Microneedle devices have been proposed as a minimally invasive delivery system for the intradermal administration of nucleic acids, both plasmid DNA (pDNA) and siRNA, to treat localised disease or ...provide vaccination. Different microneedle types and application methods have been investigated in the laboratory, but limited and irreproducible levels of gene expression have proven to be significant challenges to pre-clinical to clinical progression. This study is the first to explore the potential of a hollow microneedle device for the delivery and subsequent expression of pDNA in human skin. The regulatory approved MicronJet600® (MicronJet hereafter) device was used to deliver reporter plasmids (pCMVβ and pEGFP-N1) into viable excised human skin. Exogenous gene expression was subsequently detected at multiple locations that were distant from the injection site but within the confines of the bleb created by the intradermal bolus. The observed levels of gene expression in the tissue are at least comparable to that achieved by the most invasive microneedle application methods e.g. lateral application of a microneedle. Gene expression was predominantly located in the epidermis, although also evident in the papillary dermis. Optical coherence tomography permitted real time visualisation of the sub-surface skin architecture and, unlike a conventional intradermal injection, MicronJet administration of a 50μL bolus appears to create multiple superficial microdisruptions in the papillary dermis and epidermis. These were co-localised with expression of the pCMVβ reporter plasmid. We have therefore shown, for the first time, that a hollow microneedle device can facilitate efficient and reproducible gene expression of exogenous naked pDNA in human skin using volumes that are considered to be standard for intradermal administration, and postulate a hydrodynamic effect as the mechanism of gene delivery.
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For rapid chemotaxis quantification, cell prelabelling is often performed with the fluorochrome calcein acetomethylester (calcein AM). We investigated whether calcein AM-prelabelling is reliable for ...monocyte migration analysis. Human monocytes were either preexposed to calcein AM or unlabelled. Monocyte migration towards the potent chemoattractants transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and N-formyl-Methionin-Leucin-Phenylalanin (fMLP) was assessed using a 48-well micro-chemotaxis chamber. For quantification, cells were visualized by light microscopy and counted. Surprisingly, random migration of calcein AM-prelabelled cells was significantly impaired compared to the unlabelled control. Accordingly, monocyte chemotaxis towards either TGF-β1 or fMLP dramatically declined. Adherence of calcein AM-labelled monocytes on plastic was also significantly decreased compared to control cells. As adhesion is regarded as an essential component of monocyte migration, the reduced migration observed in calcein AM-labelled monocytes might be explained by a fluorochrome-induced adhesion defect. Therefore, use of the fluorochrome calcein AM cannot be recommended for functional testing of monocytes.
Complex well configurations coupled with downhole inflow control devices offer great potential for the efficient production of oil reservoirs. With systems of this type, chokes can be set to isolate ...a zone or to provide a more uniform inflow profile, which acts to delay the breakthrough of water and gas. While it is possible to apply existing finite difference reservoir simulators, such models can be time consuming to build and the accuracy of the results depends on the grid and the well model. To obtain the correct well model (well index) for the finite difference simulator, a reference solution (analytical or numerical) is needed. In this work, semianalytical solution methods (based on Green's functions), appropriate for modeling the performance of nonconventional wells operating under single phase flow conditions, are developed and applied to model these complex well configurations. The approach entails a fully coupled nonlinear formulation that accounts approximately for reservoir heterogeneity as well as for pressure drops in the annulus, tubing and downhole chokes. Numerical results for a variety of cases are presented, including examples involving nonconventional wells operating with downhole chokes in a highly heterogeneous fluvial reservoir. Comparisons with finite difference results are presented where appropriate and demonstrate the general level of accuracy of the semianalytical procedure. The use of the method for the determination of optimal choke settings is demonstrated. The semianalytical model developed here can also be used for the calculation of well index.
Receptor tyrosine kinases （RTKs） such as the epidermal growth factor receptor family participate in several steps of tumor formation including proliferation and metastatic spread. Several known RTKs ...are upregulated in gastric cancer being prime targets of a tailored therapy. Only preliminary data exist, however, on the use of the currently clinically available drugs such as trastuzumab, cetuximab, bevacizumab, gefitinib, erlotinib, and imatinib in the setting of gastric cancer. Preclinical data suggest a potential benefit of their use, especially in combination with ＂conventional＂ cytostatic therapy. This review summarizes the current knowledge about their use in cancer therapy as well as new approaches and drugs to optimize treatment success.
The Ru demonstrations of Jun 1961 reveal the inadequacy of French agri'al syndicalism (Sy) re its present tasks. A poorly unified movement, agri'al Sy has tended to concentrate its forces on the most ...obvious problems, where agreement of all its members is most easily obtained (eg, farm prices), thus neglecting other more important problems. If agri'al Sy wishes to be successful it must develop a base of active participants on the local level; this will necessitate formal discussions between the interested parties re production & commercialization, the creation of cooperatives, the progress of credit banks, assistance societies, etc. The dept'al federations will have to participate in the elaboration & application of an agri'al, econ, & soc policy, & recruit competent men who are paid sufficiently well to be able to dedicate themselves to that task. The lack of financial means is still an obstacle to this desirable solution. The same suggestions apply to the nat'l federation, whose representation is insufficient to face the complex tasks which it must fulfill. The crisis of Sy will only be resolved through renewal & collaboration on the part of all agri'al leaders. Tr by L. Gimenez Melo fr IPSA.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2006.
