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Xu D, Zhang Y, Huang W, Pan X, An S, Wang C, Huang G, Liu J, Wei W. ImmunoPET imaging of EpCAM in solid tumours with nanobody tracers: a preclinical study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2024:10.1007/s00259-024-06910-8. [PMID: 39249490 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-024-06910-8] [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: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/28/2024] [Indexed: 09/10/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a potential therapeutic target and anchoring molecule for circulating and disseminated tumour cells (CTC/DTC) in liquid biopsy. In this study, we aimed to construct EpCAM-specific immuno-positron emission tomography (immunoPET) imaging probes and assess the diagnostic abilities in preclinical cancer models. METHODS By engineering six single-domain antibodies (e.g., EPCD1 - 6) targeting EpCAM of different binding properties and labelling with 68Ga (T1/2 = 1.1 h) and 18F (T1/2 = 110 min), we developed a series of EpCAM-targeted immunoPET imaging probes. The probes' pharmacokinetics and diagnostic accuracies were investigated in cell-derived human colorectal (LS174T) and esophageal cancer (OE19) tumour models. RESULTS Based on in vitro binding affinities and in vivo pharmacokinetics of the first three tracers ([68Ga]Ga-NOTA-EPCD1, [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-EPCD2, and [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-EPCD3), we selected [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-EPCD3 for tumour imaging which showed an average tumour uptake of 2.06 ± 0.124%ID/g (n = 3) in LS174T cell-derived tumour model. Development and characterisation of [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD3 showed comparable tumour uptake of 1.73 ± 0.0471%ID/g (n = 3) in the same tumour model. Further validation of [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-EPCD3 in OE19 cell-derived tumour model showed an average tumour uptake of 4.27 ± 1.16%ID/g and liver uptake of 13.5 ± 1.30%ID/g (n = 3). Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with Cy7-EPCD3 confirmed the in vivo pharmacokinetics and relatively high liver accumulation. We further synthesized another three 18F-labeled nanobody tracers ([18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD4, [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD5, and [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD6) and found that [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD6 had the best pharmacokinetics with low background. [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD6 showed explicit uptake in the subcutaneously inoculated OE19 tumour model with an average uptake of 4.70 ± 0.26%ID/g (n = 3). In comparison, the corresponding tumour uptake (0.17 ± 0.25%ID/g, n = 3) in the EPCD6 blocking group was substantially lower (P < 0.001), indicating the targeting specificity of the tracer. CONCLUSIONS We developed a series of 68Ga/18F-labeled nanobody tracers targeting human EpCAM. ImmunoPET imaging with [18F]AIF-RESCA-EPCD6 may facilitate better use of EpCAM-targeted therapeutics by noninvasively displaying the target's expression dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongsheng Xu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - You Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Xinbing Pan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Shuxian An
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Gang Huang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Jianjun Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China.
| | - Weijun Wei
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China.
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Di Santo R, Verdelli F, Niccolini B, Varca S, Gaudio AD, Di Giacinto F, De Spirito M, Pea M, Giovine E, Notargiacomo A, Ortolani M, Di Gaspare A, Baldi A, Pizzolante F, Ciasca G. Exploring novel circulating biomarkers for liver cancer through extracellular vesicle characterization with infrared spectroscopy and plasmonics. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1319:342959. [PMID: 39122286 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2024] [Revised: 06/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer, with cirrhosis being a major risk factor. Traditional blood markers like alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) demonstrate limited efficacy in distinguishing between HCC and cirrhosis, underscoring the need for more effective diagnostic methodologies. In this context, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as promising candidates; however, their practical diagnostic application is restricted by the current lack of label-free methods to accurately profile their molecular content. To address this gap, our study explores the potential of mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy, both alone and in combination with plasmonic nanostructures, to detect and characterize circulating EVs. RESULTS EVs were extracted from HCC and cirrhotic patients. Mid-IR spectroscopy in the Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) mode was utilized to identify potential signatures for patient classification, highlighting significant changes in the Amide I-II region (1475-1700 cm-1). This signature demonstrated diagnostic performance comparable to AFP and surpassed it when the two markers were combined. Further investigations utilized a plasmonic metasurface suitable for ultrasensitive spectroscopy within this spectral range. This device consists of two sets of parallel rod-shaped gold nanoantennas (NAs); the longer NAs produced an intense near-field amplification in the Amide I-II bands, while the shorter NAs were utilized to provide a sharp reflectivity edge at 1800-2200 cm-1 for EV mass-sensing. A clinically relevant subpopulation of EVs was targeted by conjugating NAs with an antibody specific to Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM). This methodology enabled the detection of variations in the quantity of EpCAM-presenting EVs and revealed changes in the Amide I-II lineshape. SIGNIFICANCE The presented results can positively impact the development of novel laboratory methods for the label-free characterization of EVs, based on the combination between mid-IR spectroscopy and plasmonics. Additionally, data obtained by using HCC and cirrhotic subjects as a model system, suggest that this approach could be adapted for monitoring these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Di Santo
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore & Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli", IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, della salute e delle Professioni sanitarie, Link Campus University, Rome, Italy
| | - F Verdelli
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER), Eindhoven 5600 HH, The Netherlands
| | - B Niccolini
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore & Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli", IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - S Varca
- UOC of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical and Surgery Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - A Del Gaudio
- UOC of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical and Surgery Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - F Di Giacinto
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore & Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli", IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - M De Spirito
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore & Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli", IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
| | - M Pea
- Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IFN-CNR, Via Del Fosso Del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - E Giovine
- Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IFN-CNR, Via Del Fosso Del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - A Notargiacomo
- Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IFN-CNR, Via Del Fosso Del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - M Ortolani
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - A Di Gaspare
- NEST, CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - A Baldi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - F Pizzolante
- UOC of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical and Surgery Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
| | - G Ciasca
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore & Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli", IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
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Oketch DJA, Giulietti M, Piva F. A Comparison of Tools That Identify Tumor Cells by Inferring Copy Number Variations from Single-Cell Experiments in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Biomedicines 2024; 12:1759. [PMID: 39200223 PMCID: PMC11351975 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12081759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2024] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technique has enabled detailed analysis of gene expression at the single cell level, enhancing the understanding of subtle mechanisms that underly pathologies and drug resistance. To derive such biological meaning from sequencing data in oncology, some critical processing must be performed, including identification of the tumor cells by markers and algorithms that infer copy number variations (CNVs). We compared the performance of sciCNV, InferCNV, CopyKAT and SCEVAN tools that identify tumor cells by inferring CNVs from scRNA-seq data. Sequencing data from Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, adjacent and healthy tissues were analyzed, and the predicted tumor cells were compared to those identified by well-assessed PDAC markers. Results from InferCNV, CopyKAT and SCEVAN overlapped by less than 30% with InferCNV showing the highest sensitivity (0.72) and SCEVAN the highest specificity (0.75). We show that the predictions are highly dependent on the sample and the software used, and that they return so many false positives hence are of little use in verifying or filtering predictions made via tumor biomarkers. We highlight how critical this processing can be, warn against the blind use of these software and point out the great need for more reliable algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo Giulietti
- Department of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesco Piva
- Department of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
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Houvast RD, Badr N, March T, de Muynck LDAN, Sier VQ, Schomann T, Bhairosingh S, Baart VM, Peeters JAHM, van Westen GJP, Plückthun A, Burggraaf J, Kuppen PJK, Vahrmeijer AL, Sier CFM. Preclinical evaluation of EpCAM-binding designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) as targeting moieties for bimodal near-infrared fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging of cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2024; 51:2179-2192. [PMID: 37642704 PMCID: PMC11178671 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06407-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) can play a key role in improving radical resection rates by assisting surgeons to gain adequate visualization of malignant tissue intraoperatively. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) possess optimal pharmacokinetic and other properties for in vivo imaging. This study aims to evaluate the preclinical potential of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)-binding DARPins as targeting moieties for near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging of cancer. METHODS EpCAM-binding DARPins Ac2, Ec4.1, and non-binding control DARPin Off7 were conjugated to IRDye 800CW and their binding efficacy was evaluated on EpCAM-positive HT-29 and EpCAM-negative COLO-320 human colon cancer cell lines. Thereafter, NIRF and PA imaging of all three conjugates were performed in HT-29_luc2 tumor-bearing mice. At 24 h post-injection, tumors and organs were resected and tracer biodistributions were analyzed. RESULTS Ac2-800CW and Ec4.1-800CW specifically bound to HT-29 cells, but not to COLO-320 cells. Next, 6 nmol and 24 h were established as the optimal in vivo dose and imaging time point for both DARPin tracers. At 24 h post-injection, mean tumor-to-background ratios of 2.60 ± 0.3 and 3.1 ± 0.3 were observed for Ac2-800CW and Ec4.1-800CW, respectively, allowing clear tumor delineation using the clinical Artemis NIRF imager. Biodistribution analyses in non-neoplastic tissue solely showed high fluorescence signal in the liver and kidney, which reflects the clearance of the DARPin tracers. CONCLUSION Our encouraging results show that EpCAM-binding DARPins are a promising class of targeting moieties for pan-carcinoma targeting, providing clear tumor delineation at 24 h post-injection. The work described provides the preclinical foundation for DARPin-based bimodal NIRF/PA imaging of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben D Houvast
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Nada Badr
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Taryn March
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Vincent Q Sier
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Timo Schomann
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Shadhvi Bhairosingh
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Victor M Baart
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Judith A H M Peeters
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Gerard J P van Westen
- Division of Drug Discovery and Safety, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andreas Plückthun
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jacobus Burggraaf
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Centre for Human Drug Research, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Peter J K Kuppen
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Cornelis F M Sier
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
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Ramalingam TR, Mani S, Narla S, Lakshmanan A, Muthu A, Nk HR, Mohanraj S, Ramachandran ED, Subramanyam A, Vaidhyanathan L. Simple and rapid flow cytometry assay for the detection of malignant epithelial cells in body fluids. Cytopathology 2024. [PMID: 38837279 DOI: 10.1111/cyt.13408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Morphology is routinely used for detecting malignant cells in body fluids, but it has limitations. Recently, flow cytometry (FCM) is used as an effective tool for studying non-haematological malignancies. The main objective of this study is to standardize a simple and rapid FCM test for the detection of malignant epithelial cells in body fluids. MATERIALS AND METHODS Body fluids that had been processed for cytology/cytology and FCM were enrolled in this prospective study. We developed a fluorescent-labelled, monoclonal antibody panel composed of cell surface markers for this FCM assay. We compared the results of cytology/cell block and FCM. RESULTS A total of 121 fluid samples were studied. Comparing the diagnostic performance of cytology/cell block and FCM, 52 (43%) cases were positive and 60 (49.5%) cases were negative for carcinoma cells by both techniques. Nine cases showed discordant results between the two techniques. Six cases were cytology+ but FCM- and three cases were FCM+ cytology-. Clustered Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM)-positive events with high scatter properties were definitive for positive diagnosis by FCM. We studied PD-L1 expression in 13 cases by FCM. Six cases were reported as false negative by this FCM assay due to hypocellularity and lack of EpCAM expression in malignant cells. CONCLUSIONS This FCM assay is simple, easier and cost-effective yielding sensitive results with no inter-observer variability. FCM would become a valuable tool to complement routine diagnostic cytology and reduces misdiagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandeep Mani
- Department of Histopathology, Apollo Cancer Centre, Chennai, India
| | - Swetha Narla
- Department of Histopathology, Apollo Cancer Centre, Chennai, India
| | | | - Anurekha Muthu
- Department of Hematology, Apollo Cancer Centre, Chennai, India
