Cell therapy

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a diverse group of pulmonary disorders characterized by various patterns of inflammation and fibrosis in the interstitium of the lung. The underlying pathogenesis of ILDs is complex and associated with multiple rheumatologic conditions, such as systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, pollymyositis and dermatomyositis, Sjögren's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus. As the disease progresses, excessive pulmonary fibrosis impairs alveolar gas exchange and damages pulmonary function...

Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT) has traditionally been viewed as rare benign tumors that present with seizure widely considered curable with surgery alone. Most DNTs occur in childhood and young adults. However, rare reported cases occur in infants. This paper reported an infant case of DNT and its diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, molecular features and prognosis based on the review of current literatures. The age onset of this patient was only 11 months old. The clinical manifestations were partial seizures and the imaging data untypical; CT and MRI were all supportive of astrocytoma...

OBJECTIVE: To detect the levels of serum C-C chemokine ligand 19 (CCL19) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate the correlation between CCL19 expression and clinical features and laboratory parameters, trying to reveal the possible role of CCL19 in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. METHODS: The levels of serum CCL19 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 90 patients with SLE and 30 healthy controls...

AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness of nivolumab as second-line treatment compared to standard therapy with docetaxel in adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in clinical practice. METHODS: This is an observational, retrospective cohort study of adult patients diagnosed with NSCLC, stage III-IV, treated with docetaxel or nivolumab as second-line treatment. The end points evaluated were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). PFS and OS were described using the Kaplan-Meier method...

Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy worldwide, and the leading cause of cancer related deaths among females. Conventional treatment for early cervical cancer is radical hysterectomy. In locally advanced cancer the treatment of choice is concurrent chemo radiation. Although such treatment methods show promise, they do have adverse side effects. To minimize these effects, as well as prevent cancer re-occurrence, new treatment methods are being investigated. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the selective uptake of a photosensitizer (PS) by cancer cells, illumination with light of an appropriate wavelength that triggers a photochemical reaction leading to the generation of reactive oxygen and subsequent tumor regression...

Inhibitors of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-MET are currently used in the clinic to target oncogenic signaling in tumor cells. We found that concomitant c-MET inhibition promoted adoptive T cell transfer and checkpoint immunotherapies in murine cancer models by increasing effector T cell infiltration in tumors. This therapeutic effect was independent of tumor cell-intrinsic c-MET dependence. Mechanistically, c-MET inhibition impaired the reactive mobilization and recruitment of neutrophils into tumors and draining lymph nodes in response to cytotoxic immunotherapies...

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppresses viral replication in HIV-infected individuals but does not eliminate the reservoir of latently infected cells. Recent work identified PD-1(+) follicular helper T (Tfh) cells as an important cellular compartment for viral persistence. Here, using ART-treated, SIV-infected rhesus macaques, we show that CTLA-4(+)PD-1(-) memory CD4(+) T cells, which share phenotypic markers with regulatory T cells, were enriched in SIV DNA in blood, lymph nodes (LN), spleen, and gut, and contained replication-competent and infectious virus...

Latent replication-competent HIV-1 persists in individuals on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). We developed the Full-Length Individual Proviral Sequencing (FLIPS) assay to determine the distribution of latent replication-competent HIV-1 within memory CD4(+) T cell subsets in six individuals on long-term ART. FLIPS is an efficient, high-throughput assay that amplifies and sequences near full-length (∼9 kb) HIV-1 proviral genomes and determines potential replication competency through genetic characterization...

The joint contribution of pre-existing and de novo genetic variation to clonal adaptation is poorly understood but essential to designing successful antimicrobial or cancer therapies. To address this, we evolve genetically diverse populations of budding yeast, S. cerevisiae, consisting of diploid cells with unique haplotype combinations. We study the asexual evolution of these populations under selective inhibition with chemotherapeutic drugs by time-resolved whole-genome sequencing and phenotyping. All populations undergo clonal expansions driven by de novo mutations but remain genetically and phenotypically diverse...

HIV-1 Tat activates viral transcription and limited Tat transactivation correlates with latency establishment. We postulated a "block-and-lock" functional cure approach based on properties of the Tat inhibitor didehydro-Cortistatin A (dCA). HIV-1 transcriptional inhibitors could block ongoing viremia during antiretroviral therapy (ART), locking the HIV promoter in persistent latency. We investigated this hypothesis in human CD4(+) T cells isolated from aviremic individuals. Combining dCA with ART accelerates HIV-1 suppression and prevents viral rebound after treatment interruption, even during strong cellular activation...

