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SOT201 is a novel immunocytokine consisting of a monoclonal humanized, Fc silenced antibody against PD-1 fused to a covalent RLI-15 complex of a human IL-15 mutein linked to the high-affinity binding site of the IL-15Rα, the sushi+ domain. SOT201 is developed for immunotherapeutic treatment of various types of cancers. The activity of SOT201 is based on spatiotemporal reinvigorating of anti-tumor immune responses by disrupting co-inhibitory T-cell signaling by blocking PD-1 and synergistically activating adaptive as well as innate immunity by IL-15-mediated signaling via the IL-2/IL-15βγ receptor on T cells, NK, NKT, and γδ T cells. SOT201 showed a superior potentiation of T cell stimulation over pembrolizumab in mixed lymphocyte reaction in vitro. Studies in cynomolgus monkeys showed that decreased affinity of IL-15 mutein in SOT201 for its IL-15Rβγ is well optimized to ensure favorable pharmacokinetic properties while inducing strong CD8+ T cell and NK cell activation and expansion. Synergistic action on CD8+ T cell activation of both anti-PD-1 and RLI-15 moieties was confirmed using mouse surrogate SOT201 molecules in vivo. Strong anti-tumor efficacy after SOT201 treatment was achieved in a human PD-1 transgenic mouse model implanted with the MC38-hPD-L1 cell line. These data represent a promising therapeutic candidate molecule leveraging the synergistic concerted action of anti-PD-1 blockage and simultaneous immune cell activation directed preferentially to the high PD-1+ T cell tumor environment. The therapeutic potential of SOT201 is currently being prepared for evaluation in a Phase I clinical study in metastatic advanced cancer patients as well as for PD-1 resistant/refractory patients as our clinical stage IL-2/IL-15Rβγ agonist SOT101 already showed a clinical benefit in these patients in its ongoing Phase I study. Citation Format: Irena Adkins, Zuzana Antosova, Klara Danova, Kamila Hladikova, Katerina Augustynkova, Katerina Sajnerova, Nada Podzimkova, Pavel Marasek, Guy de Martynoff, David Bechard, Ulrich Moebius, Radek Spisek. SOT201 is a novel targeted IL-15Rbg agonist to alleviate PD-1-mediated immune cell suppression and potentiate anti-tumor efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3510.

Background SO-C101 is a superagonist fusion protein of interleukin (IL)-15 and the IL-15 receptor α (IL-15Rα) sushi+ domain, representing a promising clinical candidate for the treatment of cancer. SO-C101 specifically stimulates natural killer (NK) cells and memory CD8+ T cells with no significant expansion and activation of regulatory T cell compartment. Methods Human NK cell proliferation, the expression of NK cell receptors and ADCC activity of human PBMC after stimulation with SO-C101 in vitro in combination with monoclonal antibodies were detected by flow cytometry. The anti-tumor efficacy of SO-C101 in combination with Daratumumab was assessed in a multiple myeloma SCID xenograft mouse model in vivo. Results In this study, we show that SO-C101 induced proliferation and expansion of both major subsets of human NK cells, CD56brightCD16- and CD56dimCD16+. Furthermore, SO-C101 induced expression of the cytotoxic receptors NKp30 and NKG2D whereas no upregulation of the inhibitory receptors CD158a, CD158b and NKG2A was detected. Both NK cell subsets activated by SO-C101 exhibited cytotoxicity towards cancer cells in vitro. Using human PBMCs, we show that SO-C101 potentiated killing of tumor cells induced by several clinically approved therapeutic monoclonal antibodies such as Cetuximab, Daratumumab and Obinutuzumab in vitro. SO-C101 and Daratumumab monotherapy treatment inhibited tumor growth in vivo, however, their combination showed the strongest anti-tumor efficacy. Specifically, sequential administration of Daratumumab, followed by SO-C101 promoted complete tumor regression, compared to partial anti-tumor responses induced by the respective monotherapies. Conclusions SO-C101 augments the anti-tumor activity of therapeutic antibodies by increasing NK cells mediated antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity. These results support the evaluation of SO-C101 in combination with monoclonal therapeutic antibodies in clinical studies. Ethics Approval The anti-tumor efficacy studies in mice were approved by the internal ethics board of the respective contract research organization (CRO).

To improve the storage stability and reusability of various yeast strains and species by immobilization in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel particles. Debaryomyces hansenii, Pichia sorbitophila, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Yarrowia lipolytica, and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii were immobilized in PVA particles using LentiKats technology and stored in sterile water at 4 °C. The immobilization improved the survival of all species; however, the highest storage stability was achieved for S. cerevisiae and Y. lipolytica which survived more than 1 year, in contrast to free cells that survived for only 3 months. Tests of the reusability of immobilized recombinant laccase-secreting S. cerevisiae revealed that the cells were suitable for repetitive use (55 cycles during 15 months) even after storage in water at 4 °C for 9 months. A suitable method for killing immobilized laccase-secreting cells without affecting the produced enzyme activity was also developed. The immobilization of yeasts in PVA hydrogel enables long-term, cheap storage with very good cell viability and productivity, thus becoming a promising approach for industrial applications.

