HeberFERON, a new formulation of IFNs with improved pharmacodynamics: Perspective for cancer treatment.

The rational combination of recombinant IFN-α2b and IFN-γ resulted in a new formulation of interferons (HeberFERON) with improved pharmacodynamics. In basal cell carcinomas HeberFERON produces a more rapid antitumor effect and results in a larger number of complete responses. In patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the administration of HeberFERON after surgery and radiotherapy results in an estimated overall survival of 19 months. Patients with stage III or IV renal cell carcinoma also appear to benefit from the intravenous administration of HeberFERON, with prolongation of survival and good quality of live. HeberFERON offers a promising alternative formulation of interferons for the treatment of cancer with a very favorable safety profile.

Obtention and characterization of the recombinant simian Interleukin-15 in Escherichia coli for the preclinical assessment of an IL-15-based therapeutic vaccine.

Recombinant simian IL-15 (siIL-15) was obtained for the preclinical assessment of an anti-human IL-15 vaccine. For this purpose, the cDNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a Macaca fascicularis monkey was cloned into a pIL-2 vector. The siIL-15 was expressed in Escherichia coli strain W3110 as an insoluble protein which accounted for 13% of the total cellular proteins. Inclusion bodies were solubilized in an 8 M urea solution, which was purified by ion exchange and reverse phase chromatography up to 92% purity. The protein identity was validated by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry, confirming the presence of the amino acids which distinguish the siIL-15 from human IL-15. The purified siIL-15 stimulates the proliferation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes line (CTLL)-2 and Kit 225 cells with EC50 values of 3.1 and 32.5 ng/mL, respectively. Antisera from modified human IL-15-immunized macaques were reactive to human and simian IL-15 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Moreover, the anti-human IL-15 antibodies from immune sera inhibited siIL-15 activity in CTLL-2 and Kit 225 cells, supporting the activity and purity of recombinant siIL-15. These results indicate that the recombinant siIL-15 is biologically active in two IL-15-dependent cell lines, and it is also suitable for the preclinical evaluation of an IL-15-based therapeutic vaccine.

Active immunization with human interleukin-15 induces neutralizing antibodies in non-human primates.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-15 is an immunostimulatory cytokine overexpressed in several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, psoriasis and ulcerative colitis; thus, inhibition of IL-15-induced signaling could be clinically beneficial in these disorders. Our approach to neutralize IL-15 consisted in active immunization with structurally modified human IL-15 (mhIL-15) with the aim to induce neutralizing antibodies against native IL-15. In the present study, we characterized the antibody response in Macaca fascicularis, non-human primates that were immunized with a vaccine candidate containing mhIL-15 in Aluminum hydroxide (Alum), Montanide and Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant. RESULTS: Immunization with mhIL-15 elicited a specific antibodies response that neutralized native IL-15-dependent biologic activity in a CTLL-2 cell proliferation assay. The highest neutralizing response was obtained in macaques immunized with mhIL-15 adjuvanted in Alum. This response, which was shown to be transient, also inhibited the activity of simian IL-15 and did not affect the human IL-2-induced proliferation of CTLL-2 cells. Also, in a pool of synovial fluid cells from two Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, the immune sera slightly inhibited TNF-α secretion. Finally, it was observed that this vaccine candidate neither affect animal behavior, clinical status, blood biochemistry nor the percentage of IL-15-dependent cell populations, specifically CD56+ NK and CD8+ T cells. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that vaccination with mhIL-15 induced neutralizing antibodies to native IL-15 in non-human primates. Based on this fact, we propose that this vaccine candidate could be potentially beneficial for treatment of diseases where IL-15 overexpression is associated with their pathogenesis.

Data for comparative proteomics analysis of the antitumor effect of CIGB-552 peptide in HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells.

