Oncology
Abstract
The present study evaluates the potential of third-generation lentivirus vectors with respect to their use as in vivo–administered T cell vaccines. We demonstrate that lentivector injection into the footpad of mice transduces DCs that appear in the draining lymph node and in the spleen. In addition, a lentivector vaccine bearing a T cell antigen induced very strong systemic antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in mice. Comparative vaccination performed in two different antigen models demonstrated that in vivo administration of lentivector was superior to transfer of transduced DCs or peptide/adjuvant vaccination in terms of both amplitude and longevity of the CTL response. Our data suggest that a decisive factor for efficient T cell priming by lentivector might be the targeting of DCs in situ and their subsequent migration to secondary lymphoid organs. The combination of performance, ease of application, and absence of pre-existing immunity in humans make lentivector-based vaccines an attractive candidate for cancer immunotherapy.
Authors
Christoph Esslinger, Laurence Chapatte, Daniela Finke, Isabelle Miconnet, Philippe Guillaume, Frédéric Lévy, H. Robson MacDonald
Abstract
The secretory factor VEGF-C has been directly implicated in various physiological processes during embryogenesis and human cancers. However, the importance of the conversion of its precursor proVEGF-C to mature VEGF-C in tumorigenesis, and vessel formation and the identity of the protease(s) that regulate these processes is/are not known. The intracellular processing of proVEGF-C that occurs within the dibasic motif HSIIRR227SL suggests the involvement of the proprotein convertases (PCs) in this process. In addition, furin and VEGF-C were found to be coordinately expressed in adult mouse tissues. Cotransfection of the furin-deficient colon carcinoma cell line LoVo with proVEGF-C and different PC members revealed that furin, PC5, and PC7 are candidate VEGF-C convertases. This finding is consistent with the in vitro digestions of an internally quenched synthetic fluorogenic peptide mimicking the cleavage site of proVEGF-C (220Q-VHSIIRR↓SLP230). The processing of proVEGF-C is blocked by the inhibitory prosegments of furin, PC5, and PACE4, as well as by furin-motif variants of α2-macroglobulin and α1-antitrypsin. Subcutaneous injection of CHO cells stably expressing VEGF-C into nude mice enhanced angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, but not tumor growth. In contrast, expression of proVEGF-C obtained following mutation of the cleavage site (HSIIRR227SL to HSIISS227SL) inhibits angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis as well as tumor growth. Our findings demonstrate the processing of proVEGF-C by PCs and highlight the potential use of PC inhibitors as agents for inhibiting malignancies induced by VEGF-C.
Authors
Geraldine Siegfried, Ajoy Basak, James A. Cromlish, Suzanne Benjannet, Jadwiga Marcinkiewicz, Michel Chrétien, Nabil G. Seidah, Abdel-Majid Khatib
Abstract
It is established that mutations in viral antigenic epitopes, or antigenic drifts, allow viruses to escape recognition by both Ab’s and T lymphocytes. It is unclear, however, whether tumor cells can escape immune recognition via antigenic drift. Here we show that adoptive therapy with both monoclonal and polyclonal transgenic CTLs, specific for a natural tumor antigen, P1A, selects for multiple mutations in the P1A antigenic epitope. These mutations severely diminish T cell recognition of the tumor antigen by a variety of mechanisms, including modulation of MHC:peptide interaction and TCR binding to MHC:peptide complex. These results provide the first evidence for tumor evasion of T cell recognition by antigenic drift, and thus have important implications for the strategy of tumor immunotherapy.
