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Complications occurring after lymphodepleting chemotherapy (LDC) may delay chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell infusion. The effect of these delays on clinical outcomes is unclear. We performed a retrospective analysis of 240 patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma treated with standard-of-care axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and identified 40 patients (16.7%) who had delay in axi-cel infusion. Of these, 85% had delay due to infection. At time of LDC initiation, patients with delayed infusion had lower absolute neutrophil count (P=0.006), lower platelets (P=0.004), lower hemoglobin (P<0.001) and higher C-reactive protein (P=0.001) than those with on-time infusion. Patients with delayed infusion had lower day 30 overall response rates (59.0% vs. 79.4%; P=0.008) and shorter median progression-free survival (PFS) (3.5 vs. 8.2 months; P=0.002) and overall survival (7.8 vs. 26.4 months; P=0.046) than those with on-time infusion. The association with PFS was maintained on multivariate analysis. There was also an association between extent of delay and survival, with shorter median PFS in patients who had delays of 2-5 days (1.8 vs. 8.2 months; P=0.001) and >5 days (4.6 vs. 8.2 months; P=0.036), but not 1 day (5.7 vs. 8.2 months; P=0.238). Following propensity score matching, patients with delayed infusion continued to have shorter median PFS (3.5 vs. 6.0 months; P=0.015). Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines on day of infusion were significantly higher in patients with delayed infusion. Together, these findings suggest that delays in CAR T-cell administration after initiation of LDC are associated with inferior outcomes. Further studies are needed to guide strategies to improve efficacy in such patients.

Conditioning chemotherapy (CCT) has been shown to be essential for optimal efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Here, we determined whether the change in absolute lymphocyte count, referred to as delta lymphocyte index (DLIx), may serve as a surrogate marker for pharmacodynamic effects of CCT and whether it associated with germline genetic variants in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). One-hundred and seventy-one patients were included, of which 86 (50%) received bridging therapy post-leukapheresis. Median DLIx was 0.5 × 10 9 /L (range, 0.01-2.75 × 10 9 /L) and was significantly higher in patients who achieved complete response (p = 0.04). On multivariate analysis, low DLIx was associated only with use of bridging therapy (odds ratio 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.8, p = 0.007). Low DLIx was independently associated with shorter progression-free (p = 0.02) and overall survival (p = 0.02). DLIx was associated with genetic variations related to drug metabolism and macrophage biology such as ABCB1, MISP and CPVL. The impact of CCT on lymphocyte count is affected by use of bridging therapy but change in lymphocyte count is independently associated with efficacy. Studies aimed at investigating macrophage biology in this setting may suggest strategies to increase the efficacy of CCT and improve outcomes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Purpose: The role of zoledronic acid (ZOL), a bone-targeted bisphosphonate, in the treatment of patients with breast cancer remains an active area of study. Here, we report the long-term outcomes of a randomized placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial in which ZOL treatment was added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer., Methods: 120 women with clinical stage II-III (≥ T2 and/or ≥ N1) newly diagnosed breast cancer were randomized to receive either 4 mg intravenous ZOL every 3 weeks for 1 year (17 total doses) beginning with the first dose of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or chemotherapy alone. Clinical endpoints included time to recurrence (TTR), time to bone recurrence (TTBR), time to non-bone recurrence (TTNBR), breast cancer survival (BCS) and overall survival (OS)., Results: With a median follow-up interval of 14.4 years, there were no significant differences in any of the clinical endpoints studied between the control and ZOL groups in the overall study population. However, ER+/HER2- patients younger than age 45 who were treated with ZOL had significantly worse TTR and TTNBR with a trend towards worse TTBR, BCS and OS (TTR: P = 0.024, HR 6.05 [1.26-29.1]; TTNBR: P = 0.026, HR 6.94 [1.26-38.1]; TTBR: P = 0.054, HR 6.01 [0.97-37.1]; BCS: P = 0.138, HR 4.43 [0.62-31.7]; OS: P = 0.138, HR 4.43 [0.62-31.7]). These differences were not seen in older ER+/HER2- patients or triple-negative patients of any age., Conclusion: Addition of ZOL to neoadjuvant therapy did not significantly affect clinical outcomes in the overall study population but was associated with increased extra-skeletal recurrence and a trend towards worse survival in ER+/HER2- patients younger than age 45. These findings suggest caution when using zoledronic acid in young, premenopausal women with locally advanced breast cancer and warrant further investigation. Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT00242203, Date of Registration: 10/17/2005.

