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Zhou H, Wang W, Cai Z, Jia ZY, Li YY, He W, Li C, Zhang BL. Injectable hybrid hydrogels enable enhanced combination chemotherapy and roused anti-tumor immunity in the synergistic treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. J Nanobiotechnology 2024; 22:353. [PMID: 38902759 PMCID: PMC11191229 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-024-02646-7] [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: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy and immunotherapy have shown no significant outcome for unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Multi-drug combination therapy has become a consensus in clinical trials to explore how to arouse anti-tumor immunity and meanwhile overcome the poorly tumoricidal effect and the stroma barrier that greatly hinders drug penetration. To address this challenge, a comprehensive strategy is proposed to fully utilize both the ferroptotic vulnerability of PDAC to potently irritate anti-tumor immunity and the desmoplasia-associated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) to wholly improve the immunosuppressive microenvironment via sustained release of drugs in an injectable hydrogel for increasing drug penetration in tumor location and averting systematic toxicity. The injectable hydrogel ED-M@CS/MC is hybridized with micelles loaded with erastin that exclusively induces ferroptosis and a FAK inhibitor defactinib for inhibiting stroma formation, and achieves sustained release of the drugs for up to 12 days. With only a single intratumoral injection, the combination treatment with erastin and defactinib produces further anti-tumor performance both in xenograft and KrasG12D-engineered primary PDAC mice and synergistically promotes the infiltration of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and the reduction of type II macrophages. The findings may provide a novel promising strategy for the clinical treatment of PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhou
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Zedong Cai
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Zhou-Yan Jia
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Yu-Yao Li
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Wei He
- Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
- Department of Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
| | - Chen Li
- Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Bang-Le Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
- Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
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3
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van der Haar Àvila I, Zhang T, Lorrain V, de Bruin F, Spreij T, Nakayama H, Iwabuchi K, García-Vallejo JJ, Wuhrer M, van Kooyk Y, van Vliet SJ. Limited impact of cancer-derived gangliosides on anti-tumor immunity in colorectal cancer. Glycobiology 2024; 34:cwae036. [PMID: 38785323 PMCID: PMC11137322 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwae036] [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: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Aberrant glycosylation is a key mechanism employed by cancer cells to evade immune surveillance, induce angiogenesis and metastasis, among other hallmarks of cancer. Sialic acids, distinctive terminal glycan structures located on glycoproteins or glycolipids, are prominently upregulated across various tumor types, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Sialylated glycans modulate anti-tumor immune responses through their interactions with Siglecs, a family of glycan-binding receptors with specificity for sialic acid-containing glycoconjugates, often resulting in immunosuppression. In this paper, we investigated the immunomodulatory function of ST3Gal5, a sialyltransferase that catalyzes the addition of α2-3 sialic acids to glycosphingolipids, since lower expression of ST3Gal5 is associated with better survival of CRC patients. We employed CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out the ST3Gal5 gene in two murine CRC cell lines MC38 and CT26. Glycomics analysis confirmed the removal of sialic acids on glycolipids, with no discernible impact on glycoprotein sialylation. Although knocking out ST3Gal5 in both cell lines did not affect in vivo tumor growth, we observed enhanced levels of regulatory T cells in CT26 tumors lacking ST3Gal5. Moreover, we demonstrate that the absence of ST3Gal5 affected size and blood vessel density only in MC38 tumors. In summary, we ascertain that sialylation of glycosphingolipids has a limited influence on the anti-tumor immune response in CRC, despite detecting alterations in the tumor microenvironment, possibly due to a shift in ganglioside abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene van der Haar Àvila
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Immunology, Amterdam institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tao Zhang
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Victor Lorrain
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Florance de Bruin
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tianne Spreij
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Hitoshi Nakayama
- Graduate School of Health Care and Nursing, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Juntendo University, 2-5-1 Takasu Urayasu-shi, Chiba, 279-0023, Japan
| | - Kazuhisa Iwabuchi
- Graduate School of Health Care and Nursing, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Juntendo University, 2-5-1 Takasu Urayasu-shi, Chiba, 279-0023, Japan
| | - Juan J García-Vallejo
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Immunology, Amterdam institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Manfred Wuhrer
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Yvette van Kooyk
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Immunology, Amterdam institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sandra J van Vliet
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cancer Immunology, Amterdam institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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5
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Boelaars K, Rodriguez E, Huinen ZR, Liu C, Wang D, Springer BO, Olesek K, Goossens-Kruijssen L, van Ee T, Lindijer D, Tak W, de Haas A, Wehry L, Nugteren-Boogaard JP, Mikula A, de Winde CM, Mebius RE, Tuveson DA, Giovannetti E, Bijlsma MF, Wuhrer M, van Vliet SJ, van Kooyk Y. Pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts modulate macrophage differentiation via sialic acid-Siglec interactions. Commun Biol 2024; 7:430. [PMID: 38594506 PMCID: PMC11003967 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06087-8] [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: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite recent advances in cancer immunotherapy, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unresponsive due to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which is characterized by the abundance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Once identified, CAF-mediated immune inhibitory mechanisms could be exploited for cancer immunotherapy. Siglec receptors are increasingly recognized as immune checkpoints, and their ligands, sialic acids, are known to be overexpressed by cancer cells. Here, we unveil a previously unrecognized role of sialic acid-containing glycans on PDAC CAFs as crucial modulators of myeloid cells. Using multiplex immunohistochemistry and transcriptomics, we show that PDAC stroma is enriched in sialic acid-containing glycans compared to tumor cells and normal fibroblasts, and characterized by ST3GAL4 expression. We demonstrate that sialic acids on CAF cell lines serve as ligands for Siglec-7, -9, -10 and -15, distinct from the ligands on tumor cells, and that these receptors are found on myeloid cells in the stroma of PDAC biopsies. Furthermore, we show that CAFs drive the differentiation of monocytes to immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages in vitro, and that CAF sialylation plays a dominant role in this process compared to tumor cell sialylation. Collectively, our findings unravel sialic acids as a mechanism of CAF-mediated immunomodulation, which may provide targets for immunotherapy in PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Boelaars
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ernesto Rodriguez
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Zowi R Huinen
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Chang Liu
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Pulmonary Medicine, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Di Wang
- Leiden University Medical Center, Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Babet O Springer
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Katarzyna Olesek
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Goossens-Kruijssen
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas van Ee
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Dimitri Lindijer
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Willemijn Tak
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Aram de Haas
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laetitia Wehry
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joline P Nugteren-Boogaard
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Aleksandra Mikula
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Charlotte M de Winde
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Reina E Mebius
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Elisa Giovannetti
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Medical Oncology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Pharmacology Lab, AIRC Start-Up Unit, Fondazione Pisana per la Scienza, Pisa, Italy
| | - Maarten F Bijlsma
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam UMC, location University of Amsterdam, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Laboratory for Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Manfred Wuhrer
- Leiden University Medical Center, Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Sandra J van Vliet
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yvette van Kooyk
- Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, De Boelelaan, 1117, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, Cancer Immunology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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