Immune Regulation News Volume 2.30 | Aug 13 2010

Scientists Use Salmonella Bug to Kill Cancer Cells 
Treating tumors with salmonella bacteria can induce an immune response that kills cancer cells, scientists have found — a discovery that may help them create tumor-killing immune cells to inject into patients. [Press release from Reuters discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine]

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NIH Launches Effort to Define Markers of Human Immune Responses to Infection and Vaccination
A new nationwide research initiative has been launched to define changes in the human immune system, using human and not animal studies, in response to infection or to vaccination. [National Institutes of Health Press Release]

More Cancer-Fighting Power – Mouse with Highly Effective Components of the Human Immune System – Ten Years of Developmental Work by MDC and Charité Researchers
The researchers modified T cell receptors so that they would no longer ignore cancer cells, but instead specifically track and recognize them. [Press release from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine discussing online prepublication in Nature Medicine]

Immune System Overreaction May Enable Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers have found. [Press release from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discussing online prepublication in PLoS Pathogens]

Gene Variants for Meningitis Susceptibility Discovered
Research has revealed genetic variants that make some people susceptible to meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, while others remain naturally immune. [Press release from the Wellcome Trust discussing online prepublication in Nature Genetics]

Immune Responses During Pregnancy Linked To Schizophrenia Among Offspring
Temple University psychologist Lauren Ellman found that exposure during pregnancy to certain immune proteins, such as those produced in response to the flu, leads to increased risk for brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia in offspring. [Press release from Temple University discussing online prepublication in Schizophrenia Research]

Jackson Laboratory Researchers Gain New Insight Into DNA Break and Repair Mechanisms
Scientists demonstrate a vital balance between a DNA-repair protein called XRCC2 and a DNA-breaking enzyme known as activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AICDA) in B cells. [Press release from The Jackson Laboratory discussing online prepublication in Nature Immunology]

New Insights Into How Antibodies are Made Suggests New Approach for Anti-Cancer Drug Targets
Research investigating how B cells develop, has revealed that genes from the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase family of enzymes are critical in enabling the B cells to produce antibodies in the spleen and lymph nodes. [Press release from the Babraham Institute discussing online prepublication in Science Signaling]

Association of IFIH1 and Other Autoimmunity Risk Alleles with Selective IgA Deficiency
Findings support the hypothesis that autoimmune mechanisms may contribute to the pathogenesis of  immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency. [Nat Genet]

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Variants in the CFH region Associated with Host Susceptibility to Meningococcal Disease
The study suggests that host genetic variation in the regulators of complement activation plays a role in determining the occurrence of invasive disease versus asymptomatic colonization by this pathogen. [Nat Genet]

Transgenic Mice with a Diverse Human T Cell Antigen Receptor Repertoire
Here researchers generated transgenic mice with the entire human T cell receptor (TCR)alpha/beta gene loci (1.1 and 0.7 Mb), whose T cells express a diverse human TCR repertoire that compensates for mouse TCR deficiency. [Nat Med]

Widespread Genomic Breaks Generated by Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase are Prevented by Homologous Recombination
Researchers show here that activation-induced cytidine deaminase acts promiscuously, generating widespread DNA double-strand breaks, genomic instability and cytotoxicity in B cells with less homologous recombination ability. [Nat Immunol]

An Alphavirus Vector Overcomes the Presence of Neutralizing Antibodies and Elevated Numbers of Tregs to Induce Immune Responses in Humans with Advanced Cancer
Researchers report here that an alphavirus vector, packaged in virus-like replicon particles and capable of efficiently infecting dendritic cells, could be repeatedly administered to patients with metastatic cancer expressing the tumor antigen carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and that it overcame high titers of neutralizing antibodies and elevated Treg levels to induce clinically relevant CEA-specific T cell and antibody responses. [J Clin Invest]

A Short Receptor Downregulates JAK/STAT Signalling to Control the Drosophila Cellular Immune Response
Researchers have recently shown that the posterior signalling centre acts in a non-cell-autonomous manner to maintain janus tyrosine kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) signalling in hematopoietic progenitors (prohemocytes), thereby preserving the multipotent character necessary for their differentiation into lamellocytes, a cryptic and dedicated immune cell type required to fight specific immune threats such as wasp parasitism. [PLoS Biol]

Early Severe Inflammatory Responses to Uropathogenic E. coli Predispose to Chronic and Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection
Here, researchers investigate the molecular basis of chronic bacterial cystitis. They establish that introduction of uropathogenic E. coli into the bladders of C3H mice results in two distinct disease outcomes: resolution of acute infection or development of chronic cystitis lasting months. [PLoS Pathog]

Neutralization of Interleukin-16 Protects Nonobese Diabetic Mice from Autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes by a CCL4 Dependent Mechanism
In this study, researchers investigate the role of one of these mediators, interleukin-16, in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice. [Diabetes]

