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Pessino G, Scotti C, Maggi M, Immuno-Hub Consortium. Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Old and Emerging Therapeutic Targets. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:901. [PMID: 38473265 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16050901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer, predominantly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), globally ranks sixth in incidence and third in cancer-related deaths. HCC risk factors include non-viral hepatitis, alcohol abuse, environmental exposures, and genetic factors. No specific genetic alterations are unequivocally linked to HCC tumorigenesis. Current standard therapies include surgical options, systemic chemotherapy, and kinase inhibitors, like sorafenib and regorafenib. Immunotherapy, targeting immune checkpoints, represents a promising avenue. FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitors, such as atezolizumab and pembrolizumab, show efficacy, and combination therapies enhance clinical responses. Despite this, the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a challenge, as the complex tumor ecosystem and the immunosuppressive microenvironment associated with it hamper the efficacy of the available therapeutic approaches. This review explores current and advanced approaches to treat HCC, considering both known and new potential targets, especially derived from proteomic analysis, which is today considered as the most promising approach. Exploring novel strategies, this review discusses antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), and engineered antibodies. It then reports a systematic analysis of the main ligand/receptor pairs and molecular pathways reported to be overexpressed in tumor cells, highlighting their potential and limitations. Finally, it discusses TGFβ, one of the most promising targets of the HCC microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Pessino
- Unit of Immunology and General Pathology, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Claudia Scotti
- Unit of Immunology and General Pathology, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Maristella Maggi
- Unit of Immunology and General Pathology, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Immuno-Hub Consortium
- Unit of Immunology and General Pathology, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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Bei Y, He J, Dong X, Wang Y, Wang S, Guo W, Cai C, Xu Z, Wei J, Liu B, Zhang N, Shen P. Targeting CD44 Variant 5 with an Antibody-Drug Conjugate Is an Effective Therapeutic Strategy for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma. Cancer Res 2023; 83:2405-2420. [PMID: 37205633 PMCID: PMC10345965 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-23-0510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most frequent type of primary liver cancer. ICC is among the deadliest malignancies, highlighting that novel treatments are urgently needed. Studies have shown that CD44 variant isoforms, rather than the CD44 standard isoform, are selectively expressed in ICC cells, providing an opportunity for the development of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-based targeted therapeutic strategy. In this study, we observed the specific expression of CD44 variant 5 (CD44v5) in ICC tumors. CD44v5 protein was expressed on the surface of most ICC tumors (103 of 155). A CD44v5-targeted ADC, H1D8-DC (H1D8-drug conjugate), was developed that comprises a humanized anti-CD44v5 mAb conjugated to the microtubule inhibitor monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) via a cleavable valine-citrulline-based linker. H1D8-DC exhibited efficient antigen binding and internalization in cells expressing CD44v5 on the cell surface. Because of the high expression of cathepsin B in ICC cells, the drug was preferentially released in cancer cells but not in normal cells, thus inducing potent cytotoxicity at picomolar concentrations. In vivo studies showed that H1D8-DC was effective against CD44v5-positive ICC cells and induced tumor regression in patient-derived xenograft models, whereas no significant adverse toxicities were observed. These data demonstrate that CD44v5 is a bona fide target in ICC and provide a rationale for the clinical investigation of a CD44v5-targeted ADC-based approach. SIGNIFICANCE Elevated expression of CD44 variant 5 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma confers a targetable vulnerability using the newly developed antibody-drug conjugate H1D8-DC, which induces potent growth suppressive effects without significant toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuncheng Bei
- Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Jian He
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xuhui Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Yuxin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Sijie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Wan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Chengjie Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Zhiye Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jia Wei
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Baorui Liu
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Nan Zhang
- Centre of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology (MNMT-Dublin), School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Pingping Shen
- Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen, PR China
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3
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Mauro M, Ugo P, Walton Z, Ali S, Rastellini C, Cicalese L. Glypican-3 (GPC-3) Structural Analysis and Cargo in Serum Small Extracellular Vesicles of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10922. [PMID: 37446098 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC-3) is a heparin sulfate proteoglycan located extracellularly and anchored to the cell membrane of transformed hepatocytes. GPC-3 is not expressed in normal or cirrhotic liver tissue but is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Because of this, GPC-3 is one of the most important emerging immunotargets for treatment and as an early detection marker of HCC. To determine if GPC-3 domains associated with serum small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) could be used as an HCC diagnostic marker, we predicted in silico GPC-3 structural properties and tested for the presence of its full-length form and/or cleaved domains in serum sEVs isolated from patients with HCC. Structural analysis revealed that the Furin cleavage site of GPC-3 is exposed and readily accessible, suggesting the facilitation of GPC-3 cleavage events. Upon isolation of sEVs from both hepatocytes, culture media and serum of patients with HCC were studied for GPC-3 content. This data suggests that Furin-dependent GPC-3 cleaved domains could be a powerful tool for detection of initial stages of HCC and serve as a predictor for disease prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Montalbano Mauro
- Department of Neurology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-5302, USA
| | - Perricone Ugo
- Molecular Informatics Group, Fondazione Ri.MED., 90133 Palermo, Italy
| | - Zachary Walton
- John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-5302, USA
| | - Shirafkan Ali
- Rutgers Health, Department of Cardiac Surgery, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Cristiana Rastellini
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-5302, USA
| | - Luca Cicalese
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-5302, USA
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4
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Wang Y, Zhao Y, Li M, Hou H, Jian Z, Li W, Li P, Ma F, Liu M, Liu H, Xue H. Conversion of primary liver cancer after targeted therapy for liver cancer combined with AFP-targeted CAR T-cell therapy: a case report. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1180001. [PMID: 37256142 PMCID: PMC10225497 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1180001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Primary liver cancer (PLC) that originates in the liver is a malignant tumor with the worst prognosis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of PLC. Most PLC cases are diagnosed at advanced stages mainly due to their insidious onset and rapid progression. Patients with PLC undergo surgical intervention or localized treatment, but their survival is often affected by its high relapse rate. Medical treatment is the primary option for patients with liver cancer, especially with advanced extrahepatic metastases. Molecular targeted therapy exerts an anti-tumor effect by acting on various signaling pathways involved in molecular pathogenesis; however, high drug resistance and low therapeutic responsiveness of PLC to molecular targets challenge the treatment option. In recent years, after surgical intervention, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and/or molecular targeted therapy, autologous cell immunotherapy has been adopted for PLC. As a typical autologous cell immunotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy uses genetically modified T cells to express tumor-specific chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Its targeting ability, persistent nature, and tumor-killing function result in a significant impact on the treatment of hematological tumors. However, no breakthrough has happened in the research specific to the curation of lung cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and other common solid tumors. In this context, a combination of molecular targeted therapy and CAR T-cell therapy was used to treat a patient with advanced HCC to achieve a partial remission(PR) and facilitate further liver transplantation.
