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flre World l|ealthOrganization Inter:national

Gollaborative Study forInterfcron Afpha

e to uncerta n potency

NAME

ADDRESS

TEL NO: FAX NO:

WHAI ryPE,Of ASSAY SYSTEM pO YOU USE?Antiviral bioassay (cell type, virus)

Antiproliferative assay (cell type)

lmmunoassay

Other

PLEASE ATTACH A REFERENCE TO THEPUBLTSHED METHOD (OR BRrEF DETATLS)

ln accordance with the procedures of the ExpertCommittee on Biological Standardization of theWHO, under whose auspices this Instituteprepares International Standards, please note thatlaboratories partlcipating in a collaborative studydo so on the understanding that they agree not topublish or circulate inforrnition on the iraterialsincluded in the study. Once the final report hasbeen aqreed to by participants and thepreparition formilfy established by wHo, thisreservation no longer applies.SICNATURE DATE

RETURN TO: Dr A R Mire-SluisDivision of lmmunobiology, N.l.B.S.C.Blanche LaneSouth Mimms, Potters BarHerts., EN6 3QC, UK

assignments arising from the use ofStandards for the intederon alpha (lFNa)type, the WHO, at one of its recent ExpertCommittee meetings, considered therewas an urgent need to reappraise allaspects of lFNa standardization. TheWHO has therefore recommended thesetting-up of a new Internationalcollaborative study to evaluate a numberof existing and new lFNcl referencepreparations. We are now undertakingthe responsibility of coordinating, onbehalf of the WHO, this lnternationalcollaborative study which we hope tohave underway in the coming year.Knowing of your experience and expertisein the IFN f ield, we would l ike to inviteyou, if you have available assay systemsthat measure lFNa, regardless of theirbasis (bioassays, immunoassays, receptorbinding etc.), to take part in the study.

It will be necessary to assay differentampouled preparations of lFNa and toprovide the raw data of assay responses.There are to be some fifteen preparationsentered into the study, although, shouldyou be unable to handle that quantity,we can supply you with a lower number.

lf you are interested in taking part inthis important study - which leads to apublication in an International journal -please f i l l in and retum the accompanyingform.A R Mire-Slu is PhD A Meager PhDDivision of lmmunobiology, N.l.B:S.C.

t

Internat ional €iocieGy for Interferoh and GyCokine Flesraanch

CIJNNENT LISTING1 (}FVYI|O-ITIIAII'

WINTERFER(}N

STAITIDAruDS AhIDREIENENCE NEAGTNTS

Anti MUIFNL*Anti MUIFNL-ctrl

Ca23-9O"1-532GxaOl-901-535Ga23-9O2-53OGg23-9o1-530GxgOl-902-535Gb23-902-531GxbO2-901-535CaO2-9O1-511Gu02-901-5l lcb02-902-s11cg02-90'l-533c0r 9-902-5284

G024-501-568c025-501-568

HuIFN alpha (Ly)HuIFN a lpha 2a(r )HuIFN alpha (Le)HUIFN gammaHuIFN gamma(r)HUIFN betaHuIFN beta ser l7MuIFN a lphaMuIFN alpha/betaMuIFN betaMUIFN gammaRabbit Interferon

AITITISENAAnti-HLl C026-501-568Anti-HLl GO26-5O2-568

NOT IN STOCKAnti-HLl-ctrl CO27-501-568Anti-HulFN alpha GO3G5O1-553Hu-Anti-Huf FN alpha GO37-5O1-572Anti-HulFN alpha-ctr l CO31-501-553Anti-HulFN beta C028-5O1-568Hu-Ant i -HulFNbeta G038-5O1-572Anti 'HulFNbeta<trl GO29-501-568Ant i -HulFNgamma c034-501-565Anti-Hul FN gamma-ctrl CO35-5O2-565

NOT IN STOCKAnt i -MulFNgamma CO32-5O1-565Anti-MulFN gamma-ctrl CO33-5Ol -565

* L = mouse L-cells r= recombinantbeta ser 17 = recombinant B-IFN

Questions regarding requests for reagentsor catalogs may be directed toMr. Danny Ringer or Mr. David Zemo at:Braton BiotechNIAID RepositoryOne Taft Court, Suite 101Rockville, MD 20850TEL # (3Ol) 208-1777.

