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Paul S, Bhagat S, Dash L, Mohapatra HD, Jena S, Verma SK, Dutta A. ExoDS: a versatile exosome-based drug delivery platform to target cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2024; 12:1362681. [PMID: 38903193 PMCID: PMC11188490 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1362681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy drugs like doxorubicin (Dox) are widely used in middle-income countries around the world to treat various types of cancers, including breast cancer. Although they are toxic, they are still widely used to treat cancer. Delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells to reduce side effects remains a challenge. Moreover, modern research gave rise to cancer stem cell theory, which implicated cancer stem cells in tumor initiation, progression, and relapse. This makes it imperative to target cancer stem cells to achieve complete remission. Our work highlights the development of an exosome-based targeted drug delivery vehicle. These exosomes were isolated from mature dendritic cells (mDCs) and encapsulated with doxorubicin (ExoDS). Our results showed that ExoDS specifically targeted breast cancer cells and breast cancer stem cells. Further analysis revealed that ExoDS did not induce any significant apoptosis in healthy mammary cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy individuals and breast cancer patients. ExoDS was also found to target circulating tumor cells (CTCs) isolated from patient blood. ExoDS also showed equal efficiency compared to free doxorubicin in vivo. We also observed that ExoDS reduced the expression of cancer stem cell markers in murine tumor tissues. Altogether, this work provides novel insights into how mDC-derived exosomes can be used to specifically target cancer cells and cancer stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swastika Paul
- EXSURE Pvt Ltd., KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | | | - Lipsa Dash
- EXSURE Pvt Ltd., KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | | | - Sarita Jena
- Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Suresh K. Verma
- School of Biotechnology, KIIT Deemed-to-be-University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Abhishek Dutta
- EXSURE Pvt Ltd., KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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Fonseca P, Cui W, Struyf N, Tong L, Chaurasiya A, Casagrande F, Zhao H, Fernando D, Chen X, Tobin NP, Seashore-Ludlow B, Lundqvist A, Hartman J, Göndör A, Östling P, Holmgren L. A phenotypic screening approach to target p60AmotL2-expressing invasive cancer cells. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2024; 43:107. [PMID: 38594748 PMCID: PMC11003180 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-024-03031-w] [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] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumor cells have the ability to invade and form small clusters that protrude into adjacent tissues, a phenomenon that is frequently observed at the periphery of a tumor as it expands into healthy tissues. The presence of these clusters is linked to poor prognosis and has proven challenging to treat using conventional therapies. We previously reported that p60AmotL2 expression is localized to invasive colon and breast cancer cells. In vitro, p60AmotL2 promotes epithelial cell invasion by negatively impacting E-cadherin/AmotL2-related mechanotransduction. METHODS Using epithelial cells transfected with inducible p60AmotL2, we employed a phenotypic drug screening approach to find compounds that specifically target invasive cells. The phenotypic screen was performed by treating cells for 72 h with a library of compounds with known antitumor activities in a dose-dependent manner. After assessing cell viability using CellTiter-Glo, drug sensitivity scores for each compound were calculated. Candidate hit compounds with a higher drug sensitivity score for p60AmotL2-expressing cells were then validated on lung and colon cell models, both in 2D and in 3D, and on colon cancer patient-derived organoids. Nascent RNA sequencing was performed after BET inhibition to analyse BET-dependent pathways in p60AmotL2-expressing cells. RESULTS We identified 60 compounds that selectively targeted p60AmotL2-expressing cells. Intriguingly, these compounds were classified into two major categories: Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitors and Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal motif (BET) inhibitors. The latter consistently demonstrated antitumor activity in human cancer cell models, as well as in organoids derived from colon cancer patients. BET inhibition led to a shift towards the upregulation of pro-apoptotic pathways specifically in p60AmotL2-expressing cells. CONCLUSIONS BET inhibitors specifically target p60AmotL2-expressing invasive cancer cells, likely by exploiting differences in chromatin accessibility, leading to cell death. Additionally, our findings support the use of this phenotypic strategy to discover novel compounds that can exploit vulnerabilities and specifically target invasive cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Fonseca
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Weiyingqi Cui
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nona Struyf
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Tomtebodavägen 23a, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Le Tong
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayushi Chaurasiya
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Felipe Casagrande
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Honglei Zhao
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Dinura Fernando
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xinsong Chen
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nicholas P Tobin
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Breast Center, Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brinton Seashore-Ludlow
