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Oztatlici M, Oztatlici H, Karadeniz Saygili S, Kaya I, Cingoz ID. Cyclophosphamide stimulates endoplasmic reticulum stress and induces apoptotic cell death in human glioblastoma cell lines. ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY = REVUE ROUMAINE DE MORPHOLOGIE ET EMBRYOLOGIE 2024; 65:27-33. [PMID: 38527981 PMCID: PMC11146554 DOI: 10.47162/rjme.65.1.04] [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: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent commonly used in cancer treatments. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of 4-Hydroperoxy cyclophosphamide (4-HC), which is active form of CP, on glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), phospho-protein kinase R (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (p-PERK), phospho-inositol-requiring enzyme 1 alpha (p-IRE1α), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α), and caspase-3 messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs) and proteins that play roles in the ER stress pathway and apoptosis in U87 and T98 human glioblastoma cell lines. U87 and T98 human glioblastoma cell lines were divided into control and 4-HC-treated groups. Cell viability assay was used to detect the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) for 24 hours of 4-HC. Immunocytochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods were used to evaluate the levels of proteins and their mRNAs. The IC50 values of U87 and T98 cells were calculated as 15.67±0.58 μM and 19.92±1 μM, respectively. The levels of GRP78, ATF6, p-PERK, p-IRE1α, eIF2α, and caspase-3 protein expressions in the 4-HC-treated group compared to that in the control group. These increased protein expressions also were correlated with the mRNA levels. The ER stress signal pathway could be active in 4-HC-induced cell death. Further studies of ER-related stress mechanisms in anticancer treatment would be important for effective therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa Oztatlici
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, Türkiye;
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Ledzewicz U, Schättler H. Application of mathematical models to metronomic chemotherapy: What can be inferred from minimal parameterized models? Cancer Lett 2017; 401:74-80. [PMID: 28323033 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2017.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Metronomic chemotherapy refers to the frequent administration of chemotherapy at relatively low, minimally toxic doses without prolonged treatment interruptions. Different from conventional or maximum-tolerated-dose chemotherapy which aims at an eradication of all malignant cells, in a metronomic dosing the goal often lies in the long-term management of the disease when eradication proves elusive. Mathematical modeling and subsequent analysis (theoretical as well as numerical) have become an increasingly more valuable tool (in silico) both for determining conditions under which specific treatment strategies should be preferred and for numerically optimizing treatment regimens. While elaborate, computationally-driven patient specific schemes that would optimize the timing and drug dose levels are still a part of the future, such procedures may become instrumental in making chemotherapy effective in situations where it currently fails. Ideally, mathematical modeling and analysis will develop into an additional decision making tool in the complicated process that is the determination of efficient chemotherapy regimens. In this article, we review some of the results that have been obtained about metronomic chemotherapy from mathematical models and what they infer about the structure of optimal treatment regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urszula Ledzewicz
- Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL, 62026-1653, USA; Institute of Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology, 90-924, Lodz, Poland.
| | - Heinz Schättler
- Dept. of Electrical and Systems Engineering Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
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Abstract
Metronomic dosing of chemotherapy-defined as frequent administration at lower doses-has been shown to be more efficacious than maximum tolerated dose treatment in preclinical studies, and is currently being tested in the clinic. Although multiple mechanisms of benefit from metronomic chemotherapy have been proposed, how these mechanisms are related to one another and which one is dominant for a given tumor-drug combination is not known. To this end, we have developed a mathematical model that incorporates various proposed mechanisms, and report here that improved function of tumor vessels is a key determinant of benefit from metronomic chemotherapy. In our analysis, we used multiple dosage schedules and incorporated interactions among cancer cells, stem-like cancer cells, immune cells, and the tumor vasculature. We found that metronomic chemotherapy induces functional normalization of tumor blood vessels, resulting in improved tumor perfusion. Improved perfusion alleviates hypoxia, which reprograms the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment toward immunostimulation and improves drug delivery and therapeutic outcomes. Indeed, in our model, improved vessel function enhanced the delivery of oxygen and drugs, increased the number of effector immune cells, and decreased the number of regulatory T cells, which in turn killed a larger number of cancer cells, including cancer stem-like cells. Vessel function was further improved owing to decompression of intratumoral vessels as a result of increased killing of cancer cells, setting up a positive feedback loop. Our model enables evaluation of the relative importance of these mechanisms, and suggests guidelines for the optimal use of metronomic therapy.