Sniqlet #6-TERMI NALPHORESIS: the actof d-ropping a gel in the sink whilerinsing.

GLINICALTruAIS

NCI-M B-3s Z NCI-95-C 4073Phase ll Randomized pilot study ofEPOCH | | (VP-1 6 IDOXIVCR/PREDalternating with CIX) alone vs. EPOCH llwith lL-2 and PBSC in relapsedlymphomas.Contact: Wyndham Hopkins Wilson,Medicine Branch, National Cancer Inst.Bldg. 10, Bethesda, MD 20892Tel: 301496-6444

CLB-9237: Phase I study of VP-16/CBDCAwith CM-CSF-IL6 in patients withadvanced lung cancer.Contact: Sharon Davis Luikart, VeteransAdministration Medical Center-Minneapolis, One Veterans Drive,Minneapolis, MN 554'17Tef : 612-725-2000 ext 4135

NBSG-9411, NCI-V94-O574: Phase l l studyof BCN U/DTI cICDDP/l FN-A/l L-2frMXfollowed by IFN-A or lL-2 for advancedmelanoma.Contact Richard 5. Schulof, Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, 1719 E.19thAve., Denver, CO 80218Tel: 303-869-2001

NCI-95-COO58: Phase I study ofimmunization with recombinant vaccinia

The interferon reference standards haveonly been calibrated in lnternational Unitsof biological activity based on bioassays.No current IFN standard is suitable for usein calibrating immunoassays, such as theEn4yme Linked I mmunoabsorbent Assay(ELISA). Researchers who wish to usereagents for comparative testing in theELISA procedure should be forewarnedthat quantitative antigenic information isnot available for these reagents.HLI= human leukocyte interferonLy= lymphoblastoid Le = Leukocyte

2

InCennational €iociety for. lntenferon and Gytokine Fleseanch

virus encoding the MART-I or gplOOmelanoma antigen with or withoutconcomitant lL-2 in patients withmetastatic melanoma.Contact: Steven A. Rosenberg, SurgeryBranch, National Cancer lnst., bldg. 1O,Bethesda, MD 20892Tel: 3O'l-496-4164

NC|-CPB-349, NC|-T94-O1 62N, NCI-95-C-0055: Phase ll study of CTXfi-AX/CDDPwith G-CSF in newly diagnosed stagellcl[l llV ovarian epithelial cancer.Contach Elise C. Kohn, ClinicalPharmacology Eranch, National Cancerf nst., Bldg. 1Q Bethesda, MD 20892Tel: 3O1-402-1357

POG-93 23 : Interferon-alpha-28 plushydroxyurea and qytarabine for chronicphase ACML (adult-type chronicmyelogenous leukemia) in children.Contact Susan Giovanazzi-Bannon,Chicago, lLTel: 31 2-482-9944, ext. 228

SWOG-9413: Phase ll treatment withetoposide, leucovorin, fl uorouracil, andinterferon-alpha-28 (ELFI) plus G-CSF forlocally advanced or recurrent pancreaticadenocarcinoma.Contact Marj Godfrey, San Antonio, TXTel: 210-677-8808

93-C-O2: Phase lll prospectiverandomized trial of autolymphocytetherapy versus interferon-alpha in thetreatment of metastatic renal carcinoma.Co ntact: Lesl ie-Faye-Worris, M PH,Manager, Clinical Research, Cellcor,Newton, MATel: 1 -8004 4'l -7901

approval of its recombinant interferonb'eia product (lFN-R-Ia) for treatment ofmult iple sclerosis. Phase l l l humanclinical trials with the producf conductedin collaboration with the Nationallnstitutes of Health, were completed in1994. The results were reported last fallat major neurology meetings in SanFrancisco and Amsterdam by Lawrence D.facobs, M.D., the principal investigator.According to the study, interferon beta-laappears to slow disease progression in MSpatients and reduce the number ofexacerbations, or flareups, of the disease.

