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Vannini E, Mori E, Tantillo E, Schmidt G, Caleo M, Costa M. CTX-CNF1 Recombinant Protein Selectively Targets Glioma Cells In Vivo. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:194. [PMID: 33800135 PMCID: PMC7998600 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13030194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Current strategies for glioma treatment are only partly effective because of the poor selectivity for tumoral cells. Hence, the necessity to identify novel approaches is urgent. Recent studies highlighted the effectiveness of the bacterial protein cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1) in reducing tumoral mass, increasing survival of glioma-bearing mice and protecting peritumoral neural tissue from dysfunction. However, native CNF1 needs to be delivered into the brain, because of its incapacity to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) per se, thus hampering its clinical translation. To allow a non-invasive administration of CNF1, we here developed a chimeric protein (CTX-CNF1) conjugating CNF1 with chlorotoxin (CTX), a peptide already employed in clinics due to its ability of passing the BBB and selectively binding glioma cells. After systemic administration, we found that CTX-CNF1 is able to target glioma cells and significantly prolong survival of glioma-bearing mice. Our data point out the potentiality of CTX-CNF1 as a novel effective tool to treat gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Vannini
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (E.T.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Elena Tantillo
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (E.T.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
| | - Gudula Schmidt
- Medizinische Fakultät, Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany;
| | - Matteo Caleo
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (E.T.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35122 Padua, Italy
| | - Mario Costa
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (E.T.); (M.C.); (M.C.)
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Fabbri A, Travaglione S, Maroccia Z, Guidotti M, Pierri CL, Primiano G, Servidei S, Loizzo S, Fiorentini C. The Bacterial Protein CNF1 as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy against Mitochondrial Diseases: A Pilot Study. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:E1825. [PMID: 29933571 PMCID: PMC6073533 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19071825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The Escherichia coli protein toxin cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), which acts on the Rho GTPases that are key regulators of the actin cytoskeleton, is emerging as a potential therapeutic tool against certain neurological diseases characterized by cellular energy homeostasis impairment. In this brief communication, we show explorative results on the toxin’s effect on fibroblasts derived from a patient affected by myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) that carries a mutation in the m.8344A>G gene of mitochondrial DNA. We found that, in the patient’s cells, besides rescuing the wild-type-like mitochondrial morphology, CNF1 administration is able to trigger a significant increase in cellular content of ATP and of the mitochondrial outer membrane marker Tom20. These results were accompanied by a profound F-actin reorganization in MERRF fibroblasts, which is a typical CNF1-induced effect on cell cytoskeleton. These results point at a possible role of the actin organization in preventing or limiting the cell damage due to mitochondrial impairment and at CNF1 treatment as a possible novel strategy against mitochondrial diseases still without cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Fabbri
- Italian Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Sara Travaglione
- Italian Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Zaira Maroccia
- Italian Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Marco Guidotti
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Ciro Leonardo Pierri
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, via Orabona, 4, 70124 Bari, Italy.
| | - Guido Primiano
- Unità di Neurofisiopatologia, Area Neuroscienze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli, 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
| | - Serenella Servidei
- Unità di Neurofisiopatologia, Area Neuroscienze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Agostino Gemelli, 8, 00168 Rome, Italy.
| | - Stefano Loizzo
- Italian Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Carla Fiorentini
- Italian Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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Vannini E, Panighini A, Cerri C, Fabbri A, Lisi S, Pracucci E, Benedetto N, Vannozzi R, Fiorentini C, Caleo M, Costa M. The bacterial protein toxin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1) provides long-term survival in a murine glioma model. BMC Cancer 2014; 14:449. [PMID: 24939046 PMCID: PMC4075618 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-14-449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Glioblastomas are largely unresponsive to all available treatments and there is therefore an urgent need for novel therapeutics. Here we have probed the antineoplastic effects of a bacterial protein toxin, the cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), in the syngenic GL261 glioma cell model. CNF1 produces a long-lasting activation of Rho GTPases, with consequent blockade of cytodieresis in proliferating cells and promotion of neuron health and plasticity. Methods We have tested the antiproliferative effects of CNF1 on GL261 cells and human glioma cells obtained from surgical specimens. For the in vivo experiments, we injected GL261 cells into the adult mouse visual cortex, and five days later we administered either a single intracerebral dose of CNF1 or vehicle. To compare CNF1 with a canonical antitumoral drug, we infused temozolomide (TMZ) via minipumps for 1 week in an additional animal group. Results In culture, CNF1 was very effective in blocking proliferation of GL261 cells, leading them to multinucleation, senescence and death within 15 days. CNF1 had a similar cytotoxic effect in primary human glioma cells. CNF1 also inhibited motility of GL261 cells in a scratch-wound migration assay. Low dose (2 nM) CNF1 and continuous TMZ infusion significantly prolonged animal survival (median survival 35 days vs. 28 days in vehicle controls). Remarkably, increasing CNF1 concentration to 80 nM resulted in a dramatic enhancement of survival with no obvious toxicity. Indeed, 57% of the CNF1-treated animals survived up to 60 days following GL261 glioma cell transplant. Conclusions The activation of Rho GTPases by CNF1 represents a novel potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of central nervous system tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Matteo Caleo
