Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Sat, Jan 21, 2012 @ 06:00 AM
Recently according to Defense.gov , military researchers have developed a vaccine that targets a protein commonly over-expressed in breast cancer cells called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2/neu. This cancer vaccine known as E-75, a mix of the E-75 peptide of the HER2 protein and an immune system stimulant, is currently on its way to its final phase of testing.
Since breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer seen among military beneficiaries, Army Col. (Dr.) George E. Peoples, director and principal investigator for cancer Vaccine Development Program at San Antonio Military Medical Center has focused his research on, "[their] commitment to take care of active-duty personnel, spouses and retirees."
Strategy
In the past, most vaccines for breast cancer have been tested mainly on end-stage cancer patients, those with a failing immune system. The military's strategy is to use their vaccine to stimulate a healthy immune system, those which are not found in end-stage cancer patients. The military concentrated their studies on women with breast cancer that expressed the protein, HER2/neu, at low to intermediate levels.
Clinical Trials
The first trial commenced in 2001 with 200 patients total, 100 patients received one injection a month for six months and were followed for a total of 5 years. The other hundred patients were simply the control group. The results were very promising, with the recurrence rate among the women in the control group at 20 percent, and the vaccinated group at 10 percent. Peoples and his team were able to cut the recurrence rate in half. This successful trial has led to the next phase of testing which will begin in early 2012 and involve 700 to 1,000 patients.
Peoples and his team has also conducted a trial on breast cancer survivors who express the HER2/neu protein at the highest levels. This trial when the vaccine was combined with the drug Herceptin, dropped the recurrence rate to zero. Though this is very exciting news, the study was only completed with 60 patients and more conclusive results are awaiting a bigger trial.
Potential Uses
The military has already used the same vaccine in trials for prostate, ovarian, and lung cancer and will continue their projects based on the same concept used for the vaccine E-75, using the body's own immune system to destroy cancer cells.
Learn More
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 @ 09:41 AM
First, I'd like to take a moment on behalf of all of us at VGXI, Inc. to wish each one of you a Happy New Year.
2011 might be over but 2012 has a lot in-store in the health and biotechnology industries. From gene therapy clincial studies to anti-cancer vaccines, 2012 is off to a strong start.
Click here to take a look at some of "2011's Best Health News" and continue reading for the top 5 happenings so far in 2012.
1. "Understanding the Structure of the TAL Effector May be Key for Targeted Gene Correction"
MedicalXpress.com states that, "Solving the structure of the TAL effector protein allows scientists to see exactly how the protein binds to its DNA target and exactly what types of contacts it makes to the DNA in order to recognize and "read" each base in the DNA sequence. "By determining the structure, it is now possible to engineer the protein to work more effectively in a variety of biotech or medical applications, either by changing its DNA-targeting specificity, making the protein more stable or longer lived in cells, or by understanding how to attach additional protein modules to it that can drive desired changes in the DNA target," Stoddard said."
2. "Scientist Identify Deafness Gene in Mice"
According to VOA, "Scientists have identified a gene that causes deafness in mice, and they say it could lead to a better understanding of hereditary deafness in humans and maybe new treatments in the future. Scientists had previously focused on a group of genes that were associated with inherited deafness, but now researchers at Washington University in Saint Louis have implicated a specific gene."
3. "Gene Therapy Clinical Trial for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Started"
The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, states, "Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by the lack of the SMN1 gene which is responsible for the production of a called "survival of motor neuron" or SMN. This protein is critical for the survival of motor neurons - the nerves that carry signals from the central nervous system to the muscle. Isis Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has started a Phase 1 clinical trial of an antisense oligonucleotide drug called ISIS-SMNRx in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). This safety trial based in the USA will test the drug in 24 children with SMA."
4. "Anti-Cancer Drug Trials Start"
Information from The Chronicle Herald and Market Watch indicates that "HALIFAX biotechnology company Immunovaccine Inc. has started clinical human trials of its potential new treatment for cancer.The company has regulatory approval in Canada and the United States for Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical testing on patients with advanced ovarian cancer."
