Immunotherapy Weekly articles from September 1998

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from September 1998

Universal DOT May Not Be Best for Everybody.
September 7, 1998... Researchers at New York City's Columbia School of Public Health want to reopen the debate about directly observed therapy. They argue that universal directly observed therapy is unnecessary and may be too costly in areas where very high...

Prior BCG Vaccine Alters Response to hsp 65 and hsp 70 by Salynn Boyles.
September 7, 1998... Animal studies suggest that heat shock protein 65 is not protective against active tuberculosis. Researchers found that prior vaccination with bacillus Calmette-Guerin boosted cellular immune response to purified protein derivative and...

Low Dose IL-2 May Improve MDR-TB Treatment by Salynn Boyles, Senior Editor.
September 7, 1998... Adjunctive treatment with low dose recombinant human interleukin 2 may enhance antimicrobial response to standard therapies for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, according to a multicenter study. Interleukin 2 (IL-2) secreted by activated...

TB-Associated Wasting May Be Due to "Anabolic Blocking" by Salynn Boyles, Senior Editor.
September 7, 1998... Wasting associated with tuberculosis may be due to anabolic impairment, according to a report from the United Kingdom. "The primary treatment of the wasting associated with tuberculosis is anti-mycobacterial treatment of the infection...

Study Confirms TB Increase Among Dialysis Patients by Salynn Boyles, Senior Editor.
September 7, 1998... Dialysis patients are at increased risk of tuberculosis and a high index of suspicion is needed for the disease among clinicians treating patients with renal failure, according to a report from Missouri's Washington University School of...

Adding Steroids May Be Useful in Peritoneal TB by Salynn Boyles, Senior Editor.
September 7, 1998... Corticosteroid administration combined with antituberculosis therapy appears to reduce complications in patients with peritoneal tuberculosis, according to a report from Saudi Arabia. "Until results of a prospective, randomized,...

Resistant Salmonella Strains Increasing In the U.K. by Salynn Boyles, Senior Editor.
September 7, 1998... About 15 percent of Salmonella infections in the United Kingdom are caused by strains resistant to at least four drugs, and the latest figures to come from the Public Health Laboratory Service, London, are worrying. In a Research Letter...

Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in 12 New York City Hospitals.
September 7, 1998... A team of researchers led by scientists from The Rockefeller University and the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) used molecular fingerprinting techniques to track the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in 12...

State of Maryland Funds Second Phase of Diagnostic TB Test Development.
September 7, 1998... Cel-Sci Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, and Dr. Niel Constantine, University of Maryland, received a Phase II Maryland Industrial Partnership (MIPS) award for the development of a "Diagnostic Test for Tuberculosis." The purpose of this...

Conference News . . . September 7 & 14, 1998.
September 7, 1998... Information About Research Worldwide . . . Compiled by Michelle Marble Epidemiology (TB/HIV) "Tuberculosis Diagnosis in HIV(+)/AIDS Patients in the City of Rio de Janeiro." G. Silva, D. Barreira, A.L.M. Bellizzi and S.M.E. Santo....

Tuberculosis (Diagnostics).
September 7, 1998... Eing, B.R.; Becker, A.; Sohns, A.; Ringelmann, R. "Comparison of Roche Cobas Amplicor Mycobacterium tuberculosis Assay with In-House PCR and Culture for Detection of M. tuberculosis." Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July...

Early HAART May Prevent CTL Exhaustion.
September 21, 1998... Aggressive treatment soon after HIV infection appears to prevent one of the earliest HIV-associated immune defects. Hugo Soudeyns of Beaumont Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues analyzed cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) subsets in...

Adenovirus-SIV env Priming and Boosting with a Synthetic Peptide Polymer from the C4 Region of SIV Envelope Induces Strong Cellular Immune Responses in Macaques.
September 21, 1998... HIV Vaccines "Adenovirus-SIV env Priming and Boosting with a Synthetic Peptide Polymer from the C4 Region of SIV Envelope Induces Strong Cellular Immune Responses in Macaques." J. Patterson, K.M. Alrich, F.A. Robey and M. Robert-Guro....

Treatment of Homozygous HIV-1 Transgenic Mouse Pups with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) Upregulates the Skin hCG/Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Levels.
September 21, 1998... Pathogenesis (HIV-1) "Treatment of Homozygous HIV-1 Transgenic Mouse Pups with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) Upregulates the Skin hCG/Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Levels." A. Shapira, S. Bao, Z.M. Lei, A.L. Notkins, S.K. De and Ch.V....

