Immunotherapy Weekly articles from May 2000

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from May 2000

Complement Component C5 Required for Active Arthritis.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., New Haven, Connecticut, announced the publication of a scientific study in a recent issue of the Journal of Immunology demonstrating that animals deficient in the complement...

HLA-DR Restricted Peptides are Candidates for Venom Immunotherapy.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- HLA-DR restricted peptides appear to be good candidates for immunotherapy against bee venom. "T-cell epitopes containing peptides have been recently proposed as an alternative to conventional immunotherapy...

Murine and Human Epithelial Glycoprotein-2 Antibody Compared.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Murine and human epithelial glycoprotein-2 (EGP-2) antibodies were compared by researchers in The Netherlands. "Antibody engineering provides an excellent tool for the generation of human...

Polyclonal Antibodies Produced by Globe H-Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin Vaccine.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Polyclonal antibodies were produced in patients immunized with a globe H-keyhole limpet hemocyanin vaccine, according to a recent study. "We have previously reported on a carbohydrate-based vaccine program...

Human Tumor and Dendritic Cell Hybrids Generated by Electrofusion.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Hybrid cell vaccines look to be clinically feasible, suggest researchers in England. "Hybrid cells created by fusion of antigen presenting and tumour cells have been shown to induce potent protective and...

Engineered Construct Containing Interleukin-12 Suppresses Tumors.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- The development of a herpes simplex virus (HSV) construct that expresses interleukin-12 (IL-12) was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. This...

Long- and Short-Term Effects of Interferon Modeled in Mice.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers have used a murine virus that creates clinical manifestations similar to multiple sclerosis in mice to study the effects of long- and short-term use of interferon (IFN). The results of this...

Combination of Cytoprotection, Anticytokine Therapies is Effective.(for treating myelodysplastic syndrome)
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers have found evidence supporting the idea that myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) can be successfully treated with cytoprotection and anticytokine therapies. A. Raza, of the Rush Cancer Institute,...

Pretargeting Possible with Bispecific Antibody and Bivalent Hapten.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in France have employed pretargeted radioimmunotherapy of tumors using a bispecific antibody and a I-131-labeled bivalent hapten. "We have developed a pretargeting strategy, called the...

Combined Immunotherapy Evaluated in Metastatic Disease.(renal cell carcinoma)
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Ireland have analyzed the toxicity and efficacy of combined interferon-alpha and interleukin-2 in a clinical trial of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients. "Thirty-three patients with...

Eosinophils and C4 Predict Clinical Failure of Immunotherapy.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- The clinical failure of combination immunotherapy can be predicted by eosinophils and C4 in patients with renal cell carcinoma, researchers in Italy reported. "The clinical and immunologic activities of...

Stromas are Differentially Regulated.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Investigators in Japan report that peritumoral and parenchymal stromas differ both in their regulation and function. Additionally, they found that host immune system factors are necessary for peritumoral...

Genetic Mutations in Core Promoter Impact Response to Interferon.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Genotype mutations in the core promoter region of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) enhance the response to interferon (IFN) therapy, scientists suggest in the journal Hepatology. A. Erhardt and colleagues at...

New Vaccine Technique Offers Hope for Asthma and Allergy Sufferers.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- For years, efforts to develop improved vaccines for asthma and allergies have been thwarted because the vaccines themselves often cause the very symptoms a person is trying to avoid. Research efforts have been...

Tandem-Diabodies Constructed for Immunotherapy.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Burkitt's lymphoma was successfully cured in a murine model by the administration of CD3xCD19 tandem-diabodies. "Recently we described the construction of a new generation of tetravalent bispecific...

Cytokine Gene Transfer to Lymphocytes Reduces Inflammation.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Retroviral mediated gene transfer of the cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) may be an effective therapy for Crohn's disease, suggest researchers from The Netherlands. "CD4(+) T-lymphocytes have a pivotal role...

Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Evaluated.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in the United States and Italy have evaluated an anti-cancer vaccine for its efficacy against ovarian cancer. Allessandro D. Santin and colleagues from the University of Arkansas and the...

Allogeneic Cell Vaccine Under Development.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Germany are developing allogeneic cell vaccines for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). "Because the molecular knowledge of RCC antigens is still limited, immunotherapy approaches...