SPONSORNEWSInformation providcd

ISICR sponcoringupoate onlt|ilus or Elogen's

lnterfieron BeA{r

Biogen announced in May that it hasfiled for U.S. and European market

BIOTECHBruERS

Several FDA Biological Response ModifiersCommittee members have recommendedthat the labeling of Roche's Roferon'"product: (interferon-alpha-2a) bechanged to include risks and benefits fortreatilrent of Philadelphia chromosomepositive chronic myelogenous leukemia.This is based on clinical results................Schering has received a patent forexpression of interteron-beta in chinesehamster ovary cells.........Sales ofBetaseronrM for treatment of multiplesclerosis are increasing rapidly, yieldinggreat financial benefit to both Scheringand Chiron Corp.... . . Chiron Corp. haspositive results using Proleukin'M(interleukin -2) for ovarian cancer. Thedata are phase ll results, with a phase llltrial scheduled for the future......TheEuropean parliament vetoed EuropeanUnion legislation to grant legal protectionto patents for life forms after 7 years ofdebate....The f une 3rd issue of Lancetreported that the UK Research Councilhad shown a beneficial effect withWellferon with CML. Median survival ratewas increased and the death rate wasdecreased.

Sniglet #7: DETAILED DESCRIPTASE: anenzyme used for turning your basicoutline into a detailed report.

3

lntennational siociety fclr lnterfenon and GyGokine Fleseanch

Reviews of lnterest

missed them.

Ben-Baruch, A., Michiel, D.F. and J.f .Oppenheim. Signals and receptorsinvolved in recruitment of inflammatorycefls. f . Biol. Chem. 27Q:11703, I 995.

Karp, f .E. and S. Broder. Molecularfoundations of cancer: New targets forintervention. Nature Medicine 1 :309,1995.

Nishizuka, Y. Proteln kinase C and lipidsignaling for sustained cellular responses.The FASEB fournal 9:484,1995.

Orkin, S.H. Transcription factors andhematopoietic developrnent. f . Biol.Chem. 270:4955,1995.

Schmidt-Woll G. and l.C.H. SchmidLWolf" Cytokines and clinical gene therapy.Eur . J . f mmunol . 25:1137, '1995.

ACCESS |1O TIIESUPENCOMPT,r|ING

FAGTLMY AT IIIE f,'.S.NATTONAL CAhICEN

INS"ITrI''TE

f n April 1986, the Natiortal CancerI nstitute's supercomputing facility,known as the Frederick BiomedicalSupercomputing Center (FBSC), becameoperational. The FBSC supportsbiomedical research exclusively - a fadthat makes the center unique among highperformance computing facilities. TheFBSC affords the research scientist a two-fold opportunity: one, to apply existingcomputational tools in a faster and moreeffective way; and two, to apply moderncomputatio nal chem istry theory-basedapproaches, such as quantum andphysical chemistry, and molecular and

statistical mechanics to complexbiochemical problems of relevance tounderstanding the causes and discoveringthe cures for human diseases. To date,the center supports over 14O0 researchersscattered throughout the U.S. and suchdistant locations as Australia, lapan,Russia and Switzerland. In less than 10years, the FBSC has gone from theconcept of a supercomputing facilitydevoted to biomedical research to aprod uctive high-performa nce scientificresearch center offering a diversecollection of scientists a wide range ofcomputational options: a vector,multiprocessor supercornputer, a highperformance, scalar Vaxcluster; a vector-scalar minisupercomputer; a massivelyparal lel su percomputeq specia I izedworkstations; " rendering enginesn forscientific visualization; and a high speednetworking i nfrastructu re.

