Cancer combination therapies by silencing of CTLA-4, PD-L1, and TIM3 in osteosarcoma

Advancements in Melanoma Therapies: From Surgery to Immunotherapy

OPINION STATEMENT

Melanoma is defined as the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer. The treatment of melanoma depends on the disease stage, tumor location, and extent of its spread from its point of origin. Melanoma treatment has made significant advances, notably in the context of targeted and immunotherapies. Surgical resection is the main therapeutic option for earlystage melanoma, and it provides favourable outcomes. With disease metastasis, systemic treatments such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy become increasingly important. The identification of mutations that lead to melanoma has influenced treatment strategies. Targeted therapies focusing on these mutations offer improved response rates and fewer toxicities than conventional chemotherapy. Furthermore, developing immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies, has demonstrated encouraging outcomes in effectively combating cancer cells. These therapeutic agents demonstrate superior effectiveness and a more tolerable side-effect profile, improving the quality of life for patients receiving treatment. The future of melanoma treatment may involve a multimodal approach consisting of a combination of surgery, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy adapted to each patient's profile. This approach may improve survival rates and health outcomes.

CTLA-4 silencing could promote anti-tumor effects in hepatocellular

Preclinical and clinical research showed that immune checkpoint blockade provides beneficial effects for many patients with liver cancer. This study aimed to assess the effect of CTLA-4-specific siRNA on the proliferation, cell cycle, migration, and apoptosis of HePG2 cells. Transfection of siRNA was performed by electroporation. The viability of cells was determined through MTT assay. Flow cytometry was performed to investigate the cell cycle and apoptosis rate, and the wound-healing assay was used to determine HepG2 cells migration. The expression levels of CTLA-4, c-Myc, Ki-67, BCL-2, BAX, caspase-9 (CAS9), and MMP-2,9,13 were measured by qRT-PCR. Transfection of specific CTLA-4-siRNA significantly inhibited the expression of the CTLA-4 gene. Also, our results revealed that CTLA-4 silencing diminished the proliferation and migration as well as induced the apoptosis of HePG2 cells. CTLA-4-siRNA transfection induced the cell cycle arrest in G2 phase. Moreover, CTLA-4-siRNA transfection reduced the expression levels of c-Myc, Ki-67, BCL-2, MMP-2,9,13, and elevated the expression levels of BAX and caspase-9. Our results suggest that silencing CTLA-4 through specific siRNA may be a promising strategy for future therapeutic interventions for treating liver cancer.

Advancements in osteosarcoma management: integrating immune microenvironment insights with immunotherapeutic strategies

Osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor predominantly affecting children and adolescents, presents significant therapeutic challenges, particularly in metastatic or recurrent cases. Conventional surgical and chemotherapeutic approaches have achieved partial therapeutic efficacy; however, the prognosis for long-term survival remains bleak. Recent studies have highlighted the imperative for a comprehensive exploration of the osteosarcoma immune microenvironment, focusing on the integration of diverse immunotherapeutic strategies-including immune checkpoint inhibitors, tumor microenvironment modulators, cytokine therapies, tumor antigen-specific interventions, cancer vaccines, cellular therapies, and antibody-based treatments-that are directly pertinent to modulating this intricate microenvironment. By targeting tumor cells, modulating the tumor microenvironment, and activating host immune responses, these innovative approaches have demonstrated substantial potential in enhancing the effectiveness of osteosarcoma treatments. Although most of these novel strategies are still in research or clinical trial phases, they have already demonstrated significant potential for individuals with osteosarcoma, suggesting the possibility of developing new, more personalized and effective treatment options. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current advancements in osteosarcoma immunotherapy, emphasizing the significance of integrating various immunotherapeutic methods to optimize therapeutic outcomes. Additionally, it underscores the imperative for subsequent research to further investigate the intricate interactions between the tumor microenvironment and the immune system, aiming to devise more effective treatment strategies. The present review comprehensively addresses the landscape of osteosarcoma immunotherapy, delineating crucial scientific concerns and clinical challenges, thereby outlining potential research directions.

