Analysis of mortality at non-Hodgkin lymphomas in the unit of cancer chemotherapy of Irkutsk Regional Oncologic Dispensary in 2011-2013

We analyzed 29 fatal cases caused by non-Hodgkin lymphomas in the hospital. 89 % of deceased had advanced malignancy, morphologically aggressive type, 86,2 % had initially unfavorable prognosis for a disease. The most common cause of death was sepsis (55 %). The most often source of infection were pneumonia (68,8 %) and gastrointestinal tract (31,3 %). The frequency of decompensated hemorrhagic shock of patients died of non-Hodgkin lymphomas was 24 %. Tumor lysis syndrome was the cause of hospital mortality of non-Hodgkin lymphomas in 17 % of cases

Challenging vertical turbulence mixing schemes in a tidally energetic environment: 1. 3‐D shelf‐sea model assessment

Mixing in the ocean and shelf seas is critical for the vertical distribution of dynamically active properties, such as density and biogeochemical tracers. Eight different decadal simulations are used to assess the skill of vertical turbulent mixing schemes (TMS) in a 3‐D regional model of tidally active shelf seas. The TMS differ in the type of stability functions used and in the Ozmidov/Deardorff/Galperin limiter of the turbulence length scales. We review the dependence of the critical Richardson and Prandtl numbers to define the “diffusiveness” of the TMS. The skill in representing bias and variability of stratification profiles is assessed with five different metrics: surface and bottom temperatures and pycnocline depth, thickness, and strength. The assessment is made against hydrography from three data sets (28,000 profiles in total). Bottom and surface temperatures are found to be as sensitive to TMS choice as to horizontal resolution or heat flux formulation, as reported in other studies. All TMS underrepresent the pycnocline depth and benthic temperatures. This suggests physical processes are missing from the model, and these are discussed. Different TMSs show the best results for different metrics, and there is no outright winner. Simulations coupled with an ecosystem model show the choice of TMS strongly affects the ecosystem behavior: shifting the timing of peak chlorophyll by 1 month, showing regional chlorophyll differences of order 100%, and redistributing the production of chorophyll between the pycnocline and mixed layer

Разработка оптимальных условий нанофильтрации в технологии производства иммуноглобулина G человека нормального для внутривенного введения

Scientific relevance. Medicinal products based on immunoglobulin class G (IgG) from human plasma are widely used in clinical practice to treat bacterial and viral infections, primary and secondary immunodeficiencies, and autoimmune diseases. Nanofiltration is a way to mitigate the risk of in-process contamination of raw materials with various pathogens, including viruses. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the development and implementation of additional viral inactivation and/or elimination steps.Aim. This study aimed to develop and validate optimum nanofiltration conditions and to scale up the nanofiltration step for the manufacturing of human IgG for intravenous administration.Materials and methods. The study used a solution of  IgG  from  plasma  fractions  II  and  III. The authors paired nanofilters manufactured by Planova 20N and BioEx (Asahi Kasei, Japan), Viresolve Pro (Merck Millipore, USA), Virosart HC and HF (Sartorius, Germany), and Pegasus  SV4 and Prime (Pall, USA) with Sartopore polyethersulphone prefilters by Sartorius (Germany), Virosart MAX polyamide prefilters by Sartorius (Germany), and EKX-P regenerated cellulose prefilters by Pall (Germany). Virus reduction validation studies were performed with model viruses (human immunodeficiency virus type 1, porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus, porcine parvovirus, murine encephalomyocarditis virus, and bovine viral diarrhoea virus) in the laboratories of the N.F. Gamaleya centre. The sample data analysis involved calculating mean values with 95% confidence intervals.Results. For all the selected combinations of prefilters and filters, the maximum nanofiltration throughput depended on the IgG concentration in the test solution. With the combination of an EKX-P filter with a Pegasus SV4 nanofilter, the maximum throughput and the IgG yield reached 6300 g/m2 and 95%, respectively. When combined with a Planova 20N nanofilter, EKX-P and Sartopore (polyethersulphone) filters provided a maximum throughput of up to 2980 g/m2 and an IgG yield of almost 100%, provided that the test solution had an IgG concentration of 10 g/L. With different filter combinations, virus reduction levels ranged from 4.00±0.05 to 4.75±0.04 log10  for human immunodeficiency virus type 1, from 4.30±0.04 to 4.55±0.06 log10 for porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus, from 5.38±0.08 log10  to 5.57±0.04 log10  for murine encephalomyocarditis virus, 5.12±0.10 log10 to 5.25±0.08 log10 for porcine parvovirus, and exceeded 5.00 log10 for bovine viral diarrhoea virus. The virus reduction levels achieved were not statistically associated with prefilter brands.Conclusions. The study demonstrated that nanofiltration was effective at removing  viruses with various virion sizes and physicochemical characteristics, including viruses as small as parvovirus B19. The levels of virus reduction exceeded 4 log10 and met the acceptance criteria.The laboratory-scale nanofiltration parameters and the corresponding filtration times, as well as IgG yields, did not change when the process was scaled up. Therefore, nanofiltration is an effective and productive technique that helps eliminate various types of viruses and considerably improve viral safety without affecting the quality of biological medicinal products.Актуальность. Лекарственные препараты на основе иммуноглобулина G (IgG) из плазмы крови человека широко применяются в терапии бактериальных и вирусных инфекций, первичных и вторичных иммунодефицитов, аутоиммунных заболеваний. Снизить риск производственной контаминации сырья различными патогенами, в том числе вирусами, позволяет процесс нанофильтрации. Для повышения вирусной безопасности необходимы исследования по разработке и внедрению дополнительных этапов инактивации и (или) элиминации вирусов.Цель. Разработка оптимальных условий процесса нанофильтрации, валидация и масштабирование данной стадии для  производства  лекарственного  препарата  иммуноглобулина G человека для внутривенного введения.Материалы и методы. Раствор IgG из фракции II+III плазмы крови, нанофильтры Planova — 20N и BioEx (Asahi Kasei, Япония), Viresolve Pro (Merck Millipore, США), Virosart — HC и HF (Sartorius, Германия), Pegasus — SV4 и Prime (Pall, США), предфильтры Sartopore из полиэфирсульфона, Virosart MAX (Sartorius,  Германия)  из  полиамида,  EKX-P  (Pall,  Германия) из регенерированной целлюлозы. Лабораторные исследования по валидации вирусной редукции выполняли с модельными тест-вирусами (ВИЧ-1, трансмиссивного гастроэнтерита (коронавируса) свиней, парвовирус свиней,  вирус  энцефаломиокардита  мышей,  вирус бычьей диареи) на базе ФГБУ «НИЦЭМ им. Н.Ф. Гамалеи» Минздрава России. Анализ данных по выборке проводили с помощью среднего значения при 95% доверительном интервале.Результаты. Установлено, что производительность нанофильтрации для всех выбранных комбинаций «предфильтр — нанофильтр» зависит от концентрации IgG в испытуемом растворе. Максимальная пропускная способность и выход продукта составили:  предфильтр (фильтр) ЕКХ-P с нанофильтром Pegasus SV4 —  6300  г/м2  (выход  IgG  более  95%); EKX-P или Sartopore (полиэфирсульфон) с Planova 20N — до 2980 г/м2 (выход IgG — практически 100% при условии проведения  процесса  только  при  концентрации  IgG  10  г/л).  Для разных комбинаций фильтров уровень редукции соответствовал критериям приемлемости: ВИЧ-1 —  от  4,00±0,05  до  4,75±0,04  log10;  коронавирус  свиней  —  от  4,30±0,04 до 4,55±0,06 log10; вирус энцефаломиокардита мышей — от 5,38±0,08 до 5,57±0,04 log10; вирус бычьей диареи — более 5,00 log10; парвовирус свиней — от 5,12±0,10 до 5,25±0,08 log10. Статистически достоверного различия в зависимости уровня редукции от марки предфильтров не выявили.Выводы. Подтверждена эффективность противовирусной нанофильтрации для вирусов  с различными размерами вириона и физико-химическими характеристиками, включая мелкий парвовирус В19: уровень редукции вирусов для всех комбинаций составил более 4 log10, что соответствует критериям приемлемости. Разработанные в лабораторных условиях параметры и соответствующая им длительность нанофильтрации, а также выход целевого продукта для всех комбинаций исследованных фильтров не изменились при масштабировании. Нанофильтрация может служить эффективным и высокопродуктивным инструментом удаления различных типов вирусов, который не влияет на качество продукта и значительно повышает вирусную безопасность биологических препаратов

