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Zhao J, Qin L, He G, Xie T, Hu G, Wang F, Zhong H, Zhu J, Xu Y. Administration of a glypican-3 peptide increases the infiltration and cytotoxicity of CD8 + T cells against testicular yolk sac tumor, associated with enhancing the intratumoral cGAS/STING signaling. Cancer Med 2023; 12:21293-21307. [PMID: 37986544 PMCID: PMC10726841 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glypican-3 (GPC3) is highly expressed in testicular yolk sac tumor (TYST). GPC3 has been evaluated as a cancer vaccine for some types of tumors, but little is known on the effects of GPC3 peptide-based therapy on TYST. Here, we evaluated the antitumor effect of GPC3144-152 on TYST and its potential mechanisms. METHODS GPC3144-152 -specific CD8+ T cells were induced by vaccine immunization and examined by ELISPOT. The CD8+ T cells were purified for testing their cytotoxicity in vitro against TYST cells by CCK-8 and TUNEL assays and in vivo against tumor growth. The influence of GPC3144-152 loading and/or cGAS silencing on the tumor growth, apoptosis and cGAS/STING signaling was tested by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and Western blot. RESULTS Vaccination with GPC3144-152 induced tumor-specific CD8+ T cells that secreted high levels of IFN-γ and granzyme B, and had potent cytotoxicity against TYST in a dose-dependent manner. Adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells and treatment with GPC3144-152 significantly inhibited the growth of TYST tumors, but less effective for cGAS-silenced TYST tumors in vivo. Treatment with GPC3144-152 enhanced the infiltration of CD8+ T cells into the tumor environment and their cytotoxicity against TYST tumors in vivo by up-regulating granzyme B and IFN-β expression, but down-regulating GPC3 expression in the tumors. Co-culture of CD8+ T cells with TYST in the presence of exogenous GPC3144-152 enhanced peptide-specific CD8+ T-cell cytotoxicity in vitro, accompanied by enhancing cGAS, γH2AX, TBK1, and IRF3 phosphorylation in TYST cells, but less effective in cGAS-silenced TYST cells. CONCLUSIONS These data indicated that GPC3 peptide-specific CD8+ T cells had potent antitumor activity against TYST tumor, particularly for combined treatment with the peptide, which was partially dependent on the intratumoral cGAS/STNG signaling. GPC3 peptide vaccine may be valuable for the combination treatment of TYST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junfeng Zhao
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People's HospitalSchool of Medicine in Tongji UniversityShanghaiChina
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryNingbo Women and Children's HospitalNingboChina
| | - Le Qin
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryThe Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouChina
| | - Guorong He
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryThe Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhouChina
| | - Tiancheng Xie
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People's HospitalSchool of Medicine in Tongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Guanghui Hu
- Department of Urology, Renji HospitalSchool of Medicine in Shanghai Jiaotong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Furan Wang
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryNingbo Women and Children's HospitalNingboChina
| | - Hongji Zhong
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryNingbo Women and Children's HospitalNingboChina
| | - Jianming Zhu
- Department of Pediatrics SurgeryNingbo Women and Children's HospitalNingboChina
| | - Yunfei Xu
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People's HospitalSchool of Medicine in Tongji UniversityShanghaiChina
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2
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Epitope-based minigene vaccine targeting fibroblast activation protein α induces specific immune responses and anti-tumor effects in 4 T1 murine breast cancer model. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 112:109237. [PMID: 36152535 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.109237] [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: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Fibroblast activation protein (FAPα) is a tumor stromal antigen expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in more than 90 % of malignant epithelial carcinomas. FAPα-based immunotherapy has been reported and showed that FAPα-specific immune response can remold immune microenvironment and contribute to tumor regression. Many FAPα-based vaccines have been investigated in preclinical trials, which can elicit strong and durable cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) with good safety. However, epitope-based FAPα vaccines are rarely reported. To break tolerance against self-antigens, analogue epitopes with modified peptides at the anchor residues are typically used to improve epitope immunogenicity. To investigate the feasibility of a FAPα epitope-based vaccine for cancer immunotherapy in vivo, we conducted a preclinical study to identify a homologous CTL epitope of human and mouse FAPα and obtained its analogue epitope in BALB/c mice, and explored the anti-tumor activity of their minigene vaccines in 4 T1 tumor-bearing mice. By using in silico epitope prediction tools and immunogenicity assays, immunodominant epitope FAP.291 (YYFSWLTWV) and its analogue epitope FAP.291I9 (YYFSWLTWI) were identified. The FAP.291-based epitope minigene vaccine successfully stimulated CTLs targeting CAFs and exhibited anti-tumor activity in a 4 T1 murine breast cancer model. Furthermore, although the analogue epitope FAP.291I9 enhanced FAP.291-specific immune responses, improvement of anti-tumor immunity effects was not observed. Check of immunosuppressive factors revealed that the high levels of IL-10, IL-13, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and iNOS induced by FAP.291I9 increased, which considered the main cause of the failure of the analogue epitope-based vaccine. Thus, we demonstrated for the first time that the FAP.291 minigene vaccine could induce mouse CTLs and also function as a tumor regression antigen, providing the basis for future studies of FAPα epitope-based vaccines. This study may also be valuable for further improvement of the immunogenicity of analogue epitope vaccines.
