Freeze-Dried Somatic Cells Direct Embryonic Development after Nuclear Transfer

The natural capacity of simple organisms to survive in a dehydrated state has long been exploited by man, with lyophylization the method of choice for the long term storage of bacterial and yeast cells. More recently, attempts have been made to apply this procedure to the long term storage of blood cells. However, despite significant progress, practical application in a clinical setting is still some way off. Conversely, to date there are no reports of attempts to lyophilize nucleated somatic cells for possible downstream applications. Here we demonstrate that lyophilised somatic cells stored for 3 years at room temperature are able to direct embryonic development following injection into enucleated oocytes. These remarkable results demonstrate that alternative systems for the long-term storage of cell lines are now possible, and open unprecedented opportunities in the fields of biomedicine and for conservation strategies

RPC4046, a Monoclonal Antibody Against IL13, Reduces Histologic and Endoscopic Activity in Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, esophageal, type 2 inflammatory response associated with increased serum levels of interleukin 13 (IL13), which might contribute to its pathogenesis. RPC4046, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against IL13, prevents its binding to the receptor subunits IL13RA1 and IL13RA2. We performed a phase 2 trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RPC4046 in patients with EoE. We performed a multicenter, double-blind trial of 99 adults with active EoE randomly assigned (1:1:1) to groups given RPC4046 (180 or 360 mg) or placebo once weekly for 16 weeks, from September 2014 through December 2015. Patients were seen at day 1 (baseline) and weeks 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16. They underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and biopsies were collected at baseline and week 16. Patients completed a daily dysphagia symptom diary through week 16 and patient-reported outcome data were collected. The primary outcome was change in mean esophageal eosinophil count in the 5 high-power fields (hpfs) with the highest level of inflammation. At week 16, mean changes in esophageal eosinophil count per hpf were a reduction of 94.8 ± 67.3 in patients who received 180 mg RPC4046 (P < .0001) and a reduction of 99.9 ± 79.5 in patients who received 360 mg RPC4046 (P < .0001) compared with a reduction of 4.4 ± 59.9 in patients who received placebo. The 360-mg RPC4046 group, compared with the placebo group, showed significant reductions in validated endoscopic severity score at all esophageal locations (P < .0001), validated histologic grade and stage scores (both P < .0001), and clinician's global assessment of disease severity (P = .0352); they had a numerical reduction in scores from the dysphagia symptom diary (P = .0733). Significant reductions in esophageal eosinophil counts and histologic and endoscopic features were observed in patients with steroid-refractory EoE who received RPC4046. The most common adverse events were headache and upper respiratory tract infection. In a phase 2 trial of patients with EoE, we found RPC4046 (a monoclonal antibody against IL13) to reduce histologic and endoscopic features compared with placebo. RPC4046 was well tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02098473

Efficacy of Dupilumab in a Phase 2 Randomized Trial of Adults With Active Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergen-mediated inflammatory disease with no approved treatment in the United States. Dupilumab, a VelocImmune-derived human monoclonal antibody against the interleukin 4 (IL4) receptor, inhibits IL4 and IL13 signaling. Dupilumab is effective in treatment of allergic, atopic, and type 2 diseases, so we assessed its efficacy and safety in patients with EoE. METHODS We performed a phase 2 study of adults with active EoE (2 dysphagia episodes of dysphagia/week with peak esophageal eosinophil density of 15 or more eosinophils per high-power field), from May 12, 2015 through November 9, 2016 at 14 sites. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups that received weekly subcutaneous injections of dupilumab (300 mg; n=23) or placebo (n=24) for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was change from baseline to week 10 in Straumann dysphagia instrument patient-reported outcome (SDI-PRO) score. We also assessed histologic features of EoE (peak esophageal intraepithelial eosinophil count and EoE histologic scores), endoscopically visualized features (endoscopic reference score), esophageal distensibility, and safety. RESULTS The mean SDI-PRO score was 6.4 when the study began. In the dupilumab group, SDI-PRO scores were reduced by a mean value of 3.0 at week 10 compared with vs a mean reduction of 1.3 in the placebo group (P=.0304) At week 12, dupilumab reduced peak esophageal intraepithelial eosinophil count by a mean 86.8 eosinophils per high-power field (reduction of 107.1%; P<.0001 compared with baseline), the EoE-HSS severity score by 68.3% (P<.0001 vs baseline), and the endoscopic reference score by 1.6 (P=.0006 compared with baseline. Dupilumab increased esophageal distensibility by 18% compared with baseline (P<.0001). Higher proportions of patients in the dupilumab group developed injection-site erythema (35% vs 8% in the placebo group) and nasopharyngitis (17% vs 4% in the placebo group). CONCLUSIONS In a phase 2 trial of patients with active EoE, dupilumab reduced dysphagia, histologic features of disease (including eosinophilic infiltration and a marker of type 2 inflammation), and abnormal endoscopic features, compared with placebo. Dupilumab increased esophageal distensibility and was generally well tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02379052

A systematic review and meta-analysis of <it>Toxoplasma gondii</it> infection among the Mexican population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by <it>Toxoplasma gondii</it> and at least one-third of the world’s population has detectable <it>T. gondii</it> antibodies. The seroprevalence of <it>T.gondii</it> ranges from 15% to 50% among the Mexican general population. The aim of this work was to determine the mean prevalence and weighted mean prevalence of <it>T. gondii</it> infection, and to evaluate the epidemiological transition of infection in Mexico.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pub Med, Lilacs, Medline, Latindex, Google Scholar data bases were searched to retrieve reports from 1951 up to 2012 regarding prevalence data, diagnostic tests and risk factors of infection among the adult population. Data collection and criteria eligibility was established in order to determine the crude prevalence (proportion of positive cases) of each study, together with weighted population prevalence according to individual research group categories to limit the bias that may impose the heterogeneous nature of the reports. A Forest Plot chart and linear regression analysis were performed by plotting the prevalence of infection reported from each study over a period of sixty years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 132 studies were collected from 41 publications that included 70,123 individuals. The average mean prevalence was 27.97%, and weighted mean prevalence was 19.27%. Comparisons among different risk groups showed that the weighted prevalence was higher in women with miscarriages (36.03%), immunocompromised patients (28.54%), mentally-ill patients (38.52%) and other risk groups (35.13%). <it>Toxoplasma</it> infection among the Mexican population showed a downward trend of 0.1%/year over a period of sixty years that represents a 5.8% reduction in prevalence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This analysis showed a downward trend of infection; however, there are individuals at high risk for infection such as immunocompromised patients, mentally-ill patients and pregnant women. Further research is required to provide better prevention strategies, effective diagnostic testing and medical management of patients. Educational efforts are required to avoid the transmission of infection in populations that cannot be controlled by drugs alone.</p