Clinical, hormonal and molecular-genetic characteristics of monogenic diabetes mellitus associated with the mutations in the <i>INS</i> gene

Background: Currently more than 50 mutations of the INS gene are known to affect the various stages of insulin biosynthesis in the beta cells of the pancreas. However only individual cases of diabetes mellitus (DM) associated with heterozygous mutations in the coding region of the INS gene were reported in Russian Federation. We report a group of patients with a clinical manifestation of DM caused by mutations in both coding and non-coding regions of the INS gene. The patients with a mutation in the intron of the INS gene are reported for the first time in Russian FederationMaterials and methods: 60 patients with an isolated course of neonatal DM (NDM), 52 patients with a manifestation of DM at the age of 7–12 months and the absence of the main autoimmune markers of type 1 DM, 650 patients with the MODY phenotype were included in the study. NGS technology was used for molecular genetic research. Author’s panel of primers (Custom DNA Panel) was used for multiplex PCR and sequencing using Ion Ampliseq™ technology. The author’s panel “­Diabetes Mellitus” included 28 genes (13 candidate genes of MODY and other genes associated with DM).Results: 13 heterozygous mutations were identified in 16 probands and 9 relatives. The majority of mutations were detected in patients with PNDM (18.75%) and in patients with an onset of DM at the age of 7–12 months (9.6%). Mutations in the INS gene were detected in 2 patients (0.3%) in the group with the MODY phenotype. Mutations in the INS gene were not detected in patients with transient NDM (TNDM). Analysis of clinical data in patients with PND and onset of diabetes at the age of 7–12 months did not show significant differences in the course of the disease. The clinical characteristics of the cases of MODY10 and diabetes caused by a mutation in the intron of the INS gene are reported in details.Conclusion: The role of INS gene mutations in NDM, MODY, and DM with an onset at the age of 7–12 months was analyzed in a large group of patients. The clinical characteristics of DM due to a mutation in the intron of the INS gene are reported for the first time in the Russian Federation

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Content of biologically active agents in juice and nectars from apples

Статья посвящена витаминной ценности соков и нектаров из яблок, реализуемых в Липецкой и Тамбовской областях. Приведено содержание водорастворимых витаминов, каротина, органических кислот, сухих, дубильных и красящих веществ в осветлённых и соках с мякотью в зимний период.Article is devoted to the vitamin value of juice and nectars from the apples realized in the Lipetsk and Tambov areas. The content of water-soluble vitamins, carotene, organic acids, dry, tannic both dyes in clarified and juice with pulp is provided to the winter period