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Metronomic cyclophosphamide activation of anti-tumor immunity: tumor model, mouse host, and drug schedule dependence of gene responses and their upstream regulators. BMC Cancer 2016; 16:623. [PMID: 27515027 PMCID: PMC4982114 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2597-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cyclophosphamide (CPA) can activate immunogenic tumor cell death, which induces immune-based tumor ablation and long-term anti-tumor immunity in a syngeneic C57BL/6 (B6) mouse GL261 glioma model when CPA is given on a 6-day repeating metronomic schedule (CPA/6d). In contrast, we find that two other syngeneic B6 mouse tumors, LLC lung carcinoma and B16F10 melanoma, do not exhibit these drug-induced immune responses despite their intrinsic sensitivity to CPA cytotoxicity. Methods To elucidate underlying mechanisms, we investigated gene expression and molecular pathway changes associated with the disparate immune responsiveness of these tumors to CPA/6d treatment. Results Global transcriptome analysis indicated substantial elevation of basal GL261 immune infiltration and strong CPA/6d activation of GL261 immune stimulatory pathways and their upstream regulators, but without preferential depletion of negative immune regulators compared to LLC and B16F10 tumors. In LLC tumors, where CPA/6d treatment is shown to be anti-angiogenic, CPA/6d suppressed VEGFA target genes and down regulated cell adhesion and leukocyte transendothelial migration genes. In GL261 tumors implanted in adaptive immune-deficient scid mice, where CPA/6d-induced GL261 regression is incomplete and late tumor growth rebound can occur, T cell receptor signaling and certain cytokine-cytokine receptor responses seen in B6 mice were deficient. Extending the CPA treatment interval from 6 to 9 days (CPA/9d) − which results in a strong but transient natural killer cell response followed by early tumor growth rebound − induced fewer cytokines and increased expression of drug metabolism genes. Conclusions These findings elucidate molecular response pathways activated by intermittent metronomic CPA treatment and identify deficiencies that characterize immune-unresponsive tumor models and drug schedules. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2597-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Barbolosi D, Ciccolini J, Lacarelle B, Barlési F, André N. Computational oncology — mathematical modelling of drug regimens for precision medicine. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2015; 13:242-54. [DOI: 10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Doloff JC, Waxman DJ. Transcriptional profiling provides insights into metronomic cyclophosphamide-activated, innate immune-dependent regression of brain tumor xenografts. BMC Cancer 2015; 15:375. [PMID: 25952672 PMCID: PMC4523019 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-015-1358-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Accepted: 04/23/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Cyclophosphamide treatment on a six-day repeating metronomic schedule induces a dramatic, innate immune cell-dependent regression of implanted gliomas. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms whereby metronomic cyclophosphamide induces innate immune cell mobilization and recruitment, or about the role of DNA damage and cell stress response pathways in eliciting the immune responses linked to tumor regression. Methods Untreated and metronomic cyclophosphamide-treated human U251 glioblastoma xenografts were analyzed on human microarrays at two treatment time points to identify responsive tumor cell-specific factors and their upstream regulators. Mouse microarray analysis across two glioma models (human U251, rat 9L) was used to identify host factors and gene networks that contribute to the observed immune and tumor regression responses. Results Metronomic cyclophosphamide increased expression of tumor cell-derived DNA damage, cell stress, and cell death genes, which may facilitate innate immune activation. Increased expression of many host (mouse) immune networks was also seen in both tumor models, including complement components, toll-like receptors, interferons, and cytolysis pathways. Key upstream regulators activated by metronomic cyclophosphamide include members of the interferon, toll-like receptor, inflammatory response, and PPAR signaling pathways, whose activation may contribute to anti-tumor immunity. Many upstream regulators inhibited by metronomic cyclophosphamide, including hypoxia-inducible factors and MAP kinases, have glioma-promoting activity; their inhibition may contribute to the therapeutic effectiveness of the six-day repeating metronomic cyclophosphamide schedule. Conclusions Large numbers of responsive cytokines, chemokines and immune regulatory genes linked to innate immune cell recruitment and tumor regression were identified, as were several immunosuppressive factors that may contribute to the observed escape of some tumors from metronomic CPA-induced, immune-based regression. These factors may include useful biomarkers that facilitate discovery of clinically effective immunogenic metronomic drugs and treatment schedules, and the selection of patients most likely to be responsive to immunogenic drug scheduling. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1358-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua C Doloff
- Department of Biology, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Boston University, Boston, USA.
| | - David J Waxman
- Department of Biology, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Boston University, Boston, USA.
