A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial of CNTO 6785 in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Interleukin (IL)-17A may be an underlying factor in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibodies have been used successfully in treating several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. This phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, proof-of-concept study is the first clinical study evaluating the efficacy and safety of the anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody CNTO 6785 in patients with symptomatic moderate-to-severe COPD. Patients were treated with CNTO 6785 (n = 93) or placebo (n = 94) intravenously at Weeks 0, 2, and 4 (induction), then Weeks 8 and 12, and followed till Week 24. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change from baseline in pre-bronchodilator percent-predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second at Week 16. Samples were collected at all visits for pharmacokinetic (PK) evaluation, and standard safety assessments were performed. The mean difference in the primary efficacy endpoint between CNTO 6785 and placebo was not statistically significant (-0.49%; p = 0.599). No other efficacy endpoints demonstrated clinically or statistically significant differences with CNTO 6785 compared with placebo. CNTO 6785 was generally well tolerated; no major safety signals were detected. The most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events were infections and infestations; however, no notable differences were observed between CNTO 6785 and placebo in terms of rates of infections. PK results suggested that the steady state of serum CNTO 6785 concentration was reached within 16 weeks. These results suggest that IL-17A is unlikely to be a dominant driver in the pathology of, or a viable therapeutic target for, COPD. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01966549; EudraCT Identifier: 2012-003607-36.

Galectin-1 is a local but not systemic immunomodulatory factor in mesenchymal stromal cells.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have powerful immunosuppressive activity. This function of MSCs is attributed to plethora of the expressed immunosuppressive factors, such as galectin-1 (Gal-1), a pleiotropic lectin with robust anti-inflammatory effect. Nevertheless, whether Gal-1 renders or contributes to the immunosuppressive effect of MSCs has not been clearly established. Therefore, this question was the focus of a complex study. METHODS: MSCs were isolated from bone marrows of wild-type and Gal-1 knockout mice and their in vitro anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects on activated T cells were examined. The in vivo immunosuppressive activity was tested in murine models of type I diabetes and delayed-type hypersensitivity. RESULTS: Both Gal-1-expressing and -deficient MSCs inhibited T-cell proliferation. Inhibition of T-cell proliferation by MSCs was mediated by nitric oxide but not PD-L1 or Gal-1. In contrast, MSC-derived Gal-1 triggered apoptosis in activated T cells that were directly coupled to MSCs, representing a low proportion of the T-cell population. Furthermore, absence of Gal-1 in MSCs did not affect their in vivo immunosuppressive effect. CONCLUSIONS: These results serve as evidence that Gal-1 does not play a role in the systemic immunosuppressive effect of MSCs. However, a local contribution of Gal-1 to modulation of T-cell response by direct cell-to-cell interaction cannot be excluded. Notably, this study serves a good model to understand how the specificity of a pleiotropic protein depends on the type and localization of the producing effector cell and its target.

[Experience and motivation: opinion of Hungarian high school students about health promotion programs]. / Tapasztalatok és motiváltság: magyar középiskolások véleménye az egészségvédo programokról.

INTRODUCTION: Health-related attitudes can be encouraged most effectively at young ages. Young generations would require more interactive methods in programs engaged in health promotion. AIM: The aim of the authors was to get an insight into the attitudes, experience and motivation of youngsters in connection with health promotion programs and the community service work. METHOD: The questionnaires were filled in by high school students studying in Budapest and in the countryside (N = 898). RESULTS: 44.4% of the students did not have lessons or extracurricular activities dealing with health promotion. Concerning health promotion programs, youngsters in Budapest had more positive experience, while female students showed a more adoptive attitude. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that in one of the most susceptible life stages, many youngsters either do not participate in programs dealing with health promotion, or participate in programs that are within the framework of school subjects or extracurricular activities building on traditional teaching methods.

