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Kumar A, Das SK, Emdad L, Fisher PB. Applications of tissue-specific and cancer-selective gene promoters for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Adv Cancer Res 2023; 160:253-315. [PMID: 37704290 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acr.2023.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Current treatment of solid tumors with standard of care chemotherapies, radiation therapy and/or immunotherapies are often limited by severe adverse toxic effects, resulting in a narrow therapeutic index. Cancer gene therapy represents a targeted approach that in principle could significantly reduce undesirable side effects in normal tissues while significantly inhibiting tumor growth and progression. To be effective, this strategy requires a clear understanding of the molecular biology of cancer development and evolution and developing biological vectors that can serve as vehicles to target cancer cells. The advent and fine tuning of omics technologies that permit the collective and spatial recognition of genes (genomics), mRNAs (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics), metabolites (metabolomics), epiomics (epigenomics, epitranscriptomics, and epiproteomics), and their interactomics in defined complex biological samples provide a roadmap for identifying crucial targets of relevance to the cancer paradigm. Combining these strategies with identified genetic elements that control target gene expression uncovers significant opportunities for developing guided gene-based therapeutics for cancer. The purpose of this review is to overview the current state and potential limitations in developing gene promoter-directed targeted expression of key genes and highlights their potential applications in cancer gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kumar
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Swadesh K Das
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Luni Emdad
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States
| | - Paul B Fisher
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States.
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Antitumor Efficacy of EGFR-Targeted Recombinant Immunotoxin in Human Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11040486. [PMID: 35453686 PMCID: PMC9027470 DOI: 10.3390/biology11040486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Over 90% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) overexpresses the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, the EGFR-targeted monotherapy response rate only achieves 10-30% in HNSCC. Recombinant immunotoxin (RIT) often consists of an antibody targeting a tumor antigen and a toxin (e.g., diphtheria toxin [DT]) that kills cancer cells. We produced a humanized RIT, designated as hDT806, targeting overexpressed EGFR and investigated its effects in HNSCC. Distinct from the EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib or antibody cetuximab, hDT806 effectively suppressed cell proliferation in the four HNSCC lines tested (JHU-011, -013, -022, and -029). In JHU-029 mouse xenograft models, hDT806 substantially reduced tumor growth. hDT806 decreased EGFR protein levels and disrupted the EGFR signaling downstream effectors, including MAPK/ERK1/2 and AKT, while increased proapoptotic proteins, such as p53, caspase-9, caspase-3, and the cleaved PAPR. The hDT806-induced apoptosis of HNSCC cells was corroborated by flow cytometric analysis. Furthermore, hDT806 resulted in a drastic inhibition in RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain phosphorylation critical for transcription and a significant increase in the γH2A.X level, a DNA damage marker. Thus, the direct disruption of EGFR signaling, transcription inhibition, DNA damage, as well as apoptosis induced by hDT806 may contribute to its antitumor efficacy in HNSCC.
