Impact of antibody framework residue VH-71 on the stability of a humanised anti-MUC1 scFv and derived immunoenzyme

Anti-MUC1 single-chain Fv (scFv) fragments generated from the humanised antibody huHMFG1 had adequate antigen-binding properties but very poor stability irrespective of the applied linker or domain orientation. Mutagenesis of heavy-chain framework residue V_H-71, previously described as a key residue for maintaining the CDR-H2 main-chain conformation and thus important for antigen binding, markedly stabilised the scFv while having only a minor effect on the binding affinity of the molecule. Because of its improved stability, the engineered fragment exhibited immunoreactivity with tumour cells even after 7 days of incubation in human serum at 37°C. It also showed, in contrast to the wild-type scFv, a concentration-dependent binding to the target antigen when displayed on phage. When fusing the scFv to the recombinant ribonuclease rapLRI, only the fusion protein generated with the stable mutant scFv was able to kill MUC1⁺ tumour cells with an IC₅₀ of 80 nM. We expect this novel immunoenzyme to become a promising tool for the treatment of MUC1⁺ malignancies.

High performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of sumatriptan with fluorescence detection in human plasma

A rapid and sensitive high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection has been developed for the determination of sumatriptan in human plasma. The procedure involved a liquid-liquid extraction of sumatriptan and terazosin (internal standard) from human plasma with ethyl acetate. Chromatography was performed by isocratic reverse phase separation on a C18 column. Fluorescence detection was achieved with an excitation wavelength of 225 nm and an emission wavelength of 350 nm. The standard curve was linear over a working range of 1-100 ng/ml and gave an average correlation coefficient of 0.9997 during validation. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) of this method was 1 ng/ml. The absolute recovery was 92.6% for sumatriptan and 95.6% for the internal standard. The inter-day and intra-day precision and accuracy were between 0.8-3.3 and 1.1-6.3%, respectively. This method is simple, sensitive and suitable for pharmacokinetics or bioequivalence studies.

Upregulation of Fas and FasL expression in testosterone-induced apoptosis of macrophages

To the best of the authors' knowledge, there have been few reports on the effect of testosterone on the apoptosis of macrophages. In this report, we studied the effect of testosterone on the apoptosis of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) and the function of the Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system in the process. Results showed that testosterone treatment in vitro at the physiological concentration of 10 nM did not induce the apoptosis of BMMs. However, BMMs underwent apoptosis when treated at higher concentrations of testosterone (100, 200 and 400 nM). Testosterone-induced apoptosis was associated with the enhanced expression of Fas, FasL, and caspase-8. These data suggest that the Fas/FasL system may play an important role in the testosterone-induced apoptosis of macrophages.

Efficient inhibition of multidrug-resistant human tumors with a recombinant bispecific anti-P-glycoprotein × anti-CD3 diabody

Overexpressing of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) has been shown to be responsible for cancer resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic agents. Immunotherapy with biological agents, such as bispecific antibodies (BsAbs), may represent a promising approach to overcome the emergence of drug resistance. Here we constructed a recombinant BsAb, a diabody, with specificities to both CD3 on human T-lymphocyte and Pgp on cancer cells. The diabody was produced in Escherichia coli in a soluble functional form and purified by an affinity chromatography with a yield of >4 mg/l culture medium in shaker flask. The diabody binds to both CD3 on T-lymphocytes and Pgp on multidrug-resistant (MDR) tumor cells with affinities that are comparable to its respective parental single chain Fv molecules. In the presence of activated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), the diabody mediates effectively the lysis of the Pgp-overexpressing human leukemia K562/A02 and epidermoid carcinoma KBv(200) cells, but is much less potent in mediating the lysis of the parent K562 and KB cells. Further, the diabody localized selectively within the K562/A02 xenografts in mice. When combined with activated PBL, the diabody significantly inhibited the growth of K562/A02 and KBv(200), but had no effect on K562 and KB xenografts. In contrast, treatment with doxorubicin, a standard chemotherapeutic agent, only inhibited the growth of K562 and KB, but had no effect on K562/A02 and KBv(200) xenografts. Taken together, our results suggest that the anti-Pgp x anti-CD3 diabody may have a great potential in the treatment of various MDR cancers.