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Li N, Quan A, Li D, Pan J, Ren H, Hoeltzel G, de Val N, Ashworth D, Ni W, Zhou J, Mackay S, Hewitt SM, Cachau R, Ho M. The IgG4 hinge with CD28 transmembrane domain improves V HH-based CAR T cells targeting a membrane-distal epitope of GPC1 in pancreatic cancer. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1986. [PMID: 37031249 PMCID: PMC10082787 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37616-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneous antigen expression is a key barrier influencing the activity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in solid tumors. Here, we develop CAR T cells targeting glypican-1 (GPC1), an oncofetal antigen expressed in pancreatic cancer. We report the generation of dromedary camel VHH nanobody (D4)-based CAR T cells targeting GPC1 and the optimization of the hinge (H) and transmembrane domain (TM) to improve activity. We find that a structurally rigid IgG4H and CD28TM domain brings the two D4 fragments in proximity, driving CAR dimerization and leading to enhanced T-cell signaling and tumor regression in pancreatic cancer models with low antigen density in female mice. Furthermore, single-cell-based proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of D4-IgG4H-CD28TM CAR T cells reveals specific genes (e.g., HMGB1) associated with high T-cell polyfunctionality. This study demonstrates the potential of VHH-based CAR T for pancreatic cancer therapy and provides an engineering strategy for developing potent CAR T cells targeting membrane-distal epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Alex Quan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Dan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jiajia Pan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Hua Ren
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Gerard Hoeltzel
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Natalia de Val
- Center for Molecular Microscopy, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | | | - Weiming Ni
- IsoPlexis Corporation, Branford, CT, 06405, USA
| | - Jing Zhou
- IsoPlexis Corporation, Branford, CT, 06405, USA
| | - Sean Mackay
- IsoPlexis Corporation, Branford, CT, 06405, USA
| | - Stephen M Hewitt
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Raul Cachau
- Integrated Data Science Section, Research Technologies Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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Arulanandam A, Lin L, Chang HM, Cerutti M, Choblet S, Gao P, Rath A, Bensussan A, Kadouche J, Teper D, Mandelboim O, Li W. Derivation and Preclinical Characterization of CYT-303, a Novel NKp46-NK Cell Engager Targeting GPC3. Cells 2023; 12:cells12070996. [PMID: 37048069 PMCID: PMC10093649 DOI: 10.3390/cells12070996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an oncofetal antigen that is highly expressed in multiple solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, and is barely expressed in adult normal tissues except the placenta. NKp46 activation receptor is expressed in all-natural killer (NK) cells, including tumor-infiltrating NK cells. FLEX-NKTM is a platform for the production of tetravalent multifunctional antibody NK cell engagers (NKE). CYT-303 was designed using the FLEX-NK scaffold, incorporating a novel humanized NKp46 binder that does not induce NKp46 internalization and a humanized GPC3 binder that targets the membrane-proximal lobe to mediate NK cell-redirected killing of HCC tumors. CYT-303 shows sub-nanomolar binding affinities to both GPC3 and NKp46. CYT-303 was highly potent and effective in mediating NK cell-redirected cytotoxicity against multiple HCC tumor cell lines and tumor spheroids. More interestingly, it can reverse the dysfunction induced in NK cells following repeated rounds of serial killing of tumors. It also mediated antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity against GPC3-expressing HCC tumors. In vivo, CYT-303 showed no toxicity or cytokine release in cynomolgus monkeys up to the highest dose (60 mg/kg), administered weekly by intravenous infusion for 28 days. These results demonstrate the potential of CYT-303 to be a safe and effective therapy against HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Liang Lin
- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
| | | | - Martine Cerutti
- Baculovirus and Therapy, UAR3426 Biocampus, Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
| | - Sylvie Choblet
- Baculovirus and Therapy, UAR3426 Biocampus, Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 34293 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
| | - Peng Gao
- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
| | - Armin Rath
- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
| | - Armand Bensussan
- CLCC de Reims, U976 and Institut Godinot, The Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm), 1 Rue Du General Koenig, 51726 Reims CEDEX, France
| | | | - Daniel Teper
- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
| | - Ofer Mandelboim
- The Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12272, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Wei Li
- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Natick, MA 01760, USA
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Kolluri A, Li D, Li N, Duan Z, Roberts LR, Ho M. Human VH-based chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting glypican 3 eliminate tumors in preclinical models of HCC. Hepatol Commun 2023; 7:e0022. [PMID: 36691969 PMCID: PMC9851680 DOI: 10.1097/hc9.0000000000000022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for treating solid tumors, including HCC, remains a challenge. Nanobodies are emerging building blocks of CAR T cells due to their small size and high expression. Membrane proximal sites have been shown as attractive epitopes of CAR T cells. However, current CAR formats are not tailored toward nanobodies or targeting membrane distal epitopes. APPROACH AND RESULTS Using hYP7 Fv (membrane proximal) and HN3 VH nanobody (membrane distal) as GPC3 targeting elements, we sought to determine how hinges and transmembrane portions of varying structures and sizes affect CAR T-cell function. We generated multiple permutations of CAR T cells containing CD8, CD28, IgG4, and Fc domains. We show that engineered HN3 CAR T cells can be improved by 2 independent, synergistic changes in the hinge and transmembrane domains. The T cells expressing the HN3 CAR which contains the hinge region of IgG4 and the CD28 transmembrane domain (HN3-IgG4H-CD28TM) exhibited high cytotoxic activity and caused complete HCC tumor eradication in immunodeficient mice. HN3-IgG4H-CD28TM CAR T cells were enriched for cytotoxic-memory CD8+ T cells and NFAT signals, and reduced β catenin levels in HCC cells. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that altering the hinge and transmembrane domains of a nanobody-based CAR targeting a distal GPC3 epitope, in contrast to a membrane proximal epitope, lead to robust T-cell signaling and induce swift and durable eradication of HCC tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarti Kolluri
- Antibody Therapy Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Dan Li
- Antibody Therapy Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Nan Li
- Antibody Therapy Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Zhijian Duan
- Antibody Engineering Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lewis R. Roberts
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Antibody Therapy Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Antibody Engineering Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Zhang YF, Sun Y, Hong J, Ho M. Humanization of the Shark V NAR Single Domain Antibody Using CDR Grafting. Curr Protoc 2023; 3:e630. [PMID: 36594750 PMCID: PMC9813873 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The variable domain of the new antigen receptor (VNAR ) of shark single domain antibodies is evolutionarily distant from the variable regions (VH ) of mammalian immunoglobulins, yet it still has complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) that are involved in antigen recognition, therefore making it possible to humanize by grafting these CDRs to the framework of human VH homologs. Here, we show the VNAR CDR based on an analysis of currently available VNAR -antigen structure complexes in the global Protein Data Bank archive of 3D structure data, and describe the detailed protocol to humanize VNAR by CDR grafting, using B6 (an anti-Pseudomonas exotoxin VNAR ), the most common type (Type II) of shark VNAR s, as an example. Ongoing efforts will further optimize the protocol for moving shark VNAR s to the clinic for treating cancer and other human diseases. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Basic Protocol: Humanize shark VNAR sequence by CDR grafting Support Protocol 1: VNAR structure prediction and comparison Support Protocol 2: Measure binding kinetics of humanized VNAR using bio-layer interferometry (BLI).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Fan Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Yaping Sun
- Antibody Engineering Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Jessica Hong
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
- Antibody Engineering Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
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9
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Mossenta M, Busato D, Dal Bo M, Macor P, Toffoli G. Novel Nanotechnology Approaches to Overcome Drug Resistance in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Glypican 3 as a Useful Target for Innovative Therapies. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:10038. [PMID: 36077433 PMCID: PMC9456072 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231710038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most lethal tumor, with a 5-year survival rate of 18%. Early stage HCC is potentially treatable by therapies with curative intent, whereas chemoembolization/radioembolization and systemic therapies are the only therapeutic options for intermediate or advanced HCC. Drug resistance is a critical obstacle in the treatment of HCC that could be overcome by the use of targeted nanoparticle-based therapies directed towards specific tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) to improve drug delivery. Glypican 3 (GPC3) is a member of the glypican family, heparan sulfate proteoglycans bound to the cell surface via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. The high levels of GPC3 detected in HCC and the absence or very low levels in normal and non-malignant liver make GPC3 a promising TAA candidate for targeted nanoparticle-based therapies. The use of nanoparticles conjugated with anti-GPC3 agents may improve drug delivery, leading to a reduction in severe side effects caused by chemotherapy and increased drug release at the tumor site. In this review, we describe the main clinical features of HCC and the common treatment approaches. We propose the proteoglycan GPC3 as a useful TAA for targeted therapies. Finally, we describe nanotechnology approaches for anti-GPC3 drug delivery systems based on NPs for HCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Mossenta
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Davide Busato
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Michele Dal Bo
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
| | - Paolo Macor
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Toffoli
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS, 33081 Aviano, Italy
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10
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Kines RC, Schiller JT. Harnessing Human Papillomavirus' Natural Tropism to Target Tumors. Viruses 2022; 14:1656. [PMID: 36016277 PMCID: PMC9413966 DOI: 10.3390/v14081656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are small non-enveloped DNA tumor viruses established as the primary etiological agent for the development of cervical cancer. Decades of research have elucidated HPV's primary attachment factor to be heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG). Importantly, wounding and exposure of the epithelial basement membrane was found to be pivotal for efficient attachment and infection of HPV in vivo. Sulfation patterns on HSPG's become modified at the site of wounds as they serve an important role promoting tissue healing, cell proliferation and neovascularization and it is these modifications recognized by HPV. Analogous HSPG modification patterns can be found on tumor cells as they too require the aforementioned processes to grow and metastasize. Although targeting tumor associated HSPG is not a novel concept, the use of HPV to target and treat tumors has only been realized in recent years. The work herein describes how decades of basic HPV research has culminated in the rational design of an HPV-based virus-like infrared light activated dye conjugate for the treatment of choroidal melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John T. Schiller
- Laboratory of Cellular Oncology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;
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11
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Murali M, Kumar AR, Nair B, Pavithran K, Devan AR, Pradeep GK, Nath LR. Antibody-drug conjugate as targeted therapeutics against hepatocellular carcinoma: preclinical studies and clinical relevance. Clin Transl Oncol 2022; 24:407-431. [PMID: 34595736 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-021-02707-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
An antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) is an advanced chemotherapeutic option with immense promises in treating many tumor. They are designed to selectively attack and kill neoplastic cells with minimal toxicity to normal tissues. ADCs are complex engineered immunoconjugates that comprise a monoclonal antibody for site-directed delivery and cytotoxic payload for targeted destruction of malignant cells. Therefore, it enables the reduction of off-target toxicities and enhances the therapeutic index of the drug. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a solid tumor that shows high heterogeneity of molecular phenotypes and is considered the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Studies show enormous potential for ADCs targeting GPC3 and CD24 and other tumor-associated antigens in HCC with their high, selective expression and show potential outputs in preclinical evaluations. The review mainly highlights the preclinical evaluation of different antigen-targeted ADCs such as MetFab-DOX, Anti-c-Met IgG-OXA, Anti CD 24, ANC-HN-01, G7mab-DOX, hYP7-DCand hYP7-PC, Anti-CD147 ILs-DOX and AC133-vcMMAF against hepatocellular carcinoma and its future relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Murali
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India
| | - A R Kumar
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India
| | - B Nair
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India
| | - K Pavithran
- Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, 682041, India
| | - A R Devan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India
| | - G K Pradeep
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India
| | - L R Nath
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Ponekkara P. O., Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India.