Patent Broadens Approach to Infectious Disease Treatment.
May 7, 2000... 2000 MAY 7 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antigenics Inc., New York, New York, announced that it was issued a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office broadening the company's approach to treating infectious diseases with heat shock proteins...

Proteins Play Against Each Other, Bringing Balance.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Each day, viruses attack the immune system looking to gain a foothold in the body and cause sickness. But the immune system regularly turns away these invaders by using antibodies and killer T cells that...

Mycophenolate Mofetil Can Prevent Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease in HLA-Mismatched Recipients.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers writing in Clinical Transplantation report that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), in combination with other immunosuppressive drugs, can prevent acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in bone marrow...

Sirolimus Effective for Preventing Cardiac Graft Rejection.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Preliminary evidence suggests that the macrolide antibiotic sirolimus may be able to prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted heart. "Rejection remains a major cause of both early and late...

Efficacy of Vaccine Evaluated in Liver Transplant Recipients.(influenza vaccine)
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from The Netherlands evaluated the efficacy of influenza vaccination in adult liver transplant recipients. "To assess the efficacy of influenza vaccination in immunocompromised adult liver...

Randomized Phase II Trial Compares Combination Vaccine Therapy.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- A randomized Phase II trial compared two different sequence combinations of autologous vaccine and human recombinant interferon gamma and human recombinant interferon alpha 2b therapy in patients with...

Role for IL-4 STAT Indicated.(interleukin-4-STAT may be involved in development of rheumatoid arthritis)
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers have found that IL-4-STAT may play a role in the mechanisms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). "STATs act as second messenger after binding of a signaling molecule to its receptor. IL-4 STAT is...

Peptide-Pulsed Dendritic Cells Induce Immune Response Against Skin Cancer.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Peptide-pulsed dendritic cell vaccines induced antigen-specific immune responses in melanoma patients, reported researchers from the United Kingdom. "Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen...

Dendritic Cell Vaccines Evaluated.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from the United States evaluated dendritic-cell-based vaccines for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) using tumor antigens. "Although RCC has been shown to respond to immunotherapy, RCC-specific...

Phage-Selected Primate Antibodies Fused to Superantigens Used to Treat Melanoma.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from Sweden used phage-selected primate antibodies fused to superantigens for immunotherapy of malignant melanoma. "The high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen, HMW-MAA, has been...

Allograft Inflammatory Factor-1 May Be Disease Marker.(central nervous system inflammatory autoimmune disease)
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Allograft inflammatory factor-1 is expressed at elevated levels during and following cerebral infarctions, according to researchers writing in the Journal of Neuroimmunology. "Allograft inflammatory...

Glycine May Prevent Chronic Graft Rejection.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Glycine has a significantly positive effect on a number of factors associated with chronic rejection, according to researchers. "Glycine, a cytoprotective agent, has been shown to protect against...

Low Doses of Interleukin-4, Amifostine Can Reduce Leukemia Cell Factors.
May 21, 2000... 2000 MAY 21 - (NewsRx.com) -- Small doses of interleukin-4 (IL-4) or amifostine significantly affect critical leukemia cell behavior, say researchers. "High levels of telomerase activity and high rates of cell proliferation are...

Serum Biochemical Indicators Reflect Response to Interferon (alpha).(fibrolysis acceleration; fibrogenesis inhibition in hepatitis C)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Japan report that response or non-response to interferon (alpha) (IFN-(alpha)) treatment is a result of fibrolysis acceleration or fibrogenesis inhibition in patients with hepatitis C virus...

Interleukin 12 Blocks Growth of Pancreatic Cancer.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Japan have found interleukin 12 (IL-12), a heterodimeric cytokine that exerts a potent antitumor effect through its pleiotropic actions, was able to block the growth of human pancreatic cancer...

Control of Immune Genes in Mice and Humans Hint at New Treatment.(for asthma)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Three potent proteins of the immune system, evolved to purge us of intestinal parasites, now often launch misguided attacks in our airways, triggering the congestion of asthma that leaves millions gasping for...