5. January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month
The National Institute of Health states, "Glaucoma is a major cause of vision loss in the United States, affecting about 2.2 million Americans. The National Eye Institute (NEI) leads research toward better prevention, detection, and treatment of this often silent but devastating disease. During Glaucoma Awareness Month, NEI highlights research advances, showcases education and awareness efforts, and reminds Americans that early detection and treatment is the best way to prevent vision loss. NEI advises all Americans at risk of glaucoma to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam every one to two years."
To keep up with industry happenings throughout 2012, join us on:
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Tue, Dec 20, 2011 @ 09:44 AM
According to Leah Johnson from Imassera News, investing in DNA Vaccines "holds great promise" and "if investors can be patient there can be millions made from investing early.The market is in such an early stage that it is expected to increase from just under $200 million in 2011 to more than $2.7 billion before the end of 2014 (4)."
"Scientists are aiming to overcome the constraints of conventional vaccine technology in order to achieve a number of goals. As an investor exciting news such as the clinical advancement of various DNA-based immunotherapies as well as marketing approval of four DNA vaccines for use in animals provides significant encouragement and evidence that there is a promising development path for DNA vaccines. Commercialization success of DNA vaccines will substantially expand the overall market opportunity for vaccines (3)."
Why Invest in DNA Vaccines vs Normal Vaccines?
Steve Christ explains it perfectly, "DNA vaccines are made by placing the genes of a particular viral strain into a circular DNA structure, called a plasmid. Once injected, these plasmids enter the cell structures and begin to produce proteins, which generate the immune response. It is this technique that makes producing commercial quantities of DNA vaccines much faster than the current method.
The key to this process: the immune response is more complete with the DNA method than it is with standard vaccines because they also stimulate the production of killer T cells, which are important in controlling some types of infection (2)."
What Do DNA Vaccines Offer?
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DNA vaccines are efficient at generating T-cell responses that may kill targeted cancerous cells or cells infected by the targeted virus or bacteria.
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DNA vaccines may therefore also be used as a therapeutic to treat existing disease. This capability provides the potential to treat chronic infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C virus, as well as the possibility to develop therapeutic cancer vaccines.
"And unlike the old vaccine model, DNA vaccines can't actually cause disease — a big sticking point for the vaccines we use today (2)."
Making investments in well-run biotech companies that specialize in DNA Vaccines that harbor unique and interesting technologies can pay off big over the long haul.
To Learn More About Investing In DNA Vaccines:
1. Investing in DNA Vaccines - GS Early
2. DNA Vaccine Investments - The Bull Market Is Just Heating Up - Steve Christ
3. Why Invest in DNA Vaccines - Inovio
4. Investing in DNA Vaccines - Leah Johnson
5. DNA Vaccine Market Set to Soar - Healthcare Packaging
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Fri, Dec 02, 2011 @ 03:04 PM
According to the recently released Nature Magazine article, "Gene Therapy Can Protect Against HIV" a team of biologists at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California have developed a new approach to HIV prevention.
What?
This new approach called Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis or VIP uses gene therapy an approach most commonly recognized for curing genetic diseases not necessarily the prevention.
“VIP has a similar effect to a vaccine, but without ever calling on the immune system to do any of the work,” Alejandro Balazs, lead author of the study, said.
“Normally, you put an antigen or killed bacteria or something into the body, and the immune system figures out how to make an antibody against it. We’ve taken that whole part out of the equation,” he said.
This new approach builds on earlier work by scientists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, who in 2009 first described the effectiveness of this technique in preventing the transmission of simian immunodeficiency virus in monkeys.
Who?
More than 2 million adults are infected with HIV every year and still even close to 30 years after the virus was first identified in the 1980s, researchers still haven't found a cure or a way to prevent the initial infection. Researchers have had a tough time finding a molecule that can induce even moderately broad responses against the virus in all its different mutations. While gene therapy might not be the first method of prevention most think of, it could be the much-needed alternative the world has been waiting for.
