Targeting lung cancer with clinically relevant EGFR mutations using anti-EGFR RNA aptamer

A significant fraction of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases are due to oncogenic mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Anti-EGFR antibodies have shown limited clinical benefit for NSCLC, whereas tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective, but resistance ultimately occurs. The current landscape suggests that alternative ligands that target wild-type and mutant EGFRs are desirable for targeted therapy or drug delivery development. Here we evaluate NSCLC targeting using an anti-EGFR aptamer (MinE07). We demonstrate that interaction sites of MinE07 overlap with clinically relevant antibodies targeting extracellular domain III and that MinE07 retains binding to EGFR harboring the most common oncogenic and resistance mutations. When MinE07 was linked to an anti-c-Met aptamer, the EGFR/c-Met bispecific aptamer (bsApt) showed superior labeling of NSCLC cells in vitro relative to monospecific aptamers. However, dual targeting in vivo did not improve the recognition of NSCLC xenografts compared to MinE07. Interestingly, biodistribution of Cy7-labeled bsApt differed significantly from Alexa Fluor 750-labeled bsApt. Overall, our findings demonstrate that aptamer formulations containing MinE07 can target ectopic lung cancer without additional stabilization or PEGylation and highlights the potential of MinE07 as a targeting reagent for the recognition of NSCLC harboring clinically relevant EGFRs.

NF-kB's contribution to B cell fate decisions

NF-κB signaling is essential to an effective innate and adaptive immune response. Many immune-specific functional and developmental outcomes depend in large on NF-κB. The formidable task of sorting out the mechanisms behind the regulation and outcome of NF-κB signaling remains an important area of immunology research. Here we briefly discuss the role of NF-κB in regulating cell fate decisions at various times in the path of B cell development, activation, and the generation of long-term humoral immunity.

Tracking cryptic SARS-CoV-2 lineages detected in NYC wastewater

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity is strongly indicated because diversifying selection may lead to the emergence of novel variants resistant to naturally acquired or vaccine-induced immunity. To monitor New York City (NYC) for the presence of novel variants, we deep sequence most of the receptor binding domain coding sequence of the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from the New York City wastewater. Here we report detecting increasing frequencies of novel cryptic SARS-CoV-2 lineages not recognized in GISAID's EpiCoV database. These lineages contain mutations that had been rarely observed in clinical samples, including Q493K, Q498Y, E484A, and T572N and share many mutations with the Omicron variant of concern. Some of these mutations expand the tropism of SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses by allowing infection of cells expressing the human, mouse, or rat ACE2 receptor. Finally, pseudoviruses containing the spike amino acid sequence of these lineages were resistant to different classes of receptor binding domain neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. We offer several hypotheses for the anomalous presence of these lineages, including the possibility that these lineages are derived from unsampled human COVID-19 infections or that they indicate the presence of a non-human animal reservoir.