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Zheng X, Liu X, Lei Y, Wang G, Liu M. Glypican-3: A Novel and Promising Target for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2022; 12:824208. [PMID: 35251989 PMCID: PMC8889910 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.824208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a membrane-associated proteoglycan that is specifically up-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) although rarely or not expressed in normal liver tissues, making it a perfect diagnostic and treatment target for HCC. Several GPC3-based clinical trials are ongoing and recently several innovative GPC3-targeted therapeutic methods have emerged with exciting results, including GPC3 vaccine, anti-GPC3 immunotoxin, combined therapy with immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs), and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T or NK cells. Here, we review the value of GPC3 in the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC, together with its signaling pathways, with a specific focus on GPC3-targeted treatments of HCC and some prospects for the future GPC3-based therapeutic strategies in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiufeng Zheng
- Department of Abdominal Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xun Liu
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yanna Lei
- Department of Abdominal Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Gang Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Ming Liu
- Department of Abdominal Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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4
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Charneau J, Suzuki T, Shimomura M, Fujinami N, Nakatsura T. Peptide-Based Vaccines for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of Recent Advances. J Hepatocell Carcinoma 2021; 8:1035-1054. [PMID: 34513746 PMCID: PMC8424432 DOI: 10.2147/jhc.s291558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. After surgery, up to 70% of patients experience relapses. The current first-line therapy for advanced cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) comprises sorafenib and lenvatinib administered as single-drug therapies. Regorafenib, cabozantinib, and ramucirumab are administered as second-line therapies. Recently, it has been reported that using the immune checkpoint inhibitors atezolizumab (anti-PDL1 antibody) and bevacizumab (anti-VEGF antibody) leads to longer overall survival of unresectable cases, when compared with the use of sorafenib. The role of cancer immunity against HCC has attracted the attention of clinicians. In this review, we describe our phase I/II clinical trials of peptide vaccines targeting GPC3 in HCC and discuss the potential of peptide vaccines targeting common cancer antigens that are highly expressed in HCC, such as WT-I, AFP, ROBO1, and FOXM1. Further, we introduce recent cancer vaccines targeting neoantigens, which have attracted attention in recent times, as well as present our preclinical studies, the results of which might aid to initiate a neoantigen vaccine clinical trial, which would be the first of its kind in Japan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimmy Charneau
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa City, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Suzuki
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa City, Japan.,Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa City, Japan
| | - Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa City, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa City, Japan
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5
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Sawada Y, Sakai M, Yoshikawa T, Ofuji K, Nakatsura T. A glypican-3-derived peptide vaccine against hepatocellular carcinoma. Oncoimmunology 2021; 1:1448-1450. [PMID: 23243625 PMCID: PMC3518534 DOI: 10.4161/onci.21351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The results of a Phase I clinical trial in which a glypican-3 (GPC3)-derived peptide was tested in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients point to a strong correlation between immunological and clinical responses. This commentary reviews our fundamental studies and clinical trials on the GPC3-derived peptide vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy; Research Center for Innovative Oncology; National Cancer Center Hospital East; Kashiwa, Japan
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6
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Ng CX, Lee SH. The Potential Use of Anticancer Peptides (ACPs) in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Curr Cancer Drug Targets 2020; 20:187-196. [PMID: 31713495 DOI: 10.2174/1568009619666191111141032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Peptides have acquired increasing interest as promising therapeutics, particularly as anticancer alternatives during recent years. They have been reported to demonstrate incredible anticancer potentials due to their low manufacturing cost, ease of synthesis and great specificity and selectivity. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the leading cause of cancer death globally, and the effectiveness of current liver treatment has turned out to be a critical issue in treating the disease efficiently. Hence, new interventions are being explored for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) were first identified as part of the innate immune system of living organisms, demonstrating promising activity against infectious diseases. Differentiated beyond the traditional effort on endogenous human peptides, the discovery of peptide drugs has evolved to rely more on isolation from other natural sources or through the medicinal chemistry approach. Up to the present time, the pharmaceutical industry intends to conduct more clinical trials for the development of peptides as alternative therapy since peptides possess numerous advantages such as high selectivity and efficacy against cancers over normal tissues, as well as a broad spectrum of anticancer activity. In this review, we present an overview of the literature concerning peptide's physicochemical properties and describe the contemporary status of several anticancer peptides currently engaged in clinical trials for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chu Xin Ng
- School of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
| | - Sau Har Lee
- School of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
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7
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Abstract
Glypicans are a family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans that are attached to the cell membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Glypicans interact with multiple ligands, including morphogens, growth factors, chemokines, ligands, receptors, and components of the extracellular matrix through their heparan sulfate chains and core protein. Therefore, glypicans can function as coreceptors to regulate cell proliferation, cell motility, and morphogenesis. In addition, some glypicans are abnormally expressed in cancers, possibly involved in tumorigenesis, and have the potential to be cancer-specific biomarkers. Here, we provide a brief review focusing on the expression of glypicans in various cancers and their potential to be targets for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Madeline R Spetz
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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Taniguchi M, Mizuno S, Yoshikawa T, Fujinami N, Sugimoto M, Kobayashi S, Takahashi S, Konishi M, Gotohda N, Nakatsura T. Peptide vaccine as an adjuvant therapy for glypican-3-positive hepatocellular carcinoma induces peptide-specific CTLs and improves long prognosis. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:2747-2759. [PMID: 32449239 PMCID: PMC7419030 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
There is no established postoperative adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and improvement of patient prognosis has been limited. We conducted long‐term monitoring of patients within a phase II trial that targeted a cancer antigen, glypican‐3 (GPC3), specifically expressed in HCC. We sought to determine if the GPC3 peptide vaccine was an effective adjuvant therapy by monitoring disease‐free survival and overall survival. We also tracked GPC3 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, CTL induction, and postoperative plasma GPC3 for a patient group that was administered the vaccine (n = 35) and an unvaccinated patient group that underwent surgery only (n = 33). The 1‐y recurrence rate after surgery was reduced by approximately 15%, and the 5‐y and 8‐y survival rates were improved by approximately 10% and 30%, respectively, in the vaccinated group compared with the unvaccinated group. Patients who were positive for GPC3 IHC staining were more likely to have induced CTLs, and 60% survived beyond 5 y. Vaccine efficacy had a positive relationship with plasma concentration of GPC3; high concentrations increased the 5‐y survival rate to 75%. We thus expect GPC3 vaccination in patients with HCC, who are positive for GPC3 IHC staining and/or plasma GPC3 to induce CTL and have significantly improved long‐term prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masatake Taniguchi
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Medical Oncology and Translational Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Shoichi Mizuno
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Motokazu Sugimoto
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Shin Kobayashi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Takahashi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Masaru Konishi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Naoto Gotohda
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Medical Oncology and Translational Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
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9
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Guo M, Zhang H, Zheng J, Liu Y. Glypican-3: A New Target for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Cancer 2020; 11:2008-2021. [PMID: 32127929 PMCID: PMC7052944 DOI: 10.7150/jca.39972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type. The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma is concealed, its progress is rapid, its prognosis is poor, and the mortality rate is high. Therefore, novel molecular targets for hepatocellular carcinoma early diagnosis and development of targeted therapy are critically needed. Glypican-3, a cell-surface glycoproteins in which heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan chains are covalently linked to a protein core, is overexpressed in HCC tissues but not in the healthy adult liver. Thus, Glypican-3 is becoming a promising candidate for liver cancer diagnosis and immunotherapy. Up to now, Glypican-3 has been a reliable immunohistochemical marker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis, and soluble Glypican-3 in serum has becoming a promising marker for liquid biopsy. Moreover, various immunotherapies targeting Glypican-3 have been developed, including Glypican-3 vaccines, anti- Glypican-3 immunotoxin and chimeric-antigen-receptor modified cells. In this review, we summarize and analyze the structure and physicochemical properties of Glypican-3 molecules, then review their biological functions and applications in clinical diagnosis, and explore the diagnosis and treatment strategies based on Glypican-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Guo
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology &Institute of Immunology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Organ Transplantation, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hailing Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianming Zheng
- Department of Pathology ,Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yangfang Liu