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Kim NK, Suh DH, Kim K, No JH, Kim YB, Kim M, Cho YH. High-throughput viable circulating tumor cell isolation using tapered-slit membrane filter-based chipsets in the differential diagnosis of ovarian tumors. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304704. [PMID: 38833451 PMCID: PMC11149860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic performance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using tapered-slit membrane filter (TSF)-based chipsets for the differential diagnosis of adnexal tumors. METHODS A total of 230 women with indeterminate adnexal tumors were prospectively enrolled. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the CTC-detecting chipsets were analyzed according to postoperative pathological results and compared with those of cancer antigen (CA)-125 and imaging tests. RESULTS Eighty-one (40.3%) benign tumors, 31 (15.4%) borderline tumors, and 89 (44.3%) ovarian cancers were pathologically confirmed. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CTC-detecting chipsets (75.3%, 58.0%, and 67.1%) for differentiating ovarian cancer from benign tumors were similar to CA-125 (78.7%, 53.1%, and 66.5%), but lower than CT/MRI (94.2%, 77.9%, and 86.5%). "CTC or CA125" showed increased sensitivity (91.0%) and "CTC and CA-125" revealed increased specificity (77.8%), comparable to CT/MRI. CTC detection rates in stage I/II and stage III/IV ovarian cancers were 69.6% and 81.4%, respectively. The sensitivity to detect high-grade serous (HGS) cancer from benign tumors (84.6%) was higher than that to detect non-HGS cancers (68.0%). CONCLUSION Although the diagnostic performance of the TSF platform to differentiate between ovarian cancer and benign tumors did not yield significant results, the combination of CTC and CA-125 showed promising potential in the diagnostic accuracy of ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nam Kyeong Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Dong Hoon Suh
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Kidong Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Jae Hong No
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Yong Beom Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea
| | - Minki Kim
- Cell Bench Research Center, Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
| | - Young-Ho Cho
- Cell Bench Research Center, Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
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El-Kholy MA, Abu-Seadah SS, Hasan A, Elhussiny MEA, Abdelwahed MS, Hanbazazh M, Samman A, Alrashdi SA, Rashed ZF, Ashmawy D, Othman AE, Abdelaleem MF, Abo-Saif AIA, Abdel-Maqsoud RR, Attiah SM, Assiri ES, Nasr M, Ismail KA, Saad DZ, El-Mosely MM. The Role of Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule Cancer Stem Cell Marker in Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2024; 60:915. [PMID: 38929532 PMCID: PMC11205386 DOI: 10.3390/medicina60060915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent form of malignancy that is characterized by high mortality rates and prognosis that remain suboptimal, largely due to treatment resistance mechanisms. Recent studies have implicated cancer stem cells (CSCs), particularly those expressing epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), in HCC progression and resistance. In the present study, we sought to assess EpCAM expression in HCC patients and its correlation with various clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: Tissue samples from 42 HCC patients were subjected to immunohistochemical staining to evaluate EpCAM expression. Clinicopathological data were obtained including the size, grade and stage of tumors, vascular invasion status, alpha-fetoprotein levels, and cirrhosis status. The Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were employed to assess the association between categorical groups. Independent Student-t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to investigate the association between continuous patient characteristics and survival. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed EpCAM expression in 52.5% of HCC cases. EpCAM-positive tumors exhibited characteristics indicative of aggressive disease, including larger tumor sizes (p = 0.006), greater tumor multiplicity (p = 0.004), higher grades (p = 0.002), more advanced stages (p = 0.003), vascular invasion (p = 0.023), elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels (p = 0.013), and cirrhosis (p = 0.052). Survival analysis demonstrated that EpCAM expression was significantly associated with lower overall rates of survival and higher rates of recurrence in HCC patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that EpCAM expression may serve as a prognostic biomarker for HCC with a potential role in patient management. Targeting EpCAM-positive CSCs may represent a promising approach to overcome treatment resistance and improve clinical outcomes in HCC. However, further investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying EpCAM's role in HCC progression is warranted to facilitate the development of personalized therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwa A. El-Kholy
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Shimaa S. Abu-Seadah
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Abdulkarim Hasan
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed E. A. Elhussiny
- General Medicine Practice Program, Histology Department, Batterjee Medical Collage, Aseer 61421, Saudi Arabia
- Histology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S. Abdelwahed
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mehenaz Hanbazazh
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulhadi Samman
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saeed A. Alrashdi
- Laboratory Department, Al-Mezailef General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Al-Mezailef 21912, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zaky F. Rashed
- Anesthesia Department, College of Applied Sciences, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 71666, Saudi Arabia
- Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Management Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Diaa Ashmawy
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Damietta 34517, Egypt
| | - Alyaa E. Othman
- Infectious Diseases Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
| | | | - Amany I. A. Abo-Saif
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Rania R. Abdel-Maqsoud
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Samah M. Attiah
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Eissa Saeed Assiri
- Laboratory Department, Aseer Central Hospital, Ministry of Health, Abha 62523, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Nasr
- Histology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Khadiga Ahmed Ismail
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Diana Z. Saad
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
| | - Marwa M. El-Mosely
- Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
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Xiao D, Xiong M, Wang X, Lyu M, Sun H, Cui Y, Chen C, Jiang Z, Sun F. Regulation of the Function and Expression of EpCAM. Biomedicines 2024; 12:1129. [PMID: 38791091 PMCID: PMC11117676 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12051129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a single transmembrane protein on the cell surface. Given its strong expression on epithelial cells and epithelial cell-derived tumors, EpCAM has been identified as a biomarker for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and exosomes and a target for cancer therapy. As a cell adhesion molecule, EpCAM has a crystal structure that indicates that it forms a cis-dimer first and then probably a trans-tetramer to mediate intercellular adhesion. Through regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP), EpCAM and its proteolytic fragments are also able to regulate multiple signaling pathways, Wnt signaling in particular. Although great progress has been made, increasingly more findings have revealed the context-specific expression and function patterns of EpCAM and their regulation processes, which necessitates further studies to determine the structure, function, and expression of EpCAM under both physiological and pathological conditions, broadening its application in basic and translational cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Xiao
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Mingrui Xiong
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Xin Wang
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Mengqing Lyu
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Hanxiang Sun
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Yeting Cui
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Tumor Precision Diagnosis and Treatment Technology and Translational Medicine, Hubei Engineering Research Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China;
| | - Ziyu Jiang
- Tumor Precision Diagnosis and Treatment Technology and Translational Medicine, Hubei Engineering Research Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China;
| | - Fan Sun
- College of Life Sciences and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; (D.X.); (M.X.); (X.W.); (M.L.); (H.S.); (Y.C.)
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
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9
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Hindle J, Williams A, Kim Y, Kim D, Patil K, Khatkar P, Osgood Q, Nelson C, Routenberg DA, Howard M, Liotta LA, Kashanchi F, Branscome H. hTERT-Immortalized Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Large-Scale Manufacturing, Cargo Profiling, and Functional Effects in Retinal Epithelial Cells. Cells 2024; 13:861. [PMID: 38786083 PMCID: PMC11120263 DOI: 10.3390/cells13100861] [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: 04/13/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
As the economic burden associated with vision loss and ocular damage continues to rise, there is a need to explore novel treatment strategies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are enriched with various biological cargo, and there is abundant literature supporting the reparative and immunomodulatory properties of stem cell EVs across a broad range of pathologies. However, one area that requires further attention is the reparative effects of stem cell EVs in the context of ocular damage. Additionally, most of the literature focuses on EVs isolated from primary stem cells; the use of EVs isolated from human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)-immortalized stem cells has not been thoroughly examined. Using our large-scale EV-manufacturing platform, we reproducibly manufactured EVs from hTERT-immortalized mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and employed various methods to characterize and profile their associated cargo. We also utilized well-established cell-based assays to compare the effects of these EVs on both healthy and damaged retinal pigment epithelial cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish proof of concept for reproducible, large-scale manufacturing of hTERT-immortalized MSC EVs and to investigate their potential reparative properties against damaged retinal cells. The results from our studies confirm that hTERT-immortalized MSC EVs exert reparative effects in vitro that are similar to those observed in primary MSC EVs. Therefore, hTERT-immortalized MSCs may represent a more consistent and reproducible platform than primary MSCs for generating EVs with therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anastasia Williams
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
| | - Yuriy Kim
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
| | | | - Kajal Patil
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
| | - Pooja Khatkar
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
| | | | - Collin Nelson
- Meso Scale Diagnostics, L.L.C., Rockville, MD 20850, USA (D.A.R.)
| | | | - Marissa Howard
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Lance A. Liotta
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Fatah Kashanchi
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
| | - Heather Branscome
- ATCC, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA (K.P.)
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10
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Hassanzadeh-Barforoushi A, Tukova A, Nadalini A, Inglis DW, Chang-Hao Tsao S, Wang Y. Microfluidic-SERS Technologies for CTC: A Perspective on Clinical Translation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024. [PMID: 38652011 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c01158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Enumeration and phenotypic profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) provide critical information for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring in cancer. To achieve this goal, an integrated system is needed to efficiently isolate CTCs from patient samples and sensitively evaluate their phenotypes. Such integration would comprise a high-throughput single-cell processing unit for the isolation and manipulation of CTCs and a sensitive and multiplexed quantitation unit to detect clinically relevant signals from these cells. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been used as an analytical method for molecular profiling and in vitro cancer diagnosis. More recently, its multiplexing capability and power to create distinct molecular signatures against their targets have garnered attention. Here, we share our insights into the combined power of microfluidics and SERS in realizing CTC isolation, enumeration, and detection from a clinical translation perspective. We highlight the key operational factors in CTC microfluidic processing and SERS detection from patient samples. We further discuss microfluidic-SERS integration and its clinical utility as a paradigm shift in clinical CTC-based cancer diagnosis and prognostication. Finally, we summarize the challenges and attempt to look forward to what lies ahead of us in potentially translating the technique into real clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Hassanzadeh-Barforoushi
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Anastasiia Tukova
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Audrey Nadalini
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - David W Inglis
- School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Simon Chang-Hao Tsao
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
- Department of Surgery, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia
| | - Yuling Wang
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
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11
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Gaya A, Rohatgi N, Limaye S, Shreenivas A, Ajami R, Akolkar D, Datta V, Srinivasan A, Patil D. Liquid Biopsy for Detection of Pancreaticobiliary Cancers by Functional Enrichment and Immunofluorescent Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells and Their Clusters. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1400. [PMID: 38611078 PMCID: PMC11010988 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16071400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have historically been used for prognostication in oncology. We evaluate the performance of liquid biopsy CTC assay as a diagnostic tool in suspected pancreaticobiliary cancers (PBC). The assay utilizes functional enrichment of CTCs followed by immunofluorescent profiling of organ-specific markers. The performance of the assay was first evaluated in a multicentric case-control study of blood samples from 360 participants, including 188 PBC cases (pre-biopsy samples) and 172 healthy individuals. A subsequent prospective observational study included pre-biopsy blood samples from 88 individuals with suspicion of PBC and no prior diagnosis of cancer. CTCs were harvested using a unique functional enrichment method and used for immunofluorescent profiling for CA19.9, Maspin, EpCAM, CK, and CD45, blinded to the tissue histopathological diagnosis. TruBlood® malignant or non-malignant predictions were compared with tissue diagnoses to establish sensitivity and specificity. The test had 95.9% overall sensitivity (95% CI: 86.0-99.5%) and 92.3% specificity (95% CI: 79.13% to 98.38%) to differentiate PBC (n = 49) from benign conditions (n = 39). The high accuracy of the CTC-based TruBlood test demonstrates its potential clinical application as a diagnostic tool to assist the effective detection of PBC when tissue sampling is unviable or inconclusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Gaya
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Cromwell Hospital, London SW5 0TU, UK
| | - Nitesh Rohatgi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram 122002, HR, India
| | - Sewanti Limaye
- Department of Medical and Precision Oncology, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai 400004, MH, India
| | - Aditya Shreenivas
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Ramin Ajami
- Department of Oncology, The Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, UK
| | - Dadasaheb Akolkar
- Department of Research and Innovation, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, MH, India; (D.A.); (V.D.); (A.S.); (D.P.)
| | - Vineet Datta
- Department of Research and Innovation, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, MH, India; (D.A.); (V.D.); (A.S.); (D.P.)
| | - Ajay Srinivasan
- Department of Research and Innovation, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, MH, India; (D.A.); (V.D.); (A.S.); (D.P.)
| | - Darshana Patil
- Department of Research and Innovation, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, MH, India; (D.A.); (V.D.); (A.S.); (D.P.)
