RESUMEN

BACKGROUND: Ustekinumab, a fully human immunoglobulin (Ig) G1K monoclonal antibody directed against the p40 subunit of interleukin (IL)-12/23, has demonstrated efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of IL-12/23 inhibition on immunocompetency by antigen-recall response in a preclinical multiple-dose toxicology study and three single-dose, phase 1 studies. METHODS: Cynomolgus monkeys (Mauritius; n = 32) treated with subcutaneous (s.c.) placebo or ustekinumab 22.5 or 45 mg/kg twice weekly for 26 weeks were assessed for antibody responsiveness to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Patients with psoriasis or multiple sclerosis who received a single-dose of placebo (n = 8) or ustekinumab (n = 46) 0.09-4.5 mg/kg intravenous (i.v.) or 0.27-2.7 mg/kg s.c. were assessed by pneumococcal and tetanus antigen challenge. Primary T-cell response was not assessed in humans. RESULTS: Anti-KLH antibody responses in ustekinumab-treated cynomolgus monkeys were comparable to those observed in placebo-treated animals. A normal antibody response (> or = two-fold increase from baseline) to pneumococcal antigen was seen in 34/46 (73.9%) ustekinumab-treated versus 4/8 (50%) placebo-treated patients. A normal antigen-recall response (> or = four-fold increase from baseline) was seen in 12/20 (60%) ustekinumab- and 4/5 (80%) placebo-treated patients following tetanus toxoid exposure. Percentages of circulating immune cells were not affected by ustekinumab treatment. CONCLUSION: Results in nonhuman primates and human patients suggest that ustekinumab treatment does not significantly impair recall humoral immune system functions.

Asunto(s)

Anticuerpos Monoclonales/farmacología , Inmunidad Humoral/efectos de los fármacos , Memoria Inmunológica/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Anticuerpos Monoclonales Humanizados , Hemocianinas/inmunología , Humanos , Macaca fascicularis , Vacunas Neumococicas/inmunología , Toxoide Tetánico/inmunología , Ustekinumab

RESUMEN

Monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) are currently employed in the treatment of various immune-mediated diseases. These studies were designed to evaluate potential effects of anti-TNFalpha treatment in mice during pregnancy and lactation on the development of the immune system in the F1 generation. Pregnant CD-1 mice were treated with vehicle or with 10 or 40 mg/kg of an anti-mouse TNFalpha monoclonal antibody (mAb) (cV1q) on days 6, 12, and 18 of gestation and on days 3, 9, and 15 of lactation. Evaluation of immune system functionality was conducted in F1 generation mice at 11 weeks of age. Immune function was evaluated by splenocyte phenotyping, immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBCs), spleen cell proliferative response to anti-CD3, and natural killer cell activity. Treatment of pregnant mice with cV1q produced no adverse effects in the dams and no adverse effects in the F1 generation. In general, the functioning of the immune system of the F1 generation did not appear to be adversely affected following exposure to cV1q in utero and during lactation. The only statistically significant change was a slight (approximately 20%) reduction in the spleen cell expansion in response to SRBC immunization in the female F1 mice from the 40 mg/kg cV1q treatment group. In conclusion, administration of a monoclonal antibody against mouse TNFalpha during pregnancy and lactation had little or no effect on selected immune parameters in mice, with only a possible minor attenuation of spleen cell response to immunization noted in the female F1 generation at 11 weeks of age.

Asunto(s)

Anticuerpos Monoclonales/administración & dosificación , Sistema Inmunológico/embriología , Sistema Inmunológico/crecimiento & desarrollo , Lactancia , Factor de Necrosis Tumoral alfa/inmunología , Animales , Anticuerpos Monoclonales/inmunología , Formación de Anticuerpos , Femenino , Inmunoglobulina M/inmunología , Inmunofenotipificación , Células Asesinas Naturales/inmunología , Masculino , Ratones , Embarazo

RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: Numerous in vivo wound healing models have been developed to evaluate the potential of drugs to affect the processes involved in wound healing, including angiogenesis. The majority of these models are frequently conducted in rodents, rabbits, and pigs and are terminal in nature. Due to the species specificity of many biotherapeutic molecules under development a non-terminal model in the cynomolgus monkey was evaluated in this study. METHODS: To evaluate wound tensile strength, 3 full thickness skin incisions (2 cm long and 3 mm deep) were created on each side of the midline with a micro-fine surgical scalpel. Wounds were closed with SteriStrips applied over Mastisol, and covered with Tegaderm. The animals were then fitted with primate jackets. In Study 1, 3 male macaques per group received daily intramuscular injections of saline or dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) from Day-1 through Day 11. In Study 2, 3 males macaques per treatment group received a single intravenous injection of saline or anti-VEGF mAb (20 mg/kg) on Day-1. In Studies 1 and 2 wounds were created on Day 1. In Study 3, 3 males and 3 female macaques per treatment group received anti-VEGF mAb (20 mg/kg) on Days 1, 8, 15 and 22. In study 3, wounds were created on Day 12. On Days 4, 8, and 11 relative to wound creation, two randomized incisions per animal were evaluated with a Biomechanical Tissue Characterization System. RESULTS: In Study 1, there was a statistically significant reduction in wound strength in the dexamethasone treated group on Day 11 as compared to saline negative control. There was a statistically significant reduction in wound strength in the anti-VEGF mAb treated animals on Day 8 as compared to saline in Study 2. Statistical evaluation of wound strength between saline treated animals and the anti-VEGF mAb treated animals showed a significant reduction in wound strength in the anti-VEGF mAb treatment group on Day 8 (Fig. 3). In all studies there were open wound sites at the time of evaluation, which ranged from 6 to 50% on Day 4, 3 to 17% on Day 8, and 6% on Day 11. DISCUSSION: These studies demonstrate a potential method for evaluating the strength of sterile incisional wounds in the cynomolgus monkey, which allows for multiple evaluations of wound strength within an animal over time in a non-terminal model. Dexamethasone and anti-VEGF mAb produced significant reductions in wound healing on Day 11 and 8, respectively. It was inconclusive whether the number of open incisional sites was related to the test article, incomplete closure at the time of surgery, or movement of the animals in the primate jacket.