- Department of Pathology ,Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
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10
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Shimizu Y, Mizuno S, Fujinami N, Suzuki T, Saito K, Konishi M, Takahashi S, Gotohda N, Tada T, Toyoda H, Kumada T, Miura M, Suto K, Yamaji T, Matsuda T, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Plasma and tumoral glypican-3 levels are correlated in patients with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:334-342. [PMID: 31774932 PMCID: PMC7004540 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a cancer antigen expressed in approximately 80% of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and is secreted into the blood. To confirm the effectiveness of GPC3 as a biomarker in HCC, we analyzed the relationship between GPC3 expression levels in cancer cells and in blood in 56 patients with HCC. Preoperative plasma GPC3 levels were determined with an immunoassay, and expression of GPC3 in resected tumors was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Median plasma GPC3 level in all HCC cases was 4.6 pg/mL, and tended to be higher in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC (HCV group) (9.9 pg/mL) than in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC (HBV group) (2.6 pg/mL) or in those without virus infection (None group) (3.0 pg/mL), suggesting that the virus type most likely influences GPC3 secretion. Median percentage of GPC3+ cells in tumors was also higher in the HCV (26.2%) and HBV (11.1%) groups than in the None group (4.2%). In the HCV group, there was a positive correlation between the two parameters (r = 0.66, P < .01). Moreover, receiver operating characteristic analysis predicted >10% GPC3+ cells in a tumor if the cut-off value was 6.8 pg/mL (sensitivity 80%, specificity 100%; area under the curve 0.875, 95% confidence interval 0.726-1) in the HCV group. Plasma concentration of GPC3 could be a predictive marker of tumoral GPC3 expression in patients with HCV-related HCC, suggesting a useful biomarker for immunotherapies targeting GPC3, although larger-scale validations are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Shimizu
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
- Department of Gastroenterological SurgeryYokohama City University Graduate School of MedicineYokohamaJapan
| | - Shoichi Mizuno
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
| | - Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
| | - Toshihiro Suzuki
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
- General Medical Education and Research CenterTeikyo UniversityTokyoJapan
| | - Keigo Saito
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
| | - Masaru Konishi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic SurgeryNational Cancer Center Hospital EastKashiwaJapan
| | - Shinichiro Takahashi
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic SurgeryNational Cancer Center Hospital EastKashiwaJapan
| | - Naoto Gotohda
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic SurgeryNational Cancer Center Hospital EastKashiwaJapan
| | - Toshifumi Tada
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOgaki Municipal HospitalOgakiJapan
| | - Hidenori Toyoda
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOgaki Municipal HospitalOgakiJapan
| | - Takashi Kumada
- Department of Gastroenterology and HepatologyOgaki Municipal HospitalOgakiJapan
| | - Masahiro Miura
- Central Research LaboratoriesSysmex CorporationHyogoJapan
| | - Kouzou Suto
- Central Research LaboratoriesSysmex CorporationHyogoJapan
| | - Taiki Yamaji
- Epidemiology and Prevention GroupCenter for Public Health SciencesNational Cancer CenterTokyoJapan
| | - Takahisa Matsuda
- Division of Screening TechnologyCenter for Public Health SciencesNational Cancer CenterTokyoJapan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological SurgeryYokohama City University Graduate School of MedicineYokohamaJapan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer ImmunotherapyExploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial CenterNational Cancer CenterKashiwaJapan
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11
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Caraballo Galva LD, Cai L, Shao Y, He Y. Engineering T cells for immunotherapy of primary human hepatocellular carcinoma. J Genet Genomics 2020; 47:1-15. [PMID: 32089500 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Liver cancers, majority of which are primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), continue to be on the rise in the world. Furthermore, due to the lack of effective treatments, liver cancer ranks the 4th most common cause of male cancer deaths. Novel therapies are urgently needed. Over the last few years, immunotherapies, especially the checkpoint blockades and adoptive cell therapies of engineered T cells, have demonstrated a great potential for treating malignant tumors including HCC. In this review, we summarize the current ongoing research of antigen-specific immunotherapies including cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapies for HCC. We briefly discuss the HCC cancer vaccine and then focus on the antigen-specific T cells genetically engineered with the T cell receptor genes (TCRTs) and the chimeric antigen receptor genes (CARTs). We first review the current options of TCRTs and CARTs immunotherapies for HCC, and then analyze the factors and parameters that may help to improve the design of TCRTs and CARTs to enhance their antitumor efficacy and safety. Our goals are to render readers a panoramic view of the current stand of HCC immunotherapies and provide some strategies to design better TCRTs and CARTs to achieve more effective and durable antitumor effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leidy D Caraballo Galva
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Lun Cai
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Yanxia Shao
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA
| | - Yukai He
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA; Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA.
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12
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Shimizu Y, Suzuki T, Yoshikawa T, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Next-Generation Cancer Immunotherapy Targeting Glypican-3. Front Oncol 2019; 9:248. [PMID: 31024850 PMCID: PMC6469401 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2019.00248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3), a 65 kD protein consisting of 580 amino acids, is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan bound to the cell membrane by glycosylphosphatidylinositol. This protein is expressed in the liver and the kidney of healthy fetuses but is hardly expressed in adults, except in the placenta. Contrarily, GPC3 is specifically expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), ovarian clear cell carcinoma, melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, hepatoblastoma, nephroblastoma (Wilms tumor), yolk sac tumor, and some pediatric cancers. Although the precise function of GPC3 remains unclear, it has been strongly suggested that it is related to the malignant transformation of HCC. We identified GPC3 as a promising target for cancer immunotherapy and have been working on the development of cancer immunotherapeutic agents targeting it through clinical trials. In some trials, it was revealed that the GPC3 peptide vaccines we developed using human leukocyte antigen-A24- and A2-restricted GPC3-derived peptides could induce GPC3-specific cytotoxic T cells in most vaccinated patients and thereby improve their prognosis. To further improve the clinical efficacy of cancer immunotherapy targeting GPC3, we are also developing next-generation therapeutic strategies using T cells engineered to express antigen-specific T-cell receptor or chimeric antigen receptor. In addition, we have successfully monitored the levels of serum full-length GPC3 protein, which is somehow secreted in the blood. The utility of GPC3 as a biomarker for predicting tumor recurrence and treatment efficacy is now being considered. In this review article, we summarize the results of clinical trials carried out by our team and describe the novel agent targeting the cancer-specific shared antigen, GPC3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Shimizu
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Suzuki
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
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13
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Akazawa Y, Suzuki T, Yoshikawa T, Mizuno S, Nakamoto Y, Nakatsura T. Prospects for immunotherapy as a novel therapeutic strategy against hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Meta-Anal 2019; 7:80-95. [DOI: 10.13105/wjma.v7.i3.80] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive malignant disease, with a poor clinical prognosis. Many standard therapies are often considered for HCC treatment today; however, these conventional therapies often fail to achieve sufficiently effective clinical results. Today, HCC therapy is set to undergo a major revolution, owing to rapid developments in cancer immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Cancer immunotherapy is a novel and promising treatment strategy that differs significantly from conventional therapies in its approach to achieve antitumor effects. In fact, many cancer immunotherapies have been tested worldwide and shown to be effective against various types of cancer; HCC is no exception to this trend. For example, we identified a specific cancer antigen called glypican-3 (GPC3) and performed clinical trials of GPC3-targeted peptide vaccine immunotherapy in patients with HCC. Here, we present an overview of the immune mechanisms for development and progression of HCC, our GPC3-based immunotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy against HCC. Finally, we discuss the future prospects of cancer immunotherapy against HCC. We believe that this review and discussion of cancer immunotherapy against HCC could stimulate more interest in this promising strategy for cancer therapy and help in its further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Akazawa
- Toshiaki Yoshioka, Shoichi Mizuno, Tetsuya Nakatsura, Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
- Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Suzuki
- Toshiaki Yoshioka, Shoichi Mizuno, Tetsuya Nakatsura, Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | | | | | - Yasunari Nakamoto
- Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-1193, Japan
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14
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Tanaka Y, Tateishi R, Koike K. Proteoglycans Are Attractive Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19103070. [PMID: 30297672 PMCID: PMC6213444 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19103070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Revised: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteoglycans, which consist of a protein core and glycosaminoglycan chains, are major components of the extracellular matrix and play physiological roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis. In the carcinogenic tissue microenvironment, proteoglycan expression changes dramatically. Altered proteoglycan expression on tumor and stromal cells affects cancer cell signaling pathways, which alters growth, migration, and angiogenesis and could facilitate tumorigenesis. This dysregulation of proteoglycans has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying mechanism has been studied extensively. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the roles of proteoglycans in the genesis and progression of HCC. It focuses on well-investigated proteoglycans such as serglycin, syndecan-1, glypican 3, agrin, collagen XVIII/endostatin, versican, and decorin, with particular emphasis on the potential of these factors as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in HCC regarding the future perspective of precision medicine toward the "cure of HCC".