This experimental study is focused on a rectangular synthetic (zero-net-mass-flux) jet impinging on a wall. The working fluid is air. A novel variant of a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) is proposed. Following biomimetic principles, the actuator incorporates a nozzle in which the cross-sectional area periodically oscillates during the driven cycle. Two independent actuating systems are used to drive the main SJA diaphragm (as seen in common SJAs with rigid nozzles) and the oscillating nozzle walls (unique to this study). Namely, the diaphragm is driven electrodynamically, and the nozzle walls are driven using a pair of piezoelectric transducers. The operating frequency of 62 Hz is selected by tuning both systems at their resonances. The nozzle slot width oscillates around an average value of approximately 6 mm. Four experimental methods were used: phase-locked visualization of the oscillating nozzle lips, direct measurement of the jet momentum flux using a precision scale, hot-wire anemometry, and an evaluation of the heat transfer coefficients on the exposed wall using heat flux sensors. The local distribution of the heat transfer coefficient on the wall (Nusselt number in a dimensionless form) indicated the three-dimensional character of the flow field with an axis-switching effect. It was concluded that the momentum flux and the heat transfer rate could be enhanced by the phase delay between the diaphragm and nozzle cycles. The reason is the fact that the nozzle cross-sectional area during the extrusion stroke is smaller than the area during the suction, thus the SJ velocity and momentum flux are promoted during extrusion while the losses are reduced during suction. The maximal effect was found at the phase shift of 270° for the ratio of the cross-section areas during the extrusion and suction of 0.74.

Laccases are enzymes with a broad range of biotechnological applications and have, for example, the ability to oxidize many xenobiotics including synthetic dyes. In order to obtain an efficient laccase for the decolorization of dyes which spoil wastewater from the textile industry, genes encoding three various laccase enzymes were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The expression of laccases from ascomycete Myceliophthora thermophila (MtL), and two basidiomycetes Trametes versicolor (TvL) and Trametes trogii (TtL) was optimized via selection of plasmids, promoters, media composition, and cultivation conditions. For the first time, the activity of the three secreted laccases was directly compared with the use of various substrates, including different dyes and a wastewater sample. A strong constitutive ADH1 promoter, minimal growth medium, optimized combination of copper and organic nitrogen source, and low cultivation temperature were shown to significantly increase the yields and relative activities of secreted laccases. Heterologous expression of three fungal laccases was successfully achieved in S. cerevisiae being the highest for MtL and the lowest for TvL. MtL, and particularly TtL, showed the decolorization capacity. This is the first report which compared decolorization of synthetic dyes and wastewater by several recombinant laccases and suggested MtL and TtL to be applicable in the ecofriendly enzymatic treatment of colored industry effluent. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:69-80, 2018.

Laccases are multi-copper oxidoreductases which catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of substrates during the simultaneous reduction of oxygen to water. These enzymes, originally found in fungi, plants, and other natural sources, have many industrial and biotechnological applications. They are used in the food, textile, pulp, and paper industries, as well as for bioremediation purposes. Although natural hosts can provide relatively high levels of active laccases after production optimization, heterologous expression can bring, moreover, engineered enzymes with desired properties, such as different substrate specificity or improved stability. Hence, diverse hosts suitable for laccase production are reviewed here, while the greatest emphasis is placed on yeasts which are commonly used for industrial production of various proteins. Different approaches to optimize the laccase expression and activity are also discussed in detail here.

Varied therapeutic peptides and proteins represent a rapidly growing part of marketed drugs and have an undisputed place alongside other established therapies. Nevertheless, such biodrugs have several drawbacks that hinder their therapeutic application. These are undesirable physicochemical properties, such as variable solubility, low bioavailability and limited stability. These issues can be overcome by addition of stabilizing agents and directed injectable administration, which can however result in low patient compliance. Hence, there is a drive in the biotechnology industry to produce needle-free and more user-friendly drugs, and this has led to the growth of nano-enabled drug delivery systems in the last decade. As discussed here, nanobiotechnology is becoming a commercially feasible and promising opportunity for oral, pulmonary and transdermal administration routes.

The aim of this work was to construct transgenic plants with increased capabilities to degrade organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls. The environmentally important gene of bacterial dioxygenase, the bphC gene, was chosen to clone into a plant of Nicotiana tabacum. The chosen bphC gene encodes 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl-1,2-dioxygenase, which cleaves the aromatic ring of dihydroxybiphenyl, and we cloned it in fusion with the gene for β-glucuronidase (GUS), luciferase (LUC) or with a histidine tail. Several genetic constructs were designed and prepared and the possible expression of desired proteins in tobacco plants was studied by transient expression. We used genetic constructs successfully expressing dioxygenase's genes we used for preparation of transgenic tobacco plants by agrobacterial infection. The presence of transgenic DNA , mRNA and protein was determined in parental and the first filial generation of transgenic plants with the bphC gene. Properties of prepared transgenic plants will be further studied.