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Hao YB, Yi SY, Ruan J, Zhao L, Nan KJ. New insights into metronomic chemotherapy-induced immunoregulation. Cancer Lett 2014; 354:220-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Revised: 08/17/2014] [Accepted: 08/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Intermittent metronomic drug schedule is essential for activating antitumor innate immunity and tumor xenograft regression. Neoplasia 2014; 16:84-96. [PMID: 24563621 DOI: 10.1593/neo.131910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Revised: 12/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Metronomic chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide (CPA) is widely associated with antiangiogenesis; however, recent studies implicate other immune-based mechanisms, including antitumor innate immunity, which can induce major tumor regression in implanted brain tumor models. This study demonstrates the critical importance of drug schedule: CPA induced a potent antitumor innate immune response and tumor regression when administered intermittently on a 6-day repeating metronomic schedule but not with the same total exposure to activated CPA administered on an every 3-day schedule or using a daily oral regimen that serves as the basis for many clinical trials of metronomic chemotherapy. Notably, the more frequent metronomic CPA schedules abrogated the antitumor innate immune and therapeutic responses. Further, the innate immune response and antitumor activity both displayed an unusually steep dose-response curve and were not accompanied by antiangiogenesis. The strong recruitment of innate immune cells by the 6-day repeating CPA schedule was not sustained, and tumor regression was abolished, by a moderate (25%) reduction in CPA dose. Moreover, an ∼20% increase in CPA dose eliminated the partial tumor regression and weak innate immune cell recruitment seen in a subset of the every 6-day treated tumors. Thus, metronomic drug treatment must be at a sufficiently high dose but also sufficiently well spaced in time to induce strong sustained antitumor immune cell recruitment. Many current clinical metronomic chemotherapeutic protocols employ oral daily low-dose schedules that do not meet these requirements, suggesting that they may benefit from optimization designed to maximize antitumor immune responses.
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Kareva I. Immune evasion through competitive inhibition: the shielding effect of cancer non-stem cells. J Theor Biol 2014; 364:40-8. [PMID: 25195001 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.08.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2014] [Revised: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
It has been recently proposed that the two emerging hallmarks of cancer, namely altered glucose metabolism and immune evasion, may in fact be fundamentally linked. This connection comes from up-regulation of glycolysis by tumor cells, which can lead to active competition for resources in the tumor microenvironment between tumor and immune cells. Here it is further proposed that cancer stem cells (CSCs) can circumvent the anti-tumor immune response by creating a "protective shield" of non-stem cancer cells around them. This shield can protect the CSCs both by creating a physical barrier between them and cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs), and by promoting competition for the common resources, such as glucose, between non-stem cancer cells and CTLs. The implications of this hypothesis are investigated using an agent-based model, leading to a prediction that relative CSC to non-CSC ratio will vary depending on the strength of the host immune response. A discussion of possible therapeutic approaches concludes the paper, suggesting that a chemotherapeutic regimen consisting of regular pulsed doses, i.e., metronomic chemotherapy, would yield the best clinical outcome by removing the "protective shield" and thus allowing CTLs to most effectively reach and eliminate CSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Kareva
- Newman Lakka Institute, Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, United States
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Wu J, Waxman DJ. Metronomic cyclophosphamide schedule-dependence of innate immune cell recruitment and tumor regression in an implanted glioma model. Cancer Lett 2014; 353:272-80. [PMID: 25069038 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.07.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2014] [Revised: 07/17/2014] [Accepted: 07/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Metronomic cyclophosphamide (CPA) treatment activates robust innate anti-tumor immunity and induces major regression of large, implanted brain tumor xenografts when administered on an intermittent, every 6-day schedule, but not on a daily low-dose or a maximum-tolerated dose CPA schedule. Here, we used an implanted GL261 glioma model to compare five intermittent metronomic CPA schedules to elucidate the kinetics and schedule dependence of innate immune cell recruitment and tumor regression. Tumor-recruited natural killer cells induced by two every 6-day treatment cycles were significantly ablated 1 day after a third CPA treatment, but largely recovered several days later. Natural killer and other tumor-infiltrating innate immune cells peaked 12 days after the last CPA treatment on the every 6-day schedule, suggesting that