Objective: A role for thrombin in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has been suggested through clinical and experimental studies revealing a critical link between the coagulation system and inflammation. Although approved drugs for inhibition of thrombin and thrombin-related signaling have demonstrated efficacy, their clinical application to this end may be limited because of significant potential for bleeding side effects. Thus, we sought to implement a plaque-localizing nanoparticle-based approach to interdict thrombin-induced inflammation and hypercoagulability in atherosclerosis., Approach and Results: We deployed a novel magnetic resonance spectroscopic method to quantify the severity of endothelial damage for correlation with traditional metrics of vessel procoagulant activity after dye-laser injury in fat-fed apolipoprotein E-null mice. We demonstrate that a 1-month course of treatment with antithrombin nanoparticles carrying the potent thrombin inhibitor PPACK (d-phenylalanyl-l-prolyl-l-arginyl chloromethylketone) nanoparticle (1) reduces the expression and secretion of proinflammatory and procoagulant molecules, (2) diminishes plaque procoagulant activity without the need for systemic anticoagulation, (3) rapidly restores disrupted vascular endothelial barriers, and (4) retards plaque progression in lesion-prone areas., Conclusions: These observations illustrate the role of thrombin as a pleiotropic atherogenic molecule under conditions of hypercholesterolemia and suggest the utility of its inhibition with locally acting antithrombin nanoparticle therapeutics as a rapid-acting anti-inflammatory strategy in atherosclerosis to reduce thrombotic risk., (© 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.)

Melittin is a cytolytic peptide derived from bee venom that inserts into lipid membranes and oligomerizes to form membrane pores. Although this peptide is an attractive candidate for treatment of cancers and infectious processes, its nonspecific cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity have limited its therapeutic applications. Several groups have reported the development of cytolytic peptide prodrugs that only exhibit cytotoxicity following activation by site-specific proteases. However, systemic administration of these constructs has proven difficult because of their poor pharmacokinetic properties. Here, we present a platform for the design of protease-activated melittin derivatives that may be used in conjunction with a perfluorocarbon nanoparticle delivery system. Although native melittin was substantially hemolytic (HD50: 1.9 μM) and cytotoxic (IC50: 2.4 μM), the prodrug exhibited 2 orders of magnitude less hemolytic activity (HD50: > 100 μM) and cytotoxicity (IC50: > 100 μM). Incubation with matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) led to cleavage of the prodrug at the expected site and restoration of hemolytic activity (HD50: 3.4 μM) and cytotoxicity (IC50: 8.1 μM). Incubation of the prodrug with perfluorocarbon nanoparticles led to stable loading of 10,250 peptides per nanoparticle. Nanoparticle-bound prodrug was also cleaved and activated by MMP-9, albeit at a fourfold slower rate. Intravenous administration of prodrug-loaded nanoparticles in a mouse model of melanoma significantly decreased tumor growth rate (p = 0.01). Because MMPs and other proteases play a key role in cancer invasion and metastasis, this platform holds promise for the development of personalized cancer therapies directed toward a patient's individual protease expression profile.

