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Toxicol Sci. 2002 Sep;69(1):92-108.
Evaluation of a 15-day screening assay using intact male rats for identifying antiandrogens.
O'Connor JC, Frame SR, Ladics GS.
DuPont Haskell Laboratory for Health and Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 50, Newark, Delaware 19714, USA. john.c.oconnosa.dupont.com
An in vivo screening assay using intact adult male rats has been evaluated for its ability to detect six antiandrogenic compounds via oral administration. The test compounds included cyproterone acetate (CPA), flutamide (FLUT), p,p'-DDE (DDE), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), linuron (LIN), and vinclozolin (VCZ). Two of the test compounds (DDE and FLUT) have been previously evaluated in the 15-day intact male assay with compound administration via intraperitoneal injection (ip). For the current studies, male rats were dosed for 15 days via oral gavage and euthanized on the morning of test day 15. The endpoints evaluated included final body and organ weights (liver, thyroid gland, testes, epididymides, prostate, seminal vesicles with fluid, accessory sex gland unit [ASG]), serum hormone concentrations (testosterone [T], estradiol [E2], dihydrotestosterone [DHT], luteinizing hormone [LH], follicle stimulating hormone [FSH], prolactin [PRL], T(3), T(4), and thyroid stimulating hormone[TSH]), and histopathology of the testis, epididymis, and thyroid gland; positive results for each endpoint are described below. In addition, an evaluation of immune system endpoints (humoral immune function, spleen and thymus weights, and spleen cell number) was conducted on a subset of animals dosed with either DDE or FLUT. All six endocrine-active compounds (EACs) increased relative liver weight. FLUT and VCZ caused the typical pattern for an androgen receptor (AR) antagonist, although not all endpoints were statistically significant for VCZ: decreased ASG weights, hormonal alterations (increased T, DHT, LH, and FSH), and induced Leydig cell hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia. CPA caused effects consistent with its mixed AR antagonist/progesterone receptor agonist activity: it decreased ASG weights, caused hormonal alterations (increased T and E2; decreased FSH), and caused spermatid retention. DBP, a compound with antiandrogen-like activity via a nonreceptor mediated mechanism, caused hormonal alterations (decreased T, DHT, and E2; increased LH, FSH, and PRL) and induced general testicular degeneration. LIN, a weak AR antagonist, decreased ASG weights, caused hormonal alterations (decreased T, DHT, and LH; increased E2), and caused spermatid retention. Unlike the other AR antagonists evaluated, DDE, a weak AR antagonist, did not alter reproductive parameters. All six antiandrogens caused some effects on thyroid parameters, although only CPA, DDE, and VCZ caused results consistent with a potential thyroid-modulator. FLUT and DDE did not alter the primary humoral immune response to SRBC, spleen or thymus weights, or spleen cell number. In the current study, 5 of the six test substances were identified as endocrine-active substances consistent with their known/proposed mechanism(s) of action. The effects that were observed in the current study via oral (gavage) compound administration were similar to the responses that were observed by the ip route in previous studies for DDE and FLUT. This report, in addition to the > 20 compounds that have already been examined using the 15-day intact male assay, supports this assay as a viable screening assay for detecting EACs, and also illustrates that the ability to identify EACs using the intact male assay will be equivalent regardless of the route of compound administration.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12215663&dopt=Abstract
Peptides. 2002 Sep;23(9):1607-15.
Cloning and characterization of murine neuromedin U receptors.
Funes S, Hedrick JA, Yang S, Shan L, Bayne M, Monsma FJ Jr, Gustafson EL.