Authors
Xue-Feng Bai, Jinqing Liu, Ou Li, Pan Zheng, Yang Liu
Abstract
Functions of receptor tyrosine kinases implicated in angiogenesis were pharmacologically impaired in a mouse model of pancreatic islet cancer. An inhibitor targeting VEGFRs in endothelial cells (SU5416) is effective against early-stage angiogenic lesions, but not large, well-vascularized tumors. In contrast, a kinase inhibitor incorporating selectivity for PDGFRs (SU6668) is shown to block further growth of end-stage tumors, eliciting detachment of pericytes and disruption of tumor vascularity. Importantly, PDGFRs were expressed only in perivascular cells of this tumor type, suggesting that PDGFR+ pericytes in tumors present a complimentary target to endothelial cells for efficacious antiangiogenic therapy. Therapeutic regimes combining the two kinase inhibitors (SU5416 and SU6668) were more efficacious against all stages of islet carcinogenesis than either single agent. Combination of the VEGFR inhibitor with another distinctive kinase inhibitor targeting PDGFR activity (Gleevec) was also able to regress late-stage tumors. Thus, combinatorial targeting of receptor tyrosine kinases shows promise for treating multiple stages in tumorigenesis, most notably the often-intractable late-stage solid tumor.
Authors
Gabriele Bergers, Steven Song, Nicole Meyer-Morse, Emily Bergsland, Douglas Hanahan
Abstract
Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a major COX metabolite, plays important roles in several facets of tumor biology. We characterized the contribution of the PGE2 EP2 receptor to cancer-associated immune deficiency using EP2–/– mice. EP2–/– mice exhibited significantly attenuated tumor growth and longer survival times when challenged with MC26 or Lewis lung carcinoma cell lines as compared with their wild-type littermates. While no differences in T cell function were observed, PGE2 suppressed differentiation of DCs from wild-type bone marrow progenitors, whereas EP2-null cells were refractory to this effect. Stimulation of cells in mixed lymphocyte reactions by wild-type DCs was suppressed by treatment with PGE2, while EP2–/–-derived DCs were resistant to this effect. In vivo, DCs, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells were significantly more abundant in draining lymph nodes of tumor-bearing EP2–/– mice than in tumor-bearing wild-type mice, and a significant antitumor cytotoxic T lymphocyte response could be observed only in the EP2–/– animals. Our data demonstrate an important role for the EP2 receptor in PGE2-induced inhibition of DC differentiation and function and the diminished antitumor cellular immune responses in vivo.
Authors
Li Yang, Noboru Yamagata, Rajwardhan Yadav, Suzanne Brandon, Regina L. Courtney, Jason D. Morrow, Yu Shyr, Mark Boothby, Sebastian Joyce, David P. Carbone, Richard M. Breyer
Abstract
SPARC, a 32-kDa glycoprotein, participates in the regulation of morphogenesis and cellular differentiation through its modulation of cell-matrix interactions. Major functions defined for SPARC in vitro are de-adhesion and antiproliferation. In vivo, SPARC is restricted in its expression to remodeling tissues, including pathologies such as cancer. However, the function of endogenous SPARC in tumor growth and progression is not known. Here, we report that implanted tumors grew more rapidly in mice lacking SPARC. We observed that tumors grown in SPARC null mice showed alterations in the production and organization of ECM components and a decrease in the infiltration of macrophages. However, there was no change in the levels of angiogenic growth factors in comparison to tumors grown in wild-type mice, although there was a statistically significant difference in total vascular area. Whereas SPARC did inhibit the growth of tumor cells in vitro, it did not have a demonstrable effect on the proliferation or apoptosis of tumor cells in vivo. These data indicate that host-derived SPARC is important for the appropriate organization of the ECM in response to implanted tumors and highlight the importance of the ECM in regulating tumor growth.
Authors
Rolf A. Brekken, Pauli Puolakkainen, David C. Graves, Gail Workman, Sharon R. Lubkin, E. Helene Sage
Abstract
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a malignancy of unknown pathogenesis. The malignant Hodgkin and Reed/Sternberg (HRS) cells derive from germinal center B cells (or rarely, T cells) but have a heterogeneous and largely uncharacterized phenotype. Using microarrays, we compared the gene expression profile of four HL cell lines with profiles of the main B cell subsets and B cell non-HLs to find out whether HRS cells, despite their described heterogeneity, show a distinct gene expression, to study their relationship to other normal and malignant B cells, and to identify genes aberrantly or overexpressed by HRS cells. The HL lines indeed clustered as a distinct entity, irrespective of their B or T cell derivation, and their gene expression was most similar to that of EBV-transformed B cells and cell lines derived from diffuse large cell lymphomas showing features of in vitro–activated B cells. Twenty-seven genes, most of which were previously unknown to be expressed by HRS cells, showed aberrant expression specifically in these cells, e.g., the transcription factors GATA-3, ABF1, EAR3, and Nrf3. For five genes, expression in primary HRS cells was confirmed. The newly identified HL-specific genes may play important roles in the pathogenesis of HL, potentially represent novel diagnostic markers, and can be considered for therapeutic targeting.
