Effect of the Dispersion Process and Nanoparticle Quality on Chemical Sensing Performance.

On the surface of chemiresistive films, the scarce heterogeneity of a molecularly capped gold nanoparticle (MCGNP) colloidal dispersion and uneven evaporation of the MCGNP-contained drying drop applied to this surface are among the main factors that affect reproducibility, and repeatable fabrication of thin films of MCGNPs. This article shows that an increase in reproducibility and repeatability is possible using a dispersant and a surfactant during the deposition and annealing processes of the MCGNP. The results show higher sensitivity and accuracy of the sensors for the detection of volatile organic compounds in air and an increased limit of detection. These simple and practical additions might serve as a launching pad for fabrication of other types of thin-film-based sensors.

Successful intracranial delivery of trastuzumab by gene-therapy for treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer brain metastases.

BACKGROUND: Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody which demonstrates efficacy for HER2 positive breast cancer patients. Recently, an increased incidence of brain metastasis in trastuzumab-treated patients has been reported. The reason for this may be the effectiveness of systemic trastuzumab allowing patients to survive longer thus providing time for brain metastases to develop, along with the lack of penetration of systemic therapies through the blood brain barrier. In recent years, several administration routes to the brain have been evaluated. Albeit advances in the field, there is still a need for improved delivery of therapeutic antibodies to the brain. To address this challenge, we have developed two gene therapy-based methods enabling continuous secretion of active trastuzumab in the brain. METHODS: We have developed two gene therapy approaches for the delivery of the therapeutic anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab, to the brain. We utilized the helper dependent adenovirus vector, containing trastuzumab light and heavy chains coding sequences (HDAd-trastuzumab). In the first approach, we used the Transduced Autologous Restorative Gene Therapy (TARGT) platform, in which dermal fibroblasts of human and mouse origin, are ex-vivo transduced with HDAd-trastuzumab vector, rendering continuous secretion of active trastuzumab from the cells locally. These genetically engineered cells were subsequently implanted intracranially to mice, contralateral to HER2 positive breast carcinoma cells inoculation site, enabling continuous secretion of trastuzumab in the brain. In the second approach, we used the same HDAd-trastuzumab viral vector, directly injected intracranially, contralateral to the HER2 positive breast carcinoma cells inoculation site. Both methods enabled therapeutic concentrations of local in-vivo production of active trastuzumab in a mouse model of brain metastatic breast cancer. RESULTS: Trastuzumab secreted from the TARGT platform demonstrated in-vitro affinity and immune recruitment activity (ADCC) similar to recombinant trastuzumab (Herceptin, Genentech). When implanted in the brain of HER2 positive tumor-bearing mice, both the TARGT platform of dermal fibroblasts engineered to secrete trastuzumab and direct injection of HDAd-trastuzumab demonstrated remarkable intracranial tumor growth inhibitory effect. CONCLUSIONS: This work presents two gene therapy approaches for the administration of therapeutic antibodies to the brain. The TARGT platform of dermal fibroblasts engineered to secrete active trastuzumab, and the direct injection of HDAd-trastuzumab viral vector, both rendered continuous in-vivo secretion of active trastuzumab in the brain and demonstrated high efficacy. These two approaches present a proof of concept for promising gene therapy based administration methods for intracranial tumors as well as other brain diseases.

Sustained secretion of anti-tumor necrosis factor α monoclonal antibody from ex vivo genetically engineered dermal tissue demonstrates therapeutic activity in mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a symmetric inflammatory polyarthritis associated with high concentrations of pro-inflammatory, cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Adalimumab is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds TNF-α, and is widely used to treat RA. Despite its proven clinical efficacy, adalimumab and other therapeutic mAbs have disadvantages, including the requirement for repeated bolus injections and the appearance of treatment limiting anti-drug antibodies. To address these issues, we have developed an innovative ex vivo gene therapy approach, termed transduced autologous restorative gene therapy (TARGT), to produce and secrete adalimumab for the treatment of RA. METHODS: Helper-dependent (HD) adenovirus vector containing adalimumab light and heavy chain coding sequences was used to transduce microdermal tissues and cells of human and mouse origin ex vivo, rendering sustained secretion of active adalimumab. The genetically engineered tissues were subsequently implanted in a mouse model of RA. RESULTS: Transduced human microdermal tissues implanted in SCID mice demonstrated 49 days of secretion of active adalimumab in the blood, at levels of tens of microgram per milliliter. In addition, transduced autologous dermal cells were implanted in the RA mouse model and demonstrated statistically significant amelioration in RA symptoms compared to naïve cell implantation and were similar to recombinant adalimumab bolus injections. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study report microdermal tissues engineered to secrete active adalimumab as a proof of concept for sustained secretion of antibody from the novel ex vivo gene therapy TARGT platform. This technology may now be applied to a range of antibodies for the therapy of other diseases.

Mitotic Spindle Disruption by Alternating Electric Fields Leads to Improper Chromosome Segregation and Mitotic Catastrophe in Cancer Cells.

Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) are low intensity, intermediate frequency, alternating electric fields. TTFields are a unique anti-mitotic treatment modality delivered in a continuous, noninvasive manner to the region of a tumor. It was previously postulated that by exerting directional forces on highly polar intracellular elements during mitosis, TTFields could disrupt the normal assembly of spindle microtubules. However there is limited evidence directly linking TTFields to an effect on microtubules. Here we report that TTFields decrease the ratio between polymerized and total tubulin, and prevent proper mitotic spindle assembly. The aberrant mitotic events induced by TTFields lead to abnormal chromosome segregation, cellular multinucleation, and caspase dependent apoptosis of daughter cells. The effect of TTFields on cell viability and clonogenic survival substantially depends upon the cell division rate. We show that by extending the duration of exposure to TTFields, slowly dividing cells can be affected to a similar extent as rapidly dividing cells.