Umbilical cord blood transplant for adult patients with severe aplastic anemia using anti-lymphocyte globulin and cyclophosphamide as conditioning therapy

Allo-CBSCT (cord blood stem cell transplant) has been applied in six adult patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Anti-lymphocyte globulin (ALG) 40 mg kg(-1) d(-1) x 3 days combined with cyclophosphamide (CTX) 20 mg kg(-1) d(-1) x 3 days constituted a lower intensive conditioning regimen. The prophylaxis of GVHD consisted of standard CsA and MTX. Patients are all male having a mean age of 26.5 years (range 22-38), and a median weight of 55.6 kg (range 52-60 kg). Cord blood searches were all conducted at Guangzhou Cord Blood Bank. Three of six patients in our study received one unit of cord blood in a procedure, whereas for another three patients, two units of cord blood (double units) were infused at the same time in a transplant protocol. The nine units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) infused contained 1.6-10.7 x 10(7) nucleated cells/kg body weight of the recipient after thawing. HLA antigens were identical in one unit, 1 antigen mismatched in seven, 2 antigens mismatched in 1. As of February 2003, after a median follow up of 20 months (range 7-50), four patients are alive and disease free. Five patients engrafted with molecular biology analyses showing donor-recipient mixed chimerism post transplant which is stable and persistent. One patient died of severe infection in the third month from transplant and another patient died in the early stage post transplant of serious aspergillus infection without evidence of engraftment.

White adipose tissue contributes to UCP1-independent thermogenesis

Beta3-adrenergic receptors (AR) are nearly exclusively expressed in brown and white adipose tissues, and chronic activation of these receptors by selective agonists has profound anti-diabetes and anti-obesity effects. This study examined metabolic responses to acute and chronic beta3-AR activation in wild-type C57Bl/6 mice and congenic mice lacking functional uncoupling protein (UCP)1, the molecular effector of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Acute activation of beta3-AR doubled metabolic rate in wild-type mice and sharply elevated body temperature and BAT blood flow, as determined by laser Doppler flowmetry. In contrast, beta3-AR activation did not increase BAT blood flow in mice lacking UCP1 (UCP1 KO). Nonetheless, beta3-AR activation significantly increased metabolic rate and body temperature in UCP1 KO mice, demonstrating the presence of UCP1-independent thermogenesis. Daily treatment with the beta3-AR agonist CL-316243 (CL) for 6 days increased basal and CL-induced thermogenesis compared with naive mice. This expansion of basal and CL-induced metabolic rate did not require UCP1 expression. Chronic CL treatment of UCP1 KO mice increased basal and CL-stimulated metabolic rate of epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) fourfold but did not alter BAT thermogenesis. After chronic CL treatment, CL-stimulated thermogenesis of EWAT equaled that of interscapular BAT per tissue mass. The elevation of EWAT metabolism was accompanied by mitochondrial biogenesis and the induction of genes involved in lipid oxidation. These observations indicate that chronic beta3-AR activation induces metabolic adaptation in WAT that contributes to beta3-AR-mediated thermogenesis. This adaptation involves lipid oxidation in situ and does not require UCP1 expression.

High-performance liquid chromatographic mass spectrometric method for the determination of ursodeoxycholic acid and its glycine and taurine conjugates in human plasma

A novel sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry method has been developed for the determination of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and its glycine and taurine conjugates, glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GDCA) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TDCA). The procedure involved a solid phase extraction of UDCA, GDCA, TDCA and the internal standard, 23-nordeoxycholic acid from human plasma on a C18 Bond Elut cartridge. Chromatography was performed by isocratic reverse phase separation with methanol/25 mM ammonium acetate (40/60, v/v) containing 0.05% acetic acid on a C18 column with embedded polar functional group. Detection was achieved using an LC-MS/MS system. The standard curve was linear over a working range of 10-3000 ng/ml for all analytes and gave an average correlation coefficient of 0.9992 or better during validation. The absolute recovery for UDCA, GDCA, TDCA and the internal standard was 87.3, 83.7, 79.5 and 95.8%, respectively. This method is simple, sensitive and suitable for pharmacokinetics, bioequivalence or clinical studies.

Anti-proliferative effects induced by anti-CD4 human/murine chimeric antibody and murine anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody

The effects of chimeric anti-CD4 human/murine chimeric antibody and murine anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (McAb) on the proliferation induced by anti-CD3 McAb, phytohemagglutinin (PHA), IL-2, and allogeneic cells were studied. The results showed that chimeric anti-CD4 antibody and murine anti-CD4 McAb could inhibit the proliferation induced by the above inducers and the inhibitory effects were related to the dosage of the antibodies.

