Allergen-specific immunotherapy and evidence: A European regulatory perspective.

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been performed for 112 years. In this article we summarize regulatory standards and challenges based on scientific evidence on AIT. Most crucial and timely aspects concerning AIT are addressed from the regulatory perspective of the authors as employees of a national competent authority in Europe: (1) product specificity; (2) clinical efficacy; (3) treatment for adults and children (needs for extrapolation); (4) allergen exposure chambers; (5) biomarkers; (6) standardization; (7) real-world evidence; (8) independent official batch release (benefit and challenges); (9) harmonization on the EU level. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, in Langen near Frankfurt/Main in Germany, examines and evaluates the benefits and risks of AIT products within the course of clinical development, marketing authorization, and subsequently throughout their entire life cycle to ensure high-quality, safe, and effective AIT products.

A regulator's view on AIT clinical trials in the United States and Europe: Why successful studies fail to support licensure.

Clinical studies demonstrate that efficacy and safety in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) are linked to a multiplicity of factors decisively influencing success or failure. In recent years, numerous trials were performed with correspondent study results published. Yet, the number of AIT products successfully obtaining licensure in the analogous time frame is comparably limited. Essential for licensure is that the AIT product investigated remains comparable in its qualitative and quantitative composition throughout the clinical development. Verification of efficacy is not solely demonstrated by a statistically significant difference between the test and control populations; it must also be shown to be clinically relevant. Choice of meaningful inclusion and end-point criteria is critical. Post hoc or subgroup analysis can be supportive but needs verification as predefined criteria in additional studies. Data analysis may be presented on varying analysis populations, while it should be based on the intention-to-treat population for regulatory review to allow objective assessment of the treatment effect on the overall study population. Apparently conflicting interpretations of clinical data between publications and regulatory review are frequently based on their inherently different objectives, with regulatory review taking into considerations the full data sets of all relevant clinical studies for the concerned AIT product to allow an informed decision on licensure.

A designed cell-permeable aptamer-based corepressor peptide is highly specific for the androgen receptor and inhibits prostate cancer cell growth in a vector-free mode.

The repression of the androgen receptor (AR) activity is a major objective to inhibit prostate cancer growth. One underlying mechanism for efficient hormone therapy is based on corepressors that inactivate the AR. In line with this, castration-resistant prostate cancer is associated with malfunction or reduced corepressor action. To overcome this, the overexpression of endogenous corepressors, however, affects many other transcription factors. Therefore, an AR-specific corepressor could be of advantage. Using a yeast peptide aptamer two-hybrid screen with the full-length human AR, we identified a short amino acid-stretch that binds specifically to the human AR in yeast and in mammalian cells and not to the closely related progesterone or glucocorticoid receptors. Furthermore, fused to a silencing domain, this aptamer-based corepressor (AB-CoR) exhibits corepressor activity by inhibiting both the AR-mediated transactivation and expression of the AR target gene PSA. Furthermore, stable expression of the AB-CoR inhibits growth of human LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Moreover, we generated a cell-permeable AB-CoR by fusing a protein transduction domain to establish a vector-free transport system. Treatment of LNCaP cells with the bacterially expressed and affinity-purified cell-permeable AB-CoR peptide resulted in a significant inhibition of both AR-mediated transactivation and prostate cancer cell proliferation. Thus, generation of a novel AR-specific aptamer-based corepressor may present a vector-free inhibition of AR-dependent prostate cancer growth as a novel approach.

Wild-type but not mutant androgen receptor inhibits expression of the hTERT telomerase subunit: a novel role of AR mutation for prostate cancer development.

