PTX3 binds MD-2 and promotes TRIF-dependent immune protection in aspergillosis.

The long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) modulates different effector pathways involved in innate resistance to Aspergillus fumigatus, including complement activation or promotion of phagocytosis by interacting with FcγRs. However, whether and how TLRs modulate PTX3 mediates antifungal resistance is not known. In this study, we demonstrate that PTX3 binds myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2) in vitro and exerts its protective antifungal activity in vivo through TLR4/MD-2-mediated signaling. Similar to Tlr4(-/-) mice, Md2(-/-) mice displayed high susceptibility to pulmonary aspergillosis, a phenotype associated with a proinflammatory cytokine profile and impaired antifungal activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Treating Md2(-/-) mice with PTX3 failed to confer immune protection against the fungus, whereas adoptive transfer of MD-2-competent polymorphonuclear neutrophils restored it. Mechanistically, engagement of MD-2 by PTX3-opsonized Aspergillus conidia activated the TLR4/Toll/IL-1R domain-containing adapter inducing IFN-ß-dependent signaling pathway converging on IL-10. Thus, we have identified a novel receptor mechanism, involving the TLR4/MD-2/Toll/IL-1R domain-containing adapter inducing IFN-ß-mediated signaling, whereby PTX3 elicits antifungal resistance with limited immunopathology in A. fumigatus infection.

Effect of PTX3 and voriconazole combination in a rat model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

This study evaluated the pharmacological activity of PTX3, administered in combination with voriconazole, in a rat model of pulmonary aspergillosis. The data indicated additive therapeutic activities of these compounds, as demonstrated by the amelioration of respiratory function changes, reduction of lung fungal burden, and increased survival. Overall, we provide clear evidence that the combination of PTX3 with a suboptimal dose of voriconazole might represent a therapeutic option under those clinical conditions where the use of voriconazole alone is not warranted for efficacy and tolerability reasons.

Current understanding of PTX3 protective activity on Aspergillus fumigatus infection.

Infection caused by Aspergillus fumigatus remains a major therapeutic challenge in immunocompromised individuals. Innate immunity represents the first line of defense against pathogens. In the last 20 years, several proteins belonging to this arm of the immune system have been characterized as being endowed with antifungal activity. Among these, the prototype long pentraxin PTX3 has been identified as a non-redundant protective factor against infections caused by A. fumigatus. A number of relevant animal models of invasive aspergillosis have indicated that PTX3 exerts its protective activity in several conditions of immunosuppression. In this article, we review the current understanding of PTX3 mechanisms of action that might be of help in further exploration of the pharmacological activity of this protein against A. fumigatus.

Anti-proliferative effect of a triazole derivative (ST1959) on LNCaP human prostate cancer cells through down-regulation of cyclin and androgen receptor expression.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies demonstrated that ST1959, a triazole derivative endowed with immunomodulatory activities, also exerts inhibitory effects on proliferation and survival of a panel of tumor cells. In this study, we sought to ascertain the effects of ST1959 on the growth of androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer (PCa) cells. METHODS: The growth of androgen-dependent (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (PC3, DU-145) cells was analyzed in vitro both in the presence and absence of ST1959. Modulation of cyclin and androgen receptor (AR) expression following treatment with ST1959 was analyzed by Western blot and cytofluorimetric analysis. RESULTS: We observed that ST1959 causes a significant growth inhibition of LNCaP cells without affecting proliferation of androgen-insensitive DU-145 and PC3 cell lines. These effects were associated with G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and down-regulation of cyclin D1, A and B and AR expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our present findings indicate that the anti-proliferative activity of ST1959 on cell growth of androgen-dependent LNCaP PCa cells may be brought about by decreasing expression of functional AR and selected cyclins, ultimately leading to cell growth inhibition.