Superantigen-Targeted Therapy: Phase I Escalating Repeat Dose Trial of the Fusion Protein PNU-214565 in Patients With Advanced Gastrointestinal Malignancies.
September 21, 1998... Cancer Immunotherapy Alpaugh, R.K.; Schultz, J.; Mcaleer, C.; Giantonio, B.J.; Persson, R.; Burnite, M.; Nielsen, S.E.; Vitek, L.; Persson, B.; Weiner, L.M. "Superantigen-Targeted Therapy: Phase I Escalating Repeat Dose Trial of the Fusion...

Murine Dendritic Cells Pulsed with Whole Tumor Lysates Mediate Potent Antitumor Immune Responses in vitro and in vivo.
September 21, 1998... Cancer Immunotherapy Fields, R.C.; Shimizu, K.; Mule, J.J. "Murine Dendritic Cells Pulsed with Whole Tumor Lysates Mediate Potent Antitumor Immune Responses in vitro and in vivo." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the...

Humanized M195 Monoclonal Antibody Conjugated to Recombinant Gelonin: An Anti-CD33 Immunotoxin With Antileukemic Activity.
September 21, 1998... Immunotoxins Pagliaro, L.C.; Liu, B.S.; Munker, R.; Andreeff, M.; Freireich, E.J.; Scheinberg, D.A.; Rosenblum, M.G. "Humanized M195 Monoclonal Antibody Conjugated to Recombinant Gelonin: An Anti-CD33 Immunotoxin With Antileukemic...

Primate Renal Transplants Using Immunotoxin.
September 21, 1998... Renal Transplants Knechtle, S.J.; Fechner, J.H.; Dong, Y.C.; Stavrou, S.; Neville, D.M.; Oberley, T.; Buckley, P.; Armstrong, N.; Rusterholz, K.; Hong, X.N.; Tsuchida, M.; Hamawy, M.M. "Primate Renal Transplants Using Immunotoxin."...

Human Lung Cancer Cell Lines Express Cell Membrane Complement Inhibitory Proteins and Are Extremely Resistant to Complement-Mediated Lysis; a Comparison with Normal Human Respiratory Epithelium in vitro, and an Insight Into Mechanism(s) of Resistance.
September 21, 1998... Cancer Immunology Varsano, S.; Rashkovsky, L.; Shapiro, H.; Ophir, D.; Markbentankur, T. "Human Lung Cancer Cell Lines Express Cell Membrane Complement Inhibitory Proteins and Are Extremely Resistant to Complement-Mediated Lysis; a...

Pulsed Murine Dendritic Cells Mediated Antitumor Immune Responses.
September 21, 1998... Tumor-lysate pulsed dendritic cells (DC) elicited a potent antitumor response both in vitro and in vivo in a murine model. R.C. Fields and colleagues from the University of Michigan Medical Center investigated the capacity of bone...

Bicistronic Triple Gene Vector Provides New Immuno/Suicide Gene Therapy Tool.
September 21, 1998... Italian researchers created a triple gene vector to facilitate anticancer combination gene therapy strategies. Most gene-based therapeutic strategies for cancer focus on augmentation of immunotherapies or chemotherapies. M. Pizzato and...

Study Suggests Genetic Immunotherapy Possible for Colorectal Cancer.
September 21, 1998... Promising in vitro data provides the rationale for a genetic immunotherapy for colorectal cancer. In the United States, colorectal cancer kills more than seven times the number of people as melanoma. It would be of great benefit to...

Can HAART Return CD8(+) T-Cell Subsets to Normal?
September 21, 1998... Successful anti-HIV therapy slowly permits T-cell repertoires to normalize - but new perturbations can occur. One of the earliest immune dysfunctions in HIV disease occurs early after infection, when oligoclonal expansion of CD8(+) T-cells...

Treatment Prevents Burkitt's Lymphoma In Mice.
September 21, 1998... Researchers at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have used DNA therapy and the host immune system to stave off the development of cancer in mice. Pharmacologist Eric Wickstrom, PhD, and research associate Janet B....

Scientists Discover How Bacteria Protect Themselves Against Immune System.
September 21, 1998... Scientists at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, Ohio, have discovered a major mechanism by which bacteria protect themselves against the human immune response - a discovery that opens the door for development of a new class of...

