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Wine/Food Events Arizona Republic, AZ - Aug 5, 2008 480-538-8466. www.grazie.us/wineevents.html. Super Tuscan Wine Tasting: 6:30 pm Aug. 24. Learn about and taste seven Tuscan wines, which are paired with ... Daily Planner: August 6 Enterprise-Record, CA - Aug 5, 2008 538-7642. Weekly. WILLOWS VFW BINGO: Canteen 5 pm; games 6 pm Proceeds go to items for service personnel in war areas. ... Castro Valley Entertainment Calendar CastroValleyForum.com, CA - Jul 17, 2008 Call Ruby at 530-4483 for more information. ? Fabulous Fifties Club meets the first Wednesday of each month, Call Paula at 538-8809. Sunday North Bulletin Board: July 13, 2008 Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - Jul 12, 2008 Evans City -- Queenie Bee the Clown will perform at 1 pm tomorrow at Evans City Public Library, 204 S. Jackson St. Call 724-538-8695. ... Volunteer opportunities: North County San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Jul 11, 2008 (858) 538-8092. San Marcos Sheriff's Volunteer Patrol: Members make vacation home-security checks, visit homebound seniors, enforce parking regulations ... Local Happenings Dailyrecord.com, NJ - Jul 24, 2008 To learn more about participating in or volunteering for Friends of the Blind, please contact Dina Glen at (973) 538-5260 or dglen@fsmc.org or visit the Web ... Daily Planner: July 9 Enterprise-Record, CA - Jul 9, 2008 Mike Hubbartt, 538-2219. Weekly. CHICO STATE BLOOD DRIVE: Noon-3 pm in Bloodmobile near Glenn and Siskiyou Halls. Donors receive coupon for a free pint of ... Sign-ups El Paso Times, TX - Jul 29, 2008 Information: (575) 538-2525 or (575) 538-6770. North Hills Dolphins: Registration and practice for ages 8-11 from 6-7:30 pm Monday-Friday at Chuck Heinrich ... Weekend Calendar Middletown Press, CT - Jul 11, 2008 Tickets are $20 in advance and may be purchased at the church or by calling Laura at (860) 538-3755. MIDDLETOWN - The public is invited to a free "Swinging ... Theragenics Corporation ? Announces Schedule for Second Quarter ... Business Wire (press release), CA - Jul 22, 2008 To participate in the call, dial 800-538-9844 or 706-634-7274 and provide the conference ID 55962103. This call is also being web cast and can be accessed ...TGX

Interleukin-12 may help antibody-based drugs fight cancer

A study suggests that antibody-based cancer drugs might help patients more if they are given with substances that stimulate the immune system.

This study is the first to indicate that the drug Trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, may work better when it is followed by injections of interleukin 12 or IL-12.
Both substances trigger the activity of immune cells known as natural killer ( NK ) cells.

The research, by scientists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, is published in the journal Cancer Research.

The drug Trastuzumab consists of an antibody that targets the protein HER2, which is present on cancer cells of many breast tumors.
NK cells are the body's first line of defense against many infections, and they also attack tumor cells.

NK cells rush into action when they encounter bacteria or other foreign agents in the body that are coated with antibodies, large proteins released by immune cells in response to the presence of foreign material in the body.

Trastuzumab is used to treat advanced breast cancer cases that over-produce the HER2 protein.
The drug coats the tumor cells with antibodies, but it is unclear exactly what happens next.

Researchers believe that when the Trastuzumab antibodies join with the HER2 protein, they trigger changes within the tumor cells that cause the cells to die or to grow more slowly. In this scenario, the immune system plays a relatively minor role in slowing the tumor's growth.

" But our results show that the immune system really can play an important role in this therapy and that the outcome of patients treated with antibody-based drugs might be improved by activating the patient's immune system with agents such as IL-12," says principal investigator William E. Carson, III, at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center.

" The findings suggest that using Trastuzumab and the IL-12 together makes the body think an infection is under way, and this activates cells of the immune system to eliminate tumor cells in the same way they would eliminate an infection," says Julie M. Roda.

The investigators found that the combination of antibody-coated cells and IL-2 or IL-12 causes the NK cells to release substances that attract more potent immune cells – mainly killer T cells – thereby trigging a larger and more effective immune response against the tumor.

Carson, Roda and their colleagues came to their conclusions following several types of experiments.

For example, the researchers added human NK cells and IL-2 or IL-12 to cultures of breast-cancer cells with HER2 and coated with Trastuzumab antibodies. In response, the NK cells produced a range of substances ( cytokines and chemokines ) known to attract killer T cells to sites of infection. When the experiment was repeated using cancer cells that lacked HER2 ( and therefore were not coated with Trastuzumab ), however, the NK cells produced little of the T-cell-attracting substances.

The researchers also injected IL-12 and Trastuzumab-coated mouse-tumor cells into mice and found that it raised the blood levels of the immune-stimulating substances produced by NK cells.

In addition, the researchers analyzed plasma samples from 15 patients with different types of cancer who were participating in a phase-I clinical trial of Trastuzumab plus IL-12. The samples showed short-term increases in immune-stimulating substances produced by NK cells, and long-term increases in three patients who responded to the therapy.

" This is a preliminary study and the findings must be verified," Carson says, " but overall, the evidence supports the use of immune-stimulating agents in patients who receive antibody-based drugs such as Trastuzumab."

Source: Ohio State University, 2006