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El Omar R, Abdellaoui N, Coulibaly ST, Fontenille L, Lanza F, Gachet C, Freund JN, Negroni M, Kissa K, Tavian M. Macrophage depletion overcomes human hematopoietic cell engraftment failure in zebrafish embryo. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:305. [PMID: 38693109 PMCID: PMC11063059 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06682-x] [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: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Zebrafish is widely adopted as a grafting model for studying human development and diseases. Current zebrafish xenotransplantations are performed using embryo recipients, as the adaptive immune system, responsible for host versus graft rejection, only reaches maturity at juvenile stage. However, transplanted primary human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSC) rapidly disappear even in zebrafish embryos, suggesting that another barrier to transplantation exists before the onset of adaptive immunity. Here, using a labelled macrophage zebrafish line, we demonstrated that engraftment of human HSC induces a massive recruitment of macrophages which rapidly phagocyte transplanted cells. Macrophages depletion, by chemical or pharmacological treatments, significantly improved the uptake and survival of transplanted cells, demonstrating the crucial implication of these innate immune cells for the successful engraftment of human cells in zebrafish. Beyond identifying the reasons for human hematopoietic cell engraftment failure, this work images the fate of human cells in real time over several days in macrophage-depleted zebrafish embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reine El Omar
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, EFS Grand-Est, BPPS UMR-S1255, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Lorraine, CITHEFOR, F-54505, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France
| | | | - Safiatou T Coulibaly
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, Strasbourg, France
- ITI Innovec, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - François Lanza
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, EFS Grand-Est, BPPS UMR-S1255, Strasbourg, France
| | - Christian Gachet
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, EFS Grand-Est, BPPS UMR-S1255, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Noel Freund
- ITI Innovec, Strasbourg, France
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, IRFAC/UMR-S1113, Strasbourg, France
- INSERM, U1256 - NGERE, Université de Lorraine, 54500, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Matteo Negroni
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, UPR 9002, Strasbourg, France
- ITI Innovec, Strasbourg, France
| | - Karima Kissa
- University of Montpellier, VBIC, INSERM U1047, Montpellier, France
- AZELEAD SAS, Montpellier, France
| | - Manuela Tavian
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, EFS Grand-Est, BPPS UMR-S1255, Strasbourg, France.
- ITI Innovec, Strasbourg, France.
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM, IRFAC/UMR-S1113, Strasbourg, France.
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2
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Reinhardt F, Coen L, Rivandi M, Franken A, Setyono ESA, Lindenberg T, Eberhardt J, Fehm T, Niederacher D, Knopf F, Neubauer H. DanioCTC: Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells from Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients in Zebrafish Xenografts. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5411. [PMID: 38001672 PMCID: PMC10670801 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15225411] [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: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) serve as crucial metastatic precursor cells, but their study in animal models has been hindered by their low numbers. To address this challenge, we present DanioCTC, an innovative xenograft workflow that overcomes the scarcity of patient-derived CTCs in animal models. By combining diagnostic leukapheresis (DLA), the Parsortix microfluidic system, flow cytometry, and the CellCelector setup, DanioCTC effectively enriches and isolates CTCs from metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients for injection into zebrafish embryos. Validation experiments confirmed that MDA-MB-231 cells, transplanted following the standard protocol, localized frequently in the head and blood-forming regions of the zebrafish host. Notably, when MDA-MB-231 cells spiked (i.e., supplemented) into DLA aliquots were processed using DanioCTC, the cell dissemination patterns remained consistent. Successful xenografting of CTCs from a MBC patient revealed their primary localization in the head and trunk regions of zebrafish embryos. DanioCTC represents a major step forward in the endeavors to study the dissemination of individual and rare patient-derived CTCs, thereby enhancing our understanding of metastatic breast cancer biology and facilitating the development of targeted interventions in MBC. Summary statement: DanioCTC is a novel workflow to inject patient-derived CTCs into zebrafish, enabling studies of the capacity of these rare tumor cells to induce metastases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Reinhardt
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Luisa Coen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Mahdi Rivandi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - André Franken
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Eunike Sawitning Ayu Setyono
- Center for Regenerative Therapies TU Dresden (CRTD), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Center for Healthy Aging, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Tobias Lindenberg
- Anatomical Institute, Neuroanatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Tanja Fehm
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Dieter Niederacher
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Franziska Knopf
- Center for Regenerative Therapies TU Dresden (CRTD), Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Center for Healthy Aging, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Hans Neubauer
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
- Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Duesseldorf), 53127 Bonn, Germany
- Life Science Center, Merowingerplatz 1 A, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Boulos JC, Omer EA, Rigano D, Formisano C, Chatterjee M, Leich E, Klauck SM, Shan LT, Efferth T. Cynaropicrin disrupts tubulin and c-Myc-related signaling and induces parthanatos-type cell death in multiple myeloma. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2023; 44:2265-2281. [PMID: 37344563 PMCID: PMC10618500 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-023-01117-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of blood malignancies is incurable and has unforeseeable remitting-relapsing paths in response to different treatments. Cynaropicrin, a natural sesquiterpene lactone from the edible parts of the artichoke plant, has gained increased attention as a chemotherapeutic agent. In this study, we investigated the effects of cynaropicrin against multiple myeloma (MM) cells in vitro and assessed its in vivo effectiveness in a xenograft tumor zebrafish model. We showed that cynaropicrin exerted potent cytotoxicity against a panel of nine MM cell lines and two leukemia cell lines with AMO1 being the most sensitive cell line (IC50 = 1.8 ± 0.3 µM). Cynaropicrin (0.8, 1.9, 3.6 µM) dose-dependently reduced c-Myc expression and transcriptional activity in AMO1 cells that was associated with significant downregulation of STAT3, AKT, and ERK1/2. Cell cycle analysis showed that cynaropicrin treatment arrested AMO1 cells in the G2M phase along with an increase in the sub-G0G1 phase after 24 h. With prolonged treatment times, cells accumulated more in the sub-G0G1 phase, implying cell death. Using confocal microscopy, we revealed that cynaropicrin disrupted the microtubule network in U2OS cells stably expressing α-tubulin-GFP. Furthermore, we revealed that cynaropicrin promoted DNA damage in AMO1 cells leading to PAR polymer production by PARP1 hyperactivation, resulting in AIF translocation from the mitochondria to the nucleus and subsequently to a novel form of cell death, parthanatos. Finally, we demonstrated that cynaropicrin (5, 10 µM) significantly reduced tumor growth in a T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) xenograft zebrafish model. Taken together, these results demonstrate that cynaropicrin causes potent inhibition of hematopoietic tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joelle C Boulos
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Ejlal A Omer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniela Rigano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Carmen Formisano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Manik Chatterjee
- University Hospital Würzburg, Translational Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ellen Leich
- Julius Maximilian University, Institute of Pathology, Würzburg, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, Translational Oncology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sabine M Klauck
- Division of Cancer Genome Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Le-Tian Shan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, China
| | - Thomas Efferth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
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4
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Boulos JC, Chatterjee M, Shan L, Efferth T. In Silico, In Vitro, and In Vivo Investigations on Adapalene as Repurposed Third Generation Retinoid against Multiple Myeloma and Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4136. [PMID: 37627164 PMCID: PMC10452460 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15164136] [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: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of hematopoietic cancers in adults are incurable and exhibit unpredictable remitting-relapsing patterns in response to various therapies. The proto-oncogene c-MYC has been associated with tumorigenesis, especially in hematological neoplasms. Therefore, targeting c-MYC is crucial to find effective, novel treatments for blood malignancies. To date, there are no clinically approved c-MYC inhibitors. In this study, we virtually screened 1578 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs from the ZINC15 database against c-MYC. The top 117 compounds from PyRx-based screening with the best binding affinities to c-MYC were subjected to molecular docking studies with AutoDock 4.2.6. Retinoids consist of synthetic and natural vitamin A derivatives. All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) were highly effective in hematological malignancies. In this study, adapalene, a third-generation retinoid usually used to treat acne vulgaris, was selected as a potent c-MYC inhibitor as it robustly bound to c-MYC with a lowest binding energy (LBE) of -7.27 kcal/mol, a predicted inhibition constant (pKi) of 4.69 µM, and a dissociation constant (Kd value) of 3.05 µM. Thus, we examined its impact on multiple myeloma (MM) cells in vitro and evaluated its efficiency in vivo using a xenograft tumor zebrafish model. We demonstrated that adapalene exerted substantial cytotoxicity against a panel of nine MM and two leukemic cell lines, with AMO1 cells being the most susceptible one (IC50 = 1.76 ± 0.39 µM) and, hence, the focus of this work. Adapalene (0.5 × IC50, 1 × IC50, 2 × IC50) decreased c-MYC expression and transcriptional activity in AMO1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. An examination of the cell cycle revealed that adapalene halted the cells in the G2/M phase and increased the portion of cells in the sub-G0/G1 phase after 48 and 72 h, indicating that cells failed to initiate mitosis, and consequently, cell death was triggered. Adapalene also increased the number of p-H3(Ser10) positive AMO1 cells, which is a further proof of its ability to prevent mitotic exit. Confocal imaging demonstrated that adapalene destroyed the tubulin network of U2OS cells stably transfected with a cDNA coding for α-tubulin-GFP, refraining the migration of malignant cells. Furthermore, adapalene induced DNA damage in AMO1 cells. It also induced apoptosis and autophagy, as demonstrated by flow cytometry and western blotting. Finally, adapalene impeded tumor growth in a xenograft tumor zebrafish model. In summary, the discovery of the vitamin A derivative adapalene as a c-MYC inhibitor reveals its potential as an avant-garde treatment for MM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joelle C. Boulos
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany;
| | - Manik Chatterjee
- Translational Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Letian Shan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China;
| | - Thomas Efferth
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany;
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5
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Mallick AM, Biswas A, Mishra S, Jadhav S, Chakraborty K, Tripathi A, Mukherjee A, Roy RS. Engineered vitamin E-tethered non-immunogenic facial lipopeptide for developing improved siRNA based combination therapy against metastatic breast cancer. Chem Sci 2023; 14:7842-7866. [PMID: 37502330 PMCID: PMC10370593 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc01071f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA interference based therapeutic gene silencing is an emerging platform for managing highly metastatic breast cancer. Cytosolic delivery of functional siRNA remains the key obstacle for efficient RNAi therapy. To overcome the challenges of siRNA delivery, we have engineered a vitamin E-tethered, short, optimum protease stabilized facial lipopeptide based non-immunogenic, biocompatible siRNA transporter to facilitate the clinical translation in future. Our designed lipopeptide has an Arginine-Sarcosine-Arginine segment for providing optimum protease-stability, minimizing adjacent arginine-arginine repulsion and reducing intermolecular aggregation and α-tocopherol as the lipidic moiety for facilitating cellular permeabilization. Interestingly, our designed non-immunogenic siRNA transporter has exhibited significantly better long term transfection efficiency than HiPerFect and can transfect hard to transfect primary cell line, HUVEC. Our engineered siRNA therapeutics demonstrated high efficacy in managing metastasis against triple negative breast cancer by disrupting the crosstalk of endothelial cells and MDA-MB-231 and reduced stemness and metastatic markers, as evidenced by downregulating critical oncogenic pathways. Our study aimed at silencing Notch1 signalling to achieve "multi-targeted" therapy with a single putative molecular medicine. We have further developed mechanistically rational combination therapy combining Notch1 silencing with a repurposed drug m-TOR inhibitor, metformin, which demonstrated synergistic interaction and enhanced antitumor efficacy against cancer metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Argha Mario Mallick
