Immunotherapy Weekly articles from January 1999

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from January 1999

Cancer Immunotherapy FasL-Expressing Allogenic Fibroblasts Stimulate Antitumor Immunity.
January 11, 1999... Allogenic fibroblasts genetically engineered to express Fas ligand (FasL) stimulated a specific immune protective and antitumor effect in a murine model. FasL is a type II transmembrane protein of the tumor necrosis factor family which can...

Cancer Immunotherapy IL-2 Interaction is More Effective in Fas(+) Tumor Cells.
January 11, 1999... Interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy is more effective in Fas(+) tumor cells. M. Bradley and a team of researchers from several Virginia institutes investigated whether the naive, poly I:C or interleukin-2 (IL-2)-induced natural killer...

Cancer Immunotherapy Immunomodulation Therapy Shows Promise in HNSCC.(head and neck squamous cell carcinoma)
January 11, 1999... Gene transfer of immune modulating factors may have merit in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). HNSCC are characterized by an acute or chronically inflamed infiltrate. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, it...

Cancer Immunotherapy Results Reported for Immunochemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer.
January 11, 1999... Intraperitoneal (ip) chemotherapy improves the outcomes of patients with ovarian cancer. B. Zylberberg and colleagues from the Group Hospital Bichat Claude Bernard, France, explored the risks versus benefits of intraperitoneal...

Cancer Immunotherapy SART-1 Tumor Rejection Antigen Therapy for Breast Cancer.
January 11, 1999... Breast Cancer patients with HLA-A26 or -A24 haplotype might be candidates for specific immunotherapy with SART-1 peptides. M. Kawamoto and colleagues from the Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan, investigated in breast cancers the...

Neurological Gene Therapy Vector Choice and Immune Blockade Enhance Transgene Stability.
January 11, 1999... A temperature sensitive adenoviral vector and transient immune blockade enhanced transgene stability in both normal and injured rat spinal cords. Gene therapy of the central nervous system (CNS) is a rapidly growing field of study. In the...

Immune Reconstitution HIV-Specific CTL Decay After HAART.
January 11, 1999... Vaccination or immune therapy appears to be a needed adjunct to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Longitudinal studies of eight patients on successful HAART show that HIV specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses decay...

Immunology Master Switch May Help Cancer Cells Hide From Immune System.
January 11, 1999... Research has shown that a gene mutation that works like a master switch may enable tumor cells to evade destruction by the immune system. The finding presents extraordinary possibilities for both cancer treatment and for organ...

Pathogenesis Theory Says Immune Deficiency Caused by Forced Apoptosis.
January 11, 1999... Studies done at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) has suggested that HIV may cause immune deficiency by luring immune cells into lymph nodes, then forcing those cells to commit suicide there. That two-part theory...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients Have Immune Impairment That May Interfere With the Response to Cytokine Therapy.".
January 11, 1999... L. Lauerova, M. Simickova, F. Rovny, V. Spurny, A. Rovny, P. Slamm, L. Pecen and J. Kovarik. Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Czech Republic. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 17th...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Gliomas Genetically Engineered to Express a Model Antigen are Eradicated Subcutaneously and Protect Against Lethal Intracranial Tumor Challenge.".
January 11, 1999... L.M. Liau, S. Sykes, E. Jensen, J.F. Miller and J.M. Broustein. Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurology, and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California. According to an abstract...

Cancer Vaccines "Rationale for Melanoma Biotherapy by Echovirus/Tumour Vaccines.".
January 11, 1999... A. Ferdats, O. Meisele, R. Bruvere, A. Rumis and A. Muceniece. AIDS Prevention Centre, Latvia. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 17th International Cancer Congress, held August 23-28, 1998, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,...

"Aggressive Surgery and Chemoimmunotherapy as Multimodal Approach Improving Prognosis in Gastric Cancer - Polish Multicenter Trial.".(Abstract)
January 11, 1999... T. Popiela and J. Kulig. Jagiellonian Univ, 1st Department General GI Surgery, Poland. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 17th International Cancer Congress, held August 23-28, 1998, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, "The...

Immunosuppression "Use of Tacrolimus (FK-506) in the Pediatric Liver Transplant Recipient.".
January 11, 1999... K. Prabhakaran, B. Wise, H.T. Lau, K. Schwarz and P.M. Colombani. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the American Academy of Pediatrics 1998 Annual...