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12
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Ko SY, Lee W, Naora H. Harnessing microRNA-enriched extracellular vesicles for liquid biopsy. Front Mol Biosci 2024; 11:1356780. [PMID: 38449696 PMCID: PMC10916008 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1356780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) can be detected in body fluids and hold great potential as cancer biomarkers. Extracellular miRNAs are protected from degradation by binding various proteins and through their packaging into extracellular vesicles (EVs). There is evidence that the diagnostic performance of cancer-associated extracellular miRNAs can be improved by assaying EV-miRNA instead of total cell-free miRNA, but several challenges have hampered the advancement of EV-miRNA in liquid biopsy. Because almost all types of cells release EVs, cancer cell-derived EVs might constitute only a minor fraction of EVs in body fluids of cancer patients with low volume disease. Furthermore, a given cell type can release several subpopulations of EVs that vary in their cargo, and there is evidence that the majority of EVs contain low copy numbers of miRNAs. In this mini-review, we discuss the potential of several candidate EV membrane proteins such as CD147 to define cancer cell-derived EVs, and approaches by which subpopulations of miRNA-rich EVs in body fluids might be identified. By integrating these insights, we discuss strategies by which EVs that are both cancer cell-derived and miRNA-rich could be isolated to enhance the diagnostic performance of extracellular miRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Honami Naora
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
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13
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Müller JH, Plage H, Elezkurtaj S, Mandelkow T, Huang Z, Lurati MCJ, Raedler JB, Debatin NF, Vettorazzi E, Samtleben H, Hofbauer S, Furlano K, Neymeyer J, Goranova I, Ralla B, Weinberger S, Horst D, Roßner F, Schallenberg S, Marx AH, Fisch M, Rink M, Slojewski M, Kaczmarek K, Ecke T, Hallmann S, Koch S, Adamini N, Lennartz M, Minner S, Simon R, Sauter G, Zecha H, Schlomm T, Bady E. Loss of TROP2 and epithelial cell adhesion molecule expression is linked to grade progression in pTa but unrelated to disease outcome in pT2-4 urothelial bladder carcinomas. Front Oncol 2024; 13:1342367. [PMID: 38282671 PMCID: PMC10811247 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1342367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2; EpCAM2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein which is closely related to EpCAM (EpCAM; EpCAM1). Both proteins share partial overlapping functions in epithelial development and EpCAM expression but have not been comparatively analyzed together in bladder carcinomas. TROP2 constitutes the target for the antibody-drug conjugate Sacituzumab govitecan (SG; TrodelvyTM) which has been approved for treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma by the United States Food and Drug administration (FDA) irrespective of its TROP2 expression status. Methods To evaluate the potential clinical significance of subtle differences in TROP2 and EpCAM expression in urothelial bladder cancer, both proteins were analyzed by multiplex fluorescence immunohistochemistry in combination with a deep-learning based algorithm for automated cell detection on more than 2,700 urothelial bladder carcinomas in a tissue microarray (TMA) format. Results The staining pattern of TROP2 and EpCAM were highly similar. For both proteins, the staining intensity gradually decreased from pTa G2 low grade (TROP2: 68.8±36.1; EpCAM: 21.5±11.7) to pTa G2 high grade (64.6±38.0; 19.3±12.2) and pTa G3 (52.1±38.7; 16.0±13.0, p<0.001 each). In pT2-4 carcinomas, the average TROP2 and EpCAM staining intensity was intermediate (61.8±40.9; 18.3±12.3). For both proteins, this was significantly lower than in pTa G2 low grade (p<0.001 each) but also higher than in pTa G3 tumors (p=0.022 for TROP2, p=0.071 for EpCAM). Within pT2-4 carcinomas, the TROP2 and EpCAM staining level was unrelated to pT, grade, UICC-category, and overall or tumor-specific patient survival. The ratio TROP2/EpCAM was unrelated to malignant phenotype and patient prognosis. Conclusion Our data show that TROP2 and EpCAM expression is common and highly interrelated in urothelial neoplasms. Despite of a progressive loss of TROP2/EpCAM during tumor cell dedifferentiation in pTa tumors, the lack of associations with clinicopathological parameters in pT2-4 cancer argues against a major cancer driving role of both proteins for the progression of urothelial neoplasms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan H. Müller
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Henning Plage
- Department of Urology, Charité Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Tim Mandelkow
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Zhihao Huang
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Magalie C. J. Lurati
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jonas B. Raedler
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Fürth, Germany
| | - Nicolaus F. Debatin
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Eik Vettorazzi
- Department of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Kira Furlano
- Department of Urology, Charité Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörg Neymeyer
- Department of Urology, Charité Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | | | - David Horst
- Insitute of Pathology, Charité Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Andreas H. Marx
- Department of Pathology, Academic Hospital Fuerth, Fuerth, Germany
| | - Margit Fisch
- Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Rink
- Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marcin Slojewski
- Department of Urology, University Hospital Stettin, Stettin, Poland
| | | | - Thorsten Ecke
- Department of Urology, Helios Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Steffen Hallmann
- Department of Urology, Helios Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Stefan Koch
- Department of Pathology, Helios Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Nico Adamini
- Department of Urology, Albertinen Hospital, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maximilian Lennartz
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Minner
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ronald Simon
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Guido Sauter
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Henrik Zecha
- Department of Urology, Albertinen Hospital, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Elena Bady
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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14
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Frey G, Cugnetti APG, Liu H, Xing C, Wheeler C, Chang HW, Boyle WJ, Short JM. A novel conditional active biologic anti-EpCAM x anti-CD3 bispecific antibody with synergistic tumor selectivity for cancer immunotherapy. MAbs 2024; 16:2322562. [PMID: 38445633 PMCID: PMC10936661 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2024.2322562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that plays several roles in cancer biology. EpCAM is an attractive therapeutic target because of its expression in most solid tumors. However, targeting EpCAM has been challenging because it is also highly expressed in normal epithelial tissues. Initial attempts to develop EpCAM-specific T-cell engagers were unsuccessful due to severe cytokine release effects, as well as serious on-target, off-tumor drug-related toxicities. We developed novel, conditionally active biological (CAB) bispecific antibodies that bind to both EpCAM and CD3 in an acidic tumor microenvironment. In healthy tissues, binding to EpCAM and CD3 is greatly reduced by a novel, dual CAB selection, where each binding domain is independently blocked by the presence of physiological chemicals known as Protein-associated Chemical Switches (PaCS). The CAB anti-EpCAM T-cell engagers displayed the anticipated bispecific binding properties and mediated the potent lysis of EpCAM-positive cancer cell lines through the recruitment of T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Xenograft studies showed that the efficacy of CAB bispecific antibodies is similar to that of a non-CAB anti-EpCAM bispecific antibody, but they have markedly reduced toxicity in non-human primates, indicating an unprecedentedly widened therapeutic index of over 100-fold. These preclinical results indicate that the dual CAB bispecific antibody is potentially both a powerful and safe therapeutic platform and a promising T cell-engaging treatment for patients with EpCAM-expressing tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard Frey
- Research & Development, BioAtla Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Haizhen Liu
- Research & Development, BioAtla Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Charles Xing
- Research & Development, BioAtla Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jay M. Short
- Research & Development, BioAtla Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
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15
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Soto KEG, Loureiro LR, Bartsch T, Arndt C, Kegler A, Mitwasi N, Drewitz L, Hoffmann L, Saleh HA, Crespo E, Mehnert M, Daglar C, Abken H, Momburg F, Bachmann M, Feldmann A. Targeting colorectal cancer cells using AND-gated adaptor RevCAR T-cells. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1302354. [PMID: 38169746 PMCID: PMC10758449 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1302354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells especially for treating hematological malignancies, critical drawbacks, such as "on-target, off-tumor" toxicities, need to be addressed to improve safety in translating to clinical application. This is especially true, when targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that are not exclusively expressed by solid tumors but also on hea9lthy tissues. To improve the safety profile, we developed switchable adaptor CAR systems including the RevCAR system. RevCAR T-cells are activated by cross-linking of bifunctional adaptor molecules termed target modules (RevTM). In a further development, we established a Dual-RevCAR system for an AND-gated combinatorial targeting by splitting the stimulatory and co-stimulatory signals of the RevCAR T-cells on two individual CARs. Examples of common markers for colorectal cancer (CRC) are the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), while these antigens are also expressed by healthy cells. Here we describe four novel structurally different RevTMs for targeting of CEA and EpCAM. All anti-CEA and anti-EpCAM RevTMs were validated and the simultaneous targeting of CEA+ and EpCAM+ cancer cells redirected specific in vitro and in vivo killing by Dual-RevCAR T-cells. In summary, we describe the development of CEA and EpCAM specific adaptor RevTMs for monospecific and AND-gated targeting of CRC cells via the RevCAR platform as an improved approach to increase tumor specificity and safety of CAR T-cell therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla E. G. Soto
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Liliana R. Loureiro
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Tabea Bartsch
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Claudia Arndt
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- Mildred Scheel Early Career Center, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Alexandra Kegler
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nicola Mitwasi
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Laura Drewitz
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lydia Hoffmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Haidy A. Saleh
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Eugenia Crespo
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maria Mehnert
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- Mildred Scheel Early Career Center, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Cansu Daglar
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Department of Gene-Immunotherapy, Leibniz-Institute of Immunotherapy, and University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Frank Momburg
- Antigen Presentation and T/NK Cell Activation Group, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Bachmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC), partner site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anja Feldmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC), partner site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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16
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Subirá D, Barriopedro F, Fernández J, Martínez R, Chara L, Castelao J, García E. High sensitivity flow cytometry immunophenotyping increases the diagnostic yield of malignant pleural effusions. Clin Exp Metastasis 2023; 40:505-515. [PMID: 37812366 DOI: 10.1007/s10585-023-10236-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Diagnosing malignant pleural effusions (MPE) is challenging when patients lack a history of cancer and cytopathology does not detect malignant cells in pleural effusions (PE). We investigated whether a systematic analysis of PE by flow cytometry immunophenotyping (FCI) had any impact on the diagnostic yield of MPE. Over 7 years, 570 samples from patients with clinical suspicion of MPE were submitted for the FCI study. To screen for epithelial malignancies, a 3-color FCI high sensitivity assay was used. The FCI results, qualified as "malignant" (FCI+) or "non-malignant" (FCI-), were compared to integrated definitive diagnosis established by clinicians based on all available information. MPE was finally diagnosed in 182 samples and FCI detected 141/182 (77.5%). Morphology further confirmed FCI findings by cytopathology detection of malignant cells in PE (n = 91) or histopathology (n = 29). Imaging tests and clinical history supported the diagnosis in the remaining samples. The median percentage of malignant cells was 6.5% for lymphoma and 0.23% for MPE secondary to epithelial cell malignancies. FCI identified a significantly lower percentage of EpCAM+ cells in cytopathology-negative MPE than in cytopathology-positive cases (0.02% vs. 1%; p < 0.0001). Interestingly, 29/52 MPE (55.8%) where FCI alerted of the presence of malignant cells were new diagnosis of cancer. Overall, FCI correctly diagnosed 456/522 samples (87.4%) suitable for comparison with cytopathology. These findings show that high sensitivity FCI significantly increases the diagnostic yield of MPE. Early detection of FCI + cases accelerates the diagnostic pathway of unsuspected MPE, thus supporting its implementation in clinical diagnostic work-up as a diagnostic tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores Subirá
- Flow Cytometry Unit, Department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain.
| | - Fabiola Barriopedro
- Flow Cytometry Unit, Department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain
| | - Jesús Fernández
- Department of Pneumology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain
| | - Ruth Martínez
- Flow Cytometry Unit, Department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain
| | - Luis Chara
- Department of Oncology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain
| | - Jorge Castelao
- Department of Pneumology, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, c/Donante de sangre s.n, Guadalajara, 19002, Spain
| | - Eugenia García
- Department of Pathology- IdiPAZ, Hospital Universitario La Paz, P.º de la Castellana, 261, Madrid, 28046, Spain
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17
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Hannouneh ZA, Hijazi A, Alsaleem AA, Hami S, Kheyrbek N, Tanous F, Khaddour K, Abbas A, Alshehabi Z. Novel immunotherapeutic options for BCG-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Cancer Med 2023; 12:21944-21968. [PMID: 38037752 PMCID: PMC10757155 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) presents a challenge to many physicians due to its ability to resist Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) intravesical therapy and the substantial rate of progression into muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Patients who are BCG-unresponsive have worse prognosis and thus require further management including radical cystectomy (RC), which significantly impacts quality of life. Moreover, the ongoing worldwide shortage of BCG warrants the need for policies that prioritize drug use and utilize alternative treatment strategies. Hence, there is a significant unmet need for bladder preserving therapy in this subset of patients. METHODS To address this issue, we searched the relevant literature in PUBMED for articles published from 2019 through May of 2023 using appropriate keywords. All clinical trials of patients with HR-NMIBC treated with immune-related agents were retrieved from clinicaltrials.gov. FINDINGS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES Exploratory treatments for BCG-Unresponsive HR-NMIBC included immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), oncolytic viral therapy, cytokine agonists, and other immunomodulators targeting TLR, EpCaM, FGFR, MetAP2, and IDO1. Some combination therapies have been found to work synergistically and are preferred therapeutically over monotherapy. Three drugs-pembrolizumab, valrubicin, and most recently, nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg-have been FDA approved for the treatment of BCG-unresponsive NMIBC in patients who are ineligible for or decline RC. However, all explored treatment options tend to postpone RC rather than provide long-term disease control. Additional combination strategies need to be studied to enhance the effects of immunotherapy. Despite the challenges faced in finding effective therapies, many potential treatments are currently under investigation. Addressing the landscape of biomarkers, mechanisms of progression, BCG resistance, and trial design challenges in HR-NMIBC is essential for the discovery of new targets and the development of effective treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zein Alabdin Hannouneh
- Faculty of MedicineAl Andalus University for Medical SciencesTartusSyrian Arab Republic
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Amjad Hijazi
- Faculty of MedicineAl Andalus University for Medical SciencesTartusSyrian Arab Republic
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Alaa Aldeen Alsaleem
- Faculty of MedicineAl Andalus University for Medical SciencesTartusSyrian Arab Republic
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Siwan Hami
- Faculty of MedicineAl Andalus University for Medical SciencesTartusSyrian Arab Republic
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Nina Kheyrbek
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
- Faculty of MedicineTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Fadi Tanous
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
- Faculty of MedicineAl‐Baath UniversityHomsSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Karam Khaddour
- Department of Medical OncologyDana‐Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Abdulfattah Abbas
- Professor of Nephrology, Faculty of MedicineAl Andalus University for Medical SciencesTartusSyrian Arab Republic
| | - Zuheir Alshehabi
- Cancer Research CenterTishreen UniversityLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
- Department of PathologyTishreen University HospitalLattakiaSyrian Arab Republic
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18
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Zhu N, Wang X, Wang X, Zeng Y, Yu Y, Yi Q, Wu Y. Accurate and noninvasive diagnosis of epithelial cancers through AND gate photoluminescence on tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:10288-10296. [PMID: 37886894 DOI: 10.1039/d3tb01675g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Noninvasive detection of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) has become one of the most promising liquid biopsy methodologies for effective and timely cancer diagnosis and prognostic monitoring. Currently, accurate and sensitive detection of tumor-derived sEVs is compromised by their heterogeneous nature, and the tissue origin and parent cell cycle change may significantly affect the tumor-associated information (e.g., phenotypic proteins) of sEVs. Accordingly, many of the single-marker dependent detections on sEVs may not provide comprehensive information about the tumor, and their reliability and clinical applicability cannot be guaranteed. Herein, a strategy for constructing AND gate photoluminescence on tumor-derived sEVs is proposed. Briefly, only after co-recognition of the two epithelial phenotypic proteins (EpCAM and MUC1) on tumor-derived sEVs simultaneously, can our designed lanthanide luminescence probe precursors then assemble to form the AND gate for photoluminescence detection. Consequently, the generated AND gate photoluminescence provided time-resolved luminescence for a wide cancerous sEV linear detection range of 6.0 × 104-6.0 × 109 particles per mL, with a calculated detection limitation of 1.42 × 102 particles per mL. Furthermore, the AND gate photoluminescence can significantly distinguish epithelial cancer patients from healthy controls, displaying its great potential for accurate and noninvasive cancer diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanhang Zhu
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Xuekang Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Xingyou Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Yating Zeng
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Yue Yu
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Qiangying Yi
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
| | - Yao Wu
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, P. R. China.