Chiral separation and determination of R-(-)- and S-(+)-baclofen in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

The method presented here is a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-UV detection method for the determination of baclofen R-(-)- and S-(+)-enantiomers in human plasma using a chiral separation technique. Baclofen enantiomers were extracted from human plasma with a reversed-phase solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The extract was then injected onto a HPLC system with a UV detection system set at 220 nm. The separation was achieved by using a 150x4.6 mm, 5 microm Phenomenex chirex 3216 chiral column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.4 mM CuSO(4) in acetonitrile-20 mM sodium acetate (17:83). The calibration curves were linear for both R-(-)- and S-(+)-enantiomers of baclofen in the concentration range of 20-5000 ng/ml. The average regressions were 0.9980 and 0.9991 for R-(-)- and S-(+)-baclofen, respectively. Inter-day precision was 3.3-5.2% for R-(-)-baclofen and 3.5-3.9% for S-(+)-baclofen at a concentration range of 60-4000 ng/ml. Intra-day precisions were 0.6-4.4 and 0.5-3.5% for R-(-)-baclofen and S-(+)-baclofen, respectively. The average extraction recovery was 81.6% for R-(-)-baclofen, 83.0% for S-(+)-baclofen and 94.0% for the internal standard (p-aminobenzoic acid). The limit of quantitation for both R-(-)- and S-(+)-baclofen in human plasma was 20 ng/ml. The method is simple and easy to operate with accuracy and reproducibility and it is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.

Inhibition of human leukemia in an animal model with human antibodies directed against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2. Correlation between antibody affinity and biological activity

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (VEGFR) have been implicated in promoting solid tumor growth and metastasis via stimulating tumor-associated angiogenesis. We recently showed that certain 'liquid' tumors such as leukemia not only produce VEGF, but also express functional VEGFR, resulting in an autocrine loop for tumor growth and propagation. A chimeric anti-VEGFR2 (or kinase insert domain-containing receptor, KDR) antibody, IMC-1C11, was shown to be able to inhibit VEGF-induced proliferation of human leukemia cells in vitro, and to prolong survival of nonobese diabetic-severe combined immune deficient (NOD-SCID) mice inoculated with human leukemia cells. Here we produced two fully human anti-KDR antibodies (IgG1), IMC-2C6 and IMC-1121, from Fab fragments originally isolated from a large antibody phage display library. These antibodies bind specifically to KDR with high affinities: 50 and 200 pM for IMC-1121 and IMC-2C6, respectively, as compared to 270 pM for IMC-1C11. Like IMC-1C11, both human antibodies block VEGF/KDR interaction with an IC(50) of approximately 1 nM, but IMC-1121 is a more potent inhibitor to VEGF-stimulated proliferation of human endothelial cells. These anti-KDR antibodies strongly inhibited VEGF-induced migration of human leukemia cells in vitro, and when administered in vivo, significantly prolonged survival of NOD-SCID mice inoculated with human leukemia cells. It is noteworthy that the mice treated with antibody of the highest affinity, IMC-1121, survived the longest period of time, followed by mice treated with IMC-2C6 and IMC-1C11. Taken together, our data suggest that anti-KDR antibodies may have broad applications in the treatment of both solid tumors and leukemia. It further underscores the efforts to identify antibodies of high affinity for enhanced antiangiogenic and antitumor activities.

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of gabapentin in human plasma

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using UV detection for the determination of gabapentin in human plasma has been developed. In this method, gabapentin was extracted from human plasma with a reversed-phase solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge followed by derivatization with phenylisothiocyanate. Analysis was achieved by using a HPLC system that was equipped with a UV detector. The quantitation limit of gabapentin in human plasma was 0.03 microg/ml. The method is sensitive with excellent selectivity and reproducibility and it has been applied to a bioequivalence clinical study with great success.

