Therapeutic Cell-Cycle-Decoy Efficacy of a Telomerase-Dependent Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Model of Chemotherapy-Resistant Human Stomach Carcinomatosis Peritonitis Visualized With FUCCI Imaging

We have established an orthotopic nude-mouse model of gastric cancer carcinomatosis peritonitis, a recalcitrant disease in human patients. Human MKN45 poorly-differentiated human gastric cancer cells developed carcinomatosis peritonitis upon orthotopic transplantation in nude mice. The MKN45 cells expressed the fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) that color codes the phases of the cell cycle. The intra-peritoneal tumors and ascites contained mostly quiescent G₁ /G_o cancer cells visualized as red by FUCCI imaging. Cisplatinum (CDDP) treatment did not reduce bloody ascites, and larger tumors formed in the peritoneal cavity after CDDP treatment in an early-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis orthotopic mouse model. Paclitaxel-treated mice had reduced ascites, but also had large tumor masses in the peritonium after treatment with cancer cells mostly in G₀ /G₁ , visualized by FUCCI red. In contrast, OBP-301 telomerase-dependent adenovirus-treated mice had no ascites and only small tumor nodules consisting of cancer cells mostly in S/G₂ phases in the early-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis model, visualized by FUCCI green. Furthermore, OBP-301 significantly reduced the size of tumors (P < 0.01) and ascites even in a late-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis model. These results suggest that quiescent peritoneally-disseminated gastric cancer cells are resistant to conventional chemotherapy, but OBP-301 significantly reduced the weight of the tumors and increased survival, suggesting clinical potential. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 3635-3642, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Energy dependence of forward-rapidity [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] production in pp collisions at the LHC

We present results on transverse momentum ([Formula: see text]) and rapidity ([Formula: see text]) differential production cross sections, mean transverse momentum and mean transverse momentum square of inclusive [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] at forward rapidity ([Formula: see text]) as well as [Formula: see text]-to-[Formula: see text] cross section ratios. These quantities are measured in pp collisions at center of mass energies [Formula: see text] and 13 TeV with the ALICE detector. Both charmonium states are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel, using the muon spectrometer. A comprehensive comparison to inclusive charmonium cross sections measured at [Formula: see text], 7 and 8 TeV is performed. A comparison to non-relativistic quantum chromodynamics and fixed-order next-to-leading logarithm calculations, which describe prompt and non-prompt charmonium production respectively, is also presented. A good description of the data is obtained over the full [Formula: see text] range, provided that both contributions are summed. In particular, it is found that for [Formula: see text] GeV/c the non-prompt contribution reaches up to 50% of the total charmonium yield.

Production of Σ(1385)± and Ξ(1530)0 in p-Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV

The transverse momentum distributions of the strange and double-strange hyperon resonances (Σ ( 1385 ) ± , Ξ ( 1530 ) 0 ) produced in p-Pb collisions at s NN = 5.02 TeV were measured in the rapidity range - 0.5 < y CMS < 0 for event classes corresponding to different charged-particle multiplicity densities, ⟨ dN ch /dη lab ⟩ . The mean transverse momentum values are presented as a function of ⟨ dN ch /dη lab ⟩ , as well as a function of the particle masses and compared with previous results on hyperon production. The integrated yield ratios of excited to ground-state hyperons are constant as a function of ⟨ dN ch /dη lab ⟩ . The equivalent ratios to pions exhibit an increase with ⟨ dN ch /dη lab ⟩ , depending on their strangeness content.

Production of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mesons up to high transverse momentum in pp collisions at 2.76 TeV

The invariant differential cross sections for inclusive [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mesons at midrapidity were measured in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV for transverse momenta [Formula: see text] GeV/c and [Formula: see text] GeV/c, respectively, using the ALICE detector. This large range in [Formula: see text] was achieved by combining various analysis techniques and different triggers involving the electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal). In particular, a new single-cluster, shower-shape based method was developed for the identification of high-[Formula: see text] neutral pions, which exploits that the showers originating from their decay photons overlap in the EMCal. Above 4 GeV/[Formula: see text], the measured cross sections are found to exhibit a similar power-law behavior with an exponent of about 6.3. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations differ from the measured cross sections by about 30% for the [Formula: see text], and between 30-50% for the [Formula: see text] meson, while generator-level simulations with PYTHIA 8.2 describe the data to better than 10-30%, except at [Formula: see text] GeV/[Formula: see text]. The new data can therefore be used to further improve the theoretical description of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] meson production.