Exogenous pentraxin 3 restores antifungal resistance and restrains inflammation in murine chronic granulomatous disease.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections and hyperinflammation. The susceptibility to aspergillosis in experimental CGD (p47(phox-/-) mice) is associated with the failure to control the inherent inflammatory response to the fungus and to restrict the activation of inflammatory Th17 cells. We assessed whether pentraxin (PTX)3, a member of a family of multimeric pattern-recognition proteins with potent anti-Aspergillus activity, could limit pathogenic inflammation in p47(phox-/-) mice by curbing the IL-23/Th17 inflammatory axis in response to the fungus. We found that the production of PTX3 was delayed in CGD mice in infection but exogenous administration of PTX3 early in infection restored antifungal resistance and restrained the inflammatory response to the fungus. This occurred through down-regulation of IL-23 production by dendritic cells and epithelial cells which resulted in limited expansion of IL-23R+ gammadelta+ T cells producing IL-17A and the emergence of Th1/Treg responses with minimum pathology. Thus, PTX3 could be therapeutically used for the exploitation of NADPH-independent mechanism(s) of antifungal immune protection with limited immunopathology in CGD.

Efficacy of PTX3 in a rat model of invasive aspergillosis.

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase glycoprotein with a nonredundant function in the host resistance to Aspergillus fumigatus. PTX3 activity was evaluated against pulmonary aspergillosis in rats immunosuppressed with cortisone acetate. PTX3 enhanced the survival rate and reduced the lung fungal burden of infected rats in both therapeutic and prophylactic modalities. Thus, we extended the protective activity of PTX3 in pulmonary aspergillosis to corticosteroid-induced immunodeficiency, which is a relevant clinical condition in graft-versus-host disease and in solid organ transplant.

Effects of lower-limb plyometric training on body composition, explosive strength, and kicking speed in female soccer players.

The aim of the present study was to examine how explosive strength, kicking speed, and body composition are affected by a 12-week plyometric training program in elite female soccer players. The hypothesis was that this program would increase the jumping ability and kicking speed and that these gains could be maintained by means of regular soccer training only. Twenty adult female players were divided into 2 groups: control group (CG, n = 10, age 23.0 +/- 3.2 yr) and plyometric group (PG, n = 10; age 22.8 +/- 2.1 yr). The intervention was carried out during the second part of the competitive season. Both groups performed technical and tactical training exercises and matches together. However, the CG followed the regular soccer physical conditioning program, which was replaced by a plyometric program for PG. Neither CG nor PG performed weight training. Plyometric training took place 3 days a week for 12 weeks including jumps over hurdles, drop jumps (DJ) in stands, or horizontal jumps. Body mass, body composition, countermovement jump height, DJ height, and kicking speed were measured on 4 separate occasions. The PG demonstrated significant increases (p < 0.05) in jumping ability after 6 weeks of training and in kicking speed after 12 weeks. There were no significant time x group interaction effects for body composition. It could be concluded that a 12-week plyometric program can improve explosive strength in female soccer players and that these improvements can be transferred to soccer kick performance in terms of ball speed. However, players need time to transfer these improvements in strength to the specific task. Regular soccer training can maintain the improvements from a plyometric training program for several weeks.

Efficacy of a nanocochleate-encapsulated 3,5-diaryl-s-triazole derivative in a murine model of graft-versus-host disease.

We have previously demonstrated that the compound 3-(2-ethylphenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole exerts immunosuppressive effects in several experimental models of autoimmunity. These results were achieved by subcutaneously administering ST1959 after dissolution in an oily vehicle, because of its poor water solubility. To circumvent this problem, we sought to determine whether nanocochleate technology could be successfully exploited to deliver ST1959 and protect mice undergoing lethal acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Orally-administered encochleated ST1959 significantly protected animals from lethality, resulting in survival rates of 57% and 100% at doses of 2 and 10 mg/kg, respectively, whereas oral administration of 2 mg/kg ST1959, mixed with empty nanocochleates, was completely inactive. Increased survival was associated with diminished serum chemokine levels and donor CD8+ T cells in the spleen of ST1959-treated mice. Moreover, ST1959 treatment significantly counteracted GVHD-induced normocitic anemia by increasing hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet, and red and white blood cell counts. Overall, these data show that orally-administered encochleated ST1959 significantly protects mice from GVHD.

Pivotal Advance: Inhibition of MyD88 dimerization and recruitment of IRAK1 and IRAK4 by a novel peptidomimetic compound.

