NVX-CoV2373 induces humoral and cellular immune responses that are functionally comparable to vector and mRNA-based vaccines

Background

After licensing of the protein-based vaccine NVX-CoV2373, three technically different vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 became available for application to the human population - and for comparison of efficacies.

Methods

We here recruited 42 study participants who had obtained one initial dose of NVX-CoV2373 and analyzed their immune responses in contrast to 37 study participants who had obtained either the vector vaccine AZD1222 or the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 a year earlier. 32 participants also donated blood before first vaccination to serve as a vaccine-naive control. In detail, we investigated and quantified at day 21 and approximately six months after primary immunization the amounts of vaccine-specific antibodies produced, their neutralization capacity, their quality in terms of binding different epitopes and their efficiency in inducing various isotypes. Cellular immunity and intracellular cytokine production following in vitro re-stimulation with BNT162b2 vaccine was analyzed via ELISpot or via flow cytometry.

Results

Our results show that even though vaccination including the mRNA vaccine yielded best results in almost any aspect of antibody levels and binding efficiency, the neutralization capacities against the wild-type Wuhan strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant early and at six months were comparable among all three vaccination groups. As for the T cells, we observed a prevailing CD8 response at three weeks which turned into a predominant CD4 memory at six months which has not yet been observed for AZD1222 and BNT162b2. While additional infection with SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a boost for the humoral response, T cell memory appeared rather unaffected.

Conclusion

Whether any of these differences translate into real world protection from infection, mitigation of severe disease courses and prevention of long/post COVID will need to be investigated in the future.

Synergistic effect of cold gas plasma and experimental drug exposure exhibits skin cancer toxicity in vitro and in vivo

INTRODUCTION

Skin cancer is often fatal, which motivates new therapy avenues. Recent advances in cancer treatment are indicative of the importance of combination treatments in oncology. Previous studies have identified small molecule-based therapies and redox-based technologies, including photodynamic therapy or medical gas plasma, as promising candidates to target skin cancer.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to identify effective combinations of experimental small molecules with cold gas plasma for therapy in dermato-oncology.

METHODS

Promising drug candidates were identified after screening an in-house 155-compound library using 3D skin cancer spheroids and high content imaging. Combination effects of selected drugs and cold gas plasma were investigated with respect to oxidative stress, invasion, and viability. Drugs that had combined well with cold gas plasma were further investigated in vascularized tumor organoids in ovo and a xenograft mouse melanoma model in vivo.

RESULTS

The two chromone derivatives Sm837 and IS112 enhanced cold gas plasma-induced oxidative stress, including histone 2A.X phosphorylation, and further reduced proliferation and skin cancer cell viability. Combination treatments of tumor organoids grown in ovo confirmed the principal anti-cancer effect of the selected drugs. While one of the two compounds exerted severe toxicity in vivo, the other (Sm837) resulted in a significant synergistic anti-tumor toxicity at good tolerability. Principal component analysis of protein phosphorylation profiles confirmed profound combination treatment effects in contrast to the monotherapies.

CONCLUSION

We identified a novel compound that, combined with topical cold gas plasma-induced oxidative stress, represents a novel and promising treatment approach to target skin cancer.

Chronic oxidative stress adaptation in head and neck cancer cells generates slow-cyclers with decreased tumour growth in vivo

BACKGROUND

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in cancer therapy and as drivers of microenvironmental tumour cell adaptations. Medical gas plasma is a multi-ROS generating technology that has been shown effective for palliative tumour control in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients before tumour cells adapted to the oxidative stress and growth regressed fatally.

METHODS

In a bedside-to-bench approach, we sought to explore the oxidative stress adaptation in two human squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Gas plasma was utilised as a putative therapeutic agent and chronic oxidative stress inducer.

RESULTS

Cellular responses of single and multiple treated cells were compared regarding sensitivity, cellular senescence, redox state and cytokine release. Whole transcriptome analysis revealed a strong correlation of cancer cell adaption with increased interleukin 1 receptor type 2 (IL1R2) expression. Using magnetic resonance imaging, tumour growth and gas plasma treatment responses of wild-type (WT) and repeatedly exposed (RE) A431 cells were further investigated in a xenograft model in vivo. RE cells generated significantly smaller tumours with suppressed inflammatory secretion profiles and increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activity showing significantly lower gas plasma sensitivity until day 8.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinically, combination treatments together with cetuximab, an EGFR inhibitor, may overcome acquired oxidative stress resistance in HNC.

Multimodal Imaging Techniques to Evaluate the Anticancer Effect of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

BACKGROUND

Skin cancer is the most frequent cancer worldwide and is divided into non-melanoma skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, as well as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and malignant melanoma (MM).

METHODS

This study evaluates the effects of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) on SCC and MM in vivo, employing a comprehensive approach using multimodal imaging techniques. Longitudinal MR and PET/CT imaging were performed to determine the anatomic and metabolic tumour volume over three-weeks in vivo. Additionally, the formation of reactive species after CAP treatment was assessed by non-invasive chemiluminescence imaging of L-012. Histological analysis and immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67, ApopTag®, F4/80, CAE, and CD31, as well as protein expression of PCNA, caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-3, were performed to study proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis in CAP-treated tumours.

