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Targeting KK-LC-1 inhibits malignant biological behaviors of triple-negative breast cancer. J Transl Med 2023; 21:184. [PMID: 36895039 PMCID: PMC9996895 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04030-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) participate in the regulation of malignant biological behaviors in breast cancer. However, the function and mechanism of KK-LC-1, a member of the CTA family, in breast cancer are still unclear. METHODS Bioinformatic tools, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were utilized to detect the expression of KK-LC-1 in breast cancer and to explore the prognostic effect of KK-LC-1 expression in breast cancer patients. Cell function assays, animal assays, and next-generation sequencing were utilized to explore the function and mechanism of KK-LC-1 in the malignant biological behaviors of triple-negative breast cancer. Small molecular compounds targeting KK-LC-1 were also screened and drug susceptibility testing was performed. RESULTS KK-LC-1 was significantly highly expressed in triple-negative breast cancer tissues than in normal breast tissues. KK-LC-1 high expression was related to poor survival outcomes in patients with breast cancer. In vitro studies suggested that KK-LC-1 silencing can inhibit triple-negative breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and scratch healing ability, increase cell apoptosis ratio, and arrest the cell cycle in the G0-G1 phase. In vivo studies have suggested that KK-LC-1 silencing decreases tumor weight and volume in nude mice. Results showed that KK-CL-1 can regulate the malignant biological behaviors of triple-negative breast cancer via the MAL2/MUC1-C/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The small-molecule compound Z839878730 had excellent KK-LC-1 targeting ability and cancer cell killing ability. The EC50 value was 9.7 μM for MDA-MB-231 cells and 13.67 µM for MDA-MB-468 cells. Besides, Z839878730 has little tumor-killing effect on human normal mammary epithelial cells MCF10A and can inhibit the malignant biological behaviors of triple-negative breast cancer cells by MAL2/MUC1-C/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that KK-LC-1 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer. Z839878730, which targets KK-LC-1, presents a new path for breast cancer clinical treatment.
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Hoyos V, Vasileiou S, Kuvalekar M, Watanabe A, Tzannou I, Velazquez Y, French-Kim M, Leung W, Lulla S, Robertson C, Foreman C, Wang T, Bulsara S, Lapteva N, Grilley B, Ellis M, Osborne CK, Coscio A, Nangia J, Heslop HE, Rooney CM, Vera JF, Lulla P, Rimawi M, Leen AM. Multi-antigen-targeted T-cell therapy to treat patients with relapsed/refractory breast cancer. Ther Adv Med Oncol 2022; 14:17588359221107113. [PMID: 35860837 PMCID: PMC9290161 DOI: 10.1177/17588359221107113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Adoptively transferred, ex vivo expanded multi-antigen-targeted T cells (multiTAA-T) represent a new, potentially effective, and nontoxic therapeutic approach for patients with breast cancer (BC). In this first-in-human trial, we investigated the safety and clinical effects of administering multiTAA T cells targeting the tumor-expressed antigens, Survivin, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A4, SSX2, and PRAME, to patients with relapsed/refractory/metastatic BC. Materials and methods MultiTAA T-cell products were generated from the peripheral blood of heavily pre-treated patients with metastatic or locally recurrent unresectable BC of all subtypes and infused at a fixed dose level of 2 × 107/m2. Patients received two infusions of cells 4 weeks apart and safety and clinical activity were determined. Cells were administered in an outpatient setting and without prior lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Results All patients had estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor positive BC, with one patient also having human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive. There were no treatment-related toxicities and the infusions were well tolerated. Of the 10 heavily pre-treated patients enrolled and infused with multiTAA T cells, nine had disease progression while one patient with 10 lines of prior therapies experienced prolonged (5 months) disease stabilization that was associated with the in vivo expansion and persistence of T cells directed against the targeted antigens. Furthermore, antigen spreading and the endogenous activation of T cells directed against a spectrum of non-targeted tumor antigens were observed in 7/10 patients post-multiTAA infusion. Conclusion MultiTAA T cells were well tolerated and induced disease stabilization in a patient with refractory BC. This was associated with in vivo T-cell expansion, persistence, and antigen spreading. Future directions of this approach may include additional strategies to enhance the therapeutic benefit of multiTAA T cells in patients with BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Hoyos
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Ave, Feigin Center 17th Floor. Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Spyridoula Vasileiou
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Manik Kuvalekar
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ayumi Watanabe
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ifigeneia Tzannou
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yovana Velazquez
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Matthew French-Kim
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Wingchi Leung
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Suhasini Lulla
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Catherine Robertson
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Claudette Foreman
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tao Wang
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Shaun Bulsara
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Natalia Lapteva
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Bambi Grilley
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Matthew Ellis
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Charles Kent Osborne
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Angela Coscio
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Julie Nangia
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Helen E. Heslop
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Cliona M. Rooney
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Juan F. Vera
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Premal Lulla
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mothaffar Rimawi
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine
| | - Ann M. Leen
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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Lin L, Nong W, Luo B, Ge Y, Zeng X, Li F, Fan R, Zhang Q, Xie X. Cancer-testis antigen ACRBP expression and serum immunoreactivity in ovarian cancer: Its association with prognosis. IMMUNITY INFLAMMATION AND DISEASE 2021; 9:1759-1770. [PMID: 34528758 PMCID: PMC8589352 DOI: 10.1002/iid3.534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Cancer testis (CT) antigens are attractive targets for cancer immunotherapy because of their expression restriction and immunogenicity. The acrosin binding protein (ACRBP) is a member of CT antigens. This study aimed to evaluate ACRBP expression and immunogenicity in ovarian cancer (OC). Methods The expression level of ACRBP in OC tissues, normal ovarian tissues, and cell lines was detected via quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) and immunohistochemistry. We determined the levels of ACRBP antigen and antibody in serum samples collected from patients with OC and healthy donors using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), the level of ACRBP in cell‐cultured medium was also tested. Results ACRBP mRNA and protein expressions were upregulated in OC tissues relative to normal tissue, especially highly expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Moreover, ACRBP expression was significantly correlated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and chemosensitivity. Serological analysis showed that anti‐ACRBP antibody was detected in the sera of 16 of the 56 (28.5%) patients with OC but not in healthy donors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for ACRBP antibody was 0.802 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.708–0.876), and the sensitivity and specificity for ACRBP antibody was 85.71% and 55.0%, respectively. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) in OC patients with high ACRBP expression were significantly lower than those with low expression (p = 0.040, p = 0.021). However, ACRBP antibody level was not associated with prognosis. Conclusion ACRBP expression was upregulated in OC tissues and induced humoral immune response in patients with OC, suggesting that ACRBP is a potential prognostic biomarker and a target of tumor immunotherapy for OC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Lin
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Weixia Nong
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Central Laboratory, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Bin Luo
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Central Laboratory, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Yingying Ge
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Central Laboratory, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Xia Zeng
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Feng Li
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Rong Fan
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Chinese Medicine University, Nanning, China
| | - Qingmei Zhang
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Central Laboratory, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
| | - Xiaoxun Xie
- Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.,Central Laboratory, School of Preclinical Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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Holmberg-Thydén S, Dufva IH, Gang AO, Breinholt MF, Schejbel L, Andersen MK, Kadivar M, Svane IM, Grønbæk K, Hadrup SR, El Fassi D. Epigenetic therapy in combination with a multi-epitope cancer vaccine targeting shared tumor antigens for high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome - a phase I clinical trial. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2021; 71:433-444. [PMID: 34218294 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-021-02993-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Standard care for patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is hypomethylating agents such as azacitidine (AZA), which can induce expression of methylated tumor-associated antigens and therefore potentiate immunotherapeutic targeting. METHOD In this phase 1 trial, we combined AZA with a therapeutic peptide vaccine targeting antigens encoded from NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A3, PRAME, and WT-1, which have previously been demonstrated to be upregulated by AZA treatment. RESULT Five patients who had responded to AZA monotherapy were included in the study and treated with the vaccine. The combination therapy showed only few adverse events during the study period, whereof none classified as serious. However, no specific immune responses could be detected using intracellular cytokine staining or ELISpot assays. Minor changes in the phenotypic composition of immune cells and their expression of stimulatory and inhibitory markers were detected. All patients progressed to AML with a mean time to progression from inclusion (TTP) of 5.2 months (range 2.8 to 7.6). Mean survival was 18.1 months (range 10.9 to 30.6) from MDS diagnosis and 11.3 months (range 4.3 to 22.2) from inclusion. Sequencing of bone marrow showed clonal expansion of malignant cells, as well as appearance of novel mutations. CONCLUSION The patients progressed to AML with an average time of only five months after initiating the combination therapy. This may be unrelated to the experimental treatment, but the trial was terminated early as there was no sign of clinical benefit or immunological response. Why the manuscript is especially interesting This study is the first to exploit the potential synergistic effects of combining a multi-peptide cancer vaccine with epigenetic therapy in MDS. Although our results are negative, they emphasize challenges to induce immune reactivity in patients with high-risk MDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Staffan Holmberg-Thydén
- Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Experimental & Translational Immunology (XTI), Health Technology, T-Cells and Cancer, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Inge Høgh Dufva
- Department of Oncology and Palliative Care, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark
| | - Anne Ortved Gang
- Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Lone Schejbel
- Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | | | - Mohammad Kadivar
- Experimental & Translational Immunology (XTI), Health Technology, T-Cells and Cancer, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Inge Marie Svane
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Kirsten Grønbæk
- Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, BRIC, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sine Reker Hadrup
- Experimental & Translational Immunology (XTI), Health Technology, T-Cells and Cancer, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Daniel El Fassi
- Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. .,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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5
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Ji J, Chen J, Wang A, Zhang W, Ju H, Liu Y, Li L. KK-LC-1 may be an effective prognostic biomarker for gastric cancer. BMC Cancer 2021; 21:267. [PMID: 33711953 PMCID: PMC7953676 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-021-07974-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The objective of the study was to detect the expression of Kita-Kyushu lung cancer antigen-1 (KK-LC-1) in gastric cancer (GC) specimens and analyse the associations between KK-LC-1 expression and clinicopathological parameters and clinical prognosis. Methods All of the 94 patients in this study were GC patients who underwent surgical resection. KK-LC-1 protein expression in GC tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. This report applies the histological score (H-score) to evaluate KK-LC-1 expression. To calculate this indicator, the number of positive cells in each section and their staining intensity were converted to corresponding values. The expression of KK-LC-1 in the cytoplasm of cancer and normal tissues was scored to obtain their respective H values. The chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were used to analyse the linear association between KK-LC-1 expression and clinicopathological data and prognosis. Results In the cytoplasm, KK-LC-1 expression in tumour tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (P < 0.001). Using the median H-score as the cut-off value, we discovered that GC patients with high levels of KK-LC-1 expression in the cytoplasm had favourable overall survival (OS) (P = 0.016), and this result was statistically significant in the Cox regression analysis. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between KK-LC-1 protein expression and the pathological grade of the tumour (P = 0.036), with significantly more KK-LC-1 protein expression observed in the intestinal type of GC than in the diffuse type (P = 0.008). Conclusions Our research data showed that KK-LC-1 expression was greater in GC tissues than in normal tissues, and higher KK-LC-1 expression was associated with longer OS of GC patients. KK-LC-1 can be used as a biomarker for a good prognosis in GC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ji
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.,First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, General Surgery, Baotou, 014010, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Jiahui Chen
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China
| | - Anqiang Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, 014060, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Hongge Ju
- Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, 014060, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, 014060, Inner Mongolia, China.
