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Scuderi M, Dermol-Cerne J, Scancar J, Markovic S, Rems L, Miklavcic D. The equivalence of different types of electric pulses for electrochemotherapy with cisplatin - an in vitro study. Radiol Oncol 2024; 58:51-66. [PMID: 38378034 PMCID: PMC10878774 DOI: 10.2478/raon-2024-0005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a treatment involving the administration of chemotherapeutics drugs followed by the application of 8 square monopolar pulses of 100 μs duration at a repetition frequency of 1 Hz or 5000 Hz. However, there is increasing interest in using alternative types of pulses for ECT. The use of high-frequency short bipolar pulses has been shown to mitigate pain and muscle contractions. Conversely, the use of millisecond pulses is interesting when combining ECT with gene electrotransfer for the uptake of DNA-encoding proteins that stimulate the immune response with the aim of converting ECT from a local to systemic treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how alternative types of pulses affect the efficiency of the ECT. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed in vitro experiments, exposing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to conventional ECT pulses, high-frequency bipolar pulses, and millisecond pulses in the presence of different concentrations of cisplatin. We determined cisplatin uptake by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and cisplatin cytotoxicity by the clonogenic assay. RESULTS We observed that the three tested types of pulses potentiate the uptake and cytotoxicity of cisplatin in an equivalent manner, provided that the electric field is properly adjusted for each pulse type. Furthermore, we quantified that the number of cisplatin molecules, resulting in the eradication of most cells, was 2-7 × 107 per cell. CONCLUSIONS High-frequency bipolar pulses and millisecond pulses can potentially be used in ECT to reduce pain and muscle contraction and increase the effect of the immune response in combination with gene electrotransfer, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Scuderi
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janja Dermol-Cerne
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Janez Scancar
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Stefan Markovic
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Lea Rems
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Damijan Miklavcic
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Lisec B, Markelc B, Ursic Valentinuzzi K, Sersa G, Cemazar M. The effectiveness of calcium electroporation combined with gene electrotransfer of a plasmid encoding IL-12 is tumor type-dependent. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1189960. [PMID: 37304301 PMCID: PMC10247961 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1189960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction In calcium electroporation (CaEP), electroporation enables the cellular uptake of supraphysiological concentrations of Ca2+, causing the induction of cell death. The effectiveness of CaEP has already been evaluated in clinical trials; however, confirmatory preclinical studies are still needed to further elucidate its effectiveness and underlying mechanisms. Here, we tested and compared its efficiency on two different tumor models to electrochemotherapy (ECT) and in combination with gene electrotransfer (GET) of a plasmid encoding interleukin-12 (IL-12). We hypothesized that IL-12 potentiates the antitumor effect of local ablative therapies as CaEP and ECT. Methods The effect of CaEP was tested in vitro as well as in vivo in murine melanoma B16-F10 and murine mammary carcinoma 4T1 in comparison to ECT with bleomycin. Specifically, the treatment efficacy of CaEP with increasing calcium concentrations alone or in combination with IL-12 GET in different treatment protocols was investigated. We closely examined the tumor microenvironment by immunofluorescence staining of immune cells, as well as blood vessels and proliferating cells. Results In vitro, CaEP and ECT with bleomycin reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. We observed no differences in sensitivity between the two cell lines. A dose-dependent response was also observed in vivo; however, the efficacy was better in 4T1 tumors than in B16-F10 tumors. In 4T1 tumors, CaEP with 250 mM Ca resulted in more than 30 days of growth delay, which was comparable to ECT with bleomycin. In contrast, adjuvant peritumoral application of IL-12 GET after CaEP prolonged the survival of B16-F10, but not 4T1-bearing mice. Moreover, CaEP with peritumoral IL-12 GET modified tumor immune cell populations and tumor vasculature. Conclusions Mice bearing 4T1 tumors responded better to CaEP in vivo than mice bearing B16-F10 tumors, even though a similar response was observed in vitro. Namely, one of the most important factors might be involvement of the immune system. This was confirmed by the combination of CaEP or ECT with IL-12 GET, which further enhanced antitumor effectiveness. However, the potentiation of CaEP effectiveness was also highly dependent on tumor type; it was more pronounced in poorly immunogenic B16-F10 tumors compared to moderately immunogenic 4T1 tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Lisec
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bostjan Markelc
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Katja Ursic Valentinuzzi
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Sersa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Cemazar
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Izola, Slovenia
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Advances of Electroporation-Related Therapies and the Synergy with Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10111942. [PMID: 36423037 PMCID: PMC9692484 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Electroporation is the process of instantaneously increasing the permeability of a cell membrane under a pulsed electric field. Depending on the parameters of the electric pulses and the target cell electrophysiological characteristics, electroporation can be either reversible or irreversible. Reversible electroporation facilitates the delivery of functional genetic materials or drugs to target cells, inducing cell death by apoptosis, mitotic catastrophe, or pseudoapoptosis; irreversible electroporation is an ablative technology which directly ablates a large amount of tissue without causing harmful thermal effects; electrotherapy using an electric field can induce cell apoptosis without any aggressive invasion. Reversible and irreversible electroporation can also activate systemic antitumor immune response and enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss recent progress related to electroporation, and summarize its latest applications. Further, we discuss the synergistic effects of electroporation-related therapies and immunotherapy. We also propose perspectives for further investigating electroporation and immunotherapy in cancer treatment.