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Shueng PW, Shih KC, Gambhir SS, Kuo DY, Chuang HY. Cancer Detection Using an Artificial Secretable MicroRNA Found in Blood and Urine. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10030621. [PMID: 35327423 PMCID: PMC8945529 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10030621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomarkers can potentially help in the detection and prognosis of diseases such as cancer, its recurrence, predicting response to therapy, and monitoring of response during and/or after treatment. Endogenous tumor blood biomarkers suffer from low concentrations that are not distinguishable from background noise and, if identified, the localization of the biomarker production site is not known. The use of exogenously introduced or artificial biomarkers can eliminate these issues. In this study, we show that cancer cells can be made to produce an artificial secreted microRNA (Sec-miR) that can be detected in media from cells in culture, and from both blood and urine in living mice. In culture, we show that chaining a number of Sec-miR sequences in a plasmid and transfecting cells with the plasmids could increase Sec-miR secretion as the number of sequences increases. Tumor induction in mice with a stably transfected HeLa cell line shows the presence and significant increase in the Sec-miR with time and tumor growth in plasma (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.5542). The relative half-life of the Sec-miR was seen to be 1.2 h in the plasma of living mice and was seen to appear in urine within 12 h. The transgene for the Sec-miR within a minicircle was introduced via the tail-vein into subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice. As the tumor growth increased with time, further in vivo transfection of the Sec-miR minicircles showed an increase in Sec-miR in both plasma and urine (R2 = 0.4546). This study demonstrated that an exogenous Sec-miR biomarker would allow for early tumor detection using in vitro diagnostics techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Wei Shueng
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei 220, Taiwan;
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Kuang-Chung Shih
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Cheng-Hsin General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
| | - Sanjiv Sam Gambhir
- Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Deng-Yu Kuo
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei 220, Taiwan;
- Correspondence: (D.-Y.K.); (H.-Y.C.); Tel.: +886-2-7728-1033 (D.-Y.K.); +886-2-2826-7241 (H.-Y.C.); Fax: +886-2-7728-2367 (D.-Y.K.); +886-2-2820-1095 (H.-Y.C.)
| | - Hui-Yen Chuang
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (D.-Y.K.); (H.-Y.C.); Tel.: +886-2-7728-1033 (D.-Y.K.); +886-2-2826-7241 (H.-Y.C.); Fax: +886-2-7728-2367 (D.-Y.K.); +886-2-2820-1095 (H.-Y.C.)
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Fan Y, Gao Z, Li X, Wei S, Yuan K. Gene expression and prognosis of x-ray repair cross-complementing family members in non-small cell lung cancer. Bioengineered 2021; 12:6210-6228. [PMID: 34486486 PMCID: PMC8806547 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2021.1964193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The X-ray repair cross-complementing gene (XRCC) family participates in DNA damage repair and its dysregulation is associated with the development and progression of a variety of cancers. However, XRCCs have not been systematically studied in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine databases, we compared the expression levels of XRCCs between NSCLC and normal tissues and performed survival analysis using the data from TCGA. The correlations of XRCCs with the clinical parameters were then analyzed using UCSC Xena. Genetic alterations in XRCCs in NSCLC and their effects on the prognosis of patients were presented using cBioPortal. SurvivalMeth was used to explore the differentially methylated sites associated with NSCLC and their effect on prognosis. Next, the immunological correlations of XRCCs expression level were analyzed using TIMER 2.0. Finally, GeneMANIA was used to visualize and analyze the functionally relevant genes, while Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used for functional and pathway enrichment analyses of prognostic genes. Our results revealed that XRCCs were overexpressed in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses showed that XRCC4/5/6 were independent risk factors for LUAD. Additionally, genetic alterations, methylation, and immune cell infiltration demonstrated an association between XRCC4/5/6 and poor prognosis in LUAD. Finally, the KEGG-enriched and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathways were shown to be associated with XRCC4/5/6. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that XRCC4/5/6 could be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for LUAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongfei Fan
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China
| | - Zhaojia Gao
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China.,Heart and Lung Disease Laboratory, the Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China
| | - Xinwei Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu China
| | - Shuzhang Wei
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China
| | - Kai Yuan
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China.,Heart and Lung Disease Laboratory, the Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou China
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Liu Z, Zhang W, Cheng X, Wang H, Bian L, Wang J, Han Z, Wang Y, Lian X, Liu B, Ren Z, Zhang B, Jiang Z, Lin Z, Gao Y. Overexpressed XRCC2 as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in glioma patients. Mol Med 2021; 27:52. [PMID: 34051735 PMCID: PMC8164800 DOI: 10.1186/s10020-021-00316-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background XRCC2, a homologous recombination-related gene, has been reported to be associated with a variety of cancers. However, its role in glioma has not been reported. This study aimed to find out the role of XRCC2 in glioma and reveal in which glioma-specific biological processes is XRCC2 involved based on thousands of glioma samples, thereby, providing a new perspective in the treatment and prognostic evaluation of glioma.
