Plasma Donors in the Southwestern United States Positively Contribute to the Diverse Therapeutic Antibody Profile of Immune Globulin Products.

Human-plasma-derived immune globulin (IG) is used in augmentation therapy to provide protective levels of antibodies to patients with primary immune deficiency diseases (PIDD) and for prophylaxis against infectious diseases. To maintain the breadth of antibodies necessary for clinical protection, it is important to understand regional patterns of antibody seroprevalence in source plasma from which IG products are manufactured. In this study, source plasma from donation centers in various locations of the Southwestern quarter of the United States was surveyed for antibody titers to hepatitis A virus (HAV), measles virus (MeV), and cytomegalovirus (CMV). A broad range of anti-HAV Ig plasma titers was observed among these centers, with some centers exhibiting 3-5 times the titers of the others. Minor to no differences were observed for levels of anti-MeV and anti-CMV, respectively. Importantly, elevated anti-HAV Ig titers were broadly observed across plasma units obtained from the centers exhibiting high titers, indicative of a potential regional phenomenon among donors as opposed to few donors with singularly high titers. Plasma from these high-titer centers conferred significantly greater neutralization against HAV in vitro. The outcomes of this study give a glimpse of the antibody diversity inherent in human plasma used to manufacture IG products..

The germinal center kinase GCK-1 is a negative regulator of MAP kinase activation and apoptosis in the C. elegans germline.

The germinal center kinases (GCK) constitute a large, highly conserved family of proteins that has been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes including cell growth and proliferation, polarity, migration, and stress responses. Although diverse, these functions have been attributed to an evolutionarily conserved role for GCKs in the activation of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAP kinase pathways. In addition, multiple GCKs from different species promote apoptotic cell death. In contrast to these paradigms, we found that a C. elegans GCK, GCK-1, functions to inhibit MAP kinase activation and apoptosis in the C. elegans germline. In the absence of GCK-1, a specific MAP kinase isoform is ectopically activated and oocytes undergo abnormal development. Moreover, GCK-1- deficient animals display a significant increase in germ cell death. Our results suggest that individual germinal center kinases act in mechanistically distinct ways and that these functions are likely to depend on organ- and developmental-specific contexts.

The chimpanzee cytochrome P450 3A subfamily: Is our closest related species really that similar?

With the release of the chimpanzee genomic database, much work has been accomplished to understand more fully the closest related species to humans. This study investigates the cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) subfamily and examines differences which may be expected between chimpanzees and humans in regards to CYP3A metabolism. A previous publication had reported the presence of five putative chimpanzee CYP3A isoforms, as compared to the four in humans (Williams ET et al., Mol Phylogenet Evol 33, 300-8). Based on the previous report, the chimpanzee CYP3A5 should have had a different C-terminus than its human counterpart; therefore, CYP3A5 and CYP3A67 were cloned. The CYP3A5 clone obtained disputes the previous prediction and confirms that the nucleotide similarity between the two species is 99.7%. While CYP3A67 is most closely related to CYP3A7, with significant differences in the amino acid sequences. Also, the mRNA expression of CYP3A67 can rival the expression of CYP3A4 in the tissues analyzed. CYP3A7 was not found to be expressed in any chimpanzee tissue examined. Total CYP3A protein expression was not significantly different between chimpanzees and humans. Metabolism assays using benzphetamine and erythromycin with chimpanzee liver microsomes did not reveal major differences between chimpanzees and humans. In conclusion, adult CYP3A metabolism may not be significantly different between chimpanzees and humans.