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuo Tanaka
- Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
| | - Ryosuke Tateishi
- Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
| | - Kazuhiko Koike
- Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
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15
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Plasmodium parasite as an effective hepatocellular carcinoma antigen glypican-3 delivery vector. Oncotarget 2018; 8:24785-24796. [PMID: 28445973 PMCID: PMC5421888 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.15806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We have previously demonstrated that malaria parasite infection has an anti-tumor effect in a mouse model. This research aimed to investigate the possibility of using Plasmodium parasite as a novel vaccine vector for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) immunotherapy. We constructed a Plasmodium yoelii 17XNL strain (P.y) expressing murine glypican-3 (GPC3) protein (P.y-GPC3), and examined its therapeutic potency in a murine Hepa1-6-induced hepatoma model that highly expressed GPC3 protein. The prerequisites for invoking a CD8+ T cell response were assessed after P.y-based immunization, which included obviously increased concentrations of T helper cell type 1 (Th1)-associated cytokines, such as IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α, in serum and preferential expansion of the CD8α+ dendritic cell (DC) subset with higher expression of CD80 and CD86 molecules. Compared with uninfected and wild-type P.y-infected mice, a significant GPC3-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response was detected in P.y-GPC3 vaccinated mice. Furthermore, P.y-GPC3-based vaccination dramatically inhibited Hepa1-6-induced tumor growth in the implanted HCC and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. We concluded that a Plasmodium-based vector is highly efficient in inducing tumor antigen-specific T cell-mediated immunity and protection against tumor cells. More broadly, this strategy supported our hypothesis that Plasmodium parasites, as novel therapeutic antigen vectors, may be applicable to tumor immunotherapy for patients with HCC.
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16
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Shimizu Y, Suzuki T, Yoshikawa T, Tsuchiya N, Sawada Y, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Cancer immunotherapy-targeted glypican-3 or neoantigens. Cancer Sci 2018; 109:531-541. [PMID: 29285841 PMCID: PMC5834776 DOI: 10.1111/cas.13485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have ushered in a new era in cancer therapy, although other therapies or combinations thereof are still needed for many patients for whom these drugs are ineffective. In this light, we have identified glypican‐3 an HLA‐24, HLA‐A2 restriction peptide with extreme cancer specificity. In this paper, we summarize results from a number of related clinical trials showing that glypican‐3 peptide vaccines induce specific CTLs in most patients (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000001395, UMIN000005093, UMIN000002614, UMN000003696, and UMIN000006357). We also describe the current state of personalized cancer immunotherapy based on neoantigens, and assess, based on our own research and experience, the potential of such therapy to elicit cancer regression. Finally, we discuss the future direction of cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Shimizu
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Suzuki
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Nobuhiro Tsuchiya
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
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17
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Zhou F, Shang W, Yu X, Tian J. Glypican-3: A promising biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment. Med Res Rev 2017. [PMID: 28621802 DOI: 10.1002/med.21455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type. Therefore, molecular targets are urgently required for the early detection of HCC and the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Glypican-3 (GPC3), an oncofetal proteoglycan anchored to the cell membrane, is normally detected in the fetal liver but not in the healthy adult liver. However, in HCC patients, GPC3 is overexpressed at both the gene and protein levels, and its expression predicts a poor prognosis. Mechanistic studies have revealed that GPC3 functions in HCC progression by binding to molecules such as Wnt signaling proteins and growth factors. Moreover, GPC3 has been used as a target for molecular imaging and therapeutic intervention in HCC. To date, GPC3-targeted magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and near-infrared imaging have been investigated for early HCC detection, and various immunotherapeutic protocols targeting GPC3 have been developed, including the use of humanized anti-GPC3 cytotoxic antibodies, treatment with peptide/DNA vaccines, immunotoxin therapies, and genetic therapies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the structure, function, and biology of GPC3 with a focus on its clinical potential as a diagnostic molecule and a therapeutic target in HCC immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fubo Zhou
- Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Wenting Shang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Xiaoling Yu
- Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Jie Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
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18
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Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also called malignant hepatoma, is one of the deadliest cancers due to its complexities, reoccurrence after surgical resection, metastasis and heterogeneity. Incidence and mortality of HCC are increasing in Western countries and are expected to rise as a consequence of the obesity epidemic. Multiple factors trigger the initiation and progression of HCC including chronic alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis B and C infection, metabolic disorders and age. Although Sorafenib is the only FDA approved drug for the treatment of HCC, numerous treatment modalities such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization/transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiotherapy, locoregional therapy and chemotherapy have been tested in the clinics. Polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles carrying small molecules, proteins, peptides and nucleic acids have attracted great attention for the treatment of various cancers including HCC. Herein, we discuss the pathogenesis of HCC in relation to its various recent treatment methodologies using nanodelivery of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), small molecules, miRNAs and peptides. Synopsis of recent clinical trials of mAbs and peptide drugs has been presented with a broad overview of the pathogenesis of the disease and treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rinku Dutta
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States
| | - Ram I Mahato
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States.
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19
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Zhang L, Yang Z, Le Trinh T, Teng IT, Wang S, Bradley KM, Hoshika S, Wu Q, Cansiz S, Rowold DJ, McLendon C, Kim MS, Wu Y, Cui C, Liu Y, Hou W, Stewart K, Wan S, Liu C, Benner SA, Tan W. Aptamers against Cells Overexpressing Glypican 3 from Expanded Genetic Systems Combined with Cell Engineering and Laboratory Evolution. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016; 55:12372-5. [PMID: 27601357 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201605058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Revised: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory in vitro evolution (LIVE) might deliver DNA aptamers that bind proteins expressed on the surface of cells. In this work, we used cell engineering to place glypican 3 (GPC3), a possible marker for liver cancer theranostics, on the surface of a liver cell line. Libraries were then built from a six-letter genetic alphabet containing the standard nucleobases and two added nucleobases (2-amino-8H-imidazo[1,2-a][1,3,5]triazin-4-one and 6-amino-5-nitropyridin-2-one), Watson-Crick complements from an artificially expanded genetic information system (AEGIS). With counterselection against non-engineered cells, eight AEGIS-containing aptamers were recovered. Five bound selectively to GPC3-overexpressing cells. This selection-counterselection scheme had acceptable statistics, notwithstanding the possibility that cells engineered to overexpress GPC3 might also express different off-target proteins. This is the first example of such a combination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liqin Zhang
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.,Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China
| | - Zunyi Yang
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Thu Le Trinh
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - I-Ting Teng
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Sai Wang
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Kevin M Bradley
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Shuichi Hoshika
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Qunfeng Wu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Sena Cansiz
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Diane J Rowold
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Christopher McLendon
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Myong-Sang Kim
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA
| | - Yuan Wu
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.,Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China
| | - Cheng Cui
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Yuan Liu
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Weijia Hou
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Kimberly Stewart
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Shuo Wan
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
| | - Steven A Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC, 13709 Progress Boulevard, Alachua, FL, 32615, USA.
