Complement responses may contribute to priming of the adaptive immune system or serious adverse events such as hepatotoxicity and thrombotic microangiopathy.
“Extensive research has been conducted on the complement system that affords the gene therapy community a wealth of information that can be utilized towards developing studies to examine the interplay of complement and AAV as well as mitigation strategies,” stated coauthors Klaudia Kuranda and colleagues from Spark Therapeutics.
The authors provide a comprehensive review of the complement cascade with a focus on AAV-complement interactions observed in vitro, complement activation in pre-clinical and clinical studies, and potential mitigation of complement activation within the context of complex human biology.
“Complement activation has now been recognized as one of the potential dose-limiting toxicities of high-dose intravenous gene therapy AAV vectors,” says Editor in Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School. “The review by Kuranda and colleagues is timely and important as the use of AAV vectors expands.”
About the Journal
Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and eight other international gene therapy societies, was the first peer-reviewed journal in the field and provides all-inclusive access to the critical pillars of human gene therapy: research, methods, and clinical applications. The Journal is led by Editor-in-Chief Terence R. Flotte, MD, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education and Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and an esteemed international editorial board. Human Gene Therapy is available in print and online. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue are available on the Human Gene Therapy website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, and public health and policy. For complete information, please visit the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website.
END
Complement system response to AAV vector gene therapy
2024-02-23
(Press-News.org) Recent clinical trials utilizing high doses of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have highlighted a new challenge to AAV gene transfer – activation of the complement system. A new article in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy describes how a convergence of AAV-specific, environmental, and patient-specific factors shaping complement responses likely contribute to differential outcomes seen in clinical trials. Click here to read the article now.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study suggests people in urban areas with more green space have better mental health
2024-02-23
By Ann Kellett, Texas A&M University School of Public Health
A new study from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health suggests that city dwellers who have more exposure to urban green spaces require fewer mental health services.
The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, was conducted by Jay Maddock, Ph.D., Regents Professor of environmental and occupational health at Texas A&M, and colleagues from the Center ...
Zinc discovery holds promise for people with cystic fibrosis
2024-02-23
University of Queensland researchers have identified an opportunity to reduce infections in people living with cystic fibrosis.
Professor Matt Sweet, Dr Kaustav Das Gupta and Dr James Curson from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience have discovered a fault in the bacteria-killing function of immune cells in people with CF and a potential way to get around it.
CF is a chronic disease in which defects in the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) channel cause a build-up of mucus in the lungs, airways and digestive system, leading to ...
Study finds black children in UK at four times greater risk of complications following emergency appendicitis surgery compared with white children
2024-02-23
New research published in Anaesthesia (the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) shows that for children undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis in the UK, black children had a four times greater risk of postoperative complications compared with white children. The study was led by Dr Amaki Sogbodjor, from Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London (UCL), and Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, London, UK and Director, Central London National ...
Webb finds evidence for neutron star at heart of young supernova remnant
2024-02-22
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a compact object has long been sought, and while indirect evidence for the presence of a neutron star has previously been found, this is the first time that the effects of high-energy ...
Study finds guided parent-child discussions are effective at addressing subtle racism
2024-02-22
Study finds guided parent-child discussions are effective at addressing subtle racism
When parents discuss racism with their children, negative biases toward Black people are significantly reduced in both parent and child
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Experts have long pointed out the need for white parents to have conversations that directly address racism with their children to reduce racial bias. But many parents fail to have these crucial discussions.
Psychology researchers at Northwestern University have published ...
Entrepreneurs’ stock losses bruise their businesses
2024-02-22
When a recession takes a bite out of an entrepreneur’s personal stock portfolio, does that person’s business suffer more than those of older and larger competitors?
New research by Marius Ring, assistant professor of finance at Texas McCombs, finds a link between the wealth of small-business owners and the health of their companies during economic downturns. When their stock portfolios lose value, their businesses suffer ripple effects: less financing and curtailed hiring.
“Entrepreneurial wealth follows the ups and downs of economic cycles,” Ring says. “I show that for entrepreneurs whose stock portfolios take a hit, their businesses ...
Copies of antibiotic resistance genes greatly elevated in humans and livestock
2024-02-22
DURHAM, N.C. – Biomedical engineers at Duke University have uncovered a key link between the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and the evolution of resistance to new drugs in certain pathogens.
The research shows bacteria exposed to higher levels of antibiotics often harbor multiple identical copies of protective antibiotic resistance genes. These duplicated resistance genes are often linked to “jumping genes” called transposons that can move from strain to strain. Not only does this provide a mechanism for resistance to spread, having multiple copies of a resistance ...
Study shows how local fishers respond to climate challenges
2024-02-22
BEAUFORT, N.C. – When it comes to protecting a crucial resource in the face of changing conditions, it’s important to know how the humans reliant on that resource have organized themselves. Especially if there isn’t a lot of government supervision.
A new study of small-scale fisheries in Mexico’s Gulf of California has found that the fishers’ response to a changing climate can be strongly influenced by what they fish for and how they’re organized. The work appears in the January 2024 issue of Global Environmental Change.
“When we ...
Cooler, wetter parts of Pacific Northwest likely to see more fires, new simulations predict
2024-02-22
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Forests in the coolest, wettest parts of the western Pacific Northwest are likely to see the biggest increases in burn probability, fire size and number of blazes as the climate continues to get warmer and drier, according to new modeling led by an Oregon State University scientist.
Understanding how fire regimes may change under future climate scenarios is critical for developing adaptation strategies, said the study’s lead author, Alex Dye.
Findings were published today in JGR Biogeosciences.
Dye, ...
U.S. Department of Energy awards Argonne National Laboratory $4 million for energy-efficient microchip research
2024-02-22
While the microchips inside electronic devices like cell phones and computers are incredibly small, transistors — the tiny electrical switches inside of microchips — are approaching the atomic level. Today’s microchips pack over 100 million transistors in an area the size of a pin head.
Despite their almost unimaginable size, the total number of such microelectronic devices consume an enormous amount of energy, which is growing exponentially. Predictions indicate that 20% of the world’s energy could be consumed ...