Dataset Information

Acute effects of alemtuzumab infusion in patients with active relapsing-remitting MS.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Alemtuzumab exerts its clinical efficacy by its specific pattern of depletion and repopulation of different immune cells. Beyond long-term immunologic and clinical data, little is known about acute changes in immunologic and routine laboratory parameters and their clinical relevance during the initial alemtuzumab infusion.

Methods

Fifteen patients with highly active MS were recruited. In addition to parameters including heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and monitoring of adverse events, complete blood cell count, liver enzymes, kidney function, acute-phase proteins, serum cytokine profile, complement activation, peripheral immune cell distribution, and their potential of cytokine release were investigated prior to and after methylprednisolone and after alemtuzumab on each day of alemtuzumab infusion.

Results

After the first alemtuzumab infusion, both the total leukocyte and granulocyte counts markedly increased, whereas lymphocyte counts dramatically decreased. In addition to lymphocyte depletion, cell subtypes important for innate immunity also decreased within the first week after alemtuzumab infusion. Although patients reported feeling well, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin peaked at serum levels consistent with septic conditions. Increases in liver enzymes were detected, although kidney function remained stable. Proinflammatory serum cytokine levels clearly rose after the first alemtuzumab infusion. Alemtuzumab led to impaired cytokine release ex vivo in nondepleted cells. Normal clinical parameters and mild adverse events were presented.

Conclusions

Dramatic immunologic effects were observed. Standardized infusion procedure and pretreatment management attenuated infusion-related reactions. Alemtuzumab-mediated effects led to artificially altered parameters in standard blood testing. We recommend clinical decision-making based on primarily clinical symptoms within the first alemtuzumab treatment week.

SUBMITTER: Thomas K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4853056 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Acute effects of alemtuzumab infusion in patients with active relapsing-remitting MS.

Thomas Katja K Eisele Judith J Rodriguez-Leal Francisco Alejandro FA Hainke Undine U Ziemssen Tjalf T

Neurology(R) neuroimmunology & neuroinflammation 20160429 3

<h4>Objective</h4>Alemtuzumab exerts its clinical efficacy by its specific pattern of depletion and repopulation of different immune cells. Beyond long-term immunologic and clinical data, little is known about acute changes in immunologic and routine laboratory parameters and their clinical relevance during the initial alemtuzumab infusion.<h4>Methods</h4>Fifteen patients with highly active MS were recruited. In addition to parameters including heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and m ...[more]

PMID: 27213173

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Project description:ObjectiveTo characterize effects of alemtuzumab treatment on measures of disability improvement in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with inadequate response (≥1 relapse) to prior therapy.MethodsComparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis (CARE-MS) II, a 2-year randomized, rater-blinded, active-controlled, head-to-head, phase 3 trial, compared efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab 12 mg with subcutaneous interferon-β-1a (SC IFN-β-1a) 44 μg in patients with RRMS. Prespecified and post hoc disability outcomes based on Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), and Sloan low-contrast letter acuity (SLCLA) are reported, focusing on improvement of preexisting disability in addition to slowing of disability accumulation.ResultsAlemtuzumab-treated patients were more likely than SC IFN-β-1a-treated patients to show improvement in EDSS scores (p < 0.0001) on all 7 functional systems. Significantly more alemtuzumab patients demonstrated 6-month confirmed disability improvement. The likelihood of improved vs stable/worsening MSFC scores was greater with alemtuzumab than SC IFN-β-1a (p = 0.0300); improvement in MSFC scores with alemtuzumab was primarily driven by the upper limb coordination and dexterity domain. Alemtuzumab-treated patients had more favorable changes from baseline in SLCLA (2.5% contrast) scores (p = 0.0014) and MSFC + SLCLA composite scores (p = 0.0097) than SC IFN-β-1a-treated patients.ConclusionsIn patients with RRMS and inadequate response to prior disease-modifying therapies, alemtuzumab provides greater benefits than SC IFN-β-1a across several disability outcomes, reflecting improvement of preexisting disabilities.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class I evidence (based on rater blinding and a balance in baseline characteristics between arms) that alemtuzumab modifies disability measures favorably compared with SC IFN-β-1a.