Currently, there are no generally applicable noninvasive methods for defining the relationship between atherosclerotic vascular damage and risk of focal thrombosis. Herein, we demonstrate methods to delineate the progression and regression of vascular damage in response to an atherogenic diet by quantifying the in vivo accumulation of semipermeable 200-300 nm perfluorocarbon core nanoparticles (PFC-NP) in ApoE null mouse plaques with [(19)F] magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Permeability to PFC-NP remained minimal until 12 weeks on diet, then increased rapidly following 12 weeks, but regressed to baseline within 8 weeks after diet normalization. Markedly accelerated clotting (53.3% decrease in clotting time) was observed in carotid artery preparations of fat-fed mice subjected to photochemical injury as defined by the time to flow cessation. For all mice on and off diet, an inverse linear relationship was observed between the permeability to PFC-NP and accelerated thrombosis (P = 0.02). Translational feasibility for quantifying plaque permeability and vascular damage in vivo was demonstrated with clinical 3 T MRI of PFC-NP accumulating in plaques of atherosclerotic rabbits. These observations suggest that excessive permeability to PFC-NP may indicate prothrombotic risk in damaged atherosclerotic vasculature, which resolves within weeks after dietary therapy., (© FASEB.)

As atherosclerosis remains one of the most prevalent causes of patient mortality, the ability to diagnose early signs of plaque rupture and thrombosis represents a significant clinical need. With recent advances in nanotechnology, it is now possible to image specific molecular processes noninvasively with MRI, using various types of nanoparticles as contrast agents. In the context of cardiovascular disease, it is possible to specifically deliver contrast agents to an epitope of interest for detecting vascular inflammatory processes, which serve as predecessors to atherosclerotic plaque development. Herein, we review various applications of nanotechnology in detecting atherosclerosis using MRI, with an emphasis on perfluorocarbon nanoparticles and fluorine imaging, along with theranostic prospects of nanotechnology in cardiovascular disease.

Natural products serve as an important source of novel compounds for drug development. Recently, peptides have emerged as a new class of therapeutic agents due to their versatility and specificity for biological targets. Yet, their effective application often requires use of a nanoparticle delivery system. In this chapter, we review the role of natural peptides in the design and creation of nanomedicines, with a particular focus on cell-penetrating peptides, antimicrobial peptides, and peptide toxins. The use of natural peptides in conjunction with nanoparticle delivery systems holds great promise for the development of new therapeutic formulations as well as novel platforms for the delivery of various cargoes., (© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Melittin is a cytolytic peptide component of bee venom which rapidly integrates into lipid bilayers and forms pores resulting in osmotic lysis. While the therapeutic utility of free melittin is limited by its cytotoxicity, incorporation of melittin into the lipid shell of a perfluorocarbon nanoparticle has been shown to reduce its toxicity in vivo. Our group has previously demonstrated that perfluorocarbon nanoparticles containing melittin at concentrations <10 µM inhibit HIV infectivity in vitro. In the current study, we assessed the impact of blank and melittin-containing perfluorocarbon nanoparticles on sperm motility and the viability of both sperm and vaginal epithelial cells. We found that free melittin was toxic to sperm and vaginal epithelium at concentrations greater than 2 µM (p<0.001). However, melittin nanoparticles were not cytotoxic to sperm (p = 0.42) or vaginal epithelium (p = 0.48) at an equivalent melittin concentration of 10 µM. Thus, nanoparticle formulation of melittin reduced melittin cytotoxicity fivefold and prevented melittin toxicity at concentrations previously shown to inhibit HIV infectivity. Melittin nanoparticles were toxic to vaginal epithelium at equivalent melittin concentrations ≥20 µM (p<0.001) and were toxic to sperm at equivalent melittin concentrations ≥40 µM (p<0.001). Sperm cytotoxicity was enhanced by targeting of the nanoparticles to the sperm surface antigen sperm adhesion molecule 1. While further testing is needed to determine the extent of cytotoxicity in a more physiologically relevant model system, these results suggest that melittin-containing nanoparticles could form the basis of a virucide that is not toxic to sperm and vaginal epithelium. This virucide would be beneficial for HIV serodiscordant couples seeking to achieve natural pregnancy.