RESULTS

As the main result, multimodal in vivo imaging revealed a substantial reduction in tumour growth and an increase in reactive species after CAP treatment, in comparison to untreated tumours. In contrast, neither the markers for apoptosis, nor the metabolic activity of both tumour entities was affected by CAP.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings propose CAP as a potential adjuvant therapy option to established standard therapies of skin cancer.

Inflammatory Joint Disease Is a Risk Factor for Streptococcal Sepsis and Septic Arthritis in Mice

Septic arthritis is a medical emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality, yet hardly any novel advances exist for its clinical management. Despite septic arthritis being a global health burden, experimental data uncovering its etiopathogenesis remain scarce. In particular, any interplay between septic arthritis and preceding joint diseases are unknown as is the contribution of the synovial membrane to the onset of inflammation. Using C57BL/6 mice as a model to study sepsis, we discovered that Group A Streptococcus (GAS) – an important pathogen causing septic arthritis - was able to invade the articular microenvironment. Bacterial invasion resulted in the infiltration of immune cells and detrimental inflammation. In vitro infected fibroblast-like synoviocytes induced the expression of chemokines (Ccl2, Cxcl2), inflammatory cytokines (Tnf, Il6), and integrin ligands (ICAM-1, VCAM-1). Apart from orchestrating immune cell attraction and retention, synoviocytes also upregulated mediators impacting on bone remodeling (Rankl) and cartilage integrity (Mmp13). Using collagen-induced arthritis in DBA/1 × B10.Q F1 mice, we could show that an inflammatory joint disease exacerbated subsequent septic arthritis which was associated with an excessive release of cytokines and eicosanoids. Importantly, the severity of joint inflammation controlled the extent of bone erosions during septic arthritis. In order to ameliorate septic arthritis, our results suggest that targeting synoviocytes might be a promising approach when treating patients with inflammatory joint disease for sepsis.

Patient-individual cancer cell lines and tissue analysis delivers no evidence of sequences from DNA viruses in colorectal cancer cells

Background

Several DNA viruses are highly suspicious to have oncogenic effects in humans. This study investigates the presence of potentially oncogenic viruses such as SV40, JCV, BKV and EBV in patient-derived colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells typifying all molecular subtypes of CRC.

Methods

Sample material (gDNA and cDNA) of a total of 49 patient-individual CRC cell lines and corresponding primary material from 11 patients, including normal, tumor-derived and metastasis-derived tissue were analyzed for sequences of SV40, JVC, BKV and EBV using endpoint PCR. In addition, the susceptibility of CRC cells to JCV and BKV was examined using a long-term cultivation approach of patient-individual cells in the presence of viruses.

Results

No virus-specific sequences could be detected in all specimens. Likewise, no morphological changes were observed and no evidence for viral infection or integration could be provided after long term CRC cell cultivation in presence of viral particles.

Conclusions

In summary, the presented data suggest that there is no direct correlation between tumorigenesis and viral load and consequently no evidence for a functional role of the DNA viruses included into this analysis in CRC development.

[Current indications for plasma therapy in dermatology]

BACKGROUND

Plasma medicine is gaining increasing interest and provides a multitude of dermatological applications. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) can be used in clinical applications without harming the treated tissue or in a tissue destructive manner. It consists of a complex mixture of biologically active agents, which can act synergistically on the treated material or tissue.

OBJECTIVES

A summary of the current research findings regarding dermatological applications of CAP is provided.

METHODS

Literature on CAP applications in dermatology has been screened and summarized.

RESULTS

CAP exerts antimicrobial, tissue-stimulating, blood-flow-stimulating but also pro-apoptotic effects. By exploiting these properties, CAP is successfully applied for disinfection and treatment of chronic ulcerations. Furthermore, positive effects of CAP have been shown for the treatment of tumors, actinic keratosis, scars, ichthyosis, atopic eczema as well as for alleviation of pain and itch.

CONCLUSIONS

While the use of CAP for disinfection and wound treatment has already moved into clinical practice, further applications such as cancer treatment are still exploratory.

[Job strain as a risk factor for occupational accidents among hospital nursing staff]

In a cross-sectional questionnaire study the influence of psychological job strain and nine other factors on the occurrence of accidents at work were examined. Data were collected by a national survey of nursing personnel in Germany. The sample of this study consists of 874 nurses working in acute care hospitals. Job strain was operationalised according to Karasek's demand-control model and measured by a self-developed questionnaire. 32 % had experienced at least one accident during the 12 months preceding the survey (mostly accidental cuts or needle punctures). No association with accident risk was found for age, sex, professional status (supervising function) and hours of overtime work. The six factors significantly associated with accident risk in univariate analyses were entered into a logistic regression model: high job strain, working in a functional unit (e. g. laboratory), full-time work, less than 3 years of occupation in the present department, having children of less than 3 years of age and being a single parent. In the multivariate analyses high job strain turned out to be the most important risk factor for occupational accidents (odds ratio: 2.4, 95 % C.I.: 1.7-3.3). Significantly elevated risks were found for full-time work, less than 3 years of occupation in the present department and being a single parent (odds ratios between 1.5 and 1.8). Having at least one child of less than 3 years of age was a protective factor (odds ratio 0.5, 95-% C.I.: 0.4-0.8).