CpG-ODN increases the release of VEGF in a mouse model of lung carcinoma

TLRs in pulmonary diseases

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) comprise a clan of proteins involved in identification and triggering a suitable response against pathogenic attacks. As lung is steadily exposed to multiple infectious agents, antigens and host-derived danger signals, the inhabiting stromal and myeloid cells of the lung express an aggregate of TLRs which perceive the endogenously derived damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) along with pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and trigger the TLR-associated signalling events involved in host defence. Thus, they form an imperative component of host defence activation in case of microbial infections as well as non-infectious pulmonary disorders such as interstitial lung disease, acute lung injury and airways disease, such as COPD and asthma. They also play an equally important role in lung cancer. Targeting the TLR signalling network would pave ways to the design of more reliable and effective vaccines against infectious agents and control deadly infections, desensitize allergens and reduce inflammation. Moreover, TLR agonists may act as adjuvants by increasing the efficiency of cancer vaccines, thereby contributing their role in treatment of lung cancer too. Overall, TLRs present a compelling and expeditiously bolstered area of research and addressing their signalling events would be of significant use in pulmonary diseases.

The Activation of Human Dermal Microvascular Cells by Poly(I:C), Lipopolysaccharide, Imiquimod, and ODN2395 Is Mediated by the Fli1/FOXO3A Pathway

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction has been associated with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases; however, the factors contributing to this dysfunction have not been fully explored. Because activation of TLRs has been implicated in autoimmune diseases, the goal of this study was to determine the effects of TLR ligands on EC function. Human dermal microvascular ECs (HDMECs) treated with TLR3 [Poly(I:C)], TLR4 (LPS), and TLR7 (imiquimod) agonists showed decreased proliferation and a reduced total number of branching tubules in three-dimensional human dermal organoid ex vivo culture. In contrast, the TLR9 ligand class C, ODN2395, increased angiogenesis. The antiproliferative effects of TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7 ligands correlated with significant downregulation of a key regulator of vascular homeostasis, Fli1, whereas TLR9 increased Fli1 levels. Furthermore, Poly(I:C) and LPS induced endothelial to mesenchymal transition that was reversed by the pretreatment with TGF-β neutralizing Ab or re-expression of Fli1. We showed that Fli1 was required for the HDMEC proliferation by transcriptionally repressing FOXO3A. In contrast to TLR9, which suppressed activation of the FOXO3A pathway, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7 ligands activated FOXO3A as indicated by decreased phosphorylation and increased nuclear accumulation. The inverse correlation between Fli1 and FOXO3A was also observed in the vasculature of scleroderma patients. This work revealed opposing effects of TLR9 and TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7 on the key angiogenic pathways, Fli1 and FOXO3A. Our results provide a mechanistic insight into the regulation of angiogenesis by TLRs and confirm a central role of Fli1 in regulating vascular homeostasis.

MicroRNA-26a involved in Toll-like receptor 9‑mediated lung cancer growth and migration

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) has been shown to have a significant role in cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a group of small non-coding RNAs that fine tune translation of multiple target mRNAs, are involved in the development and progression of human cancers. The present study was undertaken to determine the roles of TLR9 on lung cancer and whether miR-26a is involved in TLR9‑mediated lung cancer growth and migration. The lung cancer models were elicited by injecting human lung cancer cells into the left ventricle. The expression of TLR9 and miR-26a in lung cancer tissues obtained from lung cancer patients was increased. TLR9 ligand CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) caused an increase in the mean tumor weight and the size of tumor mass in nude mice, and the proliferation and migration of H460 human lung cancer cells. CpG-ODN also induced an increase in the expression of miR-26a in H460 cells. The overexpression of miR-26a increased the weight and size of the tumor mass in the nude mice, and the proliferation and migration of H460 cells. Expression of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) was increased after miR-26a overexpression in the H460 cells. PI3K inhibitor wortmannin (WM) or Akt inhibitor triciribine hydrate (TCN) eliminated the increase in the proliferation and migration induced by the overexpression of miR-26a in H460 cells. These results suggested that miR-26a is involved in the TLR9‑mediated growth and migration of lung cancer through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

The stimulatory activity of plasma in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer requires TLR-stimulating nucleic acid immunoglobulin complexes and discriminates responsiveness to chemotherapy

Background

Therapeutic options for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are often restricted to systemic chemotherapy. However, the molecular and cellular processes during chemotherapy of advanced NSCLC patients still remain unclear. Here we investigated the stimulatory activity of plasma in advanced NSCLC patients and its correlation with chemotherapy.

Methods

Whole blood samples from advanced NSCLC patients were collected before the first, second, and third cycle of chemotherapy. Plasma was isolated following centrifugation of whole blood. PBMCs were isolated from whole-blood specimens by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation. Immune complexes (ICs) were isolated from NSCLC plasma using the IgG Purification Kit. qRT-PCR was used to detect a broad array of cytokines and chemokines.

Results

The plasma in advanced NSCLC patients was endowed with stimulatory activity and capable of inducing proinflammatory cytokines. Both nucleic acids and immunoglobulin components were required for the stimulatory activity of NSCLC plasma. In consistent, TLR8 and TLR9 conferred the stimulatory activity of plasma in NSCLC patients. Of note, we revealed the decreased stimulatory activity of plasma in patients who responded to chemotherapy.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrated that the plasma of advanced NSCLC patients required TLR-stimulating nucleic acid immunoglobulin complexes and could discriminate the responsiveness to chemotherapy, which might provide a novel mechanism by which the proinflammatory immune response was induced and a potential new biomarker for evaluating responsiveness to chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

TLR9 signaling repressed tumor suppressor miR-7 expression through up-regulation of HuR in human lung cancer cells

Background

Our recent evidence showed that Toll like receptor 9 (TLR9) signaling could enhance the growth and metastatic potential of human lung cancer cells through repressing microRNA-7 (miR-7) expression. Human antigen R (HuR) has been involved in stabilizing multiple mRNAs in cellular biology. However, whether HuR also contributed to the altered expression of miR-7 in TLR9 signaling stimulated human lung cancer cells remains to be elucidated.