| | - Weihong Tan
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. .,Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
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20
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Zhang L, Yang Z, Le Trinh T, Teng IT, Wang S, Bradley KM, Hoshika S, Wu Q, Cansiz S, Rowold DJ, McLendon C, Kim MS, Wu Y, Cui C, Liu Y, Hou W, Stewart K, Wan S, Liu C, Benner SA, Tan W. Aptamers against Cells Overexpressing Glypican 3 from Expanded Genetic Systems Combined with Cell Engineering and Laboratory Evolution. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201605058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Liqin Zhang
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; College of Biology; Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine; Hunan University; Changsha 410082 China
| | - Zunyi Yang
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Thu Le Trinh
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - I-Ting Teng
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Sai Wang
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Kevin M. Bradley
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Shuichi Hoshika
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Qunfeng Wu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Sena Cansiz
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Diane J. Rowold
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Christopher McLendon
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Myong-Sang Kim
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Yuan Wu
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; College of Biology; Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine; Hunan University; Changsha 410082 China
| | - Cheng Cui
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Yuan Liu
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Weijia Hou
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Kimberly Stewart
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Shuo Wan
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Steven A. Benner
- Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution; Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC; 13709 Progress Boulevard Alachua FL 32615 USA
| | - Weihong Tan
- Departments of Chemistry, Physiology and Functional Genomics; Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface; UF Health Cancer Center; UF Genetics Institute and McKnight Brain Institute; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
- Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; College of Biology; Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Molecular Medicine; Hunan University; Changsha 410082 China
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21
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Fujinami N, Yoshikawa T, Sawada Y, Shimomura M, Iwama T, Sugai S, Kitano S, Uemura Y, Nakatsura T. Enhancement of antitumor effect by peptide vaccine therapy in combination with anti-CD4 antibody: Study in a murine model. Biochem Biophys Rep 2016; 5:482-491. [PMID: 28955856 PMCID: PMC5600353 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2016.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose The clinical efficacy of cancer peptide vaccine therapy is insufficient. To enhance the anti-tumor effect of peptide vaccine therapy, we combined this therapy with an anti-CD4 mAb (GK1.5), which is known to deplete CD4+ cells, including regulatory T cells (Tregs). Methods To determine the treatment schedule, the number of lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of mice was traced by flow cytometry after administration of anti-CD4 mAb. The ovalbumin (OVA)257–264 peptide vaccine was injected intradermally and anti-CD4 mAb was administered intraperitoneally into C57BL/6 mice at different schedules. We evaluated the enhancement of OVA peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) induction in the combination therapy using the ELISPOT assay, CD107a assay, and cytokine assay. We then examined the in vivo metastasis inhibitory effect by OVA peptide vaccine therapy in combination with anti-CD4 mAb against OVA-expressing thymoma (EG7) in a murine liver metastatic model. Results We showed that peptide-specific CTL induction was enhanced by the peptide vaccine in combination with anti-CD4 mAb and that the optimized treatment schedule had the strongest induction effect of peptide-specific CTLs using an IFN-γ ELISPOT assay. We also confirmed that the CD107a+ cells secreted perforin and granzyme B and the amount of IL-2 and TNF produced by these CTLs increased when the peptide vaccine was combined with anti-CD4 mAb. Furthermore, metastasis was inhibited by peptide vaccines in combination with anti-CD4 mAb compared to peptide vaccine alone in a murine liver metastatic model. Conclusion The use of anti-CD4 mAb in combination with the OVA peptide vaccine therapy increased the number of peptide-specific CTLs and showed a higher therapeutic effect against OVA-expressing tumors. The combination with anti-CD4 mAb may provide a new cancer vaccine strategy. Peptide-specific CTL induction and function were enhanced by depletion of CD4+ cells. Anti-tumor effect by the peptide vaccine was enhanced by the depletion of CD4+ cells. Metastasis was inhibited by vaccine with depletion of CD4+ cells in a murine model. Combination with the depletion of CD4+ cells could be a new cancer vaccine strategy.
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Key Words
- 7-AAD, 7-amino-actinomycin D
- Anti-CD4 antibody
- CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte
- Cancer
- DC, dendritic cell
- ELISPOT assay, enzyme-linked immunospot assay
- FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate
- FOXP3, forkhead box P3
- GPC3, glypican-3
- HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma
- IFN-γ, interferon-γ
- IL-2, interleukine-2
- Immunotherapy
- MHC, major histocompatibility complex
- Murine liver metastatic model
- OVA, ovalbumin
- PD-1, programmed death-1
- PE, phycoerythrin
- Peptide vaccine
- QOL, quality of life
- TGF-β, transforming growth factor-βl
- TNF, tumor necrosis factor
- Treg, regulatory T cell
- mAb, monoclonal antibody
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Affiliation(s)
- Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shiori Sugai
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Shigehisa Kitano
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Experimental Therapeutics, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tsukiji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasushi Uemura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
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22
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Haruyama Y, Kataoka H. Glypican-3 is a prognostic factor and an immunotherapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2016; 22:275-283. [PMID: 26755876 PMCID: PMC4698492 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i1.275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a cell surface oncofetal proteoglycan that is anchored by glycosylphosphatidylinositol. Whereas GPC3 is abundant in fetal liver, its expression is hardly detectable in adult liver. Importantly, GPC3 is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and several immunohistochemical studies reported that overexpression predicts a poorer prognosis for HCC patients. Therefore, GPC3 would serve as a useful molecular marker for HCC diagnosis and also as a target for therapeutic intervention in HCC. Indeed, some immunotherapy protocols targeting GPC3 are under investigations; those include humanized anti-GPC3 cytotoxic antibody, peptide vaccine and immunotoxin therapies. When considering the clinical requirements for GPC3-targeting therapy, companion diagnostics to select the appropriate HCC patients are critical, and both immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections and measurement of serum GPC3 level have been suggested for this purpose. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the clinical implication of GPC3 detection and targeting in the management of patients with HCC.
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23
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Tsuchiya N, Sawada Y, Endo I, Saito K, Uemura Y, Nakatsura T. Biomarkers for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2015; 21:10573-10583. [PMID: 26457017 PMCID: PMC4588079 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i37.10573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 343] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Revised: 05/21/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although the prognosis of patients with HCC is generally poor, the 5-year survival rate is > 70% if patients are diagnosed at an early stage. However, early diagnosis of HCC is complicated by the coexistence of inflammation and cirrhosis. Thus, novel biomarkers for the early diagnosis of HCC are required. Currently, the diagnosis of HCC without pathological correlation is achieved by analyzing serum α-fetoprotein levels combined with imaging techniques. Advances in genomics and proteomics platforms and biomarker assay techniques over the last decade have resulted in the identification of numerous novel biomarkers and have improved the diagnosis of HCC. The most promising biomarkers, such as glypican-3, osteopontin, Golgi protein-73 and nucleic acids including microRNAs, are most likely to become clinically validated in the near future. These biomarkers are not only useful for early diagnosis of HCC, but also provide insight into the mechanisms driving oncogenesis. In addition, such molecular insight creates the basis for the development of potentially more effective treatment strategies. In this article, we provide an overview of the biomarkers that are currently used for the early diagnosis of HCC.