As molecular dynamics simulations continue to grow in size and complexity, new techniques are needed to rapidly identify regions of data likely to benefit from further analysis. Audibilization, the conversion of data to sound, facilitates this task by taking advantage of the user's innate ability to identify anomalies in patterns of sound. Audibilization also complements visualization of a molecular simulation by allowing the user to easily correlate changes in numerical quantities with changes in the overall structure of the molecular system. Here we present three examples highlighting the utility of audibilization in the analysis of three different molecular simulations. First, we present a simulation of liquid water in which the lengths of the O-H bonds are calculated at each time step and audibilized. Interestingly, we find that anomalies in the pattern of bond vibration are due to intermolecular interactions but do not correlate with the formation of hydrogen bonds. Next, we present a simulation of the rupture of a gold nanowire. Here we audibilize the nanowire potential energy and illustrate that sharp changes in this value coincide with important structural events such as the formation of monatomic chains and dislocations. Finally, we present a simulation of single-stranded DNA passing through a nanogap. Here the bond angle is audibilized and used to illustrate the conformational changes of each base as it passes through the nanogap. This simulation also illustrates the use of more advanced audibilization techniques such as the multiplexing of audibilized signals and the weighting of certain segments of data relative to others.

When polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are formed by nanoprecipitation, which is a nucleation-growth process, the control over size requires changing the polymer concentration or solvent composition. Here, we demonstrate that the NP size can be controlled independent of polymer variables by introducing a polyelectrolyte (PE) in the aqueous phase. PEs that exhibit hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) yield a reduction in NP size, whereas PEs that do not possess this characteristic promote the formation of larger NPs. The observed effect can be attributed to the formation of a diffusional barrier around the NP in the form of a dense shell. This principle of controlling NP size is not limited to polymers and can also be employed in the production of lipid NPs.

Background: We investigated whether cytolytic melittin peptides could inhibit HIV-1 infectivity when carried in a nanoparticle construct that might be used as a topical vaginal virucide. Free melittin and melittin-loaded nanoparticles were prepared and compared for cytotoxicity and their ability to inhibit infectivity by CXCR4 and CCR5 tropic HIV-1 strains., Methods: TZM-bl reporter cells expressing luciferase under the control of the HIV-1 promoter were incubated with HIV-1 NLHX (CXCR4) or HIV-1 NLYU2 (CCR5) viral strains and different doses of soluble CD4 (positive control) or free melittin to determine infectivity and viability. Melittin-loaded nanoparticles were formulated and different doses tested against VK2 vaginal epithelial cells to determine cell viability. Based on VK2 viability, melittin nanoparticles were tested for prevention of CXCR4 and CCR5 tropic HIV-1 infectivity and viability of TZM-bl reporter cells. Low-speed centrifugation was used to compare the ability of blank non-melittin nanoparticles and melittin nanoparticles to capture CCR5 tropic HIV-1., Results: As expected, the soluble CD4 positive control inhibited CXCR4 (50% inhibitory concentration [IC₅₀] 3.7 μg/ml) and CCR5 (IC₅₀ 0.03 μg/ml) tropic HIV-1 infectivity. Free melittin doses <2 μM were not cytotoxic and were highly effective in reducing HIV-1 infectivity for both CXCR4 and CCR5 strains in TZM-bl reporter cells, while VK2 vaginal cell viability was adversely affected at all free melittin doses tested. However, VK2 cell viability was not affected at any dose of melittin-loaded nanoparticles. Melittin nanoparticles safely and significantly decreased CXCR4 (IC₅₀ 2.4 μM and IC₉₀ 6.9 μM) and CCR5 (IC₅₀ 3.6 μM and IC₉₀ 11.4 μM) strain infectivity of TZM-bl reporter cells. Furthermore, melittin nanoparticles captured more HIV-1 than blank nanoparticles., Conclusions: These data illustrate the first proof-of-concept for therapeutic and safe nanoparticle-mediated inhibition of HIV-1 infectivity. Future investigations appear warranted to explore the antiviral prophylactic potential of melittin nanoparticles to capture, disrupt and prevent initial infection with HIV-1 or potentially other enveloped viruses.