Project description:ObjectivesMultiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by malignant growth of plasma cells, usually producing a monoclonal antibody (mAb). New treatments for MM include therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (tmAbs), but patients treated with tmAb demonstrate interference on serum electrophoresis (SPE) and immunoprecipitation electrophoresis (IEP). Evaluation of treatment efficacy and determination of MM remission include SPE and IEP which identifies mAb, but cannot differentiate between disease associated mAb and tmAb. We hypothesized that tmAb could be removed from patient sera before testing by SPE and IEP to provide accurate diagnoses for clinicians.Design and methodsWe developed the Antigen Specific therapeutic monoclonal Antibody Depletion Assay (ASADA), that utilizes magnetic beads coated with the cognate antigen of the tmAbs, to deplete two different tmAb (daratumumab, elotuzumab) from saline and patient sera and assessed for complete removal of tmAb by SPE and IEP.ResultsWe found that tmAb could be efficiently removed from saline and patient sera. ASADA demonstrated acceptable analytical specificity and sensitivity in IEP. Recovery of appropriate quantitative values by SPE was demonstrated with clinically acceptable precision. A single bead cocktail could be used to treat both daratumumab and elotuzumab.ConclusionsThis demonstrates proof of principle that ASADA can be used to remove current and future tmAb from patient sera, regardless of platform. This research provides for accurate diagnosis, disease monitoring, and remission status in MM patients being treated with tmAb.
Project description:BackgroundBamlanivimab and casirivimab-imdevimab are authorized for emergency use treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients at high risk for developing severe disease or hospitalization. Their safety and efficacy have not been specifically evaluated in solid organ transplant recipients.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed solid organ transplant recipients who received monoclonal antibody infusion for COVID-19 at Mayo Clinic sites through January 23, 2021. Outcomes included emergency department visit, hospitalization, mortality, and allograft rejection.ResultsSeventy-three patients were treated, most commonly with bamlanivimab (75.3%). The median age was 59 years, 63% were male, and the median Charlson comorbidity index was 5. Transplant type included 41 kidney (56.2%), 13 liver (17.8%), 11 heart (15.1%), 4 kidney-pancreas (5.5%), 2 lung (2.7%), 1 heart-liver, and 1 pancreas. Eleven (15.1%) patients had an emergency department visit within 28 days of infusion, including 9 (12.3%) who were hospitalized for a median of 4 days. One patient required intensive care unit admission for a nonrespiratory complication. No patients required mechanical ventilation, died, or experienced rejection. Ten adverse events occurred, with 1 seeking medical evaluation. Hypertension was associated with hospital admission (P < .05), while other baseline characteristics were similar. The median time from symptom onset to antibody administration was 4 days in nonhospitalized patients compared with 6 days among hospitalized patients (P < .05).ConclusionsMonoclonal antibody treatment has favorable outcomes with minimal adverse effects in solid organ transplant recipients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Earlier administration of monoclonal antibody therapy appears to be more efficacious.
Project description:In recent years, capillary electrophoresis-sodium dodecyl sulfate (cSDS) has been widely used for high resolution separation and quantification of the fragments and aggregates of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to ensure the quality of mAb therapeutics. However, identification of the low-molecular-weight (LMW) and high-molecular-weight (HMW) species detected in cSDS electropherograms has been based primarily on the approximate MWs calculated from standard curves using known MW standards and correlations with fragments and aggregates identified by other methods. It is not easy to collect sufficient amounts of H/LMW species from cSDS for analysis by orthogonal methods and the direct coupling of cSDS with mass spectrometry (MS) is very difficult due to interference from SDS. In this study, we describe the precise identification of H/LMW species detected by cSDS using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled with top-down tandem MS analysis. The H/LMW species were first identified by on-line RP-HPLC MS analysis and the RP-HPLC fractions were then analyzed by cSDS to connect the identified H/LMW species with the peaks in the cSDS electropherogram. With this method, 58 unique H/LMW species were identified from an immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) mAb. The identified fragments ranged from 10 kDa single chain fragments to 130 kDa triple chain fragments, including some with post-translational modifications. This is the first study to clearly identify the antibody fragments, including the exact clipping sites, observed in cSDS electropherograms. The methodology and results presented here should be applicable to most other IgG1 mAbs.
Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease that causes irreversible and progressive lung scarring and respiratory failure. Activation of fibroblasts (FBs) play a central role in progression of PF. Here we report that platelet endothelial aggregation receptor 1 (Pear1) in FBs is a new molecular target for PF therapy. Pear1 deficiency spontaneously caused respiratory function decline and alveolar collagens accumulation in old mice. The degree of PF and mortality induced by bleomycin were significantly enhanced in Pear1 deficient mice. FB Mesenchyme-specific Pear1 deficiency aggravated bleomycin-induced PF, confirming that Pear1 modulates PF progression probably byvia regulation of FBs function. Single cell RNA-seq analysis of pulmonary FB and functional enrichment analysis revealed drastic expansion of Aactivated- FB clusters and enrichment of activated FB marker genes in extracellular matrix (ECM) development and pulmonary fibrosis in Pear1-/- fibrotic lungs. CD140+ bulk tissue RNA-seq analysis further confirmed that multiple mesenchyme development pathways especially epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) are enriched with up-regulated genes involving FB mediated ECM organization and development in in Pear1-/- fibrotic lungs. We further found that Pear1 associated with Protein Phosphatase 1 to suppress fibrotic factors such as TGFß, FGF or PDGF-induced intracellular signalling and FB activation. Intratracheal aerosolization of monoclonal antibody activating Pear1 greatly ameliorates PF in both wild-type mice and Pear1-humanized mice, suggesting that targeting Pear1 may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for PF.