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12
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Chen X, Chen Y, Liang R, Xiang L, Li J, Zhu Y, He H, Huang L, Zuo D, Li W, Liang X, Dong S, Hu S, Ho M, Feng M. Combination Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by GPC3-Targeted Bispecific Antibody and Irinotecan is Potent in Suppressing Tumor Growth in Mice. Mol Cancer Ther 2021; 21:149-158. [PMID: 34725191 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-20-1025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a world leading cause of cancer-related mortality, and currently no curative treatment for advanced HCC is available. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an attractive target for HCC immunotherapy. This study explored the efficacy of six GPC3-targeted bispecific antibodies, alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drug Irinotecan, for the treatment of HCC. The bispecific antibodies were constructed using three different structures, knob-into-hole (KH), scFv-scFv-hFc, and scFv-hFc-scFv, where CD3-targeting mAb OKT3 (scFv) was paired with two representative GPC3 mAbs hYP7 (scFv) and HN3 (VH only) that target different epitopes. The In vitro cell killing assay revealed that all bispecific antibodies efficiently killed GPC3 positive cancer cells, with hYP7-KH, hYP7-OKT3-hFc, and HN3-KH being most potent. In vivo xenograft mouse studies demonstrated that all bispecific antibodies suppressed tumor growth similarly, with hYP7-OKT3-hFc performing slightly better. Combination of hYP7-OKT3-hFc with Irinotecan dramatically improved the efficacy and arrested tumor growth of HepG2, Hep3B, and G1 in xenograft mice. Our results demonstrated that the cell surface proximal bispecific antibody hYP7-OKT3-hFc was superior in terms of potency and the GPC3-targeted bispecific antibody combined with Irinotecan was much potent to control HCC growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Chen
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yanmin Chen
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Rong Liang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Lanxin Xiang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Jingwen Li
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yuankui Zhu
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Huixia He
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Le Huang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Dianbao Zuo
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Weihang Li
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Xinjun Liang
- Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Shuang Dong
- Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Sheng Hu
- Department of Internal Medicine-Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland.
| | - Mingqian Feng
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China. .,College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
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13
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DT389-YP7, a Recombinant Immunotoxin against Glypican-3 That Inhibits Hepatocellular Cancer Cells: An In Vitro Study. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:toxins13110749. [PMID: 34822533 PMCID: PMC8617615 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13110749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the high-metastatic types of cancer, and metastasis occurs in one-third of patients with HCC. To maintain the effectiveness of drug compounds on cancer cells and minimize their side effects on normal cells, it is important to use new approaches for overcoming malignancies. Immunotoxins (ITs), an example of such a new approach, are protein-structured compounds consisting of toxic and binding moieties which can specifically bind to cancer cells and efficiently induce cell death. Here, we design and scrutinize a novel immunotoxin against an oncofetal marker on HCC cells. We applied a truncated diphtheria toxin (DT389) without binding domain as a toxin moiety to be fused with a humanized YP7 scFv against a high-expressed Glypican-3 (GPC3) antigen on the surface of HCC cells. Cytotoxic effects of this IT were investigated on HepG2 (GPC3+) and SkBr3 (GPC3−) cell lines as positive- and negative-expressed GPC3 antigens. The dissociation constant (Kd) was calculated 11.39 nM and 18.02 nM for IT and YP7 scfv, respectively, whereas only IT showed toxic effects on the HepG2 cell line, and decreased cell viability (IC50 = 848.2 ng/mL). Changing morphology (up to 85%), cell cycle arrest at G2 phase (up to 13%), increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROSs) (up to 50%), inducing apoptosis (up to 38% for apoptosis and 23% for necrosis), and an almost complete inhibition of cell movement were other effects of immunotoxin treatment on HepG2 cells, not on SkBr3 cell line. These promising results reveal that this new recombinant immunotoxin can be considered as an option as an HCC inhibitor. However, more extensive studies are needed to accomplish this concept.
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14
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Immunotoxins Immunotherapy against Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Promising Prospect. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:toxins13100719. [PMID: 34679012 PMCID: PMC8538445 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13100719] [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: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 10/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Therefore, fighting against such cancer is reasonable. Chemotherapy drugs are sometimes inefficient and often accompanied by undesirable side effects for patients. On the other hand, the emergence of chemoresistant HCC emphasizes the need for a new high-efficiency treatment strategy. Immunotoxins are armed and rigorous targeting agents that can purposefully kill cancer cells. Unlike traditional chemotherapeutics, immunotoxins because of targeted toxicity, insignificant cross-resistance, easy production, and other favorable properties can be ideal candidates against HCC. In this review, the characteristics of proper HCC-specific biomarkers for immunotoxin targeting were dissected. After that, the first to last immunotoxins developed for the treatment of liver cancer were discussed. So, by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of these immunotoxins, we attempted to provide keynotes for designing an optimal immunotoxin against HCC.
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15
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Li N, Torres MB, Spetz MR, Wang R, Peng L, Tian M, Dower CM, Nguyen R, Sun M, Tai CH, de Val N, Cachau R, Wu X, Hewitt SM, Kaplan RN, Khan J, St Croix B, Thiele CJ, Ho M. CAR T cells targeting tumor-associated exons of glypican 2 regress neuroblastoma in mice. Cell Rep Med 2021; 2:100297. [PMID: 34195677 PMCID: PMC8233664 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Targeting solid tumors must overcome several major obstacles, in particular, the identification of elusive tumor-specific antigens. Here, we devise a strategy to help identify tumor-specific epitopes. Glypican 2 (GPC2) is overexpressed in neuroblastoma. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis, we show that exon 3 and exons 7-10 of GPC2 are expressed in cancer but are minimally expressed in normal tissues. Accordingly, we discover a monoclonal antibody (CT3) that binds exons 3 and 10 and visualize the complex structure of CT3 and GPC2 by electron microscopy. The potential of this approach is exemplified by designing CT3-derived chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that regress neuroblastoma in mice. Genomic sequencing of T cells recovered from mice reveals the CAR integration sites that may contribute to CAR T cell proliferation and persistence. These studies demonstrate how RNA-seq data can be exploited to help identify tumor-associated exons that can be targeted by CAR T cell therapies.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/chemistry
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/genetics
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/metabolism
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Proliferation
- Exons
- Female
- Gene Expression
- Glypicans/antagonists & inhibitors
- Glypicans/chemistry
- Glypicans/genetics
- Glypicans/immunology
- Humans
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Mice
- Mice, Nude
- Models, Molecular
- Nervous System Neoplasms/genetics
- Nervous System Neoplasms/mortality
- Nervous System Neoplasms/pathology
- Nervous System Neoplasms/therapy
- Neuroblastoma/genetics
- Neuroblastoma/mortality
- Neuroblastoma/pathology
- Neuroblastoma/therapy
- Protein Binding
- Protein Conformation
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/immunology
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- Sequence Analysis, RNA
- Survival Analysis
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- Tumor Burden
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Madeline B. Torres
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Madeline R. Spetz
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ruixue Wang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Luyi Peng
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Meijie Tian
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Christopher M. Dower
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Rosa Nguyen
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ming Sun
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Chin-Hsien Tai
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Natalia de Val
- Center for Molecular Microscopy, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
- Cancer Research Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Raul Cachau
- Data Science and Information Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Xiaolin Wu
- Cancer Research Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Stephen M. Hewitt
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Rosandra N. Kaplan
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Javed Khan
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Brad St Croix
- Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Carol J. Thiele
- Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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16
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Sun L, Gao F, Gao Z, Ao L, Li N, Ma S, Jia M, Li N, Lu P, Sun B, Ho M, Jia S, Ding T, Gao W. Shed antigen-induced blocking effect on CAR-T cells targeting Glypican-3 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:e001875. [PMID: 33833049 PMCID: PMC8039282 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glypican-3 (GPC3), a cell surface glycoprotein that is pathologically highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is an attractive target for immunotherapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. The serum GPC3 is frequently elevated in HCC patients due to the shedding effect of cell surface GPC3. The shed GPC3 (sGPC3) is reported to block the function of cell-surface GPC3 as a negative regulator. Therefore, it would be worth investigating the potential influence of antigen shedding in anti-GPC3 CAR-T therapy for HCC. METHODS In this study, we constructed two types of CAR-T cells targeting distinct epitopes of GPC3 to examine how sGPC3 influences the activation and cytotoxicity of CAR-T cells in vitro and in vivo by introducing sGPC3 positive patient serum or recombinant sGPC3 proteins into HCC cells or by using sGPC3-overexpressing HCC cell lines. RESULTS Both humanized YP7 CAR-T cells and 32A9 CAR-T cells showed GPC3-specific antitumor functions in vitro and in vivo. The existence of sGPC3 significantly inhibited the release of cytokines and the cytotoxicity of anti-GPC3 CAR-T cells in vitro. In animal models, mice carrying Hep3B xenograft tumors expressing sGPC3 exhibited a worse response to the treatment with CAR-T cells under both a low and high tumor burden. sGPC3 bound to CAR-T cells but failed to induce the effective activation of CAR-T cells. Therefore, sGPC3 acted as dominant negative regulators when competed with cell surface GPC3 to bind anti-GPC3 CAR-T cells, leading to an inhibitory effect on CAR-T cells in HCC. CONCLUSIONS We provide a proof-of-concept study demonstrating that GPC3 shedding might cause worse response to CAR-T cell treatment by competing with cell surface GPC3 for CAR-T cell binding, which revealed a new mechanism of tumor immune escape in HCC, providing a novel biomarker for patient enrolment in future clinical trials and/or treatments with GPC3-targeted CAR-T cells.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Binding, Competitive
- Biomarkers, Tumor/antagonists & inhibitors
- Biomarkers, Tumor/blood
- Biomarkers, Tumor/immunology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/blood
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/immunology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cytokines/metabolism
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic
- Female
- Glypicans/antagonists & inhibitors
- Glypicans/blood
- Glypicans/immunology
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive
- Liver Neoplasms/blood
- Liver Neoplasms/immunology
- Liver Neoplasms/pathology
- Liver Neoplasms/therapy
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, Nude
- Proof of Concept Study
- Protein Binding
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes/transplantation
- Tumor Burden
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
- Mice
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Affiliation(s)
- Luan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhanhui Gao
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Nephrology, The Affiliated BenQ Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lei Ao
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Na Li
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Sujuan Ma
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Meng Jia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland - Saint Lucia Campus, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Biotherapy, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Peihua Lu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Beicheng Sun
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Shaochang Jia
- Department of Biotherapy, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Tong Ding
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei Gao
- Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Antibody Techniques, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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17
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Development of a Tetravalent T-Cell Engaging Bispecific Antibody Against Glypican-3 for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Immunother 2021; 44:106-113. [PMID: 33239522 DOI: 10.1097/cji.0000000000000349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Cancer therapies benefit from accelerated development of biotechnology, and many immunotherapeutic strategies spring up including vaccines, the immune checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, and bispecific antibodies (BsAbs). Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a member of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan family of proteins and is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell membranes. Here, the authors describe a new tetravalent BsAb h8B-BsAb targeting GPC3 and CD3 antigens and studied its antitumor activities against HCC. h8B-BsAb was designed based on immunoglobulin G with a fragment variable fused to the light chain, whose biophysical stabilities including degradation resistance and thermostability were improved by introducing disulfide bonds. In vitro activity of h8B-BsAb showed potent T-cell recruitment and activation for HCC cell lysis by the presence of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, but no specific killing in GPC3-negative cells. In HCC xenograft mouse studies, h8B-BsAb induced robust regression of tumors. In summary, we engineered a highly stable and efficacious BsAb as a potential candidate for HCC treatment.
