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Purpose: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogeneous entity of neoplasms with poor prognosis, a lack of effective therapies, and a largely unknown molecular pathology. Deregulated NF-κB activity has been associated with several lymphoproliferative diseases, but its importance in T-cell lymphomagenesis is poorly understood. We investigated the function of the NF-κB–inducing kinase (NIK), in this pathway and its role as a potential molecular target in T-cell lymphomas.Experimental Design: We used immunohistochemistry to analyze the expression of different NF-κB members in primary human PTCL samples and to study its clinical impact. With the aim of inhibiting the pathway, we used genetic silencing of NIK in several T-cell lymphoma cell lines and observed its effect on downstream targets and cell viability.Results: We showed that the NF-κB pathway was activated in a subset of PTCLs associated with poor overall survival. NIK was overexpressed in a number of PTCL cell lines and primary samples, and a pivotal role for NIK in the survival of these tumor cells was unveiled. NIK depletion led to a dramatic induction of apoptosis in NIK-overexpressing cell lines and also showed a more pronounced effect on cell survival than inhibitor of kappa B kinase (IKK) knockdown. NIK silencing induced a blockage of both classical and alternative NF-κB activation and reduced expression of several prosurvival and antiapoptotic factors.Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that NIK could be a promising therapeutic target in these aggressive malignancies. Clin Cancer Res; 19(9); 2319–30. ©2013 AACR.

PDF file - 1756K, Supplementary Materials and Methods; Table S1: Antibodies and conditions for immunohistochemistry; Table S2: Multivariate Cox analysis; Table S3: Immunohistochemical staining of NF-κB in T cell lymphoma cell lines; Table S4: Pathways positively correlated with NIK expression in PTCL; Table S5: Gene Sets enriched in control cells after NIK knockdown in MyLa and SR-786 cells; Table S6: Genes with altered expression after NIK knockdown; Figure S1: Overall survival in PTCL-NOS and AITL; Figure S2: p100 and p105 levels after NIK knockdown; Figure S3: Cell cycle alterations induced by NIK knockdown; Figure S4: Knockdown of IKKα and IKKβ in SR-786; Figure S5: Efficiencies of NIK knockdown; Figure S6: IL6 and IL21 levels in PTCL cell lines.

Pregnancy planning in women with highly active multiple sclerosis (HAMS) who need a high-efficacy disease-modifying therapy (heDMT) currently requires a careful risk-benefit evaluation. This includes minimizing fetal drug toxicity and preventing MS reactivation. We describe our experience with natalizumab in women with HAMS and unplanned pregnancy by implementing a clinical practice protocol (NAP-30) designed to maintain the effectiveness of natalizumab during pregnancy, reduce fetal exposure and prevent complications.This was an observational retrospective study including women with HAMS on active treatment with natalizumab who became unexpectedly pregnant in the period 2018-2021 and continued this treatment during pregnancy according to the NAP-30 protocol. MS clinical and radiological variables were analyzed before and during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, along with maternal and fetal toxicity during pregnancy and safety findings in newborns. We also describe the NAP-30 protocol, which includes the use of a bridging dose to adjust and maintain natalizumab infusions every 6 weeks during pregnancy up to week 30 and scheduled delivery at week 40.Six women (one in her first gestation) with a median age of 31.5 years at the onset of pregnancy (min-max: 24-37 years) were included. All were negative for anti-John Cunningham virus (JCV) antibodies and were on treatment with intravenous natalizumab 300 mg every 4 weeks. At the time of conception, three patients had received 12, 17 and 53 infusions of natalizumab, respectively, while for the remaining three patients natalizumab was their first DMT (two patients had received 6 infusions and one patient had received 3 infusions of natalizumab). All six patients received 6 doses of natalizumab during pregnancy according to the NAP-30 protocol. After delivery, all six patients restarted natalizumab every 4 weeks (median: 3 days; range: 2-4 days). No patients had relapses during pregnancy or at 6 months postpartum, nor did they develop any general health or laboratory abnormalities. The MRI scan performed at 4-6 months postpartum showed no new T2 lesions or gadolinium-enhancing lesions. No miscarriages or threatened miscarriages were reported. One of the patients underwent elective preterm delivery at week 35 after mild-to-moderate anemia was detected by fetal Doppler scan. The newborn had low birth weight (2080 g) and mild anemia, which resolved within two months with oral iron supplementation. The other infants were born with normal birth weight and showed no blood count abnormalities. After a median follow-up of 10 months, all six babies showed normal development with no complications detected.Based on our experience, the implementation of the NAP-30 protocol in women with HAMS and unplanned pregnancy undergoing treatment with natalizumab allows the continuation of natalizumab during pregnancy, with a very favorable clinical and radiological effectiveness and maternal-fetal safety profile during pregnancy and postpartum. Both in pregnancy with HAMS and in general, and particularly for successful implementation of the NAP-30 protocol, obstetric support and monitoring is essential for adequate pregnancy management.

