No abstract

A monoclonal antibody (904) that binds to a leukocyte cell adhesion-promoting glycoprotein, (Mol; CD11b/CD18) was administered (1 mg/kg, iv.) to open chest anesthetized dogs 45 min after the induction of regional myocardial ischemia. Ischemia was produced by occluding the left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) for 90 min and then reperfusing for 6 h. There was no difference between control and antibody treated groups with respect to arterial blood pressure, heart rate, or LCX blood flow. Administration of antibody produced no observable effect on circulating neutrophil counts, suggesting that antibody-bound neutrophils were not cleared from the circulation. The mean size of myocardial infarct expressed as percentage of the area at risk of infarction that resulted was reduced by 46% with anti-Mol treatment (25.8±4.7%, n = 8) compared to control (47.6±5.7%, n = 8; P < 0.01). The area at risk of infarction was similar between groups. Circulating (serum) antibody excess was confirmed in all 8 anti-Mol treated dogs by immunofluorescence analysis. Analysis of ST segment elevation on the electrocardiogram as an indicator of the severity of ischemia suggests that the anti-Mol reduces infarct size independent of the severity of ischemia. An additional group of dogs (n = 5) was tested with a control monoclonal antibody of the same subtype (murine IgGI) and was found to produce no significant reduction in myocardial infarct size. Accumulation of neutrophils within the myocardium was significantly attenuated with 904 treatment when analyzed by histological methods. These data demonstrate that administration of anti-Mol monoclonal antibody after the induction of regional myocardial ischemia results in reduced myocardial reperfusion injury as measured by ultimate infarct size.

FLT3 is the most frequently mutated gene in cases of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). About 30 to 35% of patients have either internal tandem duplications (ITDs) in the juxtamembrane domain or mutations in the activating loop of FLT3. FLT3 mutations occur in a broad spectrum of FAB subtypes in adult and pediatric AML and are particularly common in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). FLT3 mutations confer a poor prognosis in most retrospective studies. The consequence of either FLT3-ITD or activating loop mutations, which occur predominantly at position D835, is constitutive activation of the tyrosine kinase; FLT3 mutants confer factor-independent growth to Ba/F3 and 32D cells and activate similar transduction pathways as the native receptor in response to ligand, including the STAT, RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and phosphatidylinositol 3; kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathways. Injection of FLT3-ITD transformed cells, such as Ba/F3 or 32D, into syngeneic recipient mice results in a leukemia-like syndrome, and expression in primary murine bone marrow cells in a retroviral transduction assay results in a myeloproliferative disorder. Mutations that abrogate FLT3 kinase activity result in loss of transforming properties in these assays. Further, FLT3-selective inhibitors impair transformation of primary AML cells that harbor these mutations, and also inhibit FLT3 transformed hematopoietic cell lines, and leukemias induced by activated FLT3 mutants in murine models. Collectively, these data indicate that FLT3 may be a viable therapeutic target for treatment of AML.

No abstract