技术资料

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Campath-1H is used in conditioning regimens and more recently as an anti-leukemic therapy in acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL). We therefore investigated CD52 expression and campath-1H-mediated lysis of ALL cells in vitro. DESIGN AND METHODS: Complement-mediated cytotoxicity assays were performed on freshly isolated neoplastic cells and cell lines using human serum. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) was performed by calcein-AM release assays. RESULTS: CD52 was expressed in four out of eight ALL cell lines studied. Among 61 freshly isolated ALL samples CD52 was expressed at varying levels in 87% of cases. Whereas ADCC was equivalent in different CD52+ lines,complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) was variable. The REH cell line bearing the t(12;21) translocation showed 47-60% lysis when treated with 10 microg/mL campath-1H compared to 0-6% for the other cell lines expressing equivalent amounts of CD52. Furthermore all nine ALL samples with t(12;21) showed very high CDC (mean 97%) compared to the other 24 CD52+cases (mean 24%)(ptextless0.0001). In t(12;21) samples,efficient CDC was obtained with as little as 1 microg/mL campath-1H. CDC correlated in part with CD52 levels,suggesting that CD52 expression and other yet undefined factors contribute to the particular sensitivity of t(12;21) cells. The resistance of non t(12;21) ALL cases could be overcome to a limited extent by increasing the concentration of campath-1H,blocking the CD55 and CD59 complement inhibitors,and more effectively by combining campath-1H with fludarabine. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that most ALL samples express CD52 to a variable level and that campath-1H has cytotoxic activity against CD52+ALL,alone or in combination with cytotoxic drugs. View Publication

The ability of acute myeloid leukemic (AML) blasts to differentiate into leukemic dendritic cells (DC) thus acquiring the potential to present known and unknown leukemic antigens efficiently,holds promise as a possible new treatment for AML patients with minimal residual disease. Recent advances in culture methods have made the clinical use of leukemic DC feasible. However,additional measures appear to be essential in order to potentiate vaccines and to overcome the intrinsic tolerant state of the patients immune system. This review describes ways to improve AML-DC vaccines and discusses critical aspects concerning the development of clinical vaccination protocols. View Publication

Novel dihydropyrrolopyrazole-substituted benzimidazoles were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as inhibitors of transforming growth factor-beta type I receptor (TGF-beta RI),TGF-beta RII,and mixed lineage kinase-7 (MLK-7). These compounds were found to be potent TGF-beta RI inhibitors and selective versus TGF-beta RII and MLK-7 kinases. Benzimidazole derivative 8b was active in an in vivo target (TGF-beta RI) inhibition assay. View Publication

The cellular reservoir for Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infection in the hematopoietic compartment and mechanisms governing latent infection and reactivation remain undefined. To determine susceptibility of human CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) to infection with KSHV,purified HPCs were exposed to KSHV,and cells were differentiated in vitro and in vivo. Clonogenic colony-forming activity was significantly suppressed in KSHV-infected CD34+ cells,and viral DNA was predominantly localized to granulocyte-macrophage colonies differentiated in vitro. rKSHV.219 is a recombinant KSHV construct that expresses green fluorescent protein from a cellular promoter active during latency and red fluorescent protein from a viral lytic promoter. Infection of CD34+ HPCs with rKSHV.219 showed similar patterns of infection,persistence,and hematopoietic suppression in vitro in comparison with KSHV. rKSHV.219 infection was detected in human CD14+ and CD19+ cells recovered from NOD/SCID mouse bone marrow and spleen following reconstitution with rKSHV.219-infected CD34+ HPCs. These results suggest that rKSHV.219 establishes persistent infection in NOD/SCID mice and that virus may be disseminated following differentiation of infected HPCs into the B-cell and monocyte lineages. CD34+ HPCs may be a reservoir for KSHV infection and may provide a continuous source of virally infected cells in vivo. View Publication