Flow Dominance and Factorization of Transverse Momentum Correlations in Pb-Pb Collisions at the LHC

We present the first measurement of the two-particle transverse momentum differential correlation function, P_{2}≡⟨Δp_{T}Δp_{T}⟩/⟨p_{T}⟩^{2}, in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=2.76  TeV. Results for P_{2} are reported as a function of the relative pseudorapidity (Δη) and azimuthal angle (Δφ) between two particles for different collision centralities. The Δϕ dependence is found to be largely independent of Δη for |Δη|≥0.9. In the 5% most central Pb-Pb collisions, the two-particle transverse momentum correlation function exhibits a clear double-hump structure around Δφ=π (i.e., on the away side), which is not observed in number correlations in the same centrality range, and thus provides an indication of the dominance of triangular flow in this collision centrality. Fourier decompositions of P_{2}, studied as a function of the collision centrality, show that correlations at |Δη|≥0.9 can be well reproduced by a flow ansatz based on the notion that measured transverse momentum correlations are strictly determined by the collective motion of the system.

Measurement of azimuthal correlations of D mesons with charged particles in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV and p-Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV

The azimuthal correlations of D mesons with charged particles were measured with the ALICE apparatus in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] and p-Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] at the Large Hadron Collider. [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] mesons and their charge conjugates with transverse momentum [Formula: see text] and rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass system [Formula: see text] (pp collisions) and [Formula: see text] (p-Pb collisions) were correlated to charged particles with [Formula: see text]. The yield of charged particles in the correlation peak induced by the jet containing the D meson and the peak width are compatible within uncertainties in the two collision systems. The data are described within uncertainties by Monte-Carlo simulations based on PYTHIA, POWHEG, and EPOS 3 event generators.

Cell-cycle-dependent drug-resistant quiescent cancer cells induce tumor angiogenesis after chemotherapy as visualized by real-time FUCCI imaging

We previously demonstrated that quiescent cancer cells in a tumor are resistant to conventional chemotherapy as visualized with a fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI). We also showed that proliferating cancer cells exist in a tumor only near nascent vessels or on the tumor surface as visualized with FUCCI and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing tumor vessels. In the present study, we show the relationship between cell-cycle phase and chemotherapy-induced tumor angiogenesis using in vivo FUCCI real-time imaging of the cell cycle and nestin-driven GFP to detect nascent blood vessels. We observed that chemotherapy-treated tumors, consisting of mostly of quiescent cancer cells after treatment, had much more and deeper tumor vessels than untreated tumors. These newly-vascularized cancer cells regrew rapidly after chemotherapy. In contrast, formerly quiescent cancer cells decoyed to S/G2 phase by a telomerase-dependent adenovirus did not induce tumor angiogenesis. The present results further demonstrate the importance of the cancer-cell position in the cell cycle in order that chemotherapy be effective and not have the opposite effect of stimulating tumor angiogenesis and progression.

Adenoviral targeting of malignant melanoma for fluorescence-guided surgery prevents recurrence in orthotopic nude-mouse models

Malignant melanoma requires precise resection in order to avoid metastatic recurrence. We report here that the telomerase-dependent, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-containing adenovirus OBP-401 could label malignant melanoma with GFP in situ in orthotopic mouse models. OBP-401-based fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) resulted in the complete resection of malignant melanoma in the orthotopic models, where conventional bright-light surgery (BLS) could not. High-dose administration of OBP-401 enabled FGS without residual cancer cells or recurrence, due to its dual effect of cancer-cell labeling with GFP and killing.