Ulcer Vaccine Succeeds in Monkeys.
September 21, 1998... Successful vaccination of monkeys against Helicobacter pylori suggests that a human ulcer vaccine may soon be available. The monkey data suggests that the vaccine not only protects against de novo H. pylori infection but could also...

Development of Rationally Designed Vaccines for HIV-1 Through the Use of Molecular Adjuvants.
September 21, 1998... HIV Vaccines "Development of Rationally Designed Vaccines for HIV-1 Through the Use of Molecular Adjuvants." J.J. Kim and D.B. Weiner. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to an abstract submitted by the...

Activation of Integrin (RGD) or Ceramide (C2) Signalling Pathways in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines Can Inhibit the Mitogenic Effect of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I).
September 21, 1998... Pathogenesis (Breast Cancer) "Activation of Integrin (RGD) or Ceramide (C2) Signalling Pathways in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines Can Inhibit the Mitogenic Effect of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I)." C.M. Perks, Z.P. Gill, P.V....

Important Immunoregulatory Role of Interleukin-11 in the Inflammatory Process in Rheumatoid Arthritis.
September 21, 1998... Rheumatoid Arthritis Hermann, J.A.; Hall, M.A.; Maini, R.N.; Feldmann, M.; Brennan, F.M. "Important Immunoregulatory Role of Interleukin-11 in the Inflammatory Process in Rheumatoid Arthritis." Arthritis and Rheumatism, August...

Vaccine Development Combination rSAG1/IL-12 Vaccine Protects against Toxoplasmosis in Mice.
September 28, 1998... The combination of the recombinant Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 1 (rSAG1) protein with interleukin-12 (IL-12) administered as a vaccine protected mice from toxoplasmosis. Typically, T. gondii infection takes a mild disease course in...

AIDS Vaccines Whether Live Vaccine Saves or Kills Up To Host Factors.
September 28, 1998... Whether a live AIDS vaccine protects or kills appears due to as-yet-unidentified host factors. The finding comes from the most extensive study to date of rhesus monkeys given a prototype live, attenuated AIDS vaccine (SIVmac239 delta nef)...

AIDS Marketplace U.S. Market For AIDS Therapies $1 Billion And Growing.
September 28, 1998... The U.S. market for aids therapies grew to $1 billion in 1997: a 195.7 percent increase over the previous year. And as more U.S. patients buy more of the therapies - and thus live longer to buy even more - the market will keep growing for...

Immunology Ancient "Jumping DNA" May Have Evolved into Key Component of Human Immune System.
September 28, 1998... The human immune system, an elegant and intricate biological defense system unmatched in most life forms, may have evolved from a mobile piece of DNA that inserted itself into the mammalian genome more than 450 million years ago. A team of...

Immunology (HCV) Fab is Critical in Vaccine Design.
September 28, 1998... An Italian study may have implications for the design of a better vaccine against hepatitis C virus. The study suggests that the ideal anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine should present to the immune system the epitopes recognized by Fab...

Industry News (Patents and Technologies) Japanese Patent Received for Bone Cancer Drug.
September 28, 1998... Endorex Corp., Chicago, Illinois, announced that the Japanese Patent Office has issued a patent that protects one of Endorex's cancer therapies. The patent covers composition for macrophage activation for Endorex's proprietary cancer drug,...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Use of Dendritic Cells and CD4(+) T-Cells to Expand gamma-delta T Cells for Immunotherapy.".
September 28, 1998... Z. Ye, I.N. Rich, L.S. Lamb, W.G. Harris, C. Lee, A.P. Gee and P.J. Henslee-Downey. Division of Transplantation Medicine, Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina. According to an...

Asthma Immunotherapy "Clinical and Immunological Effects of a Long-Term Sublingual Immunotherapy to Mite in Asthmatic Children. A Double Blind Study.".
September 28, 1998... G.B. Pajno, L. Morabito, G. Traina, S. Bragho, M. Saturno, G. Barberio and P. Puccinelli. Istituto Clinica Pediatrica, Messina University and Alk-Abello, Milan, Italy. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 54th...