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18
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Gerlza T, Trojacher C, Kitic N, Adage T, Kungl AJ. Development of Molecules Antagonizing Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans. Semin Thromb Hemost 2021; 47:316-332. [PMID: 33794555 DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1725067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) occur in almost every tissue of the human body and consist of a protein core, with covalently attached glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide chains. These glycosaminoglycans are characterized by their polyanionic nature, due to sulfate and carboxyl groups, which are distributed along the chain. These chains can be modified by different enzymes at varying positions, which leads to huge diversity of possible structures with the complexity further increased by varying chain lengths. According to their location, HSPGs are divided into different families, the membrane bound, the secreted extracellular matrix, and the secretory vesicle family. As members of the extracellular matrix, they take part in cell-cell communication processes on many levels and with different degrees of involvement. Of particular therapeutic interest is their role in cancer and inflammation as well as in infectious diseases. In this review, we give an overview of the current status of medical approaches to antagonize HSPG function in pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Gerlza
- Karl-Franzens University Graz, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - Christina Trojacher
- Karl-Franzens University Graz, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - Nikola Kitic
- Karl-Franzens University Graz, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | | | - Andreas J Kungl
- Karl-Franzens University Graz, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graz, Austria.,Antagonis Biotherapeutics GmbH, Graz, Austria
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19
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Sangpheak K, Waraho-Zhmayev D, Haonoo K, Torpaiboon S, Teacharsripaiboon T, Rungrotmongkol T, Poo-Arporn RP. Investigation of interactions between binding residues and solubility of grafted humanized anti-VEGF IgG antibodies expressed as full-length format in the cytoplasm of a novel engineered E. coli SHuffle strain. RSC Adv 2021; 11:6035-6048. [PMID: 35423148 PMCID: PMC8694825 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra08534k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are one of the fastest-growing areas of biopharmaceutical industry and have been widely used for a broad spectrum of diseases. Meanwhile, the immunogenicity of non-human derived antibodies can generate side effects by inducing the human immune response to produce human anti-mouse-immunoglobulin antibody (HAMA). In this work, we aim to reduce the immunogenicity of muMAb A.4.6.1 by substitute human sequences for murine sequences. Humanized antibodies are constructed by grafting, specificity determining residues (SDR), complementary determining regions (CDR), and chimeric region of muMAb A.4.6.1, onto variable domain of Trastuzumab (Herceptin). The interactions between grafted antibodies and their target, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were theoretically investigated by molecular dynamics simulation in order to evaluate the antibodies-antigen binding behavior. The obtained protein-protein interactions and calculated binding free energy suggested that the SDR-VEGF complex presented a significantly greater binding affinity, number of contact and total number of H-bonds compared to CDR and chimeric mAbs, significantly. Moreover, the Camsol program predicted that the solubility of SDR mAb exhibits the greatest solubility. This result was supported by performing a western blot analysis of the grafted mAbs with soluble and insoluble fractions in order to evaluate their solubility, in which SDR was found to have a much lower amount of insoluble proteins. Consequently, the enhanced binding affinity and solubility of the designed SDR was achieved by the single S106D mutation using computational methods. With the aim of low immunogenicity, high solubility, and high affinity, this SDR humanized antibody was expected to have greater efficacy than murine or chimeric antibodies for future use in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanyani Sangpheak
- Biological Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Dujduan Waraho-Zhmayev
- Biological Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Korakod Haonoo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Sarun Torpaiboon
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Tarin Teacharsripaiboon
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Thanyada Rungrotmongkol
- Biocatalyst and Environmental Biotechnology Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University 10330 Bangkok Thailand.,Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University 10330 Bangkok Thailand
| | - Rungtiva P Poo-Arporn
- Biological Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi 10140 Bangkok Thailand
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20
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Meng P, Zhang YF, Zhang W, Chen X, Xu T, Hu S, Liang X, Feng M, Yang X, Ho M. Identification of the atypical cadherin FAT1 as a novel glypican-3 interacting protein in liver cancer cells. Sci Rep 2021; 11:40. [PMID: 33420124 PMCID: PMC7794441 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79524-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan that is being evaluated as an emerging therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). GPC3 has been shown to interact with several extracellular signaling molecules, including Wnt, HGF, and Hedgehog. Here, we reported a cell surface transmembrane protein (FAT1) as a new GPC3 interacting protein. The GPC3 binding region on FAT1 was initially mapped to the C-terminal region (Q14517, residues 3662-4181), which covered a putative receptor tyrosine phosphatase (RTP)-like domain, a Laminin G-like domain, and five EGF-like domains. Fine mapping by ELISA and flow cytometry showed that the last four EGF-like domains (residues 4013-4181) contained a specific GPC3 binding site, whereas the RTP domain (residues 3662-3788) and the downstream Laminin G-2nd EGF-like region (residues 3829-4050) had non-specific GPC3 binding. In support of their interaction, GPC3 and FAT1 behaved concomitantly or at a similar pattern, e.g. having elevated expression in HCC cells, being up-regulated under hypoxia conditions, and being able to regulate the expression of EMT-related genes Snail, Vimentin, and E-Cadherin and promoting HCC cell migration. Taken together, our study provides the initial evidence for the novel mechanism of GPC3 and FAT1 in promoting HCC cell migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panpan Meng
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yi-Fan Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Wangli Zhang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xin Chen
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China
| | - Tong Xu
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China
| | - Sheng Hu
- Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, 430079, Hubei, China
| | - Xinjun Liang
- Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, 430079, Hubei, China
| | - Mingqian Feng
- College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China.
| | - Xiaoqing Yang
- Hospital of Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, China.
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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21
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Shih TC, Wang L, Wang HC, Wan YJY. Glypican-3: A molecular marker for the detection and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma ☆. LIVER RESEARCH 2020; 4:168-172. [PMID: 33384879 PMCID: PMC7771890 DOI: 10.1016/j.livres.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with a fairly poor prognosis (5-year survival of less than 50%). Using sorafenib, the only food and drug administration (FDA)-approved drug, HCC cannot be effectively treated; it can only be controlled at most for a couple of months. There is a great need to develop efficacious treatment against this debilitating disease. Glypican-3 (GPC3), a member of the glypican family that attaches to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor, is overexpressed in HCC cases and is elevated in the serum of a large proportion of patients with HCC. GPC3 expression contributes to HCC growth and metastasis. Furthermore, several different types of antibodies targeting GPC3 have been developed. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literatures on the GPC3 expression in human HCC, molecular mechanisms of GPC3 regulation and antibodies targeting GPC3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsung-Chieh Shih
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Lijun Wang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Hsiao-Chi Wang
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA,Corresponding author. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA. (Y.-J.Y. Wan)
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22
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Yu L, Yang X, Huang N, Wu M, Sun H, He Q, Lang Q, Zou X, Liu Z, Wang J, Ge L. Generation of fully human anti-GPC3 antibodies with high-affinity recognition of GPC3 positive tumors. Invest New Drugs 2020; 39:615-626. [PMID: 33215325 DOI: 10.1007/s10637-020-01033-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The acceleration of therapeutic antibody development has been motivated by the benefit to and their demand for human health. In particular, humanized transgenic antibody discovery platforms, combined with immunization, hybridoma fusion and/or single cell DNA sequencing are the most reliable and rapid methods for mining the human monoclonal antibodies. Human GPC3 protein is an oncofetal antigen, and it is highly expressed in most hepatocellular carcinomas and some types of squamous cell carcinomas. Currently, no fully human anti-GPC3 therapeutic antibodies have been reported and evaluated in extensive tumor tissues. Here, we utilized a new humanized transgenic mouse antibody discovery platform (CAMouse) that contains large V(D)J -regions and human gamma-constant regions of human immunoglobulin in authentic configurations to generate fully human anti-GPC3 antibodies. Our experiments resulted in four anti-GPC3 antibodies with high-specific binding and cytotoxicity to GPC3 positive cancer cells, and the antibody affinities are in the nanomolar range. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that these antibodies can recognize GPC3 protein on many types of solid tumors. In summary, the human anti-human GPC3 monoclonal antibodies described here are leading candidates for further preclinical studies of cancer therapy, further, the CAMouse platform is a robust tool for human therapeutic antibody discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Yu
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Xi Yang
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Nan Huang
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Meng Wu
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Heng Sun
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Qilin He
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Qiaoli Lang
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Xiangang Zou
- Chongqing CAMAB Biotech Ltd., Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Zuohua Liu
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China.,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China
| | - Jianhua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Liangpeng Ge
- Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, No.51 Changlong Street, Rongchang District, Chongqing, 402460, China. .,Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center for Medical Animal Resources Development and Application, Chongqing, 402460, China. .,Chongqing CAMAB Biotech Ltd., Chongqing, 402460, China.
