Acute myeloid leukemia patients’ clinical response to idasanutlin (RG7388) is associated with pre-treatment MDM2 protein expression in leukemic blasts

In translational research described, we investigated biomarker expression by flow cytometry for MDM2 antagonist clinical response association in relapsed/refractory AML patients treated with idasanutlin-based therapy (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01773408)

Case-control Indian buffet process identifies biomarkers of response to Codrituzumab

Abstract Background Codrituzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against Glypican-3 (GPC3), which is expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), was tested in a randomized phase II trial in advanced HCC patients who had failed prior systemic therapy. Biomarker analysis was performed to identify a responder population that benefits from treatment. Methods A novel statistical method based on the Indian buffet process (IBP) was used to identify biomarkers predictive of response to treatment with Codrituzumab. The IBP is a novel method that allows flexibility in analysis design, and which is sensitive to slight, but meaningful between-group differences in biomarkers in very complex datasets Results The IBP model identified several subpopulations of patients having defined biomarker values. Tumor necrosis and viable cell content in the tumor were identified as prognostic markers of disease progression, as were the well-known HCC prognostic markers of disease progression, alpha-fetoprotein and Glypican-3 expression. Predictive markers of treatment response included natural killer (NK) cell surface markers and parameters influencing NK cell activity, all related to the mechanism of action of this drug Conclusions The Indian buffet process can be effectively used to detect statistically significant signals with high sensitivity in complex and noisy biological data Trial registration NCT01507168, January 6, 201

Cornelia de Lange syndrome is caused by mutations in NIPBL, the human homolog of Drosophila melanogaster Nipped-B.

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS; OMIM 122470) is a dominantly inherited multisystem developmental disorder characterized by growth and cognitive retardation; abnormalities of the upper limbs; gastroesophageal dysfunction; cardiac, ophthalmologic and genitourinary anomalies; hirsutism; and characteristic facial features. Genital anomalies, pyloric stenosis, congenital diaphragmatic hernias, cardiac septal defects, hearing loss and autistic and self-injurious tendencies also frequently occur. Prevalence is estimated to be as high as 1 in 10,000 (ref. 4). We carried out genome-wide linkage exclusion analysis in 12 families with CdLS and identified four candidate regions, of which chromosome 5p13.1 gave the highest multipoint lod score of 2.7. This information, together with the previous identification of a child with CdLS with a de novo t(5;13)(p13.1;q12.1) translocation, allowed delineation of a 1.1-Mb critical region on chromosome 5 for the gene mutated in CdLS. We identified mutations in one gene in this region, which we named NIPBL, in four sporadic and two familial cases of CdLS. We characterized the genomic structure of NIPBL and found that it is widely expressed in fetal and adult tissues. The fly homolog of NIPBL, Nipped-B, facilitates enhancer-promoter communication and regulates Notch signaling and other developmental pathways in Drosophila melanogaster