Androgens play a central role in prostate development and prostate cancer proliferation. Induction of telomerase is an early event in prostate carcinogenesis and is considered as a marker for both primary tumors and metastases. Interestingly, several reports suggest that telomerase activity is regulated by androgens in vivo. Here, we show that the wild-type (WT) human androgen receptor (AR) inhibits the expression of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and telomerase activity via inhibition of hTERT promoter activity in the presence of androgen receptor agonists. However, pure androgen antagonists failed to repress hTERT transcription. The androgen-mediated repression of hTERT is abrogated in a human prostate cancer cell line exhibiting hormone-dependent growth, which expresses a mutant AR (T877A) frequently occurring in prostate cancer. We reveal that this single amino acid exchange is sufficient for the lack of transrepression. Interestingly, chromatin immunoprecipitation data suggest that, in contrast to the WT AR, the mutant AR is recruited less efficiently to the hTERT promoter in vivo, indicating that loss of transrepression results from reduced chromatin recruitment. Thus, our findings suggest that the WT AR inhibits expression of hTERT, which is indicative of a protective mechanism, whereas the T877A mutation of AR not only broadens the ligand spectrum of the receptor but abrogates this inhibitory mechanism in prostate cancer cells. This novel role of AR mutations in prostate cancer development suggests the benefit to a search for new AR antagonists that inhibit transactivation but allow transrepression.

Alien inhibits E2F1 gene expression and cell proliferation.

Recently, using a proteomic approach we have identified the corepressor Alien as a novel interacting factor of the cell cycle regulator E2F1. Unclear was whether this interaction influences cell proliferation and endogenous E2F1 target gene expression. Here, we show by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) that Alien is recruited in vivo to the E2F binding sites present in the E2F1 gene promoter, inhibits the transactivation of E2F1 and represses endogenous E2F1 gene expression. Interestingly, using synchronized cells to assess the expression of Alien profile during cell cycle the levels of endogenous Alien are increased during G1, G1/S and G2 phase. Furthermore, stable transfection of Alien leads to reduction of cell proliferation. Thus, the data suggest that Alien acts as a corepressor for E2F1 and is involved in cell cycle regulation.

Alien interacts with the human androgen receptor and inhibits prostate cancer cell growth.

Prostate cancer cell growth is initially androgen dependent. Androgen antagonists are used in prostate cancer therapy to inactivate the transcriptional activity of the human androgen receptor (hAR) and to inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer. Here, we have characterized Alien with characteristics of a corepressor as a novel interacting factor for the antagonist bound hAR. Alien is recruited to hAR in the presence of the AR antagonist cyproterone acetate (CPA). The interaction of Alien with hAR is verified in vivo and in vitro by a modified mammalian two-hybrid system, coimmunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and in vitro binding assays. In contrast to other nuclear receptors, Alien binds to the amino-terminus of hAR with the receptor SUMOylation (small ubiquitin modifier) sites being involved. Furthermore, cellular localization of Alien is changed towards a predominant nuclear localization upon treatment of prostate cancer cells with CPA. Notably, stable expression of Alien in LNCaP cells inhibits both endogenous prostate-specific antigen expression and proliferation of these cells in the presence of CPA but not in the presence of an AR agonist. These findings underline the importance of corepressors for inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth by androgen antagonists.

The highly conserved region of the co-repressor Sin3A functionally interacts with the co-repressor Alien.

The Sin3 proteins are evolutionarily conserved co-repressors (CoR) that function as mediators of gene repression for a variety of transcriptional silencers. The paired amphipathic helices of Sin3A were identified and studied as protein-protein interacting domains. Previously we have shown the interaction of Sin3A with the CoR Alien in vivo and in vitro. Here, we show that Alien and Sin3A reside together in vivo with the vitamin D3 receptor on the human 24-hydroxylase (CYP24) promoter containing vitamin D3 response elements by chromatin immunoprecipitation. We delineated and characterized the interaction domains of Sin3A with Alien. Interestingly, the highly conserved region (HCR) of Sin3A, which has not yet been functionally characterized, interacts with Alien. The HCR encompasses only 134 amino acids, shares more than 80% identity with Sin3B and binds to the N-terminus of Alien, which harbours a transferable silencing function. Functionally, co-expression of Sin3A enhances Alien-mediated gene repression and overexpression of the HCR alone leads to the inhibition of Alien-mediated repression and to the induction of the endogenous CYP24 promoter. Our results therefore indicate a novel functional role of the Sin3 HCR and give novel insights into Alien-mediated gene repression.