Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are currently being developed for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Despite clinical success, widespread application of mAb therapies may be limited by manufacturing capabilities. In this paper, we describe a mAb delivery system that allows continuous production of a full-length antibody at high-concentrations in vivo after gene transfer. The mAb is expressed from a single open reading frame by linking the heavy and light chains with a 2A self-processing peptide derived from the foot-and-mouth disease virus. Using this expression system, we generated a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector encoding the VEGFR2-neutralizing mAb DC101 (rAAV8-DC101). A single dose of rAAV8-DC101 resulted in long-term expression of >1,000 microg/ml of DC101 in mice, demonstrating significant anti-tumor efficacy. This report describes the first feasible gene therapy approach for stable delivery of mAbs at therapeutic levels, which may serve as an attractive alternative to direct injection of mAbs.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is posing a huge threat to human health worldwide. We aim to investigate the immune status of CD8 + T and NK cells in COVID-19 patients. Methods: The count and immune status of lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry in 32 COVID-19 patients and 18 healthy individuals. Results: As the disease progression in COVID-19 patients, CD8 + T and NK cells were significantly decreased in absolute number but highly activated. After patients' condition improved, the count and immune status of CD8 + T and NK cells restored to some extent. GrA + CD8 + T and perforin + NK cells had good sensitivity and specificity for assisting diagnosis of COVID-19. Conclusions: As the disease progression, the declined lymphocytes in COVID-19 patients might lead to compensatory activation of CD8 + T and NK cells. GrA + CD8 + T and perforin + NK cells might be used as meaningful indicators for assisting diagnosis of COVID-19.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting the whole world and threatening human health. We aim to investigate the immunological characteristics of monocytes in critical patients with COVID-19. Methods The number and immune status of monocytes were detected by flow cytometry in 32 COVID-19 patients and 18 healthy individuals. Results In critical patients with COVID-19, the absolute number of total monocytes and CD16 - monocytes was significantly decreased but CD16 + pro-inflammatory monocytes was increased compared to healthy controls. Antigen presentation potential of monocytes, as measured by HLA-DR expression, was suppressed, while their inflammatory phenotype (CD38 expression) was enhanced. Cytokine levels showed sustained increases in critical patients. And the levels of IL-6 were positively correlated with CD16 + monocytes number. IL-6 and IL-10 levels were negatively correlated with HLA-DR expression of monocytes. During the recovery of COVID-19 patients, the count and immune status of monocyte subsets were restored by degrees. HLA-DR + monocytes possessed good sensitivity and specificity for predicting the incidence of critical patients with COVID-19. Conclusions In critical patients with COVID-19, decline in number and HLA-DR expression of monocytes might lead to decreased antigen presentation potential and thus immunosuppression, while increased CD16 + pro-inflammatory monocytes might mediate hyperinflammation. HLA-DR + monocytes might be a meaningful assisted indicator to predict the incidence of critical patients with COVID-19.

Highlights The immune status of COVID-19 patients is different in each stage. DN and DP cells are negatively correlated with IL-10 and IL-6, respectively. Immune indexes help to distinguish COVID-19 and its severity early. Dynamic immune monitoring can provide a reference for clinical drug selection.

An efficient and Brønsted acid free one-pot protocol to directly generate structurally sophisticated α-formylpyrrole derivatives in moderate to good yields has been demonstrated, involving an iron-mediated domino oxidation/formylation reaction of readily available 2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrroles in dimethyl sulfoxide and air atmosphere, in which dimethyl sulfoxide acts as the formyl donor. A possible mechanism is presented.