Cancer Immunotherapy "A Feasibility Study of Roquinimex (Linomide) and alpha Interferon in Patients with Advanced Malignant Melanoma or Renal Carcinoma." British Journal of Cancer, December 1998;78(12):1620-1623.
January 11, 1999... Mackean, M.J.; Kerr, D.; Lesko, M.; Svedberg, A.; Hansson, F.; Jodrell, D.; Cassidy, J. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in British Journal of Cancer, "Thirty-one patients with advanced renal carcinoma or malignant...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Comparative Pharmacokinetics, Tissue Distribution, and Therapeutic Effectiveness of Cisplatin Encapsulated in Long-Circulating, Pegylated Liposomes (SPI-077) in Tumor-Bearing Mice." Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, January 1999;43(1):1-7.
January 11, 1999... Newman, M.S.; Colbern, G.T.; Working, P.K.; Engbers, C.; Amantea, M.A. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, "PURPOSE: The pharmacokinetics (PK), biodistribution, and therapeutic...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Mediated Delivery of a Lipophilic Daunorubicin Derivative to B16 Tumours in Mice Using Apolipoprotein E-Enriched Liposomes." British Journal of Cancer, December 1998;78(12):1607-1614.
January 11, 1999... Versluis, A.J.; Rensen, P.C.N.; Rump, E.T.; Vanberkel, T.J.C.; Bijsterbosch, M.K. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in British Journal of Cancer, "Many tumours express relatively high levels of low-density lipoprotein...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Role of Caspases in Immunotoxin-Induced Apoptosis of Cancer Cells." Biochemistry, December 1, 1998;37(48):16934-16942.
January 11, 1999... Kepplerhafkemeyer, A.; Brinkmann, U.; Pastan, I. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Biochemistry, "Immunotoxins composed of antibodies linked to plant or bacterial toxins are being evaluated in the treatment of...

Rheumatoid Arthritis "Modulation of Sialyl LewisxDependent Binding to E-Selectin by Glycoforms of al pha-1-Acid Glycoprotein Expressed in Rheumatoid Arthritis." Biomedical Chromatography, November-December 1998;12(6):343-349.
January 11, 1999... Jorgensen, H.G.; Elliott, M.A.; Priest, R.; Smith, K.D. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Biomedical Chromatography, "Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is an extensively glycosylated acute phase protein of imprecisely...

Immunogene and Antisense Therapy Targets Cervical Cancer.
January 18, 1999... E7 antisense RNA induces antitumor immunity when co-delivered with an IL-12 gene in an HPV16 induced tumor model in mice. Down-regulation of oncogene expression using antisense-based gene therapy strategies or antisense oligonucleotides is...

IFN-gamma Gene Transfer Stimulates Antitumor Activity.(interferon)
January 18, 1999... Transfection of human monocytes with the interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) gene offers an approach for adoptive immunotherapy of cancer. L. Ringenbach and colleagues from the Institute of Hematology, France, collaborated on a clinically...

IL-7 Enhances IL-2-Induced LAK Activity against Renal Cell Carcinoma.(interleukins 7 and 2, lymphokine-activated killer)
January 18, 1999... Adjuvant immunotherapy combining interleukin-7 (IL-7) with IL-2 enhanced lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity against autologous human renal cell carcinoma. M. Kondo and colleagues from Osaka University School of Medicine,...

Intratumoral Injection of IL-2 Plasmid DNA Induces Immunity.
January 18, 1999... Direct intratumoral injection of interleukin-2 (IL-2) plasmid DNA induces CD8(+) T cell immunity in a murine model. D.C. Saffran and colleagues from Vical, Inc., California, tested an immunogene therapy in a renal cell carcinoma murine...

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Responds to Interferon.
January 18, 1999... Combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy resulted in a complete response for a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patient. A. Santoro and colleagues from Italy discussed a case report of a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver ("Primary...

New Data Pull Plug on Ho's "Tap-and-Drain" Model.(model of how HIV affects the immune system)
January 18, 1999... Four years of often acrimonious debate may at last have ended. No mere side issue, the debate is about the most important and yet most mysterious phenomenon of HIV infection: the drastic depletion of T cells that heralds AIDS. Until...

HIV Adoptive Immunotherapy Trial Data Released.
January 18, 1999... Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), Seattle, Washington; the University of Washington (UW), Seattle; and Targeted Genetics Corp. announced the publication of data from a Phase I study evaluating a concept in the...

Research Holds Hope for Killing HIV Remnants.
January 18, 1999... Writing in the January 5, 1999, issue of Nature Medicine, University of California San Francisco researchers pointed to a novel approach for replenishing HIV patients' immune systems. Researchers found that an HIV infection shortens the...

