Biologic Immunomodulatory Drugs and Infection in the Respiratory Tract of Nonhuman Primates

Harnessing the power of bacterial laccases for xenobiotic degradation in water: A 10-year overview

Industrialization and population growth are leading to the production of significant amounts of sewage containing hazardous xenobiotic compounds. These compounds pose a threat to human and animal health, as well as the overall ecosystem. To combat this issue, chemical, physical, and biological techniques have been used to remove these contaminants from water bodies affected by human activity. Biotechnological methods have proven effective in utilizing microorganisms and enzymes, particularly laccases, to address this problem. Laccases possess versatile enzymatic characteristics and have shown promise in degrading different xenobiotic compounds found in municipal, industrial, and medical wastewater. Both free enzymes and crude enzyme extracts have demonstrated success in the biotransformation of these compounds. Despite these advancements, the widespread use of laccases for bioremediation and wastewater treatment faces challenges due to the complex composition, high salt concentration, and extreme pH often present in contaminated media. These factors negatively impact protein stability, recovery, and recycling processes, hindering their large-scale application. These issues can be addressed by focusing on large-scale production, resolving operation problems, and utilizing cutting-edge genetic and protein engineering techniques. Additionally, finding novel sources of laccases, understanding their biochemical properties, enhancing their catalytic activity and thermostability, and improving their production processes are crucial steps towards overcoming these limitations. By doing so, enzyme-based biological degradation processes can be improved, resulting in more efficient removal of xenobiotics from water systems. This review summarizes the latest research on bacterial laccases over the past decade. It covers the advancements in identifying their structures, characterizing their biochemical properties, exploring their modes of action, and discovering their potential applications in the biotransformation and bioremediation of xenobiotic pollutants commonly present in water sources.

Multiplexing AAV Serotype-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies in Preclinical Animal Models and Humans

The accurate assessment of AAV-specific pre-existing humoral immunity due to natural viral infection is critical for the efficient use of clinical gene therapy. The method described in the present study applies equivalent infection conditions to each AAV serotype (AAV1, AAV2, AAV3, AAV5, AAV6, AAV7, AAV8, AAV9, AAV10, and AAVAnc80L65). In the current study, we validated the assay by assessing AAV-neutralizing antibody titers in a limited cohort of random human donors and well-established preclinical large animal models, including dogs and non-human primates (NHPs). We achieved a rapid and accurate evaluation of neutralizing titers for each individual subject that can be used for clinical enrollment based on specific AAV serotypes and individualized selection of the most suitable AAV serotype for each specific patient.

Selected Resources for Pathology Evaluation of Nonhuman Primates in Nonclinical Safety Assessment

Humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs) share numerous anatomical and physiological characteristics, thereby explaining the importance of NHPs as essential animal models for translational medicine and nonclinical toxicity testing. Researchers, toxicologic pathologists, toxicologists, and regulatory reviewers must be familiar with normal and abnormal NHP biological traits when designing, performing, and interpreting data sets from NHP studies. The current compilation presents a list of essential books, journal articles, and websites that provide context to safety assessment and research scientists working with NHP models. The resources used most frequently by the authors have been briefly annotated to permit readers to rapidly ascertain their applicability to particular research endeavors. The references are aimed primarily for toxicologic pathologists working with cynomolgus and rhesus macaques and common marmosets in efficacy and safety assessment studies.

Inspiration and Exasperation: The Challenges of Inhaled Biologics

The delivery of biotherapeutic molecules (antibodies, proteins, peptides) and nucleic acids via the respiratory route has presented challenges for regulatory approval, due in part to a lack of understanding of the expected pathology, mechanisms of toxicity, and immunogenicity induced by the inhalation route. Although the first inhaled biotherapeutic was approved some time ago (Dornase Alfa, Pulmozyme; Genetech, 1993), no other inhaled biotherapeutics have been marketed for the treatment of human disease other than the inhaled insulins (Exubera; Pfizer, 2006 and Afrezza; Mannkind Corporation, 2014). As a result, scientific knowledge within the toxicologic pathology community is fragmented with precious little publicly available data. Therefore, one of the aims of this special edition was to generate a collection of manuscripts that pathologists and toxicologists could refer in order to understand the pathology, mechanisms of toxicity, immunogenicity, and challenges associated with the development of inhaled biotherapeutics.