The advent of cellular reprogramming technology converting somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has revolutionized our understandings of neurodegenerative diseases that are otherwise hard to access and model. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating, inflammatory disease of central nervous system eventually causing neuronal death and accompanied disabilities. Here, we report the generation of several relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS) iPSC lines from MS patients along with their age matched healthy controls from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). These patient specific iPSC lines displayed characteristic embryonic stem cell (ESC) morphology and exhibited pluripotency marker expression. Moreover, these MS iPSC lines were successfully differentiated into neural progenitor cells (NPC) after subjecting to neural induction. Furthermore, we identified the elevated expression of cellular senescence hallmarks in RRMS and PPMS neural progenitors unveiling a novel drug target avenue of MS pathophysiology. Thus, our study altogether offers both RRMS and PPMS iPSC cellular models as a good tool for better understanding of MS pathologies and drug testing.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, demyelinating, and degenerative disease of the central nervous system with an immune-based pathologic origin. The present pilot study aimed to assess whether the change in the route of treatment administration is associated with a variation in adherence and whether there is a change in quality of life, treatment satisfaction, and fatigue.Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who were18 years of age and who used to receive immunomodulatory parenteral treatment and were ready to change administration route were eligible for the study. Data were collected at baseline and 3 months later. Adherence, quality of life, treatment satisfaction, and fatigue were measured via the following questionnaires: Morisky-Green questionnaire on patient-reported medication adherence, Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Instrument, Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication, and Modified Fatigue Impact Scale.The study sample included 30 patients (mean age, 43.2 years; age range, 24-71 years; 60% female and 40% male). There was a significant improvement in adherence (p = 0.048). Mean (SD) physical and mental health quality-of-life summary scores varied from 52.50 (24.15) and 54.13 (21.24) to 67.55 (20.92) and 62.30 (21.75) (p 0.001 and p = 0.001, d = -0.426 and d = -0.643, respectively). In the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication, an improvement of the score was observed in effectiveness of the medication (p = 0.0041, d = -0.563), adverse effects of the medication (p 0.001, d = -0.976), convenience of the medication (p 0.001, d = -1.235), and global satisfaction (p = 0.006, d = -0.725). Patients had a higher mean (SD) score (45.13 [26.7]) on the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale while receiving injectable treatment compared with that obtained with oral treatment (34.86 [23.16]; p = 0.009, d = 0.41).When the route of administration changed from injectable to oral, there was an increase in adherence, quality of life, and degree of patient satisfaction with their treatment and a decrease in the degree of fatigue.