Human Genome Research, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Kenilworth, NJ 07033, USA. sandrine.fumepcorp.com
Neuromedin U (NmU) is a neuropeptide involved in various physiological functions such as feeding behavior, muscle contractile activity, and regulation of intestinal ion transport. Recently, two human G protein-coupled receptors have been identified as NmU-specific receptors, NmU-R1 and NmU-R2, which share 55% amino acid identity. It is unclear however, which of the two receptors mediates responses to NmU observed in rodent models. Attempts to define the pharmacological profile of the two receptors are confounded by overlapping expression of the two receptors and a lack of subtype-selective compounds. In order to establish a basis to further our understanding of the function of these receptors, we cloned and characterized the mouse homologues of the two human NmU receptors. Mouse NmU-R1 and mouse NmU-R2 are 79 and 81% identical to their respective human homologues. Expression of NmU-R1 was mainly observed in testis, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and immune system, while NmU-R2 was primarily expressed in brain tissues. Each mouse receptor was independently expressed in HEK293 cells and demonstrated a dose-dependent calcium flux in response to NmU-8, NmU-23 and NmU-25. In an attempt to identify a synthetic NmU peptide that would exhibit selectivity at one of the two receptors, we examined the functional activity of eight alanine-substituted NmU-8 peptides. These experiments demonstrated that alanine substitution at positions 5 and 7 affects the functional activity of the peptide at both receptors. The arginine residue at position 7 is required for NmU-8 activity at either receptor while alanine substitution at position 5 selectively affects the potency and the efficacy at mNmU-R1. These experiments validate the use of rodent models to characterize NmU function relative to humans and suggest that substitution at Arginine-5 of NmU-8 may provide a receptor selective peptide.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12217421&dopt=Abstract
Haematologica. 2002 Sep;87(9):989-1001.
Idiotypic vaccination for B-cell malignancies as a model for therapeutic cancer vaccines: from prototype protein to second generation vaccines.
Ruffini PA, Neelapu SS, Kwak LW, Biragyn A.
Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cancer vaccines are aimed at inducing tumor-specific immunity by immunizing patients with tumor cells or their antigenic components, known as tumor-associated antigens (TAA). Antigens which are either mutated or selectively or abundantly expressed in malignant, but not in normal, cells are considered as TAA. Each patient's B-cell malignancy is usually derived from a single expanded B-cell clone, which expresses an immunoglobulin (Ig) with a unique idiotype (Id, variable regions of Ig). Therefore, Id can be regarded as a TAA and a potential target in clinical vaccination approaches. Although use of tumor-derived Id as an immunogen to elicit antitumor immunity against B-cell malignancies is an attractive idea, the broader use of idiotypic vaccines has been hampered by the fact that autologous Id is not only a weakly immunogenic, self antigen, but is also patient-specific so that the vaccine must be individually prepared for each patient. In this review we will first summarize the latest data from the clinical tests of experimental idiotypic vaccines and discuss issues relevant to the clinical application of cancer vaccines in general; we will then critically review new trends and achievements in the development of the second generation vaccine formulations. EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION SOURCES: The authors of the present review are currently working in the field of B-cell tumor immunotherapy and have contributed original papers to peer-reviewed journals. The material analyzed in the present review includes articles and abstracts published in journals covered by the Science Citation Index and Medline. STATE OF ART: The results from a number of experimental models and clinical trials have demonstrated that vaccination with tumor-derived Id can induce immune responses directed against the tumor. Idiotypic vaccines can be divided into two types, although both are at the experimental stage: traditional and second generation, based on the methods of production and vaccine delivery. Second generation vaccines utilizing genetically engineered protein and DNA formulations have, for the first time, opened up the possibility of streamlining production of simpler and effective custom-made idiotypic vaccines. The use of various adjuvants and exogenous carriers is being replaced by more potent genetic carriers which target Id and various co-stimulatory molecules to professional antigen presenting cells (APC), particularly dendritic cells (DC). PERSPECTIVES: Id is the only widely accepted tumor marker and is a promising therapeutic target for immunotherapy of B-cell malignancies. It has been unequivocally established that Id vaccination of patients with follicular lymphoma administered when patients have minimal residual disease, has antitumor effect and potential to improve the clinical outcome. Consequently, the applicability of Id vaccines for other B-cell malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma needs to be tested. Idiotypic vaccines should be tailored to target preferentially various subsets of immune cells, such as DCs, which would up take and properly process and present Id, activating both arms of the immune system, humoral and cellular. Moreover, the vaccine should induce the production of a milieu of inflammatory cytokines and lymphokines at the delivery site to elicit a T helper type 1 (Th1) immune response. Components of the inflammatory response can be used to target DCs in vivo, activating the so-called danger signal for circumventing the poor immunogenicity of self-tumor antigens. For example, chemotactic factors of innate immunity are able to deliver Id to APC and render this otherwise non-immunogenic antigen immunogenic. The strategies developed for Id vaccines can be used as a general strategy for eliciting T-cell immunity to other weakly immunogenic, clinically relevant self-tumor antigens.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12217812&dopt=Abstract [PubMed - in process]
Nat Immunol. 2003 Jan;4(1):55-62. Epub 2002 Dec 09.
