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Skarmoutsou E, Bevelacqua V, D' Amico F, Russo A, Spandidos DA, Scalisi A, Malaponte G, Guarneri C. FOXP3 expression is modulated by TGF‑β1/NOTCH1 pathway in human melanoma. Int J Mol Med 2018; 42:392-404. [PMID: 29620159 PMCID: PMC5979787 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) transcription factor is expressed by immune cells and several human cancers and is associated with tumor aggressiveness and unfavorable clinical outcomes. NOTCH and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) protumorigenic effects are mediated by FOXP3 expression in several cancer models; however, their interaction and role in melanoma is unknown. We investigated TGF-β-induced FOXP3 gene expression during NOTCH1 signaling inactivation. Primary (WM35) and metastatic melanoma (A375 and A2058) cell lines and normal melanocytes (NHEM) were used. FOXP3 subcellular distribution was evaluated by immuno cytochemical analysis. Gene expression levels were assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Protein levels were assessed by western blot analysis. The γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) was used for NOTCH1 inhibition and recombinant human (rh)TGF-β was used for melanoma cell stimulation. Cell proliferation and viability were respectively assessed by MTT and Trypan blue dye assays. FOXP3 mRNA and protein levels were progressively higher in WM35, A375 and A2058 cell lines compared to NHEM and their levels were further increased after stimulation with rh-TGF-β. TGF-β-mediated FOXP3 expression was mediated by NOTCH1 signaling. Inhibition of NOTCH1 with concomitant rh-TGF-β stimulation determined the reduction in gene expression and protein level of FOXP3. Finally, melanoma cell line proliferation and viability were reduced by NOTCH1 inhibition. The results show that nn increase in FOXP3 expression in metastatic melanoma cell lines is a potential marker of tumor aggressiveness and metastasis. NOTCH1 is a central mediator of TGF-β-mediated FOXP3 expression and NOTCH1 inhibition produces a significant reduction of melanoma cell proliferation and viability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Skarmoutsou
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
| | - Valentina Bevelacqua
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
| | - Fabio D' Amico
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
| | - Angela Russo
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
| | - Demetrios A Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Aurora Scalisi
- Unit of Oncologic Diseases, ASP‑Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy
| | - Grazia Malaponte
- Research Unit of the Catania Section of the Italian League Against Cancer, 95122 Catania, Italy
| | - Claudio Guarneri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
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Tagliamonte M, Petrizzo A, Napolitano M, Luciano A, Rea D, Barbieri A, Arra C, Maiolino P, Tornesello M, Ciliberto G, Buonaguro FM, Buonaguro L. A novel multi-drug metronomic chemotherapy significantly delays tumor growth in mice. J Transl Med 2016; 14:58. [PMID: 26911136 PMCID: PMC4766679 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-016-0812-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment represents a major obstacle to an effective tumor-specific cellular immune response. METHODS In the present study, the counterbalance effect of a novel metronomic chemotherapy protocol on such an immunosuppressive microenvironment was evaluated in a mouse model upon sub-cutaneous ectopic implantation of B16 melanoma cells. The chemotherapy consisted of a novel multi-drug cocktail including taxanes and alkylating agents, administered in a daily metronomic fashion. The newly designed strategy was shown to be safe, well tolerated and significantly efficacious. RESULTS Treated animals showed a remarkable delay in tumor growth and prolonged survival as compared to control group. Such an effect was directly correlated with CD4(+) T cell reduction and CD8(+) T cell increase. Furthermore, a significant reduction in the percentage of both CD25(+)FoxP3(+) and CD25(+)CD127(low) regulatory T cell population was found both in the spleens and in the tumor lesions. Finally, the metronomic chemotherapy induced an intrinsic CD8(+) T cell response specific to B16 naturally expressed Trp2 TAA. CONCLUSION The novel multi-drug daily metronomic chemotherapy evaluated in the present study was very effective in counterbalancing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Consequently, the intrinsic anti-tumor T cell immunity could exert its function, targeting specific TAA and significantly containing tumor growth. Overall, the results show that this represents a promising adjuvant approach to significantly enhance efficacy of intrinsic or vaccine-elicited tumor-specific cellular immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tagliamonte
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Annacarmen Petrizzo
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Maria Napolitano
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Antonio Luciano
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Domenica Rea
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Antonio Barbieri
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Claudio Arra
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Piera Maiolino
- Pharmacy Unit, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Marialina Tornesello
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Gennaro Ciliberto
- Scientific Direction, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Franco M Buonaguro
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
| | - Luigi Buonaguro
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale" - IRCCS, Naples, Italy.