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Pazzi P, Steenkamp G, Rixon AJ. Treatment of Canine Oral Melanomas: A Critical Review of the Literature. Vet Sci 2022; 9:vetsci9050196. [PMID: 35622724 PMCID: PMC9147014 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci9050196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Critical appraisal of the available literature for the treatment of canine oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is lacking. This critical review aimed to evaluate the current literature and provide treatment recommendations and possible suggestions for future canine OMM research. PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched in June 2021, for terms relevant to treatment of OMM. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and information on clinical response and outcome extracted. Eighty-one studies were included. The overall level of evidence supporting the various canine OMM treatment options was low. The majority of studies included confounding treatment modalities and lacked randomization, control groups and consistency in reporting clinical response and outcomes. Within these limitations, surgery remains the mainstay of therapy. Adjunctive radiotherapy provided good local control and improved median survival times (MST), chemotherapy did not offer survival benefit beyond that of surgery, while electrochemotherapy may offer a potential alternative to radiotherapy. Immunotherapy holds the most promise in extending MST in the surgical adjunctive setting, in particular the combination of gene therapy and autologous vaccination. Prospective, randomized, double-blinded clinical trials, with a lack of confounding factors and reporting based on established guidelines would allow comparison and recommendations for the treatment of canine OMM.
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Kos S, Bosnjak M, Jesenko T, Markelc B, Kamensek U, Znidar K, Matkovic U, Rencelj A, Sersa G, Hudej R, Tuljak A, Peterka M, Cemazar M. Non-Clinical In Vitro Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance Gene-Free Plasmids Encoding Human or Murine IL-12 Intended for First-in-Human Clinical Study. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13101739. [PMID: 34684032 PMCID: PMC8539770 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13101739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a key cytokine that mediates antitumor activity of immune cells. To fulfill its clinical potential, the development is focused on localized delivery systems, such as gene electrotransfer, which can provide localized delivery of IL-12 to the tumor microenvironment. Gene electrotransfer of the plasmid encoding human IL-12 is already in clinical trials in USA, demonstrating positive results in the treatment of melanoma patients. To comply with EU regulatory requirements for clinical application, which recommend the use of antibiotic resistance gene-free plasmids, we constructed and developed the production process for the clinical grade quality antibiotic resistance gene-free plasmid encoding human IL-12 (p21-hIL-12-ORT) and its ortholog encoding murine IL-12 (p21-mIL-12-ORT). To demonstrate the suitability of the p21-hIL-12-ORT or p21-mIL-12-ORT plasmid for the first-in-human clinical trial, the biological activity of the expressed transgene, its level of expression and plasmid copy number were determined in vitro in the human squamous cell carcinoma cell line FaDu and the murine colon carcinoma cell line CT26. The results of the non-clinical evaluation in vitro set the basis for further in vivo testing and evaluation of antitumor activity of therapeutic molecules in murine models as well as provide crucial data for further clinical trials of the constructed antibiotic resistance gene-free plasmid in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spela Kos
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
| | - Masa Bosnjak
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerceva ulica 7, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tanja Jesenko
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Vrazov trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Bostjan Markelc
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Zdravstvena pot 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Urska Kamensek
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva ulica 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Katarina Znidar
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
| | - Urska Matkovic
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
| | - Andrej Rencelj
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Vrazov trg 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Sersa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Zdravstvena pot 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Rosana Hudej
- Center Odličnosti za Biosenzoriko, Instrumentacijo in Procesno Kontrolo, Mirce 21, SI-5270 Ajdovscina, Slovenia; (R.H.); (A.T.); (M.P.)
| | - Aneja Tuljak
- Center Odličnosti za Biosenzoriko, Instrumentacijo in Procesno Kontrolo, Mirce 21, SI-5270 Ajdovscina, Slovenia; (R.H.); (A.T.); (M.P.)
| | - Matjaz Peterka
- Center Odličnosti za Biosenzoriko, Instrumentacijo in Procesno Kontrolo, Mirce 21, SI-5270 Ajdovscina, Slovenia; (R.H.); (A.T.); (M.P.)
| | - Maja Cemazar
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloska cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (S.K.); (M.B.); (T.J.); (B.M.); (U.K.); (K.Z.); (U.M.); (A.R.); (G.S.)