| | - Leping Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China. .,Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
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Albertsmeier M, Altendorf-Hofmann A, Lindner LH, Issels RD, Kampmann E, Dürr HR, Schubert-Fritschle G, Angele MK, Kirchner T, Jungbluth AA, Knösel T. Cancer Testis Antigens and Immunotherapy: Expression of PRAME Is Associated with Prognosis in Soft Tissue Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E3612. [PMID: 33287125 PMCID: PMC7761656 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12123612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: PRAME, NY-ESO-1, and SSX2 are cancer testis antigens (CTAs), which are expressed in testicular germ cells with re-expression in numerous cancer types. Their ability to elicit humoral and cellular immune responses have rendered them promising targets for cancer immunotherapy, but they have never been studied in a large and well-characterised cohort of soft tissue sarcomas (STS). (2) Methods: On a protein level, we examined PRAME, NY-ESO-1, and SSX2 expression in tumour tissues of 249 high-risk STS using immunohistochemistry. We correlated expression levels with clinicopathological parameters including tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) counts, grading, and long-term survival. (3) Results: Expression of PRAME, NY-ESO-1, and SSX2 was observed in 25 (10%), 19 (8%), and 11 (4%) of 249 specimens with distinct patterns for histo-subtypes. Expression of PRAME was associated with shorter patient survival (p = 0.005) and higher grade (G2 vs. G3, p = 0.001), while NY-ESO-1 expression was correlated with more favourable survival (p = 0.037) and lower grade (G2 vs. G3, p = 0.029). Both PRAME and NY-ESO-1 expression were more frequent in STS with low TIL counts. In multivariate analysis, high PRAME and low SSX2 expression levels as well as metastatic disease and non-radical resections were independent predictors of shorter overall survival. (4) Conclusions: CTAs PRAME, NY-ESO-1, and SSX2 show distinct expression patterns in different STS subtypes. These results demonstrate their prognostic relevance and may guide future immunotherapeutic approaches in STS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Albertsmeier
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany;
| | - Annelore Altendorf-Hofmann
- Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, Friedrich-Schiller Universität Jena, Am Klinikum 1, 07743 Jena, Germany;
| | - Lars H. Lindner
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; (L.H.L.); (R.D.I.); (E.K.)
| | - Rolf D. Issels
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; (L.H.L.); (R.D.I.); (E.K.)
| | - Eric Kampmann
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; (L.H.L.); (R.D.I.); (E.K.)
| | - Hans-Roland Dürr
- Musculoskeletal Oncology, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany;
| | - Gabriele Schubert-Fritschle
- Munich Cancer Registry (MCR) of the Munich Tumour Centre (TZM), Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology (IBE), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany;
| | - Martin K. Angele
- Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany;
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Thalkirchner Str. 36, 80337 Munich, Germany;
| | - Achim A. Jungbluth
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, NY 1275, USA;
| | - Thomas Knösel
- Institute of Pathology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, Thalkirchner Str. 36, 80337 Munich, Germany;
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7
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McCartney DL, Zhang F, Hillary RF, Zhang Q, Stevenson AJ, Walker RM, Bermingham ML, Boutin T, Morris SW, Campbell A, Murray AD, Whalley HC, Porteous DJ, Hayward C, Evans KL, Chandra T, Deary IJ, McIntosh AM, Yang J, Visscher PM, McRae AF, Marioni RE. An epigenome-wide association study of sex-specific chronological ageing. Genome Med 2019; 12:1. [PMID: 31892350 PMCID: PMC6938636 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-019-0693-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advanced age is associated with cognitive and physical decline and is a major risk factor for a multitude of disorders. There is also a gap in life expectancy between males and females. DNA methylation differences have been shown to be associated with both age and sex. Here, we investigate age-by-sex differences in blood-based DNA methylation in an unrelated cohort of 2586 individuals between the ages of 18 and 87 years, with replication in a further 4450 individuals between the ages of 18 and 93 years. METHODS Linear regression models were applied, with stringent genome-wide significance thresholds (p < 3.6 × 10-8) used in both the discovery and replication data. A second, highly conservative mixed linear model method that better controls the false-positive rate was also applied, using the same genome-wide significance thresholds. RESULTS Using the linear regression method, 52 autosomal and 597 X-linked CpG sites, mapping to 251 unique genes, replicated with concordant effect size directions in the age-by-sex interaction analysis. The site with the greatest difference mapped to GAGE10, an X-linked gene. Here, DNA methylation levels remained stable across the male adult age range (DNA methylation by age r = 0.02) but decreased across female adult age range (DNA methylation by age r = - 0.61). One site (cg23722529) with a significant age-by-sex interaction also had a quantitative trait locus (rs17321482) that is a genome-wide significant variant for prostate cancer. The mixed linear model method identified 11 CpG sites associated with the age-by-sex interaction. CONCLUSION The majority of differences in age-associated DNA methylation trajectories between sexes are present on the X chromosome. Several of these differences occur within genes that have been implicated in sexually dimorphic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Futao Zhang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Qian Zhang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Anna J Stevenson
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Rosie M Walker
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Mairead L Bermingham
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Thibaud Boutin
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Stewart W Morris
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Alison D Murray
- Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
| | - Heather C Whalley
- Division of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - David J Porteous
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Kathryn L Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Tamir Chandra
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Andrew M McIntosh
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Jian Yang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Institute for Advanced Research, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Allan F McRae
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
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8
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Expression of tumor-associated antigens in breast cancer subtypes. Breast 2019; 49:202-209. [PMID: 31869767 PMCID: PMC7375652 DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are frequently overexpressed in several cancer types. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of TAAs in breast cancer. Material and methods A total of 250 selected invasive breast cancers including 50 estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (Luminal B like), 50 triple-negative (TN), 50 ER-positive lobular type, 50 ER- and progesterone receptor (PgR)-positive (Luminal A like) and 50 cerbB2-positive breast cancers, were assessed for New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1), Wilms tumor antigen (WT-1) and PReferentially expressed Antigen of MElanoma (PRAME) antigen expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results A significantly higher expression of cancer testis (CT)-antigens NY-ESO-1 and WT-1 antigen was detected in TN breast cancers compared with ER-positive tumors. NY-ESO-1 overexpression (score 2 + and 3+) assessed by monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies was detected in 9 (18%) TN cancers as compared to 2 (4%) ER-positive tumors (p = 0.002). WT1 over-expression (score 2 + and 3+) was confirmed in 27 (54%) TN tumor samples as compared to 6 (12%) ER-positive (p < 0.0001). PRAME over-expression (score 2 + and 3+) was detected in 8 (16%) HER2 positive tumor samples as compared to no TN and ER-positive cancers (p = 0.0021). Conclusions NY-ESO-1 and WT1 antigens are overexpressed in TN breast cancers. Because of the limited therapeutic options for this patient subgroup, CT antigen-based vaccines might prove to be useful for patients with this phenotype of breast cancer. Tumor-associated antigens are frequently overexpressed in several cancer types, being also associated with poorer patients’ survival outcomes. Our study confirmed that NY-ESO-1 and WT1 antigens are higher expressed in triple-negative than in other breast cancer subtypes. Given the limited therapeutic options for triple-negative breast cancer patients, the assessment of WT1 and NY-ESO-1 antigens expression in breast cancer tissue at surgery may allow to identify patients potentially candidate to adjuvant peptide vaccines, alone or in combination with other systemic therapies.