HAb18G/CD147, an important marker in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is highly expressed on the surface of HCC cells. To increase the therapeutic efficacy of Doxil (PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin) against HCC, we constructed CD147-targeted doxorubicin-loaded immunoliposomes (Anti-CD147 ILs-DOX) by conjugating F(ab')2 of a CD147-specific monoclonal antibody to DSPE-PEG-MAL, and then inserted the antibody-conjugated polymer to Doxil. Anti-CD147 ILs-DOX delivered DOX to CD147-overexpressing HCC cells specifically and efficiently in vitro and in vivo, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects than non-targeted controls...

For the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma, a prospective non-inferiority randomized controlled multicenter trial with 601 patients showed that 5% imiquimod cream was superior and 5-fluorouracil cream not inferior to methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) at one and three year post-treatment. No definite conclusion could be drawn regarding the superiority of imiquimod over 5-fluorouracil. We now present the five-year follow-up results according to the intention-to-treat analysis. Five years post-treatment the probability of tumor-free survival was 62...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated significant clinical benefit in many cancers. The clinical benefit afforded by these treatments can be accompanied by a unique and distinct spectrum of adverse events. Recently, several fatal cases of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related myocarditis were reported. Although its frequency is comparatively lower than that of other immune-related adverse events, myocarditis can lead to circulatory collapse and lethal ventricular arrhythmia. Immune checkpoints, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), play important roles in establishing peripheral tolerance to the heart...

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have contributed to diverse fields of biomedical research due to their close genetic relationship to humans and in many instances due to the lack of any other animal model. This review focuses on the contributions of the chimpanzee model to research on hepatitis viruses where chimpanzees represented the only animal model (hepatitis B and C) or the most appropriate animal model (hepatitis A). Research with chimpanzees led to the development of vaccines for HAV and HBV that are used worldwide to protect hundreds of millions from these diseases and, where fully implemented, have provided immunity for entire generations...

Aims: The arrhythmogenic mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF) that are induced by acute inflammation, such as postoperative AF, are not well understood. We investigated the acute effects of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) that mimic acute inflammation on Ca2+ handling in isolated atrial myocytes and its underlying mechanisms. Methods and results: Cytosol Ca2+ handling and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were studied in freshly isolated atrial myocytes of wild-type mice that were exposed to TNF-α (0...

Incretin therapies have received significant attention because of their tissue-protective effects, which extend beyond those associated with glycemic control. Cancer is a primary cause of death in patients with diabetes mellitus. We previously reported anti-prostate cancer effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP-1R) agonist exendin-4 (Ex-4). Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in female patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Thus, we examined whether GLP-1 action could attenuate breast cancer...

Background: Chemotherapy remains a viable option for the management of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) despite recent advances in molecular targeted therapy and immunotherapy. We evaluated the efficacy of oral 5-fluorouracil-based S-1 as second- or third-line therapy compared with standard docetaxel therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. Patients and methods: Patients with advanced NSCLC previously treated with ≥1 platinum-based therapy were randomized 1:1 to docetaxel (60 mg/m2 in Japan, 75mg/m2 at all other study sites; day 1 in a 3-week cycle) or S-1 (80-120 mg/day, depending on body surface area; days 1-28 in a 6-week cycle)...

Advances in the last decade in genomic profiling and the identification of druggable targets amenable to biological agents, has transformed the management and survival of a subgroup of patients with brain metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer. In parallel, clinicians have re-evaluated the role of whole brain radiotherapy in selected patients with brain metastases to reduce neurocognitive toxicity. Continual progress in this understudied field is required: optimisation of the sequence of schedules for therapies in patients with brain metastases of differing genomic profiles, focusing on new strategies to overcome mechanisms of biological resistance and increasing drug penetrability into the central nervous system...

In addition to liver disorders, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is also associated with extrahepatic immune manifestations and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), especially marginal zone lymphoma, de novo or transformed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and to a lesser extent, follicular lymphoma. Epidemiological data and clinical observations argue for an association between HCV and lymphoproliferative disorders. The causative role of HCV in NHL has been further supported by the response to anti-viral therapy. Pathophysiological processes at stake leading from HCV infection to overt lymphoma still need to be further elucidated...

Background: Combination of selumetinib plus docetaxel provided clinical benefit in a previous Phase II trial for patients with KRAS-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Phase II SELECT-2 trial investigated safety and efficacy of selumetinib plus docetaxel for patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Patients and methods: Patients who had disease progression after first-line anti-cancer therapy were randomised (2:2:1) to selumetinib 75 mg BID plus docetaxel 60 mg/m2 or 75 mg/m2 (SEL+DOC 60; SEL+DOC 75), or placebo plus docetaxel 75 mg/m2 (PBO+DOC 75)...