Background Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic bone disease characterised by decreased bone mass and deterioration of bone microarchitecture with increased brittleness and fracture risk. It associates high morbidity and mortality for patients and has a high impact on health expenditure. Bone marrow stromal mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) give rise to osteoprogenitor cells and osteoblasts and influence bone homeostasis. However after their intravenous (i/v) infusion their osteotropism is limited. Our group has demonstrated that the exofucosylation of the CD44 membrane antigen in MSC improves their homing to bone tissue and that the infusion of these cells is safe in a murine model. Objectives To evaluate the safety of i/v infusion of fucosylated BM-MSC in patients with OP, and secondarily assess their ability to improve the course of the disease Methods 10 women between 50 and 75 years old diagnosed with osteoporosis with a low impact fracture will be included and treated i/v with autologous fucosylated BM-MSC. The first 4 patients were treated with a dose of 2 × 10 6 cells/kg body weight and the other 6 with 5 × 10 6 cells/kg body weight. A 24 month follow-up will be conducted to evaluate the rate of severe and non-serious adverse events and secondary endpoints (decreased fracture rate, pain scores, functional status and quality of life, biochemical indexes of bone metabolism, quantitative computed tomography for morphometric and mechanical analysis of bone quality, densitometry, and histomorphometry Results Seven patients have been recruited to date. Two left the study for lack of cell proliferation and appearance of a complex form in karyotype during the cell culture, respectively. The first 4 patients were successfully infused, and after a median follow-up of 3 months no related adverse effects have been observed, no new osteoporotic fractures have appeared, and the analogue pain scale score (EVA) shows a tendency to decrease of pain in 3 of the 4 patients. Conclusions Our preliminary data indicate that clinical and GMP-grade production of BM-MSC is feasible. We have not observed any short-term adverse effects associated with treatment in infused patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared

The safety of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (ABMNC) intraspinal infusion in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients was evaluated considering breathing and sleep patterns. Patients between 20 and 65 years old were eligible if they had definite ALS, spinal onset, a disease duration between 6 and 36 months, FVC > 50%, and a below 90% oxygen saturation (T90)

Background aims We aimed to investigate whether magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) metabolite ratios change in the precentral gyrus of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) after spinal cord surgical injection of bone marrow mononuclear cells, as well as their relationship with disability and survival. Methods Stem cells were surgically injected in the spinal cord of 11 spinal-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients (group 1); 21 matched patients were the control group (group 2), comprising ALS patients with an intrathecal saline infusion. Single-voxel 1.5T MRS was performed in both precentral gyri just after inclusion/baseline (before surgery in group 1) and a year later (7 patients in group 1 and 11 in group 2). The spectroscopy data, time of survival and clinical parameters (ALS Functional Rating Scale, forced vital capacity [FVC], Medical Research Council Score) were longitudinally assessed and correlated in both groups. Results Only in group 1was there a significant N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr) increase with time in the dominant side ( P = 0.024). NAA/Cr also correlated with years of survival in the nondominant side ( r = 0.808, P = 0.026). Except for FVC, all group 1 clinical parameters at 12 months correlated with baseline NAA/Cr on both sides ( P 0.05); this was not the case in group 2. Discussion In view of these results, we speculate on a distant beneficial effect of bone marrow stem cells injected at the spinal cord over the upper motor neuron at the precentral gyri in the brain. Spinal cord injection of stem cells shows metabolic improvement in the brain that might be related to longer survival and less disability.

3 p., 4 figures and references., We report an original method for implanting bone marrow stem cells within the spinal cord parenchyma. This method was used for the experimental treatment of patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The methodology is reproducible and devoid of major complications even in patients showing significant spinal atrophy. Therefore, this report describes a surgical procedure that could be used in other experimental treatments involving the intraspinal delivery of stem cells., This study has been supported partially by a grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III EC07/90762, RETICS RD/0010/2012, enhancement line I3SNS, INT07/184, the Fundación Diogenes and by the Fundación Séneca 08859/PI/08.

