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Zahra Shahrokh

Bio: Zahra Shahrokh is an academic researcher from Genentech. The author has contributed to research in topics: Conjugate & Denaturation (biochemistry). The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 46 publications receiving 4759 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Apo2L may have potent anticancer activity without significant toxicity toward normal tissues, and cooperated synergistically with the chemotherapeutic drugs 5-fluorouracil or CPT-11, causing substantial tumor regression or complete tumor ablation.
Abstract: TNF and Fas ligand induce apoptosis in tumor cells; however, their severe toxicity toward normal tissues hampers their application to cancer therapy. Apo2 ligand (Apo2L, or TRAIL) is a related molecule that triggers tumor cell apoptosis. Apo2L mRNA is expressed in many tissues, suggesting that the ligand may be nontoxic to normal cells. To investigate Apo2L’s therapeutic potential, we generated in bacteria a potently active soluble version of the native human protein. Several normal cell types were resistant in vitro to apoptosis induction by Apo2L. Repeated intravenous injections of Apo2L in nonhuman primates did not cause detectable toxicity to tissues and organs examined. Apo2L exerted cytostatic or cytotoxic effects in vitro on 32 of 39 cell lines from colon, lung, breast, kidney, brain, and skin cancer. Treatment of athymic mice with Apo2L shortly after tumor xenograft injection markedly reduced tumor incidence. Apo2L treatment of mice bearing solid tumors induced tumor cell apoptosis, suppressed tumor progression, and improved survival. Apo2L cooperated synergistically with the chemotherapeutic drugs 5-fluorouracil or CPT-11, causing substantial tumor regression or complete tumor ablation. Thus, Apo2L may have potent anticancer activity without significant toxicity toward normal tissues.

2,160 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Development of formulations for protein drugs requiring high dosing may become challenging for solubility limited proteins and for the subcutaneous route with <1.5 mL allowable administration volume that requires >100 mg/mL protein concentrations.

943 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: These findings not only provide a novel insight into the pathogenesis of the transplant-related atherosclerosis, but also point to a new therapeutic strategy that involves targeting of homing, differentiation and proliferation of putative smooth-muscle progenitor cells derived from the recipient.
Abstract: Our findings not only provide a novel insight into the pathogenesis of the transplant-related atherosclerosis, but also point to a new therapeutic strategy that involves targeting of homing, differentiation and proliferation of putative smooth-muscle progenitor cells derived from the recipient. This is the first report demonstrating that circulating progenitor cells contribute to the development of proliferative diseases. AKIO SAIURA, MASATAKA SATA, YASUNOBU HIRATA, RYOZO NAGAI MASATOSHI MAKUUCHI Department of Surgery, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan A.S. and M.S. supervised this study equally as senior authors Email: sata-2im@h.u-tokyo.ac.jp 1. McKay, R. Stem cells-hype and hope. Nature 406, 361–364 (2000). 2. Asahara, T. et al. Isolation of putative progenitor endothelial cells for angiogenesis. Science 275, 964–967 (1997). 3. Yamashita, J. et al. Flk1-positive cells derived from embryonic stem cells serve as vascular progenitors. Nature 408, 92–96 (2000). 4. Carmeliet, P. One cell, two fates. Nature 408, 43–45 (2000). 5. Clarke, D.L. et al. Generalized potential of adult neural stem cells. Science 288, 1660–1663 (2000).

724 citations

Patent
12 Jun 1998
TL;DR: A stable aqueous pharmaceutical formulation comprising a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody not subjected to prior lyophilization, a buffer maintaining the pH in the range from about 4.5 to about 6.0, a surfactant and a polyol is described, along with uses for such a formulation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A stable aqueous pharmaceutical formulation comprising a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody not subjected to prior lyophilization, a buffer maintaining the pH in the range from about 4.5 to about 6.0, a surfactant and a polyol is described, along with uses for such a formulation.

164 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: From this limited data set, it appears that uptake characteristics for human colon and rectum are similar to those of Caco-2 cell monolayers, suggesting that flux measurements across CACO-2 monolayer may be predictive for permeabilities of human Colon and Rectum for different classes of therapeutics.

