Heavy alcohol consumption can damage various cells and organs partly through production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction. Treatment with antioxidants can significantly reduce the degree of damage. Despite well established roles of ROS in alcohol-induced cell injury, the proteins that are selectively oxidized by ROS are poorly characterized. We hypothesized that certain cysteinyl residues of target proteins are oxidized by ROS upon alcohol exposure, and these modified proteins may play roles in mitochondrial dysfunction. A targeted proteomics approach utilizing biotin-N-maleimide (biotin-NM) as a specific probe to label oxidized cysteinyl residues was employed to investigate which mitochondrial proteins are modified during and after alcohol exposure. Human hepatoma HepG2 cells with transduced CYP2E1 (E47 cells) were used as a model to generate ROS through CYP2E1-mediated ethanol metabolism. Following exposure to 100 mM ethanol for 4 and 8 h, the biotin-NM-labeled oxidized proteins were purified with agarose coupled to either streptavidin or monoclonal antibody against biotin. The purified proteins were resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and protein spots that displayed differential abundances were excised from the gel, in-gel digested with trypsin and analyzed for identity utilizing either matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry or microcapillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results demonstrate that heat shock protein 60, protein disulfide isomerase, mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenases, prohibitin, and other proteins were oxidized after alcohol exposure. The identity of some of the proteins purified with streptavidin-agarose was also confirmed by immunoblot analyses using the specific antibody to each target protein. This method was also used to identify oxidized mitochondrial proteins in the alcohol-fed mouse liver. These results suggest that exposure to ethanol causes oxidation of various mitochondrial proteins that may negatively affect their function and contribute to alcohol-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular injury.

Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals because it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy-six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods.

Gene-editing technology is an emerging therapeutic modality for manipulating the eukaryotic genome by using target-sequence-specific engineered nucleases. Because of the exceptional advantages that gene-editing technology offers in facilitating the accurate correction of sequences in a genome, gene editing-based therapy is being aggressively developed as a next-generation therapeutic approach to treat a wide range of diseases. However, strategies for precise engineering and delivery of gene-editing nucleases, including zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nuclease, and CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated nuclease Cas9), present major obstacles to the development of gene-editing therapies, as with other gene-targeting therapeutics. Currently, viral and non-viral vectors are being studied for the delivery of these nucleases into cells in the form of DNA, mRNA, or proteins. Clinical trials are already ongoing, and in vivo studies are actively investigating the applicability of CRISPR/Cas9 techniques. However, the concept of correcting the genome poses major concerns from a regulatory perspective, especially in terms of safety. This review addresses current research trends and delivery strategies for gene editing-based therapeutics in non-clinical and clinical settings and considers the associated regulatory issues.

Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR-T) have emerged as a new modality for cancer immunotherapy due to their potent efficacy against terminal cancers. CAR-Ts are reported to exert higher efficacy than monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, and act via mechanisms distinct from T cell receptor-engineered T cells. These cells are constructed by transducing genes encoding fusion proteins of cancer antigen-recognizing single-chain Fv linked to intracellular signaling domains of T cell receptors. CAR-Ts are classified as first-, second- and third-generation, depending on the intracellular signaling domain number of T cell receptors. This review covers the current status of CAR-T research, including basic proof-of-concept investigations at the cell and animal levels. Currently ongoing clinical trials of CAR-T worldwide are additionally discussed. Owing to the lack of existing approved products, several unresolved concerns remain with regard to safety, efficacy and manufacturing of CAR-T, as well as quality control issues. In particular, the cytokine release syndrome is the major side-effect impeding the successful development of CAR-T in clinical trials. Here, we have addressed the challenges and regulatory perspectives of CAR-T therapy.

Increased oxidative stress with elevated levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many disease states. Increased ROS/RNS can modulate cellular macromolecules of DNA, lipids, and proteins, negatively affecting their normal functions. Numerous reports have described the properties and implications of oxidized DNA and lipids. However, oxidative modifications of proteins were not fully studied partially due to the requirement for specific reagents, the lack of the methods to detect, purify and identify oxidativelymodified proteins, and the relatively late development of highly-sensitive analytical instruments. This chapter describes the detailed procedure for systematically identifying oxidative-modified proteins in biological samples. Applications and other suggestions to this method are also described to understand the functional roles of oxidatively-modified proteins in promoting ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, which ultimately contribute to organ damage.