Methods

The expression of HuR in human lung cancer 95D cells treated with TLR9 agonist CpG Oligonucleotides (ODNs) was detected by Real-time PCR and Western blot assay. To explore the possible role of HuR on miR-7 expression, eukaryotic expression vector encoding HuR was transiently transfected into 95D cells and then the expression of miR-7 was detected by Real-time PCR assay. Moreover, RNA interference, western blot, Real-time PCR, MTT assay, BrdU labeling, invasion assay and scratch assay were employed to examine the disrupt effect of HuR on miR-7 expression in human lung cancer cells treated with CpG ODNs. Finally, inhibitors for PI3K, Akt or Erk respectively, and western blot were performed to explore the possible signaling pathway related to HuR expression in CpG ODNs treated human lung cancer cells.

Results

Our data showed that TLR9 agonist CpG ODNs could induce the expression of HuR in human lung cancer cells. Moreover, overexpression of HuR could reduce the expression of miR-7 in lung cancer cells. Notably, down-regulation of HuR using RNA interference restored miR-7 expression in CpG ODNs treated lung cancer cells, accompanied by enhanced growth and metastatic potential. Finally, CpG ODNs could induce HuR expression through Akt pathway.

Conclusion

Our findings indicated that HuR could act as regulator in regulating TLR9 signaling associated biological effect in human lung cancer cells, which might be helpful for the understanding of the potential role of HuR in tumor biology.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in tumor progression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated lung tumor-bearing mice

The antitumor activity of LPS was first described by Dr. William Coley. However, its role in lung cancer remains unclear. The aim of our study was to elucidate the dose-dependent effects of LPS (0.1-10 μg/mouse) in a mouse model of B16-F10-induced metastatic lung cancer. Lung tumor growth increased at 3 and 7 d after the administration of low-dose LPS (0.1 μg/mouse) compared with control mice. This was associated with an influx of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), regulatory T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and CD8(+) regulatory T cells. In contrast, high-dose LPS (10 μg/mouse) reduced lung tumor burden and was associated with a greater influx of pDCs, as well as a stronger Th1 and Th17 polarization. Depletion of pDCs during low-dose LPS administration resulted in a decreased lung tumor burden. Depletion of pDCs during high-dose LPS treatment resulted in an increased tumor burden. The dichotomy in LPS effects was due to the phenotype of pDCs, which were immunosuppressive after the low-dose LPS, and Th1- and T cytotoxic-polarizing cells after the high-dose LPS. Adoptive transfer of T cells into nude mice demonstrated that CD8(+) T cells were responsible for pDC recruitment following low-dose LPS administration, whereas CD4(+) T cells were required for pDC influx after the high-dose LPS. In conclusion, our data suggest differential effects of low-dose versus high-dose LPS on pDC phenotype and tumor progression or regression in the lungs of mice.

MicroRNA-7–regulated TLR9 signaling–enhanced growth and metastatic potential of human lung cancer cells by altering the phosphoinositide-3-kinase, regulatory subunit 3/Akt pathway

This article reports that TLR9 signaling can reduce intrinsic microRNA-7 (miR-7) expression in human lung cancer cells and that overexpression of miR-7 can significantly inhibit TLR9 signaling–enhanced growth and metastatic potential of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Recent evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the biological effects of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling on various cells. Our previous data showed that TLR9 signaling could enhance the growth and metastatic potential of human lung cancer cells. However, the potential role of miRNAs in the effects of TLR9 signaling on tumor biology remains unknown. In this paper, we first report that TLR9 signaling could reduce intrinsic miR-7 expression in human lung cancer cells. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-7 can significantly inhibit TLR9 signaling–enhanced growth and metastatic potential of lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Notably, we identify phosphoinositide-3-kinase, regulatory subunit 3 (PIK3R3) as a novel target molecule of miR-7 in lung cancer cells by Western blotting and luciferase report assay. Further study shows that miR-7 inhibits the effects of TLR9 signaling on lung cancer cells through regulation of the PIK3R3/Akt pathway. These data suggest that miR-7 could act as a fine-tuner in regulating the biological effects of TLR9 signaling on human lung cancer cells, which might be helpful to the understanding of the potential role of miRNAs in TLR signaling effects on tumor biology.

Lung cancer and Toll-like receptors

Lung carcinoma is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is a non-immunogenic cancer, resistant to immune surveillance. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) connect the innate to the adaptive immune system. Given that cancerous cells evade the immune system, the activation of TLRs could represent a potential target for cancer therapy. The induction of Th1-like and cytotoxic immunity by TLR signalling could lead to tumour cell death, resulting in tumour regression or arrest. However, basic research and clinical trials revealed that the activation of specific TLRs, such as TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9, do not have any anti-tumour activity in lung carcinoma. Increasing evidence suggests that TLRs are important regulators of tumour biology; however, little is known about their function in lung cancer. Thus, in order to develop new therapeutic approaches, further studies are needed to understand the connection between TLRs and lung cancer progression. This review focuses on the potential mechanisms by which TLR ligands can facilitate or not lung cancer and lung metastases establishment/progression.