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Tomtebodavägen 23a, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andreas Lundqvist
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Hartman
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anita Göndör
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo, Akershus Universitetssykehus, 1478, Lørenskog, Oslo, Norway
| | - Päivi Östling
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Tomtebodavägen 23a, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lars Holmgren
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, U2, Bioclinicum J6:20, Solnavägen 30, 171 64, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Przanowska RK, Labban N, Przanowski P, Hawes RB, Atkins KA, Showalter SL, Janes KA. Patient-derived response estimates from zero-passage organoids of luminal breast cancer. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.24.586432. [PMID: 38585922 PMCID: PMC10996455 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.24.586432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Background Primary luminal breast cancer cells lose their identity rapidly in standard tissue culture, which is problematic for testing hormone interventions and molecular pathways specific to the luminal subtype. Breast cancer organoids are thought to retain tumor characteristics better, but long-term viability of luminal-subtype cases is a persistent challenge. Our goal was to adapt short-term organoids of luminal breast cancer for parallel testing of genetic and pharmacologic perturbations. Methods We freshly isolated patient-derived cells from luminal tumor scrapes, miniaturized the organoid format into 5 μl replicates for increased throughput, and set an endpoint of 14 days to minimize drift. Therapeutic hormone targeting was mimicked in these "zero-passage" organoids by withdrawing β-estradiol and adding 4-hydroxytamoxifen. We also examined sulforaphane as an electrophilic stress and commercial neutraceutical with reported anti-cancer properties. Downstream mechanisms were tested genetically by lentiviral transduction of two complementary sgRNAs and Cas9 stabilization for the first week of organoid culture. Transcriptional changes were measured by RT-qPCR or RNA sequencing, and organoid phenotypes were quantified by serial brightfield imaging, digital image segmentation, and regression modeling of cellular doubling times. Results We achieved >50% success in initiating luminal breast cancer organoids from tumor scrapes and maintaining them to the 14-day zero-passage endpoint. Success was mostly independent of clinical parameters, supporting general applicability of the approach. Abundance of ESR1 and PGR in zero-passage organoids consistently remained within the range of patient variability at the endpoint. However, responsiveness to hormone withdrawal and blockade was highly variable among luminal breast cancer cases tested. Combining sulforaphane with knockout of NQO1 (a phase II antioxidant response gene and downstream effector of sulforaphane) also yielded a breadth of organoid growth phenotypes, including growth inhibition with sulforaphane, growth promotion with NQO1 knockout, and growth antagonism when combined. Conclusions Zero-passage organoids are a rapid and scalable way to interrogate properties of luminal breast cancer cells from patient-derived material. This includes testing drug mechanisms of action in different clinical cohorts. A future goal is to relate inter-patient variability of zero-passage organoids to long-term outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Róża K Przanowska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Najwa Labban
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Piotr Przanowski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Russell B Hawes
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Kristen A Atkins
- Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Shayna L Showalter
- Department of Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Kevin A Janes
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
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Breast cancer patient-derived whole-tumor cell culture model for efficient drug profiling and treatment response prediction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2209856120. [PMID: 36574653 PMCID: PMC9910599 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209856120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is a complex disease comprising multiple distinct subtypes with different genetic features and pathological characteristics. Although a large number of antineoplastic compounds have been approved for clinical use, patient-to-patient variability in drug response is frequently observed, highlighting the need for efficient treatment prediction for individualized therapy. Several patient-derived models have been established lately for the prediction of drug response. However, each of these models has its limitations that impede their clinical application. Here, we report that the whole-tumor cell culture (WTC) ex vivo model could be stably established from all breast tumors with a high success rate (98 out of 116), and it could reassemble the parental tumors with the endogenous microenvironment. We observed strong clinical associations and predictive values from the investigation of a broad range of BC therapies with WTCs derived from a patient cohort. The accuracy was further supported by the correlation between WTC-based test results and patients' clinical responses in a separate validation study, where the neoadjuvant treatment regimens of 15 BC patients were mimicked. Collectively, the WTC model allows us to accomplish personalized drug testing within 10 d, even for small-sized tumors, highlighting its potential for individualized BC therapy. Furthermore, coupled with genomic and transcriptomic analyses, WTC-based testing can also help to stratify specific patient groups for assignment into appropriate clinical trials, as well as validate potential biomarkers during drug development.
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