Cytokine Gene Transfer Uses Epstein-Barr Virus-Derived Vectors.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Cytokine gene transfer using Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-derived episomal expression vectors suppresses growth of Burkitt's lymphoma cells in a murine model, researchers in Germany report. "Epstein-Barr...

Immunity Induced by Tumor Lysate-Pulsed Dendritic Cells.(in parathyroid cancer treatment)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs) induced cellular immunity in a parathyroid carcinoma patient, researchers in Germany reported. "Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated tumor immunity against major...

Intradermal RNA Inoculation Induces Anti-Tumor Immunity.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Intradermal RNA inoculation or vaccination with epidermal cells pulsed with tumor-derived RNA induces anti-tumor immunity in a murine model, according to Cornell University researchers. "The skin is...

Fish Oil Fatty Acid Can Prevent Toxicity.(docosahexaenoic acid can prevent cyclosporin-A toxicity)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid derived from fish oil, can mitigate the toxicity caused by cyclosporin-A (CsA) as long as it is in a non-oxidized state, according to researchers at the University of...

Can the Body Trick Itself Into an Autoimmune Response to Thwart HIV?
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- When the immune system goes wrong and begins to attack the body's own cells, the result can be devastating diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease. But now,...

Oseltamivir Effective Against Influenza Virus, Doesn't Impact Immune Factors.(Tamiflu)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Oseltamivir, an antiviral agent known to be effective against influenza virus A and B in animal models as well as humans, does not negatively impact the immune system in in vivo studies, scientists at Utah...

Chemokine Receptor Antagonist May Hold Key to Drug Development.(of antiviral agents against HIV infection)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Peptides identified by laboratory investigators at Thomas Jefferson University's Jefferson Medical College, Pennsylvania, play an important role in the future development of antiviral agents against the human...

Cytokine "Decoy" Can Prevent Organ Rejection.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- By using a genetic "decoy" to prevent nuclear factor (NF) kappa B from setting the body's immune response in motion, many cases of kidney rejection can be prevented, researchers in The Netherlands report. ...

Potential New Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases.(ZymoGenetics introduces soluble "TACI" for lupus therapy)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers at ZymoGenetics, Inc., have announced the discovery of a potential new therapy for lupus, and possibly other autoimmune diseases. Administration of a novel immunosuppressive agent developed at...

Murine Study Indicates Estrogen and Vaccine Combination May Prevent Disease.(autoimmune diseases may be prevented)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new study by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers offers potentially good news for women suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases in which the immune system...

Dendritic Cells Undergo Pre-Clinical Evaluation for Glioma.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- A pre-clinical evaluation of dendritic cells as treatment for intracranial glioma has been conducted. "Since glioma patients are profoundly immunosuppressed, the question arises as to whether dendritic...

Dendritic Cell Vaccine Provides Intracranial Protection.(against glioma)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- A dendritic cell (DC) vaccine pulsed with p53 mutant peptide demonstrates that intracranial protection against glioma is possible. "As approximately half of malignant gliomas exhibit p53 mutations, we are...

Interferon-(alpha) Demonstrates Powerful Adjuvant Effect.(when added to cancer vaccines)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Interferon-(alpha) (IFN(alpha)) has a powerful adjuvant effect when added to cancer vaccines, researchers in Italy reported. "Our group has recently demonstrated that the transduction of the IFN(alpha)1...

Remune Therapy Pivotal Clinical Trial Initiated to Treat HIV.
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Immune Response Corp., Carlsbad, California, and Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., La Jolla, California, announced that a pivotal trial has been initiated to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the...

Immunosuppression Induced by MAbs and Cyclosporine.(monoclonal antibodies and cyclosporine can induce allograft tolerance)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Allograft tolerance can be induced by selective immunosuppression with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against CD25 and CD54 combined with subtherapeutic levels of cyclosporine, according to researchers...

Survival Prolonged by MAb CD45RB and Cyclophosphamide.(monoclonal antibody)
May 28, 2000... 2000 MAY 28 - (NewsRx.com) -- Xenograft survival in a rat-to-mouse transplantation model was prolonged by use of monoclonal antibody (MAb) CD45RB and cyclophosphamide in a recent study. "Intrigued by the finding that a monoclonal...