Orphan Drug Designation Assigned to Proleukin Immunotherapy.
January 18, 1999... Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, California, announced it has received Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Proleukin (aldesleukin) for injection, a recombinant form of interleukin-2 (IL-2), for the...

Neuroblastoma Regression and Immunity Induced by Transgenic Expression of Interleukin-12.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... A.M. Davidoff, S.A. Kimbrough, S.J. Shochat and E.F. Vanin. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the American Academy of Pediatrics 1998 Annual Meeting, held...

Immunotherapy of Autoimmune Diabetes in a Transgenic Model.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... M. von Herrath, D. Homann, A. Holz, B. Coon and T. Wolfe. The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, held...

In Utero Bone Marrow Transplantation Induces Donor Specific Tolerance by a Combination of Clonal Deletion and Anergy.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... H.B. Kim, A.F. Shaaban, R. Milner, C. Fichter and A.W. Plake. The Children's Institute for Surgical Science, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the...

In Vivo IL-12 Production and IL-12R b1 and b2 mRNA Expression in the Spleen is Differentially Up-Regulated in Resistant B6 and Susceptible A/J Mice During Early Blood Stage Plasmodium chabaudi AS Malaria.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... H. Sam and M.M. Stevenson. McGill Centre for Study of Host Resistance, Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 47th Annual Meeting of the American...

"Intralymphatic Interleukin-2 in Combination with Zidovudine for the Therapy of Patients with AIDS." Infection, November-December 1998;26(6):368-374.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... Harrer, T.; Schwab, J.; Struff, W.G.; Schmitt, M.; Ficker, J.H.; Rodl, W.; Parsch, H.; Kalden, J.R.; Gramatzki, M. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Infection, "In a pilot study, the safety and therapeutic...

"Outcome of Chemotherapy in 107 Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis Resistant to Isoniazid and Rifampin." International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, November 1998;2(11):877-884.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... Park, S.K.; Kim, C.T.; Song, S.D. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, "SETTING: National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital, Korea. OBJECTIVE: Treatment for...

"Evidence for Differential Binding of Isoniazid by Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG and the Isoniazid-Resistant Mutant KatG(S315T)." Biochemistry, November 10, 1998;37(45):15825-15834.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... Wengenack, N.L.; Todorovic, S.; Yu, L.; Rusnak, F. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Biochemistry, "Isoniazid is a mainstay of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of tuberculosis, but its molecular mechanism of...

"The Influence of Base Sequence on the Immunological Properties of Defined Oligonucleotides." Immunopharmacology, November 1998;40(3):199-208.(Abstract)
January 18, 1999... Pisetsky, D.S.; Reich, C.F. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Immunopharmacology, "To assess the influence of base sequence on the immunostimulatory activities of DNA, cell binding, and mitogenicity of a series...

Combination Therapy Enhances Cancer Vaccine.
January 25, 1999... Systemic administration of recombinant interleukin 12 (rIL-12) synergistically enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene-transduced cancer vaccine in a murine model. IL-12 is a potent antitumor cytokine. It...

Immunotherapy Supports Immunological and Cellular Changes.
January 25, 1999... Immunotherapy affects allergen-specific production of sulphidoleukotriene and histamine. M. Ferrer and colleagues from the University of Navarra, Spain, studied the effects of immunotherapy on the release of immunomodulators ("Effect of...

CD80 Expression Enhances Tumor-Specific Cytotoxicity.
January 25, 1999... CD-80 expression in an HLA-A2-positive human non-small cell lung cancer cell line enhanced tumor-specific cytotoxicity of HLA-A2-positive T cells derived from both a normal donor and a donor patient that had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....

Immunoglobulin's Put Crohn's Disease in Remission.
January 25, 1999... Intravenous immunoglobulins helped put a case of Crohn's disease associated with increased CD8 T cell activation in remission. J. Korber and colleagues from Humboldt University, Germany, discussed the case report of Crohn's disease in the...

IFN-(beta) Gene Therapy Inhibited Tumor Formation In Murine Model.
January 25, 1999... Interferon-beta (IFN-(beta)) gene therapy inhibited tumor formation and caused regression of established tumors in a murine model. Although type 1 interferons (IFNs) have much potential for the immunotherapeutic treatment of cancers,...

Method Counts Dendritic Cells.
January 25, 1999... Blood dendritic cell counts may be correlated with clinical outcomes, through the development of a method to monitor blood numbers of these cells. Dendritic cells (DC) originate from a bone marrow (BM) precursor. DC circulate by way of...