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, SI-6310 Izola, Slovenia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +386-1-5879-544
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da Luz JCDS, Antunes F, Clavijo-Salomon MA, Signori E, Tessarollo NG, Strauss BE. Clinical Applications and Immunological Aspects of Electroporation-Based Therapies. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:727. [PMID: 34358144 PMCID: PMC8310106 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9070727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Reversible electropermeabilization (RE) is an ultrastructural phenomenon that transiently increases the permeability of the cell membrane upon application of electrical pulses. The technique was described in 1972 by Neumann and Rosenheck and is currently used in a variety of applications, from medicine to food processing. In oncology, RE is applied for the intracellular transport of chemotherapeutic drugs as well as the delivery of genetic material in gene therapies and vaccinations. This review summarizes the physical changes of the membrane, the particularities of bleomycin, and the immunological aspects involved in electrochemotherapy and gene electrotransfer, two important EP-based cancer therapies in human and veterinary oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Carlos dos Santos da Luz
- Viral Vector Laboratory, Cancer Institute of São Paulo, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-000, Brazil; (J.C.d.S.d.L.); (F.A.); (N.G.T.)
| | - Fernanda Antunes
- Viral Vector Laboratory, Cancer Institute of São Paulo, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-000, Brazil; (J.C.d.S.d.L.); (F.A.); (N.G.T.)
| | | | - Emanuela Signori
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, CNR, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Nayara Gusmão Tessarollo
- Viral Vector Laboratory, Cancer Institute of São Paulo, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-000, Brazil; (J.C.d.S.d.L.); (F.A.); (N.G.T.)
| | - Bryan E. Strauss
- Viral Vector Laboratory, Cancer Institute of São Paulo, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-000, Brazil; (J.C.d.S.d.L.); (F.A.); (N.G.T.)
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Maglietti F, Tellado M, De Robertis M, Michinski S, Fernández J, Signori E, Marshall G. Electroporation as the Immunotherapy Strategy for Cancer in Veterinary Medicine: State of the Art in Latin America. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:E537. [PMID: 32957424 PMCID: PMC7564659 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8030537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroporation is a technology that increases cell membrane permeability by the application of electric pulses. Electrochemotherapy (ECT), the best-known application of electroporation, is a very effective local treatment for tumors of any histology in human and veterinary medicine. It induces a local yet robust immune response that is responsible for its high effectiveness. Gene electrotransfer (GET), used in research to produce a systemic immune response against cancer, is another electroporation-based treatment that is very appealing for its effectiveness, low cost, and simplicity. In this review, we present the immune effect of electroporation-based treatments and analyze the results of the vast majority of the published papers related to immune response enhancement by gene electrotransfer in companion animals with spontaneous tumors. In addition, we present a brief history of the initial steps and the state of the art of the electroporation-based treatments in Latin America. They have the potential to become an essential form of immunotherapy in the region. This review gives insight into the subject and helps to choose promising research lines for future work; it also helps to select the adequate treatment parameters for performing a successful application of this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Maglietti
- Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1199, Argentina
| | - Matías Tellado
- VetOncologia, Veterinary Oncology Clinic, Buenos Aires 1408, Argentina; (M.T.); (J.F.)
| | - Mariangela De Robertis
- CNR-Institute of Biomembrane, Bioenergetics, and Molecular Biotechnology, 70126 Bari, Italy;
- Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Sebastián Michinski
- Instituto de Física del Plasma, DF, FCEyN, UBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina; (S.M.); (G.M.)
| | - Juan Fernández
- VetOncologia, Veterinary Oncology Clinic, Buenos Aires 1408, Argentina; (M.T.); (J.F.)
| | - Emanuela Signori
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology and Experimental Oncology, Institute of Translational Pharmacology, CNR, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Guillermo Marshall
- Instituto de Física del Plasma, DF, FCEyN, UBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina; (S.M.); (G.M.)
