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Roy S, Curry SD, Bagot CC, Mueller EN, Mansouri AM, Park W, Cha JN, Goodwin AP. Enzyme Prodrug Therapy with Photo-Cross-Linkable Anti-EGFR Affibodies Conjugated to Upconverting Nanoparticles. ACS NANO 2022; 16:15873-15883. [PMID: 36129781 PMCID: PMC10197967 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c02558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we demonstrate that a photo-cross-linkable conjugate of upconverting nanoparticles and cytosine deaminase can catalyze prodrug conversion specifically at tumor sites in vivo. Non-covalent association of proteins and peptides with cellular surfaces leads to receptor-mediated endocytosis and catabolic degradation. Recently, we showed that covalent attachment of proteins such as affibodies to cell receptors yields extended expression on cell surfaces with preservation of protein function. To adapt this technology for in vivo applications, conjugates were prepared from upconverting nanoparticles and fusion proteins of affibody and cytosine deaminase enzyme (UC-ACD). The affibody allows covalent photo-cross-linking to epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) overexpressed on Caco-2 human colorectal cancer cells under near-infrared (NIR) light. Once bound, the cytosine deaminase portion of the fusion protein converts the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) to the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). NIR covalent photoconjugation of UC-ACD to Caco-2 cells showed 4-fold higher retention than observed with cells that were not irradiated in vitro. Next, athymic mice expressing Caco-2 tumors showed 5-fold greater UC-ACD accumulation in the tumors than either conjugates without the CD enzyme or UC-ACDs in the absence of NIR excitation. With oral administration of 5-FC prodrug, tumors with photoconjugated UC-ACD yielded 2-fold slower growth than control groups, and median mouse survival increased from 28 days to 35 days. These experiments demonstrate that enzyme-decorated nanoparticles can remain viable after a single covalent photoconjugation in vivo, which can in turn localize prodrug conversion to tumor sites for multiple weeks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shambojit Roy
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Shane D. Curry
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Conrad Corbella Bagot
- Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Evan N. Mueller
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Abdulrahman M. Mansouri
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Wounjhang Park
- Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Jennifer N. Cha
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Andrew P. Goodwin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, 596 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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2
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Annexin A5 as a targeting agent for cancer treatment. Cancer Lett 2022; 547:215857. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2022.215857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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3
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Plunk MA, Quintana JM, Darden CM, Lawrence MC, Naziruddin B, Kane RR. Design and Catalyzed Activation of Mycophenolic Acid Prodrugs. ACS Med Chem Lett 2021; 12:812-816. [PMID: 34055230 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.1c00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its morpholino ester prodrug mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) are widely used in solid organ transplantation. These drugs prevent rejection due to their potent inhibition of inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), an enzyme vital for lymphocyte proliferation. As a strategy to provide localized immunosuppression in cell transplantation, four mycophenolic acid prodrugs designed to release MPA by two distinct mechanisms were synthesized and characterized. A nitrobenzyl ether prodrug was effectively converted to MPA upon exposure to bacterial nitroreductase, while a propargyl ether was converted to the active drug by immobilized Pd0 nanoparticles. In vitro, both prodrugs were inactive against IMPDH and exhibited reduced toxicity relative to the active drug, suggesting their potential for providing localized immunosuppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Plunk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
| | - Jeremy M. Quintana
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
| | - Carly M. Darden
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
| | - Michael C. Lawrence
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
- Islet Cell Laboratory, Baylor Scott and White Research Institute, Dallas, Texas 75204, United States
| | - Bashoo Naziruddin
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
- Baylor Simmons Transplant Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75204, United States
| | - Robert R. Kane
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76706, United States
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4
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Bi-Functional Radiotheranostics of 188Re-Liposome-Fcy-hEGF for Radio- and Chemo-Therapy of EGFR-Overexpressing Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22041902. [PMID: 33672989 PMCID: PMC7918434 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) specific therapeutics is of great importance in cancer treatment. Fcy-hEGF fusion protein, composed of yeast cytosine deaminase (Fcy) and human EGF (hEGF), is capable of binding to EGFR and enzymatically convert 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) to 1000-fold toxic 5-fluorocuracil (5-FU), thereby inhibiting the growth of EGFR-expressing tumor cells. To develop EGFR-specific therapy, 188Re-liposome-Fcy-hEGF was constructed by insertion of Fcy-hEGF fusion protein onto the surface of liposomes encapsulating of 188Re. Western blotting, MALDI-TOF, column size exclusion and flow cytometry were used to confirm the conjugation and bio-activity of 188Re-liposome-Fcy-hEGF. Cell lines with EGFR expression were subjected to treat with 188Re-liposome-Fcy-hEGF/5-FC in the presence of 5-FC. The 188Re-liposome-Fcy-hEGF/5-FC revealed a better cytotoxic effect for cancer cells than the treatment of liposome-Fcy-hEGF/5-FC or 188Re-liposome-Fcy-hEGF alone. The therapeutics has radio- and chemo-toxicity simultaneously and specifically target to EGFR-expression tumor cells, thereby achieving synergistic anticancer activity.
