Deletion of the intracellular domain of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) enhances the expression of itself and boosts the efficiency of current adenovirus-mediated gene therapy in ovarian cancer cell lines in vitro

Targeting CCR2 with its antagonist suppresses viability, motility and invasion by downregulating MMP-9 expression in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, which is the leading cancer killer in the world. Despite the recent advances in its diagnosis and therapy, the prognosis of NSCLC patients remains very poor, mainly due to the development of drug resistance and metastasis. Both the chemokine network and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) system play important roles in cancer cell metastasis. The disruption of CCL2/CCR2 chemokine signaling has been shown to suppress cancer cellviability and metastasis. CCL2-neutralizing antibodies, which have shown promising therapeutic efficacy in several cancer models, are not widely used due to technical issues. CCR2 antagonism has thus become an alternative method for cancer treatment. However, the effect of CCR2 antagonists on NSCLC progression remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of CCR2 antagonist (CAS445479-97-0) on the proliferation, migration and invasion of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells by using WST-1 cell viability assay, transwell migration assay, wound healing scratch assay and Matrigel invasion assay. We demonstrated that CCL2 treatment promoted A549 cell viability, motility and invasion by upregulating MMP-9 expression and that this induction was significantly suppressed by CAS 445479-97-0. Taken together, our data suggested that the CCR2 antagonist would be a potential drug for treating CCR2-positive NSCLC patients.

Oncolytic Viruses-Interaction of Virus and Tumor Cells in the Battle to Eliminate Cancer

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are an emerging treatment option for many cancer types and have recently been the focus of extensive research aiming to develop their therapeutic potential. The ultimate aim is to design a virus which can effectively replicate within the host, specifically target and lyse tumor cells and induce robust, long lasting tumor-specific immunity. There are a number of viruses which are either naturally tumor-selective or can be modified to specifically target and eliminate tumor cells. This means they are able to infect only tumor cells and healthy tissue remains unharmed. This specificity is imperative in order to reduce the side effects of oncolytic virotherapy. These viruses can also be modified by various methods including insertion and deletion of specific genes with the aim of improving their efficacy and safety profiles. In this review, we have provided an overview of the various virus species currently being investigated for their oncolytic potential and the positive and negative effects of a multitude of modifications used to increase their infectivity, anti-tumor immunity, and treatment safety, in particular focusing on the interaction of tumor cells and OVs.

Antigen cross-presentation of immune complexes

The ability of dendritic cells (DCs) to cross-present tumor antigens has long been a focus of interest to physicians, as well as basic scientists, that aim to establish efficient cell-based cancer immune therapy. A prerequisite for exploiting this pathway for therapeutic purposes is a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the induction of tumor-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses when initiated by DCs via cross-presentation. The ability of humans DC to perform cross-presentation is of utmost interest, as this cell type is a main target for cell-based immunotherapy in humans. The outcome of a cross-presentation event is guided by the nature of the antigen, the form of antigen uptake, and the subpopulation of DCs that performs presentation. Generally, CD8α⁺ DCs are considered to be the most potent cross-presenting DCs. This paradigm, however, only applies to soluble antigens. During adaptive immune responses, immune complexes form when antibodies interact with their specific epitopes on soluble antigens. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) immune complexes target Fc-gamma receptors on DCs to shuttle exogenous antigens efficiently into the cross-presentation pathway. This receptor-mediated cross-presentation pathway is a well-described route for the induction of strong CD8⁺ T cell responses. IgG-mediated cross-presentation is intriguing because it permits the CD8⁻ DCs, which are commonly considered to be weak cross-presenters, to efficiently cross-present. Engaging multiple DC subtypes for cross-presentation might be a superior strategy to boost CTL responses in vivo. We here summarize our current understanding of how DCs use IgG-complexed antigens for the efficient induction of CTL responses. Because of its importance for human cell therapy, we also review the recent advances in the characterization of cross-presentation properties of human DC subsets.

Emerging roles for ubiquitin in adenovirus cell entry

Adenovirus relies on numerous interactions between viral and host cell proteins to efficiently enter cells. Undoubtedly, post-translational modifications of host and cellular proteins can impact the efficiency of this cell entry process. Ubiquitylation, once simply thought of as a modification targeting proteins for proteasomal degradation, is now known to regulate protein trafficking within cells, protein-protein interactions and cell signalling pathways. Accumulating evidence suggests that protein ubiquitylation can influence all stages of the life cycle of other viruses such as cell entry, replication and egress. Until recently, the influence of ubiquitylation has only been documented during adenovirus replication. This review highlights the most recent evidence demonstrating direct engagement of host ubiquitylation and SUMOylation machinery by adenovirus during cell entry. Additionally, potential roles for host protein ubiquitylation and the potential for adenovirus regulation of host ubiquitylation machinery during cell entry are discussed.