Intracellular signaling antitumor activity

Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a humanized antibody with antitumoral activity through the antagonistic inhibition of EGF-receptor activation [85] (see Part I, Chapter 5). EGF (also called HERl-4) represents a family of cytokine-regulated, tyrosine kinase-type receptors regulating an intracellular signaling cascade that can initiate cell regulation or apoptosis [86, 87]. 

Further evidence for the importance of imine formation for T cell function was derived from the discovery that tucaresol and other small molecules with an aromatic aldehyde moiety capable of forming Schiff bases, produces a signal to CD4+ T helper (Th) cells [62]. Tucaresol reacts in vitro with free CD4+ T cell surface amines from receptors like CD2 within seconds to cause a co-stimulatory signal to produce a Thl response with the release of interferon y (IFN-y) and a 5- to 10-fold increase of interleukin 2 (IL-2). Such a Thl response is believed to be important for intracellular pathogens such as viruses, mycobacteria, protozoa and tumors. Studies in vivo show that low concentrations of tucaresol enhance not only CD4+ Th cells in response to antigens but also CD 8+ CTL and that this response has a beneficial effect in antiviral and antitumor therapy in animal models. Mechanistically, formation of Schiff bases with tucaresol has been shown to greatly affect intracellular potassium and sodium ion concentrations by the co-stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) and thus activation of ion channels in T cells [62,102]. Some of these mechanistic features are depicted in Fig. 19. 

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