Department of Chemistry. Includes bibliographical references. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.
Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a FLT3 mutation have poor outcomes. We conducted a phase 3 trial to determine whether the addition of midostaurin - an oral multitargeted kinase ...inhibitor that is active in patients with a FLT3 mutation - to standard chemotherapy would prolong overall survival in this population.
We screened 3277 patients, 18 to 59 years of age, who had newly diagnosed AML for FLT3 mutations. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard chemotherapy (induction therapy with daunorubicin and cytarabine and consolidation therapy with high-dose cytarabine) plus either midostaurin or placebo; those who were in remission after consolidation therapy entered a maintenance phase in which they received either midostaurin or placebo. Randomization was stratified according to subtype of FLT3 mutation: point mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) or internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation with either a high ratio (>0.7) or a low ratio (0.05 to 0.7) of mutant to wild-type alleles (ITD high and ITD low, respectively). Allogeneic transplantation was allowed. The primary end point was overall survival.
A total of 717 patients underwent randomization; 360 were assigned to the midostaurin group, and 357 to the placebo group. The FLT3 subtype was ITD (high) in 214 patients, ITD (low) in 341 patients, and TKD in 162 patients. The treatment groups were well balanced with respect to age, race, FLT3 subtype, cytogenetic risk, and blood counts but not with respect to sex (51.7% in the midostaurin group vs. 59.4% in the placebo group were women, P=0.04). Overall survival was significantly longer in the midostaurin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death, 0.78; one-sided P=0.009), as was event-free survival (hazard ratio for event or death, 0.78; one-sided P=0.002). In both the primary analysis and an analysis in which data for patients who underwent transplantation were censored, the benefit of midostaurin was consistent across all FLT3 subtypes. The rate of severe adverse events was similar in the two groups.
The addition of the multitargeted kinase inhibitor midostaurin to standard chemotherapy significantly prolonged overall and event-free survival among patients with AML and a FLT3 mutation. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and Novartis; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00651261 .).
Minimal residual disease (MRD) is a powerful prognostic factor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is used for patient stratification and treatment decisions, but its precise role in ...Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL is less clear. This uncertainty results largely from methodological differences relating to the use of real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) to measure BCR-ABL1 transcript levels for MRD analysis. We here describe the first results by the EURO-MRD consortium on standardization of qRT-PCR for the e1a2 BCR-ABL1 transcript in Ph + ALL, designed to overcome the lack of standardisation of laboratory procedures and data interpretation. Standardised use of EAC primer/probe sets and of centrally prepared plasmid standards had the greatest impact on reducing interlaboratory variability. In QC1 the proportion of analyses with BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios within half a log difference were 40/67 (60%) and 52/67 (78%) at 10
and 36/67 (53%) and 53/67 (79%) at 10
BCR-ABL1/ABL1. Standardized RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and cycler platforms did not improve results further, whereas stringent application of technical criteria for assay quality and uniform criteria for data interpretation and reporting were essential. We provide detailed laboratory recommendations for the standardized MRD analysis in routine diagnostic settings and in multicenter clinical trials for Ph + ALL.
Activating mutations of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3), notably internal tandem duplications (ITDs), are associated with a grave prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Transforming FLT3ITD ...signal transduction causes formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inactivation of the protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) DEP-1/PTPRJ, a negative regulator of FLT3 signaling. Here we addressed the underlying mechanisms and biological consequences. NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) messenger RNA and protein expression was found to be elevated in FLT3ITD-positive cells and to depend on FLT3ITD signaling and STAT5-mediated activation of the NOX4 promoter. NOX4 knockdown reduced ROS levels, restored DEP-1 PTP activity and attenuated FLT3ITD-driven transformation. Moreover, Nox4 knockout (Nox4(-/-)) murine hematopoietic progenitor cells were refractory to FLT3ITD-mediated transformation in vitro. Development of a myeloproliferative-like disease (MPD) caused by FLT3ITD-transformed 32D cells in C3H/HeJ mice, and of a leukemia-like disease in mice transplanted with MLL-AF9/ FLT3ITD-transformed murine hematopoietic stem cells were strongly attenuated by NOX4 downregulation. NOX4-targeting compounds were found to counteract proliferation of FLT3ITD-positive AML blasts and MPD development in mice. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism of oncoprotein-driven PTP oxidation, and suggest that interference with FLT3ITD-STAT5-NOX4-mediated overproduction of ROS and PTP inactivation may have therapeutic potential in a subset of AML.
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