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23
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Hamamichi S, Fukuhara T, Hattori N. Immunotoxin Screening System: A Rapid and Direct Approach to Obtain Functional Antibodies with Internalization Capacities. Toxins (Basel) 2020; 12:toxins12100658. [PMID: 33076544 PMCID: PMC7602748 DOI: 10.3390/toxins12100658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxins, while harmful and potentially lethal, have been engineered to develop potent therapeutics including cytotoxins and immunotoxins (ITs), which are modalities with highly selective targeting capabilities. Currently, three cytotoxins and IT are FDA-approved for treatment of multiple forms of hematological cancer, and additional ITs are tested in the clinical trials or at the preclinical level. For next generation of ITs, as well as antibody-mediated drug delivery systems, specific targeting by monoclonal antibodies is critical to enhance efficacies and reduce side effects, and this methodological field remains open to discover potent therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Here, we describe our application of engineered toxin termed a cell-based IT screening system. This unique screening strategy offers the following advantages: (1) identification of monoclonal antibodies that recognize cell-surface molecules, (2) selection of the antibodies that are internalized into the cells, (3) selection of the antibodies that induce cytotoxicity since they are linked with toxins, and (4) determination of state-specific activities of the antibodies by differential screening under multiple experimental conditions. Since the functional monoclonal antibodies with internalization capacities have been identified successfully, we have pursued their subsequent modifications beyond antibody drug conjugates, resulting in development of immunoliposomes. Collectively, this screening system by using engineered toxin is a versatile platform, which enables straight-forward and rapid selection for discovery of novel functional antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shusei Hamamichi
- Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan;
| | - Takeshi Fukuhara
- Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan;
- Department of Research for Parkinson’s Disease, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Neurodegenerative Disorders Collaborative Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-3-5802-2731; Fax: +81-3-5800-0547
| | - Nobutaka Hattori
- Department of Neurology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan;
- Department of Research for Parkinson’s Disease, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
- Neurodegenerative Disorders Collaborative Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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24
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Abstract
Glypicans are a family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans that are attached to the cell membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Glypicans interact with multiple ligands, including morphogens, growth factors, chemokines, ligands, receptors, and components of the extracellular matrix through their heparan sulfate chains and core protein. Therefore, glypicans can function as coreceptors to regulate cell proliferation, cell motility, and morphogenesis. In addition, some glypicans are abnormally expressed in cancers, possibly involved in tumorigenesis, and have the potential to be cancer-specific biomarkers. Here, we provide a brief review focusing on the expression of glypicans in various cancers and their potential to be targets for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Madeline R Spetz
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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25
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Dal Bo M, De Mattia E, Baboci L, Mezzalira S, Cecchin E, Assaraf YG, Toffoli G. New insights into the pharmacological, immunological, and CAR-T-cell approaches in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Drug Resist Updat 2020; 51:100702. [DOI: 10.1016/j.drup.2020.100702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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26
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Antibody-Drug Conjugates and Targeted Treatment Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Drug-Delivery Perspective. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25122861. [PMID: 32575828 PMCID: PMC7356544 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25122861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased understanding of cancer biology, pharmacology and drug delivery has provided a new framework for drug discovery and product development that relies on the unique expression of specific macromolecules (i.e., antigens) on the surface of tumour cells. This has enabled the development of anti-cancer treatments that combine the selectivity of antibodies with the efficacy of highly potent chemotherapeutic small molecules, called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). ADCs are composed of a cytotoxic drug covalently linked to an antibody which then selectively binds to a highly expressed antigen on a cancer cell; the conjugate is then internalized by the cell where it releases the potent cytotoxic drug and efficiently kills the tumour cell. There are, however, many challenges in the development of ADCs, mainly around optimizing the therapeutic/safety benefits. These challenges are discussed in this review; they include issues with the plasma stability and half-life of the ADC, its transport from blood into and distribution throughout the tumour compartment, cancer cell antigen expression and the ADC binding affinity to the target antigen, the cell internalization process, cleaving of the cytotoxic drug from the ADC, and the cytotoxic effect of the drug on the target cells. Finally, we present a summary of some of the experimental ADC strategies used in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, from the recent literature.
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27
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Li D, Li N, Zhang YF, Fu H, Feng M, Schneider D, Su L, Wu X, Zhou J, Mackay S, Kramer J, Duan Z, Yang H, Kolluri A, Hummer AM, Torres MB, Zhu H, Hall MD, Luo X, Chen J, Wang Q, Abate-Daga D, Dropulic B, Hewitt SM, Orentas RJ, Greten TF, Ho M. Persistent Polyfunctional Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells That Target Glypican 3 Eliminate Orthotopic Hepatocellular Carcinomas in Mice. Gastroenterology 2020; 158:2250-2265.e20. [PMID: 32060001 PMCID: PMC7282931 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Glypican 3 (GPC3) is an oncofetal antigen involved in Wnt-dependent cell proliferation that is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated whether the functions of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that target GPC3 are affected by their antibody-binding properties. METHODS We collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors and patients with HCC and used them to create CAR T cells, based on the humanized YP7 (hYP7) and HN3 antibodies, which have high affinities for the C-lobe and N-lobe of GPC3, respectively. NOD/SCID/IL-2Rgcnull (NSG) mice were given intraperitoneal injections of luciferase-expressing (Luc) Hep3B or HepG2 cells and after xenograft tumors formed, mice were given injections of saline or untransduced T cells (mock control), or CAR (HN3) T cells or CAR (hYP7) T cells. In other NOD/SCID/IL-2Rgcnull (NSG) mice, HepG2-Luc or Hep3B-Luc cells were injected into liver, and after orthotopic tumors formed, mice were given 1 injection of CAR (hYP7) T cells or CD19 CAR T cells (control). We developed droplet digital polymerase chain reaction and genome sequencing methods to analyze persistent CAR T cells in mice. RESULTS Injections of CAR (hYP7) T cells eliminated tumors in 66% of mice by week 3, whereas CAR (HN3) T cells did not reduce tumor burden. Mice given CAR (hYP7) T cells remained tumor free after re-challenge with additional Hep3B cells. The CAR T cells induced perforin- and granzyme-mediated apoptosis and reduced levels of active β-catenin in HCC cells. Mice injected with CAR (hYP7) T cells had persistent expansion of T cells and subsets of polyfunctional CAR T cells via antigen-induced selection. These T cells were observed in the tumor microenvironment and spleen for up to 7 weeks after CAR T-cell administration. Integration sites in pre-infusion CAR (HN3) and CAR (hYP7) T cells were randomly distributed, whereas integration into NUPL1 was detected in 3.9% of CAR (hYP7) T cells 5 weeks after injection into tumor-bearing mice and 18.1% of CAR (hYP7) T cells at week 7. There was no common site of integration in CAR (HN3) or CD19 CAR T cells from tumor-bearing mice. CONCLUSIONS In mice with xenograft or orthoptic liver tumors, CAR (hYP7) T cells eliminate GPC3-positive HCC cells, possibly by inducing perforin- and granzyme-mediated apoptosis or reducing Wnt signaling in tumor cells. GPC3-targeted CAR T cells might be developed for treatment of patients with HCC.