The evaluation of PD-1 and Tim-3 expression besides their related miRNAs in PBMCs of women with recurrent pregnancy loss

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a multifactorial disorder, associated with immunologic abnormalities. During pregnancy, the maternal immune system uses different tolerance mechanisms to deal with a semi-allogenic fetus. The expression of immune checkpoints and their related miRNAs in immune cells can ensure pregnancy at the feto-maternal interface by modulating immune responses. This study aims to evaluate the expression of the immune checkpoint molecules PD-1 and Tim-3 on circulating T cells by flow cytometry, that of mir-138 and mir-155 in PBMCs by Real-time PCR, and the concentrations of TGF-β and IP-10 in the sera of women suffering from RPL as well as of gestational age-matched healthy pregnant women by ELISA. The percentage of PD-1 or Tim-3 expressing CD8+ T cells was significantly lower in RPL patients compared to the controls, while there was no significant difference in Tim-3 expression of CD4+ T cells between the two groups. The mRNA of both the PD-1 and Tim-3 genes were downregulated in PBMCs of RPL patients compared to controls, however, the difference was not statistically significant for Tim-3. The concentration of TGF-β was significantly lower and that of IP-10 was significantly higher in the sera of RPL patients than in those of the controls. The relative expression of mir-138 and miR-155 were significantly lower, in PBMCs of RPL patients than in those of healthy pregnant women. These data confirm that by affecting cytokine production, immune checkpoints, and microRNAs play a role in establishing the appropriate local immune environment for successful pregnancy. The wider analysis of immune checkpoints may also yield new biomarkers for the diagnosis and prevention of RPL.

The role of TIM-3 in sepsis: a promising target for immunotherapy?

Sepsis remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, with limited effective treatment options. The T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing molecule 3 (TIM-3) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in various immune-related disorders. This narrative review aims to explore the role of TIM-3 in sepsis and evaluate its potential as a promising target for immunotherapy. We discuss the dynamic expression patterns of TIM-3 during sepsis and its involvement in regulating immune responses. Furthermore, we examine the preclinical studies investigating the regulation of TIM-3 signaling pathways in septic models, highlighting the potential therapeutic benefits and challenges associated with targeting TIM-3. Overall, this review emphasizes the importance of TIM-3 in sepsis pathogenesis and underscores the promising prospects of TIM-3-based immunotherapy as a potential strategy to combat this life-threatening condition.

Immunotherapy Study on Non-small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Combined with Cytotoxic T Cells and miRNA34a

Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach for cancer treatment, and the use of microRNAs (miRNAs) as therapeutic agents has gained significant attention. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of immunotherapy utilizing miRNA34a and Jurkat T cells in inducing cell death in non-small-cell lung cancer cells, specifically A549 cells. Moreover, we explored the impact of Jurkat T cell activation and miRNA34a delivery using iron oxide nanorods (IONRs) on the killing of cancer cells. A549 cells were cocultured with both activated and inactivated Jurkat T cells, both before and after the delivery of miRNA34a. Surprisingly, our results revealed that even inactive Jurkat T cells were capable of inducing cell death in cancer cells. This unexpected observation suggested the presence of alternative mechanisms by which Jurkat T cells can exert cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. We stimulated Jurkat T cells using anti-CD3/CD28 and analyzed their efficacy in killing A549 compared to that of the inactive Jurkat T cells in conjunction with miRNA34a. Our findings indicated that the activation of Jurkat T cells significantly enhanced their cytotoxic potential against cancer cells compared to their inactive counterparts. The combined treatment of A549 cells with activated Jurkat T cells and miRNA34a demonstrated the highest level of cancer cell death, suggesting a synergistic effect between Jurkat T cell activation and miRNA therapy. Besides the apoptosis mechanism for the Jurkat T cells' cytotoxic effects on A549 cells, we furthermore investigated the ferroptosis pathway, which was found to have an impact on the cancer cell killing due to the presence of miRNA34a and IONRs as the delivery agent inside the cancer cells.

Advances in immune checkpoint-based immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis: rationale and practice

Beyond the encouraging results and broad clinical applicability of immune checkpoint (ICP) inhibitors in cancer therapy, ICP-based immunotherapies in the context of autoimmune disease, particularly multiple sclerosis (MS), have garnered considerable attention and hold great potential for developing effective therapeutic strategies. Given the well-established immunoregulatory role of ICPs in maintaining a balance between stimulatory and inhibitory signaling pathways to promote immune tolerance to self-antigens, a dysregulated expression pattern of ICPs has been observed in a significant proportion of patients with MS and its animal model called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which is associated with autoreactivity towards myelin and neurodegeneration. Consequently, there is a rationale for developing immunotherapeutic strategies to induce inhibitory ICPs while suppressing stimulatory ICPs, including engineering immune cells to overexpress ligands for inhibitory ICP receptors, such as program death-1 (PD-1), or designing fusion proteins, namely abatacept, to bind and inhibit the co-stimulatory pathways involved in overactivated T-cell mediated autoimmunity, and other strategies that will be discussed in-depth in the current review. Video Abstract.