Methods The expression characteristics of XRCC2 in thousands of glioma samples from CGGA and TCGA databases were comprehensively analyzed. Wilcox or Kruskal test was used to analyze the expression pattern of XRCC2 in gliomas with different clinical and molecular features. The effect of XRCC2 on the prognosis of glioma patients was explored by Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed the possible cellular mechanisms involved in XRCC2 in glioma. Connectivity map (CMap) was used to screen small molecule drugs targeting XRCC2 and the expression levels of XRCC2 were verified in glioma cells and tissues by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining. Results We found the overexpression of XRCC2 in glioma. Moreover, the overexpressed XRCC2 was associated with a variety of clinical features related to prognosis. Cox and meta-analyses showed that XRCC2 is an independent risk factor for the poor prognosis of glioma. Furthermore, the results of GSEA indicated that overexpressed XRCC2 could promote malignant progression through involved signaling pathways, such as in the cell cycle. Finally, doxazosin, quinostatin, canavanine, and chrysin were identified to exert anti-glioma effects by targeting XRCC2. Conclusions This study analyzed the expression pattern of XRCC2 in gliomas and its relationship with prognosis using multiple datasets. This is the first study to show that XRCC2, a novel oncogene, is significantly overexpressed in glioma and can lead to poor prognosis in glioma patients. XRCC2 could serve as a new biomarker for glioma diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis evaluation, thus bringing new insight into the management of glioma. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10020-021-00316-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhendong Liu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.,Microbiology Laboratory, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Wang Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliate Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Xingbo Cheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliate Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Hongbo Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Lu Bian
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Jialin Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zhibin Han
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliate Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Yanbiao Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Xiaoyu Lian
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Binfeng Liu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zhishuai Ren
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zhenfeng Jiang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliate Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Zhiguo Lin
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliate Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, China.
| | - Yanzheng Gao
- Department of Orthopaedics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, School of Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. .,Microbiology Laboratory, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
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Tang S, Ye S, Ma Y, Liang Y, Liang N, Xiao F. Clusterin alleviates Cr(VI)-induced mitochondrial apoptosis in L02 hepatocytes via inhibition of Ca 2+-ROS-Drp1-mitochondrial fission axis. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2020; 205:111326. [PMID: 32961495 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is ubiquitous in the environment and is commonly used in various industrial processes. Clusterin (CLU) is an extracellular chaperone protein which exerts the anti-apoptotic function. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of CLU on Cr(VI)-induced mitochondrial fission and apoptosis. We revealed that the apoptosis rate of L02 hepatocytes treated with Cr (VI) was increased. CLU over-expression could protect the hepatocytes from Cr(VI)-induced mitochondrial apoptosis. Furthermore, Cr(VI) triggered the intracellular calcium overload, resulting in the activation of xanthine oxidase (XO). Cr(VI) induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, led to dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) translocation to mitochondria and the subsequent mitochondrial fission, contributing to the caspase-3-dependent mitochondrial apoptosis as evidenced by higher mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening rate, lower mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and more alanine transaminase (ALT)/aspartate transaminase (AST) leakage into the culture medium. However, CLU over-expression could trigger the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway, which was followed by the increase of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a) expression. CLU-induced AMPK/SERCA2a activation attenuated calcium overload, caspase-3 activation, and ultimate mitochondrial apoptosis. All in all, the present study demonstrated that Cr(VI) induced hepatocytes apoptosis via Ca2+-ROS-Drp1-mitochondrial fission axis and CLU alleviated the mitochondrial apoptosis through activation of the AMPK/SERCA2a pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sixuan Tang
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
| | - Shuzi Ye
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
| | - Yu Ma
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
| | - Yuehui Liang
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
| | - NingJuan Liang
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China
| | - Fang Xiao
- Department of Health Toxicology, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China.