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Finocchiaro LME, Agnetti L, Fondello C, Glikin GC. Combination of cytokine-enhanced vaccine and chemo-gene therapy as surgery adjuvant treatments for spontaneous canine melanoma. Gene Ther 2019; 26:418-431. [PMID: 30858538 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-019-0066-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
After 6 years of follow-up treating 364 canine melanoma patients, we present here results about the proof-of-concept, safety, and efficacy of a new surgery adjuvant combined gene therapy. The adjuvant treatment (AT) group was divided in three arms as follows: (i) complete surgery plus vaccine (CS-V), (ii) complete surgery plus combined treatment (CS-CT), and (iii) partial surgery plus combined treatment (PS-CT). Besides the genetic vaccines composed by tumor extracts and lipoplexes carrying human interleukin-2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor genes, the patients were subjected to combined treatment received in the post-surgical bed injections of lipid-complexed thymidine kinase suicide gene plus ganciclovir and canine interferon-β gene plus bleomycin. As compared with surgery-only treated controls (So), CS-CT and CS-V treatments significantly increased the fraction of local disease-free (from 20 to 89 and 74%) and distant metastases-free patients (M0: from 45 to 87 and 84%). Although less effective than CS arms, PS-CT arm demonstrated a significantly improved control of metastatic disease (M0: 80%) compared with So (M0: 44%). In addition, AT produced a significant 9.3- (CS-CT), 6.5- (CS-V), and 5.4-fold (PS-CT) increase of overall survival as compared with their respective So controls. In general terms, the AT changed a lethal disease into a chronic disease where 70% of CS-CT, 51% of CS-V, and 14% of PS-CT patients died of melanoma unrelated causes. These surgery adjuvant treatments delayed or prevented post-surgical recurrence and distant metastasis, and improved disease-free and overall survival while maintaining quality of life. These successful outcomes encourage assaying a similar scheme for human melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana M E Finocchiaro
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Lucrecia Agnetti
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Chiara Fondello
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gerardo C Glikin
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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A Review of Immunotherapeutic Strategies in Canine Malignant Melanoma. Vet Sci 2019; 6:vetsci6010015. [PMID: 30759787 PMCID: PMC6466282 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci6010015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In dogs, melanomas are relatively common tumors and the most common form of oral malignancy. Biological behavior is highly variable, usually aggressive, and frequently metastatic, with reported survival times of three months for oral or mucosal melanomas in advanced disease stages. Classical clinical management remains challenging; thus, novel and more efficacious treatment strategies are needed. Evidence-based medicine supports the role of the immune system to treat neoplastic diseases. Besides, immunotherapy offers the possibility of a precise medicinal approach to treat cancer. In recent years, multiple immunotherapeutic strategies have been developed, and are now recognized as a pillar of treatment. In addition, dogs represent a good model for translational medicine purposes. This review will cover the most relevant immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of canine malignant melanoma, divided among five different categories, namely, monoclonal antibodies, nonspecific immunotherapy activated by bacteria, vaccines, gene therapy, and lymphokine-activated killer cell therapy.
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Batschinski K, Dervisis N, Kitchell B, Newman R, Erfourth T. Combination of Bleomycin and Cytosine Arabinoside Chemotherapy for Relapsed Canine Lymphoma. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2018; 54:150-155. [DOI: 10.5326/jaaha-ms-6617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A retrospective study was performed to evaluate response rate, time to progression, and toxicity of a bleomycin and cytosine arabinoside (Bleo/Cytarabine) combination protocol for dogs with relapsed lymphoma (LSA). Dogs diagnosed with LSA and previously treated with chemotherapy were included in the study. A total of 20 dogs met the inclusion criteria, and 19 were evaluable for response. Bleomycin was administered subcutaneously on days 1 and 8 and cytosine arabinoside was administered subcutaneously on days 1–5 of a 21-day cycle. The median number of chemotherapy drugs given prior to the administration of Bleo/Cytarabine was 8.5. A total of 23 cycles of Bleo/Cytarabine were administered. The overall response rate was 36.8% (7 of 19 dogs had a partial response). The median time to progression was 15 days. Three dogs developed grade 3 thrombocytopenia and one dog had a grade 4 neutropenia. Bleo/Cytarabine had minor activity when used as a rescue therapy for pretreated LSA patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Batschinski
- From the Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Oncology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil (K.B.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia (N.D.); Oncology Department, VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referra
| | - Nikolaos Dervisis
- From the Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Oncology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil (K.B.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia (N.D.); Oncology Department, VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referra
| | - Barbara Kitchell
- From the Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Oncology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil (K.B.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia (N.D.); Oncology Department, VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referra
| | - Rebecca Newman
- From the Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Oncology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil (K.B.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia (N.D.); Oncology Department, VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referra
| | - Todd Erfourth
- From the Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Oncology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil (K.B.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia (N.D.); Oncology Department, VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referra
