Acute type B aortic dissection complicated by malperfusion or rupture carries a risk of death. We report 30-day and 12-month results of endovascular treatment with the Valiant Captivia Thoracic Stent ...Graft (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA) in patients with acute, complicated type B aortic dissection.
The Medtronic DISSECTION Trial is a prospective, nonrandomized, United States Food and Drug Administration-regulated, pivotal trial that enrolled patients at 16 United States sites between June 2010 and May 2012. Follow-up examinations were at 1, 6, and 12 months, and annually through 5 years.
Fifty patients were enrolled. Mean age was 57 years (range, 18 to 83 years). Rupture was present in 20% and malperfusion in 86%. Mean time from symptom onset to procedure was 4.7 days (range, 0 to 23 days). Successful deployment and coverage of the primary entry tear was achieved in all patients. Two patients (4%) underwent open repair 5 and 56 days postprocedure for retrograde aortic dissections. Thirty-day mortality was 8% (4 of 50) and 12-month mortality was 15% (7 of 48). Spinal ischemia was 6%. Serious adverse events occurred in 23 of 49 patients within 12 months. Four patients underwent secondary endovascular procedures. Through 12 months, true lumen diameter in the stented region remained stable or increased in 93.1% (27 of 29) of patients. False lumen diameter remained stable or decreased in 22 patients and was partially or completely thrombosed in 91% (30 of 33).
The initial results of the Valiant Thoracic Stent Graft in the treatment of acute type B aortic dissection are encouraging, but longer-term outcomes are needed.
Extensive crosstalk among ErbB/HER receptors suggests that blocking signaling from more than one family member may be essential to effectively treat cancer and limit drug resistance. We generated a ...conventional IgG molecule MEHD7945A with dual HER3/EGFR specificity by phage display engineering and used structural and mutational studies to understand how a single antigen recognition surface binds two epitopes with high affinity. As a human IgG1, MEHD7945A exhibited dual action by inhibiting EGFR- and HER3-mediated signaling in vitro and in vivo and the ability to engage immune effector functions. Compared with monospecific anti-HER antibodies, MEHD7945A was more broadly efficacious in multiple tumor models, showing that combined inhibition of EGFR and HER3 with a single antibody is beneficial.
► MEHD7945A is a two-in-one antibody that targets EGFR and HER3 ► MEHD7945A epitopes include ligand recognition sites on domain III ► MEHD7945A exhibits superior efficacy over monospecific HER antibodies
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a major unmet medical need. Most patients have poor long-term survival, and treatment has not significantly changed in 40 years. Recently, bispecific antibodies that ...redirect the cytotoxic activity of effector T cells by binding to CD3, the signaling component of the T-cell receptor, and a tumor target have shown clinical activity. Notably, blinatumomab is approved to treat relapsed/refractory acute lymphoid leukemia. Here we describe the design, discovery, pharmacologic activity, pharmacokinetics, and safety of a CD3 T cell–dependent bispecific (TDB) full-length human IgG1 therapeutic antibody targeting CLL-1 that could potentially be used in humans to treat AML. CLL-1 is prevalent in AML and, unlike other targets such as CD33 and CD123, is not expressed on hematopoietic stem cells providing potential hematopoietic recovery. We selected a high-affinity monkey cross-reactive anti–CLL-1 arm and tested several anti-CD3 arms that varied in affinity, and determined that the high-affinity CD3 arms were up to 100-fold more potent in vitro. However, in mouse models, the efficacy differences were less pronounced, probably because of prolonged exposure to TDB found with lower-affinity CD3 TDBs. In monkeys, assessment of safety and target cell depletion by the high- and low-affinity TDBs revealed that only the low-affinity CD3/CLL1 TDB was well tolerated and able to deplete target cells. Our data suggest that an appropriately engineered CLL-1 TDB could be effective in the treatment of AML.
•Bispecific antibodies binding CD3 and CLL-1 deplete CLL-1+ target cells in animal models.•An appropriately engineered CLL-1/CD3 bispecific antibody could be effective in treating AML.
Amplification of the MYCN oncogene in childhood neuroblastoma is often accompanied by mutational activation of ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase), suggesting their pathogenic cooperation. We ...generated a transgenic zebrafish model of neuroblastoma in which MYCN-induced tumors arise from a subpopulation of neuroblasts that migrate into the adrenal medulla analog following organogenesis. Coexpression of activated ALK with MYCN in this model triples the disease penetrance and markedly accelerates tumor onset. MYCN overexpression induces adrenal sympathetic neuroblast hyperplasia, blocks chromaffin cell differentiation, and ultimately triggers a developmentally-timed apoptotic response in the hyperplastic sympathoadrenal cells. Coexpression of activated ALK with MYCN provides prosurvival signals that block this apoptotic response and allow continued expansion and oncogenic transformation of hyperplastic neuroblasts, thus promoting progression to neuroblastoma.
► Zebrafish neuroblastomas closely reiterate the pathogenesis of human neuroblastomas ► ALK accelerates MYCN-induced neuroblastoma onset and increases disease penetrance ► MYCN induces aberrant neuroblast hyperplasia and developmentally-timed apoptosis ► ALK mediates hyperplastic neuroblast survival to promote MYCN-induced neuroblastoma
The formation of secondary cell walls in cell types such as tracheary elements and fibers is a defining characteristic of vascular plants. The Arabidopsis transcription factor KNAT7 is a component of ...a transcription network that regulates secondary cell wall biosynthesis, but its function has remained unclear.
We conducted anatomical, biochemical and molecular phenotypic analyses of Arabidopsis knat7 loss-of-function alleles, KNAT7 over-expression lines and knat7 lines expressing poplar KNAT7.
