The Tol2 transposon system mediates the genetic engineering of T-cells with CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptors for B-cell malignancies

Engineered T-cell therapy using a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CD19-CAR) is a promising strategy for the treatment of advanced B-cell malignancies. Gene transfer of CARs to T-cells has widely relied on retroviral vectors, but transposon-based gene transfer has recently emerged as a suitable nonviral method to mediate stable transgene expression. The advantages of transposon vectors compared with viral vectors include their simplicity and cost-effectiveness. We used the Tol2 transposon system to stably transfer CD19-CAR into human T-cells. Normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes were co-nucleofected with the Tol2 transposon donor plasmid carrying CD19-CAR and the transposase expression plasmid and were selectively propagated on NIH3T3 cells expressing human CD19. Expanded CD3(+) T-cells with stable and high-level transgene expression (~95%) produced interferon-γ upon stimulation with CD19 and specifically lysed Raji cells, a CD19(+) human B-cell lymphoma cell line. Adoptive transfer of these T-cells suppressed tumor progression in Raji tumor-bearing Rag2(-/-)γc(-/-) immunodeficient mice compared with control mice. These results demonstrate that the Tol2 transposon system could be used to express CD19-CAR in genetically engineered T-cells for the treatment of refractory B-cell malignancies.

Strong-interaction shifts and widths of kaonic helium isotopes

The kaonic ³He and ⁴He [Formula: see text] transitions in gaseous targets were observed by the SIDDHARTA experiment. The X-ray energies of these transitions were measured with large-area silicon-drift detectors using the timing information of the [Formula: see text] pairs produced by the DAΦNE [Formula: see text] collider. The strong-interaction shifts and widths both of the kaonic ³He and ⁴He 2p states were determined, which are much smaller than the results obtained by the previous experiments. The "kaonic helium puzzle" (a discrepancy between theory and experiment) was now resolved.

Serum albumin levels and 10-year tooth loss in a 70-year-old population

Serum albumin levels are a practical marker of general health status in the elderly and have been used to determine the severity of underlying diseases and the risk for death. This longitudinal study evaluated the relationship between serum albumin concentrations and tooth loss over 10 years in elderly subjects, after controlling for confounding factors. A sample of 554 dentate subjects among enrolled subjects (n = 600) was involved in this planned longitudinal study with follow-up examinations after 5 and 10 years. At the 5-year follow-up, 373 (67·3%), subjects were available for re-examination. In addition, 331 (59·7%) were available at the 10-year follow-up. Multiple Poisson regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the number of missing teeth over 5 or 10 years and serum albumin levels at baseline after adjusting for 10 variables: gender, serum markers levels at baseline, dental status, smoking habits and educational years and oral health behaviour. The number of missing teeth over 5 or 10 years was significantly negatively associated with serum albumin levels at baseline [incidence rate ratios (IRR) = 0·373, P < 0·0001 for 5 years; IRR = 0·570, P < 0·0001 for 10 years]. We conclude that elderly subjects with hypoalbuminemia are at high risk for 5- and 10-year tooth loss.

Preliminary study of kaonic deuterium X-rays by the SIDDHARTA experiment at DAΦNE

The study of the [Formula: see text] system at very low energies plays a key role for the understanding of the strong interaction between hadrons in the strangeness sector. At the DAΦNE electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati we studied kaonic atoms with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], taking advantage of the low-energy charged kaons from Φ-mesons decaying nearly at rest. The SIDDHARTA experiment used X-ray spectroscopy of the kaonic atoms to determine the transition yields and the strong interaction induced shift and width of the lowest experimentally accessible level (1s for H and D and 2p for He). Shift and width are connected to the real and imaginary part of the scattering length. To disentangle the isospin dependent scattering lengths of the antikaon-nucleon interaction, measurements of [Formula: see text] and of [Formula: see text] are needed. We report here on an exploratory deuterium measurement, from which a limit for the yield of the K-series transitions was derived: [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] (CL 90%). Also, the upcoming SIDDHARTA-2 kaonic deuterium experiment is introduced.

Racially restricted contribution of immunoglobulin Fcγ and Fcγ receptor genotypes to humoral immunity to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 in breast cancer

Tumour-associated antigen human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is over-expressed in 25-30% of breast cancer patients and is associated with poor prognosis. Naturally occurring anti-HER2 antibody responses have been described in patients with HER2 over-expressing tumours. There is significant interindividual variability in antibody responsiveness, but the host genetic factors responsible for this variability are poorly understood. The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether immunoglobulin genetic markers [GM (genetic determinants of γ chains)] and Fcγ receptor (FcγR) alleles contribute to the magnitude of natural antibody responsiveness to HER2 in patients with breast cancer. A total of 855 breast cancer patients from Japan and Brazil were genotyped for several GM and FcγR alleles. They were also characterized for immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies to HER2. In white subjects (n = 263), GM 23-carriers had higher levels of anti-HER2 antibodies than non-carriers of this allele (p = 0·004). At the GM 5/21 locus, the homozygotes for the GM 5 allele had higher levels of anti-HER2 antibodies than the other two genotypes (P = 0·0067). In black subjects (n = 42), FcγRIIa-histidine/histidine homozygotes and FcγRIIIa-phenylalanine/valine heterozygotes were associated with high antibody responses (P = 0·0071 and 0·0275, respectively). FcγR genotypes in white subjects and GM genotypes in black subjects were not associated with anti-HER2 antibody responses. No significant associations were found in other study groups. These racially restricted contributions of GM and FcγR genotypes to humoral immunity to HER2 have potential implications for immunotherapy of breast cancer.