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19
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Ma J, Chen Y, Ren J, Zhou T, Wang Z, Li C, Qiu L, Gao T, Ding P, Ding Z, Ou L, Wang J, Xu J, Zhou Z, Jia C, Sun N, Pei R, Zhu W. Purification of Circulating Tumor Cells Based on Multiantibody-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles and Molecular Analysis toward Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Detection. ACS Sens 2023; 8:3744-3753. [PMID: 37773014 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.3c01063] [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: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are valuable circulating biomarkers of cancer, which carry primary tumor information and may provide real-time assessment of tumor status as well as treatment response in cancer patients. Herein, we developed a novel assay for accurate diagnosis and dynamic monitoring of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) using CTC RNA analysis. Multiantibody-modified magnetic nanoparticles were prepared for purification of EOC CTCs from whole blood samples of clinical patients. Subsequently, nine EOC-specific mRNAs of purified CTCs were quantified using droplet digital PCR. The EOC CTC Score was generated using a multivariate logistic regression model for each sample based on the transcripts of the nine genes. This assay exhibited a distinguishing diagnostic performance for the detection of EOC (n = 17) from benign ovarian tumors (n = 30), with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.96 (95% CI = 0.91-1.00). Moreover, dynamic changes of the EOC CTC Score were observed in patients undergoing treatment, demonstrating the potential of the assay for monitoring EOC. In conclusion, we present an accurate assay for the diagnosis and monitoring of EOC via CTC RNA analysis, and the results suggest that it may provide a promising solution for the detection and treatment response assessment of EOC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialing Ma
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Ying Chen
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jing Ren
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Tongping Zhou
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Zhili Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Cheng Li
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Lei Qiu
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
| | - Tian Gao
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Pi Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Zixin Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Center of Advanced Pharmaceuticals and Biomaterials, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Li Ou
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
| | - Jinni Xu
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
| | - Zhirun Zhou
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
| | - Chenxin Jia
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
| | - Na Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Renjun Pei
- CAS Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Weipei Zhu
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
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20
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Guerra E, Trerotola M, Alberti S. Targeting Trop-2 as a Cancer Driver. J Clin Oncol 2023; 41:4688-4692. [PMID: 37549340 DOI: 10.1200/jco.23.01207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Guerra
- Laboratory of Cancer Pathology, Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Trerotola
- Laboratory of Cancer Pathology, Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Saverio Alberti
- Unit of Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences-BIOMORF, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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21
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Kuen DS, Hong J, Lee S, Koh CH, Kwak M, Kim BS, Jung M, Kim YJ, Cho BS, Kim BS, Chung Y. A Personalized Cancer Vaccine that Induces Synergistic Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2303080. [PMID: 37249019 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202303080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
To demonstrate potent efficacy, a cancer vaccine needs to activate both innate and adaptive immune cells. Personalized cancer vaccine strategies often require the identification of patient-specific neoantigens; however, the clonal and mutational heterogeneity of cancer cells presents inherent challenges. Here, extracellular nanovesicles derived from alpha-galactosylceramide-conjugated autologous acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells (ECNV-αGC) are presented as a personalized therapeutic vaccine that activates both innate and adaptive immune responses, bypassing the need to identify patient-specific neoantigens. ECNV-αGC vaccination directly engages with and activates both invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells and leukemia-specific CD8+ T cells in mice with AML, thereby promoting long-term anti-leukemic immune memory. ECNV-αGC sufficiently serves as an antigen-presenting platform that can directly activate antigen-specific CD8+ T cells even in the absence of dendritic cells, thereby demonstrating a multifaceted cellular mechanism of immune activation. Moreover, ECNV-αGC vaccination results in a significantly lower AML burden and higher percentage of leukemia-free survivors among cytarabine-treated hosts with AML. Human AML-derived ECNV-αGCs activate iNKT cells in both healthy individuals and patients with AML regardless of responsiveness to conventional therapies. Together, autologous AML-derived ECNV-αGCs may be a promising personalized therapeutic vaccine that efficiently establishes AML-specific long-term immunity without requiring the identification of neoantigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da-Sol Kuen
- Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihye Hong
- Interdisciplinary Program for Bioengineering, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Suyoung Lee
- Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Choong-Hyun Koh
- Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Minkyeong Kwak
- Division of Life Sciences, College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, 22012, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Mungyo Jung
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon-Joo Kim
- Department of Hematology, Catholic Hematology Hospital and Leukemia Research Institute, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 06591, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung-Sik Cho
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung-Soo Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program for Bioengineering, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Division of Life Sciences, College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, 22012, Incheon, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Chemical Processes, Institute of Engineering Research, BioMAX, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeonseok Chung
- Laboratory of Immune Regulation, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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22
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Kalaitsidou I, Pasteli N, Venetis G, Poulopoulos A, Antoniades K. Immunohistochemical Expression of Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) in Salivary Gland Cancer: Correlation with the Biological Behavior. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2652. [PMID: 37627911 PMCID: PMC10453306 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13162652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Salivary gland neoplasms comprise a diverse group of tumors with different biological behaviors and clinical outcomes. Understanding the underlying molecular alterations associated with these malignancies is critical for accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. Among the many biomarkers under investigation, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has emerged as a promising candidate in salivary gland cancer research. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the differential expression of EpCAM in salivary gland cancer and its potential correlation with the biological behavior of these tumors. The clinical characteristics of 65 patients with salivary gland malignancy of different histopathological subtypes were included. We report the differential expression of EpCAM and the relationship between the clinical and histopathologic features of these tumors. Regarding the evaluation of the effect of EpCAM expression on survival, in our study, we showed that tumors with high EpCAM expression had reduced disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) (p < 0.001) compared to patients with cancers with low EpCAM expression. In addition, the concurrent presence of perineural invasion and positive EpCAM expression appeared to be associated with shorter disease-free survival and overall survival. In conclusion, our study confirmed the prognostic value of detecting perineural invasion and EpCAM expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Kalaitsidou
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.V.)
- Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nikoleta Pasteli
- Pathology Department, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Gregory Venetis
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.V.)
| | - Athanasios Poulopoulos
- Department of Oral Medicine and Maxillofacial Pathology, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Konstantinos Antoniades
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (G.V.)
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23
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Ezenkwa US, Ogun GO, Mashor MI, Ogunbiyi OJ. EpCAM expression negatively regulates E-cadherin function in colorectal carcinomas. Ecancermedicalscience 2023; 17:1569. [PMID: 37533952 PMCID: PMC10393316 DOI: 10.3332/ecancer.2023.1569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background This study aimed to characterise epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression patterns in colorectal carcinomas (CRC) from Nigerian patients, its association with E-cadherin and tumour characteristics, to forecast patient selection for anti-EpCAM therapy among whom no data existed previously. Methods Tissue microarray blocks of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded CRC tissues, with their non-cancer margins of resection, were sectioned and stained with EpCAM and E-cadherin primary antibodies. Scoring for antibody staining was done semiquantitatively by combining staining proportion and intensity. The outcome was correlated with patient age, gender and tumour histological parameters with p ≤ 0.05 regarded as statistically significant. Results Sixty-three carcinoma tissues had staining status for the two markers and were included in this study. Of these, 36 (57.1%) showed positive EpCAM expression (immunoscore ≥3) out of which 83% (30/36 positive cases) were overexpressed (combined immunoscore ≥4) while 12 (19%) tissues were positive for E-cadherin. Non-tumour margins of resection tissues showed less EpCAM positivity in 24% (6/25) of histospots. The difference in staining between tumour and non-tumour margin tissues with EpCAM was significant (p < 0.001). Also, EpCAM overexpression was significantly associated with reduced E-cadherin (p < 0.035) expression in tumour cells. Tumour extent within the gut wall was equal (50% each) for early and late pT stages among EpCAM overexpressing tumours but two-thirds (8/12) of cases expressing E-cadherin had later pT stage paradoxically, while distant metastasis was negligible among tumours bearing both markers. Also, tumours overexpressing EpCAM had significant association with tumour-associated lymphocytes (p < 0.02 each). Conclusion CRC in this study preferentially overexpress EpCAM over E-cadherin whose strong cell-cell contact inhibitory role is weakened even when expressed, resulting in further local tumour spread. This, and the observed immune response, supports targeted therapy among eligible patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uchenna Simon Ezenkwa
- Federal Medical Centre Azare, Azare 751101, Bauchi, Nigeria
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7022-8268
| | - Gabriel Olabiyi Ogun
- Department of Pathology, University College Hospital, Ibadan 200285, Oyo, Nigeria
| | - Mbwas Isaac Mashor
- Department of Pathology, Bringham University, Jos 930105, Plateau, Nigeria
| | - Olufemi John Ogunbiyi
- Department of Pathology, University College Hospital, Ibadan 200285, Oyo, Nigeria
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8748-2879
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24
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Guerra E, Di Pietro R, Stati G, Alberti S. A non-mutated TROP2 fingerprint in cancer genetics. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1151090. [PMID: 37456256 PMCID: PMC10338868 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1151090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The advent of high throughput DNA sequencing is providing massive amounts of tumor-associated mutation data. Implicit in these analyses is the assumption that, by acquiring a series of hallmark changes, normal cells evolve along a neoplastic path. However, the lack of correlation between cancer risk and global exposure to mutagenic factors provides arguments against this model. This suggested that additional, non-mutagenic factors are at work in cancer development. A candidate determinant is TROP2, that stands out for its expression in the majority of solid tumors in human, for its impact on the prognosis of most solid cancers and for its role as driver of cancer growth and metastatic diffusion, through overexpression as a wild-type form. The Trop-2 signaling network encompasses CREB1, Jun, NF-κB, Rb, STAT1 and STAT3, through induction of cyclin D1 and MAPK/ERK. Notably, Trop-2-driven pathways vastly overlap with those activated by most functionally relevant/most frequently mutated RAS and TP53, and are co-expressed in a large fraction of individual tumor cases, suggesting functional overlap. Mutated Ras was shown to synergize with the TROP2-CYCLIND1 mRNA chimera in transforming primary cells into tumorigenic ones. Genomic loss of TROP2 was found to promote carcinogenesis in squamous cell carcinomas through modulation of Src and mutated Ras pathways. DNA methylation and TP53 status were shown to cause genome instability and TROP gene amplification, together with Trop-2 protein overexpression. These findings suggest that mutagenic and the TROP2 non-mutagenic pathways deeply intertwine in driving transformed cell growth and malignant progression of solid cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Guerra
- Laboratory of Cancer Pathology, Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Roberta Di Pietro
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, Section of Biomorphology, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Gianmarco Stati
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, Section of Biomorphology, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Saverio Alberti
- Unit of Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences - Biomedical Sciences (BIOMORF), University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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25
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Lučić I, Kurtović M, Mlinarić M, Piteša N, Čipak Gašparović A, Sabol M, Milković L. Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10683. [PMID: 37445860 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) are among the most common and deadly cancers affecting women worldwide. Both are complex diseases with marked heterogeneity. Despite the induction of screening programs that increase the frequency of earlier diagnosis of BC, at a stage when the cancer is more likely to respond to therapy, which does not exist for OC, more than 50% of both cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Initial therapy can put the cancer into remission. However, recurrences occur frequently in both BC and OC, which are highly cancer-subtype dependent. Therapy resistance is mainly attributed to a rare subpopulation of cells, named cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor-initiating cells, as they are capable of self-renewal, tumor initiation, and regrowth of tumor bulk. In this review, we will discuss the distinctive markers and signaling pathways that characterize CSC, their interactions with the tumor microenvironment, and the strategies they employ to evade immune surveillance. Our focus will be on identifying the common features of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) and ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC) and suggesting potential therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Lučić
- Laboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Matea Kurtović
- Laboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Monika Mlinarić
- Laboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nikolina Piteša
- Laboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ana Čipak Gašparović
- Laboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maja Sabol
- Laboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lidija Milković
- Laboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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26
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Zhang X, Li L, Zhang M, Zhang L, Liu S, Guo J, Jiang N, Peng Q, Wang J, Ding S. Intelligent recognition of CTCs from gallbladder cancer by ultrasensitive electrochemical cytosensor and diagnosis of chemotherapeutic resistance. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 228:115183. [PMID: 36905863 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is one of most aggressive and lethal malignancies. Early diagnosis of GBC is crucial for determining appropriate treatment and improving chances of cure. Chemotherapy represents the main therapeutic regimen for unresectable GBC patients to inhibit tumor growth & metastasis. But, chemoresistance is the major cause of GBC recurrence. Thus, there is an urgent need to explore potentially non-invasive and point-of-care approaches to screen GBC and monitor their chemoresistance. Herein, we established an electrochemical cytosensor to specifically detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and their chemoresistance. Trilayer of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were cladded upon SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs), forming Tri-QDs/PEI@SiO2 electrochemical probes. Upon conjugation of anti-ENPP1, the electrochemical probes were able to specifically label captured CTCs from GBC. The detection of CTCs and chemoresistance were realized by square wave anodic stripping voltammetric (SWASV) responses to anodic stripping current of Cd 2+ ion when cadmium in electrochemical probes was dissolved and eventually electrodeposited on bismuth film-modified glassy carbon electrode (BFE). Taking use of this cytosensor, one ensured the screening of GBC and limit of detection for CTCs approaches to ~10 cells/mL. Furthermore, by monitoring phenotypic changes of CTCs after drug treatment, the diagnosis of chemoresistance was achieved by our cytosensor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuzhen Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - Lu Li
- School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - Mi Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - La Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - Shanshan Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - Jiao Guo
- School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
| | - Ning Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China; Molecular Medicine Diagnostic and Testing Center, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China; Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China.