Applications for system access andresources can be submitted at any time.Applications for general access areprocessed on a weekly basis, whereasapplications for su percomputer timeexceeding 40 hours per year are onlyreviewed once every calendar quarter.Quarterly appl icatlon deadlines areFebruary 15, May 1 5, August 15, andNovember 15. All applications require aPrincipal Investigator to sponsor thegroup or project. A "project" mayrepresent an entire laboratory ororganization, or it may represent aspecific project within an organization.

There are several ways that one canobtain an application forrn:1. By anonymous ftp to: convx.ncifcd.gou,file:/pu b/BSC.a ppl ication2. Through the use of the GCG Fetch

program:$ analysis$ qcq$ fetZtr bsc.application

3. Use the VMS Copy command:$ Copy documents:

bsc. application [ ]/log4. Or, calf us at (301) 846-5763 andrequest that we send you an applicationvia FAX, emailor US Mail.

4

InternaGional EiocieGy fon Intenferon and Cytokine Flesearclr

Wayne A. MainFrederick Biomedical SupercomputingCenter, NCI-FCRDCP.O. Box B, B ldg.430Frederick, MD 217O2 -12O1TEL: (301 ) 846-5777FAX: (301 ) 846-5762main@fcrfu 1 .ncifcrf.gov

Sniglet #8: BLOT BUGHT: Southern,Northern or Western blots that turn Orefilm entirely bhck or have bts ol spots.

Imagee fumtlreHictory of Medicine It

Onr ine lrrrages

lmages from the History of Medicine(lHM), the National Library of Medicine'sdatabase of approximately 59,000historical images. documents social andhistorical aspects of medicine from theRenaissance to the present. Pictures inthe database come from NLM's collectionof caricatures. photographs, fine prints.ephemera, and portraits; and fromillustrations drawn from books andjournals held by NLM. IHM covers a largerange of medically related topics past andpresent, from medieval astrology tonineteenth century slum conditions, fromthe international fight against drug abuseto AIDS. The strenolh of*the colleclion liesin the earlier periois, although it doescontain twentieth century images, mostdating from before World War ll.

Several subgroups within the databaseare interesting as separate entities. Forexample, the core of the portraitcollection is a group of 6,OOO etchings,engravings, and woodcuts purchased forthe Library by John Shaw Bil l ings in 1879.Landmark medical treatises are included,with illustrations from such books asVesalius' De humani corporis fabrica andWilliam Harvey's De motu cordis. Greatartists such as Rembrandt and Daumierare represented, the latter by his famoussatirical illustrations for Antoine Fabre's

Neinesis medicale illustre '. There arepatent medicine advertisements from thelate nineteenth century and a largenumber of posters on such contemporaryissues as AIDS, smoking, and i l legal drugs.

Accessino IHM via Online lmaqes (OLl)Online lmages (OLl) is a system fordelivering cataloged image archives viathe Wcrld-Wide Web (WWW), a network-distributed multimedia technology that isusabfe from virtually any Intemet-connected computer. OLI is the currentdelivery vehicle for lmages from theHistory of Medicine.

Although any World-Wide Web browseris capable of connecting to OLI/ lHM(allowing perusal of the associateddocumentation and catalog data),retrieving images from the collectionrequires the use of a limited nurnber ofbrowsers known to support the requisiteWW forms features (a list appears as partof the information that is displayed whena user initially connects to the service,using any WWW browser). One popularWeb browser is NCSA Mosaic, which isavailable for the Macintosh, MicroSoftWindows (for IBM PCs), and X Windows(commonly employed on UNIXcomputers).