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9
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Brückmann NH, Bennedsen SN, Duijf PHG, Terp MG, Thomassen M, Larsen M, Pedersen CB, Kruse T, Alcaraz N, Ditzel HJ, Gjerstorff MF. A functional genetic screen identifies the Mediator complex as essential for SSX2-induced senescence. Cell Death Dis 2019; 10:841. [PMID: 31695025 PMCID: PMC6834653 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-019-2068-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The senescence response to oncogenes is believed to be a barrier to oncogenic transformation in premalignant lesions, and describing the mechanisms by which tumor cells evade this response is important for early diagnosis and treatment. The male germ cell-associated protein SSX2 is ectopically expressed in many types of cancer and is functionally involved in regulating chromatin structure and supporting cell proliferation. Similar to many well-characterized oncogenes, SSX2 has the ability to induce senescence in cells. In this study, we performed a functional genetic screen to identify proteins implicated in SSX2-induced senescence and identified several subunits of the Mediator complex, which is central in regulating RNA polymerase-mediated transcription. Further experiments showed that reduced levels of MED1, MED4, and MED14 perturbed the development of senescence in SSX2-expressing cells. In contrast, knockdown of MED1 did not prevent development of B-Raf- and Epirubicin-induced senescence, suggesting that Mediator may be specifically linked to the cellular functions of SSX2 that may lead to development of senescence or be central in a SSX2-specific senescence response. Indeed, immunostaining of melanoma tumors, which often express SSX proteins, exhibited altered levels of MED1 compared to benign nevi. Similarly, RNA-seq analysis suggested that MED1, MED4, and MED14 were downregulated in some tumors, while upregulated in others. In conclusion, our study reveals the Mediator complex as essential for SSX2-induced senescence and suggests that changes in Mediator activity could be instrumental for tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine H Brückmann
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Sofie N Bennedsen
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Pascal H G Duijf
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia
| | - Mikkel G Terp
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mads Thomassen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Martin Larsen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Christina B Pedersen
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Torben Kruse
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Nicolas Alcaraz
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Henrik J Ditzel
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.,Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.,Academy of Geriatric Cancer Research (AgeCare), Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Morten F Gjerstorff
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. .,Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. .,Academy of Geriatric Cancer Research (AgeCare), Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
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10
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Tessari A, Pilla L, Silvia D, Duca M, Paolini B, Carcangiu ML, Mariani L, de Braud FG, Cresta S. Expression of NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A3, PRAME and WT1 in different subgroups of breast cancer: An indication to immunotherapy? Breast 2018; 42:68-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.breast.2018.08.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
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11
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Roguljic A, Spagnoli G, Juretic A, Sarcevic B, Banovic M, Beketic Oreskovic L. Possible predictive role of cancer/testis antigens in breast ductal carcinoma in situ. Oncol Lett 2018; 16:7245-7255. [PMID: 30546463 PMCID: PMC6256292 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2018.9544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) are a large family of tumor-associated antigens expressed in human tumors of different histological origin, but not in normal tissues, with the exception of the testes and placenta. Numerous immunohistochemical studies have reported associations between CTA expression and a negative estrogen receptor (ER) status in breast tumors, and demonstrated that CTAs are frequently expressed in tumors with higher nuclear grade. The expression of CTAs has not been studied as extensively in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) as it has been in invasive breast cancer. The present retrospective study included archived paraffin-embedded specimens from 83 patients diagnosed with DCIS in the period between January 2007 and December 2014. The follow-up time for local recurrence ranged between 1 and 8 years (mean, 5.02 years). Antigens from the melanoma-associated antigen gene (MAGE) family, namely multi-MAGE-A, MAGE-A1, MAGE-A10 and New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 (NY-ESO-1) antigen, were evaluated by immunostaining and their subcellular location was investigated. Presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was evaluated on all sections, together with the histopathological variables of DCIS. Specific tested antigens exhibited associations with histopathological parameters for DCIS and all demonstrated statistically significant associations with nuclear staining, simultaneous cytoplasmic and nuclear staining, and local recurrence. Antigen MAGE-A10 demonstrated a significant association with higher expression of ER (P=0.005) and higher tumor nuclear grade (P=0.001), cytoplasmic staining (P=0.029) and antigen NY-ESO-1 with higher tumor size (P=0.001), expression of TILs (P=0.001) and R1 resection (P=0.001). A χ2 test revealed significant associations between simultaneous cytoplasmic and nuclear staining and local recurrence (P=0.005), central necrosis (P=0.016), and the expression of ER (P=0.003) and progesterone receptor (PR) (P=0.010). Additional analysis revealed an association between antigen MAGE-A10 and TILs (P=0.05). Additional analysis of TILs indicated that they were significantly associated with tumor grade (P=0.023), central necrosis (P<0.001), ER (P=0.003) and PR (P=0.029). Overall, CTAs from the MAGE family (MAGE-A1, multi-MAGE-A and MAGE-A10) and NY-ESO-1 associate with histopathological predictive variables of DCIS. The expression of antigens NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A10 could serve an important role in the treatment of patients with negative histopathological predictive variables, but further analysis is required. Simultaneous cytoplasmic and nuclear protein expression of MAGE-A family and NY-ESO-1 CTAs may represent an independent marker for local recurrence. Taken together, the present data suggest that CTAs are not perfect indicators of invasiveness for DCIS, but could inform treatment strategies for patients when taken in combination with other histopathological predictive variables. However, this was a small study and further larger studies will be necessary to confirm the current findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Roguljic
- Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, Sisters of Mercy University Hospital Center, University Hospital for Tumors, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Gulio Spagnoli
- Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Antonio Juretic
- Department of Oncology, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Bozena Sarcevic
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Sisters of Mercy University Hospital Center, University Hospital for Tumors, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marija Banovic
- University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lidija Beketic Oreskovic
- Department of Oncology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Sisters of Mercy University Hospital Center, University Hospital for Tumors, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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12
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Autoantibodies as Potential Biomarkers in Breast Cancer. BIOSENSORS-BASEL 2018; 8:bios8030067. [PMID: 30011807 PMCID: PMC6163859 DOI: 10.3390/bios8030067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is a major cause of mortality in women; however, technologies for early stage screening and diagnosis (e.g., mammography and other imaging technologies) are not optimal for the accurate detection of cancer. This creates demand for a more effective diagnostic means to replace or be complementary to existing technologies for early discovery of breast cancer. Cancer neoantigens could reflect tumorigenesis, but they are hardly detectable at the early stage. Autoantibodies, however, are biologically amplified and hence may be measurable early on, making them promising biomarkers to discriminate breast cancer from healthy tissue accurately. In this review, we summarized the recent findings of breast cancer specific antigens and autoantibodies, which may be useful in early detection, disease stratification, and monitoring of treatment responses of breast cancer.
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13
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Mahmoud AM. Cancer testis antigens as immunogenic and oncogenic targets in breast cancer. Immunotherapy 2018; 10:769-778. [PMID: 29926750 PMCID: PMC6462849 DOI: 10.2217/imt-2017-0179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer cells frequently express tumor-associated antigens that can elicit immune responses to eradicate cancer. Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are a group of tumor-associated antigens that might serve as ideal targets for cancer immunotherapy because of their cancer-restricted expression and robust immunogenicity. Previous clinical studies reported that CTAs are associated with negative hormonal status, aggressive tumor behavior and poor survival. Furthermore, experimental studies have shown the ability of CTAs to induce both cellular and humoral immune responses. They also demonstrated the implication of CTAs in promoting cancer cell growth, inhibiting apoptosis and inducing cancer cell invasion and migration. In the current review, we attempt to address the immunogenic and oncogenic potential of CTAs and their current utilization in therapeutic interventions for breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abeer M Mahmoud
- Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Pathology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut 71111, Egypt
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14
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Thomas R, Al-Khadairi G, Roelands J, Hendrickx W, Dermime S, Bedognetti D, Decock J. NY-ESO-1 Based Immunotherapy of Cancer: Current Perspectives. Front Immunol 2018; 9:947. [PMID: 29770138 PMCID: PMC5941317 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 246] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
NY-ESO-1 or New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 is a well-known cancer-testis antigen (CTAs) with re-expression in numerous cancer types. Its ability to elicit spontaneous humoral and cellular immune responses, together with its restricted expression pattern, have rendered it a good candidate target for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we provide background information on NY-ESO-1 expression and function in normal and cancerous tissues. Furthermore, NY-ESO-1-specific immune responses have been observed in various cancer types; however, their utility as biomarkers are not well determined. Finally, we describe the immune-based therapeutic options targeting NY-ESO-1 that are currently in clinical trial. We will highlight the recent advancements made in NY-ESO-1 cancer vaccines, adoptive T cell therapy, and combinatorial treatment with checkpoint inhibitors and will discuss the current trends for future NY-ESO-1 based immunotherapy. Cancer treatment has been revolutionized over the last few decades with immunotherapy emerging at the forefront. Immune-based interventions have shown promising results, providing a new treatment avenue for durable clinical responses in various cancer types. The majority of successful immunotherapy studies have been reported in liquid cancers, whereas these approaches have met many challenges in solid cancers. Effective immunotherapy in solid cancers is hampered by the complex, dynamic tumor microenvironment that modulates the extent and phenotype of the antitumor immune response. Furthermore, many solid tumor-associated antigens are not private but can be found in normal somatic tissues, resulting in minor to detrimental off-target toxicities. Therefore, there is an ongoing effort to identify tumor-specific antigens to target using various immune-based modalities. CTAs are considered good candidate targets for immunotherapy as they are characterized by a restricted expression in normal somatic tissues concomitant with a re-expression in solid epithelial cancers. Moreover, several CTAs have been found to induce a spontaneous immune response, NY-ESO-1 being the most immunogenic among the family members. Hence, this review will focus on NY-ESO-1 and discuss the past and current NY-ESO-1 targeted immunotherapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remy Thomas
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ghaneya Al-Khadairi
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jessica Roelands
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar.,Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Wouter Hendrickx
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Said Dermime
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Doha, Qatar
| | - Davide Bedognetti
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Julie Decock
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
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15