| | - Qiling Peng
- School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China.
| | - Jianwei Wang
- School of Basic Medical Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China.
| | - Shijia Ding
- Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, PR China
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Dressler FF, Hinrichs S, Roesch MC, Perner S. EpCAM tumor specificity and proteoform patterns in urothelial cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023:10.1007/s00432-023-04809-9. [PMID: 37154925 PMCID: PMC10374485 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-04809-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The role of the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in cancer is still unclear. EpCAM cleavage through regulated intramembrane proteolysis results in fragments which interact with both oncogenic and tumor suppressive pathways. Additionally, the EpCAM molecule itself is used as a descriptive therapeutic target in urothelial cancer (UC), while data on its actual tumor specificity remain limited. METHODS Samples from diagnostic formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) UC tissue and fresh-frozen UC cells were immunoblotted and used for qualitative characterization of five different EpCAM fragments. These expression patterns were quantified across a cohort of 76 samples with 52 UC and 24 normal urothelial samples. Cell viability effects of the extracellular EpEX fragment were assessed in the UC cell lines T24 and HT1376. RESULTS The proteolytic EpCAM fragments could be identified in clinical FFPE tissue specimens too. Neither overall nor fragment-specific EpCAM expression showed relevant tumor specificity. EpEX and its deglycosylated variant showed an inverse relationship across healthy and tumor tissue with a decrease of deglycosylated EpEX in tumors. However, extracellular EpEX did not show a relevant effect in vitro. CONCLUSIONS EpCAM should not be regarded as tumor-specific in UC without patient-specific predictive testing. EpCAM fragment patterns indicate cancer-specific changes and could be involved in its complex tumor-biological role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franz F Dressler
- Institute of Pathology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Sofie Hinrichs
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Marie C Roesch
- Department of Urology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Sven Perner
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
- Institute of Pathology and Hematopathology, Hamburg, Germany
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Li YN, Li YY, Wang SX, Ma XY. Efficacy of Bispecific Antibody Targeting EpCAM and CD3 for Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer Ascites: An Experimental Study. Curr Med Sci 2023:10.1007/s11596-023-2753-2. [PMID: 37119369 DOI: 10.1007/s11596-023-2753-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the value of M701, targeting epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and CD3, in the immunotherapy of ovarian cancer ascites by the in vitro assay. METHODS The expression of EpCAM in ovarian cancer tissues was analyzed by databases. The EpCAM expression and immune cell infiltration in different foci of ovarian cancer were detected by 8-channel flow cytometry. The toxic effect of M701 on OVCAR3 was tested using the in vitro cytotoxicity assay. The 3D cell culture and drug intervention experiments were performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of M701 in ovarian cancer specimens. Flow cytometry was used to examine the effect of M701 on the binding of immune cells to tumor cells and the activation capacity of T cells. RESULTS The results of the bioinformatic analysis showed that the expression of EpCAM in ovarian cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in normal ovarian tissue. The 8-channel flow cytometry of clinical samples showed that the EpCAM expression and lymphocyte infiltration were significantly heterogeneous among ovarian cancer patients and lesions at different sites. The in vitro experiment results showed that M701 had a significant killing effect on OVCAR3 cells. M701 also obviously killed primary tumor cells derived from some patients with ovarian cancer ascites. M701 could mediate the binding of CD3+ T cells to EpCAM+ tumor cells and induce T cell activation in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION M701 showed significant inhibitory activity on tumor cells derived from ovarian cancer ascites, which had a promising application in immunotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer ascites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Nuo Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Li
- Department of Gynecology, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Shi-Xuan Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| | - Xiang-Yi Ma
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
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29
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Zhao X, Zhao R, Feng Y, Qiu Z, Bai X, Zhang D, Zhou Y, Fang H, Liu N, Chen L, Jia C, Yuan Y, Li X, Duan W, Nie G, Hou Y. The roles EpCAM plays to enhance the malignancy of gastric cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023:10.1007/s00432-023-04767-2. [PMID: 37095412 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-04767-2] [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: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) remains a global challenge due to its high morbidity and mortality rates especially in Asia as well as poor response to treatment. As a member of the adhesion protein family and transmembrane glycoprotein, EpCAM expressed excessively in cancer cells including GC cells. The database assay showed that EpCAM is excessively expressed and easily mutated in cancers, especially in early stage of GC. METHODS To explore the roles EpCAM plays in oncogenesis and progression of GC, the expression of EpCAM was deleted in GC cells with CRISPR/Cas9 method, and then the changes of cell proliferation, apoptosis, motility and motility associated microstructures in EpCAM-deleted GC cells (EpCAM-/-SGC7901) were detected to evaluate the rules EpCAM played. RESULTS The results showed that EpCAM deletion caused cell proliferation, motility and the development of motility-relevant microstructures inhibited significantly, apoptotic trend and contact inhibition enhanced in EpCAM-deleted GC cells. The results of western blot suggested that EpCAM modulates the expression of epithelial/endothelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) correlated genes. All results as above indicated that EpCAM plays important roles to enhance the oncogenesis, malignancy and progression as a GC enhancer. CONCLUSIONS Combining our results and published data together, the interaction of EpCAM with other proteins was also discussed and concluded in the discussion. Our results support that EpCAM can be considered as a novel target for the diagnosis and therapy of GC in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuewei Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ruixia Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yang Feng
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zuchun Qiu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xue Bai
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Danying Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yujuan Zhou
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Hongming Fang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Niu Liu
- College of P.E and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Lirong Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chenshuang Jia
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yue Yuan
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xinyao Li
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Duan
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Guochao Nie
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resource Chemistry and Biotechnology, Yulin, 537000, Guangxi, China.
| | - Yingchun Hou
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, Shaanxi, China.
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Stibbe JA, de Barros HA, Linders DGJ, Bhairosingh SS, Bekers EM, van Leeuwen PJ, Low PS, Kularatne SA, Vahrmeijer AL, Burggraaf J, van der Poel HG. First-in-patient study of OTL78 for intraoperative fluorescence imaging of prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive prostate cancer: a single-arm, phase 2a, feasibility trial. Lancet Oncol 2023; 24:457-467. [PMID: 37062295 DOI: 10.1016/s1470-2045(23)00102-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Targeted real-time imaging during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy provides information on the localisation and extent of prostate cancer. We assessed the safety and feasibility of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted fluorescent tracer OTL78 in patients with prostate cancer. METHODS In this single-arm, phase 2a, feasibility trial with an adaptive design was carried out in The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Netherlands. Male patients aged 18 years or older, with PSMA PET-avid prostate cancer with an International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade group of 2 or more, who were scheduled to undergo robot-assisted radical prostatectomy with or without extended pelvic lymph node dissection were eligible. All patients had a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy using OTL78. Based on timing and dose, patients received a single intravenous infusion of OTL78 (0·06 mg/kg 1-2 h before surgery [dose cohort 1], 0·03 mg/kg 1-2 h before surgery [dose cohort 2], or 0·03 mg/kg 24 h before surgery [dose cohort 3]). The primary outcomes, assessed in all enrolled patients, were safety and pharmacokinetics of OTL78. This study is completed and is registered in the European Trial Database, 2019-002393-31, and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, NL8552, and is completed. FINDINGS Between June 29, 2020, and April 1, 2021, 19 patients were screened for eligibility, 18 of whom were enrolled. The median age was 69 years (IQR 64-70) and median prostate-specific antigen concentration was 15 ng/mL (IQR 9·3-22·0). In 16 (89%) of 18 patients, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy was accompanied by an extended pelvic lymph node dissection. Three serious adverse events occurred in one (6%) patient: an infected lymphocele, a urosepsis, and an intraperitoneal haemorrhage. These adverse events were considered unrelated to the administration of OTL78 or intraoperative fluorescence imaging. No patient died, required a dose reduction, or required discontinuation due to drug-related toxicity. The dose-normalised maximum serum concentration (Cmax/dose) in patients was 84·1 ng/mL/mg for the 0·03 mg/kg dose and 79·6 ng/mL/mg for the 0·06 mg/kg dose, the half-life was 5·1 h for the 0·03 mg/kg dose and 4·7 h for the 0·06 mg/kg dose, the volume of distribution was 22·9 L for the 0·03 mg/kg dose and 19·5 L for the 0·06 mg/kg dose, and the clearance was 3·1 L/h for the 0·03 mg/kg dose and 3·0 L/h for the 0·06 mg/kg dose. INTERPRETATION This first-in-patient study showed that OTL78 was well tolerated and had the potential to improve prostate cancer detection. Optimal dosing was 0·03 mg/kg, 24 h preoperatively. PSMA-directed fluorescence imaging allowed real-time identification of visually occult prostate cancer and might help to achieve complete oncological resections. FUNDING On Target Laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith A Stibbe
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Hilda A de Barros
- Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Daan G J Linders
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Shadhvi S Bhairosingh
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Elise M Bekers
- Department of Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Pim J van Leeuwen
- Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Alexander L Vahrmeijer
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Jacobus Burggraaf
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; Centre for Human Drug Research, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Henk G van der Poel
- Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Urology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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Roshan R, Naderi S, Behdani M, Ahangari Cohan R, Kazemi-Lomedasht F. A Novel Immunotoxin Targeting Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule Using Single Domain Antibody Fused to Diphtheria Toxin. Mol Biotechnol 2023; 65:637-644. [PMID: 36129635 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-022-00565-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) is overexpressed in a variety of cancers such as colon, stomach, pancreas, and prostate adenocarcinomas. Inhibition of EpCAM is considered as a potential target for cancer therapy. In current study, anti-EpCAM immunotoxin (α-EpCAM IT) was developed using genetic fusion of α-EpCAM single domain antibody (nanobody) (α-EpCAM Nb) to truncated form of diphtheria toxin. The expression of recombinant α-EpCAM IT was induced by Isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blot. Recombinant α-EpCAM IT was purified from the inclusion bodies and refolded using urea gradient procedure. The cytotoxicity and apoptosis activity of α-EpCAM IT on EpCAM over-expressing (MCF7), low-expressing (HEK293), and no-expressing (HUVEC) cells were evaluated by 3-4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl (MTT) assay and annexin V-FITC-PI assay as well. In addition, anti-tumor activity of α-EpCAM IT was evaluated on nude mice bearing MCF7 tumor cells. Results showed success expression and purification of α-EpCAM IT. The α-EpCAM IT showed time and dose-dependent anti-proliferative activity on MCF-7 cells. However, α-EpCAM IT did not show any anti-proliferative activity on HEK293 and HUVEC cells as well. In addition, the annexin V-FITC-PI assay results showed that α-EpCAM IT significantly increased apoptotic rate in MCF-7 cells with no effect on HEK293 and HUVEC as well. Moreover, α-EpCAM IT significantly reduced tumor size in vivo study. The achieved results indicate the potential of designing α-EpCAM IT as a novel therapeutic for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reyhaneh Roshan
- Venom and Biotherapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shamsi Naderi
- Venom and Biotherapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahdi Behdani
- Venom and Biotherapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Ahangari Cohan
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, New Technologies Research Group, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Fatemeh Kazemi-Lomedasht
- Venom and Biotherapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
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32
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Limaye S, Chowdhury S, Rohatgi N, Ranade A, Syed N, Riedemann J, Patil D, Akolkar D, Datta V, Patel S, Chougule R, Shejwalkar P, Bendale K, Apurwa S, Schuster S, John J, Srinivasan A, Datar R. Accurate prostate cancer detection based on enrichment and characterization of prostate cancer specific circulating tumor cells. Cancer Med 2023; 12:9116-9127. [PMID: 36718027 PMCID: PMC10166919 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.5649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The low specificity of serum PSA resulting in the inability to effectively differentiate prostate cancer from benign prostate conditions is a persistent clinical challenge. The low sensitivity of serum PSA results in false negatives and can miss high-grade prostate cancers. We describe a non-invasive test for detection of prostate cancer based on functional enrichment of prostate adenocarcinoma associated circulating tumor cells (PrAD-CTCs) from blood samples followed by their identification by immunostaining for pan-cytokeratins (PanCK), prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), alpha methyl-acyl coenzyme-A racemase (AMACR), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and common leucocyte antigen (CD45). METHODS Analytical validation studies were performed to establish the performance characteristics of the test using VCaP prostate cancer cells spiked into healthy donor blood (HDB). The clinical performance characteristics of the test were evaluated in a case-control study with 160 known prostate cancer cases and 800 healthy males, followed by a prospective clinical study of 210 suspected cases of prostate cancer. RESULTS Analytical validation established analyte stability as well as acceptable performance characteristics. The test showed 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity to differentiate prostate cancer cases from healthy individuals in the case control study and 91.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity to differentiate prostate cancers from benign prostate conditions in the prospective clinical study. CONCLUSIONS The test accurately detects PrAD-CTCs with high sensitivity and specificity irrespective of stage, serum PSA or Gleason score, which translates into low risks of false negatives or overdiagnosis. The high accuracy of the test could offer advantages over PSA based prostate cancer detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sewanti Limaye
- Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research CentreMumbaiIndia