149 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
25 Jan 2002-Cell
TL;DR: Understanding the molecular events that contribute to drug-induced apoptosis, and how tumors evade apoptotic death, provides a paradigm to explain the relationship between cancer genetics and treatment sensitivity and should enable a more rational approach to anticancer drug design and therapy.

2,281 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
07 Aug 2006-Oncogene
TL;DR: Understanding the molecular events that regulate apoptosis in response to anticancer chemotherapy, and how cancer cells evade apoptotic death, provides novel opportunities for a more rational approach to develop molecular-targeted therapies for combating cancer.
Abstract: Apoptosis or programmed cell death is a key regulator of physiological growth control and regulation of tissue homeostasis. One of the most important advances in cancer research in recent years is the recognition that cell death mostly by apoptosis is crucially involved in the regulation of tumor formation and also critically determines treatment response. Killing of tumor cells by most anticancer strategies currently used in clinical oncology, for example, chemotherapy, γ-irradiation, suicide gene therapy or immunotherapy, has been linked to activation of apoptosis signal transduction pathways in cancer cells such as the intrinsic and/or extrinsic pathway. Thus, failure to undergo apoptosis may result in treatment resistance. Understanding the molecular events that regulate apoptosis in response to anticancer chemotherapy, and how cancer cells evade apoptotic death, provides novel opportunities for a more rational approach to develop molecular-targeted therapies for combating cancer.

2,125 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Interconnecting signaling pathways controlled by RB and p53 are discussed, attempting to explain their potentially universal involvement in the etiology of cancer.

1,653 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The chemical techniques to solubilize water-insoluble drugs for oral and injection administration include pH adjustment, cosolvents, complexation, microemulsions, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems, micelles, liposomes, and emulsions.
Abstract: A review of commercially available oral and injectable solution formulations reveals that the solubilizing excipients include water-soluble organic solvents (polyethylene glycol 300, polyethylene glycol 400, ethanol, propylene glycol, glycerin, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylacetamide, and dimethylsulfoxide), non-ionic surfactants (Cremophor EL, Cremophor RH 40, Cremophor RH 60, d-alpha-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate, polysorbate 20, polysorbate 80, Solutol HS 15, sorbitan monooleate, poloxamer 407, Labrafil M-1944CS, Labrafil M-2125CS, Labrasol, Gellucire 44/14, Softigen 767, and mono- and di-fatty acid esters of PEG 300, 400, or 1750), water-insoluble lipids (castor oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, peppermint oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated vegetable oils, hydrogenated soybean oil, and medium-chain triglycerides of coconut oil and palm seed oil), organic liquids/semi-solids (beeswax, d-alpha-tocopherol, oleic acid, medium-chain mono- and diglycerides), various cyclodextrins (alpha-cyclodextrin, beta-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, and sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin), and phospholipids (hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine, distearoylphosphatidylglycerol, L-alpha-dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine, L-alpha-dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol). The chemical techniques to solubilize water-insoluble drugs for oral and injection administration include pH adjustment, cosolvents, complexation, microemulsions, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems, micelles, liposomes, and emulsions.

1,383 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Avi Ashkenazi1
TL;DR: Cancer cells often develop resistance to chemotherapy or irradiation through mutations in the p53 tumour-suppressor gene, which prevent apoptosis induction in response to cellular damage, so agents that are designed to activate death receptors or block decoy receptors might be used to kill tumour cells that are resistant to conventional cancer therapies.
Abstract: Cancer cells often develop resistance to chemotherapy or irradiation through mutations in the p53 tumour-suppressor gene, which prevent apoptosis induction in response to cellular damage. Death receptors — members of the tumour-necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily — signal apoptosis independently of p53. Decoy receptors, by contrast, are a non-signalling subset of the TNFR superfamily that attenuate death-receptor function. Agents that are designed to activate death receptors (or block decoy receptors) might therefore be used to kill tumour cells that are resistant to conventional cancer therapies.

1,375 citations