Sandbox Reserved 1229

This Sandbox is Reserved from Jan 17 through June 31, 2017 for use in the course Biochemistry II taught by Jason Telford at the Maryville University, St. Louis, USA. This reservation includes Sandbox Reserved 1225 through Sandbox Reserved 1244.

To get started: Click the edit this page tab at the top. Save the page after each step, then edit it again. Click the 3D button (when editing, above the wikitext box) to insert Jmol. show the Scene authoring tools, create a molecular scene, and save it. Copy the green link into the page. Add a description of your scene. Use the buttons above the wikitext box for bold, italics, links, headlines, etc. More help: Help:Editing

StructureStructure

<StructureSection load='1stp' size='340' side='right' caption='Caption for this structure' scene='<scene name='75/750278/Rituximab_structure_bh/3'> File:Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Rituximab.png

Rituximab is a genetically engineered chimeric murine and human monoclonal antibody. It is of the IgG class, specifically an IgG kappa immunoglobulin containing murine light and heavy-chain variable region sequences and human constant region sequences. Rituximab's two heavy chains are 451 amino acids long and its two light chains are 213 amino acids long. Its chemical formula is C6416H9874N1688O1987S44, and the average weight of this large protein is 143,850.7 Da.

FunctionFunction

Rituximab was created to treat certain cancers and autoimmune diseases, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and pemphigus vulgaris. Since it is a biologic, Rituximab must be given intravenously. Rituximab's target is CD20 on the surface of malignant (and normal, since differentiation is impossible, like many other cancer treatments) B cells. It binds to CD20 - specifically, amino acids 170-173 and 182-185 on CD20 - and increased the effectiveness of natural killer cells by up to 80%.

DiseaseDisease

One disease Rituximab treats is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. NHL starts in the lymphocytes, or white blood cells, and can affect both B and T cells. However, lymphoma of the B cells is much more common. Since lymph tissue is found all throughout the body, lymphoma can start anywhere, including in the lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, thymus, adenoids and tonsils, or the digestive tract. Some symptoms for NHL include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, sweating and chills, weight loss, fatigue, swollen abdomen, feeling full after eating only a small amount of food, chest pain/pressure, and shortness of breath.

The second most common disease rituximab treats is chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. This type of cancer begins in the white blood cells of the bone marrow, but then goes into the blood. The leukemia cells build up over time, often going unnoticed. In fact, many people do not show symptoms for at least a few years. Some symptoms of CLL include anemia, weakness, feeling tired, weight loss, fever, night sweats, enlarged lymph nodes, and pain or a sense of fullness in the belly, often caused by an enlarged spleen or liver.

RelevanceRelevance

The diseases rituximab treat are common diseases that can affect anyone; over 200,000 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are diagnosed each year, and about the same amount of cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia are also diagnosed per year. Thankfully, however, these disease and others are treatable with this drug. Since rituximab targets the CD20 antigen, it makes for a good cancer treatment option; stem cells do not have this antigen, so it allows for healthy B cells to regenerate after treatment, greatly aiding those who have to go through chemotherapy.

ReferencesReferences

"Rituximab". Chemocare. 2017. 5 April 2017. http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/Rituximab.aspx

"Rituximab DB00073". Drugbank. 27 April 2017. 1 May 2017. https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00073

McLaughlin et al. "Rituximab Chimerica Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody Therapy". Journal of Clinical Oncology 16, no. 8 (August 1998) 2825-33. 5 April 2017. http://ascopubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1200/JCO.1998.16.8.2825

"Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma". The American Cancer Society. 2017. 5 April 2017. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/about.html

"Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)". The American Cancer Society. 2017. 5 April 2017. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/chronic-lymphocytic-leukemia/about.html