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Raghavendra A, Kalita-de Croft P, Vargas AC, Smart CE, Simpson PT, Saunus JM, Lakhani SR. Expression of MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis antigens is enriched in triple-negative invasive breast cancers. Histopathology 2018; 73:68-80. [PMID: 29465777 PMCID: PMC6635746 DOI: 10.1111/his.13498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Aims A better understanding of the expression of cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) in breast cancer might enable the identification of new immunotherapy options, especially for triple‐negative (TN) tumours, which lack expression of the conventional therapeutic targets oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The aim of this study was to quantify the expression of MAGE‐A and NY‐ESO‐1 CTAs in breast cancer, and relate this to known clinicopathological parameters. Methods and results We surveyed MAGE‐A and NY‐ESO‐1 expression in an unselected cohort of 367 breast tumours (of which 65 were TN), with accompanying clinical follow‐up data, by using immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays. Relevant to their potential as vaccine targets in breast cancer, MAGE‐A was expressed in 13% of cases, and NY‐ESO‐1 in 3.8%, with the majority of tumours showing fairly homogeneous staining within individual tissue cores (~85% of cases with staining in >75% of tumour cells). Most NY‐ESO‐1‐positive cases also expressed MAGE‐A (P = 2.06 × 10−9), and both were strongly associated with the TN phenotype (P < 0.0001), with the most proliferative and poorly differentiated cases, in paticular, showing genomic instability. This was characterised by coexpression of c‐Kit and TTK, and overexpression of p53. Conclusions MAGE‐A and NY‐ESO‐1 are frequently expressed in TN breast cancer (~47% and 17% of TN cases, respectively), suggesting that targeting them could be feasible in this patient group. Expression is reasonably homogeneous in positive cases, suggesting that immunohistochemical analysis of tissue biopsies would be a reliable companion biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwini Raghavendra
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Priyakshi Kalita-de Croft
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ana C Vargas
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Chanel E Smart
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Peter T Simpson
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jodi M Saunus
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sunil R Lakhani
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.,Pathology Queensland, The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia
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16
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Salmaninejad A, Zamani MR, Pourvahedi M, Golchehre Z, Hosseini Bereshneh A, Rezaei N. Cancer/Testis Antigens: Expression, Regulation, Tumor Invasion, and Use in Immunotherapy of Cancers. Immunol Invest 2016; 45:619-40. [DOI: 10.1080/08820139.2016.1197241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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17
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Xia J, Shi J, Wang P, Song C, Wang K, Zhang J, Ye H. Tumour-Associated Autoantibodies as Diagnostic Biomarkers for Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Scand J Immunol 2016; 83:393-408. [PMID: 26991924 DOI: 10.1111/sji.12430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Xia
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - J. Shi
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - P. Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - C. Song
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - K. Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - J. Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Province Academy of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
| | - H. Ye
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
- Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology; College of Public Health; Zhengzhou University; Zhengzhou China
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18
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Esfandiary A, Ghafouri-Fard S. New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 and cancer immunotherapy. Immunotherapy 2016; 7:411-39. [PMID: 25917631 DOI: 10.2217/imt.15.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 (NY-ESO-1) is a known cancer testis gene with exceptional immunogenicity and prevalent expression in many cancer types. These characteristics have made it an appropriate vaccine candidate with the potential application against various malignancies. This article reviews recent knowledge about the NY-ESO-1 biology, function, immunogenicity and expression in cancers as well as and the results of clinical trials with this antigen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Esfandiary
- Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 19857-17443, Iran
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19
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Klar AS, Gopinadh J, Kleber S, Wadle A, Renner C. Treatment with 5-Aza-2'-Deoxycytidine Induces Expression of NY-ESO-1 and Facilitates Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Mediated Tumor Cell Killing. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139221. [PMID: 26447882 PMCID: PMC4598131 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND NY-ESO-1 belongs to the cancer/testis antigen (CTA) family and represents an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. Its expression is induced in a variety of solid tumors via DNA demethylation of the promoter of CpG islands. However, NY-ESO-1 expression is usually very low or absent in some tumors such as breast cancer or multiple myeloma. Therefore, we established an optimized in vitro treatment protocol for up-regulation of NY-ESO-1 expression by tumor cells using the hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (DAC). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We demonstrated de novo induction of NY-ESO-1 in MCF7 breast cancer cells and significantly increased expression in U266 multiple myeloma cells. This effect was time- and dose-dependent with the highest expression of NY-ESO-1 mRNA achieved by the incubation of 10 μM DAC for 72 hours. NY-ESO-1 activation was also confirmed at the protein level as shown by Western blot, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence staining. The detection and quantification of single NY-ESO-1 peptides presented at the tumor cell surface in the context of HLA-A*0201 molecules revealed an increase of 100% and 50% for MCF7 and U266 cells, respectively. Moreover, the enhanced expression of NY-ESO-1 derived peptides at the cell surface was accompanied by an increased specific lysis of MCF7 and U266 cells by HLA-A*0201/NY-ESO-1(157-165) peptide specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) CD8+ T cells. In addition, the killing activity of CAR T cells correlated with the secretion of higher IFN-gamma levels. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE These results indicate that NY-ESO-1 directed immunotherapy with specific CAR T cells might benefit from concomitant DAC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes S. Klar
- Tissue Biology Research Unit, Department of Surgery, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Children’s Research Center, University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jakka Gopinadh
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sascha Kleber
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Wadle
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Renner
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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20
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Lee HJ, Kim JY, Song IH, Park IA, Yu JH, Gong G. Expression of NY-ESO-1 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Is Associated with Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and a Good Prognosis. Oncology 2015; 89:337-44. [DOI: 10.1159/000439535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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21
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22
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Seifi-Alan M, Shamsi R, Ghafouri-Fard S, Mirfakhraie R, Zare-Abdollahi D, Movafagh A, Modarressi MH, Kazemi G, Geranpayeh L, Najafi-Ashtiani M. Expression analysis of two cancer-testis genes, FBXO39 and TDRD4, in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2015; 14:6625-9. [PMID: 24377578 DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2013.14.11.6625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer accounts for one third of new cancer cases among women. The need for biomarkers for early detection is the stimulus to researchers to evaluate altered expression of genes in tumours. Cancer-testis (CT) genes are a group with limited expression in normal tissues except testis but up-regulation in a wide variety of cancers. We here evaluated expression of two CT genes named FBXO39 and TDRD4 in 32 invasive ductal carcinoma samples, 10 fibroadenomas and 6 normal breast tissue samples, in addition to two breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, by the means of quantitative real time RT-PCR. FBXO39 showed significant up-regulation in invasive ductal carcinoma samples in comparison with normal samples. It also was expressed in both cell lines and after RHOXF1 gene knock down it was down-regulated in MCF-7 but up-regulated in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. TDRD4 was not expressed in the MCF-7 cell line and any of the tissue samples except testis. However, it was expressed in MDA-MB-231 and was up-regulated after RHOXF1 gene knock down. Our results show that FBXO39 but not TDRD4 can be used for cancer detection and if proved to be immunogenic, might be a putative candidate for breast cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahnaz Seifi-Alan
- Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran E-mail :
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Ghafouri-Fard S, Shamsi R, Seifi-Alan M, Javaheri M, Tabarestani S. Cancer-testis genes as candidates for immunotherapy in breast cancer. Immunotherapy 2014; 6:165-79. [PMID: 24491090 DOI: 10.2217/imt.13.165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer-testis (CT) antigens are tumor-associated antigens attracting immunologists for their possible application in the immunotherapy of cancer. Several clinical trials have assessed their therapeutic potentials in cancer patients. Breast cancers, especially triple-negative cancers are among those with significant expression of CT genes. Identification of CT genes with high expression in cancer patients is the prerequisite for any immunotherapeutic approach. CT genes have gained attention not only for immunotherapy of cancer patients, but also for immunoprevention in high-risk individuals. Many CT genes have proved to be immunogenic in breast cancer patients suggesting the basis for the development of polyvalent vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soudeh Ghafouri-Fard
- Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 19857-17443, Iran
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24
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Gjerstorff MF, Relster MM, Greve KBV, Moeller JB, Elias D, Lindgreen JN, Schmidt S, Mollenhauer J, Voldborg B, Pedersen CB, Brückmann NH, Møllegaard NE, Ditzel HJ. SSX2 is a novel DNA-binding protein that antagonizes polycomb group body formation and gene repression. Nucleic Acids Res 2014; 42:11433-46. [PMID: 25249625 PMCID: PMC4191419 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Polycomb group (PcG) complexes regulate cellular identity through epigenetic programming of chromatin. Here, we show that SSX2, a germline-specific protein ectopically expressed in melanoma and other types of human cancers, is a chromatin-associated protein that antagonizes BMI1 and EZH2 PcG body formation and derepresses PcG target genes. SSX2 further negatively regulates the level of the PcG-associated histone mark H3K27me3 in melanoma cells, and there is a clear inverse correlation between SSX2/3 expression and H3K27me3 in spermatogenesis. However, SSX2 does not affect the overall composition and stability of PcG complexes, and there is no direct concordance between SSX2 and BMI1/H3K27me3 presence at regulated genes. This suggests that SSX2 antagonizes PcG function through an indirect mechanism, such as modulation of chromatin structure. SSX2 binds double-stranded DNA in a sequence non-specific manner in agreement with the observed widespread association with chromatin. Our results implicate SSX2 in regulation of chromatin structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morten Frier Gjerstorff
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Mette Marie Relster
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Katrine Buch Viden Greve
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Jesper Bonnet Moeller
- Department of Cardiovascular and Renal Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Daniel Elias
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Jonas Nørrelund Lindgreen
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Steffen Schmidt
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark The Lundbeckfonden Center of Excellence NanoCAN, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Jan Mollenhauer
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark The Lundbeckfonden Center of Excellence NanoCAN, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Bjørn Voldborg
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DK-2200, Denmark
| | - Christina Bøg Pedersen
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Nadine Heidi Brückmann
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
| | - Niels Erik Møllegaard
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200, Denmark
| | - Henrik Jørn Ditzel
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark The Lundbeckfonden Center of Excellence NanoCAN, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, DK-5000, Denmark
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Janosky M, Sabado RL, Cruz C, Vengco I, Hasan F, Winer A, Moy L, Adams S. MAGE-specific T cells detected directly ex-vivo correlate with complete remission in metastatic breast cancer patients after sequential immune-endocrine therapy. J Immunother Cancer 2014; 2:32. [PMID: 28837000 PMCID: PMC5569937 DOI: 10.1186/s40425-014-0032-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 08/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies suggest that conventional cancer therapies given after immunotherapy (IT) can boost antitumor immunity and possibly improve response rates and progression-free survival. We report two cases of metastatic breast cancer with durable complete responses (CRs) after sequential IT and endocrine therapy. Immune analyses of these long-term disease-free breast cancer patients previously treated with imiquimod (IMQ) suggest in-situ vaccination is achieved by topical application of the TLR-7 agonist directly onto tumors. Furthermore, IT-induced antigen-specific T cells were expanded by subsequent endocrine therapy and correlated with response, persisting > 2 years. Our findings therefore suggest that the induction/boosting of polyfunctional tumor antigen-specific T in response to sequential immune endocrine therapy and detected directly ex-vivo can serve as a peripheral blood biomarker for true clinical benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell Janosky
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Rachel L Sabado
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Crystal Cruz
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Isabelita Vengco
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Farah Hasan
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Arthur Winer
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Linda Moy
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA
| | - Sylvia Adams
- NYU Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 160 E 34th Street, New York, 10016, NY, USA.