OBP-401-GFP telomerase-dependent adenovirus illuminates and kills high-metastatic more effectively than low-metastatic triple-negative breast cancer in vitro

We previously described the development of a highly-invasive, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) variant using serial orthotopic implantation of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer in nude mice. The isolated variant is highly invasive in the mammary gland and metastasized to lymph nodes in 10 of 12 mice compared with 2 of 12 of the parental cell line. OBP-401 is a telomerase-dependent cancer-specific, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing adenovirus. OBP-401 was used to infect parental MDA-MB-231P cells and high-metastatic MDA-MB-231H and MDA-MB-231HLN isolated from a lymph node metastasis and MDA-MB-231HLM isolated from a lung metastasis. Time-course imaging showed that OBP-401 labeled MDA-MB-231HP, MDA-MB-231HLN, and MDA-MB-231HLM cells more brightly than MDA-MB-231 parental cells. OBP-401 killed MDA-MB-231H, MDA-MB-231HLN, and MDA-MB-231HLM cells more efficiently than MDA-MB-231P parental cells. These results indicate that OBP-401 could infect, label and then kill high-metastatic MDA-MB-231 more efficiently than low-metastatic MDA-MB-231.

Eradication of melanoma in vitro and in vivo via targeting with a Killer-Red-containing telomerase-dependent adenovirus

Melanoma is a highly recalcitrant cancer and transformative therapy is necessary for the cure of this disease. We recently developed a telomerase-dependent adenovirus containing the fluorescent protein Killer-Red. In the present report, we first determined the efficacy of Killer-Red adenovirus combined with laser irradiation on human melanoma cell lines in vitro. Cell viability of human melanoma cells was reduced in a dose-dependent and irradiation-time-dependent manner. We used an intradermal xenografted melanoma model in nude mice to determine efficacy of the Killer-Red adenovirus. Intratumoral injection of Killer-Red adenovirus, combined with laser irradiation, eradicated the melanoma indicating the potential of a new paradigm of cancer therapy.

Comparison of Tumor Recurrence After Resection of Highly- and Poorly-Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer in Orthotopic Nude-Mouse Models

BACKGROUND

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined by the absence of receptors for estrogen, progesterone and human epithelial receptor 2, is a recalcitrant disease in need of effective therapy. We previously isolated highly-metastatic variants of the human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 using serial orthotopic implantation in nude mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the present report, we compared local and metastatic recurrence in lymph nodes in orthotopic nude-mouse models after bright-light surgery (BLS) of tumors from highly-metastatic variants or poorly-metastatic parental MDA-MB-231-RFP cells. Orthotopic tumors from parental MDA-MB-231 or highly-metastatic MDA-MB-231 were resected under bright light similar to an operating room.

RESULTS

After resection of primary tumors, local recurrence from highly-metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells grew more rapidly than did parental MDA-MB-231 cells. Lymph-node metastasis from highly-metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells occurred after primary tumor resection much more extensively than after parental MDA-MB-231 tumors were resected.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present report suggest that conventional surgery under bright light was unable to control highly-metastatic compared with poorly-metastatic MDA-MB-231 TNBC.

Abstract PR14: Real-time in-vivo image-guided cell-cycle perturbation to increase tumor chemosensitivity

Tumor heterogeneity has been recognized as a major reason for anticancer drug resistance and therapy failure in solid cancers. Therefore, we simply categorized the tumor heterogeneity as cycling and quiescent cancer cells. A multi-color genetic reporter system has been previously-developed termed fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) (Cell 2008; 132:487-98) whereby cycling cells fluorescence yellow/green and quiescent cells fluoresce red. We demonstrated the monitoring of real-time spatiotemporal cell cycle dynamics of cancer cells throughout a live tumor intravitally using a FUCCI system. According to cell cycle distribution, we defined three in vivo tumor models; an early stage nascent tumor consists of proliferating cancer cells, a late-stage established tumor consists on proliferating cancer cells at the surface area and quiescent cancer cells at the center area, and a dormant tumor consists of almost quiescent cancer cells without changing the cell cycle and the size for more than two months. Longitudinal intravital real-time imaging in living mice also demonstrated that cytotoxic agents killed only cycling cancer cells at the surface and, in contrast, had little effect on quiescent cancer cells, which are the vast majority of a late-stage established tumor and a dormant tumor. Moreover, resistant quiescent cancer cells restarted cycling after the cessation of chemotherapy. We have utilized FUCCI in vivo intravital real-time imaging to first determine that the vast majority of cancer cells within a tumor are quiescent in G0/G1 and thereby resistant to drugs used in chemotherapy, since they only target cycling cells. This phenomenon based on the cell cycle mimics clinical courses of drug-resistant solid cancers. Therefore, quiescent cancer cells should be targeted. We then utilized in vivo FUCCI intravital real-time imaging to decoy quiescent cancer cells to cycle to S/G2, by administering telomerase-dependent oncolytic adenovirus OBP-301 or tumor-targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R, causing the cells to change from red to yellow/green fluorescence. After cell-cycle decoy determined by FUCCI, cytotoxic chemotherapy was applied and the decoyed tumors became chemosensitive. In order to further increase tumor chemosensitivity we have used FUCCI to develop an image-guided tumor-specific cell-cycle block in S/G2 with administration of recombinant methioninase (rMETase) treatment, thereby increasing the time period of chemosensitivity of cancer cells after cell-cycle decoy. Thus, image-guided cell-cycle perturbation has important potential to design new more effective paradigms for cancer chemotherapy.