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Lampreht Tratar U, Kos S, Kamensek U, Ota M, Tozon N, Sersa G, Cemazar M. Antitumor effect of antibiotic resistance gene-free plasmids encoding interleukin-12 in canine melanoma model. Cancer Gene Ther 2018; 25:260-273. [PMID: 29593358 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-018-0014-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 01/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The electrotransfer of interleukin-12 (IL-12) has been demonstrated as an efficient and safe treatment for tumors in veterinary oncology. However, the plasmids used encode human or feline IL-12 and harbor the gene for antibiotic resistance. Therefore, our aim was to construct plasmids encoding canine IL-12 without the antibiotic resistance genes driven by two different promoters: constitutive and fibroblast-specific. The results obtained in vitro in different cell lines showed that following gene electrotransfer, the newly constructed plasmids had cytotoxicity and expression profiles comparable to plasmids with antibiotic resistance genes. Additionally, in vivo studies showed a statistically significant prolonged tumor growth delay of CMeC-1 tumors compared to control vehicle-treated mice after intratumoral gene electrotransfer. Besides the higher gene expression obtained by plasmids with constitutive promoters, the main difference between both plasmids was in the distribution of the transgene expression. Namely, after gene electrotransfer, plasmids with constitutive promoters showed an increase of serum IL-12, whereas the gene expression of IL-12, encoded by plasmids with fibroblast-specific promoters, was restricted to the tumor. Furthermore, after the gene electrotransfer of plasmids with constitutive promoters, granzyme B-positive cells were detected in the tumor and spleen, indicating a systemic effect of the therapy. Therefore, plasmids with different promoters present valuable tools for focused therapy with local or systemic effects. The results of the present study demonstrated that plasmids encoding canine IL-12 under constitutive and fibroblast-specific promoters without the gene for antibiotic resistance provide feasible tools for controlled gene delivery that could be used for the treatment of client-owned dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ursa Lampreht Tratar
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Spela Kos
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Urska Kamensek
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Ota
- Department of Pathology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Natasa Tozon
- Clinic for Surgery and Small Animals, University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Cesta v mestni log 47, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Sersa
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Zdravstvena pot 5, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maja Cemazar
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Zaloška 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia. .,Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, Izola, 6310, Slovenia.
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12
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Smith AA, Lejeune A, Kow K, Milner RJ, Souza CH. Clinical Response and Adverse Event Profile of Bleomycin Chemotherapy for Canine Multicentric Lymphoma. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2017; 53:128-134. [DOI: 10.5326/jaaha-ms-6598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Although canine multicentric lymphoma is initially responsive to multidrug chemotherapy, resistance and relapse create a need for novel chemotherapeutics. Bleomycin is an antitumor antibiotic with a minimal adverse event profile; though commonly used for human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, its use is poorly characterized in dogs. The purpose of this retrospective case series was to describe the clinical response and adverse event profile of systemic bleomycin for canine multicentric lymphoma (n = 10). A partial response was noted in one dog that died 24 days later due to unrelated disease. Adverse events were infrequent and limited to grade 1 gastrointestinal and grade 1 constitutional toxicity. Although clinical response was minimal, systemic bleomycin was well tolerated when administered at 0.5 U/kg. Additional studies are warranted to determine the influence of administration schedule and dose on the efficacy of bleomycin for veterinary neoplasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley A. Smith
- From the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (A.A.S.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (A.L., C.H.M.S., R.J.M.); and Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom (K.K.)
| | - Amandine Lejeune
- From the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (A.A.S.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (A.L., C.H.M.S., R.J.M.); and Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom (K.K.)
| | - Kelvin Kow
- From the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (A.A.S.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (A.L., C.H.M.S., R.J.M.); and Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom (K.K.)
| | - Rowan J. Milner
- From the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (A.A.S.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (A.L., C.H.M.S., R.J.M.); and Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom (K.K.)
| | - Carlos H.M. Souza
- From the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama (A.A.S.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (A.L., C.H.M.S., R.J.M.); and Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom (K.K.)
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13
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Abstract
Anti-tumor electrochemotherapy, which consists in increasing anti-cancer drug uptake by means of electroporation, is now implanted in about 140 cancer treatment centers in Europe. Its use is supported by the English National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for the palliative treatment of skin metastases, and about 13,000 cancer patients were treated by this technology by the end of 2015. Efforts are now focused on turning this local anti-tumor treatment into a systemic one. Electrogenetherapy, that is the electroporation-mediated transfer of therapeutic genes, is currently under clinical evaluation and has brought excitement to enlarge the anti-cancer armamentarium. Among the promising electrogenetherapy strategies, DNA vaccination and cytokine-based immunotherapy aim at stimulating anti-tumor immunity. We review here the interests and state of development of both electrochemotherapy and electrogenetherapy. We then emphasize the potent beneficial outcome of the combination of electrochemotherapy with immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors or strategies based on electrogenetherapy, to simultaneously achieve excellent local debulking anti-tumor responses and systemic anti-metastatic effects.