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Tagliamonte M, Petrizzo A, Napolitano M, Luciano A, Arra C, Maiolino P, Izzo F, Tornesello ML, Aurisicchio L, Ciliberto G, Buonaguro FM, Buonaguro L. Novel metronomic chemotherapy and cancer vaccine combinatorial strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma in a mouse model. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2015; 64:1305-14. [PMID: 25944003 PMCID: PMC11028459 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-015-1698-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primary liver cancer and represents the third and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide in men and women, respectively. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infections account for pathogenesis of more than 80 % of primary HCC. HCC prognosis greatly varies according to stage at beginning of treatment, but the overall 5-year survival rate is approximately 5-6 %. Given the limited number of effective therapeutic strategies available, immunotherapies and therapeutic cancer vaccines may help in improving the clinical outcome for HCC patients. However, the few clinical trials conducted to date have shown contrasting results, indicating the need for improvements. In the present study, a novel combinatorial strategy, based on metronomic chemotherapy plus vaccine, is evaluated in a mouse model. The chemotherapy is a multi-drug cocktail including taxanes and alkylating agents, which is administered in a metronomic-like fashion. The vaccine is a multi-peptide cocktail including HCV as well as universal tumor antigen TERT epitopes. The combinatorial strategy designed and evaluated in the present study induces an enhanced specific T cell response, when compared to vaccine alone, which correlates to a reduced Treg frequency. Such results are highly promising and may pave way to relevant improvements in immunotherapeutic strategies for HCC and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tagliamonte
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Annacarmen Petrizzo
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Napolitano
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio Luciano
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Claudio Arra
- Animal Facility, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Piera Maiolino
- Pharmacy Unit, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Izzo
- Hepato-Biliary Surgery Unit, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Lina Tornesello
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Gennaro Ciliberto
- Scientific Direction, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Franco M. Buonaguro
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi Buonaguro
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, “Fondazione Pascale” - IRCCS, Naples, Italy
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Abstract
This chapter describes how skin immune system (SIS) is specifically involved in the development of cutaneous melanoma. Local immune surveillance is presented as a complex process that comprises markers to be monitored in disease's evolution and in therapy. The ranking of tissue or soluble immune markers in a future panel of diagnostic/prognostic panel are evaluated. Taking into account the difficulties of cutaneous melanoma patients' management, this chapter shows the immune surveillance at the skin level, the conditions that favor the tumor escape from the immunological arm, the immune pattern of skin melanoma with diagnostic/prognostic relevance, the circulatory immune markers, and, last but not least, how immune markers are used in immune-therapy monitoring. The chapter cannot be exhaustive but will give the reader a glimpse of the complex immune network that lies within tumor escape and where to search for immune-therapeutical targets in skin melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Neagu
- Immunobiology Laboratory, "Victor Babes" National Institute of Pathology, Bucharest, Romania.