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MESH Headings
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Animals
- Apoptosis
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/immunology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy
- Cell Proliferation
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Glypicans/genetics
- Glypicans/immunology
- Glypicans/metabolism
- Granzymes/metabolism
- Hep G2 Cells
- Humans
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive
- Liver Neoplasms/immunology
- Liver Neoplasms/metabolism
- Liver Neoplasms/pathology
- Liver Neoplasms/therapy
- Male
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, SCID
- Middle Aged
- Perforin/metabolism
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes/transplantation
- Tumor Burden
- Tumor Microenvironment
- Wnt Signaling Pathway
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Yi-Fan Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Haiying Fu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Immunology, Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Mingqian Feng
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Dina Schneider
- Lentingen, a Miltenyi Biotec Company, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Ling Su
- Cancer Research Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Xiaolin Wu
- Cancer Research Technology Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc, Frederick, Maryland
| | - Jing Zhou
- IsoPlexis Corporation, Branford, Connecticut
| | - Sean Mackay
- IsoPlexis Corporation, Branford, Connecticut
| | - Josh Kramer
- Animal Facility, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Zhijian Duan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Hongjia Yang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Aarti Kolluri
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alissa M Hummer
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Madeline B Torres
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Hu Zhu
- Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland
| | - Matthew D Hall
- Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland
| | - Xiaoling Luo
- Collaborative Protein Technology Resource, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Jinqiu Chen
- Collaborative Protein Technology Resource, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Qun Wang
- School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Daniel Abate-Daga
- Departments of Immunology, Cutaneous Oncology, and Gastrointestinal Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Boro Dropulic
- Lentingen, a Miltenyi Biotec Company, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Stephen M Hewitt
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Tim F Greten
- Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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28
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Fleming BD, Urban DJ, Hall M, Longerich T, Greten T, Pastan I, Ho M. Engineered Anti-GPC3 Immunotoxin, HN3-ABD-T20, Produces Regression in Mouse Liver Cancer Xenografts Through Prolonged Serum Retention. Hepatology 2020; 71:1696-1711. [PMID: 31520528 PMCID: PMC7069773 DOI: 10.1002/hep.30949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Treatment of hepatocellular carcinomas using our glypican-3 (GPC3)-targeting human nanobody (HN3) immunotoxins causes potent tumor regression by blocking protein synthesis and down-regulating the Wnt signaling pathway. However, immunogenicity and a short serum half-life may limit the ability of immunotoxins to transition to the clinic. APPROACH AND RESULTS To address these concerns, we engineered HN3-based immunotoxins to contain various deimmunized Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) domains. This included HN3-T20, which was modified to remove T-cell epitopes and contains a PE domain II truncation. We compared them to our previously reported B-cell deimmunized immunotoxin (HN3-mPE24) and our original HN3-immunotoxin with a wild-type PE domain (HN3-PE38). All of our immunotoxins displayed high affinity to human GPC3, with HN3-T20 having a KD value of 7.4 nM. HN3-T20 retained 73% enzymatic activity when compared with the wild-type immunotoxin in an adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation assay. Interestingly, a real-time cell growth inhibition assay demonstrated that a single dose of HN3-T20 at 62.5 ng/mL (1.6 nM) was capable of inhibiting nearly all cell proliferation during the 10-day experiment. To enhance HN3-T20's serum retention, we tested the effect of adding a streptococcal albumin-binding domain (ABD) and a llama single-domain antibody fragment specific for mouse and human serum albumin. For the detection of immunotoxin in mouse serum, we developed a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and found that HN3-ABD-T20 had a 45-fold higher serum half-life than HN3-T20 (326 minutes vs. 7.3 minutes); consequently, addition of an ABD resulted in HN3-ABD-T20-mediated tumor regression at 1 mg/kg. CONCLUSION These data indicate that ABD-containing deimmunized HN3-T20 immunotoxins are high-potency therapeutics ready to be evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of liver cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan D. Fleming
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
| | - Daniel J. Urban
- Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Rockville, Maryland, 20850
| | - Matthew Hall
- Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Rockville, Maryland, 20850
| | - Thomas Longerich
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany, 69120
| | - Tim Greten
- Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
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29
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Baboci L, Capolla S, Di Cintio F, Colombo F, Mauro P, Dal Bo M, Argenziano M, Cavalli R, Toffoli G, Macor P. The Dual Role of the Liver in Nanomedicine as an Actor in the Elimination of Nanostructures or a Therapeutic Target. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2020; 2020:4638192. [PMID: 32184825 PMCID: PMC7060440 DOI: 10.1155/2020/4638192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The development of nanostructures for therapeutic purpose is rapidly growing, following the results obtained in vivo in animal models and in the clinical trials. Unfortunately, the potential therapeutic efficacy is not completely exploited, yet. This is mainly due to the fast clearance of the nanostructures in the body. Nanoparticles and the liver have a unique interaction because the liver represents one of the major barriers for drug delivery. This interaction becomes even more relevant and complex when the drug delivery strategies employing nanostructures are proposed for the therapy of liver diseases, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this case, the selective delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles to the tumor microenvironment collides with the tendency of nanostructures to be quickly eliminated by the organ. The design of a new therapeutic approach based on nanoparticles to treat HCC has to particularly take into consideration passive and active mechanisms to avoid or delay liver elimination and to specifically address cancer cells or the cancer microenvironment. This review will analyze the different aspects concerning the dual role of the liver, both as an organ carrying out a clearance activity for the nanostructures and as target for therapeutic strategies for HCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Baboci
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
| | - Sara Capolla
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Federica Di Cintio
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
| | - Federico Colombo
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Prisca Mauro
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Michele Dal Bo
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
| | - Monica Argenziano
- Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Roberta Cavalli
- Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Toffoli
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
| | - Paolo Macor
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO) di Aviano IRCCS, Aviano, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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30
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Guo M, Zhang H, Zheng J, Liu Y. Glypican-3: A New Target for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Cancer 2020; 11:2008-2021. [PMID: 32127929 PMCID: PMC7052944 DOI: 10.7150/jca.39972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type. The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma is concealed, its progress is rapid, its prognosis is poor, and the mortality rate is high. Therefore, novel molecular targets for hepatocellular carcinoma early diagnosis and development of targeted therapy are critically needed. Glypican-3, a cell-surface glycoproteins in which heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan chains are covalently linked to a protein core, is overexpressed in HCC tissues but not in the healthy adult liver. Thus, Glypican-3 is becoming a promising candidate for liver cancer diagnosis and immunotherapy. Up to now, Glypican-3 has been a reliable immunohistochemical marker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis, and soluble Glypican-3 in serum has becoming a promising marker for liquid biopsy. Moreover, various immunotherapies targeting Glypican-3 have been developed, including Glypican-3 vaccines, anti- Glypican-3 immunotoxin and chimeric-antigen-receptor modified cells. In this review, we summarize and analyze the structure and physicochemical properties of Glypican-3 molecules, then review their biological functions and applications in clinical diagnosis, and explore the diagnosis and treatment strategies based on Glypican-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology &Institute of Immunology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hailing Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianming Zheng
- Department of Pathology ,Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yangfang Liu
- Department of Pathology ,Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
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Affinity improvement of the fully human anti‑TSLP recombinant antibody. Mol Med Rep 2019; 21:759-767. [PMID: 31974622 PMCID: PMC6947841 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a potentially important target for the treatment of asthma and malignancies. However, a fully human antibody reactive with TSLP is currently unavailable for clinical use. In a previous study, a human anti-TSLP-single-chain antibody variable fragment (anti-TSLP-scFv) 84 was selected by phage display from a constructed human scFv library. In the present study, a computer simulation method was developed using Discovery Studio 4.5 software, to increase the affinity of anti-TSLP-scFv-84. Specific primers were designed and mutated DNA sequences of anti-TSLP-scFvs were obtained by overlap extension PCR. The mutant scFvs were expressed in pLZ16 and affinity-enhanced anti-TSLP-scFv-M4 was screened using ELISA. However, in general the scFvs have low stability and short half-lives in vivo. Therefore, scFv-84 and scFv-M4 were inserted into eukaryotic expression vectors (pcDNA3.1-sp-Fc and PMH3EN-sp-Fc) and then transfected into 293F cells to express anti-TSLP-scFv-Fc. ELISA and western blotting results indicated the size of the anti-TSLP-scFv-Fc to be ~50 kDa. Binding of anti-TSLP-scFv-Fc-M4 to TSLP was enhanced compared with the pre-mutated scFv-Fc-84. The affinity of the mutated recombinant antibody was determined using the BIAcore technique and found to be ~10-fold greater than the pre-mutated antibody.
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Fu Y, Urban DJ, Nani RR, Zhang YF, Li N, Fu H, Shah H, Gorka AP, Guha R, Chen L, Hall MD, Schnermann MJ, Ho M. Glypican-3-Specific Antibody Drug Conjugates Targeting Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Hepatology 2019; 70:563-576. [PMID: 30353932 PMCID: PMC6482108 DOI: 10.1002/hep.30326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. Therapeutic outcomes of HCC remain unsatisfactory, and novel treatments are urgently needed. GPC3 (glypican-3) is an emerging target for HCC, given the findings that 1) GPC3 is highly expressed in more than 70% of HCC; (2) elevated GPC3 expression is linked with poor HCC prognosis; and (3) GPC3-specific therapeutics, including immunotoxin, bispecific antibody and chimeric antigen receptor T cells. have shown promising results. Here, we postulate that GPC3 is a potential target of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for treating liver cancer. To determine the payload for ADCs against liver cancer, we screened three large drug libraries (> 9,000 compounds) against HCC cell lines and found that the most potent drugs are DNA-damaging agents. Duocarmycin SA and pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimer were chosen as the payloads to construct two GPC3-specific ADCs: hYP7-DC and hYP7-PC. Both ADCs showed potency at picomolar concentrations against a panel of GPC3-positive cancer cell lines, but not GPC3 negative cell lines. To improve potency, we investigated the synergetic effect of hYP7-DC with approved drugs. Gemcitabine showed a synergetic effect with hYP7-DC in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, single treatment of hYP7-PC induced tumor regression in multiple mouse models. Conclusion: We provide an example of an ADC targeting GPC3, suggesting a strategy for liver cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Fu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel J. Urban
- NCATS Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Roger R. Nani
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Yi-Fan Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Haiying Fu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Hamzah Shah
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Alexander P. Gorka
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Rajarshi Guha
- NCATS Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Lu Chen
- NCATS Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Matthew D Hall
- NCATS Chemical Genomics Center, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
| | - Martin J. Schnermann
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA,Corresponding Author: Dr. Mitchell Ho, Antibody Therapy Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Building 37, Room 5002, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264. Tel: +01 240-760-7848;
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Role of cell surface proteoglycans in cancer immunotherapy. Semin Cancer Biol 2019; 62:48-67. [PMID: 31336150 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2019.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, understanding how tumor cells evade the immune system and their communication with their tumor microenvironment, has been the subject of intense investigation, with the aim of developing new cancer immunotherapies. The current therapies against cancer such as monoclonal antibodies against checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive T-cell transfer, cytokines, vaccines, and oncolytic viruses have managed to improve the clinical outcome of the patients. However, in some tumor entities, the response is limited and could benefit from the identification of novel therapeutic targets. It is known that tumor-extracellular matrix interplay and matrix remodeling are necessary for anti-tumor and pro-tumoral immune responses. Proteoglycans are dominant components of the extracellular matrix and are a highly heterogeneous group of proteins characterized by the covalent attachment of a specific linear carbohydrate chain of the glycosaminoglycan type. At cell surfaces, these molecules modulate the expression and activity of cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, adhesion molecules, and function as signaling co-receptors. By these mechanisms, proteoglycans influence the behavior of cancer cells and their microenvironment during the progression of solid tumors and hematopoietic malignancies. In this review, we discuss why cell surface proteoglycans are attractive pharmacological targets in cancer, and we present current and recent developments in cancer immunology and immunotherapy utilizing proteoglycan-targeted strategies.