In a murine model of autoimmunity targeted against the epidermal cell Ags,Skn,adoptive transfer of Skn-immune T cells to immunosuppressed recipients elicits skin lesions in areas of mild epidermal trauma. In this study,we examined peripheral regulation of Skn-induced autoreactivity disrupted by rendering the mice immunoincompetent. We found that regulation of Skn-directed autoimmunity was restored by cotransfer of normal syngeneic spleen cells at twice the concentration of Skn-immune cells and was evidenced by significantly reduced lesion severity by days 5-7 post-cotransfer compared with animals given injections of Skn-immune cells alone. Enrichment and depletion of normal CD4(+) or CD8(+) spleen cells and RT-PCR analysis of selected cytokines identified CD4(+) cells as the regulatory cells in the cotransfer inoculum; however,significant reduction in lesion severity was observed only when there was a concomitant increase in levels of IL-7. The role of IL-7 was further supported in that mice cotransferred with Skn-immune cells plus normal spleen cells,but also treated with anti-IL-7 Ab,no longer exhibited reduced lesion severity. To determine whether IL-7 expression without normal spleen cell cotransfer could modulate lesion development,an IL-7-encoding plasmid (pCMV-Tag1-IL-7) was topically delivered to sites flanking the stressed skin site in Skn-induced autoimmune mice. Daily application of 15 mug of pCMV-Tag1-IL-7 significantly suppressed lesion severity. Our results support a mechanism for CD4(+) T cells and IL-7 in contributing to the control of autoreactivity. View Publication

The 2 most frequent human MLL hematopoietic malignancies involve either AF4 or AF9 as fusion partners; each has distinct biology but the role of the fusion partner is not clear. We produced Mll-AF4 knock-in (KI) mice by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells and compared them with Mll-AF9 KI mice. Young Mll-AF4 mice had lymphoid and myeloid deregulation manifest by increased lymphoid and myeloid cells in hematopoietic organs. In vitro,bone marrow cells from young mice formed unique mixed pro-B lymphoid (B220(+)CD19(+)CD43(+)sIgM(-),PAX5(+),TdT(+),IgH rearranged)/myeloid (CD11b/Mac1(+),c-fms(+),lysozyme(+)) colonies when grown in IL-7- and Flt3 ligand-containing media. Mixed lymphoid/myeloid hyperplasia and hematologic malignancies (most frequently B-cell lymphomas) developed in Mll-AF4 mice after prolonged latency; long latency to malignancy indicates that Mll-AF4-induced lymphoid/myeloid deregulation alone is insufficient to produce malignancy. In contrast,young Mll-AF9 mice had predominately myeloid deregulation in vivo and in vitro and developed myeloid malignancies. The early onset of distinct mixed lymphoid/myeloid lineage deregulation in Mll-AF4 mice shows evidence for both instructive" and "noninstructive" roles for AF4 and AF9 as partners in MLL fusion genes. The molecular basis for "instruction" and secondary cooperating mutations can now be studied in our Mll-AF4 model." View Publication

OBJECTIVE: Identification of a clinical grade method for the ex vivo generation of donor-derived T cells cytotoxic against both myeloid and lymphoblastic cells still remains elusive. We investigated rapid generation and expansion of donor derived-allogeneic T-cell lines cytotoxic against patient leukemic cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) blasts were cultured 5 days in Stem Span,granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor,interleukin-4,and calcium ionophore. All B-precursor ALL (N22) and AML (N13),but not T-cell ALL (N3),differentiated into mature leukemia-derived antigen-presenting cells (LD-APC). All but one LD-APC generated cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) from adult human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical (N8) or unrelated donors (N2). RESULTS: Upon in vitro culture,donor-derived CTL acquired a memory T phenotype,showing concomitant high CD45RA,CD45RO,CD62L expression. CD8(+) cells,but not CD4(+) cells,were granzyme,perforine,and interferon-gamma-positive. Pooled CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were cytotoxic against leukemic blasts (32%,30:1 E:T ratio),but not against autologous or patient-derived phytohemagglutinin blasts. LD-APC from five ALL patients were used to generate CTL from cord blood. A mixed population of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells was documented in 54% of wells. T cells acquired classical effector memory phenotype and showed a higher cytotoxicity against leukemia blasts (47%,1:1 E:T ratio). Adult and cord blood CTL showed a skewing from a complete T-cell receptor repertoire to an oligo-clonal/clonal pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of these cells should allow clinical trials for salvage treatment of leukemia patients relapsing after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. View Publication

The infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL),a rare (one in 100 000 births) but one of the most lethal inherited neurodegenerative storage disorders of childhood,is caused by inactivating mutations in the palmitoyl-protein thioesterase-1 (PPT1) gene. PPT1 cleaves thioester linkages in s-acylated (palmitoylated) proteins and facilitates their degradation and/or recycling. Thus,PPT1-deficiency leads to an abnormal intracellular accumulation of s-acylated proteins causing INCL pathogenesis. Although neuronal apoptosis is the suggested cause of neurodegeneration in this disease,the molecular mechanism(s) remains poorly understood. We recently reported that one of the major pathways of neuronal apoptosis in PPT1-knockout (PPT1-KO) mice that mimic INCL,is mediated by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced caspase-12 activation. ER stress also increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS),disrupts Ca(2+) homeostasis and increases the potential for destabilizing mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondrial membrane destabilization activates caspase-9 present in this organelle,and can mediate apoptosis. We report here that the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD),most likely induced by ROS,in human INCL as well as PPT1-KO mouse brain tissues are markedly elevated. Moreover,we demonstrate that activated caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP,indicative of apoptosis,are also increased in these tissues. Using cultured neurospheres from PPT1-KO and wild-type mouse fetuses,we further demonstrate that the levels of ROS,SOD-2,cleaved-caspase-9,activated caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP are elevated. We propose that: (i) ER stress due to PPT1-deficiency increases ROS and disrupts calcium homeostasis activating caspase-9 and (ii) caspase-9 activation mediates caspase-3 activation and apoptosis contributing to rapid neurodegeneration in INCL. View Publication

Phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) and Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) signaling are aberrantly activated in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells. Constitutively activated AKT and FLT3 regulate leukemia cell survival and resistance to chemotherapy. In this study,we investigated the effects of the novel multiple kinase inhibitor KP372-1 on the survival of AML cell lines and primary AML samples. KP372-1 directly inhibited the kinase activity of AKT,PDK1,and FLT3 in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot analysis indicated that KP372-1 decreased the phosphorylation of AKT on both Ser(473) and Thr(308); abrogated the phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase,BAD,and Foxo3a via PI3K/AKT signaling; and down-regulated expression of PIM-1 through direct inhibition of FLT3. Treatment of AML cell lines with KP372-1 resulted in rapid generation of reactive oxygen species and stimulation of oxygen consumption,followed by mitochondrial depolarization,caspase activation,and phosphatidylserine externalization. KP372-1 induced pronounced apoptosis in AML cell lines and primary samples irrespective of their FLT3 status,but not in normal CD34(+) cells. Moreover,KP372-1 markedly decreased the colony-forming ability of primary AML samples (IC(50) textless 200 nmol/L) with minimal cytotoxic effects on normal progenitor cells. Taken together,our results show that the simultaneous inhibition of critical prosurvival kinases by KP372-1 leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis of AML but not normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. View Publication

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) is receiving increasing attention as a potential therapy for prevention of injury and restoration of function in nonhematopoietic tissues. However,the minimum effective dose required to mimic and augment these normal paracrine functions of erythropoietin (EPO) in some organs (e.g.,the brain) is higher than for treatment of anemia. Notably,a dose-dependent risk of adverse effects has been associated with rhEPO administration,especially in high-risk groups,including polycythemia-hyperviscosity syndrome,hypertension,and vascular thrombosis. Of note,several clinical trials employing relatively high dosages of rhEPO in oncology patients were recently halted after an increase in mortality and morbidity,primarily because of thrombotic events. We recently identified a heteromeric EPO receptor complex that mediates tissue protection and is distinct from the homodimeric receptor responsible for the support of erythropoiesis. Moreover,we developed receptor-selective ligands that provide tools to assess which receptor isoform mediates which biological consequence of rhEPO therapy. Here,we demonstrate that rhEPO administration in the rat increases systemic blood pressure,reduces regional renal blood flow,and increases platelet counts and procoagulant activities. In contrast,carbamylated rhEPO,a heteromeric receptor-specific ligand that is fully tissue protective,increases renal blood flow,promotes sodium excretion,reduces injury-induced elevation in procoagulant activity,and does not effect platelet production. These preclinical findings suggest that nonerythropoietic tissue-protective ligands,which appear to elicit fewer adverse effects,may be especially useful in clinical settings for tissue protection. View Publication