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5
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumen Das
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
| | - Liangjun Zhao
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
| | - Kristen Elofson
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
| | - M.G. Finn
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, United States
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6
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Plunk MA, Alaniz A, Olademehin OP, Ellington TL, Shuford KL, Kane RR. Design and Catalyzed Activation of Tak-242 Prodrugs for Localized Inhibition of TLR4-Induced Inflammation. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11:141-146. [PMID: 32071680 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.9b00518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Tak-242 (resatorvid), a Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) inhibitor, has been identified as a potent suppressor of innate inflammation. As a strategy to target Tak-242 to select tissue, four TLR4-inactive prodrugs were synthesized for activation via two different release mechanisms. Two nitrobenzyl Tak-242 prodrugs released the parent drug upon exposure to the exogenous enzyme nitroreductase, while the two propargyl prodrugs were converted to Tak-242 in the presence of Pd0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A. Plunk
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Alyssa Alaniz
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Olatunde P. Olademehin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Thomas L. Ellington
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Kevin L. Shuford
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
| | - Robert R. Kane
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
- Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, United States
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7
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Li X, Chen Z, Li X, Wang H. In vitro analysis of the role of tumor necrosis factor‑stimulated gene‑6 in keloid. Mol Med Rep 2018; 19:919-926. [PMID: 30569148 PMCID: PMC6323212 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.9767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor-stimulated gene-6 (TSG-6) has a key role in the progression of fibrosis; however, the exact effects of TSG-6 in keloid fibroblasts (KFs) remain unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of TSG-6 in the pathogenesis of keloids. Primary fibroblasts from 10 patients with keloid were cultured and transfected with pLVX-Puro or pLVX-Puro-TSG-6. Alterations of TSG-6 expression were then determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and regulation was observed in KFs transfected with pLVX-Puro-TSG-6. Compared with the control group, transfection with pLVX-Puro-TSG-6 induced growth suppression, cell apoptosis and G2/M arrest in KFs. In addition, the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was activated in KFs transfected with pLVX-Puro-TSG-6. These findings indicate that TSG-6 is a novel regulator of keloid fibrogenesis, and thus could be used/targeted TSG-6 as a promising treatment for keloid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Li
- Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, P.R. China
| | - Zhao Chen
- Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojing Li
- Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, P.R. China
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Plastic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, P.R. China
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8
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Utilization of Glycosaminoglycans/Proteoglycans as Carriers for Targeted Therapy Delivery. Int J Cell Biol 2015; 2015:537560. [PMID: 26448753 PMCID: PMC4581573 DOI: 10.1155/2015/537560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2014] [Revised: 01/19/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The outcome of patients with cancer has improved significantly in the past decade with the incorporation of drugs targeting cell surface adhesive receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases, and modulation of several molecules of extracellular matrices (ECMs), the complex composite of collagens, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans that dictates tissue architecture. Cancer tissue invasive processes progress by various oncogenic strategies, including interfering with ECM molecules and their interactions with invasive cells. In this review, we describe how the ECM components, proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, influence tumor cell signaling. In particular this review describes how the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) and its major receptor CD44 impact invasive behavior of tumor cells, and provides useful insight when designing new therapeutic strategies in the treatment of cancer.