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Ning S, Liu H, Gao B, Wei W, Yang A, Li J, Zhang L. miR-155, miR-96 and miR-99a as potential diagnostic and prognostic tools for the clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma. Oncol Lett 2019; 18:3381-3387. [PMID: 31452818 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence has demonstrated that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) can be utilized as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of cancer, as well as a prognostic tool for the management of the disease. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the predictive ability of miRNA (miR)-155, miR-96 and miR-99a for the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tissues were collected from 30 patients with HCC and their matched adjacent normal liver tissues, as well as from serum samples from 30 patients with HCC and 30 healthy controls. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to measure the expression levels of miR-155, miR-96 and miR-99a. The expression levels of miR-155 and miR-96 were upregulated in the tissues and serum of patients with HCC, whereas miR-99a expression levels were decreased. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis revealed that circulating miR-155, miR-96, miR-99a and a combination of these three miRNAs could serve as diagnostic biomarkers for HCC with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.84, 0.824, 0.799 and 0.931, respectively. Serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) was detected using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer. The addition of AFP with the combination of these three miRNAs offered a higher accuracy of HCC diagnosis (AUC, 0.979; sensitivity, 90.0%; specificity, 100.0%). In addition, elevated expression levels of miR-155 and miR-96 were associated with poor survival time of patients with HCC. The panel of miR-155, miR-96, miR-99a and AFP had a higher sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of HCC when compared with a single marker. Furthermore, the present data suggested that miR-155 and miR-96 may be potential prognostic markers for the clinical management of patients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shufang Ning
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Haizhou Liu
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Bing Gao
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Wene Wei
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Aifang Yang
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Jilin Li
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Litu Zhang
- Department of Research, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
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Busato D, Mossenta M, Baboci L, Di Cintio F, Toffoli G, Dal Bo M. Novel immunotherapeutic approaches for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol 2019; 12:453-470. [PMID: 30907177 DOI: 10.1080/17512433.2019.1598859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has been lately proposed for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with respect to other cancer types. Several immunotherapeutic approaches are now under evaluation for HCC treatment including: i) antibodies acting as immune checkpoint inhibitors; ii) antibodies targeting specific tumor-associated antigens; iii) chimeric antigen receptor redirected T (CAR-T) cells targeting specific tumor-associated antigens; iv) vaccination strategies with tumor-specific epitopes. Areas covered: The review provides a wide description of the clinical trials investigating the efficacy of the main immunotherapeutic approaches proposed for the treatment of patients affected by HCC. Expert opinion: The balancing between immunostimulative and immunosuppressive factors in the context of HCC tumor microenvironment results in heterogeneous response rates to immunotherapeutic approaches such as checkpoint inhibitors, among HCC patients. In this context, it becomes crucial the identification of predictive factors determining the treatment response. A multiple approach using different biomarkers could be useful to identify the subgroup of HCC patients responsive to the treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor (as an example, nivolumab) as single agent, and to identify those patients in which other treatment regimens, such as the combination with sorafenib, or with locoregional therapies, could be more effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Busato
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy.,b Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy
| | - Monica Mossenta
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy.,b Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy
| | - Lorena Baboci
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy
| | - Federica Di Cintio
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy.,b Department of Life Sciences , University of Trieste , Trieste , Italy
| | - Giuseppe Toffoli
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy
| | - Michele Dal Bo
- a Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology Unit , Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO), IRCCS , Aviano (PN) , Italy
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36
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Zhang Y, Qiu D, Li R, Liu Y, Shi S, Wang Y. Preparation of a monoclonal antibody against the carcinoembryonic antigen, glypican‑3. Mol Med Rep 2019; 19:3889-3895. [PMID: 30896845 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The carcinoembryonic antigen, glypican‑3 (GPC3), is a putative therapeutic target and diagnostic marker of hepatoma. In the present study, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) specifically against GPC3 was obtained via cloning the sequence of GPC3 via polymerase chain reaction and inserting it into a pET16b vector prior to transfection into Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21. BALB/c mice were immunized with 20 µg purified antigen by intrasplenic embedding. Splenocytes and mouse myeloma cells SP2/0 were fused; then, the hybridoma cells were screened by an indirect ELISA. The properties of the mAb were examined by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis against the purified protein. The results revealed that the prokaryotic expression vector of GPC3 had been successfully generated and GPC3 was stably expressed in E. coli BL21. A stable hybridoma cell line, 2F3, was generated in the present study, which produced mAbs against GPC3. The mAb 2F3 had a high antibody titer and the isotype was identified as IgG1/κ; 2F3 hybridomas had a median chromosome number of 98. Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses revealed that 2F3 specifically recognized recombinant and native GPC3. The 2F3 clone was proposed as a stable secretor of this mAb against GPC3. The results of present study indicated that the successful preparation of recombinant GPC3 protein and an anti‑human GPC3 mouse mAb may be provide a basis for developments in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongdong Zhang
- Department of Stomatology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, P.R. China
| | - Dongri Qiu
- Department of Stomatology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, P.R. China
| | - Ronghua Li
- Department of Stomatology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, P.R. China
| | - Yawu Liu
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio University Hospital, FIN‑70210 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Shuainan Shi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Institute of Urology, Tianjin 300211, P.R. China
| | - Yuliang Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Institute of Urology, Tianjin 300211, P.R. China
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Li N, Gao W, Zhang YF, Ho M. Glypicans as Cancer Therapeutic Targets. Trends Cancer 2018; 4:741-754. [PMID: 30352677 PMCID: PMC6209326 DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Glypicans are a group of cell-surface glycoproteins in which heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycan chains are covalently linked to a protein core. The glypican gene family is broadly conserved across animal species and plays important roles in biological processes. Glypicans can function as coreceptors for multiple signaling molecules known for regulating cell growth, motility, and differentiation. Some members of the glypican family, including glypican 2 (GPC2) and glypican 3 (GPC3), are expressed in childhood cancers and liver cancers, respectively. Antibody-based therapies targeting glypicans are being investigated in preclinical and clinical studies, with the goal of treating solid tumors that do not respond to standard therapies. These studies may establish glypicans as a new class of therapeutic targets for treating cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Wei Gao
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Yi-Fan Zhang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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Karamanos NK, Piperigkou Z, Theocharis AD, Watanabe H, Franchi M, Baud S, Brézillon S, Götte M, Passi A, Vigetti D, Ricard-Blum S, Sanderson RD, Neill T, Iozzo RV. Proteoglycan Chemical Diversity Drives Multifunctional Cell Regulation and Therapeutics. Chem Rev 2018; 118:9152-9232. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 193] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikos K. Karamanos
- Biochemistry, Biochemical Analysis & Matrix Pathobiology Research Group, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Patras 26110, Greece
- Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH)/Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT), Patras 26110, Greece
| | - Zoi Piperigkou
- Biochemistry, Biochemical Analysis & Matrix Pathobiology Research Group, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Patras 26110, Greece
- Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH)/Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT), Patras 26110, Greece
| | - Achilleas D. Theocharis
- Biochemistry, Biochemical Analysis & Matrix Pathobiology Research Group, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Patras 26110, Greece
| | - Hideto Watanabe
- Institute for Molecular Science of Medicine, Aichi Medical University, Aichi 480-1195, Japan
| | - Marco Franchi
- Department for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, Rimini 47100, Italy
| | - Stéphanie Baud
- Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Laboratoire SiRMa, CNRS UMR MEDyC 7369, Faculté de Médecine, 51 rue Cognacq Jay, Reims 51100, France
| | - Stéphane Brézillon
- Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, CNRS UMR MEDyC 7369, Faculté de Médecine, 51 rue Cognacq Jay, Reims 51100, France
| | - Martin Götte
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Münster University Hospital, Münster 48149, Germany
| | - Alberto Passi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese 21100, Italy
| | - Davide Vigetti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese 21100, Italy
| | - Sylvie Ricard-Blum
- University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5246, Institute of Molecular and Supramolecular Chemistry and Biochemistry, Villeurbanne 69622, France
| | - Ralph D. Sanderson
- Department of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, United States
| | - Thomas Neill
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10107, United States
| | - Renato V. Iozzo
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10107, United States
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Theocharis AD, Karamanos NK. Proteoglycans remodeling in cancer: Underlying molecular mechanisms. Matrix Biol 2017; 75-76:220-259. [PMID: 29128506 DOI: 10.1016/j.matbio.2017.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Revised: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Extracellular matrix is a highly dynamic macromolecular network. Proteoglycans are major components of extracellular matrix playing key roles in its structural organization and cell signaling contributing to the control of numerous normal and pathological processes. As multifunctional molecules, proteoglycans participate in various cell functions during morphogenesis, wound healing, inflammation and tumorigenesis. Their interactions with matrix effectors, cell surface receptors and enzymes enable them with unique properties. In malignancy, extensive remodeling of tumor stroma is associated with marked alterations in proteoglycans' expression and structural variability. Proteoglycans exert diverse functions in tumor stroma in a cell-specific and context-specific manner and they mainly contribute to the formation of a permissive provisional matrix for tumor growth affecting tissue organization, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and tumor cell signaling. Proteoglycans also modulate cancer cell phenotype and properties, the development of drug resistance and tumor stroma angiogenesis. This review summarizes the proteoglycans remodeling and their novel biological roles in malignancies with particular emphasis to the underlying molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achilleas D Theocharis
- Biochemistry, Biochemical Analysis & Matrix Pathobiochemistry Research Group, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece.