Flu Vaccine Best In HIV+ Patients With CD4 Counts >200.
January 25, 1999... HIV infected patients are more likely to benefit from influenza immunization when their CD4 T-cell counts are >=200 cells/(micro)L. Yearly flu vaccinations are widely recommended for people with HIV infection. The vaccinations are...

Permission Received To Begin Cancer Study in Poland.
January 25, 1999... Cel-Sci Corp., Vienna, Virginia, announced that the Polish Register Bureau has given permission to begin a Phase II clinical trial with Cel-Sci's immunotherapy drug Multikine. The multicenter study enrolls 30 patients having squamous cell...

Pathogenesis (Prostate Cancer).
January 25, 1999... "Characterization of NAALADase Activity in the Prostate." C.W. Tiffany, A. Merion, R.G. Lapidus and B.S. Slusher. Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., Baltimore, Maryland. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 28th Annual...

Cancer Immunotherapy.
January 25, 1999... "Deficiency in Interferon-Regulated Transcription Factors ISGF3 and IRF-1 in Interferon-Resistant Melanoma Cells: Restoring Cell Responsiveness Via Expression of ISGF3 and IRF-1." L.H. Wong, I. Hatzinisinou, M.J. Estcourt, R.J. Devenish and...

Immunology (Antiretroviral Therapy).
January 25, 1999... "Immune Reconstitution after Potent Antiretroviral Therapy in Children with HIV Infection." A. Vigano, N. Principi, D. Bricalli, N. Sala, M. Clerici, M. Saresella, S. Di Fabio, G. Giannini, M. Andreotti, L. Dally and S. Vella. Pediatric...

Malaria Immunology.
January 25, 1999... "Studies on Immune Responses of Expressed Products in Human Hela Cell Line for Circum Sporozoite Protein Antigens of Plasmodium falciparum FCC1/HN." F. Zheng, Y. Xinbing, L. Yanwen and L. Shuhong. Department of Parasitology, Nantong Medical...

Transplantation Immunity.
January 25, 1999... "Antigen Migration and Localization Governs Both Immunity and Tolerance." T.E. Starzl. Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. According to an abstract submitted by the author to a meeting held November 30 - December 2, 1998, in...

Adverse Effects (Hepatitis Therapy).
January 25, 1999... Dalekos, G.N.; Christodoulou, D.; Kistis, K.G.; Zervou, E.K.; Hatzis, J.; Tsianos, E.V. "A Prospective Evaluation of Dermatological Side-Effects During alpha-Interferon Therapy for Chronic Viral Hepatitis." European Journal of...

Animal Models.
January 25, 1999... Flavell, D.J.; Warnes, S.; Noss, A.; Flavell, S.U. "Host-Mediated Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Contributes to the in vivo Therapeutic Efficacy of an Anti-CD7-SAPORIN Immunotoxin in a Severe Combined Immunodeficient Mouse Model of...

Drug Resistance (Chagas' Disease).
January 25, 1999... Buckner, F.S.; Wilson, A.J.; White, T.C.; Vanvoorhis, W.C. "Induction of Resistance to Azole Drugs in Trypanosoma cruzi." Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, December 1998;42(12):3245-3250. According to the authors' abstract of an...

Epithelial Tumors.
January 25, 1999... Peoples, G.E.; Anderson, B.W.; Fisk, B.; Kudelka, A.P.; Wharton, J.T.; Ioannides, C.G. "Ovarian Cancer-Associated Lymphocyte Recognition of Folate Binding Protein Peptides." Annals of Surgical Oncology, December 1998;5(8):743-750. ...

Gene Delivery.
January 25, 1999... Croxford, J.L.; Oneill, J.K.; Ali, R.R.; Browne, K.; Byrnes, A.P.; Dallman, M.J.; Wood, M.J.A.; Feldmann, M.; Baker, D. "Local Gene Therapy with CTLA4-immunoglobulin Fusion Protein in Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis." European Journal...

Lung Cancer (Animal Models).
January 25, 1999... Chapoval, A.I.; Fuller, J.A.; Kremlev, S.G.; Kamdar, S.J.; Evans, R. "Combination Chemotherapy and IL-15 Administration Induce Permanent Tumor Regression in a Mouse Lung Tumor Model: NK and T-Cell-Mediated Effects Antagonized by B Cells."...

Pediatrics.
January 25, 1999... Ohashi, Y.; Nakai, Y.; Tanaka, A.; Kakinoki, Y.; Washio, Y.; Kato, A.; Masamoto, T.; Yamada, K.; Hayashi, M. "Serologic Study of the Working Mechanisms of Immunotherapy for Children with Perennial Allergic Rhinitis." Archives of Otolaryngology...