Purpose: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogeneous entity of neoplasms with poor prognosis, a lack of effective therapies, and a largely unknown molecular pathology. Deregulated NF-κB activity has been associated with several lymphoproliferative diseases, but its importance in T-cell lymphomagenesis is poorly understood. We investigated the function of the NF-κB–inducing kinase (NIK), in this pathway and its role as a potential molecular target in T-cell lymphomas. Experimental Design: We used immunohistochemistry to analyze the expression of different NF-κB members in primary human PTCL samples and to study its clinical impact. With the aim of inhibiting the pathway, we used genetic silencing of NIK in several T-cell lymphoma cell lines and observed its effect on downstream targets and cell viability. Results: We showed that the NF-κB pathway was activated in a subset of PTCLs associated with poor overall survival. NIK was overexpressed in a number of PTCL cell lines and primary samples, and a pivotal role for NIK in the survival of these tumor cells was unveiled. NIK depletion led to a dramatic induction of apoptosis in NIK-overexpressing cell lines and also showed a more pronounced effect on cell survival than inhibitor of kappa B kinase (IKK) knockdown. NIK silencing induced a blockage of both classical and alternative NF-κB activation and reduced expression of several prosurvival and antiapoptotic factors. Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that NIK could be a promising therapeutic target in these aggressive malignancies. Clin Cancer Res; 19(9); 2319–30. ©2013 AACR.

[Objective] To report MRI spinal changes after surgical infusion of bone marrow stem cells (BMSc) in ALS patients and assess their correlation with clinical events and functional performance., [Methods] BMSc were surgically injected in the thoracic spinal cord of 11 ALS patients (6/5 male/female; median age 46 years). We performed first-week and third, sixth, ninth and twelfth post-surgical months spinal MRIs. The spinal changes in the postsurgical week and follow-up MRIs, as well as clinical events, functional scales and respiratory and electromyography data, were longitudinally monitored. Correlations between the imaging and clinical data were evaluated with the Spearman's test., [Results] Transient extradural fluid collections (100%), transient spinal cord T2 hyperintensity (81.8%), and chronic spinal cord deformities (63.6%) were the dominating MRI changes. Spinal cord hemorrhages (27.3%) and cystic myelomalacia (1/11 patients) were important although unusual findings. During the follow-up, minor adverse events of mild to moderate intensity eventually improved. Initial and follow-up imaging scores showed a strongly positive correlation (r 0.879, P < 0.001). The initial and delayed clinical scores did not correlate. There was no significant correlation between any of the imaging scores and clinical data., [Conclusions] Infusion of BMSc produces a variety of spinal changes apparently unrelated with clinical events and disease worsening., We would like to acknowledge the statistical support from the Education and Research Unit (Dr. Andrés Carrillo) of the University Hospital Morales Meseguer. We also acknowledge The Carlos III Institute (FIS EC07/90762), Advanced Therapies and Transplant General Direction (Health Ministry, Spain) (TRA-137), ISCIII Spanish Cell Therapy Network (Tercel; RD06/0010/0023), Ingenio 2010 MEC-CONSOLIDER CSD2007-00023, and the Fundación Diógenes, which supported this trial.

Cryopreservation of products rich in progenitor cells is mandatory for the feasibility of autologous hematopietic progenitor cells transplants. The most used product nowadays is the apheresis of mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, cryopreservation implies the use of cryoprotectant molecules, such as DMSO, that can be toxic for the patients. Moreover, the thawing of the product goes with some unavoidable cell death and liberation of cytoplasmic content such as cytokines to the medium. And so, adverse reactions during the product infusion are not infrequent. Our group has demonstrated that washing the thawed apheresis products both with Voluven or with normal saline plus 5% albumin (NSA) is able to almost completely avoid infusion reactions without losing CD34+ cells. Here we wanted to know whether it also had the benefit of extending CD34+ viability for 24 hours after washing. METHODS: We thawed 3 spare peripheral blood mononuclear cells apheresis products that had been cryopreserved with 9%DMSO. Ten mL of each product were separated and the remaining volume was splitted in 2 bags to be washed either with Voluven or NSA. Sepax 2 smartwash automatic program was used to wash the cells. The washed cells were stored at 4ºC and a sample was taken and immediately analyzed at 0h, 1h, 2h, 4h and 24h. At the same time points 10 mL of each bag were separated and kept 30 min. at room temperature (RT) before being analyzed. A blood count was performed on all the samples. Flow cytometry was used to measure CD45+ and CD34+ cells viability by 7AAD staining. RESULTS: The mean CD45+ cells viability was 69% after thawing the cells ,81% immediately after washing them with Voluven, and 81%, 80%, 79% and 73% 1h, 2h, 4h and 24h after the wash. When using NSA the mean CD45+ viability was 79%, 92%, 93%, 92%, 93% and 87% at the same time points. When the samples were kept for 30 additional minutes at RT, the mean CD45+ viability was 78%, 81%, 84%, 82%, 84% and 81% with Voluven, and 80%, 92%, 94%, 91%, 95% and 86% with NSA. Regarding CD34+ cells, when washed with Voluven the mean viability was 46%, 87%, 87%, 92%, 83% and 69%, while it was 61%, 91%, 91%, 92%, 89% and 84% when NSA was used. The mean CD34+ cells viability results after 30' at RT for each time point were 79%, 90%, 82%, 91%, 82% and 81% with Voluven and 85%, 90%, 90%, 94%, 93% and 86% with NSA. Moreover the mean viable CD34+ cells recovery at 24h was 90.94% for Voluven and 87,88% for NSA. CONCLUSIONS: We have obtained an excellent stability of the CD34+ cells viability for 24h after washing the mobilized mononuclear cells apheresis products both with Voluven and with NSA when the products are stored at 4ºC. Moreover, the viability is not affected when the cells are kept for an additional 30' at RT. The viable CD34+ cells loss at 24h was scarce. Disclosures Blanquer Blanquer: Pfizer: Research Funding.