The PI3K Isoforms p110alpha and p110delta Are Essential for Pre-B Cell Receptor Signaling and B Cell Development
Here, researchers show that p110alpha, but not p110beta, compensated in the absence of p110delta to promote early B cell development in the bone marrow and B cell survival in the spleen. [Sci Signal]

Bacteria-Induced Gap Junctions in Tumors Favor Antigen Cross-Presentation and Antitumor Immunity
Researchers demonstrate here that infection with Salmonella can induce, in both human and murine melanoma cells, the up-regulation of connexin 43, a ubiquitous protein that forms gap junctions and that is normally lost during melanoma progression. [Sci Transl Med]

Epitomics, Inc. Announces Antibody Therapeutics Spin-Off Company Apexigen, Inc.
Epitomics, Inc. announced that it has spun-out to its shareholders a new biotechnology company called Apexigen, Inc., which will focus on the development and commercialization of humanized monoclonal antibodies for treatment of cancer and immuno-disorders. [Epitomics, Inc. Press Release]

Antibody Licence Agreement with Cancer Research Technology
Scancell Holdings Plc, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, and Cancer Research Technology Ltd (‘CRT’) – Cancer Research UK’s commercialisation and development arm announced that they have signed an agreement under which Scancell has been granted a licence to use a human antibody known as 105AD7. [Scancell Holdings Press Release]

Scottish Medicines Consortium Recommends Revolade® (eltrombopag) For The Treatment Of Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has accepted eltrombopag for restricted use within NHS Scotland. [Medical News Today]

Lentigen Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant for Clinical Development of TCR Immunotherapy Targeted to Melanoma
Lentigen Corporation, a biotechnology company specializing in the development and manufacture of lentiviral gene delivery technologies, announced that it has received a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grant (SBIR) for a program on “Clinical Vector for TCR Immunotherapy Targeted to Melanoma”. [Lentigen Corporation Press Release]

Seattle Genetics Expands Antibody-Drug Conjugate Collaboration with Genentech
Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced that it has expanded its antibody-drug conjugate collaboration agreement with Genentech, Inc. [Seattle Genetics, Inc. Press Release]

GlaxoSmithKline and Amplimmune Form Global Strategic Collaboration
Amplimmune, Inc. announced that it has entered into a broad strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to further develop PD-1 targeting therapies that may be effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. GSK will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to AMP-224 as well as other potential next generation fusion proteins that target PD-1. [Amplimmune, Inc. Press Release]

Panel Recommends Defining Select Agents by DNA Sequence
The way to bring synthetically designed genomes that could be potentially as deadly as known pathogens under regulation, according to a new National Academies report, is to develop a new system of defining select agents based on DNA sequences. [ScienceInsider]

Free Access to U.S. Research Papers Could Yield $1 Billion in Benefits
A new economic analysis finds that making taxpayer-funded scientific papers freely available would yield more than $1 billion in benefits to the U.S. economy over 30 years–five times the costs of archiving the papers. [ScienceInsider]

Information Sent to Healthcare Professionals in July 2010 About the Safety of Medicines
A list of letters was sent to healthcare professionals in July 2010 to inform of new safety information and advice about medicines. [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, United Kingdom]

Advanced Technologies for Detection of Perturbation-Induced Cellular Signatures (U01) (RFA-RM-10-004) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Technical Assistance Videocast for RFA-RR-10-007: Clinical and Translational Science Coordinating Center (U54) (NOT-RR-10-012) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NIH Common Fund Transformative Research Projects Program (R01) (RFA-RM-10-010)  [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-19167) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-19165) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Guidance for Industry on Drug Substance Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls Information; Availability [Docket No. FDA-2003-D-0243] [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0001] [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

CHI’s 5th Annual Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Summit (ImVacS)
August 17-19, 2010
Cambridge, United States

14th International Congress of Immunology
August 22-27, 2010
Kobe, Japan

Select Biosciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences Inaugural Cellular Therapy Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences 7th Annual RNAi & miRNA Europe
September 14-15, 2010
Dublin, Ireland

Immunology & Microbiology, Genetics & Genomics, Development, Other
September 18-22, 2010
Barcelona, Spain

Cell Symposia: Inflammation and Disease
September 26-28, 2010
Lisbon, Portugal

11th International Symposium on Dendritic Cells in Fundamental and Clinical Immunology – DC2010: Forum on Vaccine Science
September 26-30, 2010
Lugano, Switzerland

5th International Conference on Gene Regulation in Lymphocyte Development
October 9-14, 2010
Chania, Greece

Autumn Immunology Conference 2010
November 19-22, 2010
Chicago, United States

Cell Symposia: Influenza – Translating Basic Insights
December 2-4, 2010
Washington, D.C., United States

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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