- CNR Neuroscience Institute, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
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Abstract
Many bacterial pathogens produce protein toxins to outmanoeuvre the immune system of the host. Some of these proteins target regulatory GTPases such as those belonging to the RHO family, which control the actin cytoskeleton of the host cell. In this Review, I discuss a diversity of mechanisms that are used by bacterial effectors and toxins to modulate the activity of host GTPases, with a focus on covalent modifications such as ADP-ribosylation, glucosylation, adenylylation, proteolysis, deamidation and transglutamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Aktories
- Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Albertstr. 25, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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Hares MC, Hinchliffe SJ, Strong PCR, Eleftherianos I, Dowling AJ, ffrench-Constant RH, Waterfield N. The Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia pestis toxin complex is active against cultured mammalian cells. Microbiology (Reading) 2008; 154:3503-3517. [DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.2008/018440-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C. Hares
- University of Exeter in Cornwall, Department of Biosciences, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
- University of Bath, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Stewart J. Hinchliffe
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
- University of Exeter in Cornwall, Department of Biosciences, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
| | | | - Ioannis Eleftherianos
- CNRS-UPR9022, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
| | - Andrea J. Dowling
- University of Exeter in Cornwall, Department of Biosciences, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
| | | | - Nick Waterfield
- University of Bath, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
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Lemonnier M, Landraud L, Lemichez E. Rho GTPase-activating bacterial toxins: from bacterial virulence regulation to eukaryotic cell biology. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2007; 31:515-34. [PMID: 17680807 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2007.00078.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on the interactions of bacterial pathogens with their host have provided an invaluable source of information on the major functions of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell biology. In addition, this expanding field of research, known as cellular microbiology, has revealed fascinating examples of trans-kingdom functional interplay. Bacterial factors actually exploit eukaryotic cell machineries using refined molecular strategies to promote invasion and proliferation within their host. Here, we review a family of bacterial toxins that modulate their activity in eukaryotic cells by activating Rho GTPases and exploiting the ubiquitin/proteasome machineries. This family, found in human and animal pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria, encompasses the cytotoxic necrotizing factors (CNFs) from Escherichia coli and Yersinia species as well as dermonecrotic toxins from Bordetella species. We survey the genetics, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology of these bacterial factors from the standpoint of the CNF1 toxin, the paradigm of Rho GTPase-activating toxins produced by urinary tract infections causing pathogenic Escherichia coli. Because it reveals important connections between bacterial invasion and the host inflammatory response, the mode of action of CNF1 and its related Rho GTPase-targetting toxins addresses major issues of basic and medical research and constitutes a privileged experimental model for host-pathogen interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Lemonnier
- INSERM U627, UNSA, Faculté de Médecine, 28 Avenue de Valombrose, 06107 Nice cedex 2, France.
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Tafazoli F, Holmström A, Forsberg A, Magnusson KE. Apically exposed, tight junction-associated beta1-integrins allow binding and YopE-mediated perturbation of epithelial barriers by wild-type Yersinia bacteria. Infect Immun 2000; 68:5335-43. [PMID: 10948163 PMCID: PMC101797 DOI: 10.1128/iai.68.9.5335-5343.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2000] [Accepted: 05/30/2000] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Using polarized epithelial cells, primarily MDCK-1, we assessed the mode of binding and effects on epithelial cell structure and permeability of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis yadA-deficient mutants. Initially, all bacteria except the invasin-deficient (inv) mutant adhered apically to the tight junction areas. These contact points of adjacent cells displayed beta1-integrins together with tight junction-associated ZO-1 and occludin proteins. Indeed, beta1-integrin expression was maximal in the tight junction area and then gradually decreased along the basolateral membranes. Wild-type bacteria also opened gradually the tight junction to paracellular permeation of different-sized markers, viz., 20-, 40-, and 70-kDa dextrans and 45-kDa ovalbumin, as well as to their own translocation between adjacent cells in intimate contact with beta1-integrins. The effects on the epithelial cells and their barrier properties could primarily be attributed to expression of the Yersinia outer membrane protein YopE, as the yopE mutant bound but caused no cytotoxicity. Moreover, the apical structure of filamentous actin (F-actin) was disturbed and tight junction-associated proteins (ZO-1 and occludin) were dispersed along the basolateral membranes. It is concluded that the Yersinia bacteria attach to beta1-integrins at tight junctions. Via this localized injection of YopE, they perturb the F-actin structure and distribution of proteins forming and regulating tight junctions. Thereby they promote paracellular translocation of bacteria and soluble compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Tafazoli
- Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Health and Environment, Linköping University, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden.
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