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Mrklić I, Spagnoli GC, Juretić A, Pogorelić Z, Tomić S. Co-expression of cancer testis antigens and topoisomerase 2-alpha in triple negative breast carcinomas. Acta Histochem 2014; 116:740-6. [PMID: 24560456 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2014.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2013] [Revised: 01/02/2014] [Accepted: 01/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are characterized by aggressive tumor biology, lack of targeted treatments and poor prognosis. Anthracyclins were shown to induce immunogenic death in target cells, potentially leading to "endogenous" vaccination. We comparatively assessed expression of cancer testis antigens (CTA) and topoisomerase 2-alpha (TOPO2A), a well defined molecular target of anthracyclins, in TNBC fully characterized for basal-like (BL) immunophenotype, BL morphology and conventional clinicopathological factors. The study included 83 patients undergoing surgery between January 2003 and December 2009. Tissue sections were stained with CK5/6, CK14, EGFR, Ki-67, TOPO2A, MAGE-A1, MAGE-A10, NY-ESO and multi-MAGE-A specific reagents. Of the 83 TNBC, >66.3% had BL immunophenotype and 48.2% had BL morphology. MAGE-A1 specific staining was most frequently detectable (69.2%), followed by multi-MAGE-A (58%), NY-ESO (27.1%) and MAGE-A10 (16%) specific staining. MAGE-A10 expression significantly correlated with tumor size (p=0.026). Furthermore, MAGE-A1, MAGE-A10 and multi-MAGE-A specific stainings significantly correlated with advanced clinical stage (p=0.024, p=0.041, p=0.031, respectively). We found no significant association between CTA expression and disease free (DFS) or overall survival (OS). Most interestingly, a significant correlation was observed between expression of MAGE-A10 and NY-ESO and expression of TOPO2A (p=0.005, p=0.013). Expression of defined CTA and TOPO2A are significantly correlated in TNBC. Considering the limited therapeutic options for TNBC, these findings might suggest novel forms of combination therapies that should be further explored.
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Yao J, Caballero OL, Yung WKA, Weinstein JN, Riggins GJ, Strausberg RL, Zhao Q. Tumor subtype-specific cancer-testis antigens as potential biomarkers and immunotherapeutic targets for cancers. Cancer Immunol Res 2014; 2:371-9. [PMID: 24764584 PMCID: PMC4007352 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-13-0088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cancer-testis (CT) antigens are potential targets for cancer immunotherapy because of their restricted expression in immune-privileged germ cells and various malignancies. Current application of CT-based immunotherapy has been focused on CT expression-rich tumors such as melanoma and lung cancers. In this study, we surveyed CT expression using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets for ten common cancer types. We show that CT expression is specific and enriched within certain cancer molecular subtypes. For example, HORMAD1, CXorf61, ACTL8, and PRAME are highly enriched in the basal subtype of breast cancer; MAGE and CSAG are most frequently activated in the magnoid subtype of lung adenocarcinoma; and PRAME is highly upregulated in the ccB subtype of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Analysis of CT gene expression and DNA methylation indicates that some CTs are regulated epigenetically, whereas others are controlled primarily by tissue- and subtype-specific transcription factors. Our results suggest that although for some CT expression is associated with patient outcome, not many are independent prognostic markers. Thus, CTs with shared expression pattern are heterogeneous molecules with distinct activation modes and functional properties in different cancers and cancer subtypes. These data suggest a cancer subtype-orientated application of CT antigen as biomarkers and immunotherapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yao
- Authors' Affiliations: Departments of Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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28
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Skorodumova LO, Lukashina MI, Sal'nikova LE, Tikhonova OA, Ivanov SY, Larin SS. Study of expression of testicular cancer genes in breast cancer samples. DOKL BIOCHEM BIOPHYS 2014; 453:316-8. [PMID: 24385105 DOI: 10.1134/s1607672913060112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L O Skorodumova
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 34/5, Moscow, 119334, Russia
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29
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Lazzeroni M, Serrano D. Potential use of vaccines in the primary prevention of breast cancer in high-risk patients. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 7:281-7. [PMID: 23904830 DOI: 10.1159/000342167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Cancer vaccines are an emerging therapeutic and prophylactic modality that may play a more important role in cancer prevention and treatment in the future. Therapeutic cancer vaccines are designed to generate a targeted, immune-mediated antitumor response. Successful prophylactic vaccines are those against oncogenic viral infections, such as the human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. However, a tough challenge for the majority of tumor vaccines is the self-nature of tumor antigens. Ongoing studies are investigating methods to enhance vaccine strategies including immune-modulating agents. The present review analyzes the potential use of vaccines in the primary prevention of breast cancer, focusing on the recent extension of vaccine target selection to self-proteins that are overexpressed during the early stages of tumor development but whose expression no longer occurs as we age, a feature that may avoid clinically significant autoimmune sequelae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Lazzeroni
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Genetics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
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30
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Neumann F, Kaddu-Mulindwa D, Widmann T, Preuss KD, Held G, Zwick C, Roemer K, Pfreundschuh M, Kubuschok B. EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines as vaccines against cancer testis antigen-positive tumors. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2013; 62:1211-22. [PMID: 23619976 PMCID: PMC11028802 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-013-1412-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) are potent antigen-presenting cells. To investigate their potential use as cancer testis antigen (CTA) vaccines, we studied the expression of 12 cancer testis (CT) genes in 20 LCL by RT-PCR. The most frequently expressed CT genes were SSX4 (50 %), followed by GAGE (45 %), SSX1 (40 %), MAGE-A3 and SSX2 (25 %), SCP1, HOM-TES-85, MAGE-C1, and MAGE-C2 (15 %). NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 were found in 1/20 LCL and BORIS was not detected at all. Fifteen of 20 LCL expressed at least one antigen, 9 LCL expressed ≥2 CT genes, and 7 of the 20 LCL expressed ≥4 CT genes. The expression of CT genes did not correlate with the length of in vitro culture, telomerase activity, aneuploidy, or proliferation state. While spontaneous expression of CT genes determined by real-time PCR and Western blot was rather weak in most LCL, treatment with DNA methyltransferase 1 inhibitor alone or in combination with histone deacetylase inhibitors increased CTA expression considerably thus enabling LCL to induce CTA-specific T cell responses. The stability of the CT gene expression over prolonged culture periods makes LCL attractive candidates for CT vaccines both in hematological neoplasias and solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Neumann
- Department of Internal Medicine I, José Carreras-Center for Immuno- and Gene Therapy, University of Saarland Medical School, 66421, Homburg, Saar, Germany,
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31
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Balafoutas D, zur Hausen A, Mayer S, Hirschfeld M, Jaeger M, Denschlag D, Gitsch G, Jungbluth A, Stickeler E. Cancer testis antigens and NY-BR-1 expression in primary breast cancer: prognostic and therapeutic implications. BMC Cancer 2013; 13:271. [PMID: 23731661 PMCID: PMC3700769 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-13-271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2013] [Accepted: 05/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer-testis antigens (CTA) comprise a family of proteins, which are physiologically expressed in adult human tissues solely in testicular germ cells and occasionally placenta. However, CTA expression has been reported in various malignancies. CTAs have been identified by their ability to elicit autologous cellular and or serological immune responses, and are considered potential targets for cancer immunotherapy. The breast differentiation antigen NY-BR-1, expressed specifically in normal and malignant breast tissue, has also immunogenic properties. Here we evaluated the expression patterns of CTAs and NY-BR-1 in breast cancer in correlation to clinico-pathological parameters in order to determine their possible impact as prognostic factors. METHODS The reactivity pattern of various mAbs (6C1, MA454, M3H67, 57B, E978, GAGE #26 and NY-BR-1 #5) were assessed by immunohistochemistry in a tissue micro array series of 210 randomly selected primary invasive breast cancers in order to study the diversity of different CTAs (e.g. MAGE-A, NY-ESO-1, GAGE) and NY-BR-1. These expression data were correlated to clinico-pathological parameters and outcome data including disease-free and overall survival. RESULTS Expression of at least one CTA was detectable in the cytoplasm of tumor cells in 37.2% of the cases. NY-BR-1 expression was found in 46.6% of tumors, respectively. Overall, CTA expression seemed to be linked to adverse prognosis and M3H67 immunoreactivity specifically was significantly correlated to shorter overall and disease-free survival (p=0.000 and 0.024, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that M3H67 immunoreactivity could serve as potential prognostic marker in primary breast cancer patients. The exclusive expression of CTAs in tumor tissues as well as the frequent expression of NY-BR-1 could define new targets for specific breast cancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios Balafoutas
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
| | - Axel zur Hausen
- Department of Pathology, GROW- School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Postbus 5800, Maastricht 6202 AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Mayer
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
| | - Marc Hirschfeld
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Markus Jaeger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
| | - Dominik Denschlag
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
| | - Gerald Gitsch
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
| | - Achim Jungbluth
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, BOX 32, New York, NY 10021-6007, USA
| | - Elmar Stickeler
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetterstraße 55, Freiburg 79106, Germany
