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Siemers E, Hitchcock J, Sundell K, Dean R, Jerecic J, Cline E, Iverson K, Moore J, Edgar C, Manber R, Fuin N, Poppe T, Barton R. ACU193, a Monoclonal Antibody that Selectively Binds Soluble Aß Oligomers: Development Rationale, Phase 1 Trial Design, and Clinical Development Plan. J Prev Alzheimers Dis 2022; 10:19-24. [PMID: 36641606 DOI: 10.14283/jpad.2022.93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease is a large and growing unmet medical need. Clinical trial designs need to assess disease-related outcomes earlier to accelerate the development of better treatments for Alzheimer's disease. ACU193 is a monoclonal antibody that selectively targets amyloid β oligomers, thought to be the most toxic species of Aβ that accumulates early in AD and contributes to downstream pathological effects. Nonclinical data indicate that ACU193 can reduce the toxic effects of amyloid β oligomers. ACU193 is currently being investigated in a phase 1 clinical trial designed with the properties described in this report. This phase 1 trial is designed to provide data to enable a go/no-go decision regarding the initiation of a subsequent phase 2/3 study. OBJECTIVES To design a phase 1 study that assesses target engagement and incorporates novel measures to support more rapid development of a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease. DESIGN The INTERCEPT-AD trial for ACU193 is an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1a/b study that assesses safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, target engagement, clinical measures, and several Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, including novel digital and imaging biomarkers. SETTING For INTERCEPT-AD, brief inpatient stays for patients in the single ascending dose portion of the study, with the remainder of the evaluations being performed as outpatients at multiple clinical trial sites in the U.S. PARTICIPANTS Patients with early Alzheimer's disease (mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia with a positive florbetapir positron emission tomography scan). INTERVENTION ACU193 administered intravenously at doses of 2- 60 mg/kg. MEASUREMENTS Safety assessments including magnetic resonance imaging for the presence of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, clinical assessments for Alzheimer's disease including the Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale-cognition and Clinical Dementia Rating scale, pharmacokinetics, a measure of target engagement, and digital and imaging biomarkers, including a computerized cognitive test battery and a measure of cerebral blood flow using arterial spin labelling magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS A phase 1 study design was developed for ACU193 that allows collection of data that will enable a go/no-go decision for initiation of a subsequent adaptive phase 2/3 study. CONCLUSIONS A phase 1a/b trial and an overall clinical development plan for an Alzheimer's disease treatment can be designed that maintains patient safety, allows informed decision-making, and achieves an accelerated timeline by using novel biomarkers and adaptive study designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Siemers
- Eric Siemers, Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 11711 N. Meridian St., Ste. 310, Carmel, IN 46032, USA,
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Cooper KM, Auerbach AJJ, Bader JD, Beadles-Bohling AS, Brashears JA, Cline E, Eddy SL, Elliott DB, Farley E, Fuselier L, Heinz HM, Irving M, Josek T, Lane AK, Lo SM, Maloy J, Nugent M, Offerdahl E, Palacios-Moreno J, Ramos J, Reid JW, Sparks RA, Waring AL, Wilton M, Gormally C, Brownell SE. Fourteen Recommendations to Create a More Inclusive Environment for LGBTQ+ Individuals in Academic Biology. CBE Life Sci Educ 2020; 19:es6. [PMID: 32663116 PMCID: PMC8711824 DOI: 10.1187/cbe.20-04-0062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and otherwise nonstraight and/or non-cisgender (LGBTQ+) have often not felt welcome or represented in the biology community. Additionally, biology can present unique challenges for LGBTQ+ students because of the relationship between certain biology topics and their LGBTQ+ identities. Currently, there is no centralized set of guidelines to make biology learning environments more inclusive for LGBTQ+ individuals. Rooted in prior literature and the collective expertise of the authors who identify as members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community, we present a set of actionable recommendations to help biologists, biology educators, and biology education researchers be more inclusive of individuals with LGBTQ+ identities. These recommendations are intended to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ identities and spark conversations about transforming biology learning spaces and the broader academic biology community to become more inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn M. Cooper
- Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816
| | - Anna Jo J. Auerbach
- Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801
| | - Jordan D. Bader
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824
| | | | | | - Erica Cline
- School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA 98402
| | - Sarah L. Eddy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199
| | | | - Elijah Farley
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Linda Fuselier
- Biology Department, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292
| | - Heather M. Heinz
- School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA 98402
| | - Madison Irving
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
| | - Tanya Josek
- Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790
| | - A. Kelly Lane
- Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
| | - Stanley M. Lo
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences and Program in Mathematics and Science Education, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
| | - Jeffrey Maloy
- Life Sciences Core Education Department, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Michelle Nugent
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606
| | - Erika Offerdahl
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164