Want to help?
How?
As taken from the Nature article, "The researchers used specialized mice carrying human immune cells that are able to grow HIV and utilized an adeno-associated virus (AAV), a small, harmless virus that has been useful in gene-therapy trials, as a carrier to deliver genes that are able to specify antibody production. The AAV was injected into the leg muscle of mice, and the muscle cells then put broadly neutralizing antibodies into the animals’ circulatory systems. Researchers found that mice treated with just a single AAV injection appeared to have 100 percent protection against HIV."
It was also found that after just a single AAV injection, the mice produced high concentrations of these antibodies for the rest of their lives, as shown by intermittent sampling of their blood.
Any Problems?
Gene therapy allows for the permanent insertion of the antibody DNA into the genome, there isn't currently a way to "turn it off" if someone has an immune reaction against the antibodies. These side effects won't be known until the method is tested in people, something that David Baltimore, a virologist and HIV researcher at Caltech aims to do in the next few years.
What Now?
As Baltimore says, "This is something way out of the ordinary, and it's perfectly reasonable to say that there's no reason to do it if there's an alternative, but if there's no alternative - and that's where we're at today - then we should be thinking of new ways to protect people."
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Thu, Nov 24, 2011 @ 11:44 AM
10 Facts about Tryptophan and why you should have that extra piece of turkey for your health's sake:
1. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, that can not be synthesized from the body and must be acquired from the diet.
2. Tryptophan is the precursor to 5-hydroxytrypophan (5-HTP) which is the direct precursor to serotonin. Serotonin is important for mood and sleep; when it is deficient, this can lead to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and various other neuropsychological conditions.
3. Studies show that when the serotonin levels increase, food craving decrease. Therefore, it may aid weight control programs.
4.Tryptophan is the least plentiful amino acid found in foods and is generally deficient in most dietary protein sources. Though, as long as you meet your daily requirements for protein -- 46 g for adult women and 56 g for adult men -- you will likely get enough tryptophan in your diet.
5. It has been found that people suffering from migraines have abnormal (low) levels of tryptophan.
6. The recommended daily amount of Tryptophan intake is 3mg/kg body weight (children)
and 12.5mg/kg body weight (adults).
7. Tryptophan can be found in more than turkey, find other sources of tryptophan for your daily intake here.
8. The amino acid Tryptohan was isolated from casein (milk protein) in 1901, and its structure was established in 1907.
9. The disorders fructose malabsorption and lactose intolerance cause improper absorption of tryptophan in the intestine, and can cause reduced levels of tryptophan in the blood and depression.
10. And for the bad news, contrary to popular belief tryptophan in turkey meat does not cause drowsiness. Turkey does contain tryptophan, which does have a documented sleep-inducing effect. However, tryptophan is only effective when taken on its own as a free amino acid. Tryptophan in turkey is found as part of a protein, and in small enough amounts that this mechanism seems unlikely.
A more likely hypothesis is that the ingestion of large quantities of food, such as at a Thanksgiving feast, tends to induce drowsiness. Whether this drowsiness is related to elevated hypothalamic serotonin levels following feeding or is mediated by some other mechanism is unknown.
On behalf of all the employees at VGXI, Inc I'd like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season.
A video of what happens when tryptophan really attacks, enjoy!
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Fri, Nov 18, 2011 @ 04:19 PM
According to newscientist.com, researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland, have discovered that by using gene therapy they can turn regular mice into faster and fatter "super mice," with increased endurance.
Johan Auwerx of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland and his colleagues used a targeted virus to knock out the gene that makes a protein called nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1) in the muscle of mice. Without this protein, the mitochondria, which powers cells, keeps working at full speed. Thus, allowing "the mice to go further, faster, on the same amount of gas," says Auwerx.
Auwerx also found that by knocking out the same gene in fat cells, it allowed the mice to get fatter but not develop type-2 diabetes. He hopes that by giving drugs that control the NCoR1 protein in those who are already obese, it may be possible to stop them from developing type-2 diabetes as well.