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He Y, Hong Y, Mizejewski GJ. Engineering α-fetoprotein-based gene vaccines to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma: review and future prospects. Immunotherapy 2015; 6:725-36. [PMID: 25041030 DOI: 10.2217/imt.14.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation of a patient's immune system offers an attractive approach to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the antitumor efficacy of current HCC vaccines was weak owing to insufficient immune activation of targeting self/tumor antigens. We recently found that epitope-optimized α-fetoprotein effectively activated CD8 T cells and generated potent antitumor effects in the carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC mouse model. We predict that the same antigen engineering approach of epitope-optimization will enable us to develop effective human vaccines to prevent HCC recurrence after liver resection. The engineered human HCC vaccines may also allow us to identify high-affinity T-cell receptors and antibodies that can be used to reprogram T cells to treat HCC tumors via adoptive transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukai He
- Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Cancer Immunology, Inflammation & Tolerance Program, Augusta, GA 30907, USA
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25
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Sawada Y, Yoshikawa T, Shimomura M, Iwama T, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Programmed death-1 blockade enhances the antitumor effects of peptide vaccine-induced peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Int J Oncol 2014; 46:28-36. [PMID: 25354479 PMCID: PMC4238729 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel treatment modalities are required urgently in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A vaccine that induces cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is an ideal strategy for cancer, and glypican-3 (GPC3) is a potential option for HCC. Blocking the programmed death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 pathway is a rational strategy to overcome tumor escape and tolerance toward CTLs. In the present study, we investigated whether anti-PD-1 blocking antibodies (αPD-1 Ab) enhanced the number of vaccine-induced peptide-specific CTLs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) following the administration of GPC3 peptide vaccine to both patients and in a mouse model. The inhibitory receptor PD-1 was highly expressed in ex vivo GPC3-specific CTLs isolated from the PBMCs of vaccinated HCC patients. In vitro, interferon-γ induced PD-L1 expression in liver cancer cell lines. In addition, PD-1 blockade increased the number of GPC3-specific CTLs, which degranulate against liver cancer cell lines. In vivo experiments using tumor-bearing mouse models showed that the combination therapy of peptide vaccine and αPD-1 Ab suppressed tumor growth synergistically. PD-1 blockade increased the number of peptide-specific tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs) and decreased the expression of inhibitory receptors on TILs. This study demonstrated that PD-1/PD-L1 blockade augmented the antitumor effects of a peptide vaccine by increasing the immune response of vaccine-induced CTLs, and provided a foundation for the clinical development of a combination therapy using a GPC3 peptide vaccine and αPD-1 Ab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
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26
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Yoshikawa T, Takahara M, Tomiyama M, Nieda M, Maekawa R, Nakatsura T. Large-scale expansion of γδ T cells and peptide-specific cytotoxic T cells using zoledronate for adoptive immunotherapy. Int J Oncol 2014; 45:1847-56. [PMID: 25189159 PMCID: PMC4203331 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Specific cellular immunotherapy for cancer requires efficient generation and expansion of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognize tumor-associated antigens. However, it is difficult to isolate and expand functionally active T-cells ex vivo. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a new method to induce expansion of antigen-specific CTLs for adoptive immunotherapy. We used tumor-associated antigen glypican-3 (GPC3)-derived peptide and cytomegalovirus (CMV)-derived peptide as antigens. Treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with zoledronate is a method that enables large-scale γδ T-cell expansion. To induce expansion of γδ T cells and antigen-specific CTLs, the PBMCs of healthy volunteers or patients vaccinated with GPC3 peptide were cultured with both peptide and zoledronate for 14 days. The expansion of γδ T cells and peptide-specific CTLs from a few PBMCs using zoledronate yields cell numbers sufficient for adoptive transfer. The rate of increase of GPC3-specific CTLs was approximately 24- to 170,000-fold. These CD8+ cells, including CTLs, showed GPC3-specific cytotoxicity against SK-Hep-1/hGPC3 and T2 pulsed with GPC3 peptide, but not against SK-Hep-1/vec and T2 pulsed with human immunodeficiency virus peptide. On the other hand, CD8− cells, including γδ T cells, showed cytotoxicity against SK-Hep-1/hGPC3 and SK-Hep-1/vec, but did not show GPC3 specificity. Furthermore, adoptive cell transfer of CD8+ cells, CD8− cells, and total cells after expansion significantly inhibited tumor growth in an NOD/SCID mouse model. This study indicates that simultaneous expansion of γδ T cells and peptide-specific CTLs using zoledronate is useful for adoptive immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | | | - Mai Tomiyama
- Medinet Medical Institute, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0096, Japan
| | - Mie Nieda
- Medinet Medical Institute, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0096, Japan
| | - Ryuji Maekawa
- Medinet Medical Institute, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0096, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
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27
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Ofuji K, Saito K, Yoshikawa T, Nakatsura T. Critical analysis of the potential of targeting GPC3 in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatocell Carcinoma 2014; 1:35-42. [PMID: 27508174 PMCID: PMC4918265 DOI: 10.2147/jhc.s48517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The treatment options for patients with advanced HCC are limited, and novel treatment strategies are required urgently. Glypican-3 (GPC3), a member of the glypican family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans, is overexpressed in 72%−81% of HCC cases, and is correlated with a poor prognosis. GPC3 regulates both stimulatory and inhibitory signals, and plays a key role in regulating cancer cell growth. GPC3 is released into the serum, and so might be a useful diagnostic marker for HCC. GPC3 is also used as an immunotherapeutic target in HCC. A Phase I study of a humanized anti-GPC3 monoclonal antibody, GC33, revealed a good safety profile and potential antitumor activity, and a Phase II trial is currently ongoing. In addition, the authors’ investigator-initiated Phase I study of a GPC3-derived peptide vaccine showed good safety and tolerability, and demonstrated that the GPC3 peptide-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte frequency in peripheral blood correlated with overall survival in HCC patients. A sponsor-initiated Phase I clinical trial of a three-peptide cocktail vaccine, which includes a GPC3-derived peptide, is also underway. GPC3 is currently recognized as a promising therapeutic target and diagnostic marker for HCC. This review introduces the recent progress in GPC3 research, from biology to clinical impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuya Ofuji
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Keigo Saito
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
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28
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Higashihara Y, Kato J, Nagahara A, Izumi K, Konishi M, Kodani T, Serizawa N, Osada T, Watanabe S. Phase I clinical trial of peptide vaccination with URLC10 and VEGFR1 epitope peptides in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Int J Oncol 2013; 44:662-8. [PMID: 24398900 PMCID: PMC3928476 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2013.2242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2013] [Accepted: 11/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptide vaccine treatment has attracted attention in recent years as a new therapy option for chemotherapy-resistant, advanced, unresectable cancer. The safety of peptide vaccination with HLA-A*2402-restricted URLC10-A24-177 and VEGFR1-A12-9 1084 epitope peptides (fixed 2-mg dose) was investigated in a phase I clinical trial of patients with advanced gastric cancer who were refractory to chemotherapy. We determined the HLA genotype of the subjects after enrollment, results of which were held by the evaluation committee and kept from both patients and investigators until completion of the study. The primary end-point was safety of the peptide vaccination. The secondary end-points were immunological responses and clinical outcome, which were compared between the HLA-A*2402-positive and HLA-A*2402-negative groups. The peptides were subcutaneously administered on day 1, 8, 15 and 22 within a 28-day treatment cycle. A total of 14 patients was enrolled in this study; 12 of the 14 patients received 4 or more vaccinations (at least 1 course). No patient had a severe treatment-related adverse event. Findings from evaluation of clinical responses after a single course showed that 4 cases had stable disease and 8 cases had progressive disease. The median overall survival time (MST) for the 12 patients was 3.9 months. The MSTs in the HLA-A*2402-positive and HLA-A*2402-negative groups were, 4.2 and 3.6 months (p= 0.9164), respectively. The results of this study showed that vaccination with URLC10 and VEGFR1 peptides was a safe treatment for advanced gastric cancer. This trial was registered with University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN, no. 000002409).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshie Higashihara