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14
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Regan D, Guth A, Coy J, Dow S. Cancer immunotherapy in veterinary medicine: Current options and new developments. Vet J 2015; 207:20-28. [PMID: 26545847 DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2014] [Revised: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Excitement in the field of tumor immunotherapy is being driven by several remarkable breakthroughs in recent years. This review will cover recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, including the use of T cell checkpoint inhibitors, engineered T cells, cancer vaccines, and anti-B cell and T cell antibodies. Inhibition of T cell checkpoint molecules such as PD-1 and CTLA-4 using monoclonal antibodies has achieved notable success against advanced tumors in humans, including melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and non-small cell lung cancer. Therapy with engineered T cells has also demonstrated remarkable tumor control and regression in human trials. Autologous cancer vaccines have recently demonstrated impressive prolongation of disease-free intervals and survival times in dogs with lymphoma. In addition, caninized monoclonal antibodies targeting CD20 and CD52 just recently received either full (CD20) or conditional (CD52) licensing by the United States Department of Agriculture for clinical use in the treatment of canine B-cell and T-cell lymphomas, respectively. Thus, immunotherapy for cancer is rapidly moving to the forefront of cancer treatment options in veterinary medicine as well as human medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Regan
- Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Amanda Guth
- Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Jonathan Coy
- Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Steven Dow
- Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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15
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Cutrera J, King G, Jones P, Kicenuik K, Gumpel E, Xia X, Li S. Safe and effective treatment of spontaneous neoplasms with interleukin 12 electro-chemo-gene therapy. J Cell Mol Med 2015; 19:664-75. [PMID: 25628149 PMCID: PMC4369822 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.12382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroporation improves the anti-tumour efficacy of chemotherapeutic and gene therapies. Combining electroporation-mediated chemotherapeutics with interleukin 12 (IL-12) plasmid DNA produces a strong yet safe anti-tumour effect for treating primary and refractory tumours. A previously published report demonstrated the efficacy of a single cycle of IL-12 plasmid DNA and bleomycin in canines, and, similarly, this study further demonstrates the safety and efficacy of repeated cycles of chemotherapy plus IL-12 gene therapy for long-term management of aggressive tumours. Thirteen canine patients were enrolled in this study and received multiple cycles of electro-chemo-gene therapy (ECGT) with IL-12 pDNA and either bleomycin or gemcitabine. ECGT treatments are very effective for inducing tumour regression via an antitumour immune response in all tested histotypes except for sarcomas, and these treatments can quickly eradicate or debulk large squamous cell carcinomas. The versatility of ECGT allows for response-based modifications which can overcome treatment resistance for affecting refractory lesions. Importantly, not a single severe adverse event was noted even in animals receiving the highest doses of chemotherapeutics and IL12 pDNA over multiple treatment cycles. This report highlights the safety, efficacy and versatility of this treatment strategy. The data reveal the importance of inducing a strong anti-tumour response for successfully affecting not only the treated tumours, but also non-treated metastatic tumours. ECGT with IL12 pDNA plus chemotherapy is an effective strategy for treating multiple types of spontaneous cancers including large, refractory and multiple tumour burdens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffry Cutrera
- Department of Pediatrics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
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16
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Gene therapy and imaging in preclinical and clinical oncology: recent developments in therapy and theranostics. Ther Deliv 2014; 5:1275-96. [DOI: 10.4155/tde.14.87] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In the case of disseminated cancer, current treatment options reach their limit. Gene theranostics emerge as an innovative route in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer and might pave the way towards development of an efficacious treatment of currently incurable cancer. Various gene vectors have been developed to realize tumor-specific nucleic acid delivery and are considered crucial for the successful application of cancer gene therapy. By adding reporter genes and imaging agents, these systems gain an additional diagnostic function, thereby advancing the theranostic paradigm into cancer gene therapy. Numerous preclinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of combined tumor gene therapy and diagnostic imaging, and clinical trials in human and veterinary oncology have been executed with partly encouraging results.