Mechanical properties of the periosteum in the pig, Sus scrofa

The fibrous periosteum forms an intermediary between muscle and ligament forces and the underlying osteoblastic tissue, thus the mechanical properties of the periosteum are critical to understanding osteogenic stimuli. Regional and directional variation in periosteal properties may contribute to the biomechanical regulation of growth in some bones. Periostea of the pig mandibular body, zygomatic arch and metacarpal were loaded to failure under continuous tension. Each tissue type was tested in both the long-axis and transverse orientation. Stiffness, peak stress and peak strain were compared between orientations and among regions. Within the zygomatic periosteum there was little indication of regional difference, and neither zygomatic nor mandibular periosteum showed directional differences. The metacarpal periosteum showed a directional effect only in peak strain, which was greater longitudinally than transversely. There were striking differences, however, among the periostea of the three bones. The zygomatic arch periosteum was the stiffest tissue (91.7+/-30.5 MPa) and showed the highest strength (12.3+/-4.6 MPa). The metacarpal periosteum demonstrated slightly lower stiffness and strength (84.7+/-35.1 and 11.3+/-5.3 MPa), and peak strains in zygomatic and metacarpal periostea were similarly high (17.7+/-3.7 and 17.9+/-3.7 MPa, respectively). The periosteum of the mandibular body was the most deformable tissue (63.0+/-25.4 MPa), with the lowest-peak strain (15.6+/-3.0 MPa) and the least strength (8.2+/-4.1 MPa). These results correspond with those of previous work in long bones, in that periosteum interfacing with ligament or muscle (e.g. zygomatic, metacarpal) demonstrates greater stiffness and strength than periosteum adjacent to loose connective tissue (e.g. mandibular body). Therefore, the degree to which the periosteal tissue serves as a functional interface between bone and muscle is reflected in the different failure properties of periostea from different bones. The structural fortification of the zygomatic arch periosteum relative to other periosteal tissues suggests a role for the periosteum in stabilizing the zygomatic arch-muscle functional complex. On the other hand, the similar failure properties of zygomatic and squamosal periostea from the zygomatic arch mean that the differential growth of these bones cannot be attributed to mechanical stimuli intrinsic to the periosteal tissue.

[Studies on the experimental transmission of Rattus-borne Hantavirus by Ornithonyssus bacoti]

AIM

To demonstrate the role of rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) in the transmission of Rattus-borne hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).

METHODS

In the transmission experiments, about 100 O. bacoti per pool were isolated and placed in a jar, unfed for 4 d at 23 +/- 1 degrees C. Suckling Wistar rats inoculated with Hantavirus strain Z45 or Seoul virus strain UR were placed in each jar for free attack by the mites for 12 hours. After 14 d the normal suckling Wistar rats were bitten by the mites. Fifteen days later, the lung tissues and sera of the infected rats were collected and detected for Hantaviral antigen by indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT). For demonstration of the infection of O. bacti with Rattus-borne Hantavirus PCR technique was applied to detect Rattus-borne Hantaviral RNA.

RESULTS

Sukling Wistar rats inoculted Hantavirus strain Z45 or Seoul virus strain UR were bitten by O. bacoti and then these mites were fed on 4 and 5 of normal suckling rats in each jar, respectively. The antigens of Hantavirus strain Z45 were positive in all the lungs of the normal rats bitten by the mites, the sera titers of the rats were from 1:10 to 1:40. The antigens were positive in 3 of the 4 rats, the sera titers were from 1:20 to 1:40. Both of the viruses could be maintained in O. bacoti for 22 days. The blocking test showed when 1:30 Hantavirus immunosera were exposed to the lung samples and then reacted with the sera from the patients with HFRS, all the specific fluorescence reactions of the samples were blocked, whereas the control group including the normal rat lung tissues and sera were all negative (Fig. 1).

CONCLUSION

O. bacoti might play a role as the vector of HFRS and a reservoir host as well.

Genome segment S8 of grass carp hemorrhage virus encodes a virion protein

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genome segment S8 of grass carp hemorrhage virus (GCHV) was determined from cDNA corresponding to the viral genomic RNA. It is 1,287 nucleotides in length and contains a large open reading frame that could encode a protein of 409 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 44 kD. The S8 was expressed using the pET fusion protein vector and detected by Western blotting analysis using the chicken egg IgY against intact GCHV particles, indicating that S8 encodes a virion protein. Amino acid sequence comparisons revealed that the protein encoded by S8 is closely related to protein sigma2 of mammalian reovirus, suggesting that the deduced protein of S8 is an inner capsid protein.

Determinants of the broad recognition of exocytic Rab GTPases by Mss4

Rab GTPases function as essential regulators of vesicle transport between subcellular compartments of eukaryotic cells. Mss4, an evolutionarily conserved Rab accessory factor, facilitates nucleotide release and binds tightly to the nucleotide-free form of exocytic but not endocytic Rab GTPases. A structure-based mutational analysis of residues that are conserved only in exocytic Rab GTPases reveals three residues that are critical determinants of the broad specificity recognition of exocytic Rab GTPases by Mss4. One of these residues is located at the N-terminus of the switch I region near the nucleotide binding site whereas the other two flank an exposed hydrophobic triad previously implicated in effector recognition. The spatial disposition of these residues with respect to the structure of Rab3A correlates with the dimensions of the elongated Rab interaction epitope in Mss4 and supports a mode of interaction similar to that of other exchange factor-GTPase complexes. The complementarity of the corresponding interaction surfaces suggests a hypothetical structural model for the complex between Mss4 and Rab GTPases.