Cancer Vaccines "Phase I Trial of Vaccination With Tyrosinase Peptide Plus QS-21 in Melanoma.".
September 28, 1998... J.J. Lewis, S. Janetzki, S. Wang, L. Williams, M. Myers, P. Livingston, P. Chapman and A. Houghton. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 34th Annual Meeting...

Allergy Medicine "Antigen-Specific Immunoglobulin-A Prevents Increased Airway Responsiveness and Lung Eosinophilia After Airway Challenge in Sensitized Mice.".
September 28, 1998... American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, August 1998;158(2):519-525. Schwarze, J.; Cieslewicz, G.; Joetham, A.; Sun, L.K.; Sun, W.N.; Chang, T.W.; Hamelmann, E.; Gelfand, E.W. According to the authors' abstract of an...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Biodistribution and Tumor Localization of Stealth Liposomal Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha in Soft Tissue Sarcoma Bearing Rats.".
September 28, 1998... International Journal of Cancer, September 11, 1998;77(6):901-906. Vanderveen, A.H.; Eggermont, A.M.M.; Seynhaeve, A.L.B.; Vantiel, S.T.; Tenhagen, T.L.M. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in International Journal...

Immunology "Type I IFNs Enhance the Terminal Differentiation of Dendritic Cells.".
September 28, 1998... Journal of Immunology, August 15, 1998;161(4):1947-1953. Luft, T.; Pang, K.C.; Thomas, E.; Hertzog, P.; Hart, D.N.J.; Trapani, J.; Cebon, J. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in Journal of Immunology, "This study...

Neuroblastoma "Immunotherapy with Low Dose Recombinant Interleukin 2 After High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Neuroblastoma.".
September 28, 1998... British Journal of Cancer, August 1998;78(4):528-533. Pession, A.; Prete, A.; Locatelli, F.; Pierinelli, S.; Pession, A.L.; Maccario, R.; Magrini, E.; Debernardi, B.; Paolucci, P.; Paolucci, G. According to the authors' abstract of an...

Chlamydia Vaccine Nose Is Best Site for Chlamydia Vaccine.
September 28, 1998... The path to a chlamydia vaccine goes through the nose. Animal studies show that Chlamydia trachomatis antigens administered by the intranasal route elicit the kind of immunity known to protect against chlamydia infection and disease. ...

Interferon Red Cross Agrees to Supply Viragen, Inc. with Raw Material - Leukocytes.
September 28, 1998... Viragen will have access to American Red Cross leukocytes, under a recently announced long-term agreement. Viragen, Inc., and its subsidiary, Viragen USA, Inc., announced that they entered into an agreement with the American Red Cross (ARC)...

Immunotherapy (Transplantation) "Type-2 T Cell Response and Prevention of GVHD by Induction of Immune Tolerance with UVB-Treated Leukocytes in H-2 Disparate Bone Marrow Donor.".
September 28, 1998... M.L.U. del Rosario, J.R. Zucali and K.J. Kao. University of Florida, Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Pediatrics, Gainesville, Florida. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 27th Annual Meeting of the...

Cancer Immunotherapy "NK Cell Anti-Tumor Cytotoxicity Against Breast Cancer Targets is Mediated by Several Mechanisms Which Are Further Augmented Through ADCC by an Antibody That Recognizes LFA-3.".
September 28, 1998... J.S. Miller and S. Cooley. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to an abstract submitted by the authors to the 27th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Experimental Hematology, held August 1-5, 1998, in...

Cancer Immunotherapy "Anti-Tumor and Anti-Metastatic Effects of Human-Vascular-Endothelial-Growth-Factor-Neutralizing Antibody on Human Colon and Gastric Carcinoma Xenotransplanted Orthotopically into Nude Mice.".
September 28, 1998... International Journal of Cancer, September 11, 1998;77(6):933-936. Kanai, T.; Konno, H.; Tanaka, T.; Baba, M.; Matsumoto, K.; Nakamura, S.; Yukita, A.; Asano, M.; Suzuki, H.; Baba, S. According to the authors' abstract of an article...

Cancer Immunotherapy "The Impact of Antigen Density and Antibody Affinity on Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity: Relevance for Immunotherapy of Carcinomas.".
September 28, 1998... British Journal of Cancer, August 1998;78(4):478-483. Velders, M.P.; Vanrhijn, C.M.; Oskam, E.; Fleuren, G.J.; Warnaar, S.O.; Litvinov, S.V. According to the authors' abstract of an article published in British Journal of Cancer,...