| | | | - Jorge Ramos
- Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford University, Woodside, CA 94062
| | - Joshua W. Reid
- Tennessee STEM Education Center, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132
| | - Rachel A. Sparks
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790
| | - Ashley L. Waring
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790
| | - Mike Wilton
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
| | - Cara Gormally
- Science, Technology, and Mathematics, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC 20002
| | - Sara E. Brownell
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
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Park J, Park B, Veeraraghavan N, Jung K, Lee YH, Blair JE, Geiser DM, Isard S, Mansfield MA, Nikolaeva E, Park SY, Russo J, Kim SH, Greene M, Ivors KL, Balci Y, Peiman M, Erwin DC, Coffey MD, Rossman A, Farr D, Cline E, Grünwald NJ, Luster DG, Schrandt J, Martin F, Ribeiro OK, Makalowska I, Kang S. Phytophthora Database: A Forensic Database Supporting the Identification and Monitoring of Phytophthora. Plant Dis 2008; 92:966-972. [PMID: 30769728 DOI: 10.1094/pdis-92-6-0966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Phytophthora spp. represent a serious threat to agricultural and ecological systems. Many novel Phytophthora spp. have been reported in recent years, which is indicative of our limited understanding of the ecology and diversity of Phytophthora spp. in nature. Systematic cataloging of genotypic and phenotypic information on isolates of previously described species serves as a baseline for identification, classification, and risk assessment of new Phytophthora isolates. The Phytophthora Database (PD) was established to catalog such data in a web-accessible and searchable format. To support the identification of new Phytophthora isolates via comparison of their sequences at one or more loci with the corresponding sequences derived from the isolates archived in the PD, we generated and deposited sequence data from more than 1,500 isolates representing the known diversity in the genus. Data search and analysis tools in the PD include BLAST, Phyloviewer (a program for building phylogenetic trees using sequences of selected isolates), and Virtual Gel (a program for generating expected restriction patterns for given sequences). The PD also provides a customized means of storing and sharing data via the web. The PD serves as a model that easily can be adopted to develop databases for other important pathogen groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongsun Park
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | | | | | - Kyongyong Jung
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Seoul National University
| | - Yong-Hwan Lee
- School of Agricultural Biotechnology and Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Seoul National University
| | - Jaime E Blair
- Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University
| | - David M Geiser
- Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Scott Isard
- Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University
| | | | | | - Sook-Young Park
- Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University
| | | | - Seong H Kim
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg 17110
| | - Matthew Greene
- Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, North Carolina State University, Fletcher 28732
| | - Kelly L Ivors
- Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, North Carolina State University, Fletcher 28732
| | - Yilmaz Balci
- Division of Plant & Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506
| | - Masoomeh Peiman
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521
| | - Donald C Erwin
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521
| | - Michael D Coffey
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521
| | - Amy Rossman
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Systematic Botany & Mycology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - David Farr
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Systematic Botany & Mycology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - Erica Cline
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Systematic Botany & Mycology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | | | - Douglas G Luster
- USDA-ARS, Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, Ft. Detrick, MD 21702
| | | | | | | | | | - Seogchan Kang
- Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University
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Betti CJ, Villalobos MJ, Jiang Q, Cline E, Diaz MO, Loredo G, Vaughan ATM. Cleavage of the MLL gene by activators of apoptosis is independent of topoisomerase II activity. Leukemia 2006; 19:2289-95. [PMID: 16193084 DOI: 10.1038/sj.leu.2403966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to topoisomerase II inhibitors is linked to the generation of leukemia involving translocations of the MLL gene, normally restricted to an 8.3 kbp tract, the breakpoint cluster region (BCR). Using an in vitro assay, apoptotic activators, including radiation and anti-CD95 antibody, trigger site-specific cleavage adjacent to exon 12 within the MLL BCR and promote translocation of the MLL gene in cells that can survive. To explore the mechanism of cleavage and rearrangement in more detail, the entire MLL BCR was placed into the pREP4 episomal vector and transfected into human lymphoblastoid TK6 cells. Episomes containing either the MLL BCR, or deletion constructs of 367 bp or larger, were cleaved at the same position as genomic MLL after exposure to apoptotic stimuli. Further analysis of sequence motifs surrounding the cleaved region of MLL showed the presence of both a predicted nuclear matrix attachment sequence and a potential strong binding site for topoisomerase II, flanking the site of cleavage. Inactivation of topoisomerase II by the catalytic inhibitor merbarone did not inhibit MLL cleavage, suggesting that the initial cleavage step for MLL rearrangement is not mediated by topoisomerase II.
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Affiliation(s)
- C J Betti
- Program in Molecular Biology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
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