Authors
Ralf Küppers, Ulf Klein, Ines Schwering, Verena Distler, Andreas Bräuninger, Giorgio Cattoretti, Yuhai Tu, Gustavo A. Stolovitzky, Andrea Califano, Martin-Leo Hansmann, Riccardo Dalla-Favera
Abstract
Nonmelanoma skin cancer is one of the most common malignancies in humans. Different therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these tumors are currently being investigated. Given the growth-inhibiting effects of cannabinoids on gliomas and the wide tissue distribution of the two subtypes of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), we studied the potential utility of these compounds in anti–skin tumor therapy. Here we show that the CB1 and the CB2 receptor are expressed in normal skin and skin tumors of mice and humans. In cell culture experiments pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors induced the apoptotic death of tumorigenic epidermal cells, whereas the viability of nontransformed epidermal cells remained unaffected. Local administration of the mixed CB1/CB2 agonist WIN-55,212-2 or the selective CB2 agonist JWH-133 induced a considerable growth inhibition of malignant tumors generated by inoculation of epidermal tumor cells into nude mice. Cannabinoid-treated tumors showed an increased number of apoptotic cells. This was accompanied by impairment of tumor vascularization, as determined by altered blood vessel morphology and decreased expression of proangiogenic factors (VEGF, placental growth factor, and angiopoietin 2). Abrogation of EGF-R function was also observed in cannabinoid-treated tumors. These results support a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of skin tumors.
Authors
M. Llanos Casanova, Cristina Blázquez, Jesús Martínez-Palacio, Concepción Villanueva, M. Jesús Fernández-Aceñero, John W. Huffman, José L. Jorcano, Manuel Guzmán
Abstract
Tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer cause over 4.2 million deaths annually, with approximately 400,000 deaths per year occurring in the US. Genotoxic effects of tobacco components have been described, but effects on signaling pathways in normal cells have not been described. Here, we show activation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt in nonimmortalized human airway epithelial cells in vitro by two components of cigarette smoke, nicotine and the tobacco-specific carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Activation of Akt by nicotine or NNK occurred within minutes at concentrations achievable by smokers and depended upon α3-/α4-containing or α7-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, respectively. Activated Akt increased phosphorylation of downstream substrates such as GSK-3, p70S6K, 4EBP-1, and FKHR. Treatment with nicotine or NNK attenuated apoptosis caused by etoposide, ultraviolet irradiation, or hydrogen peroxide and partially induced a transformed phenotype manifest as loss of contact inhibition and loss of dependence on exogenous growth factors or adherence to ECM. In vivo, active Akt was detected in airway epithelial cells and lung tumors from NNK-treated A/J mice, and in human lung cancers derived from smokers. Redundant Akt activation by nicotine and NNK could contribute to tobacco-related carcinogenesis by regulating two processes critical for tumorigenesis, cell growth and apoptosis.
Authors
Kip A. West, John Brognard, Amy S. Clark, Ilona R. Linnoila, Xiaowei Yang, Sandra M. Swain, Curtis Harris, Steven Belinsky, Phillip A. Dennis
Abstract
Research Article
Authors
Stephan Fellner, Björn Bauer, David S. Miller, Martina Schaffrik, Martina Fankhänel, Thilo Spruß, Günther Bernhardt, Claudia Graeff, Lothar Färber, Harald Gschaidmeier, Armin Buschauer, Gert Fricker
Copyright © 2024 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)