drug-free intervals longer than 6 days may show increased efficacy. Metronomic CPA treatments spaced 9 or 12 days apart, or on an alternating 6 and 9 day schedule, induced extensive tumor regression, similar to the 6-day schedule; however, the tumor-infiltrating natural killer cell responses were not sustained, leading to rapid resumption of tumor growth after day 24, despite ongoing metronomic CPA treatment. Increasing the CPA dose prolonged the period of tumor regression on the every 9-day schedule, but natural killer cell activation was markedly decreased. Thus, while several intermittent metronomic CPA treatment schedules can activate innate immune cell recruitment leading to major tumor regression, sustained immune and anti-tumor responses are only achieved on the 6-day schedule. However, even with this schedule, some tumors eventually relapse, indicating a need for further improvements in this immunogenic metronomic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Wu
- Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - David J Waxman
- Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
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André N, Carré M, Pasquier E. Metronomics: towards personalized chemotherapy? Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2014; 11:413-31. [PMID: 24913374 DOI: 10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Since its inception in 2000, metronomic chemotherapy has undergone major advances as an antiangiogenic therapy. The discovery of the pro-immune properties of chemotherapy and its direct effects on cancer cells has established the intrinsic multitargeted nature of this therapeutic approach. The past 10 years have seen a marked rise in clinical trials of metronomic chemotherapy, and it is increasingly combined in the clinic with conventional treatments, such as maximum-tolerated dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as with novel therapeutic strategies, such as drug repositioning, targeted agents and immunotherapy. We review the latest advances in understanding the complex mechanisms of action of metronomic chemotherapy, and the recently identified factors associated with disease resistance. We comprehensively discuss the latest clinical data obtained from studies performed in both adult and paediatric populations, and highlight ongoing clinical trials. In this Review, we foresee the future developments of metronomic chemotherapy and specifically its potential role in the era of personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas André
- Service d'Hématologie & Oncologie Pédiatrique, AP-HM, 264 rue Saint Pierre, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Manon Carré
- INSERM UMR 911, Centre de Recherche en Oncologie Biologique et Oncopharmacologie, Aix-Marseille University, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Eddy Pasquier
- Children's Cancer Institute Australia, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, PO Box 81, Randwick NSW 2031, Australia
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McGuire MF, Enderling H, Wallace DI, Batra J, Jordan M, Kumar S, Panetta JC, Pasquier E. Formalizing an integrative, multidisciplinary cancer therapy discovery workflow. Cancer Res 2013; 73:6111-7. [PMID: 23955390 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-13-0310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Although many clinicians and researchers work to understand cancer, there has been limited success to effectively combine forces and collaborate over time, distance, data, and budget constraints. Here we present a workflow template for multidisciplinary cancer therapy that was developed during the 2nd Annual Workshop on Cancer Systems Biology sponsored by Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, in July 2012. The template was applied to the development of a metronomic therapy backbone for neuroblastoma. Three primary groups were identified: clinicians, biologists, and quantitative scientists (mathematicians, computer scientists, and engineers). The workflow described their integrative interactions; parallel or sequential processes; data sources and computational tools at different stages as well as the iterative nature of therapeutic development from clinical observations to in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials. We found that theoreticians in dialog with experimentalists could develop calibrated and parameterized predictive models that inform and formalize sets of testable hypotheses, thus speeding up discovery and validation while reducing laboratory resources and costs. The developed template outlines an interdisciplinary collaboration workflow designed to systematically investigate the mechanistic underpinnings of a new therapy and validate that therapy to advance development and clinical acceptance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary F McGuire
- Authors' Affiliations: University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas; Center of Cancer Systems Biology, Steward Research & Specialty Projects Corp., St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine; Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee; Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Children's Cancer Institute Australia, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Randwick, NSW, Australia; and Metronomics Global Health Initiative, Marseille, France
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