INGN with a final burst of news from this past weekend's gene therapy conference here in SD . . .
>>AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ingn&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/i/ingn.html>) announced today that it and its collaborators at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that the mda-7 gene, a tumor suppressor gene, is also a novel cytokine that can stimulate immune cells. Introgen's INGN 241 gene drug combines the mda-7 gene with an adenoviral delivery system and is currently being tested in a Phase 1 study in cancer patients with various solid tumors. These data were recently presented at the 10th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer held in San Diego, Calif.
Elizabeth Grimm, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Bioimmunotherapy and Co-Director of the Melanoma Program at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and collaborator on the studies said, ``We have discovered that the MDA-7 protein is involved in a new regulatory circuit in controlling the immune system. The concept of treating cancer with INGN 241 is exciting because the mda-7 gene drug combines direct tumor cell apoptosis with immune cell activation. This combination of effects is unique and suggests that INGN 241 should provide a powerful therapeutic approach to treating cancer.''
This study was an extension of the previous genomics analyses which suggested that the mda-7 gene might be a novel cytokine gene. Recombinant MDA-7 protein was produced from human cells and applied to human blood cells in vitro. MDA-7 protein induced release of a number of inflammatory proteins, demonstrating that MDA-7 possessed cytokine activity. Interestingly, although the mda-7 gene is related at an evolutionary level to the IL-10 gene, MDA-7 protein appears to have opposite effects than IL-10 on immune cells.
Sunil Chada, Ph.D., director of research and development at Introgen commented, ``We had previously discovered that the mda-7 gene was located within a cluster of cytokine genes and our bioinformatics analyses suggested that mda-7 might be a new cytokine. We have now confirmed that the MDA-7 protein encoded by the mda-7 gene is, in fact, a novel cytokine in the IL-10 family. Furthermore, we have demonstrated a novel function of MDA-7 protein is to stimulate immune cells in vitro.''<<
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>>AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN <http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ingn&d=t> - news <http://biz.yahoo.com/n/i/ingn.html>) announced today additional safety data for its p53 gene drug candidate, INGN 201, Adenoviral-p53. Preclinical studies demonstrated the risk of insertion of the p53 DNA into the host cell genome is very low and furthermore is not increased when cells are exposed to conventional treatments used in cancer therapy. These data provide further evidence in support of the use of INGN 201 in the treatment of cancer. These data were recently presented at the 10th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer held in San Diego, Calif.
Lou Zumstein, Ph.D., director of research for Introgen said, ``Introgen's safety and clinical trials databases demonstrate that our adenoviral vector is very effective at delivering our therapeutic genes, and is a very safe and non-toxic vector. We cannot detect INGN 201 adenovirus integrating into genomic DNA, even with a very sensitive assay and extensive investigation. This data, when combined with our data on the almost 600 patients we have treated with INGN 201, offers a safety profile with which we are extremely comfortable. I believe that Introgen continues to set the standard by which our industry is defined.''
In the study, scientists examined the insertion frequency of INGN 201 into the genomic DNA of human lung cancer cells. Adenoviruses have historically been shown to insert into host cell genomic DNA at a very low rate. The results of this study show that INGN 201 integration into the host cell DNA cannot be detected. It also showed that the frequency is lower than the frequency seen in studies with other adenoviral vectors and that the use of DNA damaging agents such as radiation and cisplatin, agents often used in cancer therapy, does not increase the integration frequency of the adenovirus. These results provide additional support for the safety profile of INGN 201 in the treatment of cancer.
Introgen also presented data at the conference on flow cytometry to study the biological activity of p53 following treatment with INGN 201 in vitro. As a result of this work, Introgen and its collaborators have developed a new assay for p53 function which may provide a more sensitive analysis of p53 expression and activity in patient samples.
High-level expression of the p53 protein is known to increase the levels of certain other proteins, and thus increased levels of these proteins provide potential markers for the activity of over-expression of p53 inside the cell. Introgen's collaborator, Keith Shults of Esoterix Center for Innovation in Tennessee, presented these data. Using flow cytometry to measure protein expression, scientists measured the relative expression levels of p53, and several proteins that p53 activates, in cells transduced with INGN 201. Several of these proteins showed increased expression after INGN 201 infection. One of these proteins, p21, may provide a sensitive marker of p53 expression that can be incorporated into the analysis of patient samples during clinical trials.<<
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>>AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN - news) announced today the results of preclinical studies that demonstrated that INGN 251, its PTEN product candidate, inhibits the growth of melanoma cells, demonstrating the cancer cell killing and anti-metastatic properties of the drug candidate. Data from these studies was recently presented at the 10th International Conference on Gene Therapy of Cancer held in San Diego, Calif.
Elizabeth Grimm, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Bioimmunotherapy and Co-Director of the Melanoma Program at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and collaborator on the studies said, ``We believe that the combined effect of blocking tumor cell growth and inhibiting metastatic spread will provide a powerful approach to treating melanoma.''
In these preclinical studies, melanoma cells were treated with PTEN, delivered via an adenoviral vector. Treatment of melanoma cells with INGN 251 resulted in growth inhibition and apoptosis, or, cell death. Additionally, specific molecular markers associated with uncontrolled cell growth and metastases were affected.
``Melanoma metastasizes rapidly, and conventional therapies are uniformly ineffective in treating metastatic disease,'' said Sunil Chada, Ph.D., Introgen's director of research and development. ``What we have shown in these studies is that treatment with INGN 251 can stop both the growth of melanoma and inhibit metastatic spread in vitro. By attacking the tumor cells on both fronts, we may have a chance of developing an effective treatment for this terrible disease.''
The PTEN tumor suppressor gene is critical to a normal cell's growth control mechanisms, and is frequently lost in a number of cancers. Over- expression of PTEN protein has been shown to slow the growth of and/or cause increased death of numerous types of cancer cells, yet has minimal effects on normal cells, effecting a targeted approach to killing cancer cells. PTEN is also involved in cell migration, invasion and metastasis, and in the formation of blood vessels, processes which are crucial for the growth and spread of a cancer.
Introgen has an exclusive worldwide license to the PTEN gene from Imperial Cancer Research Technology (ICRT) in the United Kingdom for therapeutic applications such as cancer and hyperproliferative diseases including cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis. ICRT is wholly owned by the charity Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), one of the world's leading cancer research organizations. ICRT was recently awarded a U.S. patent on the PTEN gene, for which Introgen also has an exclusive worldwide license.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
