Assuming the Leadership Role on Climate Change and Energy Security

With decades of service in the United States Senate, including Chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Lugar addresses the most looming issues facing mankind: global climate change and energy dependence. He concludes that effective leadership must not exist myopically, but must be shared by global partners, both friendly and hostile, and optimistically forecasts resolution through ingenuity and innovation

Preparing to Prevent Crises

It is an honor to celebrate the graduation of another remarkable class from the Naval War College. I congratulate you on the hard work that has led to this day. This is a high moment in the lives of our graduates and in the lives of all who have given inspiration and support to them. We are especially appreciative of the families of the graduates. The work the graduates have done in the past and will do in the future is sometimes dangerous and often personally consuming. It requires patience, courage, and love from family members. Their sacrifices have made this day possible, and they are an indispensable element of our national security

Monoclonal antibodies applied in treatment for hematological malignancies

Monoklonska protutijela su protutijela monovalentnog afiniteta (vežu isti epitop) nastala iz klonova jedinstvene roditeljske B-stanice. Otkriće tehnologije hibirdoma stanica omogućilo je dobivanje mišjih monoklonskih protutijela na željeni antigen, a daljnjim napretkom genetičkog inženjerstva i tehnologije rekombinantne DNA moguće je dobiti kimerna, humanizirina te potpuno humana protutijela. Humanizacijom je poboljšana učinkovitost te je produžen poluživot protutijela. U medicini se koriste kao oblik imunoterapije za liječenje autoimunih bolesti, infekcija i tumora. Monoklonska su protutijela novost u liječenju hematoloških maligniteta, tumora mijeloidne i limfoidne stanične linije, uz uobičajene terapije kao što su kemoterapija, radioterapija i transplantacija hematopoetskih matičnih stanica. Zahvaljujući njihovoj specifičnosti prema tumorskim antigenima i učinku na tumorske stanice (aktivacija ADCC, CDC, indukcija apoptoze i blokiranje vezanja liganda), odlična su opcija u liječenju malignih bolesti. Postoje dvije vrste antigena koje prepoznaju: antigeni specifični za staničnu liniju (LSA) koji se nalaze na određenim stanicama prilikom različitih diferencijacijskih stadija te antigeni nespecifični za staničnu liniju (NLSA) koji nisu ograničeni na pojedinu staničnu liniju. Prvo odobreno monoklonsko protutijelo bio je rituximab, anti-LSA protutijelo na CD20, koje se pokazalo učinkovito u liječenju nekih B-staničnih maligniteta. Od tada, mnoga monoklonska protutijela već su odobrena od strane FDA ili se testiraju u kliničkim istraživanjima.Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies with monovalent affinity (they bind to the same epitope) produced by clones of a unique parent B-cell. Discovery of hybridoma technology made it possible to produce murine monoclonal antibodies specific to known antigens and with further advances in genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology it was possible to produce chimeric, humanized and completely human antibodies. Humanization of the antibody has improved its efficacy and prolonged its half-life. In medicine they are used as a form of immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases, infections and tumors. Monoclonal antibodies are a novelty in treatment of hematological malignancies, tumors of myeloid and lymphoid cell lineages, alongside common therapies as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. Due to their specificity for tumor-associated antigens and the effect they have on the tumor cells (activation of ADCC, CDC, induction of apoptosis or blocking ligand binding), they are a great option in treatment of malignancies. There are two types of antigens they recognize: lineage specific antigens (LSA) that are present at different differentiation steps of a certain cell lineage, and non-lineage specific antigens (NLSA) that aren’t restricted to a single cell lineage. The first approved monoclonal antibody was rituximab, an anti-LSA antibody targeting CD20, which has shown to be effective in treating some B-cell malignancies. Since then, many monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the FDA or are being tested in clinical trials