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A series of tetrahydropyranyl (THP) derivatives has been developed as potent inhibitors of isoprenylcysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (ICMT) for use as anticancer agents. Structural modification of the submicromolar hit compound 3 led to the potent 3-methoxy substituted analogue 27. Further SAR development around the THP ring resulted in an additional 10-fold increase in potency, exemplified by analogue 75 with an IC(50) of 1.3 nM. Active and potent compounds demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in Ras cytosolic protein. Potent ICMT inhibitors also reduced cell viability in several cancer cell lines with growth inhibition (GI(50)) values ranging from 0.3 to >100 µM. However, none of the cellular effects observed using ICMT inhibitors were as pronounced as those resulting from a farnesyltransferase inhibitor.

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Approximately fifty percent of older adults with a mental health problem do not receive services. A proactive outreach strategy, Project PIE (Prevention-Intervention-Education) relies upon the assistance of non-traditional referral sources, namely community liaisons, to identify and refer to the CSSS vulnerable or isolated elders with a mental health problem. An evaluation of this project reveals encouraging results. The project appears useful, relevant and efficient to detect elders with a mental health problem and offer the required assistance. This project also appears to be a means to foster social solidarity.

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is among the most important and serious pediatric respiratory diseases, and yet after more than four decades of research an effective vaccine is still unavailable. This review examines the role of the immune response in reducing disease severity; considers the history of RSV vaccine development; and advocates the potential utility of Sendai virus (a murine paramyxovirus) as a xenogenic vaccine vector for the delivery of RSV antigens. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of RSV-recombinant Sendai virus vectors constructed using reverse genetics is examined. RSV-recombinant Sendai virus is easy to grow (i.e., achieves extremely high titers in eggs), is easy to administer (intranasal drops), and elicits both B- and T-cell responses leading to protection from RSV challenge in a small-animal model. Unmodified Sendai virus is currently being studied in clinical trials as a vaccine for its closely related human cognate (human parainfluenza virus type 1). Sendai virus may prove an enormously valuable vaccine platform, permitting the delivery of recombinants targeting important pediatric respiratory pathogens, RSV chief among them.

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Today, scientists are often encouraged to custom-design vaccines based on a particular country or clade. Here, we review the scientific literature and then suggest that the overwhelming endeavor to produce a unique vaccine for every world region or virus subtype may not be necessary.

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A central obstacle to the design of a global HIV vaccine is viral diversity. Antigenic differences in envelope proteins result in distinct HIV serotypes, operationally defined such that antibodies raised against envelope molecules from one serotype will not bind envelope molecules from a different serotype. The existence of serotypes has presented a similar challenge to vaccine development against other pathogens. In such cases, antigenic diversity has been addressed by vaccine design. For example, the poliovirus vaccine includes three serotypes of poliovirus, and Pneumovax presents a cocktail of 23 pneumococcal variants to the immune system. It is likely that a successful vaccine for HIV must also comprise a cocktail of antigens. Here, data relevant to the development of cocktail vaccines, designed to harness diverse, envelope-specific B-cell and T-cell responses, are reviewed.

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Human parainfluenza virus-type 1 (hPIV-1) is the most common cause of pediatric laryngotracheobronchitis (croup) and results in close to 30,000 US hospitalizations each year. No effective vaccine is available. We examined murine PIV-1 (Sendai virus, SeV) as a live, xenotropic vaccine for the closely related human PIV-1 in a phase I, dose escalation study in healthy adults. Intranasal Sendai virus was uniformly well-tolerated and showed evidence of immunogenicity in three of nine vaccinees despite pre-existing, cross-reactive immunity presumably induced by previous exposure to human PIV-1. Results encourage future trials to evaluate the efficacy of Sendai virus in preventing human PIV-1 infection in infants and children.

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Although RSV causes serious pediatric respiratory disease, an effective vaccine does not exist. To capture the strengths of a live virus vaccine, we have used the murine parainfluenza virus type 1 (Sendai virus [SV]) as a xenogeneic vector to deliver the G glycoprotein of RSV. It was previously shown (J. L. Hurwitz, K. F. Soike, M. Y. Sangster, A. Portner, R. E. Sealy, D. H. Dawson, and C. Coleclough, Vaccine 15:533-540, 1997) that intranasal SV protected African green monkeys from challenge with the related human parainfluenza virus type 1 (hPIV1), and SV has advanced to clinical trials as a vaccine for hPIV1 (K. S. Slobod, J. L. Shenep, J. Lujan-Zilbermann, K. Allison, B. Brown, R. A. Scroggs, A. Portner, C. Coleclough, and J. L. Hurwitz, Vaccine, in press). Recombinant SV expressing RSV G glycoprotein was prepared by using reverse genetics, and intranasal inoculation of cotton rats elicited RSV-specific antibody and elicited protection from RSV challenge. RSV G-recombinant SV is thus a promising live virus vaccine candidate for RSV.

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BACKGROUND: Donor-derived, ex vivo-expanded cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can provide stem-cell transplantation (SCT) patients with a renewed capacity for virus-specific immune surveillance. Because SCT patients are often treated with cyclosporine (CsA), we questioned whether ex vivo-expanded CTL were susceptible to inhibition by this immunosuppressive drug. METHODS: Human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific CTL were established by cultivating T cells for at least 5 weeks with interleukin (IL)-2 and irradiated, autologous EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). In some cases, CsA was added during the last week of T-cell expansion. Effectors were then tested for cytotoxicity toward their targets in a chromium-release assay or by coculture with viable, unlabeled targets, in the presence or absence of CsA. Alloreactive CTL were similarly expanded and tested against major histocompatibility complex-mismatched stimulator cells. RESULTS: CsA had a marginal effect on CTL function when added at concentrations greater than or equal to 250 ng/mL during the 4- to 6-hour chromium release assay. However, exposure of CTL to CsA for 1 week before assay reduced lytic function significantly. When the CTL lines were cocultured with viable targets in the presence of CsA, effectors were unable to eliminate their targets, which ultimately dominated the culture. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the activity of ex vivo-expanded CTL may be significantly compromised in the presence of high-dose CsA in vivo, particularly if CTL are administered for the purpose of long-term virus-specific immune surveillance.

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