CIGB-552 is a second generation antitumor peptide that displays potent cytotoxicity in lung and colon cancer cells. The nuclear subproteome of HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells treated with CIGB-552 peptide was identified and analyzed [1]. This data article provides supporting evidence for the above analysis.

Comparative proteomics analysis of the antitumor effect of CIGB-552 peptide in HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells.

The second generation peptide CIGB-552 has a pro-apoptotic effect on H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells and displays a potent cytotoxic effect in HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells though its action mechanism is ill defined. Here, we present the first proteomic study of peptide effect in HT-29 cells using subcellular fractionation, protein and peptide fractionation by DF-PAGE and LC-MS/MS peptide identification. In particular, we explored the nuclear proteome of HT-29 cells at a 5h treatment identifying a total of 68 differentially modulated proteins, 49 of which localize to the nucleus. The differentially modulated proteins were analyzed following a system biology approach. Results pointed to a modulation of apoptosis, oxidative damage removal, NF-κB activation, inflammatory signaling and of cell adhesion and motility. Further Western blot and flow-cytometry experiments confirmed both pro-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of CIGB-552 peptide in HT-29 cells.

Calificación de un cromatógrafo de gases Agilent Technologies 7890A utilizado en la industria biotecnológica / Qualification of an Agilent Technologies 7890A gas chromatograph used in the biotechnology industry

INTRODUCCIÓN: la producción de medicamentos se rige por estrictas normas internacionales que garantizan la reproducibilidad y consistencia de los resultados obtenidos. La calificación de los instrumentos utilizados en los procesos productivos, así como en la caracterización de los productos y su control de calidad, constituye un requisito previo a la validación de cualquier técnica analítica que haga uso de estos. Una de las técnicas instrumentales utilizada en la industria biotecnológica es la cromatografía de gases. OBJETIVO: desarrollar y ejecutar un protocolo que permita la calificación de un cromatógrafo de gases Agilent Technologies 7890A. MÉTODOS: se empleó un patrón de cafeína pura para análisis y se utilizó una columna HP-5 de 30 m x 0,32 mm d.i. y 0,33 µm espesor de película, en un cromatógrafo de gases acoplado a un detector de ionización de llama. Los diferentes módulos involucrados en el análisis (inyector, columna, horno y detector) se evaluaron a través de un diseño experimental que calcula varios parámetros. RESULTADOS: se obtuvieron pruebas documentadas que demuestran que cada uno de los parámetros estudiados (linealidad del inyector, precisión del inyector, arrastre del inyector, precisión del flujo, exactitud del flujo, linealidad del detector, exactitud del detector, ruido del detector, deriva del detector) cumple con los criterios de aceptación establecidos. CONCLUSIONES: el protocolo desarrollado permite la calificación de un cromatógrafo de gases Agilent Technologies 7890A y puede ser extrapolado a otros modelos(AU)

INTRODUCTION: the drug manufacture is governed by strict international standards that guarantee reproducibility and consistency of results. The qualification of the instruments used in the productive processes, as well as in the characterization of products and their quality control are prerequisites to the validation of any analytical technique using them. One of the instrumental techniques used in the biotechnical industry is Gas Chromatography. OBJECTIVE: to develop and to perform a protocol that allows the qualification of an Agilent Technologies 7890A Gas Chromatograph. METHODS: a standard of pure caffeine was used for analysis in addition to a HP-5 30 m x 0,32 mm d.i. and 0,33 µm thick film column was used in a Gas Chromatograph coupled with a Flame Ionization Detector. For the testing of the different modules involved in the analysis (injector, column, oven and detector), an experimental design was made to estimate several parameters. RESULTS: the obtained documented tests proved that each of the studied parameters (injector linearity, injector precision, injector dragging, flow precision, flow accuracy, detector linearity, detector accuracy, detector noise and detector drift) met the set acceptance criteria. CONCLUSIONS: the final protocol allows the qualification of an Agilent Technologies 7890A Gas Chromatograph and it can be extrapolated to other models(AU)