No abstract

Background: Myeloperoxidase causes oxidative damage in many inflammatory diseases. Results: New substituted aromatic hydroxamates are identified as potent, selective, and reversible inhibitors of MPO. Conclusion: Binding affinities of hydroxamates to the heme pocket determine the potency of inhibition. Significance: Compounds that bind tightly to the active site of myeloperoxidase have potential as therapeutically useful inhibitors of oxidative stress.

Immunization with dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with genes encoding tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) is a highly promising approach to cancer immunotherapy. We have developed a system, using complexes of plasmid DNA expression constructs with the cationic peptide CL22, that transfects human monocyte-derived DCs much more efficiently than alternative nonviral agents. After CL22 transfection, DCs expressing antigens stimulated autologous T cells in vitro and elicited primary immune responses in syngeneic mice, in an antigen-specific manner. Injection of CL22-transfected DCs expressing a TAA, but not DCs pulsed with a TAA-derived peptide, protected mice from lethal challenge with tumor cells in an aggressive model of melanoma. The CL22 system is a fast and efficient alternative to viral vectors for engineering DCs for use in immunotherapy and research.