Project description:One of our new major finding among the genes that contributes to MS susceptibility is ICSBP1. The so called disease modifying therapies like interferon-beta (IFN-β), possibly acting on the peripheral T-cells, reduce the disease activity and the clinical progression, with a MRI-detectable effect in preventing lesion burden and cerebral atrophy development in RR-MS. It suggests a critical role of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) immune response and modulation in developing inflammation in the brain. We tested the hypothesis that the genetic effect of the susceptible allele ICSBP1 can impact the gene expression profile of molecules belonging to the interferon pathway. We therefore interrogated the PBMC for changes in gene expression profile. We correlate those changes with the minor allele frequency for ICSBP1, performing independent quantitative trait analysis for each treatment category. Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Association with a p value < 0.05 have been used in follow up analysis. The regression coefficient of the Quantitative trait association represents the degree of correlation between the gene expression for each interrogated target gene and the minor allele frequency of the SNP for our gene of interest. This coefficient has been used as input in the subsequent Gene Set Enrichment Analysis performed in a pre-ranked approach. The resulting GSEA-SNP method rests on the assumption that SNPs underlying a disease phenotype might affect genes constituting a signaling pathway or genes with a common regulation. Therefore, GSEA-SNP can facilitate the identification of pathways or of underlying biological mechanisms. We used microarrays to capture gene expression profile of untreated subjects and of subjects under disease modyfing treatment (Interferon Beta and Glatiramer Acetate), in order to correlate gene expression and genotype data and in order to identify sets of genes specifically regulated in the different treatment categories.

Project description:Alemtuzumab (previously known as Campath(®)) is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the CD52 antigen on mature lymphocytes that results in lymphopenia and subsequent modification of the immune repertoire. Here we explore evidence for its efficacy and safety in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. One Phase II and two Phase III trials of alemtuzumab versus active comparator (interferon beta-1a) have been reported. Two of these rater-blinded randomized studies assessed clinical and radiological outcomes in treatment-naïve patients; one explored patients who had relapsed despite first-line therapy. Compared to interferon beta-1a, alemtuzumab reduced the relapse rate by 49%-74% (P < 0.0001), and in two studies it reduced the risk of sustained disability accumulation by 42%-71% (P < 0.01). In one study (Comparison of Alemtuzumab and Rebif Efficacy in Multiple Sclerosis; CARE-MS1), there was no significant difference compared to interferon, perhaps reflecting the surprisingly low frequency of disability events in the comparator group. After alemtuzumab, the Expanded Disability Status Scale score improved by 0.14-1.2 points, culminating in a net advantage with alemtuzumab of 0.41-0.77 points over interferon in the CAMMS223 and CARE-MS2 trials (both P < 0.001). Radiological markers of new lesion formation and brain atrophy following alemtuzumab were significantly improved when compared to interferon in all studies. Adverse events were more common following alemtuzumab than interferon beta-1a (7.2-8.66 versus 4.9-5.7 events per person-year). While infusion reactions are the most common, autoimmunity is the most concerning; within Phase III studies, thyroid disorders (17%-18% versus 5%-6%) and immune thrombocytopenic purpura (1% versus 0%) were reported in patients taking alemtuzumab and interferon beta-1a, respectively. All patients responded to conventional therapy. One patient taking alemtuzumab in the Phase II study suffered a fatal intracranial hemorrhage following immune thrombocytopenic purpura, heralding assiduous monitoring of all patients thereafter. Alemtuzumab has been submitted for licensing in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in the United States and Europe.

Project description:Alemtuzumab is a highly effective treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It selectively targets the CD52 antigen to induce profound lymphocyte depletion, followed by recovery of T and B cells with regulatory phenotypes. We previously showed that regulatory T cell function is restored with cellular repletion, but little is known about the functional capacity of regulatory B-cells and peripheral blood monocytes during the repletion phase. In this study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID# NCT03647722) we simultaneously analyzed the change in composition and function of both regulatory lymphocyte populations and distinct monocyte subsets in cross-sectional cohorts of MS patients prior to or 6, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months after their first course of alemtuzumab treatment. We found that the absolute number and percentage of cells with a regulatory B cell phenotype were significantly higher after treatment and were positivity correlated with regulatory T cells. In addition, B cells from treated patients secreted higher levels of IL-10 and BDNF, and inhibited the proliferation of autologous CD4+CD25- T cell targets. Though there was little change in monocytes populations overall, following the second annual course of treatment, CD14+ monocytes had a significantly increased anti-inflammatory bias in cytokine secretion patterns. These results confirmed that the immune system in alemtuzumab-treated patients is altered in favor of a regulatory milieu that involves expansion and increased functionality of multiple regulatory populations including B cells, T cells and monocytes. Here, we showed for the first time that functionally competent regulatory B cells re-appear with similar kinetics to that of regulatory T-cells, whereas the change in anti-inflammatory bias of monocytes does not occur until after the second treatment course. These findings justify future studies of all regulatory cell types following alemtuzumab treatment to reveal further insights into mechanisms of drug action, and to identify key immunological predictors of durable clinical efficacy in alemtuzumab-treated patients.

Dataset Information

Acute effects of alemtuzumab infusion in patients with active relapsing-remitting MS.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Acute effects of alemtuzumab infusion in patients with active relapsing-remitting MS.

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