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Pandey A, Kurup A, Shrivastava A, Radhi S, Nguyen DD, Arentz C, D'Chuna N, Hardwick F, D'Souza MJ, Jenkins M, Grizzi F, Kast WM, Cobos E, Rahman R, Chiriva-Internati M, Chiaramonte R, Platonova N. Cancer testes antigens in breast cancer: biological role, regulation, and therapeutic applicability. Int Rev Immunol 2013; 31:302-20. [PMID: 23083343 DOI: 10.3109/08830185.2012.723511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women across the world. The last few decades have seen significant reduction in mortality owing to earlier detection and better adjuvant treatments that were developed based on clinical staging and morphological features. As these treatments have evolved, the heterogeneity of breast cancer poses a new challenge, since there is no standard gold-therapy suitable for all tumors of the mammary gland. Therefore, contemporary management and research efforts are directed toward specific prognostic and predictive molecular signatures that can guide targeted individualized therapy. The goal of ongoing research in this field is to identify specific molecular targets for developing novel therapeutic approaches. These targets can also serve to improve screening of breast cancer. This review focuses on the role of cancer testis antigens (CTAs) in breast carcinogenesis and explores the potential for development of targeted screening and therapeutic approaches. Normally found in the testes, these antigens are highly correlative with cancers of the breast, skin, and ovaries. These implications have been further corroborated through uncovering the interaction of CTAs with genes and proteins involved in tumor suppression and homeostasis like p53. There is some evidence that these genes can be targeted for early detection in addition to being candidates for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apurva Pandey
- Department of Internal Medicine at the Division of Hematology & Oncology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Southwest Cancer Treatment and Research Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
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Saini S, Jagadish N, Gupta A, Bhatnagar A, Suri A. A novel cancer testis antigen, A-kinase anchor protein 4 (AKAP4) is a potential biomarker for breast cancer. PLoS One 2013; 8:e57095. [PMID: 23451156 PMCID: PMC3579772 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 01/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in women worldwide. Reports about the early diagnosis of breast cancer are suggestive of an improved clinical outcome and overall survival rate in cancer patients. Therefore, cancer screening biomarker for early detection and diagnosis is urgently required for timely treatment and better cancer management. In this context, we investigated an association of cancer testis antigen, A-Kinase anchor protein 4 (AKAP4) with breast carcinoma. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS We first compared the AKAP4 gene and protein expression in four breast cancer cells (MCF7, MDA-MB-231, SK-BR3 and BT474) and normal human mammary epithelial cells. In addition, 91 clinical specimens of breast cancer patients of various histotypes including ductal carcinoma in situ, infiltrating ductal carcinoma and infiltrating lobular carcinoma and 83 available matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues were examined for AKAP4 gene and protein expression by employing in situ RNA hybridization and immunohistochemistry respectively. Humoral response against AKAP4 was also investigated in breast cancer patients employing ELISA. Our in vitro studies in all breast cancer cells revealed AKAP4 gene and protein expression whereas, normal human mammary epithelial cells failed to show any expression. Using in situ RNA hybridization and immunohistochemistry, 85% (77/91) tissue specimens irrespective of histotypes, stages and grades of breast cancer clinical specimens revealed AKAP4 gene and protein expression. However, matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues failed to display any AKAP4 gene and protein expression. Furthermore, humoral response was observed in 79% (72/91) of total breast cancer patients. Interestingly, we observed that 94% (72/77) of breast cancer patients found positive for AKAP4 protein expression generated humoral response against AKAP4 protein. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our data suggests that AKAP4 may be used as serum based diagnostic test for an early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer and may be a potential target for immunotherapeutic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikha Saini
- Cancer Microarray, Genes and Proteins Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Nirmala Jagadish
- Cancer Microarray, Genes and Proteins Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Anju Gupta
- NMC Imaging and Diagnostic Centre, Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Amar Bhatnagar
- Department of Cancer Surgery, Safdarjung Hospital and Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, New Delhi, India
| | - Anil Suri
- Cancer Microarray, Genes and Proteins Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
- * E-mail:
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Immunotherapy of cancer: reprogramming tumor-immune crosstalk. Clin Dev Immunol 2012; 2012:760965. [PMID: 23097673 PMCID: PMC3477552 DOI: 10.1155/2012/760965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2012] [Accepted: 09/25/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The advancement of cancer immunotherapy faces barriers which limit its efficacy. These include weak immunogenicity of the tumor, as well as immunosuppressive mechanisms which prevent effective antitumor immune responses. Recent studies suggest that aberrant expression of cancer testis antigens (CTAs) can generate robust antitumor immune responses, which implicates CTAs as potential targets for immunotherapy. However, the heterogeneity of tumor cells in the presence and quantity of CTA expression results in tumor escape from CTA-specific immune responses. Thus, the ability to modulate the tumor cell epigenome to homogenously induce expression of such antigens will likely render the tumor more immunogenic. Additionally, emerging studies suggest that suppression of antitumor immune responses may be overcome by reprogramming innate and adaptive immune cells. Therefore, this paper discusses recent studies which address barriers to successful cancer immunotherapy and proposes a strategy of modulation of tumor-immune cell crosstalk to improve responses in carcinoma patients.
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35
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NY-ESO-1 cancer testis antigen demonstrates high immunogenicity in triple negative breast cancer. PLoS One 2012; 7:e38783. [PMID: 22761704 PMCID: PMC3386262 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2012] [Accepted: 05/10/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE NY-ESO-1 cancer testis (CT) antigen is an attractive candidate for immunotherapy as a result of its high immunogenicity. The aim of this study was to explore the potential for NY-ESO-1 antigen directed immunotherapy in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) by determining the frequency of expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the degree of inherent immunogenicity to NY-ESO-1. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 168 TNBC and 47 ER+/HER2- primary breast cancer specimens were used to determine NY-ESO-1 frequency by IHC. As previous studies have shown that patients with a robust innate humoral immune response to CT antigens are more likely to develop CD8 T-cell responses to NY-ESO-1 peptides, we evaluated the degree to which patients with NY-ESO-1 expression had inherent immunogenicity by measuring antibodies. The relationship between NY-ESO-1 expression and CD8+ T lymphocytes was also examined. RESULTS The frequency of NY-ESO-1 expression in the TNBC cohort was 16% versus 2% in ER+/HER2- patients. A higher NY-ESO-1 score was associated with a younger age at diagnosis in the TNBC patients with NY-ESO-1 expression (p = 0.026). No differences in OS (p = 0.278) or PFS (p = 0.238) by NY-ESO-1 expression status were detected. Antibody responses to NY-ESO-1 were found in 73% of TNBC patients whose tumors were NY-ESO-1 positive. NY-ESO-1 positive patients had higher CD8 counts than negative patients (p = 0.018). CONCLUSION NY-ESO-1 is expressed in a substantial subset of TNBC patients and leads to a high humoral immune response in a large proportion of these individuals. Given these observations, patients with TNBC may benefit from targeted therapies directed against NY-ESO-1.
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Kim YD, Park HR, Song MH, Shin DH, Lee CH, Lee MK, Lee SY. Pattern of cancer/testis antigen expression in lung cancer patients. Int J Mol Med 2012; 29:656-62. [PMID: 22294213 PMCID: PMC3573764 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2012.896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2011] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer/testis (CT) antigens represent promising targets for immunotherapy. We investigated the composite expression of 13 CT antigens by RT-PCR in 79 lung cancer tissues and by immunohistochemistry in 22 lung cancer tissues. In the 79 lung cancer tissues, MAGE-3 (42%) was expressed most frequently and followed by NY-SAR-35 (33%), NY-ESO-1 (30%), MAGE-1 (27%), CT-7 (20%), MAGE-4 (19%), LAGE-1 (16%), and MAGE-10 (14%). Twenty-one tissues did not express any of the CT antigens tested, 58 (73%) expressed at least one, 36 (46%) co-expressed two, 24 (30%) co-expressed three, 17 (22%) co-expressed four, 14 (18%) co-expressed five, 8 (10%) co-expressed six, 4 (6%) co-expressed seven and 2 tissues expressed 9 of the 13 examined CT antigens. Expression of CT antigens was significantly associated with age (P<0.001), smoking history (P=0.009), and gender (P=0.001) of patients, whereas no correlation was found between the expression of CT antigens and other clinical factors, such as pT status, pN status, tumor stage, and histology history. The present results show that CT antigens are potential candidates in lung cancer patients for polyvalent immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeong-Dae Kim
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital, Seo-gu, Busan 602-739, Republic of Korea
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Abstract
The androgen receptor (AR) is a key transcriptional regulator and therapeutic target in prostate cancer. During androgen deprivation therapy to treat metastatic prostate cancer, surviving cells acquire increased AR signaling through a variety of mechanisms, one of which is enhanced interactions with AR coactivators. One recently identified AR-specific coregulator expressed only in human and nonhuman primates is the melanoma antigen gene protein-A11 (MAGE-11). MAGE-11 increases AR transcriptional activity through direct interactions with AR and other coactivators, and its levels increase during prostate cancer progression to castration-recurrent growth. The MAGE-11 gene is located at Xq28 on the human X chromosome as part of an X-linked MAGE gene family of cancer-testis antigens. MAGE-11 stabilizes AR when androgen levels are low, and functions in a transcriptional hub to promote AR-mediated gene activation. The evolutionary development and organization of the MAGE-11 gene within the cancer-testis antigen family suggests that MAGE-11 provides a gain-of-function to AR among primates in both normal physiology and cancer, and may serve as a therapeutic target in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Wilson