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9
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Avery KN, Zer C, Bzymek KP, Williams JC. Development of a high affinity, non-covalent biologic to add functionality to Fabs. Sci Rep 2015; 5:7817. [PMID: 25588710 PMCID: PMC4295097 DOI: 10.1038/srep07817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Functionalization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) requires chemical derivatization and/or genetic manipulation. Inherent in these methods are challenges with protein heterogeneity, stability and solubility. Such perturbations could potentially be avoided by using a high affinity, non-covalent intermediate to bridge the desired functionality to a stable mAb. Recently, we engineered a binding site for a peptide named “meditope” within the Fab of trastuzumab. Proximity of the meditope site to that of protein L suggested an opportunity to enhance the meditope's moderate affinity. Joined by a peptide linker, the meditope-protein L construct has a KD ~ 180 pM - a 7000-fold increase in affinity. The construct is highly specific to the engineered trastuzumab, as demonstrated by flow cytometry. Moreover, the fusion of a bulky GFP to this construct did not affect the association with cell surface antigens. Collectively, these data indicate this specific, high affinity construct can be developed to rapidly add new functionality to mAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendra N Avery
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope 1710 Flower St, Duarte CA 91010
| | - Cindy Zer
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope 1710 Flower St, Duarte CA 91010
| | - Krzysztof P Bzymek
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope 1710 Flower St, Duarte CA 91010
| | - John C Williams
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope 1710 Flower St, Duarte CA 91010
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10
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11
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Martin SE, Ganguly T, Munske GR, Fulton MD, Hopkins MR, Berkman CE, Black ME. Development of inhibitor-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (IDEPT) for prostate cancer. Bioconjug Chem 2014; 25:1752-60. [PMID: 25157916 PMCID: PMC4198102 DOI: 10.1021/bc500362n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Prostate
cancer (PCa) is the second most common cause of cancer
death among American men after lung cancer. Unfortunately, current
therapies do not provide effective treatments for patients with advanced,
metastatic, or hormone refractory disease. Therefore, we seek to generate
therapeutic agents for a novel PCa treatment strategy by delivering
a suicide enzyme (yCDtriple) to a cell membrane bound biomarker
found on PCa cells (prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)). This
approach has resulted in a new PCa treatment strategy reported here
as inhibitor-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (IDEPT). The therapeutic
agents described were generated using a click chemistry reaction between
the unnatural amino acid (p-azidophenylalanine (pAzF)) incorporated into yCDtriple and the dibenzylcyclooctyne
moiety of our PSMA targeting agent (DBCO-PEG4-AH2-TG97). After characterization of the therapeutic agents, we demonstrate
significant PCa cell killing of PSMA-positive cells. Importantly,
we demonstrate that this click chemistry approach can be used to efficiently
couple a therapeutic protein to a targeting agent and may be applicable
to the ablation of other types of cancers and/or malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy E Martin
- School of Molecular Biosciences and §Department of Chemistry, Washington State University , Pullman, Washington 99164-7520, United States
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12
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5-Fluorocytosine combined with Fcy-hEGF fusion protein targets EGFR-expressing cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2012; 428:292-7. [PMID: 23085230 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.10.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Accepted: 10/11/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Human epithelial cancers account for approximately 50% of all cancer deaths. This type of cancer is characterized by excessive activation and expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The EGFR pathway is critical for cancer cell proliferation, survival, metastasis and angiogenesis. The EGF-EGFR signaling pathway has been validated as an important anticancer drug target. Increasing numbers of targeted therapies against this pathway have been either approved or are currently under development. Here, we adopted a prodrug system that uses 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) and human EGF (hEGF) fused with yeast cytosine deaminase (Fcy) to target EGFR-overexpressing cancer cells and to convert 5-FC to a significantly more toxic chemotherapeutic, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). We cloned and purified the Fcy-hEGF fusion protein from Pichia pastoris yeast. This fusion protein specifically binds to EGFR with a similar affinity as hEGF, approximately 10 nM. Fcy-hEGF binds tightly to A431 and MDA-MB-468 cells, which overexpress EGFR, but it binds with a lower affinity to MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, which express lower levels of EGFR. Similarly, the viability of EGFR-expressing cells was suppressed by Fcy-hEGF in the presence of increasing concentrations of 5-FC, and the IC(50) values for A431 and MDA-MB-468 were approximately 10-fold lower than those of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. This novel prodrug system, Fcy-hEGF/5-FC, might represent a promising addition to the available class of inhibitors that specifically target EGFR-expressing cancers.
