Arthur Fridman

Bio: Arthur Fridman is an academic researcher from Merck & Co.. The author has contributed to research in topics: Epitope & Vaccination. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 39 publications receiving 1282 citations. Previous affiliations of Arthur Fridman include United States Military Academy.

Attenuation of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIVmac239 Infection by Prophylactic Immunization with DNA and Recombinant Adenoviral Vaccine Vectors Expressing Gag

Abstract: The prophylactic efficacy of DNA and replication-incompetent adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vaccine vectors expressing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag was examined in rhesus macaques using an SIVmac239 challenge. Cohorts of either Mamu-A*01(+) or Mamu-A*01(−) macaques were immunized with a DNA prime-Ad5 boost regimen; for comparison, a third cohort consisting of Mamu-A*01(+) monkeys was immunized using the Ad5 vector alone for both prime and boost. All animals, along with unvaccinated control cohorts of Mamu-A*01(+) and Mamu-A*01(−) macaques, were challenged intrarectally with SIVmac239. Viral loads were measured in both peripheral and lymphoid compartments. Only the DNA prime-Ad5-boosted Mamu-A*01(+) cohort exhibited a notable reduction in peak plasma viral load (sevenfold) as well as in early set-point viral burdens in both plasma and lymphoid tissues (10-fold) relative to those observed in the control monkeys sharing the same Mamu-A*01 allele. The degree of control in each animal correlated with the levels of Gag-specific immunity before virus challenge. However, virus control was short-lived, and indications of viral escape were evident as early as 6 months postinfection. The implications of these results in vaccine design and clinical testing are discussed.

Increasing the power to detect causal associations by combining genotypic and expression data in segregating populations.

Abstract: To dissect common human diseases such as obesity and diabetes, a systematic approach is needed to study how genes interact with one another, and with genetic and environmental factors, to determine clinical end points or disease phenotypes. Bayesian networks provide a convenient framework for extracting relationships from noisy data and are frequently applied to large-scale data to derive causal relationships among variables of interest. Given the complexity of molecular networks underlying common human disease traits, and the fact that biological networks can change depending on environmental conditions and genetic factors, large datasets, generally involving multiple perturbations (experiments), are required to reconstruct and reliably extract information from these networks. With limited resources, the balance of coverage of multiple perturbations and multiple subjects in a single perturbation needs to be considered in the experimental design. Increasing the number of experiments, or the number of subjects in an experiment, is an expensive and time-consuming way to improve network reconstruction. Integrating multiple types of data from existing subjects might be more efficient. For example, it has recently been demonstrated that combining genotypic and gene expression data in a segregating population leads to improved network reconstruction, which in turn may lead to better predictions of the effects of experimental perturbations on any given gene. Here we simulate data based on networks reconstructed from biological data collected in a segregating mouse population and quantify the improvement in network reconstruction achieved using genotypic and gene expression data, compared with reconstruction using gene expression data alone. We demonstrate that networks reconstructed using the combined genotypic and gene expression data achieve a level of reconstruction accuracy that exceeds networks reconstructed from expression data alone, and that fewer subjects may be required to achieve this superior reconstruction accuracy. We conclude that this integrative genomics approach to reconstructing networks not only leads to more predictive network models, but also may save time and money by decreasing the amount of data that must be generated under any given condition of interest to construct predictive network models.

Gene Expression Profile of Adipocyte Differentiation and Its Regulation by Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ Agonists

Abstract: PPAR gamma is an adipocyte-specific nuclear hormone receptor. Agonists of PPAR gamma, such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), promote adipocyte differentiation and have insulin-sensitizing effects in animals and diabetic patients. Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays representing 6347 genes were employed to profile the gene expression responses of mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes and differentiating preadipocytes to a TZD PPAR gamma agonist in vitro. The expression of 579 genes was significantly up- or down-regulated by more than 1.5-fold during differentiation and/or by treatment with TZD, and these genes were organized into 32 clusters that demonstrated concerted changes in expression of genes controlling cell growth or lipid metabolism. Quantitative PCR was employed to further characterize gene expression and led to the identification of beta-catenin as a new PPAR gamma target gene. Both mRNA and protein levels for beta-catenin were down-regulated in 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared with fibroblasts and were further decreased by treatment of adipocytes with PPAR gamma agonists. Treatment of db/db mice with a PPAR gamma agonist also resulted in reduction of beta-catenin mRNA levels in adipose tissue. These results suggest that beta-catenin plays an important role in the regulation of adipogenesis. Thus, the transcriptional patterns revealed in this study further the understanding of adipogenesis process and the function of PPAR gamma activation.

Titrating T-cell epitopes within self-assembled vaccines optimizes CD4+ helper T cell and antibody outputs.