MyD88 is an adaptor protein, which plays an essential role in the intracellular signaling elicited by IL-1R and several TLRs. Central to its function is the ability of its Toll/IL-1R translation initiation region (TIR) domain to heterodimerize with the receptor and to homodimerize with another MyD88 molecule to favor the recruitment of downstream signaling molecules such as the serine/threonine kinases IL-1R-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) and IRAK4. Herein, we have synthesized and tested the activity of a synthetic peptido-mimetic compound (ST2825) modeled after the structure of a heptapeptide in the BB-loop of the MyD88-TIR domain, which interferes with MyD88 signaling. ST2825 inhibited MyD88 dimerization in coimmunoprecipitation experiments. This effect was specific for homodimerization of the TIR domains and did not affect homodimerization of the death domains. Moreover, ST2825 interfered with recruitment of IRAK1 and IRAK4 by MyD88, causing inhibition of IL-1beta-mediated activation of NF-kappaB transcriptional activity. After oral administration, ST2825 dose-dependently inhibited IL-1beta-induced production of IL-6 in treated mice. Finally, we observed that ST2825 suppressed B cell proliferation and differentiation into plasma cells in response to CpG-induced activation of TLR9, a receptor that requires MyD88 for intracellular signaling. Our results indicate that ST2825 blocks IL-1R/TLR signaling by interfering with MyD88 homodimerization and suggest that it may have therapeutic potential in treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Low and high tenascin-expressing tumors are efficiently targeted by ST2146 monoclonal antibody.

ST2146biot is a biotinylated anti-tenascin monoclonal antibody (mAb) to be used for Pretargeted Antibody Guided Radioimmunotherapy (PAGRIT) of solid tumors. In vivo biodistribution studies of (125)I-labeled ST2146biot were done in nude mice transplanted with human HT-29 colon carcinoma and/or human U-118MG glioblastoma cells characterized for low and high tenascin expression, respectively. In vitro results show that ST2146 retains immunoreactivity upon biotinylation, in contrast to other anti-tenascin mAbs. In vivo biodistribution of ST2146 shows specific tumor accumulation up to 10 days after the i.v. injection, with no relevant differences between biotinylated and nonbiotinylated ST2146. A dose of 4 microg/mouse saturates the low tenascin-expressing human colon carcinoma HT-29, whereas the high tenascin-expressing human glioblastoma U-118MG seems to be saturated at a ST2146biot dose between 320 and 640 microg/mouse. The percentage of injected dose per gram of tumor ranges from 10% to 30%, corresponding to an amount of ST2146biot/g of tumor of approximately 400 ng/g and >200 microg/g for HT-29 and U-118MG, respectively. Tumor to normal organs uptake ratios are between 15 and 60, confirming high tumor selectivity of ST2146biot despite its cross-reactivity with the tenascin expressed at low level in the normal mouse organs. The ST2146biot localization data are substantially confirmed even when both low and high tenascin-expressing tumors are implanted in the same animal. To our knowledge, the absolute amount of ST2146biot, specifically localized in xenotransplanted human tumors, is the highest thus far described and supports the clinical use of this mAb in PAGRIT(R).

Dissecting drug and vehicle metabolic effects in rats by a metabonomic approach.

A combined application of high resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical techniques focused on establishing a consistent statistical approach to metabonomic studies was tested. The data reduction, which is preliminary to the application of multivariate analysis to NMR spectra, was carried out by means of two complementary methods: pure Pattern Recognition (PR) and Assigned Signal Analysis (ASA). The simultaneous use of both approaches allowed us to obtain additional information in the analysis of metabonomic data, compared to the use of PR alone. This additional information consists in the possibility of a biochemical interpretation of the effects induced by treatment with xenobiotics, such as drugs or drug vehicles, on the metabolic networks of the systems under investigation. This approach allowed us to ascertain that a single-dose treatment with ST1959 vehicled by Sesame oil affects the production of hepatic glucose associated to an increment of the amino acid ketogenic process.

In vivo and in vitro cytokine modulatory activity of newly synthesised 2-aminotetraline derivatives.