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Hou X, Shou C, He M, Xu J, Cheng Y, Yuan Z, Lan M, Zhao Y, Yang Y, Chen X, Gao F. A combination of LightOn gene expression system and tumor microenvironment-responsive nanoparticle delivery system for targeted breast cancer therapy. Acta Pharm Sin B 2020; 10:1741-1753. [PMID: 33088693 PMCID: PMC7564032 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2020.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A light-switchable transgene system called LightOn gene expression system could regulate gene expression with a high on/off ratio under blue light, and have great potential for spatiotemporally controllable gene expression. We developed a nanoparticle drug delivery system (NDDS) to achieve tumor microenvironment-responsive and targeted delivery of diphtheria toxin A (DTA) fragment-encoded plasmids to tumor sites. The expression of DTA was induced by exposure to blue light. Nanoparticles composed of polyethylenimine and vitamin E succinate linked by a disulfide bond, and PEGylated hyaluronic acid modified with RGD peptide, accumulated in tumor tissues and were actively internalized into 4T1 cells via dual targeting to CD44 and αvβ3 receptors. The LightOn gene expression system was able to control target protein expression through regulation of the intensity or duration of blue light exposure. In vitro studies showed that light-induced DTA expression reduced 4T1 cell viability and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the LightOn gene expression system enabled spatiotemporal control of the expression of DTA in a mouse 4T1 tumor xenograft model, which resulted in excellent antitumor effects, reduced tumor angiogenesis, and no systemic toxicity. The combination of the LightOn gene expression system and NDDS may be an effective strategy for treatment of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Hou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Chenting Shou
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Muye He
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Jiajun Xu
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yi Cheng
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Zeting Yuan
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Interventional Cancer Institute of Chinese Integrative Medicine, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Minbo Lan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yuzheng Zhao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Optogenetics & Molecular Imaging Interdisciplinary Research Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Optogenetics & Molecular Imaging Interdisciplinary Research Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Xianjun Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Optogenetics & Molecular Imaging Interdisciplinary Research Center, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 64252449; fax: +86 21 64258277.
| | - Feng Gao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 64252449; fax: +86 21 64258277.
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Taylor SJ, Arends MJ, Langdon SP. Inhibitors of the Fanconi anaemia pathway as potential antitumour agents for ovarian cancer. EXPLORATION OF TARGETED ANTI-TUMOR THERAPY 2020; 1:26-52. [PMID: 36046263 PMCID: PMC9400734 DOI: 10.37349/etat.2020.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Fanconi anaemia (FA) pathway is an important mechanism for cellular DNA damage repair, which functions to remove toxic DNA interstrand crosslinks. This is particularly relevant in the context of ovarian and other cancers which rely extensively on interstrand cross-link generating platinum chemotherapy as standard of care treatment. These cancers often respond well to initial treatment, but reoccur with resistant disease and upregulation of DNA damage repair pathways. The FA pathway is therefore of great interest as a target for therapies that aim to improve the efficacy of platinum chemotherapies, and reverse tumour resistance to these. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the mechanism of interstrand cross-link repair by the FA pathway, and the potential of the component parts as targets for therapeutic agents. We then focus on the current state of play of inhibitor development, covering both the characterisation of broad spectrum inhibitors and high throughput screening approaches to identify novel small molecule inhibitors. We also consider synthetic lethality between the FA pathway and other DNA damage repair pathways as a therapeutic approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Taylor
- Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre and Edinburgh Pathology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, EH4 2XU Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mark J Arends
- Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre and Edinburgh Pathology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, EH4 2XU Edinburgh, UK
| | - Simon P Langdon
- Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre and Edinburgh Pathology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, EH4 2XU Edinburgh, UK