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junko Kato
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akihito Nagahara
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kentaro Izumi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masae Konishi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kodani
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobuko Serizawa
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taro Osada
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sumio Watanabe
- Department of Gastroenterology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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29
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Sawada Y, Komori H, Tsunoda Y, Shimomura M, Takahashi M, Baba H, Ito M, Saito N, Kuwano H, Endo I, Nishimura Y, Nakatsura T. Identification of HLA-A2 or HLA-A24-restricted CTL epitopes for potential HSP105-targeted immunotherapy in colorectal cancer. Oncol Rep 2013; 31:1051-8. [PMID: 24366042 PMCID: PMC3926649 DOI: 10.3892/or.2013.2941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2013] [Accepted: 11/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously reported that heat shock protein 105 (HSP105) is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic and esophageal cancer and has proven to be a novel biomarker for the immunohistochemical detection of these cancers. In the present study, we used HLA-transgenic mice (Tgm) and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of colorectal cancer patients to identify HLA-A2 and HLA-A24-restricted HSP105 epitopes, as a means of expanding the application of HSP105-based immunotherapy to HLA-A2- or HLA-A24-positive cancer patients. In addition, we investigated by ex vivo IFN-γ ELISPOT assay whether the HSP105-derived peptide of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) exists in PBMCs of pre-surgical colorectal cancer patients. We found that four peptides, HSP105 A2-7 (RLMNDMTAV), HSP105 A2-12 (KLMSSNSTDL), HSP105 A24-1 (NYGIYKQDL) and HSP105 A24-7 (EYVYEFRDKL), are potential HLA-A2 or HLA-A24-restricted CTL HSP105-derived epitopes. HSP105-specific IFN-γ-secreting T cells were detected in 14 of 21 pre-surgical patients with colorectal cancer in response to stimulation with these four peptides. Our study raises the possibility that these HSP105 peptides are applicable to cancer immunotherapy in patients with HSP105-expressing cancer, particularly colorectal cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Komori
- Department of Immunogenetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Tsunoda
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Mari Takahashi
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Hideo Baba
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Masaaki Ito
- Colorectal and Pelvic Surgery Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Norio Saito
- Colorectal and Pelvic Surgery Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kuwano
- Department of General Surgical Science (Surgery I), Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Yasuharu Nishimura
- Department of Immunogenetics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa 277-8577, Japan
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Aranda F, Vacchelli E, Eggermont A, Galon J, Sautès-Fridman C, Tartour E, Zitvogel L, Kroemer G, Galluzzi L. Trial Watch: Peptide vaccines in cancer therapy. Oncoimmunology 2013; 2:e26621. [PMID: 24498550 PMCID: PMC3902120 DOI: 10.4161/onci.26621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Throughout the past 3 decades, along with the recognition that the immune system not only influences oncogenesis and tumor progression, but also determines how established neoplastic lesions respond therapy, renovated enthusiasm has gathered around the possibility of using vaccines as anticancer agents. Such an enthusiasm quickly tempered when it became clear that anticancer vaccines would have to be devised as therapeutic, rather than prophylactic, measures, and that malignant cells often fail to elicit (or actively suppress) innate and adaptive immune responses. Nonetheless, accumulating evidence indicates that a variety of anticancer vaccines, including cell-based, DNA-based, and purified component-based preparations, are capable of circumventing the poorly immunogenic and highly immunosuppressive nature of most tumors and elicit (at least under some circumstances) therapeutically relevant immune responses. Great efforts are currently being devoted to the identification of strategies that may provide anticancer vaccines with the capacity of breaking immunological tolerance and eliciting tumor-associated antigen-specific immunity in a majority of patients. In this sense, promising results have been obtained by combining anticancer vaccines with a relatively varied panels of adjuvants, including multiple immunostimulatory cytokines, Toll-like receptor agonists as well as inhibitors of immune checkpoints. One year ago, in the December issue of OncoImmunology, we discussed the biological mechanisms that underlie the antineoplastic effects of peptide-based vaccines and presented an abundant literature demonstrating the prominent clinical potential of such an approach. Here, we review the latest developments in this exciting area of research, focusing on high-profile studies that have been published during the last 13 mo and clinical trials launched in the same period to evaluate purified peptides or full-length proteins as therapeutic anticancer agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Aranda
- Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France ; INSERM, U848; Villejuif, France ; Université Paris-Sud/Paris XI; Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France ; Equipe 11 labellisée par la Lique Nationale contre le Cancer; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France
| | - Erika Vacchelli
- Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France ; INSERM, U848; Villejuif, France ; Université Paris-Sud/Paris XI; Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France ; Equipe 11 labellisée par la Lique Nationale contre le Cancer; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France
| | | | - Jerome Galon
- Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, Sorbonne Paris Cité; Paris, France ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Paris VI; Paris, France ; INSERM, U872; Paris, France ; Equipe 15, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France
| | - Catherine Sautès-Fridman
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Paris VI; Paris, France ; INSERM, U872; Paris, France ; Equipe 13, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France
| | - Eric Tartour
- Pôle de Biologie; Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou; AP-HP; Paris, France ; INSERM, U970; Paris, France
| | - Laurence Zitvogel
- Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France ; INSERM, U1015; CICBT507; Villejuif, France
| | - Guido Kroemer
- Pôle de Biologie; Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou; AP-HP; Paris, France ; INSERM, U848; Villejuif, France ; Equipe 11 labellisée par la Lique Nationale contre le Cancer; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France ; Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, Sorbonne Paris Cité; Paris, France ; Metabolomics and Cell Biology Platforms; Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France
| | - Lorenzo Galluzzi
- Gustave Roussy; Villejuif, France ; Equipe 11 labellisée par la Lique Nationale contre le Cancer; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers; Paris, France ; Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, Sorbonne Paris Cité; Paris, France
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31
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Gamage DG, Hendrickson TL. GPI Transamidase and GPI anchored proteins: Oncogenes and biomarkers for cancer. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 2013; 48:446-64. [DOI: 10.3109/10409238.2013.831024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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32
