Chemokine News and Research

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Chemokines are a family of small cytokines, or proteins secreted by cells. Proteins are classified as chemokines according to shared structural characteristics such as small size (they are all approximately 8-10 kilodaltons in size), and the presence of four cysteine residues in conserved locations that are key to forming their 3-dimensional shape.

EpiCept, Immune Pharmaceuticals enter definitive merger agreement

Immune Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a privately held Israeli company, and EpiCept Corporation today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The transaction is anticipated to close during the first quarter of 2013 and is subject to satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including the approval of a majority of EpiCept shareholders.

8 Nov 2012

USPTO issues patent to Tobira’s cenicriviroc for treatment of HIV-1 infection

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc., developer of innovative antiretroviral therapies for HIV, today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent 8,183,273, claiming compositions of matter of a broad family of compounds with activity against chemokine receptors CCR5 and CCR2.

26 Oct 2012

12-chemokine gene signature can predict presence of lymph node-like structures in MM

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered a unique immune gene signature that can predict the presence of microscopic lymph node-like structures in metastatic melanoma. The presence of these immune structures, the researchers said, appears to be associated with better survival and may indicate the possibility of selecting patients for immunotherapy based solely on the immune-related makeup of their tumors as an approach to personalized medicine.

25 Oct 2012

Recovering Treg cells in pancreatic lymph nodes may restore insulin production in type I diabetics

The key to restoring production of insulin in type I diabetic patients, previously known as juvenile diabetes, may be in recovering the population of protective cells known T regulatory cells in the lymph nodes at the "gates" of the pancreas, a new preclinical study published online October 8 in Cellular & Molecular Immunology by researchers in the Department of Bioscience Technologies at Thomas Jefferson University suggests.

10 Oct 2012

NOXXON commences NOX-A12 Phase IIa trial in relapsed MM

NOXXON Pharma today announced the treatment of the first cohort of three multiple myeloma (MM) patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial of its anti-CXCL12/SDF-1 (CXC chemokine ligand 12 / Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1) Spiegelmer NOX-A12.

26 Sep 2012

Tel Aviv University researcher discovers homing device that draws cancer

The process of metastasis, by which cancer cells travel from a tumor site and proliferate at other sites in the body, is a serious threat to cancer patients. According to the National Cancer Institute, most recurrences of cancer are metastases rather than "new" cancers.

20 Sep 2012

Phase 1b trial validates efficacy of Pulmatrix PUR118 to treat COPD

Pulmatrix, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company creating novel inhaled therapeutics, today announced top line results from a clinical study showing that the novel inhaled therapeutic, PUR118, demonstrated anti-inflammatory efficacy and was well-tolerated in two Phase 1b studies in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

5 Sep 2012

Biokine, BioLineRx sign license agreement to develop and commercialize BL-8040 for AML

BioLineRx Ltd., a biopharmaceutical drug development company, announced today that it has signed an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Biokine Therapeutics Ltd., a Clal Biotechnology Industries portfolio company, for the development and commercialization of BL-8040 (formerly BKT-140), a Phase II ready drug candidate for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as other types of hematological cancer.

4 Sep 2012

Injectable controlled-release capsules against gum disease

Scientists are trying to open a new front in the battle against gum disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults and sometimes termed the most serious oral health problem of the 21st century. They described another treatment approach for the condition in a report here today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

20 Aug 2012

Implanted cells' therapeutic properties depend on their shape

Tissue implants made of cells grown on a sponge-like scaffold have been shown in clinical trials to help heal arteries scarred by atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases. However, it has been unclear why some implants work better than others.

16 Aug 2012

Paper highlights clinical and immunological activity of immatics’ IMA901 in renal cell carcinoma

immatics biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutic vaccines that are active against cancer, today announced that key data covering the scientific and clinical development of its lead cancer vaccine, IMA901, have been published in Nature Medicine.

30 Jul 2012

Biokine receives FDA Orphan Drug designation for BKT140 to treat hematological cancers

Biokine Therapeutics Ltd. announced today that it has received Orphan Drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow into peripheral blood for collection and subsequent transplantation in patients with hematological cancers.

24 Jul 2012

Physiologists, neuropathologists identify origin of cancer metastasis formation

It is not primary tumors that are responsible for the majority of cancer deaths, but rather their metastases. Physiologists and neuropathologists from the University of Zurich have now identified the origin of metastasis formation, thereby becoming the first to reveal the pathway of metastasizing intestinal cancer cells out of the blood stream. The results allow new approaches in the development of cancer therapies.

12 Jul 2012

NOXXON commences Spiegelmer NOX-A12 Phase IIa trial in CLL

NOXXON Pharma today announced the treatment of the first cohort of three chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial of its NOX-A12 anti-CXCL12/SDF-1 (CXC Chemokine Ligand 12 / Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1) Spiegelmer.

12 Jul 2012

Colon cancer cells use clever trick to migrate: Study

How does a tumor cell set up a signaling pathway in order to metastasize? Scientists at Technische Universit-t M-nchen's (TUM) Klinikum rechts der Isar and Helmholtz Zentrum M-nchen have made a significant discovery in this area by studying colon cancer.

11 Jul 2012

Discovery answers why mother's immune system does not reject developing fetus as foreign tissue

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have made an important discovery that partially answers the long-standing question of why a mother's immune system does not reject a developing fetus as foreign tissue.

8 Jun 2012

CCR5 antagonists may also help prevent aggressive breast cancers from metastasizing

The HIV drugs known as CCR5 antagonists may also help prevent aggressive breast cancers from metastasizing, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson suggest in a preclinical study published in a recent issue of Cancer Research.

7 Jun 2012

Researchers discover new HIV-suppressing protein

Scientists have identified a new HIV-suppressing protein in the blood of people infected with the virus. In laboratory studies, the protein, called CXCL4 or PF-4, binds to HIV such that it cannot attach to or enter a human cell.

30 May 2012

New insight into immune-cell movement patterns

By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement strategy to track down parasites that is similar to strategies that predators such as monkeys, sharks and blue-fin tuna use to hunt their prey.

28 May 2012

Immune system involved in removing Alzheimer's-causing substance in the brain

Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer's-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans.

25 May 2012