Project description:Countermeasures against potential biothreat agents remain important to US Homeland Security, and many of these pharmaceuticals could have dual use in the improvement of global public health. Junin virus, the causative agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF), is an arenavirus identified as a category A high-priority agent. There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs available for preventing or treating AHF, and the current treatment option is limited to administration of immune plasma. Whereas immune plasma demonstrates the feasibility of passive immunotherapy, it is limited in quantity, variable in quality, and poses safety risks such as transmission of transfusion-borne diseases. In an effort to develop a monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based alternative to plasma, three previously described neutralizing murine mAbs were expressed as mouse-human chimeric antibodies and evaluated in the guinea pig model of AHF. These mAbs provided 100% protection against lethal challenge when administered 2 d after infection (dpi), and one of them (J199) was capable of providing 100% protection when treatment was initiated 6 dpi and 92% protection when initiated 7 dpi. The efficacy of J199 is superior to that previously described for all other evaluated drugs, and its high potency suggests that mAbs like J199 offer an economical alternative to immune plasma and an effective dual use (bioterrorism/public health) therapeutic.
Project description:Multiple antiviral and monoclonal antibody therapies are now available for mild-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients ≥12 years of age. However, data for the use of these agents in children is limited. We reviewed 94 pediatric patients for whom early therapy was requested since the emergence of the Omicron variant and describe patient characteristics, treatment logistics and associated short-term events.
Project description:The efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines administered after COVID-19-specific monoclonal antibody is unknown, and "antibody interference" might hinder immune responses leading to vaccine failure. In an institutional review board-approved prospective study, we found that an individual who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccination <40 days after COVID-19-specific monoclonal antibody therapy for symptomatic COVID-19 had similar postvaccine antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) for 4 important SARS-CoV-2 variants (B.1, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1) as other participants who were also vaccinated following COVID-19. Vaccination against COVID-19 shortly after COVID-19-specific monoclonal antibody can boost and expand antibody protection, questioning the need to delay vaccination in this setting.Trial registrationThe St. Jude Tracking of Viral and Host Factors Associated with COVID-19 study; NCT04362995; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04362995.
Project description:Although new passive and active immunotherapy methods are emerging, unconjugated monoclonal antibodies remain the only kind of biological preparations approved for high-grade glioma therapy in clinical practice. In this review, we combine clinical and experimental data discussion. As antiangiogenic therapy is the standard of care for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), we analyze major clinical trials and possible therapeutic combinations of bevacizumab, the most common monoclonal antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Another humanized antibody to gain recognition in GBM is epidermal growth factor (EGFR) antagonist nimotuzumab. Other antigens (VEGF receptor, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, hepatocyte growth factor and c-Met system) showed significance in gliomas and were used to create monoclonal antibodies applied in different malignant tumors. We assess the role of genetic markers (isocitrate dehydrogenase, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransnsferase) in GBM treatment outcome prediction. Besides antibodies studied in clinical trials, we focus on perspective targets and briefly list other means of passive immunotherapy.
Project description:Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been used as targeted treatments against cancer for more than a decade, with mixed results. Research is needed to understand mAb mechanisms of action with the goal of improving the efficacy of currently used mAbs and guiding the design of novel mAbs. While some mAb-induced tumor cell killing is a result of direct effects on tumor cell signaling, mAb opsonization of tumor cells also triggers activation of immune responses due to complement activation and engagement of antibody receptors on immune effector cells. In fact, complement has been shown to play an important role in modulating the anti-tumor activity of many mAb through complement-dependent cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, and through indirect effects by modulating the tumor microenvironment. Complement activity can have both agonistic and antagonistic effects on these processes. How the balance of such effects impacts on the clinical efficacy of mAb therapy remains unclear. In this review, we discuss the mAbs currently approved for cancer treatment and examine how complement can impact their efficacy with a focus on how this information might be used to improve the clinical efficacy of mAb treatment.
Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease that causes irreversible and progressive lung scarring and respiratory failure. Activation of fibroblasts (FBs) play a central role in progression of PF. Here we report that platelet endothelial aggregation receptor 1 (Pear1) in FBs is a new molecular target for PF therapy. Pear1 deficiency spontaneously caused respiratory function decline and alveolar collagens accumulation in old mice. The degree of PF and mortality induced by bleomycin were significantly enhanced in Pear1 deficient mice. FB Mesenchyme-specific Pear1 deficiency aggravated bleomycin-induced PF, confirming that Pear1 modulates PF progression probably byvia regulation of FBs function. Single cell RNA-seq analysis of pulmonary FB and functional enrichment analysis revealed drastic expansion of Aactivated- FB clusters and enrichment of activated FB marker genes in extracellular matrix (ECM) development and pulmonary fibrosis in Pear1-/- fibrotic lungs. CD140+ bulk tissue RNA-seq analysis further confirmed that multiple mesenchyme development pathways especially epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) are enriched with up-regulated genes involving FB mediated ECM organization and development in in Pear1-/- fibrotic lungs. We further found that Pear1 associated with Protein Phosphatase 1 to suppress fibrotic factors such as TGFß, FGF or PDGF-induced intracellular signalling and FB activation. Intratracheal aerosolization of monoclonal antibody activating Pear1 greatly ameliorates PF in both wild-type mice and Pear1-humanized mice, suggesting that targeting Pear1 may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for PFand significantly improves their survival rate.