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Here's how you can learn and navigate from failures in complex research projects as a biotechnology expert.
Setbacks for me have more often turned into golden opportunities to push me in a new direction. For example the paper Eggers et al., 2022 PMID: 34850579 The genesis of this work was a failed experiment that made us pause and consider the why? It was a thoughtful discussion with @Jackie Brassard, a keen pathologist, where we essentially brainstormed on why. With that the hard work of some excellent fellow scientists helped us make and test a range of new vector constructs and drilled into species specific responses - a beautiful example of how the partnership of Toxicology, Pathology and Vector biologists brought this much needed therapeutic to patients. Grateful to @Garret Heffner, @Christina Chaivorapol, @Michelle Eggers
Activity
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An excellent opportunity at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland for an enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow in vaccine development. This…
An excellent opportunity at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland for an enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow in vaccine development. This…
Liked by Justine Cunningham PhD, DABT
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In 2009, we founded REGENXBIO Inc. because we believed in the impact that new science could have for gene therapy and its potential to transform the…
In 2009, we founded REGENXBIO Inc. because we believed in the impact that new science could have for gene therapy and its potential to transform the…
Liked by Justine Cunningham PhD, DABT
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Congratulations to UQ’s Professor Gabrielle Belz who has been named an Australian Laureate Fellow by The Australian Research Council (ARC)…
Congratulations to UQ’s Professor Gabrielle Belz who has been named an Australian Laureate Fellow by The Australian Research Council (ARC)…
Liked by Justine Cunningham PhD, DABT
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Publications
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Muscle-directed gene therapy corrects Pompe disease and uncovers species-specific GAA immunogenicity
EMBO Mol Med
Pompe disease is a severe disorder caused by loss of acid α-glucosidase (GAA), leading to glycogen accumulation in tissues and neuromuscular and cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme replacement therapy is the only available treatment. AT845 is an adeno-associated viral vector designed to express human GAA specifically in skeletal muscle and heart. Systemic administration of AT845 in Gaa-/- mice led to a dose-dependent increase in GAA activity, glycogen clearance in muscles and heart, and functional…
Pompe disease is a severe disorder caused by loss of acid α-glucosidase (GAA), leading to glycogen accumulation in tissues and neuromuscular and cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme replacement therapy is the only available treatment. AT845 is an adeno-associated viral vector designed to express human GAA specifically in skeletal muscle and heart. Systemic administration of AT845 in Gaa-/- mice led to a dose-dependent increase in GAA activity, glycogen clearance in muscles and heart, and functional improvement. AT845 was tolerated in cynomolgus macaques at low doses, while high doses caused anti-GAA immune response, inflammation, and cardiac abnormalities resulting in unscheduled euthanasia of two animals. Conversely, a vector expressing the macaque GAA caused no detectable pathology, indicating that the toxicity observed with AT845 was an anti-GAA xenogeneic immune response. Western blot analysis showed abnormal processing of human GAA in cynomolgus muscle, adding to the species-specific effects of enzyme expression. Overall, these studies show that AAV-mediated GAA delivery to muscle is efficacious in Gaa-/- mice and highlight limitations in predicting the toxicity of AAV vectors encoding human proteins in non-human species.
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Lessons from human teratomas to guide development of safe stem cell therapies
Nature Biotechnology 2012, 30(9):849-857
The potential for the formation of teratomas or other neoplasms is a major safety roadblock to clinical application of pluripotent stem cell therapies. Preclinical assessment of the risk of tumor formation in this context poses considerable scientific and regulatory challenges, especially because animal xenograft models may not properly reflect the long-term tumorigenic potential of human cells. A better understanding of the biology of spontaneously occurring teratomas and related tumors in…
The potential for the formation of teratomas or other neoplasms is a major safety roadblock to clinical application of pluripotent stem cell therapies. Preclinical assessment of the risk of tumor formation in this context poses considerable scientific and regulatory challenges, especially because animal xenograft models may not properly reflect the long-term tumorigenic potential of human cells. A better understanding of the biology of spontaneously occurring teratomas and related tumors in humans can help to guide efforts to assess and minimize the potential hazards of embryonic stem cell or induced pluripotent stem cell therapeutics. Here we review the features of teratomas derived experimentally from human pluripotent stem cells and argue that they most closely resemble spontaneous benign teratomas that occur early in both mouse and human life. The natural history and pathology of these spontaneously occurring teratomas provide important clues for preclinical safety assessment and patient monitoring in trials of stem cell therapies.
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AAV2-mediated delivery of human neurturin to the rat nigrostriatal system: long-term efficacy and tolerability of CERE-120 for Parkinson's disease
Neurobiology of Disease/Elsevier
Neurturin (NTN) is a neurotrophic factor with known potential to protect and restore the function of dopaminergic substantia nigra neurons whose degeneration has been most closely linked to the major motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease (PD). CERE-120, an adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2)-based gene delivery vector encoding human NTN, is being developed as a potential therapeutic for PD. In a series of preclinical studies reported herein, CERE-120 delivery to the striatum produced a…
Neurturin (NTN) is a neurotrophic factor with known potential to protect and restore the function of dopaminergic substantia nigra neurons whose degeneration has been most closely linked to the major motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease (PD). CERE-120, an adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2)-based gene delivery vector encoding human NTN, is being developed as a potential therapeutic for PD. In a series of preclinical studies reported herein, CERE-120 delivery to the striatum produced a dose-related neuroprotection of nigrostriatal neurons in the rat 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion model. Long-lasting efficacy of CERE-120 was evidenced by substantia nigra cell protection, preserved fiber innervation of the striatum, and behavioral recovery for at least 6 months. In addition, striatal infusion of CERE-120 was found to have a safety and tolerability profile devoid of side effects or toxicological responses, for at least 12 months post-treatment, even at dose multiples 125 times that of the lowest efficacious dose tested. These results support the ongoing CERE-120 clinical program in PD patients.
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Diplomate American Board of Toxicology
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