Efficacious Fluorinated Cytidine Analog Cancer Therapeutic With Low Toxicity In Animal Studies
Cytidine analogs remain an area of active drug discovery and development, with five FDA approved drugs for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Two of these drugs, azacitidine (Vidaza®) and decitabine (Dacogen®), which were approved for myelodysplastic syndromes in 2004 and 2006, respectively, inhibit the DNA maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1. Because of the general toxicity of azacitidines, other nucleoside analogs are favored as therapeutics.
T Cell Receptors Targeting p53 Mutations for Cancer Immunotherapy and Adoptive Cell Therapy
The tumor protein p53 is a cell cycle regulator. It responds to DNA damage by triggering the DNA repair pathway and allowing cell division to occur or inducing cell growth arrest, cellular senescence, and/or apoptosis. p53 therefore acts as a tumor suppressor by preventing uncontrolled cell division. However, mutations in p53 that impair its cell cycle regulatory functions can induce uncontrolled cell division leading to cancer.
Micro-Dose Calibrator for Pre-clinical Radiotracer Assays
Molecular imaging is a disease-specific targeting modality that promises much more accurate diagnoses of serious diseases such as cancer and infections. Agents are being continually developed with a view to clinical translation, with several such therapies requiring measurement of very small doses. Currently, there is no way of accurately measuring small amounts of radioactivity used in many pre-clinical tracer studies, as on-the-market commercial dose calibrators measure at too high a dose range, typically at 10-1000 µCi and higher.
Methods of Producing Thymic Emigrants from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Hematopoietic and pluripotent stem cells can be differentiated into T cells with potential clinical utility. Current approaches for in vitro T cell production rely on Notch signaling and artificial mimicry of thymic selection. However, these approaches result in unconventional or phenotypically aberrant T cells; which may lead to unpredictable behavior in clinical use. Thus, there exists a need for improved methods of generating conventional T cells in vitro from stem cells.
Self-Assembling Nanoparticles Composed of Transmembrane Peptides and Their Application for Specific Intra-Tumor Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Peptides corresponding to transmembrane domains of a number of integral proteins were discovered to spontaneously self-assemble in aqueous solutions into stable and remarkably uniform nanoparticles. Researchers at the NCI’s Cancer and Inflammation Program have developed fully synthetic, peptide-based, virus-like nanoparticles capable of delivering cytotoxic, radioactive, and imaging agents.
Structure and function of tumor-target self-assembling particles:
Photoactivatable Lipid-based Nanoparticles as a Vehicle for Dual Agent Delivery
The invention relates to novel lipid-based nanoparticles (liposomes) for use in targeted, on demand and on site drug delivery. The particles include a wall surrounding a cavity, wherein the wall is comprised of:
- A lipid bilayer comprising 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC8,9PC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-
phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG2000), and
A Specialized Tissue Collection Device for the Preservation and Transportation of Needle Biopsies
The ability to hold and transport tissue, especially needle biopsies in a pre-defined and controlled environment is critical for the preservation of biopsy samples in downstream analytic applications. Currently, tissue specimens are placed in open containers with variable, poorly controlled solutions applied to them, often in less than sterile conditions. Evaluation of the tissue by examination through a stereoscope or similar approaches to determine adequacy is limited and requires manipulation of the tissue that can further damage the tissue.
A Novel Transgenic Zebrafish Line Reporting Dynamic Epigenetic Changes
Currently, there is no other whole-animal reporter for epigenetic regulation established in any vertebrate.
Cell Lines Expressing Nuclear and/or Mitochondrial RNAse H1
The National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), Program in Genomics of Differentiation, seeks interested parties to further co-develop small molecule inhibitors of RNase H1, especially in regards to genome instability, transcription, and translation.