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13
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Zhong B, Watts KL, Gori JL, Wohlfahrt ME, Enssle J, Adair JE, Kiem HP. Safeguarding nonhuman primate iPS cells with suicide genes. Mol Ther 2011; 19:1667-75. [PMID: 21587213 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2011.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of technology to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells constitutes one of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs because of the enormous potential for regenerative medicine. However, the safety of iPS cell-related products is a major concern for clinical translation. Insertional mutagenesis, possible oncogenic transformation of iPS cells or their derivatives, or the contamination of differentiated iPS cells with undifferentiated cells, resulting in the formation of teratomas, have remained considerable obstacles. Here, we demonstrate the utility of suicide genes to safeguard iPS cells and their derivatives. We found suicide genes can control the cell fate of iPS cells in vitro and in vivo without interfering with their pluripotency and self-renewal capacity. This study will be useful to evaluate the safety of iPS cell technology in a clinically highly relevant, large animal model and further benefit the clinical use of human iPS cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonan Zhong
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA
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14
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Omene CO, Wu J, Frenkel K. Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) derived from propolis, a honeybee product, inhibits growth of breast cancer stem cells. Invest New Drugs 2011; 30:1279-88. [PMID: 21537887 PMCID: PMC3388256 DOI: 10.1007/s10637-011-9667-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2011] [Accepted: 03/31/2011] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSC) are chemoresistant and implicated in tumor recurrence, metastasis and high patient mortality; thus substances impairing CSC activity, could be invaluable as novel cancer therapeutics. We previously showed that CAPE (caffeic acid phenethyl ester), a component of propolis, a honeybee product, inhibits growth of MDA-MB-231 (MDA-231) cells, mdr gene expression, NF-κB, EGFR, and VEGF. We hypothesized that CAPE also acts by interfering with CSC-mediated effects. We isolated breast CSC (bCSC) from MDA-231 cells, a model of human triple-negative breast cancer, and mouse xenografts. bCSC grow as mammospheres (MMS) and when dissociated into single cells, form MMS again, a sign of self-renewal. bCSC exhibited the characteristic CD44+/CD24-/low phenotype and generated progenitors in the presence of serum, a CSC trait responsible for regenerating tumor mass. CAPE caused dose-dependent bCSC self-renewal inhibition and progenitor formation. Clonal growth on soft agar was inhibited dose-dependently, but apoptosis was not induced as determined by Annexin-V/PI assay. Instead, bCSC were noted to significantly progress from a quiescent cell cycle state in G0/G1 (82%), S phase (12%) to a cycling state with an increase in S phase (41%) and subsequent decrease in G0/G1 (54%). Treatment of bCSC with CAPE (4.5-days) decreased CD44 levels by 95%, while another cell population containing 10-100-fold lower CD44 content concurrently increased. Results suggest that CAPE causes pronounced changes in bCSC characteristics manifested by inhibition of self renewal, progenitor formation, clonal growth in soft agar, and concurrent significant decrease in CD44 content, all signs of decreased malignancy potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coral O. Omene
- Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, BCD, Rm 556, New York, NY 10016 USA
- NYU Cancer Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, PHL-802, New York, NY 10016 USA
| | - Jing Wu
- Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, PHL-802, New York, NY 10016 USA
| | - Krystyna Frenkel
- Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, PHL-802, New York, NY 10016 USA
- NYU Cancer Institute, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, PHL-802, New York, NY 10016 USA
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15
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Johnson AJ, Ardiani A, Sanchez-Bonilla M, Black ME. Comparative analysis of enzyme and pathway engineering strategies for 5FC-mediated suicide gene therapy applications. Cancer Gene Ther 2011; 18:533-42. [PMID: 21394105 PMCID: PMC3139007 DOI: 10.1038/cgt.2011.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial- and yeast- encoded cytosine deaminases (bCD and yCD, respectively) are widely investigated suicide enzymes used in combination with the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) to achieve localized cytotoxicity. Yet characteristics such as poor turnover rates of 5FC (bCD) and enzyme thermolability (yCD) preclude their full therapeutic potential. We previously applied regio-specific random mutagenesis and computational design to create novel bCD and yCD variants with altered substrate preference (bCD(1525)) or increased thermostability (yCD(double), yCD(triple)) to aid in overcoming these limitations. Others have utilized pathway engineering in which the microbial enzyme uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) is fused with its respective CD, creating bCD/bUPRT or yCD/yUPRT. In this study, we evaluated whether the overlay of CD mutants onto their respective CD/UPRT fusion construct would further enhance 5FC activation, cancer cell prodrug sensitivity and bystander activity in vitro and in vivo. We show that all mutant fusion enzymes allowed for significant reductions in IC(50) values relative to their mutant CD counterparts. However, in vivo the CD mutants displayed enhanced tumor growth inhibition capacity relative to the mutant fusions, with bCD(1525) displaying the greatest tumor growth inhibition and bystander activity. In summary, mutant bCD(1525) appears to be the most effective of all bacterial or yeast CD or CD/UPRT enzymes examined and as such is likely to be the best choice to significantly improve the clinical outcome of CD/5FC suicide gene therapy applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Johnson
- College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, USA
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16
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Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells expressing prodrug-converting enzyme inhibit human prostate tumor growth. Mol Ther 2009; 18:223-31. [PMID: 19844197 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2009.237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs), engineered to express the suicide gene cytosine deaminase::uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CD::UPRT), to convert the relatively nontoxic 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) into the highly toxic antitumor 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) together with their ability to track and engraft into tumors and micrometastases makes these cells an attractive tool to activate prodrugs directly within the tumor mass. In this study, we tested the feasibility and efficacy of these therapeutic cells to function as cellular vehicles of prodrug-activating enzymes in prostate cancer (PC) therapy. In in vitro migration experiments we have shown that therapeutic AT-MSCs migrated to all the prostate cell lines tested. In a pilot preclinical study, we observed that coinjections of human bone metastatic PC cells along with the transduced AT-MSCs into nude mice treated with 5-FC induced a complete tumor regression in a dose dependent manner or did not even allow the establishment of the tumor. More importantly, we also demonstrated that the therapeutic cells were effective in significantly inhibiting PC tumor growth after intravenous administration that is a key requisite for any clinical application of gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapies.