Immune cell infiltration as an indicator of the immune microenvironment of pancreatic cancer

Background:

The host immune reaction is represented by immune/inflammatory cell infiltrates. Here we systematically analysed tumour-infiltrating immune/inflammatory cells in pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDC) and evaluated their clinicopathological impact.

Methods:

Using immunohistochemistry, we examined tumour-infiltrating CD68⁺ pan-macrophages, HLA-DR⁺CD68⁺ M1 macrophages (M1), CD163⁺ or CD204⁺ M2 macrophages (M2), CD66b⁺ neutrophils (Neu), CD4⁺ T cells (CD4⁺T), CD8⁺ T cells (CD8⁺T), and FOXP3⁺CD4⁺ regulatory T cells (Treg) in 212 cases of PDC, and conducted correlation and survival analyses using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model.

Results:

Higher levels of tumour-infiltrating pan-macrophages, M2, Neu, or the ratio of Tregs to CD4⁺T (%Treg) were significantly associated with shorter survival, whereas higher levels of tumour-infiltrating CD4⁺T, CD8⁺T, or the ratio of M1 to pan-macrophages (%M1) were significantly associated with longer survival. Survival analysis of pairs of these variables revealed that some of the resulting patient groups had exclusively longer survival. We then connected the apparently related factors, and two significant variables emerged: tumour-infiltrating CD4⁺T^high/CD8⁺T^high/%Treg^low and tumour-infiltrating %M1^high/M2^low. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that these variables were significantly correlated with longer survival and had a higher hazard ratio.

Conclusion:

Tumour-infiltrating CD4⁺T^high/CD8⁺T^high/%Treg^low and %M1^high/M2^low are independent prognosticators useful for evaluating the immune microenvironment of PDC.

Tracer experiment and RTD analysis of DAF separator with bar-type baffles

This paper describes the development of a new dissolved air flotation (DAF) separator with a flow streamlining baffle to improve solid separation efficiency. The analysis of the RTD (residence time distribution) curves indicated that the parameter θ(10) (dimensionless time at which 10% of tracer has discharged) increased from 0.38 for control reactor to 0.54 for the test reactor, suggesting significant reduction in short circuit flow. The RTD curves were also used to develop a compartment model for white water (rich in micro-bubbles and water flow is turbulent) and clear water (little or no air content and water flow is quiescent) zones in the reactor using a series of CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactors) and plug flow regime respectively. The proportion of the volume occupied by the white water zone was different in control and test configurations. In the test reactor, the fraction of the clear water zone was found to increase from 6 to 37%, resulting in improvement of the suspended solid (SS) removal efficiency from 97 to 99%.

Cancer incidence and novel therapies developed in Japan

According to the ministry of Health, Labour and welfare of Japan, Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Japan since 1981. ([1]) As per the data in 2010, in Japan, one in every three deaths was due to cancer. ([2]) The Japanese Government has introduced so far, three terms of 10 years strategies for Cancer control since 1984 till date. The budget allocated for cancer control in 2009 was 52.5 billion yen in Japan. ([3]) Lung is the leading site for cancer in both males and females in Japan. In males, following the lung, stomach, liver, colon and pancreas are other leading sites while in the females, stomach, colon, pancreas and breast are the other leading sites. ([1]) In 2006, the cancer incidence was 694,000 and the male cancer incidence was 1.4 times as large as that of females. The peak age for cancer deaths in males is their fifties while in the females it is the sixties among Japanese. In addition to the conventional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, some of other therapies in practice in Japan are the Hyperthermia ([4]) that uses high temperatures to kill or damage the cancer cells, the Ion Beam therapy using proton beams ([5]) to damage the DNA of the cells as cancer cells have high rate of cell divisions and lesser ability to repair DNA damage, the molecular targeted therapies that interfere with a specific molecular target involved in tumour growth and progression([6]) and most importantly the autologous cell based Immunotherapies. Modern Cancer Immunotherapy started in the 1970s in Japan. The immunopotentiators using compounds from Bacteria, Beta Glucans from fungi were the first forms of modern Immunotherapy. Then was the era of direct injection of cytokines such as Interleukins, Interferons etc. The adverse effects associated with the injection of cytokines led to development of cell based Immunotherapies in the 1980s. ([7]) Immuno-cell therapies involve isolation of immune cells which are then processed and re-injected into the body to exert their action against the cancer. There are different kinds of Immuno-cell therapies being practised in more than 25 private and public institutions in Japan using Natural Killer (NK) cells, Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL), Lymphokine activated Killer (LAK) cells, Dendritic cells and Gamma Delta T (γδ T) cells.([7]) Importantly most of the innovations in cell based therapies in the world have been made in Japan because immunotherapy is a part of the Japanese Health care system and routine therapies for cancer in Japan. There have been randomized clinical trials on Immuno-cell therapy for liver cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer with the results suggesting statistically significant increase in survival rate and increase in disease free survival rate. ([8, 9, 10, 11]) There are more than 25 institutions in Japan performing such cell based immunotherapies. A comprehensive review by Egawa et al on 1401 patients showed that when Immuno-cell therapy was combined with the conventional therapies, the efficacy increased upto 20-30%. ([7]) Immuno-cell is the least toxic of all therapies and can be administered even to terminally ill cancer patients. ([12]) Contrast to drugs, as autologous cell based Immuno-therapies are from the patient's own blood and as they are custom tailored to each patient, though expensive, the adverse effects are minimal. To conclude, cancer-Immunocell therapies are the future of cancer therapies and further research is needed to enhance its efficacy and validate the results.