TCRs with high affinity for foreign pMHC show self-reactivity.
Holler PD, Chlewicki LK, Kranz DM.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
T cells with high-affinity T cell receptors (TCRs) for a foreign peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) appear to be negatively selected, even though they have never seen the foreign antigen. To examine how this process operates, we used in vitro yeast display to isolate high-affinity TCRs from the T cell clone 2C. The TCRs showed fast on-rates, which were consistent with reduced CDR (complementarity determining region) flexibility, and cross-reactivity with other cognate pMHCs. T cell hybridomas transfected with a high-affinity TCR were stimulated by endogenous self-pMHC, which suggested that T cells bearing the TCR would be negatively selected. The immune system appears to maintain a repertoire of flexible, low-affinity TCRs at the expense of more effective high-affinity TCRs.
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12469116&dopt=Abstract
Bioinformatics. 2002 Sep;18(9):1227-35.
Optimal enhancement of immune response.
Stengel RF, Ghigliazza RM, Kulkarni NV.
School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. stengerinceton.edu
MOTIVATION: Therapeutic enhancement of innate immune response to microbial attack is addressed as the optimal control of a dynamic system. Interactions between an invading pathogen and the innate immune system are characterized by four non-linear, ordinary differential equations that describe rates of change of pathogen, plasma cell, and antibody concentrations, and of an indicator of organic health. Without therapy, the dynamic model evidences sub-clinical or clinical decay, chronic stabilization, or unrestrained lethal growth of the pathogen; the response pattern depends on the initial concentration of pathogens in the simulated attack. In the model, immune response can be augmented by therapeutic agents that kill the pathogen directly, that stimulate the production of plasma cells or antibodies, or that enhance organ health. A previous paper demonstrated open-loop optimal control solutions that defeat the pathogen and preserve organ health, given initial conditions that otherwise would be lethal (Stengel et al. (2002)). Therapies based on separate and combined application of the agents were derived by minimizing a quadratic cost function that weighted both system response and control usage, providing implicit control over harmful side effects. RESULTS: We demonstrate the ability of neighboring-optimal feedback control to account for a range of unknown initial conditions and persistent input of pathogens by adjusting the therapy to account for perturbations from the nominal-optimal response history. We examine therapies that combine open-loop control of one agent with closed-loop control of another. We show that optimal control theory points the way toward new protocols for treatment and cure of human diseases. CONTACT: stengerinceton.edu; rghiglirinceton.edu; nkulkarrinceton.edu
online pharmacy ref. source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12217914&dopt=Abstract
Like developmental biology of any part of our body, hair growth is a complicated process. Hence the homework for
modern science to yet unravel the process and mechanism to a completion. There exist a number of traditional and alternative therapeutic methods that include drugs, surgery, suppelements, and even snake oils that have been developed and used for those who lose hair.
No understanding, and there is no solution. Of course, none of these approaches are perfect for all hair loss problems, especially due to the heterogeneity of the causes underlying hair losses. Most of chemical drugs and hair transplantation surgeries are accompanied by undesirable side effects.
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