Multiple myeloma, a quintessential malignant disease of aging: a geroscience perspective on pathogenesis and treatment.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable plasma cell malignancy, which is predominantly a disease of older adults (the median age at diagnosis is 70 years). The slow progression from asymptomatic stages and the late-onset of MM suggest fundamental differences compared to many other hematopoietic system-related malignancies. The concept discussed in this review is that age-related changes at the level of terminally differentiated plasma cells act as the main risk factors for the development of MM. Epigenetic and genetic changes that characterize both MM development and normal aging are highlighted. The relationships between cellular aging processes, genetic mosaicism in plasma cells, and risk for MM and the stochastic processes contributing to clonal selection and expansion of mutated plasma cells are investigated. In line with the DNA damage accumulation theory of aging, in this review, the evolution of monoclonal gammopathy to symptomatic MM is considered. Therapeutic consequences of age-dependent comorbidities that lead to frailty and have fundamental influence on treatment outcome are described. The importance of considering geriatric states when planning the life-long treatment course of an elderly MM patient in order to achieve maximal therapeutic benefit is emphasized.

CHEK2p.I157T Mutation Is Associated with Increased Risk of Adult-Type Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors.

Pathogenic germline mutations c.1100delC and p.I157T in the CHEK2 gene have been associated with increased risk of breast, colon, kidney, prostate, and thyroid cancers; however, no associations have yet been identified between these two most common European founder mutations of the CHEK2 gene and ovarian cancers of any type. Our review of 78 female heterozygous carriers of these mutations (age > 18 years) found strikingly higher proportion of adult-type granulosa cell tumors of the ovary (AGCTs) among ovarian cancers that developed in these women (~36%) compared to women from the general population (1.3%). Based on this finding, we performed a cross-sectional study that included 93 cases previously diagnosed with granulosa cell tumors, refined and validated their AGCT diagnosis through an IHC study, determined their status for the two CHEK2 mutations, and compared the prevalence of these mutations in the AGCT cases and reference populations. The prevalence ratios for the p.I157T mutation in the AGCT group relative to the global (PR = 26.52; CI95: 12.55−56.03) and European non-Finnish populations (PR = 24.55; CI95: 11.60−51.97) support an association between the CHEK2p.I157T mutation and AGCTs. These rare gynecologic tumors have not been previously associated with known risk factors and genetic predispositions. Furthermore, our results support the importance of the determination of the FOXL2p.C134W somatic mutation for accurate diagnosis of AGCTs and suggest a combination of IHC markers that can serve as a surrogate diagnostic marker to infer the mutational status of this FOXL2 allele.

Identical, similar or different? Learning about immunomodulatory function of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from various mouse tissues: bone marrow, spleen, thymus and aorta wall.

Mesenchymal stem or multipotent stromal cells (MSCs) have been implicated in tissue maintenance and repair and regulating immune effector cells through different mechanisms. These functions in mouse were primarily described for bone marrow (BM)-derived MSCs. To learn more about MSCs of different tissue origin, we compared the immunophenotype, differentiation ability to adipocyte and bone and immunomodulatory activity of MSCs isolated from BM, spleen, thymus and aorta wall of 14-day-old C57Bl/6 mice. The established cell lines fulfilled the requirements described for MSCs in terms of morphology, surface marker expression and differentiation potential although they were distinguishable regarding the expression pattern of the MSC markers and ability generating other cell types. Most importantly, a remarkable diversity was shown in the capacity of inhibition of mitogen- and alloantigen-induced T-cell proliferation, since BM- and spleen-derived MSCs were the most powerful aorta-derived MSCs were less effective, whereas thymus-derived mesenchymal cells were unable to block T-cell growth in vitro. Accordingly, BM, spleen and aorta, but not thymus-derived MSCs, in combination with BM hematopoietic cells were equally efficient to prevent streptozotocin-induced diabetes in vivo. These findings suggested that MSCs residing in different organs might stem from common ancestor; however, once populating into a given tissue microenvironment, they acquire specific properties mainly in the term of the immunoregulatory function.