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17
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Clinical trials of immunogene therapy for spontaneous tumors in companion animals. ScientificWorldJournal 2014; 2014:718520. [PMID: 25506617 PMCID: PMC4251357 DOI: 10.1155/2014/718520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the important progress obtained in the treatment of some pets' malignancies, new treatments need to be developed. Being critical in cancer control and progression, the immune system's appropriate modulation may provide effective therapeutic options. In this review we summarize the outcomes of published immunogene therapy veterinary clinical trials reported by many research centers. A variety of tumors such as canine melanoma, soft tissue sarcomas, osteosarcoma and lymphoma, feline fibrosarcoma, and equine melanoma were subjected to different treatment approaches. Both viral and mainly nonviral vectors were used to deliver gene products as cytokines, xenogeneic tumor associated antigens, specific ligands, and proapoptotic regulatory factors. In some cases autologous, allogenic, or xenogeneic transgenic cytokine producing cells were assayed. In general terms, minor or no adverse collateral effects appeared during this kind of therapies and treated patients usually displayed a better course of the disease (longer survival, delayed or suppressed recurrence or metastatic spread, and improvement of the quality of life). This suggests the utility of these methodologies as standard adjuvant treatments. The encouraging outcomes obtained in companion animals support their ready application in veterinary clinical oncology and serve as preclinical proof of concept and safety assay for future human gene therapy trials.
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18
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Abstract
Delivering genes and other materials directly into the tumor tissue causes specifically localized and powerfully enhanced efficacy of treatments; however, these specific effects can cause rapid, drastic changes in the appearance, texture, and consistency of the tumor. These changes complicate clinical response measurements which can confound the results and render recurring treatments difficult to perform and clinical response measurements nearly impossible to obtain accurately. One of the complicating issues is local swelling. Here, we demonstrate how swelling caused by intratumoral gene treatments can confound the clinical results and impede further treatments, and we demonstrate an easy technique to help overcome this potential hurdle.
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19
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Spugnini EP, Baldi A. Electrochemotherapy in veterinary oncology: from rescue to first line therapy. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1121:247-56. [PMID: 24510829 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-9632-8_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Electroporation is a delivery technique that is gaining popularity among the veterinary community due to its low cost, ease of application, and flexibility. It combines the administration of pharmaceutical compounds such as chemotherapy agents, antisense, and plasmids to the application of permeabilizing pulses. This chapter reviews the veterinary results obtained through the delivery of anticancer drugs (electrochemotherapy) and genes (electro-gene therapy).
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20
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Cutrera J, Dibra D, Satelli A, Xia X, Li S. Intricacies for posttranslational tumor-targeted cytokine gene therapy. Mediators Inflamm 2013; 2013:378971. [PMID: 24369443 PMCID: PMC3863455 DOI: 10.1155/2013/378971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The safest and most effective cytokine therapies require the favorable accumulation of the cytokine in the tumor environment. While direct treatment into the neoplasm is ideal, systemic tumor-targeted therapies will be more feasible. Electroporation-mediated transfection of cytokine plasmid DNA including a tumor-targeting peptide-encoding sequence is one method for obtaining a tumor-targeted cytokine produced by the tumor-bearing patient's tissues. Here, the impact on efficacy of the location of targeting peptide, choice of targeting peptide, tumor histotype, and cytokine utilization are studied in multiple syngeneic murine tumor models. Within the same tumor model, the location of the targeting peptide could either improve or reduce the antitumor effect of interleukin (IL)12 gene treatments, yet in other tumor models the tumor-targeted IL12 plasmid DNAs were equally effective regardless of the peptide location. Similarly, the same targeting peptide that enhances IL12 therapies in one model fails to improve the effect of either IL15 or PF4 for inhibiting tumor growth in the same model. These interesting and sometimes contrasting results highlight both the efficacy and personalization of tumor-targeted cytokine gene therapies while exposing important aspects of these same therapies which must be considered before progressing into approved treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffry Cutrera
- Department of Musculoskeletal Oncology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Denada Dibra
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Arun Satelli
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Xuexing Xia
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Shulin Li
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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21