A user connects to a World-Wide Webseryer by speci{ying a form of electronicaddress known as a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL), To connect to Oll/lHMspecify the URL for the principal NLMWorld-Wide Web server, Hyper-DOC:

http://ww. n I m.n i h.gov/and then use the mouse or appropriatekeyboard keys to select the item entitled" Online I nformation Services. " Next,select the item "Online lmages from theHistory of Medicine." lt is advisable toread the documentation provided by thesystem prior to performing searches.

lmages may be retrieved by three means:by unique identifier, in random sets of tenimages, and in response to user-specifiedtext expressions. Requesting a search bytext expressions leads to the display of an

5

Internat ional Eiociety for Interferren and Gytokine Flesearch

interactive form, containing spaces for theentry of text that is to be matched againstthe bibliographic descriptions of theimages. Text may be matched againstany field, or, for quick searching, againstfields containing only names, or titles andabstracts, or dates. The form also containsselection lists for specifying geographicallocation.

Text expressions can contain: the Booleanoperators AND and OR; quote-enclosedmulti-word phrases; and, can with anasterisk which seryes as a truncation(wild-card) character. Within it's singletext window, space separated words notin phrases are implicitly joined by BooleanORs; the contents of adjacent textwindows are joined by a Boolean AND.

The Search ReportUpon completion of a search, a summarydocument is displayed, containing thesearch pattern and the number of imageswith ca.talog entries matching the pattern.A form allows the user to specify thenumber of irnages to return for browsing.to perform another search, or return tothe Online lmages home page.

mages are sent in batches containing I tolO imaoes. as soecified bv the user. The4O images, as specified by the user.

Technical Lirnitations and Future PlansThe following improvements to theOLI/ lHM svstem are beinq considered:creation of trigtr resolutioi scans from filrncopies of the original materials (thecuirently available images were extractedfrom a liser videodisc)]completion of thecatalog information; anq, addjtion of aninteraCtive online order form forrequesting photographic a nd machine-readable copies of specific images. TheOLI system could benefit from: moresophisticated search methods; and,inderaction with UMLS (TM) basedsearching aids.

Availabilitv of OLI SoftwareDeveloped at the Lister Hill NationalCenter for BiomeCical Communications(LHNCBC), the Online lmages systemcan be applied to any cataloged imagecollection. OLI is freely available; theLHNCBC is attempting to create aninformal consortium of groups that areusing it, and collaborating in its furtherdevelopment. Direct inquires to theaddress listed below,

Related Fact SheetsNLM HypeTDOCOM), World-Wide Web,& NCSA MosaicUnified Medical Language System (UMLS)

For addit ional information about the IHMcollection. contact:Phil ip M. Teigen. Ph.D.Historv of Medicine DivisionNatiorial Library of Medicine96OO Rockville PikeBethesda, MD 20994(301 )4e6-s405Ph i l-Teigen@occshost.nl m. ni h.gov

For additional information about the OLIimage archive delivery system, contact:R. PlChanning Rodg6rsi M.D,Lister Hill Nati-onal eenter for BiomedicalCommunications, NLM860O Rockville PikeBethesda MD 20894(301 )4e6-930Orodgers@nlm.nih.gov

browsinq docu ments contai n thumbnailversions"of the images accompanied by abrief description drEwn from thecorresponding catalog entry. Clicking ona thumbnail image causes a larger versionof the image to be displayed (mult ipleimages may be displayedsimultaneously). Clicking on the briefdescription displays the cotnplete catalogentry for the image. Clicking on a smallcheckbox at the upper left-hand corner ofthe thumbnail marks the image for laterretrieval into a special subset of images.Buttons at the bottom of each browsingpage allow the user to display the nexisetof browsing images (if there is one),pertorm a new search, or return to theOnline lmage home page. Any of thedisplayed materials rnay be saved to diskor printed locally.

