Cartilage preservation by inhibition of Janus kinase 3 in two rodent models of rheumatoid arthritis

10.1186/ar2365Arthritis Research and Therapy101R1

Effect of tofacitinib on patient-reported outcomes in patients with active psoriatic arthritis and an inadequate response to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors in the phase III, randomised controlled trial: OPAL Beyond.

Objectives: Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were evaluated in patients with PsA with inadequate responses to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR) in a 6-month, phase III randomised controlled trial (OPAL Beyond [NCT01882439]). Methods: Patients (N=394) received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily or placebo (advancing to tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily at month 3). Least squares mean changes from baseline and percentages of patients reporting improvements ≥minimum clinically important differences and scores ≥normative values were determined in Patient Global Assessment of disease activity (PtGA), Pain, Patient Global Joint and Skin Assessment (PGJS), Short Form-36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue), EuroQol 5-Dimensions-3-level (EQ-5D-3L), EQ-VAS and Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL). Nominal p values are without multiple comparison adjustments. Results: At month 3, PtGA, Pain, PGJS, SF-36v2 Physical Component Summary (PCS), physical functioning (PF), bodily pain (BP), vitality and social functioning (SF) domains, FACIT-Fatigue Total score, EQ-5D-3L pain/discomfort, EQ-VAS and ASQoL scores exceeded placebo with both tofacitinib doses (role physical [RP] with 10 mg twice daily only; p≤0.05). Patients reporting improvements ≥MCID (%) in PtGA, PGJS, Pain, ASQoL and SF-36v2 PCS, PF, RP, BP, SF (both tofacitinib doses) exceeded placebo (p≤0.05). Conclusion: TNFi-IR patients with PsA receiving tofacitinib reported statistically and clinically meaningful improvements in PROs versus placebo over 3 months, which were maintained to month 6. Despite lower baseline scores, these improvements were similar to the csDMARD-IR TNFi-naive OPAL Broaden trial

Kinase inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders

Drugs targeting inhibition of kinases for the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune disorders have become a major focus in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Multiple kinases from different pathways have been the targets of interest in this endeavor. This review describes some of the recent developments in the search for inhibitors of IKK2, Syk, Lck, and JAK3 kinases. It is anticipated that some of these compounds or newer inhibitors of these kinases will be approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, organ transplantation, and other autoimmune diseases

EGCG Enhances the Therapeutic Potential of Gemcitabine and CP690550 by Inhibiting STAT3 Signaling Pathway in Human Pancreatic Cancer

Background: Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) is an oncogene, which promotes cell survival, proliferation, motility and progression in cancer cells. Targeting STAT3 signaling may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for human cancers. Here, we examined the effects of epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG) on STAT3 signaling in pancreatic cancer cells, and assessed the therapeutic potential of EGCG with gemcitabine or JAK3 inhibitor CP690550 (Tasocitinib) for the treatment and/or prevention of pancreatic cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cell viability and apoptosis were measured by XTT assay and TUNEL staining, respectively. Gene and protein expressions were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. The results revealed that EGCG inhibited the expression of phospho and total JAK3 and STAT3, STAT3 transcription and activation, and the expression of STAT3-regulated genes, resulting in the inhibition of cell motility, migration and invasion, and the induction of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage. The inhibition of STAT3 enhanced the inhibitory effects of EGCG on cell motility and viability. Additionally, gemcitabine and CP690550 alone inhibited STAT3 target genes and synergized with EGCG to inhibit cell viability and induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. Conclusions/Significance: Overall, these results suggest that EGCG suppresses the growth, invasion and migration of pancreatic cancer cells, and induces apoptosis by interfering with the STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, EGCG furthe

Disease-specific composite measures for psoriatic arthritis are highly responsive to a Janus kinase inhibitor treatment that targets multiple domains of disease

Background: The multiple disease domains affected in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) may make composite endpoints appropriate for assessing changes in disease activity over time. Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of PsA. Data from two phase 3 studies of patients with PsA were used to evaluate the effect of tofacitinib on composite endpoints. Methods: Oral Psoriatic Arthritis triaL (OPAL) Broaden was a 12-month study of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi)-naïve patients with an inadequate response to at least one conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug; OPAL Beyond was a 6-month study of patients with inadequate response to TNFi. Patients with active PsA received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg doses twice daily (BID), adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneous injection once every 2 weeks (OPAL Broaden only), or placebo advancing at month 3 to tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg BID. The disease-specific composites were Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity Score (PASDAS), Disease Activity Index for Reactive Arthritis/Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), and Composite Psoriatic Disease Activity Index (CPDAI). Change from baseline in composite endpoints was also assessed for minimal disease activity (MDA) responders versus non-responders. Results: Overall, 422 patients from OPAL Broaden and 394 patients from OPAL Beyond were treated. The mean changes from baseline to month 3 for tofacitinib 5 mg BID, tofacitinib 10 mg BID (standard error; effect size) were OPAL Broaden: PASDAS, −2.0 (0.14; 1.73), −2.4 (0.14; 2.4); DAPSA, −20.2 (1.72; 0.9), −24.4 (1.73; 1.23); and CPDAI, −2.9 (0.34; 1.03), −4.2 (0.36; 1.53); OPAL Beyond: PASDAS, −1.9 (0.14; 1.53), −2.1 (0.14; 1.84); DAPSA, −22.5 (1.67; 0.81), −21.0 (1.70; 0.84); and CPDAI, −3.3 (0.31; 1.41), −3.4 (0.31; 1.45). Greater changes from baseline to month 3 (P ≤0.05) were seen with both doses of tofacitinib versus placebo for all endpoints except CPDAI for tofacitinib 5 mg BID in OPAL Broaden. Effect sizes generally increased from 3 to 6 months. Mean changes from baseline were greater in MDA responders than MDA non-responders for all composite endpoints across all time points and treatments. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that disease-specific composite measures are appropriate for evaluating treatment efficacy on multiple disease domains in PsA. Trial registration: OPAL Broaden: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01877668, first posted June 12, 2013; OPAL Beyond: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01882439, first posted June 20, 2013

Phase transitions within the lime cycle: implications in stone conservation

Tesis Univ. Granada. Programa Oficial de Doctorado en: Ciencias de la TierraFinancial support has been provided by the EU Marie Curie Initial Training Network Delta-Min (Mechanisms of Mineral Replacement Reactions) Gran PITN-GA-2008-215360 and through the P08-RNM-4169 grant (Proyecto de Excelencia, Junta de Andalucía