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Antmen E, Ermis M, Kuren O, Beksac K, Irkkan C, Hasirci V. Nuclear Deformability of Breast Cells Analyzed from Patients with Malignant and Benign Breast Diseases. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2023; 9:1629-1643. [PMID: 36706038 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c01059] [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: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous and dynamic disease, in which cancer cells are highly responsive to alterations in the microenvironment. Today, conventional methods of detecting cancer give a rather static image of the condition of the disease, so dynamic properties such as invasiveness and metastasis are difficult to capture. In this study, conventional molecular-level evaluations of the patients with breast adenocarcinoma were combined with in vitro methods on micropatterned poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) biomaterial surfaces that deform cells. A correlation between deformability of the nuclei and cancer stemness, invasiveness, and metastasis was sought. Clinical patient samples were from regions of the breast with different proximities to the tumor. Responses at the single-cell level toward the micropatterned surfaces were studied using CD44/24, epithelial cell adhesion marker (EpCAM), MUC1, and PCK. Results showed that molecular markers and shape descriptors can discriminate the cells from different proximities to the tumor center and from different patients. The cells with the most metastatic and invasive properties showed both the highest deformability and the highest level of metastatic markers. In conclusion, by using a combination of molecular markers together with nuclear deformation, it is possible to improve detection and separation of subpopulations in heterogenous breast cancer specimens at the single-cell level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezgi Antmen
- BIOMATEN, Middle East Technical University (METU) Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Ankara06800, Turkey
| | - Menekse Ermis
- BIOMATEN, Middle East Technical University (METU) Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Ankara06800, Turkey
| | - Ozgur Kuren
- BIOMATEN, Middle East Technical University (METU) Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Ankara06800, Turkey
| | - Kemal Beksac
- Department of General Surgery, Ankara Oncology Hospital, Yenimahalle, Ankara06800, Turkey
| | - Cigdem Irkkan
- Department of Pathology, Ankara Oncology Hospital, Yenimahalle, Ankara06800, Turkey
| | - Vasif Hasirci
- BIOMATEN, Middle East Technical University (METU) Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Ankara06800, Turkey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University (ACU), Istanbul34752, Turkey
- ACU Biomaterials Center, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University (ACU), Atasehir, Istanbul34752, Turkey
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Varier L, Sundaram SM, Gamit N, Warrier S. An Overview of Ovarian Cancer: The Role of Cancer Stem Cells in Chemoresistance and a Precision Medicine Approach Targeting the Wnt Pathway with the Antagonist sFRP4. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041275. [PMID: 36831617 PMCID: PMC9954718 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is one of the most prevalent gynecological cancers, having a relatively high fatality rate with a low five-year chance of survival when detected in late stages. The early detection, treatment and prevention of metastasis is pertinent and a pressing research priority as many patients are diagnosed only in stage three of ovarian cancer. Despite surgical interventions, targeted immunotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy, relapses are significantly higher than other cancers, suggesting the dire need to identify the root cause of metastasis and relapse and present more precise therapeutic options. In this review, we first describe types of ovarian cancers, the existing markers and treatment modalities. As ovarian cancer is driven and sustained by an elusive and highly chemoresistant population of cancer stem cells (CSCs), their role and the associated signature markers are exhaustively discussed. Non-invasive diagnostic markers, which can be identified early in the disease using circulating tumor cells (CTCs), are also described. The mechanism of the self-renewal, chemoresistance and metastasis of ovarian CSCs is regulated by the Wnt signaling pathway. Thus, its role in ovarian cancer in promoting stemness and metastasis is delineated. Based on our findings, we propose a novel strategy of Wnt inhibition using a well-known Wnt antagonist, secreted frizzled related protein 4 (sFRP4), wherein short micropeptides derived from the whole protein can be used as powerful inhibitors. The latest approaches to early diagnosis and novel treatment strategies emphasized in this review will help design precision medicine approaches for an effective capture and destruction of highly aggressive ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lavanya Varier
- Cuor Stem Cellutions Pvt Ltd., Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bangalore 560 065, India
| | - S. Mohana Sundaram
- Division of Cancer Stem Cells and Cardiovascular Regeneration, Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bangalore 560 065, India
| | - Naisarg Gamit
- Division of Cancer Stem Cells and Cardiovascular Regeneration, Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bangalore 560 065, India
| | - Sudha Warrier
- Cuor Stem Cellutions Pvt Ltd., Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bangalore 560 065, India
- Division of Cancer Stem Cells and Cardiovascular Regeneration, Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bangalore 560 065, India
- Correspondence:
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Xu T, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Rinne SS, Zhang H, Vorontsova O, Orlova A, Deyev SM, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Feasibility of Co-Targeting HER3 and EpCAM Using Seribantumab and DARPin-Toxin Fusion in a Pancreatic Cancer Xenograft Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032838. [PMID: 36769161 PMCID: PMC9917732 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies. A combination of targeted therapies could increase the therapeutic efficacy in tumors with heterogeneous target expression. Overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 3 (HER3) and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in up to 40% and 30% of PCs, respectively, is associated with poor prognosis and highlights the relevance of these targets. Designed ankyrin repeat protein (DARPin) Ec1 fused with the low immunogenic bacterial toxin LoPE provides specific and potent cytotoxicity against EpCAM-expressing cancer cells. Here, we investigated whether the co-targeting of HER3 using the monoclonal antibody seribantumab (MM-121) and of EpCAM using Ec1-LoPE would improve the therapeutic efficacy in comparison to the individual agents. Radiolabeled 99mTc(CO)3-Ec1-LoPE showed specific binding with rapid internalization in EpCAM-expressing PC cells. MM-121 did not interfere with the binding of Ec1-LoPE to EpCAM. Evaluation of cytotoxicity indicated synergism between Ec1-LoPE and MM-121 in vitro. An experimental therapy study using Ec1-LoPE and MM-121 in mice bearing EpCAM- and HER3-expressing BxPC3 xenografts demonstrated the feasibility of the therapy. Further development of the co-targeting approach using HER3 and EpCAM could therefore be justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hongchao Zhang
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sergey M. Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
- Bio-Nanophotonic Laboratory, Institute of Engineering Physics for Biomedicine (PhysBio), National Research Nuclear University ‘MEPhI’, Moscow 115409, Russia
- Center of Biomedical Engineering, Sechenov University, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence:
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36
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Wang JJ, Sun N, Lee YT, Kim M, Vagner T, Rohena-Rivera K, Wang Z, Chen Z, Zhang RY, Lee J, Zhang C, Tang H, Widjaja J, Zhang TX, Qi D, Teng PC, Jan YJ, Hou KC, Hamann C, Sandler HM, Daskivich TJ, Luthringer DJ, Bhowmick NA, Pei R, You S, Di Vizio D, Tseng HR, Chen JF, Zhu Y, Posadas EM. Prostate cancer extracellular vesicle digital scoring assay - a rapid noninvasive approach for quantification of disease-relevant mRNAs. NANO TODAY 2023; 48:101746. [PMID: 36711067 PMCID: PMC9879227 DOI: 10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing outcomes in prostate cancer (PCa) requires precision in characterization of disease status. This effort was directed at developing a PCa extracellular vesicle (EV) Digital Scoring Assay (DSA) for detecting metastasis and monitoring progression of PCa. PCa EV DSA is comprised of an EV purification device (i.e., EV Click Chip) and reverse-transcription droplet digital PCR that quantifies 11 PCa-relevant mRNA in purified PCa-derived EVs. A Met score was computed for each plasma sample based on the expression of the 11-gene panel using the weighted Z score method. Under optimized conditions, the EV Click Chips outperformed the ultracentrifugation or precipitation method of purifying PCa-derived EVs from artificial plasma samples. Using PCa EV DSA, the Met score distinguished metastatic (n = 20) from localized PCa (n = 20) with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 (95% CI:0.78-0.98). Furthermore, longitudinal analysis of three PCa patients showed the dynamics of the Met scores reflected clinical behavior even when disease was undetectable by imaging. Overall, a sensitive PCa EV DSA was developed to identify metastatic PCa and reveal dynamic disease states noninvasively. This assay may complement current imaging tools and blood-based tests for timely detection of metastatic progression that can improve care for PCa patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine J. Wang
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Na Sun
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of
Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, PR China
| | - Yi-Te Lee
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Minhyung Kim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tatyana Vagner
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Zhili Wang
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of
Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, PR China
| | - Zijing Chen
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Y. Zhang
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Junseok Lee
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ceng Zhang
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hubert Tang
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Josephine Widjaja
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tiffany X. Zhang
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Dongping Qi
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pai-Chi Teng
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yu Jen Jan
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kuan-Chu Hou
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Candace Hamann
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Howard M. Sandler
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Timothy J. Daskivich
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Daniel J. Luthringer
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Neil A. Bhowmick
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Renjun Pei
- Key Laboratory for Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of
Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, PR China
| | - Sungyong You
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Dolores Di Vizio
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hsian-Rong Tseng
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School
of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jie-Fu Chen
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yazhen Zhu
- California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for
Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School
of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Edwin M. Posadas
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
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Xu T, Karschnia P, Cadilha BL, Dede S, Lorenz M, Seewaldt N, Nikolaishvili E, Müller K, Blobner J, Teske N, Herold JJ, Rejeski K, Langer S, Obeck H, Lorenzini T, Mulazzani M, Zhang W, Ishikawa-Ankerhold H, Buchholz VR, Subklewe M, Thon N, Straube A, Tonn JC, Kobold S, von Baumgarten L. In vivo dynamics and anti-tumor effects of EpCAM-directed CAR T-cells against brain metastases from lung cancer. Oncoimmunology 2023; 12:2163781. [PMID: 36687005 PMCID: PMC9851202 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2022.2163781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer patients are at risk for brain metastases and often succumb to their intracranial disease. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells emerged as a powerful cell-based immunotherapy for hematological malignancies; however, it remains unclear whether CAR T-cells represent a viable therapy for brain metastases. Here, we established a syngeneic orthotopic cerebral metastasis model in mice by combining a chronic cranial window with repetitive intracerebral two-photon laser scanning-microscopy. This approach enabled in vivo-characterization of fluorescent CAR T-cells and tumor cells on a single-cell level over weeks. Intraparenchymal injection of Lewis lung carcinoma cells (expressing the tumor cell-antigen EpCAM) was performed, and EpCAM-directed CAR T-cells were injected either intravenously or into the adjacent brain parenchyma. In mice receiving EpCAM-directed CAR T-cells intravenously, we neither observed substantial CAR T-cell accumulation within the tumor nor relevant anti-tumor effects. Local CAR T-cell injection, however, resulted in intratumoral CAR T-cell accumulation compared to controls treated with T-cells lacking a CAR. This finding was accompanied by reduced tumorous growth as determined per in vivo-microscopy and immunofluorescence of excised brains and also translated into prolonged survival. However, the intratumoral number of EpCAM-directed CAR T-cells decreased during the observation period, pointing toward insufficient persistence. No CNS-specific or systemic toxicities of EpCAM-directed CAR T-cells were observed in our fully immunocompetent model. Collectively, our findings indicate that locally (but not intravenously) injected CAR T-cells may safely induce relevant anti-tumor effects in brain metastases from lung cancer. Strategies improving the intratumoral CAR T-cell persistence may further boost the therapeutic success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Xu
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Philipp Karschnia
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany,CONTACT Philipp Karschnia
| | - Bruno Loureiro Cadilha
- Department of Medicine IV, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Center of Integrated Protein Science Munich, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sertac Dede
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Michael Lorenz
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Niklas Seewaldt
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Elene Nikolaishvili
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Katharina Müller
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jens Blobner
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nico Teske
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julika J. Herold
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Kai Rejeski
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany,Department of Medicine III, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sigrid Langer
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Hannah Obeck
- Department of Medicine IV, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Center of Integrated Protein Science Munich, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Theo Lorenzini
- Department of Medicine IV, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Center of Integrated Protein Science Munich, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Mulazzani
- Immunology Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia
| | - Wenlong Zhang
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Hellen Ishikawa-Ankerhold
- Department of Medicine I, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Veit R. Buchholz
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Subklewe
- Department of Medicine III, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Niklas Thon
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Straube
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Joerg-Christian Tonn
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kobold
- Department of Medicine IV, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Center of Integrated Protein Science Munich, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Louisa von Baumgarten
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Munich, Germany,Louisa von Baumgarten Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15/81377, Munich, Germany
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38