In the present study, the protective effect of newly synthesised 2-aminotetralines was investigated in murine models of toxic shock. A few derivatives protected mice against lethality induced by lipopolysaccharide from different bacterial strains and shock induced by staphylococcal enterotoxin B in mice sensitized by D-Galactosamine (D-Galn). Notably, one derivative, S(-)-2-amino-6-fluoro-7-methoxy-1,2,3,4 tetrahydronaphthalene hydrochloride (ST1214), was also effective when administered orally (30 mg kg-1) in a therapeutic regimen. ST1214 markedly inhibited the production of the proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), Interleukin-12 (IL-12), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), as well as the inflammatory mediator nitric oxide (NO), and concurrently enhanced the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Moreover, ST1214 dose-dependently reduced TNF-alpha production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and promonocytic THP-1 cells in vitro. In the latter, ST1214 was found to inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha secretion but not cytokine mRNA accumulation. These results suggest that the mechanism of action of ST1214 involves blockade of posttranscriptional events of TNF-alpha production, apparently independent of p38 and ERK kinase activity. These results show beneficial effects of 2-aminotetralines in murine shock models and indicate a distinct counter-regulatory activity in down-regulating proinflammatory cytokine response, and upregulating IL-10. One derivative, i.e., ST1214, can be regarded as a lead compound in the development of novel drugs effective in anti-inflammatory strategies.

Tumor de células granulares de la vulva: caso clínico / Granular cell tumor of the vulva: a clinical case

El tumor de células granulares es una neoplasia de la piel y los tejidos blandos muy poco frecuente, benigna y de crecimiento lento, pero con altas tasa de recurrencia. La localización más frecuente en el aparato genital es en la vulva. Se debe realizar diagnóstico diferencial con otras lesiones vulvares, debido al manejo distinto de esta tumoración. El diagnóstico generalmente es histológico, ya que clínicamente es muy difícil diferenciarlo de otras tumoraciones a nivel vulvar. El tratamiento recomendado es la exéresis quirúrgica, con márgenes de seguridad. En caso de bordes afectos, se recomienda realizar una reescisión, por la frecuencia de recurrencia local y porque ésta puede ser el primer indicador de una conducta agresiva. Presentamos un caso clínico a nivel vulvar, con el objetivo de destacar la importancia de realizar un diagnóstico correcto, para un buen manejo clínico y seguimiento. Las formas malignas suponen menos del 3% de estos tumores y son muy agresivas

The granular cell tumor is a neoplasm of the skin and soft tissue very rare, benign and slow growing, but with high recurrence rate. The most frequent location in the genital tract is in the vulva. Differential diagnosis should be made with other vulvar lesions, due to differences in the management of this tumor. The diagnosis is usually histological, since it is clinically difficult to differentiate it from other tumors at the vulvar level. The recommended treatment is surgical excision, with safety margins. In case of affected borders, it is recommended to perform a resection, due to the local recurrence and this may be the first indicator of aggressive behavior. We present a clinical case at the vulvar level, in order to emphasize the importance of making a correct diagnosis, for a good clinical management and follow-up. Malignant forms account for less than 3% of these tumors and are very aggressive.

Comparative activity of Sant7 and anti-IL-6, IL-6R monoclonal antibodies in a murine model of B-cell lymphoma.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases as well as B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. This work describes the effects of the recombinant or adenovirally-delivered IL-6 superantagonist Sant7, anti-IL-6 and IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies in a severe murine model of human B-cell lymphoma induced in SCID mice by transplantation of an LCL-41 cell line variant (isotype-switched IgM>IgG). Survival of 60% of the animals treated with anti-gp130 was observed up to day 33, while about 20% of the animals survived with anti-gp80 and Sant7 treatment. No survival was observed with the anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody treatment. No significant change in serum and peritoneal levels of human IL-6 (hIL-6) and soluble human IL-6 receptor (shIL-6R) was observed in the recombinant Sant7-treated group towards the control group. The anti-gp80 monoclonal antibody induced significant increase of both hIL-6R and hIL-6 in serum and peritoneum. The anti-gp130 monoclonal antibody treatment determined a reduction of the seric shIL-6R and a significant increase of the seric hIL-6. Anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody administration resulted in a reduction of serum and in an increase of peritoneal hIL-6. Treatment with adenoviral Sant7 was associated with a reduction of circulating shIL-6R, hIgG and mSAP. However, only marginal anti-tumor efficacy of the adenoviral Sant7 was observed. Overall, the present data suggest a potential for anti-hIL-6 therapy in B-cell lymphomas. Less severe animal models might be useful to better evaluate Sant7 efficacy alone or in combination with other anti-IL-6 therapeutics.