Abstract: Epitope content plays a critical role in determining T-cell and antibody responses to vaccines, biomaterials, and protein therapeutics, but its effects are nonlinear and difficult to isolate. Here, molecular self-assembly is used to build a vaccine with precise control over epitope content, in order to finely tune the magnitude and phenotype of T helper and antibody responses. Self-adjuvanting peptide nanofibers are formed by co-assembling a high-affinity universal CD4+ T-cell epitope (PADRE) and a B-cell epitope from Staphylococcus aureus at specifiable concentrations. Increasing the PADRE concentration from micromolar to millimolar elicited bell-shaped dose-responses that are unique to different T-cell populations. Notably, the epitope ratios that maximize T follicular helper and antibody responses differed by an order of magnitude from those that maximized Th1 or Th2 responses. Thus, modular materials assembly provides a means of controlling epitope content and efficiently skewing the adaptive immune response in the absence of exogenous adjuvant; this approach may contribute to the development of improved vaccines and immunotherapies.

Phase 1 studies of the safety and immunogenicity of electroporated HER2/CEA DNA vaccine followed by adenoviral boost immunization in patients with solid tumors

Abstract: Background: DNA electroporation has been demonstrated in preclinical models to be a promising strategy to improve cancer immunity, especially when combined with other genetic vaccines in heterologous prime-boost protocols. We report the results of 2 multicenter phase 1 trials involving adult cancer patients (n=33) with stage II-IV disease. Methods: Patients were vaccinated with V930 alone, a DNA vaccine containing equal amounts of plasmids expressing the extracellular and trans-membrane domains of human HER2, and a plasmid expressing CEA fused to the B subunit of Escherichia coli heat labile toxin (Study 1), or a heterologous prime-boost vaccination approach with V930 followed by V932, a dicistronic adenovirus subtype-6 viral vector vaccine coding for the same antigens (Study 2). Results: The use of the V930 vaccination with electroporation alone or in combination with V932 was welltolerated without any serious adverse events. In both studies, the most common vaccine-related side effects were injection site reactions and arthralgias. No measurable cell-mediated immune response (CMI) to CEA or HER2 was detected in patients by ELISPOT; however, a significant increase of both cell-mediated immunity and antibody titer against the bacterial heat labile toxin were observed upon vaccination. Conclusion: V930 vaccination alone or in combination with V932 was well tolerated without any vaccine-related serious adverse effects, and was able to induce measurable immune responses against bacterial antigen. However, the prime-boost strategy did not appear to augment any detectable CMI responses against either CEA or HER2. Trial registration: Study 1 – ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00250419; Study 2 – ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00647114.

Host-microbe interactions have shaped the genetic architecture of inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affect over 2.5 million people of European ancestry, with rising prevalence in other populations. Genome-wide association studies and subsequent meta-analyses of these two diseases as separate phenotypes have implicated previously unsuspected mechanisms, such as autophagy, in their pathogenesis and showed that some IBD loci are shared with other inflammatory diseases. Here we expand on the knowledge of relevant pathways by undertaking a meta-analysis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis genome-wide association scans, followed by extensive validation of significant findings, with a combined total of more than 75,000 cases and controls. We identify 71 new associations, for a total of 163 IBD loci, that meet genome-wide significance thresholds. Most loci contribute to both phenotypes, and both directional (consistently favouring one allele over the course of human history) and balancing (favouring the retention of both alleles within populations) selection effects are evident. Many IBD loci are also implicated in other immune-mediated disorders, most notably with ankylosing spondylitis and psoriasis. We also observe considerable overlap between susceptibility loci for IBD and mycobacterial infection. Gene co-expression network analysis emphasizes this relationship, with pathways shared between host responses to mycobacteria and those predisposing to IBD.

Identification of Telmisartan as a Unique Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist With Selective PPARγ–Modulating Activity

Abstract: The metabolic syndrome is a common precursor of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes that is characterized by the clustering of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and increased blood pressure. In humans, mutations in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) have been reported to cause the full-blown metabolic syndrome, and drugs that activate PPARgamma have proven to be effective agents for the prevention and treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Here we report that telmisartan, a structurally unique angiotensin II receptor antagonist used for the treatment of hypertension, can function as a partial agonist of PPARgamma; influence the expression of PPARgamma target genes involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism; and reduce glucose, insulin, and triglyceride levels in rats fed a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. None of the other commercially available angiotensin II receptor antagonists appeared to activate PPARgamma when tested at concentrations typically achieved in plasma with conventional oral dosing. In contrast to ordinary antihypertensive and antidiabetic agents, molecules that can simultaneously block the angiotensin II receptor and activate PPARgamma have the potential to treat both hemodynamic and biochemical features of the metabolic syndrome and could provide unique opportunities for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in high-risk populations.