[A phase I study of subcutaneous envafolimab (KN035) monotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors]

Objective: To evaluate the safety and antitumor activity of envafolimab monotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors. Methods: This open-label, multicenter phase I trial included dose escalation and dose expansion phases. In the dose escalation phase, patients received subcutaneous 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg envafolimab once weekly (QW) following a modified "3+ 3" design. The dose expansion phase was performed in the 2.5 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg (QW) dose cohorts. Results: At November 25, 2019, a total of 287 patients received envafolimab treatment. During the dose escalation phase, no dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) was observed. In all dose cohorts, drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) for all grades occurred in 75.3% of patients, and grade 3 or 4 occurred in 20.6% of patients. The incidence of immune-related adverse reactions (irAE) was 24.0% for all grades, the most common irAEs (≥2%) included hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, immune-associated hepatitis and rash. The incidence of injection site reactions was low (3.8%), all of which were grades 1-2. Among the 216 efficacy evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 11.6% and 43.1%, respectively. Median duration of response was 49.1 weeks (95% CI: 24.0, 49.3). Pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure to envafolimab is proportional to dose and median time to maximum plasma concentration is 72-120 hours based on the PK results from the dose escalation phase of the study. Conclusion: Subcutaneous envafolimab has a favorable safety and promising preliminary anti-tumor activity in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors.

Shinella lacus sp. nov., a novel microcystin-degrading alphaproteobacterium containing the bla carbapenemase gene

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, microcystin-degrading bacterium, designated as CPCC 100929T, was isolated from a fresh water reservoir in Sichuan Province, PR China. This isolate grew well at 4–37 °C and pH 6.0–8.0, with optimal growth at 28–32 °C and pH 7.0, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids were C18:1 ω7c/C18:1 ω6c, C16:0, C18:1 ω7c 11-methyl and C19:0 cyclo ω8c. The predominant respiratory quinone was Q-10. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine were detected in the polar lipids extraction. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CPCC 100929T was closely related to those of members of the genus Shinella , with the highest similarity of 98.6 % to Shinella zoogloeoides DSM 287T and 97.4–98.4 % with other identified Shinella members. In the phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and the core-genes analysis, strain CPCC 100929T was included within the clade of the genus Shinella . The values of average nucleotide identity (81.4–86.7 %) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (25.4–44.6 %) between strain CPCC 100929T and other Shinella species were all below the thresholds for bacterial species delineation, respectively. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain CPCC 100929T was 63.6 %. The genomic sequence analysis indicated that this species contained genes encoding peroxidase, bla carbapenemase and the key enzyme for microcystin bio degradation, as well as rich carbohydrate-active enzyme coding genes, which might endow the micro-organism with properties to adapt to diverse environments. Based on its phenotypic and genetic properties, we propose that strain CPCC 100929T (=T1A350T=KCTC 72957T) is the type strain of a novel species with the name Shinella lacus sp. nov.

Jatrophihabitans huperziae sp. nov., an endophytic actinobacterium isolated from surface-sterilized tissue of the medicinal plant Huperzia serrata (Thunb.)

A novel endophytic actinobacterium, designated strain CPCC 204076T, was isolated from surface-sterilized tissue of the medicinal plant Huperzia serrata (Thunb.) collected from Sichuan Province, south-west China. The taxonomic position of the isolate was investigated by a polyphasic approach. The strainwas aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped. Growth was observed at 10-37 °C, at pH 5.0-10.0 and with 0-3.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The polar lipid fraction consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, a phospholipid, an aminolipid, a glycolipid, an aminophospholipid and phosphatidylinositol. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid and the peptidoglycan was of type A4γ. The menaquinone system consisted of MK-9(H4) and MK-8(H4). The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain CPCC 204076T was found to be 71.9 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that CPCC 204076T belongs to the genus Jatrophihabitans with highest sequence similarity to Jatrophihabitans endophyticus DSM 45627T (96.5 %), Jatrophihabitans soli DSM 45908T (96.5 %) and Jatrophihabitans fulvus JCM 30448T (96.1 %), and much lower similarities (<95.0 %) to other available 16S rRNA gene sequences from validly described pure cultures. However, DNA-DNA hybridyzation values between strain CPCC 204076T and the three recognized Jatrophihabitans species were 31±3.1 % (J. endophyticus DSM 45627T), 33±2.9 % (J. soli DSM 45908T) and 37±1.7 % (J. fulvus JCM 30448T), which were all far below the recommended cut-off value of 70 %. The phenotypic and genomic characteristics distinctly indicated that strain CPCC 204076T represents a novel species of the genus Jatrophihabitans, for which the name Jatrophihabitans huperziae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CPCC 204076T (I13A-01604) (=DSM 46866T=NBRC 110718T).

[Carcinoembryonic antigen and immunoglobin in gastric juice in the diagnosis of gastric cancer]

Levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and immunoglobin (Ig) in gastric juice of 93 patients with benign and malignant gastric diseases were assayed. The CEA level in gastric cancer patients (55.73 +/- 38.26 ng/ml) was obviously higher than that in peptic ulcer (15.51 +/- 12.09 ng/ml) and superficial gastritis (26.96 +/- 20.17 ng/ml). But no significant difference was found between the CEA levels of gastric cancer and chronic atrophic gastritis (48.66 +/- 31.87 ng/ml). Also, elevated CEA was closely correlated to intestinal metaplasia. The positive rate of Ig was significantly higher in gastric cancer (IgG greater than or equal to 185 ug/ml, IgA greater than or equal to 100 ug/ml) than in benign gastric diseases. Although no correlation is present in the CEA and Ig in gastric juice, the combination of these two methods could improve the diagnostic accuracy. We believe that the two assays are worthy for screening gastric cancer from patients with high risk, and for identifying precancerous lesions.