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
| | - Abhijit Biswas
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
| | - Sukumar Mishra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
| | - Sonali Jadhav
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune Pune 411008 India
| | - Kasturee Chakraborty
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
| | - Archana Tripathi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
| | - Arnab Mukherjee
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune Pune 411008 India
| | - Rituparna Sinha Roy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
- Centre for Advanced Functional Materials, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
- Centre for Climate and Environmental Studies, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata Mohanpur 741246 India
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6
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Shen Y, Sheng R, Guo R. Application of Zebrafish as a Model for Anti-Cancer Activity Evaluation and Toxicity Testing of Natural Products. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:827. [PMID: 37375774 DOI: 10.3390/ph16060827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Developing natural product-based anti-cancer drugs/agents is a promising way to overcome the serious side effects and toxicity of traditional chemotherapeutics for cancer treatment. However, rapid assessment of the in vivo anti-cancer activities of natural products is a challenge. Alternatively, zebrafish are useful model organisms and perform well in addressing this challenging issue. Nowadays, a growing number of studies have utilized zebrafish models to evaluate the in vivo activities of natural compounds. Herein, we reviewed the application of zebrafish models for evaluating the anti-cancer activity and toxicity of natural products over the past years, summarized its process and benefits, and provided future outlooks for the development of natural product-based anti-cancer drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Shen
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Ruilong Sheng
- CQM-Centro de Química da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, Universidade da Madeira, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal
| | - Ruihua Guo
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquatic-Product Processing & Preservation, Shanghai 201306, China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Aquatic Products on Storage and Preservation (Shanghai), Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai 201306, China
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7
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Yin J, Zhao G, Kalirai H, Coupland SE, Jochemsen AG, Forn-Cuní G, Wierenga APA, Jager MJ, Snaar-Jagalska BE, Groenewoud A. Zebrafish Patient-Derived Xenograft Model as a Preclinical Platform for Uveal Melanoma Drug Discovery. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16040598. [PMID: 37111355 PMCID: PMC10141637 DOI: 10.3390/ph16040598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare malignant cancer of the eye, with up to 50% of patients dying from metastasis, for which no effective treatment is available. Due to the rarity of the disease, there is a great need to harness the limited material available from primary tumors and metastases for advanced research and preclinical drug screening. We established a platform to isolate, preserve, and transiently recover viable tissues, followed by the generation of spheroid cultures derived from primary UM. All assessed tumor-derived samples formed spheroids in culture within 24 h and stained positive for melanocyte-specific markers, indicating the retention of their melanocytic origin. These short-lived spheroids were only maintained for the duration of the experiment (7 days) or re-established from frozen tumor tissue acquired from the same patient. Intravenous injection of fluorescently labeled UM cells derived from these spheroids into zebrafish yielded a reproducible metastatic phenotype and recapitulated molecular features of the disseminating UM. This approach allowed for the experimental replications required for reliable drug screening (at least 2 individual biological experiments, with n > 20). Drug treatments with navitoclax and everolimus validated the zebrafish patient-derived model as a versatile preclinical tool for screening anti-UM drugs and as a preclinical platform to predict personalized drug responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yin
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gangyin Zhao
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Helen Kalirai
- Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Centre, Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
| | - Sarah E Coupland
- Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Centre, Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
| | - Aart G Jochemsen
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gabriel Forn-Cuní
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Annemijn P A Wierenga
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Arwin Groenewoud
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
- Experimental Renal and Cardiovascular Research, Department of Nephropathology, Institute of Pathology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
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8
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Chakraborty K, Biswas A, Mishra S, Mallick AM, Tripathi A, Jan S, Sinha Roy R. Harnessing Peptide-Functionalized Multivalent Gold Nanorods for Promoting Enhanced Gene Silencing and Managing Breast Cancer Metastasis. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2023; 6:458-472. [PMID: 36651932 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.2c00726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has become the cornerstone against undruggable targets and for managing metastatic breast cancer. However, an effective gene silencing approach is faced with a major challenge due to the delivery problem. In our present study, we have demonstrated efficient siRNA delivery, superior gene silencing, and inhibition of metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) using rod-shaped (aspect ratio: 4) multivalent peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles and compared them to monovalent free peptide doses. Multivalency is a new concept in biology, and tuning the physical parameters of multivalent nanoparticles can enhance gene silencing and antitumor efficacy. We explored the effect of the multivalency of shape- and size-dependent peptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles in siRNA delivery. Our study demonstrates that peptide functionalization leads to reduced toxicity of the nanoparticles. Such designed peptide-functionalized nanorods also demonstrate antimetastatic efficacy in Notch1-silenced cells by preventing EMT progression in vitro. We have shown siRNA delivery in the hard-to-transfect primary cell line HUVEC and also demonstrated that the Notch1-silenced MDA-MB-231 cell line has failed to form nanobridge-mediated foci with the HUVEC in the co-culture of HUVEC and MDA-MB-231, which promote metastasis. This antimetastatic effect is further checked in a xenotransplant in vivo zebrafish model. In vivo studies also suggest that our designed nanoparticles mediated inhibition of micrometastasis due to silencing of the Notch1 gene. The outcome of our study highlights that the structure-activity relationship of multifunctional nanoparticles can be harnessed to modulate their biological activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasturee Chakraborty
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Abhijit Biswas
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Sukumar Mishra
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Argha Mario Mallick
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Archana Tripathi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Somnath Jan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
| | - Rituparna Sinha Roy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India.,Centre for Advanced Functional Materials, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India.,Centre for Climate and Environmental Studies, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, India
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9
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Hong T, Park H, An G, Song G, Lim W. Ethalfluralin induces developmental toxicity in zebrafish via oxidative stress and inflammation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 854:158780. [PMID: 36115403 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Ethalfluralin, of dinitroaniline herbicide family, is an effective weed controller. Following residue detection in herbicide-treated fields, ethalfluralin was reported to interfere with early stages of implantation in some vertebrate species. However, the role of ethalfluralin in the development of zebrafish embryos has not been elucidated yet. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the morphological and physiological changes that occur in the embryonic development of zebrafish due to ethalfluralin exposure. Results indicated that ethalfluralin decreased survival rate along with reduction in the hatching ratio and heartbeat. It was observed to cause edema in the heart and yolk sac, and apoptosis in the anterior region of the developing zebrafish larvae; as visualized through acridine orange and TUNEL staining. In addition, ethalfluralin increased the expression of the apoptosis-associated genes including tp53, cyc1, casp8, casp9, and casp3. The Seahorse Mito Stress analysis revealed that ethalfluralin slightly reduced mitochondrial respiration in live zebrafish embryos. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was also observed to be elevated in zebrafish larvae in response to ethalfluralin. Treatment with ethalfluralin decreased blood vessel formation in brain and intestine in flk1 transgenic zebrafish embryos. The decrease in angiogenesis related gene expression was specifically observed in vegfc, flt1, and kdrl, and in the intestinal vasculature related genes apoa4a, aqp3, fabp2, and vil1. Moreover, an increase in inflammatory genes such as cox2a, cox2b, cxcl-c1c, il8, mcl1a, mcl1b, and nf-κb was observed using real-time PCR analysis. Collectively, these results indicate that oxidative stress generated by exposure to ethalfluralin induced ROS generation, apoptosis, inflammation and anti-angiogenic effects, and therefore, ethalfluralin may be toxic to the development of zebrafish embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taeyeon Hong
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Hahyun Park
- Institute of Animal Molecular Biotechnology and Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Garam An
- Institute of Animal Molecular Biotechnology and Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Gwonhwa Song
- Institute of Animal Molecular Biotechnology and Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
| | - Whasun Lim
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
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10
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Oberkersch RE, Lidonnici J, Santoro MM. How to Generate a Vascular-Labelled Transgenic Zebrafish Model to Study Tumor Angiogenesis and Extravasation. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2572:191-202. [PMID: 36161418 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2703-7_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The use of transgenic animals carrying exogenous DNA integrated in their genome is a routine in modern-day laboratories. Nowadays, the zebrafish system represents the most useful tool for transgenesis studies mainly due to easy accessibility and manipulation of the eggs, which are produced in high numbers and over a relatively short generation time. The zebrafish transgenic technology is very straightforward when coupled with angiogenesis studies allowing easy in vivo observation of the vertebrate embryonic vasculature. Here, we describe the most common technique to generate vascular-labelled transgenic zebrafish embryos and their applications to study tumor angiogenesis and visualize tumor extravasation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxana E Oberkersch
- Laboratory of Angiogenesis and Cancer Metabolism, Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Jacopo Lidonnici
- Laboratory of Angiogenesis and Cancer Metabolism, Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Massimo M Santoro
- Laboratory of Angiogenesis and Cancer Metabolism, Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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11
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Padinharayil H, Alappat RR, Joy LM, Anilkumar KV, Wilson CM, George A, Valsala Gopalakrishnan A, Madhyastha H, Ramesh T, Sathiyamoorthi E, Lee J, Ganesan R. Advances in the Lung Cancer Immunotherapy Approaches. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:1963. [PMID: 36423060 PMCID: PMC9693102 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10111963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the progress in the comprehension of LC progression, risk, immunologic control, and treatment choices, it is still the primary cause of cancer-related death. LC cells possess a very low and heterogeneous antigenicity, which allows them to passively evade the anticancer defense of the immune system by educating cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), regulatory T cells (Treg), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Though ICIs are an important candidate in first-line therapy, consolidation therapy, adjuvant therapy, and other combination therapies involving traditional therapies, the need for new predictive immunotherapy biomarkers remains. Furthermore, ICI-induced resistance after an initial response makes it vital to seek and exploit new targets to benefit greatly from immunotherapy. As ICIs, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI) are not ideal LC predictive markers, a multi-parameter analysis of the immune system considering tumor, stroma, and beyond can be the future-oriented predictive marker. The optimal patient selection with a proper adjuvant agent in immunotherapy approaches needs to be still revised. Here, we summarize advances in LC immunotherapy approaches with their clinical and preclinical trials considering cancer models and vaccines and the potential of employing immunology to predict immunotherapy effectiveness in cancer patients and address the viewpoints on future directions. We conclude that the field of lung cancer therapeutics can benefit from the use of combination strategies but with comprehension of their limitations and improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hafiza Padinharayil
- Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur 680005, Kerala, India
| | - Reema Rose Alappat
- Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur 680005, Kerala, India
| | - Liji Maria Joy
- Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur 680005, Kerala, India
| | - Kavya V. Anilkumar
- Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur 680005, Kerala, India
| | - Cornelia M. Wilson
- Life Sciences Industry Liaison Lab, School of Psychology and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Sandwich CT13 9ND, UK
| | - Alex George
- Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur 680005, Kerala, India
| | - Abilash Valsala Gopalakrishnan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Harishkumar Madhyastha
- Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889-1692, Japan
| | - Thiyagarajan Ramesh
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 173, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Jintae Lee
- School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
| | - Raja Ganesan
- Institute for Liver and Digestive Diseases, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon 24253, Republic of Korea
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12
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Segal D, Mazloom-Farsibaf H, Chang BJ, Roudot P, Rajendran D, Daetwyler S, Fiolka R, Warren M, Amatruda JF, Danuser G. In vivo 3D profiling of site-specific human cancer cell morphotypes in zebrafish. J Cell Biol 2022; 221:213501. [PMID: 36155740 PMCID: PMC9516844 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202109100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Tissue microenvironments affect the functional states of cancer cells, but determining these influences in vivo has remained a challenge. We present a quantitative high-resolution imaging assay of single cancer cells in zebrafish xenografts to probe functional adaptation to variable cell-extrinsic cues and molecular interventions. Using cell morphology as a surrogate readout of cell functional states, we examine environmental influences on the morphotype distribution of Ewing Sarcoma, a pediatric cancer associated with the oncogene EWSR1-FLI1 and whose plasticity is thought to determine disease outcome through non-genomic mechanisms. Computer vision analysis reveals systematic shifts in the distribution of 3D morphotypes as a function of cell type and seeding site, as well as tissue-specific cellular organizations that recapitulate those observed in human tumors. Reduced expression of the EWSR1-FLI1 protein product causes a shift to more protrusive cells and decreased tissue specificity of the morphotype distribution. Overall, this work establishes a framework for a statistically robust study of cancer cell plasticity in diverse tissue microenvironments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dagan Segal
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Hanieh Mazloom-Farsibaf
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Bo-Jui Chang
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Philippe Roudot
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Divya Rajendran
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Stephan Daetwyler
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Reto Fiolka
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Mikako Warren
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - James F Amatruda
- Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Gaudenz Danuser
- Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.,Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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13
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Cakan-Akdogan G, Ersoz E, Sozer SC, Gelinci E. An in vivo zebrafish model reveals circulating tumor cell targeting capacity of serum albumin nanoparticles. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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14
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Pardo-Sánchez I, García-Moreno D, Mulero V. Zebrafish Models to Study the Crosstalk between Inflammation and NADPH Oxidase-Derived Oxidative Stress in Melanoma. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11071277. [PMID: 35883768 PMCID: PMC9311651 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11071277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and its incidence continues to increase. In the early stages of melanoma, when the malignant cells have not spread to lymph nodes, they can be removed by simple surgery and there is usually low recurrence. Melanoma has a high mortality rate due to its ability to metastasize; once melanoma has spread, it becomes a major health complication. For these reasons, it is important to study how healthy melanocytes transform into melanoma cells, how they interact with the immune system, which mechanisms they use to escape immunosurveillance, and, finally, how they spread and colonize other tissues, metastasizing. Inflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in the development of several types of cancer, including melanoma, but it is not yet clear under which conditions they are beneficial or detrimental. Models capable of studying the relevance of inflammation and oxidative stress in the early steps of melanocyte transformation are urgently needed, as they are expected to help recognize premetastatic lesions in patients by improving both early detection and the development of new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Pardo-Sánchez
- Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB)-Arrixaca, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Diana García-Moreno
- Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB)-Arrixaca, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Victoriano Mulero
- Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB)-Arrixaca, 30120 Murcia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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15
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Hason M, Jovicic J, Vonkova I, Bojic M, Simon-Vermot T, White RM, Bartunek P. Bioluminescent Zebrafish Transplantation Model for Drug Discovery. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:893655. [PMID: 35559262 PMCID: PMC9086674 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.893655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last decade, zebrafish have accompanied the mouse as a robust animal model for cancer research. The possibility of screening small-molecule inhibitors in a large number of zebrafish embryos makes this model particularly valuable. However, the dynamic visualization of fluorescently labeled tumor cells needs to be complemented by a more sensitive, easy, and rapid mode for evaluating tumor growth in vivo to enable high-throughput screening of clinically relevant drugs. In this study we proposed and validated a pre-clinical screening model for drug discovery by utilizing bioluminescence as our readout for the determination of transplanted cancer cell growth and inhibition in zebrafish embryos. For this purpose, we used NanoLuc luciferase, which ensured rapid cancer cell growth quantification in vivo with high sensitivity and low background when compared to conventional fluorescence measurements. This allowed us large-scale evaluation of in vivo drug responses of 180 kinase inhibitors in zebrafish. Our bioluminescent screening platform could facilitate identification of new small-molecules for targeted cancer therapy as well as for drug repurposing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Hason
- Laboratory of Cell Differentiation, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jovana Jovicic
- Laboratory of Cell Differentiation, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Ivana Vonkova
- CZ-OPENSCREEN, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Milan Bojic
- CZ-OPENSCREEN, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Theresa Simon-Vermot
- Department of Cancer Biology & Genetics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States
| | - Richard M. White
- Department of Cancer Biology & Genetics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, United States
| | - Petr Bartunek
- Laboratory of Cell Differentiation, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- CZ-OPENSCREEN, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- *Correspondence: Petr Bartunek,
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16
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Paola DD, Capparucci F, Natale S, Crupi R, Cuzzocrea S, Spanò N, Gugliandolo E, Peritore AF. Combined Effects of Potassium Perchlorate and a Neonicotinoid on Zebrafish Larvae (Danio rerio). TOXICS 2022; 10:toxics10050203. [PMID: 35622618 PMCID: PMC9145203 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10050203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Imidacloprid (IMI) is part of the neonicotinoids family, insecticides widely used by humans and also found in wastewater. This class of compounds, if present in the environment, can cause toxicity to different species such as bees and gammarids, although little is known about vertebrates such as fish. In addition, several substances have been reported in the environment that can cause damage to aquatic species, such as potassium perchlorate (KClO4), if exposed to high concentrations or for long periods. Often, the co-presence of different contaminants can cause a synergistic action in terms of toxicity to fish. In the present study, we first analyzed different concentrations of IMI (75, 100 and 150 mg/L) and KClO4 (1, 1.5 and 5 mM) to highlight the morphological effects at 96 hpf and, subsequently, chose two nontoxic concentrations to evaluate their co-exposure and the pathway involved in their co-toxicity. Morphological alteration, mucus production, messenger RNA (mRNA) expression related to intestinal function and oxidative stress were measured. These results suggest that co-exposure to IMI and KClO4 could affect zebrafish embryo development by increasing gut toxicity and the alteration of antioxidative defense mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Di Paola
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy; (D.D.P.); (F.C.); (S.N.); (A.F.P.)
| | - Fabiano Capparucci
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy; (D.D.P.); (F.C.); (S.N.); (A.F.P.)
| | - Sabrina Natale
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy; (D.D.P.); (F.C.); (S.N.); (A.F.P.)
| | - Rosalia Crupi
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (R.C.); (E.G.)
| | - Salvatore Cuzzocrea
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy; (D.D.P.); (F.C.); (S.N.); (A.F.P.)
- Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Science, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (N.S.); Tel.: +39-90-6765208 (S.C.); +39-90-6765210 (N.S.)
| | - Nunziacarla Spanò
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98124 Messina, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (N.S.); Tel.: +39-90-6765208 (S.C.); +39-90-6765210 (N.S.)
| | - Enrico Gugliandolo
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy; (R.C.); (E.G.)
| | - Alessio Filippo Peritore
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy; (D.D.P.); (F.C.); (S.N.); (A.F.P.)
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17
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GATA3 and MDM2 are synthetic lethal in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. Commun Biol 2022; 5:373. [PMID: 35440675 PMCID: PMC9018745 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03296-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic lethal interactions, where the simultaneous but not individual inactivation of two genes is lethal to the cell, have been successfully exploited to treat cancer. GATA3 is frequently mutated in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers and its deficiency defines a subset of patients with poor response to hormonal therapy and poor prognosis. However, GATA3 is not yet targetable. Here we show that GATA3 and MDM2 are synthetically lethal in ER-positive breast cancer. Depletion and pharmacological inhibition of MDM2 significantly impaired tumor growth in GATA3-deficient models in vitro, in vivo and in patient-derived organoids/xenograft (PDOs/PDX) harboring GATA3 somatic mutations. The synthetic lethality requires p53 and acts via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Our results present MDM2 as a therapeutic target in the substantial cohort of ER-positive, GATA3-mutant breast cancer patients. With MDM2 inhibitors widely available, our findings can be rapidly translated into clinical trials to evaluate in-patient efficacy.
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18
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Sarmiento BE, Callegari S, Ghotme KA, Akle V. Patient-Derived Xenotransplant of CNS Neoplasms in Zebrafish: A Systematic Review. Cells 2022; 11:cells11071204. [PMID: 35406768 PMCID: PMC8998145 DOI: 10.3390/cells11071204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma and neuroblastoma are the most common central nervous system malignant tumors in adult and pediatric populations. Both are associated with poor survival. These tumors are highly heterogeneous, having complex interactions among different cells within the tumor and with the tumor microenvironment. One of the main challenges in the neuro-oncology field is achieving optimal conditions to evaluate a tumor’s molecular genotype and phenotype. In this respect, the zebrafish biological model is becoming an excellent alternative for studying carcinogenic processes and discovering new treatments. This review aimed to describe the results of xenotransplantation of patient-derived CNS tumors in zebrafish models. The reviewed studies show that it is possible to maintain glioblastoma and neuroblastoma primary cell cultures and transplant the cells into zebrafish embryos. The zebrafish is a suitable biological model for understanding tumor progression and the effects of different treatments. This model offers new perspectives in providing personalized care and improving outcomes for patients living with central nervous system tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz E. Sarmiento
- School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 11711, Colombia; (B.E.S.); (S.C.)
| | - Santiago Callegari
- School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 11711, Colombia; (B.E.S.); (S.C.)
| | - Kemel A. Ghotme
- Department of Neurosurgery, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá 111071, Colombia;
- Translational Neuroscience Research Lab, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de La Sabana, Chía 250001, Colombia
| | - Veronica Akle
- School of Medicine, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 11711, Colombia; (B.E.S.); (S.C.)