Asunto(s)

Cicatrización de Heridas/efectos de los fármacos , Heridas y Lesiones , Animales , Anticuerpos Monoclonales , Fenómenos Biomecánicos , Dexametasona/farmacología , Femenino , Glucocorticoides/farmacología , Macaca fascicularis , Masculino , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Resistencia a la Tracción , Factor A de Crecimiento Endotelial Vascular/antagonistas & inhibidores

RESUMEN

PURPOSE: CNTO 95 is a fully human anti-alphav integrin monoclonal antibody that inhibits macaque and rodent angiogenesis and inhibits human tumor growth in rodents. The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the preclinical safety of long-term administration of CNTO 95 in cynomolgus macaques. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The in vitro binding profiles of CNTO 95 to human and macaque tissues and the in vivo binding to macaque tissues was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The preclinical safety of CNTO 95 (10 and 50 mg/kg, i.v.) was evaluated in macaques treated once per week for up to 6 months. Safety was evaluated by clinical observations, ophthalmic and physical examinations (including heart rate, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram), clinical pathology (including coagulation parameters), and comprehensive anatomic pathology. The effect of CNTO 95 (50 mg/kg, i.v.) on incisional wound healing was evaluated in macaques. RESULTS: The tissue binding studies showed that CNTO 95 bound with mild to moderate intensity to macaque and human endothelial cells, epithelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells in most normal tissues examined. CNTO 95 showed strong to intense staining to the positive control tissue, human placenta. Despite the widespread binding to normal tissues, treatment of cynomolgus macaques with CNTO 95 produced no signs of toxicity and no histopathologic changes in any of the tissues examined (including ovaries and bone growth plates). CNTO 95 did not impair wound healing. CONCLUSION: These studies show that CNTO 95 is safe and, unlike some other angiogenesis inhibitors, does not seem to inhibit normal physiologic angiogenesis.

Asunto(s)

Anticuerpos Monoclonales/química , Integrina alfaV/química , Inhibidores de la Angiogénesis/farmacología , Animales , Anticuerpos Monoclonales/farmacocinética , Anticuerpos Monoclonales/uso terapéutico , Anticuerpos Monoclonales Humanizados , Aorta/metabolismo , Área Bajo la Curva , Células Cultivadas , Relación Dosis-Respuesta a Droga , Endotelio Vascular/metabolismo , Femenino , Humanos , Sistema Inmunológico , Inmunohistoquímica , Macaca fascicularis , Masculino , Miocitos del Músculo Liso/citología , Neovascularización Patológica , Placenta/metabolismo , Unión Proteica , Factores de Tiempo , Cicatrización de Heridas

RESUMEN

Inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been shown to be efficacious in a number of autoimmune diseases. In this study, the safety of long-term administration of anti-TNF-alpha and anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was evaluated in cynomolgus macaques. Effects on the immune system were evaluated by analysis of lymphocyte subsets and histopathology of lymphoid tissues. To evaluate the functioning of the immune system, the ability of mAb-treated monkeys to mount a humoral immune response (IgG and IgM) to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) was evaluated. Treatment with the anti-TNF-alpha mAb produced no histopathological changes in any of the lymphoid tissues examined. There was a small (< 2-fold) elevation in circulating T-and B-lymphocytes during anti-TNF-alpha mAb treatment that was not considered to be toxicologically significant. The antibody response to KLH was unaffected by anti-TNF-alpha mAb treatment. Treatment with anti-IL-6 mAb resulted in a decrease in the size of germinal centers in the spleens of a minority of the animals and a modest but significant decrease in the IgG antibody response to KLH. Weekly intravenous treatment with the anti-IL-6 mAb and twice-weekly subcutaneous treatment with the anti-TNF-alpha mAb for up to 6 months was not associated with any signs of toxicity, and no animal developed an infection throughout the study period. This study demonstrates that the anti-IL-6 and anti-TNF-alpha mAbs produce specific modulating effects on the immune system without rendering the animals immune compromised.