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Application of plasma membrane proteomics to identify cancer biomarkers. Proteomics 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-95072-5.00008-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
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Wathoni N, Puluhulawa LE, Joni IM, Muchtaridi M, Mohammed AFA, Elamin KM, Milanda T, Gozali D. Monoclonal antibody as a targeting mediator for nanoparticle targeted delivery system for lung cancer. Drug Deliv 2022; 29:2959-2970. [PMID: 36085575 PMCID: PMC9467540 DOI: 10.1080/10717544.2022.2120566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer after breast cancer. It ranks first in terms of mortality rate among all types of cancer. Lung cancer therapies are still being developed, one of which makes use of nanoparticle technology. However, conjugation with specific ligands capable of delivering drugs more precisely to cancer sites is still required to enhance nanoparticle targeting performance. Monoclonal antibodies are one type of mediator that can actively target nanoparticles. Due to the large number of antigens on the surface of cancer cells, monoclonal antibodies are widely used to deliver nanoparticles and improve drug targeting to cancer cells. Unfortunately, these antibodies have some drawbacks, such as rapid elimination, which results in a short half-life and ineffective dose. As a result, many of them are formulated in nanoparticles to minimize their major drawbacks and enhance drug targeting. This review summarizes and discusses articles on developing and applying various types of monoclonal antibody ligand nanoparticles as lung cancer target drugs. This review will serve as a guide for the choice of nanoparticle systems containing monoclonal antibody ligands for drug delivery in lung cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasrul Wathoni
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
- Functional Nano Powder University Center of Excellence (FiNder U CoE), Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Lisa Efriani Puluhulawa
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - I Made Joni
- Functional Nano Powder University Center of Excellence (FiNder U CoE), Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Muchtaridi Muchtaridi
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis and Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Ahmed Fouad Abdelwahab Mohammed
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia, Egypt
- Graduate school of Pharmaceutical sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Khaled M. Elamin
- Global Center for Natural Resources Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Tiana Milanda
- Departement of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
| | - Dolih Gozali
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Indonesia
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40
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van der Fels CAM, Leliveld A, Buikema H, van den Heuvel MC, de Jong IJ. VEGF, EGFR and PSMA as possible imaging targets of lymph node metastases of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. BMC Urol 2022; 22:213. [PMID: 36581931 PMCID: PMC9798636 DOI: 10.1186/s12894-022-01157-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In this study we investigated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to analyze their potency as targets for the detection of lymph node (LN) metastases of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. METHODS Antigen expression was determined in 40 samples with urothelial carcinoma and compared to 17 matched samples without metastases by immunohistochemistry. The total immunostaining score (TIS 0-12) was determined as the product of a proportion score (PS 0-4) and intensity score (IS 0-3). RESULTS VEGF expression was high in primary tumor and LN metastases (median TIS 8 in both) and VEGF expression was also seen in LNs without metastases (median TIS 6). EGFR expression was low in primary tumor and LN metastases (median TIS 3 and 2 respectively) and absent in LNs without metastases. PSMA expression was low in samples with urothelial carcinoma (median TIS 2). CONCLUSION VEGF shows moderate to high expression levels in both primary tumors and LN metastases and could be a candidate as a target agent for imaging modalities of urothelial carcinoma. EGFR and PSMA do show low staining levels in tumor tissue with urothelial carcinoma and do not seem suitable as target agents. TRIAL REGISTRATION The Medical Ethics Review Board of the University Medical Center Groningen approved this study on 14 December 2017 (METc UMCG 2017/639). Trial registration number (UMCG Research Register): 201700868.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christa Anne Maria van der Fels
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Department of Urology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Annemarie Leliveld
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Department of Urology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Henk Buikema
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marius Christianus van den Heuvel
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Igle Jan de Jong
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Department of Urology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands
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41
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Hasannia M, Abnous K, Taghdisi SM, Nekooei S, Ramezani M, Alibolandi M. Synthesis of doxorubicin-loaded peptosomes hybridized with gold nanorod for targeted drug delivery and CT imaging of metastatic breast cancer. J Nanobiotechnology 2022; 20:391. [PMID: 36045404 PMCID: PMC9429417 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01607-2] [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: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer nanomedicines based on synthetic polypeptides have attracted much attention due to their superior biocompatibility and biodegradability, stimuli responsive capability through secondary conformation change, adjustable functionalities for various cargos such as peptides, proteins, nucleic acids and small therapeutic molecules. Recently, a few nanoformulations based on polypeptides comprising NK105, NC6004, NK911, CT2103, have entered phase I-III clinical trials for advanced solid tumors therapy. In the current study, we prepared polypeptide-based vesicles called peptosome via self-assembly of amphiphilic polypeptide-based PEG-PBLG diblock copolymer. RESULTS In this regard, poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate (PBLG) was synthesized via ring opening polymerization (ROP) of γ-benzyl L-glutamate-N-carboxyanhydride (BLG-NCA) using N-hexylamine as initiator. Then amine-terminated PBLG was covalently conjugated to heterofuctional maleimide PEG-carboxylic acid or methyl-PEG-carboxylic acid. The PEG-PBLG peptosomes were prepared through double emulsion method for the co-delivery of doxorubicin.HCl and gold nanorods as hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents in interior compartment and membrane of peptosomes, respectively (Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX) that DOX encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity were determined 42 ± 3.6 and 1.68 ± 3.6. Then, theranostic peptosomes were decorated with thiol-functionalized EpCAM aptamer throught thiol-maleimide reaction producing Apt-Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX for targeted delivery. The non-targeted and targeted peptosomes showed 165.5 ± 1.1 and 185 ± 4.7 nm diameters, respectively while providing sustained, controlled release of DOX. Furthermore, non-targeted and targeted peptosomes showed considerable serum stability. In vitro study on MCF-7 and 4T1 cells showed significantly higher cytotoxicity for Apt-Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX in comparison with Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX while both system did not show any difference in cytotoxicity against CHO cell line. Furthermore, Apt-Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX illustrated higher cellular uptake toward EpCAM-overexpressing 4T1 cells compared to Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX. In preclinical stage, therapeutic and diagnostic capability of the prepared Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX and Apt-Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX were investigated implementing subcutaneous 4T1 tumor model in BALB/c mice. The obtained data indicated highest therapeutic index for Apt-Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX compared to Pep@MUA.GNR-DOX and free DOX. Moreover, the prepared system showed capability of CT imaging of tumor tissue in 4T1 tumorized mice through tumor accumulation even 24 h post-administration. CONCLUSION In this regard, the synthesized theranostic peptosomes offer innovative hybrid multipurpose platform for fighting against breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maliheh Hasannia
- Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Student Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Khalil Abnous
- Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Seyed Mohammad Taghdisi
- Targeted Drug Delivery Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Sirous Nekooei
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ramezani
- Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. .,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. .,Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Nanotechnology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
| | - Mona Alibolandi
- Pharmaceutical Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. .,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
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Rahmanian M, Sartipzadeh Hematabad O, Askari E, Shokati F, Bakhshi A, Moghadam S, Olfatbakhsh A, Al Sadat Hashemi E, Khorsand Ahmadi M, Morteza Naghib S, Sinha N, Tel J, Eslami Amirabadi H, den Toonder JMJ, Majidzadeh-A K. A micropillar array-based microfluidic chip for label-free separation of circulating tumor cells: The best micropillar geometry? J Adv Res 2022; 47:105-121. [PMID: 35964874 PMCID: PMC10173300 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The information derived from the number and characteristics of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), is crucial to ensure appropriate cancer treatment monitoring. Currently, diverse microfluidic platforms have been developed for isolating CTCs from blood, but it remains a challenge to develop a low-cost, practical, and efficient strategy. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to isolate CTCs from the blood of cancer patients via introducing a new and efficient micropillar array-based microfluidic chip (MPA-Chip), as well as providing prognostic information and monitoring the treatment efficacy in cancer patients. METHODS We fabricated a microfluidic chip (MPA-Chip) containing arrays of micropillars with different geometries (lozenge, rectangle, circle, and triangle). We conducted numerical simulations to compare velocity and pressure profiles inside the micropillar arrays. Also, we experimentally evaluated the capture efficiency and purity of the geometries using breast and prostate cancer cell lines as well as a blood sample. Moreover, the device's performance was validated on 12 patients with breast cancer (BC) in different states. RESULTS The lozenge geometry was selected as the most effective and optimized micropillar design for CTCs isolation, providing high capture efficiency (>85 %), purity (>90 %), and viability (97 %). Furthermore, the lozenge MPA-chip was successfully validated by the detection of CTCs from 12 breast cancer (BC) patients, with non-metastatic (median number of 6 CTCs) and metastatic (median number of 25 CTCs) diseases, showing different prognoses. Also, increasing the chemotherapy period resulted in a decrease in the number of captured CTCs from 23 to 7 for the metastatic patient. The MPA-Chip size was only 0.25 cm2 and the throughput of a single chip was 0.5 ml/h, which can be increased by multiple MPA-Chips in parallel. CONCLUSION The lozenge MPA-Chip presented a novel micropillar geometry for on-chip CTC isolation, detection, and staining, and in the future, the possibilities can be extended to the culture of the CTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Rahmanian
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Group, Interdisciplinary Technologies Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran; Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Omid Sartipzadeh Hematabad
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Group, Interdisciplinary Technologies Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Esfandyar Askari
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Group, Interdisciplinary Technologies Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farhad Shokati
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Group, Interdisciplinary Technologies Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Atin Bakhshi
- Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Group, Interdisciplinary Technologies Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shiva Moghadam
- Breast Diseases Group, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Asiie Olfatbakhsh
- Breast Diseases Group, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Esmat Al Sadat Hashemi
- Breast Diseases Group, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Khorsand Ahmadi
- Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Seyed Morteza Naghib
- Nanotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Nidhi Sinha
- Laboratory of Immunoengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Jurjen Tel
- Laboratory of Immunoengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Hossein Eslami Amirabadi
- Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; AZAR Innovations, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jaap M J den Toonder
- Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
| | - Keivan Majidzadeh-A
- Genetics Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
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Crook T, Leonard R, Mokbel K, Thompson A, Michell M, Page R, Vaid A, Mehrotra R, Ranade A, Limaye S, Patil D, Akolkar D, Datta V, Fulmali P, Apurwa S, Schuster S, Srinivasan A, Datar R. Accurate Screening for Early-Stage Breast Cancer by Detection and Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:3341. [PMID: 35884402 PMCID: PMC9316476 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14143341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The early detection of breast cancer (BrC) is associated with improved survival. We describe a blood-based breast cancer detection test based on functional enrichment of breast-adenocarcinoma-associated circulating tumor cells (BrAD-CTCs) and their identification via multiplexed fluorescence immunocytochemistry (ICC) profiling for GCDFP15, GATA3, EpCAM, PanCK, and CD45 status. METHODS The ability of the test to differentiate BrC cases (N = 548) from healthy women (N = 9632) was evaluated in a case-control clinical study. The ability of the test to differentiate BrC cases from those with benign breast conditions was evaluated in a prospective clinical study of women (N = 141) suspected of BrC. RESULTS The test accurately detects BrAD-CTCs in breast cancers, irrespective of age, ethnicity, disease stage, grade, or hormone receptor status. Analytical validation established the high accuracy and reliability of the test under intended use conditions. The test detects and differentiates BrC cases from healthy women with 100% specificity and 92.07% overall sensitivity in a case-control study. In a prospective clinical study, the test shows 93.1% specificity and 94.64% overall sensitivity in differentiating breast cancer cases (N = 112) from benign breast conditions (N = 29). CONCLUSION The findings reported in this manuscript support the clinical potential of this test for blood-based BrC detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Crook
- Department of Oncology, The London Clinic, London W1G 6BW, UK
| | - Robert Leonard
- Department of Oncology, Cromwell Hospital, London SW5 0TU, UK;
| | - Kefah Mokbel
- The London Breast Institute, Princess Grace Hospital, London W1U 5NY, UK;
| | - Alastair Thompson
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Michael Michell
- National Breast Screening Training Centre, King’s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, UK;
| | - Raymond Page
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA;
| | - Ashok Vaid
- Department of Medical and Haemato Oncology, Medanta-The Medicity, Gurugram 122001, India;
| | - Ravi Mehrotra
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA;
| | | | - Sewanti Limaye
- Department of Medical and Precision Oncology, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai 400004, India;
| | - Darshana Patil
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Dadasaheb Akolkar
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Vineet Datta
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Pradip Fulmali
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Sachin Apurwa
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Stefan Schuster
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics Europe GmbH, 95488 Eckersdorf, Germany;
| | - Ajay Srinivasan
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
| | - Rajan Datar
- Department of Research and Innovations, Datar Cancer Genetics, Nasik 422010, India; (D.P.); (D.A.); (V.D.); (P.F.); (S.A.); (A.S.); (R.D.)