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Shafiee F, Aucoin MG, Jahanian-Najafabadi A. Targeted Diphtheria Toxin-Based Therapy: A Review Article. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2340. [PMID: 31681205 PMCID: PMC6813239 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Conventional therapeutic strategies usually offer limited specificity, resulting in severe side effects and toxicity to normal tissues. Targeted cancer therapy, on the other hand, can improve the therapeutic potential of anti-cancer agents and decrease unwanted side effects. Targeted applications of cytolethal bacterial toxins have been found to be especially useful for the specific eradication of cancer cells. Targeting is either mediated by peptides or by protein-targeting moieties, such as antibodies, antibody fragments, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), growth factors, or cytokines. Together with a toxin domain, these molecules are more commonly referred to as immunotoxins. Targeting can also be achieved through gene delivery and cell-specific expression of a toxin. Of the available cytolethal toxins, diphtheria toxin (DT) is one of the most frequently used for these strategies. Of the many DT-based therapeutic strategies investigated to date, two immunotoxins, OntakTM and TagraxofuspTM, have gained FDA approval for clinical application. Despite some success with immunotoxins, suicide-gene therapy strategies, whereby controlled tumor-specific expression of DT is used for the eradication of malignant cells, are gaining prominence. The first part of this review focuses on DT-based immunotoxins, and it then discusses recent developments in tumor-specific expression of DT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Shafiee
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Marc G Aucoin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Ali Jahanian-Najafabadi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
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Abstract
XRCC2 is one of five somatic RAD51 paralogs, all of which have Walker A and B ATPase motifs. Each of the paralogs, including XRCC2, has a function in DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination (HR). However, their individual roles are not as well understood as that of RAD51 itself. The XRCC2 protein forms a complex (BCDX2) with three other RAD51 paralogs, RAD51B, RAD51C and RAD51D. It is believed that the BCDX2 complex mediates HR downstream of BRCA2 but upstream of RAD51, as XRCC2 is involved in the assembly of RAD51 into DNA damage foci. XRCC2 can bind DNA and, along with RAD51D, can promote homologous pairing in vitro. Consistent with its role in HR, XRCC2-deficient cells have increased levels of spontaneous chromosome instability, and exhibit hypersensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslinking agents such as mitomycin C and cisplatin as well as ionizing radiation, alkylating agents and aldehydes. XRCC2 also functions in promoting DNA replication and chromosome segregation. Biallelic mutation of XRCC2 (FANCU) causes the FA-U subtype of FA, while heterozygosity for deleterious mutations in XRCC2 may be associated with an increased breast cancer risk. XRCC2 appears to function 'downstream' in the FA pathway, since it is not required for FANCD2 monoubiquitination, which is the central step in the FA pathway. Clinically, the only known FA-U patient in the world exhibits severe congenital abnormalities, but had not developed, by seven years of age, the bone marrow failure and cancer that are often seen in patients from other FA complementation groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul R Andreassen
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati OH, USA; (PRA); Department of Pediatrics III, University Children's Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen Germany; (HH)
| | - Helmut Hanenberg
- Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati OH, USA; (PRA); Department of Pediatrics III, University Children's Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen Germany; (HH)
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In Vivo Genome Editing as a Therapeutic Approach. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19092721. [PMID: 30213032 PMCID: PMC6163904 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome editing has been well established as a genome engineering tool that enables researchers to establish causal linkages between genetic mutation and biological phenotypes, providing further understanding of the genetic manifestation of many debilitating diseases. More recently, the paradigm of genome editing technologies has evolved to include the correction of mutations that cause diseases via the use of nucleases such as zinc-finger nucleases (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and more recently, Cas9 nuclease. With the aim of reversing disease phenotypes, which arise from somatic gene mutations, current research focuses on the clinical translatability of correcting human genetic diseases in vivo, to provide long-term therapeutic benefits and potentially circumvent the limitations of in vivo cell replacement therapy. In this review, in addition to providing an overview of the various genome editing techniques available, we have also summarized several in vivo genome engineering strategies that have successfully demonstrated disease correction via in vivo genome editing. The various benefits and challenges faced in applying in vivo genome editing in humans will also be discussed.
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