This abstract is also being presented as Poster A19.

Citation Format: Shuya Yano, Hiroshi Tazawa, Hiroyuki Kishimoto, Shunsuke Kagawa, Yoshihiko Kadowaki, Nobuhiro Ishido, Takahiro Okamoto, Yasuo Urata, Kiyoto Takehara, Robert M. Hoffman, Toshiyoshi Fujiwara. Real-time in-vivo image-guided cell-cycle perturbation to increase tumor chemosensitivity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Cancer Cell Cycle - Tumor Progression and Therapeutic Response; Feb 28-Mar 2, 2016; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(11_Suppl):Abstract nr PR14.

Correlated Event-by-Event Fluctuations of Flow Harmonics in Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=2.76 TeV

We report the measurements of correlations between event-by-event fluctuations of amplitudes of anisotropic flow harmonics in nucleus-nucleus collisions, obtained for the first time using a new analysis method based on multiparticle cumulants in mixed harmonics. This novel method is robust against systematic biases originating from nonflow effects and by construction any dependence on symmetry planes is eliminated. We demonstrate that correlations of flow harmonics exhibit a better sensitivity to medium properties than the individual flow harmonics. The new measurements are performed in Pb-Pb collisions at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sqrt[s_{NN}]=2.76  TeV by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The centrality dependence of correlation between event-by-event fluctuations of the elliptic v_{2} and quadrangular v_{4} flow harmonics, as well as of anticorrelation between v_{2} and triangular v_{3} flow harmonics are presented. The results cover two different regimes of the initial state configurations: geometry dominated (in midcentral collisions) and fluctuation dominated (in the most central collisions). Comparisons are made to predictions from Monte Carlo Glauber, viscous hydrodynamics, ampt, and hijing models. Together with the existing measurements of the individual flow harmonics the presented results provide further constraints on the initial conditions and the transport properties of the system produced in heavy-ion collisions.

Enhanced Metastatic Recurrence Via Lymphatic Trafficking of a High-Metastatic Variant of Human Triple-Negative Breast Cancer After Surgical Resection in Orthotopic Nude Mouse Models

We previously developed and characterized a highly invasive and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) variant by serial orthotopic implantation of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells in nude mice. Eventually, a highly invasive and metastatic variant of human TNBC was isolated after lymph node metastases was harvested and orthotopically re-implanted into the mammary gland of nude mice for two cycles. The variant thereby isolated is highly invasive in the mammary gland and metastasized to lymph nodes in 10 of 12 mice compared to 2 of 12 of the parental cell line. In the present report, we observed that high-metastatic MDA-MB-231H-RFP cells produced significantly larger subcutaneous tumors compared with parental MDA-MB-231 cells in nude mice. Extensive lymphatic trafficking by high-metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells was also observed. High-metastatic MDA-MB-231 developed larger recurrent tumors 2 weeks after tumor resection compared with tumors that were not resected in orthotopic models. Surgical resection of the MDA-MB-231 high-metastatic variant primary tumor in orthotopic models also resulted in rapid and enhanced lymphatic trafficking of residual cancer cells and extensive lymph node and lung metastasis that did not occur in the non-surgical mice. These results suggest that surgical resection of high metastatic TNBC can greatly increase the malignancy of residual cancer. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 559-569, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.