- Correspondence:
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19
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Functional Therapeutic Target Validation Using Pediatric Zebrafish Xenograft Models. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14030849. [PMID: 35159116 PMCID: PMC8834194 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Despite the major progress of precision and personalized oncology, a significant therapeutic benefit is only achieved in cases with directly druggable genetic alterations. This highlights the need for additional methods that reliably predict each individual patient’s response in a clinically meaningful time, e.g., through ex vivo functional drug screen profiling. Moreover, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models are more predictive than cell culture studies, as they reconstruct cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions and consider the tumor microenvironment, drug metabolism and toxicities. Zebrafish PDXs (zPDX) are nowadays emerging as a fast model allowing for multiple drugs to be tested at the same time in a clinically relevant time window. Here, we show that functional drug response profiling of zPDX from primary material obtained through the INdividualized Therapy FOr Relapsed Malignancies in Childhood (INFORM) pediatric precision oncology pipeline provides additional key information for personalized precision oncology. Abstract The survival rate among children with relapsed tumors remains poor, due to tumor heterogeneity, lack of directly actionable tumor drivers and multidrug resistance. Novel personalized medicine approaches tailored to each tumor are urgently needed to improve cancer treatment. Current pediatric precision oncology platforms, such as the INFORM (INdividualized Therapy FOr Relapsed Malignancies in Childhood) study, reveal that molecular profiling of tumor tissue identifies targets associated with clinical benefit in a subgroup of patients only and should be complemented with functional drug testing. In such an approach, patient-derived tumor cells are exposed to a library of approved oncological drugs in a physiological setting, e.g., in the form of animal avatars injected with patient tumor cells. We used molecularly fully characterized tumor samples from the INFORM study to compare drug screen results of individual patient-derived cell models in functional assays: (i) patient-derived spheroid cultures within a few days after tumor dissociation; (ii) tumor cells reisolated from the corresponding mouse PDX; (iii) corresponding long-term organoid-like cultures and (iv) drug evaluation with the corresponding zebrafish PDX (zPDX) model. Each model had its advantage and complemented the others for drug hit and drug combination selection. Our results provide evidence that in vivo zPDX drug screening is a promising add-on to current functional drug screening in precision medicine platforms.
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20
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Mendonça-Gomes JM, Valverde TM, Martins TMDM, Charlie-Silva I, Padovani BN, Fénero CM, da Silva EM, Domingues RZ, Melo-Hoyos DC, Corrêa-Junior JD, Câmara NOS, Góes AM, Gomes DA. Long-term dexamethasone treatment increases the engraftment efficiency of human breast cancer cells in adult zebrafish. FISH AND SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY REPORTS 2021; 2:100007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsirep.2021.100007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
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21
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ZFTool: A Software for Automatic Quantification of Cancer Cell Mass Evolution in Zebrafish. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/app11167721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Background: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a model organism for the study of human cancer. Compared with the murine model, the zebrafish model has several properties ideal for personalized therapies. The transparency of the zebrafish embryos and the development of the pigment-deficient ”casper“ zebrafish line give the capacity to directly observe cancer formation and progression in the living animal. Automatic quantification of cellular proliferation in vivo is critical to the development of personalized medicine. Methods: A new methodology was defined to automatically quantify the cancer cellular evolution. ZFTool was developed to establish a base threshold that eliminates the embryo autofluorescence, automatically measures the area and intensity of GFP (green-fluorescent protein) marked cells, and defines a proliferation index. Results: The proliferation index automatically computed on different targets demonstrates the efficiency of ZFTool to provide a good automatic quantification of cancer cell evolution and dissemination. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that ZFTool is a reliable tool for the automatic quantification of the proliferation index as a measure of cancer mass evolution in zebrafish, eliminating the influence of its autofluorescence.
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22
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Al-Thani HF, Shurbaji S, Yalcin HC. Zebrafish as a Model for Anticancer Nanomedicine Studies. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:625. [PMID: 34203407 PMCID: PMC8308643 DOI: 10.3390/ph14070625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanomedicine is a new approach to fight against cancer by the development of anticancer nanoparticles (NPs) that are of high sensitivity, specificity, and targeting ability to detect cancer cells, such as the ability of Silica NPs in targeting epithelial cancer cells. However, these anticancer NPs require preclinical testing, and zebrafish is a useful animal model for preclinical studies of anticancer NPs. This model affords a large sample size, optical imaging, and easy genetic manipulation that aid in nanomedicine studies. This review summarizes the numerous advantages of the zebrafish animal model for such investigation, various techniques for inducing cancer in zebrafish, and discusses the methods to assess cancer development in the model and to test for the toxicity of the anticancer drugs and NPs. In addition, it summarizes the recent studies that used zebrafish as a model to test the efficacy of several different anticancer NPs in treating cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hissa F Al-Thani
- Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
- Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Samar Shurbaji
- Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
| | - Huseyin C Yalcin
- Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
- Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
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23
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Asslan M, Lauzon N, Beus M, Maysinger D, Rousseau S. Mass spectrometry imaging in zebrafish larvae for assessing drug safety and metabolism. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 413:5135-5146. [PMID: 34173039 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03476-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Drug safety assessment in the early phases of drug discovery is critical to facilitate the rapid development of novel therapeutics. Recently, teleost zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a promising vertebrate model for the assessment of drug safety. Zebrafish is a convenient model because of its small size, high fecundity, embryo transparency, and ex utero development. In this study, we developed a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) method applied to zebrafish larvae to investigate safety and metabolism of sahaquine (Sq), an anticancer agent inhibiting histone deacetylase 6. This technique improves on prior studies using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) by adding analysis of the drug spatial distribution. Using this method, it was determined that Sq dissolved in fish water (1-2000 μM) did not reach the larval body and was mainly distributed throughout the yolk. High Sq concentration (800 μM) administered intravenously allowed the compound to reach the larval body but did not induce phenotypic abnormalities. Sq was metabolized into its glucuronidated form within 24 h and was excreted within 72 h. MALDI MSI was instrumental in showing that Sq-glucuronide was mainly formed in the gut and slightly in yolk syncytial layer, and provided valuable insights into xenobiotics elimination in zebrafish larvae. This study indicates that Sq has a good safety profile and merits further investigations in other disease models. In addition, the optimized MALDI MSI protocol provided here can be widely applied to study distribution and metabolic fate of other structurally related molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Asslan
- Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Boul. Décarie, Montréal, H4A 3J1, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, McIntyre Medical Sciences Building, 3655 Prom. Sir-William-Osler, Montreal, H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Nidia Lauzon
- Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Boul. Décarie, Montréal, H4A 3J1, Canada
| | - Maja Beus
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaver road 2, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dusica Maysinger
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, McIntyre Medical Sciences Building, 3655 Prom. Sir-William-Osler, Montreal, H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Simon Rousseau
- Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 1001 Boul. Décarie, Montréal, H4A 3J1, Canada. .,Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, McIntyre Medical Sciences Building, 3655 Prom. Sir-William-Osler, Montreal, H3G 1Y6, Canada.
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24
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Zhang C, Li Q, Qin G, Zhang Y, Li C, Han L, Wang R, Wang S, Chen H, Liu K, He C. Anti-angiogenesis and anti-metastasis effects of Polyphyllin VII on Hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Chin Med 2021; 16:41. [PMID: 34059099 PMCID: PMC8166003 DOI: 10.1186/s13020-021-00447-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Polyphyllin VII (PP7), a steroidal saponin from P. polyphylla has been found to exert strong anticancer activity. Little is known about the anti-angiogenesis and anti-metastasis properties of PP7. In this study, the anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic effects of PP7 on HCC and the molecular mechanisms were evaluated. Methods Effect of PP7 on angiogenesis was assessed by tube formation assay and applied a transgenic Tg(fli1:EGFP) zebrafish model. Effects of PP7 on tumor metastasis and invasion were examined in cell migration and invasion assay, zebrafish tumor xenograft models and lung metastasis mouse models. The protein levels were examined by Western blotting. Results PP7 significantly decreased the tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, the number and length of ISVs and SIVs of transgenic zebrafish, and the metastasis and invasion of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic effects of PP7 in HepG2 cells were attributable, at least partially, to downregulated NF-κB/MMP-9/VEGF signaling pathway. Conclusion This study demonstrates that PP7 possesses strong anti-angiogenesis and anti-metastasis activities, suggesting that PP7 could be a potential candidate agent for HCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhang
- Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100102, China.,State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, 999078, China
| | - Qingrui Li
- Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100102, China.,Aerospace Central Hospital, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Guozheng Qin
- Yunnan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine/The First Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650021, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100102, China
| | - Chaoying Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Liwen Han
- Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250062, China
| | - Rongchun Wang
- Biology Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250103, China
| | - Shudan Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Haixia Chen
- Tianjin Key Laboratory for Modern Drug Delivery & High-Efficiency, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Kechun Liu
- Biology Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250103, China.
| | - Chengwei He
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, 999078, China.
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25
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Edelfosine nanoemulsions inhibit tumor growth of triple negative breast cancer in zebrafish xenograft model. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9873. [PMID: 33972572 PMCID: PMC8110995 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87968-4] [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: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known for being very aggressive, heterogeneous and highly metastatic. The standard of care treatment is still chemotherapy, with adjacent toxicity and low efficacy, highlighting the need for alternative and more effective therapeutic strategies. Edelfosine, an alkyl-lysophospholipid, has proved to be a promising therapy for several cancer types, upon delivery in lipid nanoparticles. Therefore, the objective of this work was to explore the potential of edelfosine for the treatment of TNBC. Edelfosine nanoemulsions (ET-NEs) composed by edelfosine, Miglyol 812 and phosphatidylcholine as excipients, due to their good safety profile, presented an average size of about 120 nm and a neutral zeta potential, and were stable in biorelevant media. The ability of ET-NEs to interrupt tumor growth in TNBC was demonstrated both in vitro, using a highly aggressive and invasive TNBC cell line, and in vivo, using zebrafish embryos. Importantly, ET-NEs were able to penetrate through the skin barrier of MDA-MB 231 xenografted zebrafish embryos, into the yolk sac, leading to an effective decrease of highly aggressive and invasive tumoral cells’ proliferation. Altogether the results demonstrate the potential of ET-NEs for the development of new therapeutic approaches for TNBC.
