Clinical Research Directory

Investigating the Pathogenic Role of N-glycosylation in AL Amyloidosis: Molecular Bases, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis is caused by a typically small, minimally proliferating bone marrow plasma cell clone secreting a patient-unique, unstable, aggregation-prone, toxic light chain (LC). The amyloidogenicity of LCs is encrypted in their sequence, yet molecular determinants of LC pathogenicity remain obscure. N-glycosylation has been long suspected to be a determinant of LC amyloidogenicity based on anecdotal reports of individual AL patients with a clonal LC displaying this post-translational modification. It is hypothesized that N-glycosylation fundamentally contributes to determining the amyloidogenicity of immunoglobulin LCs in a subset of patients with AL and might influence its clinical phenotype. It is further proposed that the synthesis and secretion of unstable LCs that also have to be N-glycosylated might reverberate on the biology of the plasma cell clone, possibly modulating the sensitivity toward different drugs and might represent itself a therapeutic target. The objective of our study is now to elucidate the molecular role of LC N-glycosylation in AL amyloidosis, exploit it for risk assessment, and define its potential impact on the biology of the underlying plasma cell clone and its drug sensitivity.

European Myeloma Network (EMN) Sample Project

This is an observational, non-interventional, multicenter study for the prospective collection, storage and analysis of patients' biological samples. This study establishes a common international infrastructure useful to collect standard clinical variables at baseline and during treatment and to uniformly collect and store biological samples

A Prospective Long-term Observational Study in Patients With Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a rare blood cancer affecting over 5000 people a year in the UK. All cases of myeloma start with a condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). MGUS occurs in approximately 3.2% of people aged 50 and over. Only a small proportion of these people - around 1% each year - will develop myeloma. Most people with MGUS have no symptoms, but a small number of people will suffer complications. This group are referred to as having monoclonal gammopathy of clinical significance (MGCS). People with myeloma frequently experience long delays in diagnosis; the delays are longer than for any other cancer. Although we know that MGUS leads to myeloma, most cases of MGUS are only found 'incidentally' when the person is having blood tests for something else. And the people who have MGUS do not have consistent testing or follow up. This situation means that 80 - 90% of people who are diagnosed with myeloma did not have an earlier MGUS diagnosis. Earlier diagnosis of myeloma might be possible with better understanding MGUS and how it should be monitored. The SECURE study will help with this. It will help confirm the rate at which people with MGUS progress to a diagnosis of myeloma. It will further understanding of screening, diagnosis, and monitoring patterns of people with MGUS and MGCS in the UK. The study aims to find out more about the role of family history and demographic factors in the development of MGUS. It will also find out more about the psychological impact of an MGUS diagnosis and individual quality of life. Patients with MGUS will be identified by their clinical care team and invited to participate in the SECURE study. Participants will be required to answer surveys and questionnaires annually for a period of 5 years or until their disease changes. The study will recruit participants from 20 NHS sites in the UK. Some will be asked to provide blood samples. SECURE is funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Intestinal Flora and Immunity in Monoclonal Gammopathy Patients

This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the gut microbiota and immune function status in patients with monoclonal gammopathy complicated by infection, and to analyze the correlation between the two.200 patients diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy by MALDI-TOF MS were included, of which 100 had concurrent infections and 100 did not. An additional 100 healthy controls, matched for age and gender, were also enrolled.By comparing the composition of the gut microbiota and immune function markers (such as peripheral blood immune cell profiles and cytokine levels) between the patient groups and the control group, the study will evaluate the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and abnormal immune status in patients with monoclonal gammopathy complicated by infection. The aim is to explore the correlation between the gut microbiome alterations and immune dysfunction, in order to provide a basis for further investigation of the underlying mechanisms.