%). Cytogenetically abnormal cells were always detected in the SP(-)CD34(+)CD38(-) and SP(+)CD34(-) fractions, and abnormal colonies (CFC), long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC), and nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mouse leukemia-IC were detected in the former fraction. No progenitors were detected among SP(+)CD34(-) cells in any of these assays from 9 of 10 samples. In contrast, exclusively normal cells were detected in the SP(+)CD34(+)CD38(-) fraction from 9 of 15 samples, and CFC, LTC-IC, and multilineage engraftment in NOD/SCID mice from this subpopulation were also cytogenetically normal in 6 of 8, 6 of 7, and 2 of 2 cases studied, respectively. In contrast to murine studies, primitive progenitors are enriched among SP(+)CD34(+)CD38(-) cells from patients with AML. The molecular basis for Hoechst dye efflux is uncertain because it does not appear to be related to MDR-1 expression. (Blood. 2001;97:3882-3889)

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗

Overexpression of HOXA10 perturbs human lymphomyelopoiesis in vitro and in vivo.

Several studies point to multiple members of the Hox transcription factor family as playing key roles in normal hematopoietic development, and they link the imbalanced expression of these transcription factors, in particular of the Abd-like A cluster HOX genes HOXA9 and HOXA10, to leukemogenesis. To test directly the hypothesis that HOXA10 is involved in human hematopoietic development, the gene was retrovirally overexpressed in human highly purified CD34(+)/GFP(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells derived from cord blood or fetal liver sources, and the impact of aberrant gene expression was analyzed on differentiation and proliferation in vitro and in vivo. HOXA10 misexpression profoundly impaired myeloid differentiation with a higher yield of blast cells in liquid culture and a greater than 100-fold increased generation of blast colonies after in vitro expansion or after replating of primary colonies first plated in methylcellulose directly after transduction (P < .01). Furthermore, aberrant HOXA10 expression almost completely blocked erythroid differentiation in methylcellulose (P < .02). HOXA10 deregulation also severely perturbed the differentiation of human progenitors in vivo, reducing B-cell development by 70% in repopulated NOD/SCID mice and enhancing myelopoiesis in the transduced compartment. The data provide evidence that the balanced expression of HOXA10 is pivotal for normal human hematopoietic development and that aberrant expression of the gene contributes to impaired differentiation and increased proliferation of human hematopoietic progenitor cells. These results also provide a framework to initiate more detailed analyses of HOX regulatory domains and HOX cofactors in the human system in vitro and in vivo.

Animals↗

IDEC-C2B8 (Rituximab) anti-CD20 antibody treatment in relapsed advanced-stage follicular lymphomas: results of a phase-II study of the German Low-Grade Lymphoma Study Group.

PURPOSE: The current study was initiated to assess the clinical efficacy and side effects of rituximab in patients with relapsed advanced stage follicular lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was performed as an open-label non-randomized multicenter phase-II trial and included patients older than 18 years of age with relapsed advanced-stage follicular lymphomas (FL) grades I and II, according to the REAL classification, or with centroblastic/centrocytic (CB/CC lymphomas according to the Kiel classification. Four weekly doses of 375 mg/m2 rituximab were applied. RESULTS: 38 patients from eight centers were included between January 1997 and January 1998 and were evaluable for response and toxicity on an intention to treat basis. The median age was 55 years (range 26-75 years). Thirteen patients (35%) were in first relapse, 11 patients (30%) in second, and 13 patients (35%) in third relapse. The median time between primary diagnosis and study entry was 4.6 years (range 0.9-14.7 years). Twenty-three patients tolerated the application of rituximab without adverse events; in 13 cases the infusion rate had to be reduced because of side effects; in two patients the application was stopped because of pharyngeal edema and anaphylactoid reaction. The most frequent side effects were fever (13 patients) and rigor (13 patients); 65% of the side effects were observed after the first infusion. Twenty grade-III/IV side effects were considered to be related to treatment: lymphocytopenia (3), granalocytopenia (1), thrombocytopenia (2), fever (1), hyperglycermia (1), venous thrombosis (1), syncope (1), plasmatic coagulation disorder (1), shortness of breath (2), photosensitivity (1), cardiac failure (1), chills (1), sepsis (1), tumor lysis (1), anemia (1), and pharyngeal edema (1). Eight patients were not eligible for assessment of response because of non-follicular subtypes of low-grade lymphomas (n =6) or early termination of therapy at the first infusion because of severe side effects (n =2). From the 30 evaluable cases with follicular lymphomas, five patients achieved a complete remission (CR) (17%), nine patients a partial remission (PR) (30%), and two patients a minor response (MR) (7%). The overall response rate was 47%. The median time to treatment progression (TTP) was 201 days (range 64-293 days), with five patients experiencing long-lasting remissions of 214-293 days duration. In three patients, the rituximab-induced remission exceeded the preceding progression-free interval substantially. Bulky disease (P=0.058) and/or bone-mar row involvement (P=0.046) were associated with poor response. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the moderate treatment-related toxicity and the high antilymphoma activity of rituximab in patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma. Further studies are needed to determine the role of rituximab in the first-line treatment of these disorders and its combination with conventional chemotherapy.