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26
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Corsinovi D, Usai A, Sarlo MD, Giannaccini M, Ori M. Zebrafish Avatar to Develop Precision Breast Cancer Therapies. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2021; 22:748-759. [PMID: 33797388 DOI: 10.2174/1871520621666210402111634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a vertebrate that has become a popular alternative model for the cellular and molecular study of human tumors and for drug testing and validating approaches. Notably, zebrafish embryos, thanks to their accessibility, allow rapid collection of in vivo results prodromal to validation in the murine models in respect to the 3R principles. The generation of tumor xenograft in zebrafish embryos and larvae, or zebrafish avatar, represents a unique opportunity to study tumor growth, angiogenesis, cell invasion and metastatic dissemination, interaction between tumor and host in vivo avoiding immunogenic rejection, representing a promising platform for the translational research and personalized therapies. OBJECTIVE In this mini-review we report recent advances in breast cancer research and drug testing that took advantage of the zebrafish xenograft model using both breast cancer cell lines and patient's biopsy. CONCLUSION Patient derived xenograft, together with the gene editing, the omics biotechnology, the in vivo time lapse imaging and the high-throughput screening that are already set up and largely used in zebrafish, could represent a step forward towards precision and personalized medicine in the breast cancer research field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Corsinovi
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa. Italy
| | - Alice Usai
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa. Italy
| | | | | | - Michela Ori
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa. Italy
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27
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Sonay AY, Kalyviotis K, Yaganoglu S, Unsal A, Konantz M, Teulon C, Lieberwirth I, Sieber S, Jiang S, Behzadi S, Crespy D, Landfester K, Roke S, Lengerke C, Pantazis P. Biodegradable Harmonophores for Targeted High-Resolution In Vivo Tumor Imaging. ACS NANO 2021; 15:4144-4154. [PMID: 33630589 PMCID: PMC8023799 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c10634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Optical imaging probes have played a major role in detecting and monitoring a variety of diseases. In particular, nonlinear optical imaging probes, such as second harmonic generating (SHG) nanoprobes, hold great promise as clinical contrast agents, as they can be imaged with little background signal and unmatched long-term photostability. As their chemical composition often includes transition metals, the use of inorganic SHG nanoprobes can raise long-term health concerns. Ideally, contrast agents for biomedical applications should be degraded in vivo without any long-term toxicological consequences to the organism. Here, we developed biodegradable harmonophores (bioharmonophores) that consist of polymer-encapsulated, self-assembling peptides that generate a strong SHG signal. When functionalized with tumor cell surface markers, these reporters can target single cancer cells with high detection sensitivity in zebrafish embryos in vivo. Thus, bioharmonophores will enable an innovative approach to cancer treatment using targeted high-resolution optical imaging for diagnostics and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Yasin Sonay
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Konstantinos Kalyviotis
- Department
of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Sine Yaganoglu
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Aysen Unsal
- Department
of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Martina Konantz
- Department
of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel
and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Claire Teulon
- Laboratory
for Fundamental BioPhotonics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Sandro Sieber
- Division
of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Shuai Jiang
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Shahed Behzadi
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Daniel Crespy
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Molecular Science
and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute
of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Rayong 21210, Thailand
| | | | - Sylvie Roke
- Laboratory
for Fundamental BioPhotonics, Institute of Bioengineering, School
of Engineering, École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Institute
of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Lausanne
Centre for Ultrafast Science, École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Lengerke
- Department
of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel
and University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
- Division
of Hematology, University Hospital Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Periklis Pantazis
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- Department
of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
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28
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Vandetanib versus Cabozantinib in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Focus on Anti-Angiogenic Effects in Zebrafish Model. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22063031. [PMID: 33809722 PMCID: PMC8002338 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a tumor deriving from the thyroid C cells. Vandetanib (VAN) and cabozantinib (CAB) are two tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting REarranged during Transfection (RET) and other kinase receptors and are approved for the treatment of advanced MTC. We aim to compare the in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of VAN and CAB in MTC. The effects of VAN and CAB on viability, cell cycle, and apoptosis of TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells are evaluated in vitro using an MTT assay, DNA flow cytometry with propidium iodide, and Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining, respectively. In vivo, the anti-angiogenic potential of VAN and CAB is evaluated in Tg(fli1a:EGFP)y1 transgenic fluorescent zebrafish embryos by analyzing the effects on the physiological development of the sub-intestinal vein plexus and the tumor-induced angiogenesis after TT and MZ-CRC-1 xenotransplantation. VAN and CAB exert comparable effects on TT and MZ-CRC-1 viability inhibition and cell cycle perturbation, and stimulated apoptosis with a prominent effect by VAN in MZ-CRC-1 and CAB in TT cells. Regarding zebrafish, both drugs inhibit angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, in particular CAB shows a more potent anti-angiogenic activity than VAN. To conclude, although VAN and CAB show comparable antiproliferative effects in MTC, the anti-angiogenic activity of CAB appears to be more relevant.
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29
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Li Z, Zheng W, Wang H, Cheng Y, Fang Y, Wu F, Sun G, Sun G, Lv C, Hui B. Application of Animal Models in Cancer Research: Recent Progress and Future Prospects. Cancer Manag Res 2021; 13:2455-2475. [PMID: 33758544 PMCID: PMC7979343 DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s302565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal models refers to the animal experimental objects and related materials that can simulate human body established in medical research. As the second-largest disease in terms of morbidity and mortality after cardiovascular disease, cancer has always been the focus of human attention all over the world, which makes it a research hotspot in the medical field. At the same time, more and more animal models have been constructed and used in cancer research. With the deepening of research, the construction methods of cancer animal models are becoming more and more diverse, including chemical induction, xenotransplantation, gene programming, and so on. In recent years, patient-derived xenotransplantation (PDX) model has become a research hotspot because it can retain the microenvironment of the primary tumor and the basic characteristics of cells. Animal models can be used not only to study the biochemical and physiological processes of the occurrence and development of cancer in objects but also for the screening of cancer drugs and the exploration of gene therapy. In this paper, several main tumor animal models and the application progress of animal models in tumor research are systematically reviewed. Finally, combined with the latest progress and development trend in this field, the future research of tumor animal model was prospected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhitao Li
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Wubin Zheng
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hanjin Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ye Cheng
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yijiao Fang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China
| | - Fan Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoqiang Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangshun Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengyu Lv
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Bingqing Hui
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
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30
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Reimunde P, Pensado-López A, Carreira Crende M, Lombao Iglesias V, Sánchez L, Torrecilla-Parra M, Ramírez CM, Anfray C, Torres Andón F. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Glioblastoma and Zebrafish Models for the Discovery of New Treatments. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:1087. [PMID: 33802571 PMCID: PMC7961726 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13051087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common of all brain malignant tumors; it displays a median survival of 14.6 months with current complete standard treatment. High heterogeneity, aggressive and invasive behavior, the impossibility of completing tumor resection, limitations for drug administration and therapeutic resistance to current treatments are the main problems presented by this pathology. In recent years, our knowledge of GBM physiopathology has advanced significantly, generating relevant information on the cellular heterogeneity of GBM tumors, including cancer and immune cells such as macrophages/microglia, genetic, epigenetic and metabolic alterations, comprising changes in miRNA expression. In this scenario, the zebrafish has arisen as a promising animal model to progress further due to its unique characteristics, such as transparency, ease of genetic manipulation, ethical and economic advantages and also conservation of the major brain regions and blood-brain-barrier (BBB) which are similar to a human structure. A few papers described in this review, using genetic and xenotransplantation zebrafish models have been used to study GBM as well as to test the anti-tumoral efficacy of new drugs, their ability to interact with target cells, modulate the tumor microenvironment, cross the BBB and/or their toxicity. Prospective studies following these lines of research may lead to a better diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients with GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Reimunde
- Department of Medicine, Campus de Oza, Universidade da Coruña, 15006 A Coruña, Spain
- Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti, 27003 Lugo, Spain
| | - Alba Pensado-López
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Campus de Lugo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (A.P.-L.); (M.C.C.); (V.L.I.); (L.S.)
- Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Martín Carreira Crende
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Campus de Lugo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (A.P.-L.); (M.C.C.); (V.L.I.); (L.S.)
| | - Vanesa Lombao Iglesias
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Campus de Lugo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (A.P.-L.); (M.C.C.); (V.L.I.); (L.S.)
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Campus de Lugo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (A.P.-L.); (M.C.C.); (V.L.I.); (L.S.)
| | - Marta Torrecilla-Parra
- IMDEA Research Institute of Food and Health Sciences, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (M.T.-P.); (C.M.R.)
| | - Cristina M. Ramírez
- IMDEA Research Institute of Food and Health Sciences, 28049 Madrid, Spain; (M.T.-P.); (C.M.R.)
| | - Clément Anfray
- IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Via A. Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy;
| | - Fernando Torres Andón
- Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Via A. Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy;
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31
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Chen X, Li Y, Yao T, Jia R. Benefits of Zebrafish Xenograft Models in Cancer Research. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:616551. [PMID: 33644052 PMCID: PMC7905065 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.616551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
As a promising in vivo tool for cancer research, zebrafish have been widely applied in various tumor studies. The zebrafish xenograft model is a low-cost, high-throughput tool for cancer research that can be established quickly and requires only a small sample size, which makes it favorite among researchers. Zebrafish patient-derived xenograft (zPDX) models provide promising evidence for short-term clinical treatment. In this review, we discuss the characteristics and advantages of zebrafish, such as their transparent and translucent features, the use of vascular fluorescence imaging, the establishment of metastatic and intracranial orthotopic models, individual pharmacokinetics measurements, and tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, we introduce how these characteristics and advantages are applied other in tumor studies. Finally, we discuss the future direction of the use of zebrafish in tumor studies and provide new ideas for the application of it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyu Chen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongyun Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Tengteng Yao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Renbing Jia
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
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32
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Cabezas-Sainz P, Coppel C, Pensado-López A, Fernandez P, Muinelo-Romay L, López-López R, Rubiolo JA, Sánchez L. Morphological Abnormalities and Gene Expression Changes Caused by High Incubation Temperatures in Zebrafish Xenografts with Human Cancer Cells. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12010113. [PMID: 33477746 PMCID: PMC7832305 DOI: 10.3390/genes12010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Published studies show that most of the human cancer xenograft studies in zebrafish embryos have used incubation temperatures in the range of 32–34 °C for 3–6 days post-injection, trying to find a compromise temperature between the zebrafish embryos (28 °C) and the human injected cells (37 °C). While this experimental setup is widely used, a question remains: is possible to overcome the drawbacks caused by a suboptimal temperature for the injected cells? To clarify the effect of temperature and injected cells on the host, in this study, we analyzed the development and health of the last in response to different temperatures in the presence or absence of injected human cancer cells. Comparing different incubation temperatures (28, 34 and 36 °C), we determined morphological abnormalities and developmental effects in injected and non-injected embryos at different time points. Besides this, the expression of selected genes was determined by qPCR to determine temperature affected metabolic processes in the embryos. The results indicate that an incubation temperature of 36 °C during a period of 48 h is suitable for xenotransplantation without morphological or metabolic changes that could be affecting the host or the injected cells, allowing them to proliferate near their optimal temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cabezas-Sainz
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Carlos Coppel
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Alba Pensado-López
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Genomic Medicine Group, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Pedro Fernandez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
| | - Laura Muinelo-Romay
- Liquid Biopsy Analysis Unit, Oncomet, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), 29029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael López-López
- Translational Laboratory, Medical Oncology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela/SERGAS, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
| | - Juan A. Rubiolo
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Correspondence: (J.A.R.); (L.S.); Tel.: +34-982-822-429 (L.S.)
