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As a prophylactic cancer vaccine, human amniotic membrane epithelial cells (hAECs) conferred effective protection in a murine model of colon cancer. The immunized mice mounted strong cross-protective CTL and antibody responses. Tumor burden was significantly reduced in tumor-bearing mice after immunization with hAECs. Placental cancer immunotherapy could be a promising approach for primary prevention of cancer. In spite of being the star of therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment, the results of immunotherapeutic approaches are still far from expectations. In this regard, primary prevention of cancer using prophylactic cancer vaccines has gained considerable attention. The immunologic similarities between cancer development and placentation have helped researchers to unravel molecular mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis and to take advantage of stem cells from reproductive organs to elicit robust anti-cancer immune responses. Here, we showed that vaccination of mice with human amniotic membrane epithelial cells (hAECs) conferred effective protection against colon cancer and led to expansion of systemic and splenic cytotoxic T cell population and induction of cross-protective cytotoxic responses against tumor cells. Vaccinated mice mounted tumor-specific Th1 responses and produced cross-reactive antibodies against cell surface markers of cancer cells. Tumor burden was also significantly reduced in tumor-bearing mice immunized with hAECs. Our findings pave the way for potential future application of hAECs as an effective prophylactic cancer vaccine.

Bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF antibody, has demonstrated trustworthy effects in treatment of retinal and choroidal neovascularization that both are crucial sight threatening conditions. However, the weak point is the short half-life of the drug in vitreous which necessitates frequent intravitreal injections. Accordingly employing controlled-release drug delivery systems such as polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) has been suggested. In this study albuminated-PLGA-NPs containing bevacizumab were prepared and studied intended for reducing the number of injections. NPs were formulated by double-emulsion method and a single dose of NPs was intravitreally injected to rabbits. The drug concentrations in vitreous and aqueous humor were assayed in different time intervals using ELISA and intraocular pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Moreover, coumarin-6 loaded albuminated-PLGA-NPs were employed to evaluate the distribution and persistence of the NPs in the posterior segment. Results revealed that the bevacizumab vitreous concentration maintained above 500 ng mL(-1) for about 8 weeks and 3.3 times elevation was observed in the drug vitreous MRT compared with the control. According to coumarin-6 NP tests, fluorescence emissions in posterior tissues were observed for 56 days which confirmed the nanoparticles persistence in ocular tissues during the test span. Therefore our prepared formulation may offer improvements in treatment of eye posterior segment neovascularization.

Citation Jeddi-Tehrani M, Torabi R, Mohammadzadeh A, Arefi S, Keramatipour M, Zeraati H, Zarnani AH, Akhondi MM, Mahmoudian J, Mahmoudi AR, Zarei S. Investigating association of three polymorphisms of coagulation factor XIII and recurrent pregnancy loss. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010; 64: 212–217 Problem Among important suspected causes of thrombophilia in women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) are the polymorphisms of coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) gene. We performed a case–control study on the association between three polymorphisms of factor XIII (FXIII G103T, FXIII A614T and FXIII C1694T) and RPL in Iranian women. Method of study DNA samples from peripheral blood of 100 female patients with at least two recurrent abortions, as case group, and 100 healthy women with history of at least two successful deliveries were subjected to PCR-RFLP, and the frequencies of the polymorphisms were calculated and compared between the two groups. Results The prevalence of FXIII G103T polymorphism was 29% in the case group and 17% in the control group (P = 0.158). The frequencies of FXIII A614T and FXIII C1694T were 84% and 66% in the case group and 48% and 31% in the control group (P

Human PLAC1 (placenta-specific 1) is a new member of cancer-testis antigens with 212 amino acids, and its expression is restricted to placenta and at much lower levels to testis. Recently, ectopic expression of the PLAC1 transcript has been demonstrated in a wide range of human tumors and cancer cell lines with a proposed function in tumor cell growth. No monoclonal anti-PLAC1 antibody applicable to immunohis-tochemical staining is available so far. To better understand the PLAC1 expression and localization, we aimed to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the extracellular region of PLAC1. Mice were immunized with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal 11 amino acids of PLAC1 conjugated with a carrier protein. Hybridomas were produced by standard protocol and screened for positive reactivity by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Reactivity of final two clones was then assessed by Western blotting (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Both clones showed a specific immunostaining pattern in human term placenta as the positive control. Reactivity was mostly localized to the cytoplasm of syncytiotrophoblasts. One of the clones showed an excellent staining signal in breast, ovary, and prostate cancer cell lines. Importantly, no reactivity was observed with human lymph node cells or prostate. None of the mAbs were able to detect PLAC1 in Western blot. Based on the present results, these mAbs can be used for detection of PLAC1 in IHC and ICC techniques.