Current status of skin cancers with a focus on immunology and immunotherapy

Skin cancer is one of the most widespread cancers, with a significant global health effect. UV-induced DNA damage in skin cells triggers them to grow and proliferate out of control, resulting in cancer development. Two common types of skin cancer include melanoma skin cancer (MSC) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, and NMSC includes basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and other forms. The incidence of skin cancer is increasing in part owing to a demographic shift toward an aging population, which is more prone to NMSC, imposing a considerable financial strain on public health services. The introduction of immunostimulatory approaches for cancer cell eradication has led to significant improvements in skin cancer treatment. Over the last three decades, monoclonal antibodies have been used as powerful human therapeutics besides scientific tools, and along with the development of monoclonal antibody production and design procedures from chimeric to humanized and then fully human monoclonal antibodies more than 6 monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the food and drug administration (FDA) and have been successful in skin cancer treatment. In this review, we will discuss the epidemiology, immunology, and therapeutic approaches of different types of skin cancer.

Mesenchymal stem cell-released oncolytic virus: an innovative strategy for cancer treatment

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) infect, multiply, and finally remove tumor cells selectively, causing no damage to normal cells in the process. Because of their specific features, such as, the ability to induce immunogenic cell death and to contain curative transgenes in their genomes, OVs have attracted attention as candidates to be utilized in cooperation with immunotherapies for cancer treatment. This treatment takes advantage of most tumor cells' inherent tendency to be infected by certain OVs and both innate and adaptive immune responses are elicited by OV infection and oncolysis. OVs can also modulate tumor microenvironment and boost anti-tumor immune responses. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are gathering interest as promising anti-cancer treatments with the ability to address a wide range of cancers. MSCs exhibit tumor-trophic migration characteristics, allowing them to be used as delivery vehicles for successful, targeted treatment of isolated tumors and metastatic malignancies. Preclinical and clinical research were reviewed in this study to discuss using MSC-released OVs as a novel method for the treatment of cancer. Video Abstract.

The current landscape of CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors: Mechanisms, research progress, challenges, and counterstrategies

The successful outcomes of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in treating hematologic cancers have increased the previously unprecedented excitement to use this innovative approach in treating various forms of human cancers. Although researchers have put a lot of work into maximizing the effectiveness of these cells in the context of solid tumors, few studies have discussed challenges and potential strategies to overcome them. Restricted trafficking and infiltration into the tumor site, hypoxic and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), antigen escape and heterogeneity, CAR T-cell exhaustion, and severe life-threatening toxicities are a few of the major obstacles facing CAR T-cells. CAR designs will need to go beyond the traditional architectures in order to get over these limitations and broaden their applicability to a larger range of malignancies. To enhance the safety, effectiveness, and applicability of this treatment modality, researchers are addressing the present challenges with a wide variety of engineering strategies as well as integrating several therapeutic tactics. In this study, we reviewed the antigens that CAR T-cells have been clinically trained to recognize, as well as counterstrategies to overcome the limitations of CAR T-cell therapy, such as recent advances in CAR T-cell engineering and the use of several therapies in combination to optimize their clinical efficacy in solid tumors.

Recent findings on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered immune cell therapy in solid tumors and hematological malignancies

Advancements in adoptive cell therapy over the last four decades have revealed various new therapeutic strategies, such as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), which are dedicated immune cells that are engineered and administered to eliminate cancer cells. In this context, CAR T-cells have shown significant promise in the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, many obstacles limit the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Consequently, CAR-NK and CAR-M cell therapies have recently emerged as novel therapeutic options for addressing the challenges associated with CAR T-cell therapies. Currently, many CAR immune cell trials are underway in various human malignancies around the world to improve antitumor activity and reduce the toxicity of CAR immune cell therapy. This review will describe the comprehensive literature of recent findings on CAR immune cell therapy in a wide range of human malignancies, as well as the challenges that have emerged in recent years.