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17
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Huang Z, Hwang P, Watson DS, Cao L, Szoka FC. Tris-nitrilotriacetic acids of subnanomolar affinity toward hexahistidine tagged molecules. Bioconjug Chem 2009; 20:1667-72. [PMID: 19650657 DOI: 10.1021/bc900309n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) has moderate affinity (10 μM) for hexahistidine (His6) and is widely used in the purification of His6-tagged proteins. The affinity can be increased significantly (10 nM) through multivalency such as using a tris-NTA. We show that the binding affinity of tris-NTA is dependent on the flexibility and length of the spacer between the mono-NTA and the scaffold: the shorter the spacer, the higher the affinity. A series of biotinylated tris-NTA having different spacers were synthesized and used to prepare tris-NTA sensor chips for surface plasmon resonance measurement of binding affinity. Subnanomolar affinity can be achieved with a short spacer. The new high-affinity tris-NTA enables the formation of stable complexes with hexahistidine containing molecules and provides a convenient method to noncovalently attach proteins to various surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohua Huang
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0912, USA
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18
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Platt VM, Szoka FC. Anticancer therapeutics: targeting macromolecules and nanocarriers to hyaluronan or CD44, a hyaluronan receptor. Mol Pharm 2008; 5:474-86. [PMID: 18547053 DOI: 10.1021/mp800024g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 328] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The complex system involved in the synthesis, degradation and binding of the high molecular weight glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan or HA) provides a variety of structures that can be exploited for targeted cancer therapy. In many cancers of epithelial origin there is an upregulation of CD44, a receptor that binds HA. In other cancers, HA in the tumor matrix is overexpressed. Both CD44 on cancer cells and HA in the matrix have been targets for anticancer therapy. Even though CD44 is expressed in normal epithelial cells and HA is part of the matrix of normal tissues, selective targeting to cancer is possible. This is because macromolecular carriers predominantly extravasate into the tumor and not normal tissue; thus CD44-HA targeted carriers administered intravenously localize preferentially into tumors. Anti-CD44 antibodies have been used in patients to deliver radioisotopes or mertansine for treatment of CD44 expressing tumors. In early phase clinical trials, patients with breast or head and neck tumors treated with anti-CD44 conjugates experienced stabilized disease. A dose-limiting toxicity was associated with distribution of the antibody-drug conjugate to the skin, a site in the body with a high level of CD44. HA has been used as a drug carrier and a ligand on liposomes or nanoparticles to target drugs to CD44 overexpressing cells. Drugs can be attached to HA via the carboxylate on the glucuronic acid residue, the hydroxyl on the N-acetylglucosamine or the reducing end which are located on a repeating disaccharide. Drugs delivered in HA-modified liposomes exhibited excellent antitumor activity both in vitro and in murine tumor models. The HA matrix is also a potential target for anticancer therapies. By manipulating the interaction of HA with cell surface receptors, either by degrading it with hyaluronidase or by interfering with CD44-HA interactions using soluble CD44 proteins, tumor progression was blocked. Finally, cytotoxic drugs or prodrug converting enzymes can be attached to the HA matrix to generate a cytotoxic fence around the tumor. This review describes how the complex interplay among cancer biology, the CD44-HA interaction, drug carriers and drug targeting has been used to improve anticancer therapies. As these approaches evolve, they hold forth the prospect of significantly improved targeted anticancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia M Platt
- Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, California 94143-0912, USA
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