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Park YS, Bae JH, Son CH, Lee KS, Kim W, Jung MH, Yang K, Kim SH, Kang CD. Cyclophosphamide potentiates the antitumor effect of immunization with injection of immature dendritic cells into irradiated tumor. Immunol Invest 2011; 40:383-99. [PMID: 21314288 DOI: 10.3109/08820139.2011.552141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Growth of a tumor on the left flank was suppressed by direct injection of immature DCs (iDCs) into the irradiated tumor on the right thigh (IR/DC). This antitumor immune effect of IR/DC was enhanced by pretreatment with CTX (CTX+IR/DC) and this effect was related with increased number of tumor-specific IFN-γ secreting T cells and decreased ratio of CD4(+)CD25(+)/CD4(+) T cells. The treatment with CTX+IR/DC increased or decreased the levels of IL-2 or IL-10, respectively. These results demonstrated that antitumor effect of IR/DC could be augmented by pretreatment with low-dose CTX, suggesting a new antitumor therapeutic modality of chemoradioimmunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- You-Soo Park
- Department of Biochemistry, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan 626-870, Korea
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Neagu M, Constantin C, Tanase C. Immune-related biomarkers for diagnosis/prognosis and therapy monitoring of cutaneous melanoma. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2011; 10:897-919. [PMID: 20964610 DOI: 10.1586/erm.10.81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Skin melanoma, a life-threatening disease, has a recently reported worldwide increase in incidence, despite primary prevention. Skin melanoma statistics emphasize the need for finding markers related to the immune response of the host. The mechanisms that are able to over-power the local immune surveillance comprise molecules that can be valuable markers for diagnosis and prognosis. This article summarizes the immune markers that can monitor the disease stage and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Recent data regarding immunotherapy are presented in the context of tumor escape from immune surveillance and the immune molecules that are both targets and a means of monitoring. Perspectives for developing immune interventions for skin melanoma management and the position of tissue or soluble immune markers as a diagnostic/prognostic panel are evaluated. State-of-the-art technology is emphasized for developing immune molecular signatures for a complex characterization of the patient's immunological status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Neagu
- Victor Babes' National Institute of Pathology, 99-101 Splaiul Independentei, 050096 Bucharest, Romania.
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Koos D, Josephs SF, Alexandrescu DT, Chan RCF, Ramos F, Bogin V, Gammill V, Dasanu CA, De Necochea-Campion R, Riordan NH, Carrier E. Tumor vaccines in 2010: need for integration. Cell Immunol 2010; 263:138-47. [PMID: 20434139 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2010.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2010] [Accepted: 03/30/2010] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Induction of tumor-specific immunity is an attractive approach to cancer therapy, however to date every major pivotal trial has resulted in failure. While the phenomena of tumor-mediated immune suppression has been known for decades, only recently have specific molecular pathways been elucidated, and for the first time, rationale means of intervening and observing results of intervention have been developed. In this review we describe major advances in our understanding of tumor escape from immunological pressure and provide some possible therapeutic scenarios for enhancement of efficacy in future cancer vaccine trials.
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Correll A, Tuettenberg A, Becker C, Jonuleit H. Increased regulatory T-cell frequencies in patients with advanced melanoma correlate with a generally impaired T-cell responsiveness and are restored after dendritic cell-based vaccination. Exp Dermatol 2009; 19:e213-21. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2009.01055.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Abstract
It has long been assumed that the immune system plays a role in tumor eradication, however, scant clinical evidence exists to support that hypothesis. In recent years, as the immune system and its specific effector cells are better defined, convincing data supporting immune surveillance is emerging. Several studies have shown that an "immune signature" in the tumor microenvironment is associated with a superior outcome in a variety of cancer types. Moreover, studies have suggested that T cells found in high density within the tumor parenchyma are also correlated with a survival benefit. The type of adaptive immune response implicated in improved cancer outcomes is a type 1 response. That is, adaptive immunity associated with T cells that secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-gamma, which can not only support a proliferative antigen specific T cell response but also enhance "cross priming" by activating antigen presenting cells local to the tumor site. There are many methods available that will allow the development of clinical reagents designed to stimulate Th1 immunity; either by in vitro or in vivo manipulation. Clinical trials of a variety of immunotherapeutic strategies indicate that the generation of tumor antigen specific Th1 may be beneficial in inhibiting the growth of common solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary L Disis
- Tumor Vaccine Group, Center for Translational Medicine in Women's Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-8050, USA.
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