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (C.C.); (A.P.-L.); (P.F.)
- Preclinical Animal Models Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Correspondence: (J.A.R.); (L.S.); Tel.: +34-982-822-429 (L.S.)
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Abstract
Tumor models allowing for the in vivo investigation of molecular mechanisms driving tumor progression and metastasis are important to develop novel strategies for cancer treatment. Unfortunately, for Ewing sarcoma no adequate genetic animal models are currently available. Mouse xenograft models are the state of the art to model Ewing sarcoma in vivo. Here, we describe an alternative Ewing sarcoma xenograft model in embryonic and larval zebrafish. This xenograft model offers live imaging and easy compound testing opportunities hereby complementing mouse xenograft models. In this chapter, we provide a detailed protocol how to xenograft Ewing sarcoma cells (shSK-E17T) into 2-day-old zebrafish and how xenografted zebrafish can be imaged and analyzed over consecutive days to study tumor proliferation.
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Zhang L, Yan B, Meng S, Zhou L, Xu Y, Du W, Shan L. Theaflavin Induces Apoptosis of A375 Human Melanoma Cells and Inhibits Tumor Growth in Xenograft Zebrafishes Through P53- and JNK-Related Mechanism. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:1317. [PMID: 32982737 PMCID: PMC7490558 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Theaflavin (TF) is a major active pigment and polyphenol of tea, possessing anti-cancer activities. However, little is known about its activity and mechanism on melanoma cells. To fill this gap, we conducted in vitro experiments (cell viability assay, morphology observation, DAPI staining, and flow cytometry) and in vivo experiment by using a xenograft model of larval zebrafishes. Real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot (WB) analyses were conducted to explore the mechanism of TF. The in vitro data showed that TF exerted significant anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on A375 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In vivo, TF significantly inhibited A375 tumor growth in larval zebrafishes at 0.67 and 2.0 μg/ml (1.3 to 3.9 μM). qPCR and WB data showed that TF significantly activated the P53 pathway-related proteins (ATM, CHK1/2, P53, and CASP8/3) and the JNK pathway-related proteins (ASK1, JNK, and C-JUN) through phosphorylation and cleavage, followed by activation of pro-apoptotic molecules (PARP, BAX, BIM, PUMA, and P53). In sum, TF possessed cytotoxic pro-apoptotic and tumor-inhibitory effects on A375 cells through activations of P53 and JNK pathways. This is the first report on TF regarding its effects and mechanism on A375 cells, making it a promising candidate of natural products for clinical treatment of melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bo Yan
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shijie Meng
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Li Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yiqiao Xu
- Research and Development Department, Hunter Biotechnology, Inc., Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenxi Du
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Letian Shan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
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Xu J, Yan B, Zhang L, Zhou L, Zhang J, Yu W, Dong X, Yao L, Shan L. Theabrownin Induces Apoptosis and Tumor Inhibition of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Huh7 Cells Through ASK1-JNK-c-Jun Pathway. Onco Targets Ther 2020; 13:8977-8987. [PMID: 32982289 PMCID: PMC7490432 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s254693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Theabrownin (TB), a main pigment and bioactive component of tea, has been shown anti-tumor activities against carcinomas, but its effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Methods Hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 cells were used for analyses. Cell viability assay was performed to determine TB′s anti-proliferative effect, and flow cytometry with annexin V-FITC/PI double staining and DAPI staining were performed to determine its pro-apoptotic effect. Real-time PCR and Western blot assays were conducted to detect the molecular actions of TB. And a xenograft model of zebrafishes was established to evaluate the in vivo effect of TB. SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) was in vivo and in vitro used to verify the regulatory role of the JNK signaling pathway in the anti-hepatic carcinoma mechanism of TB. Results TB exerted significant anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on Huh7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The molecular data showed that TB up-regulated the gene expressions of NOXA, PUMA, P21, Bax, and Bim and up-regulated the protein expressions of ASK-1, Bax, phosphorylated JNK, and phosphorylated c-Jun with down-regulation of Bcl-2. The in vivo data showed that TB exerted significant tumor-inhibitory effect which was even stronger than that of cis-platinum. Furthermore, the JNK inhibitor significantly weakened TB′s effects both in vivo and in vitro and blocked the related molecular pathway. Conclusion TB exerts anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, and tumor-inhibitory effects on Huh7 cells through activation of the JNK signaling pathway. For the first time, this study provides new evidence of anti-HCC effects and mechanism of TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaan Xu
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.,The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Bo Yan
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.,The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Zhou
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin Zhang
- Theabio Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenhua Yu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoqiao Dong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Yao
- College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Letian Shan
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
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Cabezas-Sáinz P, Pensado-López A, Sáinz B, Sánchez L. Modeling Cancer Using Zebrafish Xenografts: Drawbacks for Mimicking the Human Microenvironment. Cells 2020; 9:E1978. [PMID: 32867288 PMCID: PMC7564051 DOI: 10.3390/cells9091978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The first steps towards establishing xenografts in zebrafish embryos were performed by Lee et al., 2005 and Haldi et al., 2006, paving the way for studying human cancers using this animal species. Since then, the xenograft technique has been improved in different ways, ranging from optimizing the best temperature for xenografted embryo incubation, testing different sites for injection of human tumor cells, and even developing tools to study how the host interacts with the injected cells. Nonetheless, a standard protocol for performing xenografts has not been adopted across laboratories, and further research on the temperature, microenvironment of the tumor or the cell-host interactions inside of the embryo during xenografting is still needed. As a consequence, current non-uniform conditions could be affecting experimental results in terms of cell proliferation, invasion, or metastasis; or even overestimating the effects of some chemotherapeutic drugs on xenografted cells. In this review, we highlight and raise awareness regarding the different aspects of xenografting that need to be improved in order to mimic, in a more efficient way, the human tumor microenvironment, resulting in more robust and accurate in vivo results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cabezas-Sáinz
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
| | - Alba Pensado-López
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
- Genomic Medicine Group, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Bruno Sáinz
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC-UAM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
- Cancer Stem Cell and Fibroinflammatory Microenvironment Group, Chronic Diseases and Cancer Area 3-Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), 28034 Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Sánchez
- Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain; (P.C.-S.); (A.P.-L.)
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Long-term in vivo imaging reveals tumor-specific dissemination and captures host tumor interaction in zebrafish xenografts. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13254. [PMID: 32764590 PMCID: PMC7411039 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69956-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding mechanisms mediating tumor metastasis is crucial for diagnostic and therapeutic targeting. Here, we take advantage of a transparent embryonic zebrafish xenograft model (eZXM) to visualize and track metastatic cells in real time using selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) for up to 30 h. Injected human leukemic and breast cancer cells exhibited cell-type specific patterns of intravascular distribution with leukemic cells moving faster than breast cancer cells. Tracking of tumor cells from high-resolution images revealed acute differences in intravascular speed and distance covered by cells. While the majority of injected breast cancer cells predominantly adhered to nearby vasculature, about 30% invaded the non-vascularized tissue, reminiscent of their metastatic phenotype. Survival of the injected tumor cells appeared to be partially inhibited and time-lapse imaging showed a possible role for host macrophages of the recipient embryos. Leukemic cell dissemination could be effectively blocked by pharmacological ROCK1 inhibition using Fasudil. These observations, and the ability to image several embryos simultaneously, support the use of eZXM and SPIM imaging as a functional screening platform to identify compounds that suppress cancer cell spread and invasion.
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Giunco S, Zangrossi M, Dal Pozzolo F, Celeghin A, Ballin G, Petrara MR, Amin A, Argenton F, Godinho Ferreira M, De Rossi A. Anti-Proliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effects of Short-Term Inhibition of Telomerase In Vivo and in Human Malignant B Cells Xenografted in Zebrafish. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12082052. [PMID: 32722398 PMCID: PMC7463531 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082052] [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: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Besides its canonical role in stabilizing telomeres, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) may promote tumor growth/progression through extra-telomeric functions. Our previous in vitro studies demonstrated that short-term TERT inhibition by BIBR1532 (BIBR), an inhibitor of TERT catalytic activity, negatively impacts cell proliferation and viability via telomeres’ length-independent mechanism. Here we evaluate the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of short-term telomerase inhibition in vivo in wild-type (wt) and tert mutant (terthu3430/hu3430; tert−/−) zebrafish embryos, and in malignant human B cells xenografted in casper zebrafish embryos. Short-term Tert inhibition by BIBR in wt embryos reduced cell proliferation, induced an accumulation of cells in S-phase and ultimately led to apoptosis associated with the activation of DNA damage response; all these effects were unrelated to telomere shortening/dysfunction. BIBR treatment showed no effects in tert−/− embryos. Xenografted untreated malignant B cells proliferated in zebrafish embryos, while BIBR pretreated cells constantly decreased and were significantly less than those in the controls from 24 to up to 72 h after xenotransplantation. Additionally, xenografted tumor cells, treated with BIBR prior- or post-transplantation, displayed a significant higher apoptotic rate compared to untreated control cells. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that short-term telomerase inhibition impairs proliferation and viability in vivo and in human malignant B cells xenografted in zebrafish, thus supporting therapeutic applications of TERT inhibitors in human malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Giunco
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-049-821-5831
| | - Manuela Zangrossi
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
| | - Francesca Dal Pozzolo
- Immunology and Diagnostic Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV–IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy;
| | - Andrea Celeghin
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
| | - Giovanni Ballin
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
| | - Maria Raffaella Petrara
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
| | - Aamir Amin
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
| | | | - Miguel Godinho Ferreira
- Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice (IRCAN), UMR7284 U1081 UNS, Université Côte d’Azur, 06107 Nice CEDEX 2, France;
| | - Anita De Rossi
- Oncology and Immunology Section, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy; (M.Z.); (A.C.); (G.B.); (M.R.P.); (A.A.); (A.D.R.)