Martínez, Salvador [et al.], The objective of this article is to assess the safety of intraspinal infusion of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNCs) and, ultimately, to look for histopathological signs of cellular neurotrophism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. We conducted an open single arm phase I trial. After 6 months observation, autologous BMNCs were infused into the posterior spinal cord funiculus. Safety was the primary endpoint and was defined as the absence of serious transplant-related adverse events. In addition, forced vital capacity (FVC), ALS-functional rating scale (ALS-FRS), Medical Research Council scale for assessment of muscle power (MRC), and Norris scales were assessed 6 and 3 months prior to the transplant and quarterly afterward for 1 year. Pathological studies were performed in case of death. Eleven patients were included. We did not observe any severe transplant-related adverse event, but there were 43 nonsevere events. Twenty-two (51%) resolved in ≤2 weeks and only four were still present at the end of follow-up. All were common terminology criteria for adverse events grade ≤2. No acceleration in the rate of decline of FVC, ALS-FRS, Norris, or MRC scales was observed. Four patients died on days 359, 378, 808, and 1,058 post-transplant for reasons unrelated to the procedure. Spinal cord pathological analysis showed a greater number of motoneurons in the treated segments compared with the untreated segments (4.2 ± 0.8 motoneurons per section [mns per sect] and 0.9 ± 0.3 mns per sect, respectively). In the treated segments, motoneurons were surrounded by CD90+ cells and did not show degenerative ubiquitin deposits. This clinical trial confirms not only the safety of intraspinal infusion of autologous BMNC in ALS patients but also provides evidence strongly suggesting their neurotrophic activity. © AlphaMed Press., This work was supported by the Carlos III Institute (FIS EC07/90762), Advanced Therapies and Transplant General Direction (Health Ministry, Spain) (TRA-137), ISCIII Spanish Cell Therapy Network (Tercel; RD06/0010/0023), DIGESIC-MEC BFU2008-00588, Ingenio 2010 MEC-CONSOLIDER CSD2007-00023, GVA Prometeo Grant 2009/028, Rotary Club Elche-Illice and by the Fundacion Diogenes.

