Description: This study evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profiles of nemonoxacin in healthy Chinese volunteers following multiple-dose intravenous infusion once daily for 10 consecutive days. The study was composed of two stages. In the open-label stage, 500 mg or 750 mg of nemonoxacin ( n = 12 each) was administered at an infusion rate of 5.56 mg/min. In the second stage, with a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled design, 500, 650, or 750 mg of nemonoxacin ( n = 16 in each cohort; 12 subjects received the drug and the other 4 subjects received the placebo) was given at an infusion rate of 4.17 mg/min. The results showed that, in the first stage, the maximal nemonoxacin concentrations (mean ± SD) at steady state ( C max_ss ) were 9.60 ± 1.84 and 11.04 ± 2.18 μg/ml in the 500-mg and 750-mg cohorts, respectively; the areas under the concentration-time curve at steady state (AUC 0–24_ss ) were 44.03 ± 8.62 and 65.82 ± 10.78 μg · h/ml in the 500-mg and 750-mg cohorts, respectively. In the second stage, the nemonoxacin C max_ss values were 7.13 ± 1.47, 8.17 ± 1.76, and 9.96 ± 2.23 μg/ml in the 500-mg, 650-mg, and 750-mg cohorts, respectively; the AUC 0–24_ss values were 40.46 ± 9.52, 54.17 ± 12.10, and 71.34 ± 17.79 μg · h/ml in the 500-mg, 650-mg, and 750-mg cohorts, respectively. No accumulation was found after the 10-day infusion with any regimen. The drug was well tolerated. A Monte Carlo simulation indicated that the cumulative fraction of response of any dosing regimen was nearly 100% against Streptococcus pneumoniae . The probability of target attainment of nemonoxacin therapy was 〉98% when the MIC of nemonoxacin against S. pneumoniae was ≤1 mg/liter. It is suggested that all of the studied intravenous nemonoxacin dosing regimens should have favorable clinical and microbiological efficacies in future clinical studies. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT01944774.)

Description: Identifying characteristics of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope that are effective in generating broad, protective antibodies remains a hurdle to HIV vaccine design. Emerging evidence of the development of broad and potent neutralizing antibodies in HIV-infected subjects suggests that founder and subsequent progeny viruses may express unique antigenic motifs that contribute to this developmental pathway. We hypothesize that over the course of natural infection, B cells are programmed to develop broad antibodies by exposure to select populations of emerging envelope quasispecies variants. To test this hypothesis, we identified two unrelated subjects whose antibodies demonstrated increasing neutralization breadth against a panel of HIV-1 isolates over time. Full-length functional env genes were cloned longitudinally from these subjects from months after infection through 2.6 to 5.8 years of infection. Motifs associated with the development of breadth in published, cross-sectional studies were found in both subjects. We compared the immunogenicity of envelope vaccines derived from time points obtained during and after broadening of neutralization activity within these subjects. Rabbits were coimmunized four times with selected multiple gp160 DNAs and gp140-trimeric envelope proteins. The affinity of the polyclonal response increased as a function of boosting. The most rapid and persistent neutralization of multiclade tier 1 viruses was elicited by envelopes that were circulating in plasma at time points prior to the development of 50% neutralization breadth in both human subjects. The breadth elicited in rabbits was not improved by exposure to later envelope variants. These data have implications for vaccine development in describing a target time point to identify optimal envelope immunogens. IMPORTANCE Vaccine protection against viral infections correlates with the presence of neutralizing antibodies; thus, vaccine components capable of generating potent neutralization are likely to be critical constituents in an effective HIV vaccine. However, vaccines tested thus far have elicited only weak antibody responses and very modest, waning protection. We hypothesized that B cells develop broad antibodies by exposure to the evolving viral envelope population and tested this concept using multiple envelopes from two subjects who developed neutralization breadth within a few years of infection. We compared different combinations of envelopes from each subject to identify the most effective immunogens and regimens. In each subject, use of HIV envelopes circulating during the early development and maturation of breadth generated more-potent antibodies that were modestly cross neutralizing. These data suggest a new approach to identifying envelope immunogens that may be more effective in generating protective antibodies in humans.

Description: Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been widely used in passive studies with HIV neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to test for protection against infection. However, because SHIV-infected adult macaques often rapidly control plasma viremia and any resulting pathogenesis is minor, the model has been unsuitable for studying the impact of antibodies on pathogenesis in infected animals. We found that SHIV SF162P3 infection in 1-month-old rhesus macaques not only results in high persistent plasma viremia but also leads to very rapid disease progression within 12 to 16 weeks. In this model, passive transfer of high doses of neutralizing IgG (SHIVIG) prevents infection. Here, we show that at lower doses, SHIVIG reduces both plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-associated viremia and mitigates pathogenesis in infected animals. Moreover, production of endogenous NAbs correlated with lower set-point viremia and 100% survival of infected animals. New SHIV models are needed to investigate whether passively transferred antibodies or antibodies elicited by vaccination that fall short of providing sterilizing immunity impact disease progression or influence immune responses. The 1-month-old rhesus macaque SHIV model of infection provides a new tool to investigate the effects of antibodies on viral replication and clearance, mechanisms of B cell maintenance, and the induction of adaptive immunity in disease progression.

