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GVAX
GVAX is a cancer vaccine composed of whole tumor cells genetically modified to secrete the immune stimulatory cytokine, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and then irradiated to prevent further cell division. The product exists as both autologous (patient specific) and allogeneic (non-patient specific) therapy. __TOC__ History GVAX was developed around 1993 by Glenn Dranoff, a cancer researcher then at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The therapy was initially developed by a public gene therapy company called Somatix, which was acquired in 1997 by Cell Genesys. That company took the vaccine into Phase III trials in 2004 however these trials were halted in 2008 due to an apparent lack of efficacy. Cell Genesys continued development, however in August 2009, due to funding difficulties, the company announced that it was merging with BioSante Pharmaceuticals. In 2013 BioSante sold the GVAx program to Aduro Biotech, a company based in Berkel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cancer Vaccine
A cancer vaccine is a vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer. Vaccines that treat existing cancer are known as ''therapeutic'' cancer vaccines or tumor antigen vaccines. Some of the vaccines are "autologous", being prepared from samples taken from the patient, and are specific to that patient. Some researchers claim that cancerous cells routinely arise and are destroyed by the immune system ( immunosurveillance); and that tumors form when the immune system fails to destroy them. Some types of cancer, such as cervical cancer and liver cancer, are caused by viruses ( oncoviruses). Traditional vaccines against those viruses, such as the HPV vaccine and the hepatitis B vaccine, prevent those types of cancer. Other cancers are to some extent caused by bacterial infections (e.g. stomach cancer and ''Helicobacter pylori''). Traditional vaccines against cancer-causing bacteria ( oncobacteria) are not further discussed in this article. Method One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytokine
Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are peptides and cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in autocrine, paracrine and endocrine signaling as immunomodulating agents. Cytokines include chemokines, interferons, interleukins, lymphokines, and tumour necrosis factors, but generally not hormones or growth factors (despite some overlap in the terminology). Cytokines are produced by a broad range of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and various stromal cells; a given cytokine may be produced by more than one type of cell. They act through cell surface receptors and are especially important in the immune system; cytokines modulate the balance between humoral and cell-based immune responses, and they regulate the maturati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granulocyte-macrophage Colony-stimulating Factor
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), also known as colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2), is a monomeric glycoprotein secreted by macrophages, T cells, mast cells, natural killer cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts that functions as a cytokine. The pharmaceutical analogs of naturally occurring GM-CSF are called sargramostim and molgramostim. Unlike granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, which specifically promotes neutrophil proliferation and maturation, GM-CSF affects more cell types, especially macrophages and eosinophils. Function GM-CSF is a monomeric glycoprotein that functions as a cytokine—it is a white blood cell growth factor. GM-CSF stimulates stem cells to produce granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils) and monocytes. Monocytes exit the circulation and migrate into tissue, whereupon they mature into macrophages and dendritic cells. Thus, it is part of the immune/ inflammatory cascade, by which activation of a small n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autotransplantation
Autotransplantation is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person ('' auto-'' meaning "self" in Greek). The autologous tissue (also called autogenous, autogeneic, or autogenic tissue) transplanted by such a procedure is called an autograft or autotransplant. It is contrasted with allotransplantation (from other individual of the same species), syngeneic transplantation (grafts transplanted between two genetically identical individuals of the same species) and xenotransplantation (from other species). A common example is the removal of a piece of bone (usually from the hip) and its being ground into a paste for the reconstruction of another portion of bone. Autotransplantation, although most common with blood, bone, or skin, can be used for a wide variety of organs. One of the rare examples is autotransplantation of a kidney from one side of the body to the other. Kidney autotransplantation is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allotransplantation
Allotransplant (''allo-'' meaning "other" in Greek) is the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs to a recipient from a genetically non-identical donor of the same species. The transplant is called an allograft, allogeneic transplant, or homograft. Most human tissue and organ transplants are allografts. It is contrasted with autotransplantation (from one part of the body to another in the same person), syngenic transplantation of isografts (grafts transplanted between two genetically identical individuals) and xenotransplantation (from other species). Allografts can be referred to as "homostatic" if they are biologically inert when transplanted, such as bone and cartilage. An immune response against an allograft or xenograft is termed rejection. An allogenic bone marrow transplant can result in an immune attack on the recipient, called graft-versus-host disease. Procedure Material is obtained from a donor who is a living person, or a deceased person's body rece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally independent entity from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where its 18 members all hold faculty appointments in the MIT Department of Biology or the MIT Department of Bioengineering. Two members (Rudolf Jaenisch, 2010, and Robert Weinberg, 1997) are National Medal of Science recipients; ten have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences; and four have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine; six are Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. In September 2019, Ruth Lehmann was announced as the new director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, commencing July 2020 and succeeding David Page. History Whitehead Institute was founded in 1982 by industrialist and philanthropist Edwin C. “Jack� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cell Genesys
Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery with only a few monks or nuns * Prison cell, a room used to hold people in prisons Groups of people * Cell, a group of people in a cell group, a form of Christian church organization * Cell, a unit of a clandestine cell system, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Cellular organizational structure, such as in business management Science, mathematics, and technology Computing and telecommunications * Cell (EDA), a term used in an electronic circuit design schematics * Cell (microprocessor), a microprocessor architecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM * Memory cell (computing), the basic unit of (volatile or non-volatile) computer memory * Cell, a unit in a database table or spreadsheet, formed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills. The 2020 census recorded a population of 124,321. Berkeley is home to the oldest campus in the University of California System, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is managed and operated by the university. It also has the Graduate Theological Union, one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world. Berkeley is considered one of the most socially progressive cities in the United States. History Indigenous history The site of today's City of Berkeley was the territory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancreatic cancer are known. The most common, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, accounts for about 90% of cases, and the term "pancreatic cancer" is sometimes used to refer only to that type. These adenocarcinomas start within the part of the pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. Several other types of cancer, which collectively represent the majority of the non-adenocarcinomas, can also arise from these cells. About 1–2% of cases of pancreatic cancer are neuroendocrine tumors, which arise from the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas. These are generally less aggressive than pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Signs and symptoms of the most-common form of pancreatic cancer may include yellow skin, abdominal or back pain, unexplained weight loss, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Programmed Cell Death 1
Programmed cell death protein 1, also known as PD-1 and CD279 (cluster of differentiation 279), is a protein on the surface of T and B cells that has a role in regulating the immune system's response to the cells of the human body by down-regulating the immune system and promoting self-tolerance by suppressing T cell inflammatory activity. This prevents autoimmune diseases, but it can also prevent the immune system from killing cancer cells. PD-1 is an immune checkpoint and guards against autoimmunity through two mechanisms. First, it promotes apoptosis (programmed cell death) of antigen-specific T-cells in lymph nodes. Second, it reduces apoptosis in regulatory T cells (anti-inflammatory, suppressive T cells). PD-1 inhibitors, a new class of drugs that block PD-1, activate the immune system to attack tumors and are used to treat certain types of cancer. The PD-1 protein in humans is encoded by the ''PDCD1'' gene. PD-1 is a cell surface receptor that belongs to the immunoglobul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
