Alloanergization Method for Inducing Allospecific Hyporesponsiveness in PBMC Exposed to Allostimulation In Vitro in the Context of Costimulatory Molecule Blockade

Genetic engineering strategies to enhance antitumor reactivity and reduce alloreactivity for allogeneic cell-based cancer therapy

The realm of cell-based immunotherapy holds untapped potential for the development of next-generation cancer treatment through genetic engineering of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T (CAR-T) cell therapies for targeted eradication of cancerous malignancies. Such allogeneic "off-the-shelf" cell products can be advantageously manufactured in large quantities, stored for extended periods, and easily distributed to treat an exponential number of cancer patients. At current, patient risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and host-versus-graft (HvG) allorejection severely restrict the development of allogeneic CAR-T cell products. To address these limitations, a variety of genetic engineering strategies have been implemented to enhance antitumor efficacy, reduce GvHD and HvG onset, and improve the overall safety profile of T-cell based immunotherapies. In this review, we summarize these genetic engineering strategies and discuss the challenges and prospects these approaches provide to expedite progression of translational and clinical studies for adoption of a universal cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

CircRNA expression profiling of PBMCs from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma by RNA-sequencing

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are differentially expressed in various cancer types. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and clinical implication of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate the potential of circRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for HCC. CircRNA expression was profiled in 19 patients with HCC and 19 normal controls using ribosomal RNA-depleted RNAs. Differentially expressed circRNAs (DE-circRNAs) between HCC and controls were identified using CIRI2 and distinct circRNA expression signatures were screened. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used to predict the potential functions of these DE-circRNAs and the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks were then constructed. Several DE-circRNAs were selected and confirmed by RT-qPCR. A total of 40 DE-circRNAs (27 upregulated and 13 downregulated) were identified between patients with HCC and controls. Functional annotation indicated that these DE-circRNAs were involved in cellular components, molecular functions and cancer-associated pathways related to HCC. These included pathways in cancer, TNF signaling pathway, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and hepatocyte differentiation. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was generated based on 11 candidate circRNAs. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that Homo sapiens (hsa)_circ_0073239, hsa_circ_007090, hsa_circ_0008304, hsa_circ_0017586, hsa_circ_0000369 and hsa_circ_0001181 may serve as potential biomarkers for HCC. Results from Cell Counting Kit-8 assay suggested that small interfering RNA targeting hsa_circ_0001181 reduced the proliferation of HepG2 cells, which implicated it as a potential therapeutic target for HCC. Therefore, in the present study, the differential expression pattern and important role of circRNAs in HCC were determined. The present results highlight the diagnostic potential of circRNAs in HCC and provide novel insight into the development of and treatment approaches for HCC.