Complete Response to Chemotherapy in Metastatic Pancreatic Carcinoma Associated with Double Heterozygous Germline Mutation in BRCA2 and CHEK2 Genes - a Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic pancreatic carcinoma is an aggressive disease with adverse prognosis. Despite slight advances in chemotherapy, complete remission of the disease is extremely rare. CASE: In this article we present a case of a patient with initially metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, associated with double heterozygous germline mutation in BRCA2 and CHEK2 genes, with the description of clinical, radiological and histomorphological characteristics of the disease as well as the dia-gnostic and therapeutic procedure. RESULTS: The patient with initially metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma with multiple liver involvement achieved complete remission following first-line FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy. The treatment lasted for 12 months but due to increased neurotoxicity since the 9th cycle, oxaliplatin was excluded from the regimen. Given the family history of several malignancies (prostate cancer, seminoma), genetic testing was performed, which confirmed heterozygous germline mutations in BRCA2 and CHEK2 genes. Since the treatment has been completed, the patient remains in complete remission at 30 months. CONCLUSION: Given the low incidence of complete remissions in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, the further therapeutic approach is not clearly established, an individual treatment is important. Universal genetic testing is recommended in patients with pancreatic cancer as it may affect the treatment strategy.

Mesenchymal stem cells cooperate with bone marrow cells in therapy of diabetes.

Several recent studies have suggested that the adult bone marrow harbors cells that can influence beta-cell regeneration in diabetic animals. Other reports, however, have contradicted these findings. To address this issue, we used an animal model of type 1 diabetes in which the disease was induced with streptozotocin in mice. Freshly prepared sex-mismatched bone marrow cells (BMCs) and syngeneic or allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were concomitantly administrated into sublethally irradiated diabetic mice. Blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations rapidly returned to normal levels, accompanied by efficient tissue regeneration after a single injection of a mixture of 10(6) BMCs per 10(5) MSCs. Neither BMC nor MSC transplantation was effective alone. Successful treatment of diabetic animals was not due to the reconstitution of the damaged islet cells from the transplant, since no donor-derived beta-cells were found in the recovered animals, indicating a graft-initiated endogenous repair process. Moreover, MSC injection caused the disappearance of beta-cell-specific T lymphocytes from diabetic pancreas. Therefore, we suggest that two aspects of this successful treatment regimen operate in parallel and synergistically in our model. First, BMCs and MSCs induce the regeneration of recipient-derived pancreatic insulin-secreting cells. Second, MSCs inhibit T-cell-mediated immune responses against newly formed beta-cells, which, in turn, are able to survive in this altered immunological milieu. Thus, the application of this therapy in human patients suffering from diabetes and/or other tissue destructive autoimmune diseases may be feasible.

[Mesenchymal stem cells and the immune system--immunosuppression without drugs?]. / A mesenchymalis ôssejtek és az immunrendszer--immunszuppresszió gyógyszerek nélkül?

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) - isolated from various tissues in humans and other species - are one of the most promising adult stem cell types due to their availability and the relatively simple requirements for in vitro expansion. They have the capacity to differentiate into several tissues, including bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle and adipose, and produce growth factors and cytokines that promote hematopoietic cell expansion and differentiation. In vivo, MSCs are able to repair damaged tissue from kidney, heart, liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, they also have anti-proliferative, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects, but evoke only little immune reactivity. Although the mechanism underlying the immunosuppressive effects of MSCs has not been clearly defined, their immunosuppressive properties have already been exploited in the clinical setting. Therefore, in the future, MSCs might have implications for treatment of allograft rejection, graft-versus-host disease, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease and other disorders in which immunomodulation and tissue repair are required. The aim of this review is to critically analyze the field of MSC biology, particularly with respect to their immunomodulatory properties and potential clinical use in the future.

The Role of Extracellular Vesicle and Tunneling Nanotube-Mediated Intercellular Cross-Talk Between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Human Peripheral T Cells.