Adult↗

Recent advances in antigen-targeted therapy in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Substantial advances in antigen-targeted lymphoma therapy have been achieved in recent years that make the use of monoclonal antibodies a highly attractive concept and promise further improvements in the clinical management of malignant lymphoma. The development of the chimeric anti-CD20 antibody IDEC-C2B8 (Rituximab) proved the concept of an effective therapy with a single unconjugated monoclonal antibody in lymphoma patients. Radioimmunoconjugates with myeloablative activity induced response rates of 80-100% in heavily pretreated patients. Progress in the genetic engineering of immunotoxins has improved the efficacy of these constructs. Ongoing prospective clinical trials will define the optimal use of these innovative therapeutic agents in patients with malignant lymphoma, and may establish therapeutic strategies with a high anti-lymphoma specificity and a low unspecific toxicity.

Antibodies, Bispecific↗

Variable cytotoxicity of diphtheria toxin 388-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor fusion protein for acute myelogenous leukemia stem cells.

In this study, the utility of DT388-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for the ex vivo purging and direct administration to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is tested using clonogenic assays, long-term cultures (LTC), and NOD/SCID mice as assays for leukemic progenitors. We compare the ability of 24-hour exposure to 0.3 microg/mL (4 nM) DT388-GM-CSF to kill AML colony forming cells (CFC) and the more primitive AML progenitors detected after 6 weeks in stromal cocultures (AML LTC-initiating cells or AML LTC-IC) and after 8 weeks in NOD/SCID mice.AML samples (n = 10), expressing a mean of 35 to 1466 GM-CSF receptors/blast, showed mean (range) percent kills of AML CFC and LTC-IC of 61 (17-98) and 46 (0-94) respectively with a direct correlation (r = 0.69) between the % kills detected in the in vitro assays. Among 5 evaluable samples the percent reduction in AML cell engraftment in NOD/SCID marrow following ex vivo DT388-GM-CSF treatment varied from 38% to 100%. 40% to 56% of normal bone marrow CFC and 31% to 48% of normal LTC-IC survived the same ex vivo treatment (n = 3). In subsequent experiments, NOD/SCID mice received AML blast cell injections intravenously followed in 24 hours by 1.5 microg DT388-GM-CSF daily intraperitoneally for 5 days. A reduction of marrow blast cells was seen with 7 of 9 samples tested 4 to 12 weeks post one course of toxin. Repeating the 5-day course of toxin 2 or 3 times at 4-week intervals did not improve the response, while delaying administration until 4 to 8 weeks post AML cell injection reduced the toxin's effectiveness (n = 5).This fusion toxin may prove useful for in vitro purging of stem cell harvests from selected AML patients and for direct administration to such patients.

Animals↗

Monoclonal antibody therapy for B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: emerging concepts of a tumour-targeted strategy.

Although much progress has been made in the understanding of the pathobiology of malignant lymphomas in recent years, progress in the treatment of patients with this diagnosis has been limited. Monoclonal antibody therapy is an innovative and promising concept in the treatment of malignant lymphoma, and the current status of this treatment is reviewed here. Phase I/II clinical trials have proven the high antilymphoma activity of antibody-based therapeutic strategies. Radioimmunoconjugates with myeloablative activity have induced response rates of between 80 and 100% in heavily pretreated patients. The chimeric monoclonal antibody IDEC-C2B8 has shown high antilymphoma activity in patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma with an overall response rate of up to 50%. The combination of the IDEC-C2B8 antibody with standard chemotherapy has shown encouraging results with no increase in toxicity compared with chemotherapy alone. The introduction of antibody therapy promises to open new perspectives in the treatment of patients with malignant lymphoma. Prospective randomised clinical trials will define the patient who will gain maximal benefit from antibody-based therapy.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Clonal chromosomal abnormalities in the stem cell compartment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia in morphological complete remission.

Acute myeloid leukemia arises from the clonal expansion of a malignant transformed progenitor cell. Despite intensive chemotherapy, final disease eradication is achieved by a small proportion of cases only and 50-70% of adults with AML will ultimately relapse and die from their disease. Hence residual disease below the level of morphological detectability must be assumed in clinical and morphological complete remission. CD34+/CD38- and CD34+/CD38+ subpopulations of seven patients in morphological complete remission were isolated by FACS (purity >98%) and were analyzed by conventional cytogenetics or FISH for chromosomal aberrations. In five of seven patients, clonal chromosomal abnormalities were detected in the CD34+/CD38+ subpopulation and in one patient with AML M2 (add (2)(q37)) in the most immature CD34+/CD38- stem cell compartment. One patient with AML M4Eo (inv(16),+8), showed a normal karyotype by conventional cytogenetic analysis, whereas four of 15 metaphases of the sorted CD34+/CD38+ subpopulation revealed the inversion 16. These observations underline that leukemic cells can survive intensive chemotherapy in the niche of the stem cell compartment. In some patients the sensitivity for the detection of persistent leukemic cells seems to be higher in FACS-sorted subpopulations than conventional cytogenetic analysis of the unseparated bone marrow. Immunophenotyping revealed minimal residual disease in four of the patients. Functional analysis has to be performed to investigate the leukemogenic potential of these residual cells.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