| | - Nikos K Karamanos
- Biochemistry, Biochemical Analysis & Matrix Pathobiochemistry Research Group, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece.
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40
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Wu Q, Pi L, Le Trinh T, Zuo C, Xia M, Jiao Y, Hou Z, Jo S, Puszyk W, Pham K, Nelson DR, Robertson K, Ostrov D, Rameshwar P, Xia CQ, Liu C. A Novel Vaccine Targeting Glypican-3 as a Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Mol Ther 2017; 25:2299-2308. [PMID: 28865999 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high morbidity and mortality rate worldwide, with limited treatment options. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein that is overexpressed in most HCC tissues but not in normal tissues. GPC3-targeting antibody therapy shows limited response in a clinical trial due to the lack of a tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. Here, in C57/B6 mice, we demonstrated that intravenous infusion of GPC3-coupled lymphocytes (LC/GPC3+) elicited robust GPC3-specific antibody and CTL responses, which effectively restricted proliferation and lysed cultured-HCC cells. Treatment with LC/GPC3+ induced durable tumor regression in HCC-bearing C57/B6 mice. Administration of LC/GPC3+ induced elevated levels of the cytotoxic T cell bioactive factors tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), granzyme B, and perforin, and substantially increased the number of infiltrating CD8+ T cells in tumor tissues. Moreover, immune responses elicited by LC/GPC3+ selectively suppressed GPC3+ tumors, but didn't affect the GPC3- tumors in BALB/c mice. Our findings provide the first preclinical evidence that intravenous infusion of the LC/GPC3+ complex can induce a strong anti-HCC effect through regulating systemic and local immune responses. These results indicate that the LC/GPC3+ complex could be developed as precision therapeutics for HCC patients in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qunfeng Wu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Liya Pi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Thu Le Trinh
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Department of Immunology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Chaohui Zuo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Gastroduodenal and Pancreatic Surgery, Translational Medicine Research Center of Liver Cancer, Hunan Province Cancer Hospital and Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410013, P.R. China
| | - Man Xia
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Laboratory of Digestive Oncology, Hunan Province Cancer Institute, Changsha, Hunan Province 410013, P.R. China
| | - Yu Jiao
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Zhouhua Hou
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410008, P.R. China
| | - Sung Jo
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - William Puszyk
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Kien Pham
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - David R Nelson
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Keith Robertson
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 85259, USA
| | - David Ostrov
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Pranela Rameshwar
- Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Chang Qing Xia
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
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Sadraeian M, Guimarães FEG, Araújo APU, Worthylake DK, LeCour LJ, Pincus SH. Selective cytotoxicity of a novel immunotoxin based on pulchellin A chain for cells expressing HIV envelope. Sci Rep 2017; 7:7579. [PMID: 28790381 PMCID: PMC5548917 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08037-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotoxins (ITs), which consist of antibodies conjugated to toxins, have been proposed as a treatment for cancer and chronic infections. To develop and improve the ITs, different toxins such as ricin, have been used, aiming for higher efficacy against target cells. The toxin pulchellin, isolated from the Abrus pulchellus plant, has similar structure and function as ricin. Here we have compared two plant toxins, recombinant A chains from ricin (RAC) and pulchellin (PAC) toxins, for their ability to kill HIV Env-expressing cells. In this study, RAC and PAC were produced in E. coli, and chromatographically purified, then chemically conjugated to two different anti-HIV monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), anti-gp120 MAb 924 or anti-gp41 MAb 7B2. These conjugates were characterized biochemically and immunologically. Cell internalization was studied by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Results showed that PAC can function within an effective IT. The ITs demonstrated specific binding against native antigens on persistently HIV-infected cells and recombinant antigens on Env-transfected cells. PAC cytotoxicity appears somewhat less than RAC, the standard for comparison. This is the first report that PAC may have utility for the design and construction of therapeutic ITs, highlighting the potential role for specific cell targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Sadraeian
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 369, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil
- Research Institute for Children, Children's Hospital, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States
| | - Francisco E G Guimarães
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 369, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil.
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 369, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil.
| | - Ana P U Araújo
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 369, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil
| | - David K Worthylake
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States
| | - Louis Jr LeCour
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States
| | - Seth H Pincus
- Research Institute for Children, Children's Hospital, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, United States.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA.
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Liang HW, Ye ZH, Yin SY, Mo WJ, Wang HL, Zhao JC, Liang GM, Feng ZB, Chen G, Luo DZ. A comprehensive insight into the clinicopathologic significance of miR-144-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma. Onco Targets Ther 2017; 10:3405-3419. [PMID: 28744145 PMCID: PMC5513884 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s138143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies which focused on the character of miR-144-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are limited. This study aimed to explore the expression, clinical significance and the potential targets of miR-144-3p in HCC. METHODS The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and a cohort of 95 cases of HCC were applied to investigate aberrant miR-144-3p expression in HCC. A meta-analysis was performed to accumulate data on miR-144-3p expression in HCC based on TCGA, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Additionally, the potential regulatory mechanisms of miR-144-3p in HCC were explored by bioinformatics. RESULTS MiR-144-3p expression was downregulated distinctly in HCC compared to para-HCC tissue both in TCGA data (8.9139±1.5986 vs 10.7721±0.9156, P<0.001) and in our qRT-PCR validation (1.3208±0.7594 vs 2.6200±0.9263, P<0.001). The meta-analysis based on TCGA, qRT-PCR and GEO data confirmed a consistent result (standard mean difference =-0.854, 95% CI: -1.224 to -0.484, P<0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve of miR-144-3p gained a significant diagnostic value both in TCGA data (area under the curve [AUC] =0.852, 95% CI: 0.810 to 0.894, P<0.001) and in qRT-PCR validation (AUC =0.867, 95% CI: 0.817 to 0.916, P<0.001), especially in alpha-fetoprotein-negative HCC patients (AUC =0.900, 95% CI: 0.839 to 0.960, P<0.001). Furthermore, we identified 119 potential targets of miR-144-3p in HCC by bioinformatics. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses revealed that several significant biologic functions and pathways correlated with the pathogenesis of HCC, including the p53 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION MiR-144-3p may function as a cancer suppressor microRNA, which is essential for HCC progression through the regulation of various signaling pathways. Thus, interactions with miR-144-3p may provide a novel treatment strategy for HCC in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Wei Liang
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Zhi-Hua Ye
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Shu-Ya Yin
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Wei-Jia Mo
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Han-Lin Wang
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Jin-Che Zhao
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Guo-Mei Liang
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Zhen-Bo Feng
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Gang Chen
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
| | - Dian-Zhong Luo
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
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Addressing the Immunogenicity of the Cargo and of the Targeting Antibodies with a Focus on Demmunized Bacterial Toxins and on Antibody-Targeted Human Effector Proteins. Biomedicines 2017; 5:biomedicines5020028. [PMID: 28574434 PMCID: PMC5489814 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines5020028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Third-generation immunotoxins are composed of a human, or humanized, targeting moiety, usually a monoclonal antibody or an antibody fragment, and a non-human effector molecule. Due to the non-human origin of the cytotoxic domain, these molecules stimulate potent anti-drug immune responses, which limit treatment options. Efforts are made to deimmunize such immunotoxins or to combine treatment with immunosuppression. An alternative approach is using the so-called “human cytotoxic fusion proteins”, in which antibodies are used to target human effector proteins. Here, we present three relevant approaches for reducing the immunogenicity of antibody-targeted protein therapeutics: (1) reducing the immunogenicity of the bacterial toxin, (2) fusing human cytokines to antibodies to generate immunocytokines and (3) addressing the immunogenicity of the targeting antibodies.
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