Abstract 4393 Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, characterised by loss of motoneurons (mns), and it has no cure. Cell therapy has neurotrophic effects in animal models and has been proposed as a disease-modifying treatment. Our aim was twofold: firstly, to assess the safety of intraspinal infusion of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNC) and, ultimately, to look for histopathological signs of cellular neurotrophism. Methods: We conducted an open single arm phase I trial. After six months observation, autologous BMNC were infused into the posterior spinal cord funiculus. Safety was the primary endpoint and was defined as the absence of serious transplant-related adverse events. In addition, forced vital capacity (FVC) and ALS-FRS, MRC and Norris scales were assessed six and three months prior to the transplant and quarterly afterwards for one year. Pathological studies were performed in case of death. Findings: Eleven patients were included. We did not observe any severe transplant-related adverse event but there were 43 non-severe events. Twenty-two (51%) resolved in ≤2 weeks and only four were still present at the end of follow-up. All were CTCAE grade ≤2. No acceleration in the rate of decline of FVC, ALS-FRS, Norris or MRC scales was observed. Four patients died on days 359, 378, 808 and 1058 postransplant for reasons unrelated to the procedure. Spinal cord pathological analysis showed a greater number of montoneurons in the treated compared to the untreated segments (4.2+/−0.8 mns/section and 0.9+/−0.3 mns/section, respectively). In the treated segments, motoneurons were surrounded by CD90+ cells and did not show degenerative ubiquitin deposits. Interpretation: This clinical trial confirms not only the safety of intraspinal infusion of autologous BMNC in ALS patients but also provides evidence of their neurotrophic activity. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Introduction: Patients with Amyothrophyc Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) typically endure a progressive paralysis due to the continued loss of motoneurons that leads them to death in less than 5 years. No treatment has changed its natural history. Intraspinal injections of bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNC) have been able to ameliorate the course of ALS in murine models, acting as pumps of trophic factors that keep the motoneurons functional. We have designed a phase I/II clinical trial to check the feasibility of this approach in humans. Material and Methods: 10 patients were required for this study. Inclusion criteria required a medullar onset of the disease, a forced vital capacity (FVC) >50% and under 90% desaturation time inferior to 2% of the sleeping time. Sixty mL of bone marrow were harvested under sedation. A ficoll procedure was performed in order to obtain the MNC, which were resuspended in 2 mL of saline. After laminectomy, the MNC were infused through a spinal needle in 2 injections 10 and 6 mm deep in the posterior tract of T3–T4 under electrophysiological surveillance. This level was chosen aiming the preservation of the lower intercostals function as a mean to stop the deterioration of the FVC, and thus prolong this patient’s survival. Patients are followed for 6 months before the infusion, to establish the individual evolution of the disease, and every three months for 1 year after the procedure. Results: 26 of 116 clinical histories submitted for revision to enter the trial initially met the inclusion criteria. Out of 26, 15 patients had to be excluded because they didn’t meet the inclusion criteria either in the first or subsequent visits prior to the procedure. Seven patients, 3 males and 4 females (median age 46 years, range 32 – 61) have been infused so far. All patients had received multiple prior medical treatments. Median time from diagnosis to cellular infusion was 20 months (range 15 – 47). We infused a total of 402 ×106 (240–602.8) MNC, including 3.16 ×106 (0.96–10.25) CD34+ cells. After ≥6 months of follow-up, assessment of the FVC’s evolution and the score points of the international ALS-FRS, Norris and MRC scales, revealed that of two rapidly evolving patients, one achieved stabilization of the progression and one was unaffected by the intervention. Five patients whose disease evolved more slowly also achieved stabilization of the functional scales or maintained basal FVC values (Fig. 1). Serial magnetic resonance image studies did not show any spinal cord damage. There were two severe adverse reactions (AE): 1 syncope secondary to constipation, and 1 admission due to a high tract respiratory infection with transient respiratory insufficiency in the patient in which the transplant was ineffective. Other AEs of WHO grade 1 or 2 and less than 2 months of duration were: constipation (7), intercostal pain (3), CSF hypotension (2) and lower limbs paresthesias (5, 1 of them persistent). After 6 months of follow-up, all patients had asymptomatic abolition of the somato-sensorial potentials of the posterior tract. Conclusions: The procedure was safe and feasible. No major complications or significant morbility was observed. Stabilization of the disease was achieved in 6 of the first 7 patients included in the protocol. The only unresponsive patient had developed bulbar involvement at the time of the infusion, an already known adverse prognostic factor for response to this type of cellular therapy. Figure Figure