6

International Slociety for. Intenferon and Gytokine Flesearch

Ii

ISICRcRossworuD

PUZ'ELEIn most publications that contain acrossword puzzle, the next issue containsthe correct answers. However, since thiseditor never fills in enough spaces to careabout the answers, I have opted to notshow the completed puzzle. Anyonedying to find out the missing pieces needsto submit something for inclusion in thenewsletter in order to get the answers. Iam however open to bribes, particularlyin the form of chocolate.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

TIIIIs0illNCttrBUIrcHI'{lrilsIs

source, are urged to call or fax thedissenting Senators artd members of theU.S. House urging them to support theSenate version of NIH funding. Yourvoices must be heard loud and clear onthis issue.

Sniglet #9: SURFACE AIIXIETY: neraousresulting from Wing to

a I ul sample in a siliconizedtube.

"My God l l t i s Pro fessor D ick le ! . . . Weinberg . see i f youcan make ou t what rhe dev i l he was work ing on . and the

res t o f you ge t back ro your s ta r ions . . '

THE FAR SIDE Copyright FARWORKS, lNC.Dist. by UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE.Reprinted with permission. All rightsreserved.

AI'VENTTSEMENTSNOW ^IT,CCEPIEI'

Proceeds from advertisements in the ISICRNews would be used solelv to cover the

The science budgets proposed by boththe U.S. House and Senate will provedisastrous for U.S. science if passed. Bothbudgets propose an immediate cut of 5-10% with a flat budget for the next 5years. This wil l result in an NIH budgetwhich would be 27-38% below a budqetwhich just keeps pace with inflation b!the year 2000. However, the Senate, by avote of 85-1 4 voted to restore $ 7 billionin NIH funding. The Senators who votedagainst the amendment included Ashcroft(Mo), Byrd & Rockefeller (\Wa), Coats(lnd), Cochran & Lott (Miss), Craig &Kempthorne (ldaho), Corton (Wash),Johnston (La), Kyl & McCain (Ariz), Smith(NH) and Thornpson (Tenn). Crucialdecisions wil l now be made in the House-Senate conference committees. All ISICRmembers, regardless of their funding

7

InGennational tociety for Interfenon and Gytokine Flesegrch

costs of copying and distributing thenewsletter. The newsletter editorial boardwould have the option of rejecting adsdeemed not suitable. So get out thereand pass a copy of this issue to your localsales reps. lf we get enough ads (and asyou can see, we're starting from a lowbaseline with a zero background), wemight even get fancier paper. lnquiriesregarding costs should be directed to theISICR headquarters office.

HELP US

LOANTHI$ I$SUEA COLLEAGUE!

Pass this issue along to a col leagueand convince them to join the lSlCR.lf each member recruits just 1member. the society will growrapidly. Membership gets you theISICR directory, this terrificnewsletter, discount regi stration atthe national meeting and el igibi l i tyfor ISICR awards. Remember, a threeyear membership is just $95 and youdon't have to worry about renewingeach year. A membership form isattached to this newsletter.

SNIGLET #1O: QUERZLINC-: the actof blowing bubbfes out from thebottom of a vertical slab gel and inthe process deposit ing more andblowing them out, etc.

SDII YOU

We will always need input from membersand we still haven't been overwhelmedyet. The deadlines for the next issue isSept" l5 so start thinking about info forwhat clearly has probably become thebest society newsletter, if we do say soourselves (of course our opinion iscompletely impartial).

Send correspondence to:

Howard YoungLab. of Experimental lmmunologyNC|fGRDC, 560/31-23Frederick, mD 2L7 O2-12OLFAX# 301€Ce1673Address email to:youngh@ncifcrf.gov

Gerald SonnenfeldDiv. of Research lmmunologyCarolinas Medical GenterPO. Box 32461Gharlotte, NC 2823 2-24G2FAX# 70+35$7203Addrees e'mail to:sonnenfe@med.unc.edu

Bratko Filipiclnstitute for MicrobiologyMedical Faculty61105 UublianaSloveniaFA)(# 3e661302€95

rnBATTIMORENOV.6'11

ffiHO,IEL

NESERIZAflONSI'UE

sEpr.3(D

slnternational Society fon Intenfenon and Gytokine Fleseanch