- Immunology and Diagnostic Molecular Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV–IRCCS, 35128 Padova, Italy;
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Dillenseger JP, Choquet P, Snay ER, Fragoso Costa P. Why the preclinical imaging field needs nuclear medicine technologists and radiographers? Eur J Hybrid Imaging 2020; 4:12. [PMID: 34191167 PMCID: PMC8218067 DOI: 10.1186/s41824-020-00081-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Preclinical imaging is still seen as a new field, and its recognition as a specific topic occurring only about 20 years ago. Nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs) and radiographers’ skills covering technical, anatomical and clinical fields can be highly beneficial to preclinical imaging research centres: many tasks and knowledge are complementary between clinics and preclinical laboratories. Our goal is to reach a consensus on the required set of competencies needed to translate the work of NMTs and radiographers from the clinic to the preclinical laboratory, particularly in regard to multimodal imaging. Preclinical imaging environment Currently, all imaging modalities used in clinical routine (ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, radiographs) are available, using specific architectures allowing for the spatial resolution and sensitivity needed for small rodents (which are the most commonly used species in research). Ideally, a preclinical laboratory should produce images/examinations at a high throughput in order to meet the statistical expectations of the studies (while respecting the 3R principles for animal research) and the care and welfare of each individual. To reach the quality and throughput expectations of such an organization, specific qualified professionals are needed to complete the scientific/research staff. Where NMTs and radiographers fit in The increasing use of preclinical imaging requires professionals who can put imaging procedures into action, ensuring a significant success throughput. NMTs and radiographers have a variety of skills that work well within a preclinical laboratory, with the ability to perform the following tasks independently: animal preparation, positioning, monitoring and anaesthesia recovery, acquisition parameter programming, archiving and data processing, device quality controls, surface cleaning and disinfection, radioactive and biological waste management, radiation safety for users, use of hot lab equipment and auxiliary equipment, injected products and material management. In light of the current European Qualification Framework, a set of skills, knowledge and competencies were defined to cover the whole set of duties and tasks deliverable to an NMT or radiographer working in a preclinical laboratory. One of the key responsibilities of the NMT or radiographer is related to compliance on animal care and welfare when undertaking any animal procedures, including imaging. Conclusion We believe that NMTs and radiographers’ skills match perfectly with the requirements of a preclinical imaging lab, and that they could be considered a keystone of such an organization in the future. Moreover, some evidence has also shown that an experienced NMT or radiographer in this sector can take on roles as research investigators.
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Affiliation(s)
- J-P Dillenseger
- ICube (MMB, AVR)-UMR 7357, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Imagerie Préclinique-UF6237, Hautepierre, Pôle d'imagerie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - P Choquet
- ICube (MMB, AVR)-UMR 7357, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Imagerie Préclinique-UF6237, Hautepierre, Pôle d'imagerie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.,Laboratory for Adaptable MRI Technology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - E R Snay
- Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - P Fragoso Costa
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
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Zanoni M, Cortesi M, Zamagni A, Arienti C, Pignatta S, Tesei A. Modeling neoplastic disease with spheroids and organoids. J Hematol Oncol 2020; 13:97. [PMID: 32677979 PMCID: PMC7364537 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-020-00931-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is a complex disease in which both genetic defects and microenvironmental components contribute to the development, progression, and metastasization of disease, representing major hurdles in the identification of more effective and safer treatment regimens for patients. Three-dimensional (3D) models are changing the paradigm of preclinical cancer research as they more closely resemble the complex tissue environment and architecture found in clinical tumors than in bidimensional (2D) cell cultures. Among 3D models, spheroids and organoids represent the most versatile and promising models in that they are capable of recapitulating the heterogeneity and pathophysiology of human cancers and of filling the gap between conventional 2D in vitro testing and animal models. Such 3D systems represent a powerful tool for studying cancer biology, enabling us to model the dynamic evolution of neoplastic disease from the early stages to metastatic dissemination and the interactions with the microenvironment. Spheroids and organoids have recently been used in the field of drug discovery and personalized medicine. The combined use of 3D models could potentially improve the robustness and reliability of preclinical research data, reducing the need for animal testing and favoring their transition to clinical practice. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the use of these 3D systems for cancer modeling, focusing on their innovative translational applications, looking at future challenges, and comparing them with most widely used animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Zanoni
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
| | - Michela Cortesi
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy
| | - Alice Zamagni
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy
| | - Chiara Arienti
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy
| | - Sara Pignatta
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy
| | - Anna Tesei
- Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy.
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Nadar RA, Asokan N, Degli Esposti L, Curci A, Barbanente A, Schlatt L, Karst U, Iafisco M, Margiotta N, Brand M, van den Beucken JJJP, Bornhäuser M, Leeuwenburgh SCG. Preclinical evaluation of platinum-loaded hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model. NANOSCALE 2020; 12:13582-13594. [PMID: 32555916 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr04064a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles are commonly used as building blocks in the design of bone-substituting biomaterials. Recently, these nanoparticles have been considered for the treatment of metastasis disease, since their pH-dependent dissolution behavior allows for precise tuning of release kinetics of loaded cargo. Herein we show that the capacity of drug-loaded nanoparticles stabilized with citrate ions reduce cancer cell survival in an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model. In particular, in vitro studies demonstrate that PtPP-loaded HA nanoparticles exhibit anti-proliferative activity against breast cancer cells at reduced pH. In vivo studies using an embryonic zebrafish xenograft model reveal that PtPP co-delivered with human breast cancer cells strongly reduce cancer cell survival. Similarly, co-injection of breast cancer cells with citrate-functionalized and PtPP-loaded HA nanoparticles into zebrafish significantly reduces survival of cancer cells due to release of chemotherapeutically active kiteplatin species. These results demonstrate the preclinical efficacy of drug-loaded nanoparticles against human breast cancer cells in a xenogenic embryonic in vivo model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin A Nadar
- Department of Dentistry - Regenerative Biomaterials, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Philips van Leydenlaan 25, 6525 EX Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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Di Franco G, Usai A, Funel N, Palmeri M, Montesanti IER, Bianchini M, Gianardi D, Furbetta N, Guadagni S, Vasile E, Falcone A, Pollina LE, Raffa V, Morelli L. Use of zebrafish embryos as avatar of patients with pancreatic cancer: A new xenotransplantation model towards personalized medicine. World J Gastroenterol 2020; 26:2792-2809. [PMID: 32550755 PMCID: PMC7284182 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i21.2792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The response to chemotherapy treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is difficult to predict and the identification of patients who most likely will benefit from aggressive chemotherapy approaches is crucial. The concept of personalized medicine has emerged in the last years with the objective to tailor the medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient, and particularly to the tumor biology of each patient. The need for in-vivo xenotransplantation models for cancer patients has increased exponentially, and for this reason zebrafish avatars have gained popularity. Preliminary studies were conducted also with PDAC tissue.
AIM To develop a simple, not expensive, diffusible zebrafish embryo model as avatar for patients affected by PDAC.
METHODS Tumor tissue was taken from the surgical specimen by the histopathologist. After its fragmentation into small pieces, they are stained with CM-Dil. Small pieces of stained tissue were transplanted into the yolk of wt AB zebrafish embryos with a glass capillary needle. Embryos were incubated at 35 °C in E3 medium supplemented with 1% Pen/Strep in the presence or absence of drugs for the following days in respect of the treatment plan (Gemcitabine; Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin; Gemcitabine and nab-Paclitaxel; 5-Fluorouracil and Folinic acid and Oxaliplatin and Irinotecan). The response of zebrafish xenografts to the chemotherapy options has been analyzed by monitoring the fluorescent stained area at 2 h post injection (hpi), 1 d and 2 d post injection (dpi). In each time point, the mean size of the stained area was measured by ImageJ and it was normalized with respect to the 1 dpi time point mean relative tumor area (RTA). We evaluated the effect of the chemotherapy exposition comparing the mean RTA of each treated subgroup and the control group and evaluating the percentage reduction of the mean RTA by comparing each treated subgroup with the control group.
RESULTS Between July 2018 and October 2019, a total of 15 patients with pancreatic cancer were prospectively enrolled. In all cases, it was possible to take a fragment of the tumor from the surgical specimen for the xenotransplantation in the zebrafish embryos. The histological examination confirmed the presence of a PDAC in all cases. In absence of chemotherapy (control group), over time the Dil-stained area showed a statistically significant increase in all cases. A statistically significant reduction of the mean RTA in the treated subgroups for at least one chemotherapy scheme was reported in 6/15 (40%) cases. The analysis of the percentage reduction of the RTA in treated subgroups in comparison to the control group revealed the presence of a linear relationship in each subgroup between the percentage reduction of the RTA and the number of cases reporting each percentage threshold considered for the analysis.