- Laboratories for Reproductive Biology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Departments of Pediatrics, and Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Neumann F, Kubuschok B, Ertan K, Schormann C, Stevanovic S, Preuss KD, Schmidt W, Pfreundschuh M. A peptide epitope derived from the cancer testis antigen HOM-MEL-40/SSX2 capable of inducing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell as well as B-cell responses. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2011; 60:1333-46. [PMID: 21630107 PMCID: PMC11028599 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-011-1030-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2010] [Accepted: 04/27/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antigen-derived HLA class I-restricted peptides can generate specific CD8(+) T-cell responses in vivo and are therefore often used as vaccines for patients with cancer. However, only occasional objective clinical responses have been reported suggesting the necessity of CD4(+) T-cell help and possibly antibodies for the induction of an effective anti-tumor immunity in vivo. The SSX2 gene encodes the cancer testis antigen (CTA) HOM-MEL-40/SSX2, which is frequently expressed in a wide spectrum of cancers. Both humoral and cellular immune responses against SSX2 have been described making SSX2 an attractive candidate for vaccine trials. METHODS SYFPEITHI algorithm was used to predict five pentadecamer peptides with a high binding probability for six selected HLA-DRB1 subtypes (*0101, *0301, *0401, *0701, *1101, *1501) which are prevalent in the Caucasian population. RESULTS Using peripheral blood cells of 13 cancer patients and 5 healthy controls, the HOM-MEL-40/SSX2-derived peptide p101-111 was identified as an epitope with dual immunogenicity for both CD4(+) helper and cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells. This epitope also reacted with anti-SSX2 antibodies in the serum of a patient with breast cancer. Most remarkably, SSX2/p101-111 simultaneously induced specific CD8, CD4, and antibody responses in vitro. CONCLUSIONS p101-111 is the first CTA-derived peptide which induces CD4(+), CD8(+), and B-cell responses in vitro. This triple-immunogenic peptide represents an attractive vaccine candidate for the induction of effective anti-tumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Neumann
- José-Carreras-Center at the Department of Internal Medicine I—Build. 45.3, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Boris Kubuschok
- José-Carreras-Center at the Department of Internal Medicine I—Build. 45.3, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Kubilay Ertan
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Center Leverkusen GmbH, 51375 Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Claudia Schormann
- José-Carreras-Center at the Department of Internal Medicine I—Build. 45.3, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanovic
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard-Karls-University, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Klaus-Dieter Preuss
- José-Carreras-Center at the Department of Internal Medicine I—Build. 45.3, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Werner Schmidt
- Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
| | - Michael Pfreundschuh
- Department of Internal Medicine I—Build. 40, Saarland University Medical School, 66424 Homburg, Germany
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Matković B, Juretić A, Spagnoli GC, Separović V, Gamulin M, Separović R, Sarić N, Basić-Koretić M, Novosel I, Kruslin B. Expression of MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis antigens in medullary breast cancer: retrospective immunohistochemical study. Croat Med J 2011; 52:171-7. [PMID: 21495200 PMCID: PMC3081216 DOI: 10.3325/cmj.2011.52.171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim To immunohistochemically evaluate the expression of MAGE-A1, MAGE-A, and NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis (C/T) tumor antigens in medullary breast cancer (MBC) tumor samples and to analyze it in relation to the clinicopathological features. Methods This retrospective study included samples from 49 patients: 40 with typical MBC and 9 with atypical MBC. Tumor specimens were obtained from patients operated on in the University Hospital for Tumors and the Sisters of Mercy University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia, from 1999 to 2005. Standard immunohistochemistry was used on archival paraffin-embedded MBC tissues. Results MAGE-A1, MAGE-A, and NY-ESO-1 antigens were expressed in 33% (16/49), 33% (16/49), and 22% (11/49) of patients, respectively. No difference between the groups with and without C/T tumor antigen expression in age at diagnosis, tumor size, axillary lymph node metastasis, adjuvant therapy, and HER-2 expression was identified. Significantly more patients died in the MAGE-A-positive group than in the MAGE-A-negative group (P = 0.010), whereas a borderline significance was found between MAGE-A1-positive and the MAGE-A1-negative group (P = 0.079) and between NY-ESO-1-positive and NY-ESO-1-negative group (P = 0.117). Overall survival, as evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier curves, was lower in MAGE-A1- (P = 0.031), MAGE-A- (P = 0.004), NY-ESO-1-positive groups (P = 0.077). Conclusion Expression of C/T antigens may represent a marker of potential prognostic relevance in MBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bozica Matković
- Zagreb University Hospital Center, Department of Oncology, Kispatićeva 12, Zagreb, Croatia
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Karn T, Pusztai L, Ruckhäberle E, Liedtke C, Müller V, Schmidt M, Metzler D, Wang J, Coombes KR, Gätje R, Hanker L, Solbach C, Ahr A, Holtrich U, Rody A, Kaufmann M. Melanoma antigen family A identified by the bimodality index defines a subset of triple negative breast cancers as candidates for immune response augmentation. Eur J Cancer 2011; 48:12-23. [PMID: 21741824 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2011.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2011] [Revised: 06/07/2011] [Accepted: 06/07/2011] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Molecular markers displaying bimodal expression distribution can reveal distinct disease subsets and may serve as prognostic or predictive markers or represent therapeutic targets. Oestrogen (ER) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptors are strongly bimodally expressed genes in breast cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS We applied a novel method to identify bimodally expressed genes in 394 triple negative breast cancers (TNBC). We identified 133 bimodally expressed probe sets (128 unique genes), 69 of these correlated to previously reported metagenes that define molecular subtypes within TNBC including basal-like, molecular-apocrine, claudin-low and immune cell rich subgroups but 64 probe sets showed no correlation with these features. RESULTS The single most prominent functional group among these uncorrelated genes was the X chromosome derived Cancer/Testis Antigens (CT-X) including melanoma antigen family A (MAGE-A) and Cancer/Testis Antigens (CTAG). High expression of CT-X genes correlated with worse survival in multivariate analysis (HR 2.02, 95% CI 1.27-3.20; P=0.003). The only other significant variable was lymph node status. The poor prognosis of patients with high MAGE-A expression was ameliorated by the concomitant high expression of immune cell metagenes (HR 1.87, 95% CI 0.96-3.64; P=0.060), whereas the same immune metagene had lesser prognostic value in TNBC with low MAGE-A expression. CONCLUSIONS MAGE-A antigen defines a very aggressive subgroup of TNBC; particularly in the absence of immune infiltration in the tumour microenvironment. These observations suggest a therapeutic hypothesis; TNBC with MAGE-A expression may benefit the most from further augmentation of the immune response. Novel immune stimulatory drugs such as (anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 CTLA-4) directed therapies provide a realistic opportunity to directly test this hypothesis in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Karn
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, JW Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Expression of cancer testis antigens in human BRCA-associated breast cancers: potential targets for immunoprevention? Cancer Immunol Immunother 2011; 60:999-1007. [PMID: 21465317 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-011-1005-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2010] [Accepted: 02/23/2011] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Novel breast cancer risk-reducing strategies for individuals with germline mutations of the BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 genes are urgently needed. Identification of antigenic targets that are expressed in early cancers, but absent in normal breast epithelium of these high-risk individuals, could provide the basis for the development of effective immunoprophylactic strategies. Cancer testis (CT) antigens are potential candidates because their expression is restricted to tumors, and accumulating data suggest that they play important roles in cellular proliferation, stem cell function, and carcinogenesis. The objective of this study was to examine the expression of CT antigens and their frequency in BRCA-associated breast cancers. METHODS Archived breast cancer tissues (n = 26) as well as morphologically normal breast tissues (n = 7) from women carrying deleterious BRCA 1 and/or 2 mutations were obtained for antigen expression analysis by immunohistochemistry. Expression of the following CT antigens was examined: MAGE-A1, MAGE-A3, MAGE-A4, MAGE-C1.CT7, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-C2/CT10, and GAGE. RESULTS CT antigens were expressed in 16/26 (61.5%, 95% CI 43-80%) of BRCA-associated cancers, including in situ tumors. Thirteen of twenty-six (50%) breast cancers expressed two or more CT antigens; three cancers expressed all seven CT antigens. MAGE-A was expressed in 13/26 (50%) of cancers, NY-ESO-1 was expressed in 10/26 (38%) of tumors. In contrast, none of the CT antigens were expressed in adjacent or contralateral normal breast epithelium (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS We report a high CT antigen expression rate in BRCA-associated breast cancer as well as the lack of expression of these antigens in benign breast tissue of carriers, identifying CT antigens as potential vaccine targets for breast cancer prevention in these high-risk individuals.
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Multiple cancer/testis antigens are preferentially expressed in hormone-receptor negative and high-grade breast cancers. PLoS One 2011; 6:e17876. [PMID: 21437249 PMCID: PMC3060908 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2010] [Accepted: 02/12/2011] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cancer/testis (CT) antigens are protein antigens normally expressed only in germ cells of testis, and yet are expressed in a proportion of a wide variety of human cancers. CT antigens can elicit spontaneous immune responses in cancer patients with CT-positive cancers, and CT antigen-based therapeutic cancer vaccine trials are ongoing for “CT-rich” tumors. Although some previous studies found breast cancer to be “CT-poor”, our recent analysis identified increased CT mRNA transcripts in the ER-negative subset of breast cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we performed a comprehensive immunohistochemical study to investigate the protein expression of eight CT genes in 454 invasive ductal carcinomas, including 225 ER/PR/HER2-negative (triple-negative) carcinomas. We found significantly more frequent expression of all eight CT antigens in ER-negative cancers, and five of them—MAGEA, CT7, NY-ESO-1, CT10 and CT45, were expressed in 12–24% of ER-negative cancers, versus 2–6% of ER-positive cancers (p<0.001 to 0.003). In comparison, GAGE, SAGE1 and NXF2 were only expressed in 3–5% of ER-negative and 0–2% of ER-positive cancers. ER-negative cancers were also more likely to simultaneously co-express multiple CT antigens, with 27% (34/125) of ER-negative, CT-positive tumors expressing three or more CT antigens. HER2 status had no consistent effect on CT expression, and triple-negative carcinomas showed similar frequencies of MAGEA and NY-ESO-1 expression as ER-negative/HER2-positive carcinomas. More frequent CT expression was also found in tumors with higher nuclear grade (p<0.001 to p = 0.01) and larger in size (>2 cm). Conclusions/Significance CT antigens are preferentially expressed in hormone receptor-negative and high-grade breast cancer. Considering the limited treatment options for ER/PR/HER2 triple-negative breast cancer, the potential of CT-based immunotherapy should be explored.
