Anti-Escherichia coli asparaginase antibody levels determine the activity of second-line treatment with pegylated E coli asparaginase: a retrospective analysis within the ALL-BFM trials.

Hypersensitivity reactions limit the use of the antileukemic enzyme asparaginase (ASE). We evaluated Ab levels against Escherichia coli ASE and ASE activity in 1221 serum samples from 329 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had received ASE treatment according to the ALL-BFM 2000 or the ALL-REZ BFM 2002 protocol for primary or relapsed disease. ASE activity during first-line treatment with native E coli ASE and second-line treatment with pegylated E coli ASE was inversely related to anti-E coli ASE Ab levels (P < .0001; Spearman rank order correlation). An effect on ASE activity during second-line treatment with pegylated E coli ASE was, however, only observed when anti-E coli ASE Ab levels were high (> 200 AU/mL). In the presence of moderate or intermediate Ab levels (6.25-200 AU/mL) the switch from native to pegylated E coli ASE resulted in a significant increase of ASE activity above the threshold of 100 U/L (P < .05). Erwinia chrysanthemi ASE activity was not correlated with anti-E coli ASE Ab levels. Erwinia ASE was found to be the best ASE alternative if Ab levels against E coli ASE exceed 200 AU/mL. This retrospective analysis is the first to describe the relationship between the level of anti-E coli ASE Abs and serum activity of pegylated E coli ASE used second-line after native E coli ASE.

Therapy of streptozotocin induced diabetes with a bifunctional antibody that delivers vinca alkaloids to IL-2 receptor positive cells.

IVA039.1 is a bifunctional antibody with specificity for the murine IL-2 receptor and vinca alkaloids. Biodistribution studies show that IVA039.1 can target and deliver vinca alkaloids to tissues that contain IL-2 receptor positive cells. Vinca alkaloids are lymphocytotoxic. Therapy of diabetic mice with IVA039.1 plus vincristine results in a significant decrease in the glucose levels of diabetic compared to untreated mice. The therapeutic effect of IVA039.1 plus vincristine therapy was additive but surprisingly not synergistic. The binding of IVA039.1 to vincristine has moderate affinity with a slow off rate. In vitro studies suggest that, when bound to IVA039.1, the vincristine is inactivated. We attribute the lack of an enhanced therapeutic response to bifunctional antibody therapy using IVA039.1 plus vincristine to the inaccessibility of the drug to the target cells.

Monoclonal antibodies to antitumor Vinca alkaloids: thermodynamics and kinetics.

Spleen cells from a mouse and a rat immunized with vinblastine coupled to bovine serum albumin were fused in two independent experiments with P3 X 63-Ag8 (non-secreting variant) mouse myeloma cells. Three mouse X mouse (Vinca 1-3) and two rat X mouse (Vinca 4 and 5) hybrids were selected for production of Vinca alkaloid binding monoclonal antibodies. Each antibody had characteristic cross-reactivities with alkaloids structurally related to vinblastine: Vinca 1 reacted preferentially with deacetylated alkaloids (deacetyl vinblastine and vindesine) and Vinca 2 had a higher affinity for vinblastine and vincristine. Vinca 3-5 recognized equally vinblastine, vincristine and vindesine but differed with respect to their affinities for other analogues. No significant cross-reactivity of the monomeric alkaloids vindoline or catharanthine was observed with any antibody, and dimeric alkaloids modified in the catharanthine moiety had reduced immunoreactivity. Mouse monoclonal antibodies (Vinca 1 and 3) showed moderate affinity (2.2 X 10(-7) and 5.8 X 10(-9) M) for their respective best ligands and fast kinetics (dissociation rate constants greater than 3 X 10(-3) sec-1). Vinca 4 and 5, derived from the rat X mouse hybrids, had much higher affinities (1.5 X 10(-11) and 1.1 X 10(-11) M) and slower kinetics (dissociation rate constants: 2.4 X 10(-5) and 7.2 X 10(-6) sec-1). The major difference between these two antibodies was that Vinca 4 binds and releases the antigen more rapidly than Vinca 5 does. Somatic hybridization techniques thus generated monoclonal antibodies recognizing a given class of low mol. wt antigens with variable specificity, affinity and kinetic behavior, allowing the selection of reagents most appropriate for particular immunochemical applications.

[Transfusion of platelets loaded with periwinkle alkaloids as a treatment for chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (author's transl)]. / Traitement d'un purpura thrombopénique par la transfusion de plaquettes véhiculant de la vincristine (plaquettes "cheval de Troie").

In a 70 year-old woman with a chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura refractory to all the therapeutic used, the absence of antiplatelet antibodies and the action of patient mononuclear cells on normal platelet 14C serotonin release was observed. The injection of vincristine loaded platelets was followed by a remission and a normalisation of the cellular immunological tests.

Radioimmunoassay of vinblastine and vincristine.

1 The cytotoxic agent, vinblastine, was conjugated to albumin, using the Mannich reaction. Rabbits immunized with two conjugates, containing differing amounts of hapten, produce antibodies which bound [3H]-vinblastine. 2 Antisera from one rabbit cross-reacted with both vinblastine and vincristine and were used to develop radioimmunoassays for measuring their concentration in plasma. 3 The antisera showed no cross-reactivity with other alkaloids or cytotoxic drugs and provided assays sensitive to a concentration of 2.1 ng vinblastine or 3.8 ng vincristine/ml of plasma added direct to the assay tubes. 4 This is sufficiently sensitive to permit the measurement of plasma vinblastine levels for up to 24 h after the intravenous administration of 15 mg of the drug.