CONCLUSION Our model seems to be effective for the xenotransplantation of PDAC tissue and evaluation of the effect of each chemotherapy scheme on the xenotransplanted tumor tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Di Franco
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Alice Usai
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56127, Italy
| | - Niccola Funel
- Division of Surgical Pathology, Department of Laboratory of Medicine, Hospital-University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Matteo Palmeri
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Bianchini
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Desirée Gianardi
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Niccolò Furbetta
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Simone Guadagni
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Enrico Vasile
- Division of Medical Oncology, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Alfredo Falcone
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Luca Emanuele Pollina
- Division of Surgical Pathology, Department of Laboratory of Medicine, Hospital-University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
| | - Vittoria Raffa
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56127, Italy
| | - Luca Morelli
- General Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
- EndoCAS (Center for Computer Assisted Surgery), University of Pisa, Pisa 56124, Italy
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Fazio M, Ablain J, Chuan Y, Langenau DM, Zon LI. Zebrafish patient avatars in cancer biology and precision cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer 2020; 20:263-273. [PMID: 32251397 PMCID: PMC8011456 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-020-0252-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In precision oncology, two major strategies are being pursued for predicting clinically relevant tumour behaviours, such as treatment response and emergence of drug resistance: inference based on genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic and/or proteomic analysis of patient samples, and phenotypic assays in personalized cancer avatars. The latter approach has historically relied on in vivo mouse xenografts and in vitro organoids or 2D cell cultures. Recent progress in rapid combinatorial genetic modelling, the development of a genetically immunocompromised strain for xenotransplantation of human patient samples in adult zebrafish and the first clinical trial using xenotransplantation in zebrafish larvae for phenotypic testing of drug response bring this tiny vertebrate to the forefront of the precision medicine arena. In this Review, we discuss advances in transgenic and transplantation-based zebrafish cancer avatars, and how these models compare with and complement mouse xenografts and human organoids. We also outline the unique opportunities that these different models present for prediction studies and current challenges they face for future clinical deployment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Fazio
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Julien Ablain
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yan Chuan
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - David M Langenau
- Molecular Pathology Unit, Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Leonard I Zon
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Wu JQ, Fan RY, Zhang SR, Li CY, Shen LZ, Wei P, He ZH, He MF. A systematical comparison of anti-angiogenesis and anti-cancer efficacy of ramucirumab, apatinib, regorafenib and cabozantinib in zebrafish model. Life Sci 2020; 247:117402. [PMID: 32035930 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.117402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Anti-angiogenic therapy is a useful strategy for the treatment of advanced GC. This study was aimed to systemically compare the anti-angiogenesis, anti-cancer efficacy, as well as the safety of four known anti-angiogenic drugs, namely ramucirumab, apatinib, regorafenib and cabozantinib. MAIN METHODS Anti-angiogenic effect was evaluated for the intersegmental vessels (ISVs) and subintestinal veins (SIVs) formation in the Tg (fli-1: EGFP) zebrafish embryos. Anti-cancer efficacy was tested for the in vivo cell proliferation in cell line derived tumor xenograft (CDX) model based on Tg (fli-1: EGFP) zebrafish embryos. KEY FINDINGS All four drugs exhibited anti-angiogenic abilities and tumor inhibition effects in fli-1: EGFP transgenic zebrafish. Using zebrafish xenografted model, we found that effectiveness of ramucirumab in anti-GC-proliferation is better than apatinib, regorafenib and cabozantinib. The combination of anti-angiogenic drugs and cisplatin showed no significant benefit in tumors. Meanwhile, toxicity assay showed that all tested anti-angiogenic drugs could cause cardiovascular-related side effects. The therapeutic index (LD50/ED50) of cabozantinib is higher than apatinib and regorafenib, suggesting a potential as an anti-GC drug. SIGNIFICANCE The comparison of GC-related anti-angiogenic drugs was first reported. It was found that cabozantinib had a potential as an anti-GC drug. Zebrafish model was an ideal animal model for the research of anti-angiogenic behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Qi Wu
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Ruo-Yue Fan
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Shi-Ru Zhang
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Chong-Yong Li
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Li-Zong Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Pin Wei
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Zhi-Heng He
- School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven CT06511, USA
| | - Ming-Fang He
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China.
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Kong L, Chen Q, Campbell F, Snaar‐Jagalska E, Kros A. Light-Triggered Cancer Cell Specific Targeting and Liposomal Drug Delivery in a Zebrafish Xenograft Model. Adv Healthc Mater 2020; 9:e1901489. [PMID: 32052583 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201901489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Cell-specific drug delivery remains a major unmet challenge for cancer nanomedicines. Here, light-triggered, cell-specific delivery of liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin to xenograft human cancer cells in live zebrafish embryos is demonstrated. This method relies on light-triggered dePEGylation of liposome surfaces to reveal underlying targeting functionality. To demonstrate general applicability of this method, light-triggered, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell specific targeting in vivo (embryonic zebrafish) is shown using both clinically relevant, folate-liposomes, as well as an experimental liposome-cell fusion system. In the case of liposome-cell fusion, the delivery of liposomal doxorubicin direct to the cytosol of target cancer cells results in enhanced cytotoxicity, compared to doxorubicin delivery via either folate-liposomes or free doxorubicin, as well as a significant reduction in xenograft cancer cell burden within the embryonic fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Kong
- Supramolecular and Biomaterials ChemistryLeiden Institute of ChemistryLeiden University Einsteinweg 55 2333 CC Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Quanchi Chen
- Institute of BiologyLeiden University Leiden 2311 EZ The Netherlands
| | - Frederick Campbell
- Supramolecular and Biomaterials ChemistryLeiden Institute of ChemistryLeiden University Einsteinweg 55 2333 CC Leiden The Netherlands
| | | | - Alexander Kros
- Supramolecular and Biomaterials ChemistryLeiden Institute of ChemistryLeiden University Einsteinweg 55 2333 CC Leiden The Netherlands
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Sieber S, Grossen P, Bussmann J, Campbell F, Kros A, Witzigmann D, Huwyler J. Zebrafish as a preclinical in vivo screening model for nanomedicines. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2019; 151-152:152-168. [PMID: 30615917 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2019.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The interactions of nanomedicines with biological environments is heavily influenced by their physicochemical properties. Formulation design and optimization are therefore key steps towards successful nanomedicine development. Unfortunately, detailed assessment of nanomedicine formulations, at a macromolecular level, in rodents is severely limited by the restricted imaging possibilities within these animals. Moreover, rodent in vivo studies are time consuming and expensive, limiting the number of formulations that can be practically assessed in any one study. Consequently, screening and optimisation of nanomedicine formulations is most commonly performed in surrogate biological model systems, such as human-derived cell cultures. However, despite the time and cost advantages of classical in vitro models, these artificial systems fail to reflect and mimic the complex biological situation a nanomedicine will encounter in vivo. This has acutely hampered the selection of potentially successful nanomedicines for subsequent rodent in vivo studies. Recently, zebrafish have emerged as a promising in vivo model, within nanomedicine development pipelines, by offering opportunities to quickly screen nanomedicines under in vivo conditions and in a cost-effective manner so as to bridge the current gap between in vitro and rodent studies. In this review, we outline several advantageous features of the zebrafish model, such as biological conservation, imaging modalities, availability of genetic tools and disease models, as well as their various applications in nanomedicine development. Critical experimental parameters are discussed and the most beneficial applications of the zebrafish model, in the context of nanomedicine development, are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Sieber
- Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Philip Grossen
- Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jeroen Bussmann
- Department of Supramolecular and Biomaterials Chemistry, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Frederick Campbell
- Department of Supramolecular and Biomaterials Chemistry, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Kros
- Department of Supramolecular and Biomaterials Chemistry, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Dominik Witzigmann
- Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada..
| | - Jörg Huwyler
- Division of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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Tseng P, Sie Z, Liu M, Lin H, Yang W, Lin T, Hsieh H, Hung S, Cheng C, Wang H, Chang H, Yuh C. Identification of Two Novel Small Compounds that Inhibit Liver Cancer Formation in Zebrafish and Analysis of Their Conjugation to Nanodiamonds to Further Reduce Toxicity. ADVANCED THERAPEUTICS 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/adtp.201900105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Po‐Han Tseng
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
| | - Zong‐Lin Sie
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
| | - Meng‐Chieh Liu
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
| | - Han‐Syuan Lin
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
- Institute of Biotechnology National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
| | - Wan‐Yu Yang
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
| | - Ting‐Yu Lin
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
| | - Hsing‐Pang Hsieh
- Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
| | - Shih‐Che Hung
- Institute of Medical Sciences Tzu‐Chi University Hualien 97004 Taiwan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Tzu‐Chi University Hualien 97004 Taiwan
| | - Chia‐Liang Cheng
- Department of Physics National Dong Hwa University Hualien 97447 Taiwan
| | - Horng‐Dar Wang
- Institute of Biotechnology National Tsing Hua University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
| | - Hsin‐Hou Chang
- Institute of Medical Sciences Tzu‐Chi University Hualien 97004 Taiwan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Tzu‐Chi University Hualien 97004 Taiwan
| | - Chiou‐Hwa Yuh
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine National Health Research Institutes Zhunan Miaoli 35053 Taiwan
- Department of Biological Science and Technology National Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology National Tsing‐Hua University Hsinchu 30071 Taiwan
- Ph.D. Program in Environmental and Occupational Medicine Kaohsiung Medical University Kaohsiung 80708 Taiwan
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da Hora CC, Schweiger MW, Wurdinger T, Tannous BA. Patient-Derived Glioma Models: From Patients to Dish to Animals. Cells 2019; 8:E1177. [PMID: 31574953 PMCID: PMC6829406 DOI: 10.3390/cells8101177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain tumor in adults associated with a poor survival. Current standard of care consists of surgical resection followed by radiation and chemotherapy. GBMs are highly heterogeneous, having a complex interaction among different cells within the tumor as well as the tumor microenvironment. One of the main challenges in the neuro-oncology field in general, and GBM in particular, is to find an optimum culture condition that maintains the molecular genotype and phenotype as well as heterogeneity of the original tumor in vitro and in vivo. Established cell lines were shown to be a poor model of the disease, failing to recapitulate the phenotype and harboring non-parental genotypic mutations. Given the growing understanding of GBM biology, the discovery of glioma cancer stem-like cells (GSCs), and their role in tumor formation and therapeutic resistance, scientists are turning more towards patient-derived cells and xenografts as a more representative model. In this review, we will discuss the current state of patient-derived GSCs and their xenografts; and provide an overview of different established models to study GBM biology and to identify novel therapeutics in the pre-clinical phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cintia Carla da Hora
- Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Neuro-Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02129, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Markus W Schweiger
- Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Neuro-Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02129, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Wurdinger
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Brain Tumor Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bakhos A Tannous
- Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Neuro-Oncology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
- Neuroscience Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02129, USA.
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Konantz M, Schürch C, Hanns P, Müller JS, Sauteur L, Lengerke C. Modeling hematopoietic disorders in zebrafish. Dis Model Mech 2019; 12:12/9/dmm040360. [PMID: 31519693 PMCID: PMC6765189 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.040360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Zebrafish offer a powerful vertebrate model for studies of development and disease. The major advantages of this model include the possibilities of conducting reverse and forward genetic screens and of observing cellular processes by in vivo imaging of single cells. Moreover, pathways regulating blood development are highly conserved between zebrafish and mammals, and several discoveries made in fish were later translated to murine and human models. This review and accompanying poster provide an overview of zebrafish hematopoiesis and discuss the existing zebrafish models of blood disorders, such as myeloid and lymphoid malignancies, bone marrow failure syndromes and immunodeficiencies, with a focus on how these models were generated and how they can be applied for translational research. Summary: This At A Glance article and poster summarize the last 20 years of research in zebrafish models for hematopoietic disorders, highlighting how these models were created and are being applied for translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Konantz
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Schürch
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Hanns
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Joëlle S Müller
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Loïc Sauteur
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Lengerke
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland.,Division of Hematology, University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Basel 4031, Switzerland
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50
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A novel indirubin derivative that increases somatic cell plasticity and inhibits tumorigenicity. Bioorg Med Chem 2019; 27:2923-2934. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2019.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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