KNAT7 was strongly expressed in concert with secondary wall formation in Arabidopsis and poplar. Arabidopsis knat7 loss-of-function alleles exhibited irregular xylem phenotypes, but also showed increased secondary cell wall thickness in fibers. Increased commitment to secondary cell wall biosynthesis was accompanied by increased lignin content and elevated expression of secondary cell wall biosynthetic genes. KNAT7 over-expression resulted in thinner interfascicular fiber cell walls.
Taken together with data demonstrating that KNAT7 is a transcriptional repressor, we hypothesize that KNAT7 is a negative regulator of secondary wall biosynthesis, and functions in a negative feedback loop that represses metabolically inappropriate commitment to secondary wall formation, thereby maintaining metabolic homeostasis. The conservation of the KNAT7 regulatory module in poplar suggests new ways to manipulate secondary cell wall deposition for improvement of bioenergy traits in this tree.
Preliminary research suggests that rectally administered nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may reduce the incidence of pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).
In ...this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, we assigned patients at elevated risk for post-ERCP pancreatitis to receive a single dose of rectal indomethacin or placebo immediately after ERCP. Patients were determined to be at high risk on the basis of validated patient- and procedure-related risk factors. The primary outcome was post-ERCP pancreatitis, which was defined as new upper abdominal pain, an elevation in pancreatic enzymes to at least three times the upper limit of the normal range 24 hours after the procedure, and hospitalization for at least 2 nights.
A total of 602 patients were enrolled and completed follow-up. The majority of patients (82%) had a clinical suspicion of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Post-ERCP pancreatitis developed in 27 of 295 patients (9.2%) in the indomethacin group and in 52 of 307 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (P=0.005). Moderate-to-severe pancreatitis developed in 13 patients (4.4%) in the indomethacin group and in 27 patients (8.8%) in the placebo group (P=0.03).
Among patients at high risk for post-ERCP pancreatitis, rectal indomethacin significantly reduced the incidence of the condition. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00820612.).
Transcription, in which RNA polymerases (RNAPs) produce RNA from DNA, is the first step of gene expression. As such, it is highly regulated either by trans-elements like protein factors and/or by ...cis-elements like specific sequences on the DNA. Lambdoid phage HK022 contains a cis-element, put, which suppresses pausing and termination during transcription of the early phage genes. The putRNA transcript solely performs the anti-pausing/termination activities by interacting directly with the E.coli RNAP elongation complex (EC) by an unknown structural mechanism. In this study, we reconstituted putRNA-associated ECs and determined the structures using cryo-electron microscopy. The determined structures of putRNA-associated EC, putRNA-absent EC, and σ
-bound EC suggest that the putRNA interaction with the EC counteracts swiveling, a conformational change previously identified to promote pausing and σ
might modulate putRNA folding via σ
-dependent pausing during elongation.
BackgroundA novel human rhinovirus (HRV) species, HRV-C, was recently discovered, but its clinical features and epidemiology, compared with HRV-A and HRV-B, remains poorly understood, especially in ...adults MethodsOne thousand two hundred nasopharyngeal aspirate samples obtained from hospitalized children and adults during a 1-year period were subject to reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect HRV. The clinical and molecular epidemiology of the 3 HRV species was analyzed ResultsHRVs were detected in 178 (29.7%) of 600 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from children and 42 (7%) of 600 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from adults. HRV-A was most prevalent (n=111), followed by HRV-C (n=91) and HRV-B (n=18). Although upper respiratory tract infection was the most common presentation in children, 8 (62%) of the 13 adults with HRV-C infection had pneumonia, compared with 6 (27%) of the 22 adults with HRV-A infection (P<.05). Wheezing episodes were also more common among individuals with HRV-C (37%) and HRV-A (20%) infection than among those with HRV-B (0%) infection (P<.05). Clinical and molecular data analysis revealed HRV-C as a frequent cause of community and institutionalized outbreaks. A diverse set of HRV-C genotypes was circulating throughout the year, among which a potential distinct subgroup of strains was observed ConclusionHRV-C is associated with pneumonia in adults and outbreaks of respiratory infections requiring hospitalization. A potential novel HRV-C subgroup was identified
A multicenter study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance and the time to identifcation of the Verigene Blood Culture Test, the BC-GP and BC-GN assays, to identify both Gram-positive ...and Gram-negative bacteria and their drug resistance determinants directly from positive blood cultures collected in Hong Kong.
A total of 364 blood cultures were prospectively collected from four public hospitals, in which 114 and 250 cultures yielded Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and were tested with the BC-GP and BC-GN assay respectively. The overall identification agreement for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were 89.6% and 90.5% in monomicrobial cultures and 62.5% and 53.6% in polymicrobial cultures, respectively. The sensitivities for most genus/species achieved at least 80% except Enterococcus spp. (60%), K.oxytoca (0%), K.pneumoniae (69.2%), whereas the specificities for all targets ranged from 98.9% to 100%. Of note, 50% (7/14) cultures containing K.pneumoniae that were missed by the BC-GN assay were subsequently identified as K.variicola. Approximately 5.5% (20/364) cultures contained non-target organisms, of which Aeromonas spp. accounted for 25% and are of particular concern. For drug resistance determination, the Verigene test showed 100% sensitivity for identification of MRSA, VRE and carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter, and 84.4% for ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae based on the positive detection of mecA, vanA, blaOXA and blaCTXM respectively.
Overall, the Verigene test provided acceptable accuracy for identification of bacteria and resistance markers with a range of turnaround time 40.5 to 99.2 h faster than conventional methods in our region.
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