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Gil-Cardeza ML, Rossi ÚA, Villaverde MS, Glikin GC, Finocchiaro LME. Cationic lipid:DNA complexes allow bleomycin uptake by melanoma cells. Biomed Pharmacother 2013; 67:269-75. [PMID: 23453489 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2013.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2012] [Accepted: 01/07/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Bleomycin is a chemotherapeutic agent barely diffusible through the plasmatic membrane. We evaluated DNA/cationic lipids complexes (lipoplexes) as mediators of its uptake in four spontaneous canine melanoma derived cell lines (Ak, Bk, Br and Rkb). Cell survival after lipofection plus or minus bleomycin was determined by the acid phosphatase method and the cellular uptake of lipoplexes, carrying the E. coli β-galactosidase gene, was evidenced by SYBR Green I staining. The four cell lines resulted sensitive to the bleomycin/lipoplexes system in both spatial configurations. Survival rates values were lower than 20% in monolayers of the four tested lines and lower than 30% in three lines (Ak, Bk and Rkb) when grown as spheroids. The sensitization to bleomycin depended on lipoplexes in Ak and Rkb while Bk (in both spatial configurations) and Br (as monolayers) were sensitive to bleomycin alone. Although some degree of sensitivity to bleomycin was induced by cationic lipids alone in Ak and Rkb monolayers, the maximal bleomycin effects appeared in the presence of lipoplexes. The sensitization was independent of transcriptional activity. The co-administration of lipoplexes diminished bleomycin IC50: 10-fold in Ak and Rkb monolayers; and sensitized the Ak and Rkb resistant spheroids. The bleomycin cytotoxic effects depended on lipoplexes concentration and diminished when cells were incubated at 8°C. Our results suggest that lipoplexes sensitize cells to bleomycin, increasing its uptake by an active transport mechanism, such as endocytosis. The bleomycin/lipoplexes system appears as a promising combination of chemotherapy and non-viral cancer gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- María L Gil-Cardeza
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología Ángel H. Roffo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Avenida San Martin 5481, 1417 Buenos Aires, Argentina
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22
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Pavlin D, Cemazar M, Sersa G, Tozon N. IL-12 based gene therapy in veterinary medicine. J Transl Med 2012; 10:234. [PMID: 23171444 PMCID: PMC3543347 DOI: 10.1186/1479-5876-10-234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2012] [Accepted: 10/18/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of large animals as an experimental model for novel treatment techniques has many advantages over the use of laboratory animals, so veterinary medicine is becoming an increasingly important translational bridge between preclinical studies and human medicine. The results of preclinical studies show that gene therapy with therapeutic gene encoding interleukin-12 (IL-12) displays pronounced antitumor effects in various tumor models. A number of different studies employing this therapeutic plasmid, delivered by either viral or non-viral methods, have also been undertaken in veterinary oncology. In cats, adenoviral delivery into soft tissue sarcomas has been employed. In horses, naked plasmid DNA has been delivered by direct intratumoral injection into nodules of metastatic melanoma. In dogs, various types of tumors have been treated with either local or systemic IL-12 electrogene therapy. The results of these studies show that IL-12 based gene therapy elicits a good antitumor effect on spontaneously occurring tumors in large animals, while being safe and well tolerated by the animals. Hopefully, such results will lead to further investigation of this therapy in veterinary medicine and successful translation into human clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darja Pavlin
- University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Small Animal Clinic, Cesta v Mestni log 47, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
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23
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Finocchiaro LME, Glikin GC. Cytokine-enhanced vaccine and suicide gene therapy as surgery adjuvant treatments for spontaneous canine melanoma: 9 years of follow-up. Cancer Gene Ther 2012; 19:852-61. [PMID: 23059870 DOI: 10.1038/cgt.2012.72] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
We present here the updated results after 9 years of the beginning of a trial on canine patients with malignant melanoma. This surgery adjuvant approach combined local suicide gene therapy with a subcutaneous vaccine composed by tumor cells extracts and xenogeneic cells producing human interleukin-2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Toxicity was absent or minimal in all patients (0≤VCOG-CTCAE grade≤1). With respect to surgery-treated controls (ST), the complete surgery (CS) arm of this combined treatment (CT) significantly increased the fraction of local disease-free patients from 13 to 81% and distant metastases free from 32 to 84%. Even though less effective than the CS arm, the partial surgery (PS) arm of this CT was significantly better controlling the disease than only surgery (14% while PS-ST: 0%, P<0.01 and CS-ST: 5%, P<0.05). In addition, CT produced a significant sevenfold (CS) and threefold (PS) increase in overall survival. The CS-CT arm significantly improved both CS-ST metastasis-free- and melanoma overall survival from 99 days (respective ranges: 11-563 and 10-568) to >2848 days (81-2848 and 35-2848). Thus, more of 50% of our CT patients died of melanoma unrelated causes, transforming a lethal disease into a chronic one. Finally, surgery adjuvant CT delayed or prevented post-surgical recurrence and distant metastasis, significantly improved disease-free and overall survival maintaining the quality of life. Long-term safety and efficacy of this treatment are supported by the high number of CT patients (283) and extensive follow-up (>9 years). The successful clinical outcome encourages the further translation of similar approaches to human gene therapy trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M E Finocchiaro
- Unidad de Transferencia Genética, Instituto de Oncología Ángel H. Roffo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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