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Autoantibodies to tumor-associated antigens in breast carcinoma. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2010; 2010:264926. [PMID: 21113302 PMCID: PMC2989457 DOI: 10.1155/2010/264926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2010] [Revised: 09/04/2010] [Accepted: 10/19/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Autoantibodies (AAbs) to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have been identified in the circulation of patients with cancer. This paper will focus on recent knowledge related to circulating AAbs to TAAs in breast carcinoma. So far, the following TAAs have been identified to elicit circulating AAbs in breast carcinoma: p53, MUC-1, heat shock proteins (HSP-27, HSP-60, and HSP-90), HER2/neu/c-erb B2, GIPC-1, c-myc, c-myb, cancer-testis antigens (NY-ESO-1), BRCA1, BRCA2, endostatin, lipophilin B, cyclin B1, cyclin D1, fibulin, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2), topoisomerase II alpha (TOPO2α), and cathepsin D. Measurement of serum AAbs to one specific TAA only is of little value for screening and early diagnosis of breast carcinoma; however, assessment of AAbs to a panel of TAAs may have promising diagnostic potential.
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The SSX family of cancer-testis antigens as target proteins for tumor therapy. Clin Dev Immunol 2010; 2010:150591. [PMID: 20981248 PMCID: PMC2963798 DOI: 10.1155/2010/150591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2010] [Accepted: 09/01/2010] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) represent an expanding class of tumor-associated proteins defined on the basis of their tissue-restricted expression to testis or ovary germline cells and frequent ectopic expression in tumor tissue. The expression of CTA in MHC class I-deficient germline cells makes these proteins particularly attractive as immunotherapeutic targets because they serve as essentially tumor-specific antigens for MHC class I-restricted CD8+ T cells. Moreover, because CTAs are expressed in many types of cancer, any therapeutic developed to target these antigens might have efficacy for multiple cancer types. Of particular interest among CTAs is the synovial sarcoma X chromosome breakpoint (SSX) family of proteins, which includes ten highly homologous family members. Expression of SSX proteins in tumor tissues has been associated with advanced stages of disease and worse patient prognosis. Additionally, both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to SSX proteins have been demonstrated in patients with tumors of varying histological origin, which indicates that natural immune responses can be spontaneously generated to these antigens in cancer patients. The current review will describe the history and identification of this family of proteins, as well as what is known of their function, expression in normal and malignant tissues, and immunogenicity.
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Fischer E, Kobold S, Kleber S, Kubuschok B, Braziulis E, Knuth A, Renner C, Wadle A. Cryptic Epitopes Induce High-Titer Humoral Immune Response in Patients with Cancer. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2010; 185:3095-102. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0902166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Curigliano G, Viale G, Ghioni M, Jungbluth AA, Bagnardi V, Spagnoli GC, Neville AM, Nolè F, Rotmensz N, Goldhirsch A. Cancer-testis antigen expression in triple-negative breast cancer. Ann Oncol 2010; 22:98-103. [PMID: 20610479 DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdq325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND cancer-testis (CT) antigens, frequently expressed in human germline cells but not in somatic tissues, may become aberrantly reexpressed in different cancer types. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of CT antigens in breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS a total of 100 selected invasive breast cancers, including 50 estrogen receptor (ER) positive/HER2 negative and 50 triple negative (TN), were examined for NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A expression by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS a significantly higher expression of MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 was detected in TN breast cancers compared with ER-positive tumors (P = 0.04). MAGE-A expression was detected in 13 (26%) TN cancers compared with 5 (10%) ER-positive tumors (P = 0.07). NY-ESO-1 expression was confirmed in nine (18%) TN tumor samples compared with two (4%) ER-positive tumors. CONCLUSIONS MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1 CT antigens are expressed in a substantial proportion of TN breast cancers. Because of the limited therapeutic options for this group of patients, CT antigen-based vaccines might prove to be useful for patients with this phenotype of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Curigliano
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology.
| | - G Viale
- Division of Pathology, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia; University of Milan School of Medicine, Milano, Italy
| | - M Ghioni
- Division of Pathology, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia; University of Milan School of Medicine, Milano, Italy
| | - A A Jungbluth
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - V Bagnardi
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia; Department of Statistics, University of Milan Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - G C Spagnoli
- Institute of Surgical Research and Hospital Management, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - A M Neville
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - F Nolè
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology
| | - N Rotmensz
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia
| | - A Goldhirsch
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology
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Caballero OL, Chen YT. Cancer/testis (CT) antigens: potential targets for immunotherapy. Cancer Sci 2009; 100:2014-21. [PMID: 19719775 PMCID: PMC11158245 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2009.01303.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 360] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2009] [Revised: 07/26/2009] [Accepted: 07/26/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer/testis (CT) antigens are protein antigens with normal expression restricted to adult testicular germ cells, and yet are aberrantly activated and expressed in a proportion of various types of human cancer. At least a subset of this group of antigens has been found to elicit spontaneous humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in cancer patients, raising the possibility that these antigens could be cancer vaccine targets. More than 100 CT antigen genes have been reported in the literature, with approximately 30 being members of multigene families on the X chromosome, so-called CT-X genes. Most CT-X genes are expressed at the spermatogonia stage of spermatogenesis, and their functions are mostly unknown. In cancer, the frequency of CT antigen expression is highly variable among different tumor types, but is more often expressed in high-grade late-stage cases in general. Cancer vaccine trials based on CT antigens MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO-1 are currently ongoing, and these antigens may also play a role in antigen-specific adoptive T-cell transfer and in the immunomodulation approach of cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Otavia L Caballero
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, USA
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Abstract
Cancer/testis (CT) genes are predominantly expressed in human germ line cells, but not somatic tissues, and frequently become activated in different cancer types. Several CT antigens have already proved to be useful biomarkers and are promising targets for therapeutic cancer vaccines. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of CT antigens in breast cancer. Using previously generated massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) data, together with 9 publicly available gene expression datasets, the expression pattern of CT antigens located on the X chromosome (CT-X) was interrogated. Whereas a minority of unselected breast cancers was found to contain CT-X transcripts, a significantly higher expression frequency was detected in estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER) negative breast cancer cell lines and primary breast carcinomas. A coordinated pattern of CT-X antigen expression was observed, with MAGEA and NY-ESO-1/CTAG1B being the most prevalent antigens. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed the correlation of CT-X antigen expression and ER negativity in breast tumors and demonstrated a trend for their coexpression with basal cell markers. Because of the limited therapeutic options for ER-negative breast cancers, vaccines based on CT-X antigens might prove to be useful.
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Kanojia D, Garg M, Gupta S, Gupta A, Suri A. Sperm-associated antigen 9, a novel biomarker for early detection of breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009; 18:630-9. [PMID: 19190149 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-08-0629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, there have been no tumor biomarkers validated and incorporated into oncologic practice for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Recently, we showed that sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9), a member of cancer testis (CT) antigen family, is associated with ovarian carcinomas. In the present study, we investigated SPAG9 expression and humoral immune response in breast cancer. We further evaluated the diagnostic potential of autoantibodies to SPAG9 protein in various stages, grades, and histotypes of breast cancer. We analyzed the association of SPAG9 immunoreactivity score (IRS) with predicted risk of breast cancer recurrence over 10 years. Our reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses revealed SPAG9 expression in 88% breast cancer specimens independent of tumor stages and grades. Further, the humoral immune response against SPAG9 was detected in 80% breast cancer patients with SPAG9-expressing tumors. The linear regression modeling predicted a direct relationship between presence of lymphovascular invasion and high SPAG9 IRS, whereas the univariate and multivariate logistic regression models predicted a strong association of SPAG9 IRS with tumor grade. Further, our data indicated a significant higher trend of SPAG9 IRS with the predicted high risk of breast cancer recurrence. The present investigation reports for the first time SPAG9 expression and humoral immune response in early stages and low-grade breast cancer. Although our data indicated that autoantibodies against SPAG9 represent a promising approach for the development of biomarker, further large-scale validation studies are required to establish its potential use in early diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepika Kanojia
- Cancer Research Program, Cancer Microarray, Genes and Proteins Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
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Tomiyoshi G, Nakanishi A, Takenaka K, Yoshida K, Miki Y. Novel BRCA2-interacting protein BJ-HCC-20A inhibits the induction of apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Cancer Sci 2008; 99:747-54. [PMID: 18307534 PMCID: PMC11158996 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2008.00733.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2007] [Revised: 12/01/2007] [Accepted: 12/03/2007] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The major hereditary breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 is associated with familial breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA2 plays a role in DNA repair, transcription, cell cycle regulation, maintenance of genomic stability in response to DNA damage, centrosome regulation, and cytokinesis. To further understand the function of BRCA2, we used a yeast two-hybrid method and identified a novel BRCA2-interacting protein, BJ-HCC-20A, which is reported to be a potential cancer-testis antigen. We confirmed the interaction between endogenous BJ-HCC-20A and BRCA2 in mammalian cells, and showed that BJ-HCC-20A interacts with a portion of the highly conserved region of BRCA2 in various mammals, and M phase-specific phosphorylation of the binding region of BRCA2 modulates BJ-HCC-20A binding. Overexpression of BJ-HCC-20A increases cell growth, and downregulation of endogenous BJ-HCC-20A expression using small interfering RNA suppresses cell growth and leads to the induction of apoptosis. Importantly, the BJ-HCC-20A mRNA level is downregulated by adriamycin (ADR)-induced DNA damage and depletion of BJ-HCC-20A expression by small interfering RNA promotes the reduction of BRCA2 expression and enhances cell apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Additionally, the recovery of BJ-HCC-20A expression in ADR-induced DNA damage inhibits ADR-induced apoptosis. The data suggest that BJ-HCC-20A promotes cell growth and may regulate the induction of cell apoptosis in response to DNA damage in cooperation with BRCA2 in an M phase-dependent manner. Therefore, we speculate that targeting BJ-HCC-20A may aid in the treatment of breast tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Go Tomiyoshi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-34 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
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