The future of these discoveries include using the new treatments for diabetes care or for invigorating the muscles in elderly people and in those with muscle disorders and wasting diseases, says Auwerx. Some of the most exciting news is that these enhancements in mice don't appear to come at a cost. Treated mice gained muscle mass but they didn't require any extra food to keep them going.
Auwerx makes sure to warn athletes not to try to grow their muscles and stamina illicitly by somehow targeting the NCoR1 protein. The treatment has not gone through any human trials and it could have serious side effects in other parts of the body where NCor1 serves other functions.
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Fri, Nov 11, 2011 @ 02:24 PM
According to Science Daily a research group at Karolinska Institutet has developed a DNA-vaccine against DLL4 (a protein which has recently been identified as an important component in regulating the formation of new blood vessels) and the blood vessel tip cells.
They have shown that the vaccination against DLL4 causes an immunological antibody response to DLL4, which hinders the growth of breast cancer in mice. Tumors from the vaccinated mice had a tightly packed network of non-functional blood vessels, and poor blood supply.
The vaccination did not cause any undesired effects and did not affect the animal's capacity for wound healing.
Here is a quick video about the study:
If you'd like to learn more about the recent study click here and here.
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Thu, Nov 03, 2011 @ 02:35 PM
A recent article distributed by the University of Florida describes their recent development of a gene therapy that could help both people and animals with osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is a debilitating condition that causes inflammation and deterioration of the joints. Mostly the condition affects large weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the joints that usually allows bones to move smoothly over each other wears away, causing bones to rub. According to the NIH, this condition affects 27 million Americans age 25 and older and the economic cost is close to $130 billion a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To help with the disabling affects of the condition, joint replacement and corticosteroid injections are the most common options. The goal of the UF study is to create a one-time treatment that works long term on both animals and humans.The newest study will determine the therapy dose that can be given safely, how much of the therapeutic protein is produced in the joint after administration, how long the protein is produced, and the effectiveness of the therapy itself.
To learn more about this gene therapy break through please click here.
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Thu, Oct 27, 2011 @ 11:52 AM
As we're quickly approaching the end of October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I have recently started following Cancerconnect.com on Twitter (@cancerconnect). I have found a lot of the information they have posted with regard to breast cancer to be very interesting and informational about various topics. I wanted to take the time to list a few of these articles and websites. Please feel free to comment and leave any websites or articles that you feel can be beneficial to those researching about breast cancer.
Posted by Jessica Rayhill on Fri, Oct 21, 2011 @ 08:04 AM
According to a recent press release at researchnews.osu.edu, researchers at Ohio State University have discovered how to inject a precise dose of a gene therapy agent directly into a single living cell without the use of a needle.
This technique, "nanochannel electroporation," or NEP uses electricity to propel pieces of therapeutic biomolecules through a tiny channel and into a cell in a fraction of a second. In tests the researchers were able to insert agents into the cells in as little as a few milliseconds, or thousandths of a second.
"NEP gets around the problem of most human cells being too small for even the smallest needles by suspending a cell inside an electronic device with a reservoir of therapeutic agents nearby. Electrical pulses then push the agent out of the reservoir and through a nanometer scale channel in the device, through the cell wall, and ultimately into the cell. Researchers are able to control the dose by adjusting the number of pulses and the width of the channel."
Professor L. James Lee who is the Helen C. Kurtz Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the director of the NSF, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymeric Biomedical Devices of Ohio state, stated that "NEP allows us to investigate how drugs and other biomolecules affect cell biology and genetic pathways at a level not achievable by any existing techniques."
As of right now, the technique is only suitable for laboratory research because it only works on one cell or several cells at a time. Lee and his team are working on ways to inject many cells simultaneously. They are currently developing a mechanical cell-loading system that would inject up 100,000 cells at once, which would potentially make clinical diagnostics and treatments possible.
To read the complete press release please click here.