The role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in mediating the immunosuppressory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has recently attracted remarkable scientific interest. The aim of this work was to analyze the transport mechanisms of membrane and cytoplasmic components between T lymphocytes and adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs), by focusing on the role of distinct populations of EVs, direct cell-cell contacts, and the soluble mediators per se in modulating T lymphocyte function. We found that neither murine thymocytes and human primary T cells nor Jurkat lymphoblastoid cells incorporated appreciable amounts of MSC-derived microvesicles (MVs) or exosomes (EXOs). Moreover, these particles had no effect on the proliferation and IFN-γ production of in vitro-stimulated primary T cells. In contrast, AD-MSCs incorporated large amounts of membrane components from T cells as an intensive uptake of EXOs and MVs could be observed. Interestingly, we found a bidirectional exchange of cytoplasmic components between human AD-MSCs and primary T lymphocytes, mediated by tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) derived exclusively from the T cells. In contrast, TNTs couldn't be observed between AD-MSCs and the Jurkat cells. Our results reveal a novel and efficient way of intercellular communication between MSCs and T cells, and may help a better understanding of the immunomodulatory function of MSCs.

Positional identity of murine mesenchymal stem cells resident in different organs is determined in the postsegmentation mesoderm.

Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of distinct tissue origin have a large number of similarities and differences, it has not been determined so far whether tissue-resident MSCs are the progenies of one ancestor cell lineage or the results of parallel cell developmental events. Here we compared the expression levels of 177 genes in murine MSCs derived from adult and juvenile bone marrow and adult adipose tissue, as well as juvenile spleen, thymus, and aorta wall by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and the results were partially validated at protein level. All MSC lines uniformly expressed a large set of genes including well-known mesenchymal markers, such as α-smooth muscle actin, collagen type I α-chain, GATA6, Mohawk, and vimentin. In contrast, pluripotency genes and the early mesodermal marker T-gene were not expressed. On the other hand, different MSC lines consistently expressed distinct patterns of Hox genes determining the positional identity of a given cell population. Moreover, MSCs of different origin expressed a few other transcription factors also reflecting their topological identity and so the body segment or organ to which they normally contributed in vivo: (1) thymus-derived cells specifically expressed Tbx5 and Pitx2; (2) spleen-derived MSCs were characterized with Tlx1 and Nkx2.5; (3) Pitx1 designated femoral bone marrow cells and (4) En2 appeared in aorta wall-derived MSCs. Thus, MSCs exhibited topographic identity and memory even after long-term cultivation in vitro. On the basis of these results, we suggest that postnatal MSCs isolated from different anatomical sites descend from precursor cells developing in the postsegmentation mesoderm.

In vitro expansion of long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells in the presence of immobilized Jagged-1 and early acting cytokines.

There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that genes involved in cell fate decisions and pattern formation during development also play a key role in the continuous cell fate decisions made by adult tissue stem cells. Here we show that prolonged in vitro culture (14 days) of murine bone marrow lineage negative cells in medium supplemented with three early acting cytokines (stem cell factor, Flk-2/Flt-3 ligand, thrombopoietin) and with immobilized Notch ligand, Jagged-1, resulted in robust expansion of serially transplantable hematopoietic stem cells with long-term repopulating ability. We found that the absolute number of marrow cells was increased approximately 8 to 14-fold in all cultures containing recombinant growth factors. However, the frequency of high quality stem cells was markedly reduced at the same time, except in cultures containing growth factors and Jagged-1-coated Sepharose-4B beads. The absolute number of hematopoietic cells with long-term repopulating ability was increased approximately 10 to 20-fold in the presence of multivalent Notch ligand. These results support a role for combinatorial effects by Notch and cytokine-induced signaling pathways in regulating hematopoietic stem cell fate and to a potential role for Notch ligand in increasing cell numbers in clinical stem cell transplantation.