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Marshall SK, Panrak Y, Makchuchit N, Jaroenpakdee P, Saelim B, Taweesap M, Pachana V. Anti-EpCAM Functionalized I-131 Radiolabeled Biomimetic Nanocarrier Sodium/Iodide-Symporter-Mediated Breast-Cancer Treatment. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:294. [PMID: 35877345 PMCID: PMC9311516 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9070294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Currently, breast-cancer treatment has a number of adverse side effects and is associated with poor rates of progression-free survival. Therefore, a radiolabeled anti-EpCAM targeted biomimetic coated nanocarrier (EINP) was developed in this study to overcome some of the treatment challenges. The double emulsion method synthesized the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle with Na131I entrapped in the core. The PLGA nanoparticle was coated in human red blood cell membranes and labeled with epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) antibody to enable it to target EpCAM overexpression by breast-cancer cells. Characterization determined the EINP size as 295 nm, zeta potential as −35.9 mV, and polydispersity as 0.297. EINP radiochemical purity was >95%. Results determined the EINP efficacy against EpCAM positive MCF-7 breast cancer at 24, 48, and 72 h were 69.11%, 77.84%, and 74.6%, respectively, demonstrating that the EINPs achieved greater cytotoxic efficacy supported by NIS-mediated Na131I uptake than the non-targeted 131INPs and Na131I. In comparison, fibroblast (EpCAM negative) treated with EINPs had significantly lower cytotoxicity than Na131I and 131INPs (p < 0.05). Flow cytometry fluorescence imaging visually signified delivery by EINPs specifically to breast-cancer cells as a result of anti-EpCAM targeting. Additionally, the EINP had a favorable safety profile, as determined by hemolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suphalak Khamruang Marshall
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
| | - Yada Panrak
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
| | - Naritsara Makchuchit
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
| | - Passara Jaroenpakdee
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
| | - Boonyisa Saelim
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
| | - Maneerat Taweesap
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
| | - Verachai Pachana
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; (Y.P.); (N.M.); (P.J.); (B.S.); (M.T.); (V.P.)
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Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Uro-Oncology. Target Oncol 2022; 17:203-221. [PMID: 35567672 DOI: 10.1007/s11523-022-00872-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Currently available treatment options for patients with refractory metastatic prostate, bladder, or kidney cancers are limited with the prognosis remaining poor. Advances in the pathobiology of tumors has led to the discovery of cancer antigens that may be used as the target for cancer treatment. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a relatively new concept in cancer treatment that broaden therapeutic landscape. ADCs are examples of a 'drug delivery into the tumor' system composed of an antigen-directed antibody linked to a cytotoxic drug that may release cytotoxic components after binding to the antigen located on the surface of tumor cells. The clinical properties of drugs are influenced by every component of ADCs. Regarding uro-oncology, enfortumab vedotin (EV) and sacituzumab govitecan (SG) are currently registered for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer following previous treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (iCPI; programmed death receptor-1 [PD-1] or programmed death-ligand 1 [PD-L1]) inhibitor) and platinum-containing chemotherapy. The EV-301 trial showed that EV significantly prolonged the overall survival compared with classic chemotherapy. The TROPHY-U-01 trial conducted to evaluate SG demonstrated promising results as regards the objective response rate and duration of response. The safety and efficacy of ADCs in monotherapy and polytherapy (mainly with iCPIs) for different cancer stages and tumor types are assessed in numerous ongoing clinical trials. The aim of this review is to present new molecular biomarkers, specific mechanisms of action, and ongoing clinical trials of ADCs in genitourinary cancers. In the expert discussion, we assess the place of ADCs in uro-oncology and discuss their clinical value.
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Wang BG, Woodward K, Menezes G, Wang ZQ, He R, Li W. Pleural fluid metastasis of plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma in comparison to micropapillary and conventional high-grade urothelial carcinoma: Cytologic and immuonohistochemical findings. Diagn Cytopathol 2022; 50:E248-E254. [PMID: 35560555 DOI: 10.1002/dc.24975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma (PUC) is a rare but clinically aggressive variant of high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC). Cytological features include single plasmacytoid neoplastic cells with N:C ratio around 0.5, eccentric nuclei, nuclear hyperchromasia, irregular nuclear membrane, and vacuolated cytoplasm. Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma (MPUC) is another clinically aggressive variant of HGUC that shares some overlapping features of PUC. The diagnosis of these two aggressive variants in pleural effusions can be challenging due to features mimicking adenocarcinoma, unusual immunochemistry profile, and confusion with differential diagnoses, especially when pertinent clinical information is unavailable. We present report on one case each of pleural fluid metastasis of PUC and MPUC respectively, and compare the findings with that of a metastatic conventional HGUC originally thought to be metastatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis of PUC was confirmed with immunohistochemical studies showing expression for cytokeratin, GATA-3, uroplakin II, and CD138, diminished or loss of E-cadherin membranous expression, negative expression for p63, p53, Epicam-BerEP4, Epicam-MOC31, and p120. The diagnosis of MPUC was confirmed with immunostain profile similar to that of PUC except positive stain for E-cadherin, p120, and p53. The diagnosis of HGUC was confirmed with immunohistochemical studies showing expression for cytokeratin, GATA-3, uroplakin II, p63, Epicam-BerEP4 (focal weak), and Epicam-MOC31. Our cases of metastatic urothelial carcinoma showed features mimicking adenocarcinoma and others, especially the MPUC and HGUC were diagnosed without prior tissue diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma. This report emphasizes the cytohistological and immunohistochemical details of urothelial carcinoma involving effusion fluid and discusses potential pitfalls in diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brant G Wang
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - Kimberly Woodward
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - Geetha Menezes
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - Zoe Q Wang
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - Rui He
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
| | - Wenping Li
- Department of Pathology, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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Salerno S, Ståhlberg A, Holdfeldt A, Bexe Lindskog E, Landberg G. 5-fluorouracil treatment of patient-derived scaffolds from colorectal cancer reveal clinically critical information. J Transl Med 2022; 20:209. [PMID: 35562738 PMCID: PMC9102939 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03423-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Unfortunately, many patients do not respond to standard chemotherapy treatments and develop disease relapse and metastases. Besides cancer cell specific genetic changes, heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment contribute to the clinical presentation of the disease and can potentially also influence drug resistance. By using a recently developed patient-derived scaffold method monitoring how a standardized reporter cancer cell line adapts to various microenvironments treated with chemotherapy, we wanted to clarify how individual patient specific microenvironments influence the chemotherapy response in colorectal cancer. METHODS Surgically resected colorectal cancer specimens from 89 patients were decellularized to produce patient-derived scaffold, which were seeded with HT29 cells, cultured for 3 weeks, and treated with 5-fluorouracil. Gene expression changes of adapted and treated HT29 cells were monitored by qPCR and compared with clinical parameters including disease-free survival. RESULTS The effects of 5-fluorouracil treatment varied between different patient-derived scaffold, but generally induced a reduced expression of proliferation genes and increased expression of pluripotency and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition genes. Interestingly, patient-derived scaffold cultures obtained from patients with disease recurrences showed a significantly less pronounced anti-proliferative effect of 5-fluorouracil and more pronounced increase of pluripotency, with MKI67 and POU5F1 being among the most significant genes linked to disease relapse in colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS Colorectal patient-derived scaffold can decode clinically relevant tumor microenvironmental influence of 5-fluorouracil treatment effects opening up for optimized precision medicine in colorectal cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Salerno
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Anders Ståhlberg
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Genetics and Genomics, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - André Holdfeldt
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elinor Bexe Lindskog
- Department of Surgery, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Surgical Oncology Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Göran Landberg
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. .,Department of Pathology, Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Sivagnanam S, Das K, Basak M, Mahata T, Stewart A, Maity B, Das P. Self-assembled dipeptide based fluorescent nanoparticles as a platform for developing cellular imaging probes and targeted drug delivery chaperones. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2022; 4:1694-1706. [PMID: 36134376 PMCID: PMC9417502 DOI: 10.1039/d1na00885d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Self-assembled peptide-based nanostructures, comprised of naturally occurring amino acids, display excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, flexible responsiveness, and synthetic feasibility and can be customized for various biomedical applications. However, the lack of inherent optical properties of peptide-based nanoparticles is a limitation on their use as imaging probes or drug delivery vehicles. To overcome this impediment, we generated Boc protected tyrosine-tryptophan dipeptide-based nanoparticles (DPNPs) with structure rigidification by Zn(ii), which shifted the peptide's intrinsic fluorescent properties from the ultraviolet to the visible range. These DPNPs are photostable, biocompatible and have visible fluorescence signals that allow for real-time monitoring of their entry into cells. We further show that two DPNPs (PS1-Zn and PS2-Zn) can encapsulate the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (Dox) and facilitate intracellular drug delivery resulting in cancer cell killing actions comparable to the unencapsulated drug. Finally, we chemically modified our DPNPs with an aptamer directed toward the epithelial cell surface marker EPCAM, which improved Dox delivery to the lung cancer epithelial cell line A549. In contrast, the aptamer conjugated DPNPs failed to deliver Dox into the cardiomyocyte cell line AC16. Theoretically, this strategy could be employed in vivo to specifically deliver Dox to cancer cells while sparing the myocardium, a major source of dose-limiting adverse events in the clinic. Our work represents an important proof-of-concept exercise demonstrating that ultra-short peptide-based fluorescent nanostructures have great promise for the development of new imaging probes and targeted drug delivery vehicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subramaniyam Sivagnanam
- Department of Chemistry, SRM Institute of Science and Technology SRM Nagar, Potheri, Kattankulathur Tamil Nadu 603203 India
| | - Kiran Das
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) Campus Raebareli Road Lucknow Uttar Pradesh 226014 India
| | - Madhuri Basak
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) Campus Raebareli Road Lucknow Uttar Pradesh 226014 India
| | - Tarun Mahata
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) Campus Raebareli Road Lucknow Uttar Pradesh 226014 India
| | - Adele Stewart
- Department of Biomedical Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University Jupiter FL 33458 USA
| | - Biswanath Maity
- Centre of Biomedical Research, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) Campus Raebareli Road Lucknow Uttar Pradesh 226014 India
| | - Priyadip Das
- Department of Chemistry, SRM Institute of Science and Technology SRM Nagar, Potheri, Kattankulathur Tamil Nadu 603203 India
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Ungaro A, Tucci M, Audisio A, Di Prima L, Pisano C, Turco F, Delcuratolo MD, Di Maio M, Scagliotti GV, Buttigliero C. Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Urothelial Carcinoma: A New Therapeutic Opportunity Moves from Bench to Bedside. Cells 2022; 11:803. [PMID: 35269424 PMCID: PMC8909578 DOI: 10.3390/cells11050803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Significant progress has been achieved over the last decades in understanding the biology and mechanisms of tumor progression in urothelial carcinoma (UC). Although the therapeutic landscape has dramatically changed in recent years with the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors, advanced UC is still associated with rapidly progressing disease and poor survival. The increasing knowledge of the pathogenesis and molecular pathways underlying cancer development and progression is leading the introduction of target therapies, such as the recently approved FGFR inhibitor Erdafitinib, or the anti-nectin 4 antibody drug-conjugate Enfortumab vedotin. Antibody drug conjugates represent an innovative therapeutic approach that allows the combination of a tar get-specific monoclonal antibody covalently conjugated via a linker to a cytotoxic agent (payload). UC is a perfect candidate for this therapeutic approach since it is particularly enriched in antigen expression on its surface and each specific antigen can represent a potential therapeutic target. In this review we summarize the mechanism of action of ADCs, their applications in localized and metastatic UC, the main mechanisms of resistance, and future perspectives for their use in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Ungaro
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Marcello Tucci
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cardinal Massaia Hospital, 14100 Asti, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Audisio
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Lavinia Di Prima
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Chiara Pisano
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Fabio Turco
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Marco Donatello Delcuratolo
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Massimo Di Maio
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, A.O. Ordine Mauriziano, 10124 Turin, Italy;
| | - Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
| | - Consuelo Buttigliero
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, 10124 Turin, Italy; (A.U.); (A.A.); (L.D.P.); (C.P.); (F.T.); (M.D.D.); (G.V.S.)
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Jou HJ, Ling PY, Hsu HT. Circulating tumor cells as a "real-time liquid biopsy": Recent advances and the application in ovarian cancer. Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol 2022; 61:34-39. [PMID: 35181043 DOI: 10.1016/j.tjog.2021.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Even with the latest advances in technology, the treatment of ovarian cancer remains a big challenge because it is typically diagnosed at advanced stage, is prone to early relapse in spite of aggressive treatment and has an extremely poor prognosis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be used as a non-invasive "real-time liquid biopsy", which has shown the value of diagnosis, assessment of prognosis and chemoresistance, and detection of small residual tumors on ovarian cancer. This review article provides an overview on recent research on CTCs in ovarian cancer, with special focus on the clinical application of CTC tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hei-Jen Jou
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taiwan Adventist Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; International College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Pei-Ying Ling
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taiwan Adventist Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Heng-Tung Hsu
- International College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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