Description: Prion diseases are a group of fatal and incurable neurodegenerative diseases affecting both humans and animals. The principal mechanism of these diseases involves the misfolding the host-encoded cellular prion protein, PrP C , into the disease-associated isoform, PrP Sc . Familial forms of human prion disease include those associated with the mutations G114V and A117V, which lie in the hydrophobic domain of PrP. Here we have studied the murine homologues (G113V and A116V) of these mutations using cell-based and animal models of prion infection. Under normal circumstances, the mutant forms of PrP C share similar processing, cellular localization, and physicochemical properties with wild-type mouse PrP (MoPrP). However, upon exposure of susceptible cell lines expressing these mutants to infectious prions, very low levels of protease-resistant aggregated PrP Sc are formed. Subsequent mouse bioassay revealed high levels of infectivity present in these cells. Thus, these mutations appear to limit the formation of aggregated PrP Sc , giving rise to the accumulation of a relatively soluble, protease sensitive, prion species that is highly neurotoxic. Given that these mutations lie next to the glycine-rich region of PrP that can abrogate prion infection, these findings provide further support for small, protease-sensitive prion species having a significant role in the progression of prion disease and that the hydrophobic domain is an important determinant of PrP conversion. IMPORTANCE Prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative diseases associated with an infectious agent called a prion. Prions are comprised of an abnormally folded form of the prion protein (PrP) that is normally resistant to enzymes called proteases. In humans, prion disease can occur in individuals who inherited mutations in the prion protein gene. Here we have studied the effects of two of these mutations and show that they influence the properties of the prions that can be formed. We show that the mutants make highly infectious prions that are more sensitive to protease treatment. This study highlights a certain region of the prion protein as being involved in this effect and demonstrates that prions are not always resistant to protease treatment.

Description: Nemonoxacin (TG-873870) is a novel nonfluorinated quinolone with potent broad-spectrum activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and atypical pathogens, including vancomycin-nonsusceptible methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), quinolone-resistant MRSA, quinolone-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae , penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae , and erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae . This first-in-human study was aimed at assessing the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic properties of intravenous nemonoxacin in healthy Chinese volunteers. The study comprised a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose escalating safety and tolerability study in 92 subjects and a randomized, single-dose, open-label, 3-period Latin-square crossover pharmacokinetic study in 12 subjects. The study revealed that nemonoxacin infusion was well tolerated up to the maximum dose of 1,250 mg, and the acceptable infusion rates ranged from 0.42 to 5.56 mg/min. Drug-related adverse events (AEs) were mild, transient, and confined to local irritation at the injection site. The pharmacokinetic study revealed that after the administration of 250, 500, and 750 mg of intravenous nemonoxacin, the maximum plasma drug concentration ( C max ) values were 4.826 μg/ml, 7.152 μg/ml, and 11.029 μg/ml, respectively. The corresponding values for the area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 72 hours (AUC 0–72 h ) were 17.05 μg · h/ml, 39.30 μg · h/ml, and 61.98 μg · h/ml. The mean elimination half-life ( t 1/2 ) was 11 h, and the mean cumulative drug excretion rate within 72 h ranged from 64.93% to 77.17%. Volunteers treated with 250 to 750 mg nemonoxacin exhibited a linear dose-response relationship between the AUC 0–72 h and AUC 0– . These findings provide further support for the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic properties of intravenous nemonoxacin. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT01944774.)

Description: Although fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can selectively stimulate the growth and activity of probiotics and beneficially modulate the balance of intestinal microbiota, knowledge of the molecular mechanism for FOS metabolism by probiotics is still limited. Here a combined transcriptomic and physiological approach was used to survey the global alterations that occurred during the logarithmic growth of Lactobacillus plantarum ST-III using FOS or glucose as the sole carbon source. A total of 363 genes were differentially transcribed; in particular, two gene clusters were induced by FOS. Gene inactivation revealed that both of the clusters participated in the metabolism of FOS, which were transported across the membrane by two phosphotransferase systems (PTSs) and were subsequently hydrolyzed by a β-fructofuranosidase (SacA) in the cytoplasm. Combining the measurements of the transcriptome- and membrane-related features, we discovered that the genes involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids (FAs) were repressed in cells grown on FOS; as a result, the FA profiles were altered by shortening of the carbon chains, after which membrane fluidity increased in response to FOS transport and utilization. Furthermore, incremental production of acetate was observed in both the transcriptomic and the metabolic experiments. Our results provided new insights into gene transcription, the production of metabolites, and membrane alterations that could explain FOS metabolism in L. plantarum .