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Nobuoka D, Yoshikawa T, Sawada Y, Fujiwara T, Nakatsura T. Peptide vaccines for hepatocellular carcinoma. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2013; 9:210-2. [PMID: 23442593 PMCID: PMC3667940 DOI: 10.4161/hv.22473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy is a potentially attractive treatment option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have reported that glypican-3 (GPC3) is an ideal target for anticancer immunotherapy against HCC because its expression is specifically detected in > 80% of HCCs, even during the early stages. Further, increased GPC3 expression is correlated with a poor prognosis. Based on results obtained from a preclinical study using mice, we conducted a phase I clinical trial using a GPC3-derived peptide vaccine. Phase I results showed that the GPC3-derived peptide vaccine was well tolerated. Furthermore, this was the first study to show that the frequency of peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes was correlated with overall survival in patients with HCC receiving a peptide vaccine. Next, we conducted a phase II clinical trial using the GPC3-derived peptide vaccine in patients with HCC after surgery or radiofrequency ablation (adjuvant setting). We are currently evaluating a third trial involving liver biopsies removed from patients with advanced HCC before and after GPC3-derived peptide vaccination. We expect that the results of these trials will result in future drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Nobuoka
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East; Kashiwa, Japan
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33
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Tada Y, Yoshikawa T, Shimomura M, Sawada Y, Sakai M, Shirakawa H, Nobuoka D, Nakatsura T. Analysis of cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma who showed a clinical response to vaccination with a glypican‑3‑derived peptide. Int J Oncol 2013; 43:1019-26. [PMID: 23903757 PMCID: PMC3829797 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2013.2044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3), which is a carcinoembryonic antigen, is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previously, we performed a phase I clinical trial of GPC3-derived peptide vaccination in patients with advanced HCC, and reported that GPC3 peptide vaccination is safe and has clinical efficacy. Moreover, we proposed that a peptide-specific CTL response is a predictive marker of overall survival in patients with HCC who receive peptide vaccination. In this study, we established GPC3-derived peptide-specific CTL clones from the PBMCs of an HLA-A
*
02:07-positive patient with HCC who was vaccinated with an HLA-A2-restricted GPC3 peptide vaccine and showed a clinical response in the phase I clinical trial. Established CTL clones were analyzed using the IFN-γ ELISPOT assay and a cytotoxicity assay. GPC3 peptide-specific CTL clones were established successfully from the PBMCs of the patient. One CTL clone showed cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines that expressed endogenously the GPC3 peptide. The results suggest that CTLs have high avidity, and that natural antigen-specific killing activity against tumor cells can be induced in a patient with HCC who shows a clinical response to vaccination with the GPC3
144–152
peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka Tada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba 277‑8577, Japan
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34
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The C. elegans Homolog of RBBP6 (RBPL-1) regulates fertility through controlling cell proliferation in the germline and nutrient synthesis in the intestine. PLoS One 2013; 8:e58736. [PMID: 23536819 PMCID: PMC3594146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2012] [Accepted: 02/05/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
RBBP6 (retinoblastoma binding protein 6, also known as PACT or P2P-R in humans) is a multi-domain protein that functions in multiple processes, such as mitosis, cell differentiation, and cell apoptosis. RBBP6 is evolutionarily conserved and is present in unicellular organisms to mammals. Studies of RBBP6 have mostly focused on its RB- and p53-binding domains, which are found exclusively in mammals. Here, we investigated the C. elegans homolog of RBBP6 to explore the functional roles of its other domains. We found that RBPL-1, the homolog of RBBP6 in C. elegans, is indispensable for worm development. RNAi silencing of rbpl-1 led to embryonic lethality, as well as defects in oocyte production and intestine development. rbpl-1 RNAi worms showed defects in germ cell proliferation, suggesting that RBPL-1 regulates mitosis. Moreover, RNAi silencing of rbpl-1 inhibited nutrient synthesis in the worm intestine. RBPL-1, as a nucleolus protein, was found to be expressed in diverse tissues and necessary for both germline and soma development. Using microarray analysis, we identified ≈700 genes whose expression levels were changed at least 10-fold in rbpl-1 worms. We propose that RBPL-1, like its yeast homolog, may regulate gene expression as an mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation factor. Taken together, the findings from this study reveal that RBPL-1 plays a pivotal role in C. elegans germline and soma development, suggesting that the functions of RBBP6 are conserved in diverse eukaryotic species.
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Sawada Y, Yoshikawa T, Fujii S, Mitsunaga S, Nobuoka D, Mizuno S, Takahashi M, Yamauchi C, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Remarkable tumor lysis in a hepatocellular carcinoma patient immediately following glypican-3-derived peptide vaccination: an autopsy case. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2013; 9:1228-33. [PMID: 23466818 PMCID: PMC3901810 DOI: 10.4161/hv.24179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We recently reported the safety, immunological and clinical responses to a GPC3-derived peptide vaccine in a phase I clinical trial of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We conducted a subsequent trial in advanced HCC to assess the histopathological findings before and after vaccination with the GPC3 peptide. Here, we present the clinical course and the pathological study including the autopsy of a patient with advanced HCC in the ongoing clinical trial. A 62-year old patient suffering from HCC refractory to sorafenib therapy received the GPC3 peptide vaccine. The patient had fever and remarkably impaired liver function twice after vaccination. Contrast-enhanced CT after the second vaccination showed multiple low-density areas in the liver tumor, indicating tumor necrosis. In contrast, the tumor thrombus in the right atrium increased. The patient discontinued protocol treatment due to disease progression and died 30 days after the second vaccination. An autopsy was performed to determine the main cause of death and to evaluate the antitumor effect of the vaccination. A histological examination showed central necrosis in most of the intrahepatic tumor. The main cause of death was circulatory failure due to tumor thrombus, which occupied most of the right atrium. An immunohistochemical analysis revealed infiltration of CD8-positive T cells in the residual carcinoma, but not within the cirrhotic area. Ex vivo IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot analysis revealed vaccine-induced immune-reactivity against the GPC3 peptide. A histopathological examination at the estimated time of a strong immunological response demonstrated a GPC3 peptide vaccination-induced cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response with an anti-tumor effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy; National Cancer Center Hospital East; Kashiwa, Chiba Japan; Department of Gastroenterology; Yokohama City University; Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan
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Iwama T, Horie K, Yoshikawa T, Nobuoka D, Shimomura M, Sawada Y, Nakatsura T. Identification of an H2-Kb or H2-Db restricted and glypican-3-derived cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitope peptide. Int J Oncol 2013; 42:831-8. [PMID: 23354275 PMCID: PMC3597455 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2013.1793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2012] [Accepted: 12/28/2012] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but not expressed in normal tissues except for placenta and fetal liver and therefore is an ideal target for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we identified an H2-Kb or H2-Db restricted and murine GPC3 (mGPC3)-derived cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope peptide in C57BL/6 (B6) mice, which can be used in the design of preclinical studies of various therapies with GPC3-target immunotherapy in vivo. First, 11 types of 9- to 10-mer peptides predicted to bind with H2-Kb or H2-Db were selected from the mGPC3 amino acid sequence based on the binding score as calculated by the BIMAS software. We evaluated the peptide-binding affinity and confirmed that all peptides were able to bind to H2-Kb or H2-Db by in vitro cellular binding assay. Subsequently, a mixed peptide vaccine and single peptide vaccine were given to B6 mice to evaluate immunogenic potential of the 11 selected peptides. Using the splenocytes from peptide-vaccinated mice, interferon (IFN)-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays showed that mGPC3-1127–136 (AMFKNNYPSL) peptide was the most efficient for inducing CTLs among the 11 peptides. Next, we demonstrated that the mGPC3-1 peptide-specific CTL line could recognize mGPC3-expressing cancer cells, suggesting that mGPC3-1 peptide was an endogenously presented peptide. In conclusion, we identified mGPC3-1 as an H2-Kb or H2-Db restricted, mGPC3-derived CTL epitope peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
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Orentas RJ, Yang JJ, Wen X, Wei JS, Mackall CL, Khan J. Identification of cell surface proteins as potential immunotherapy targets in 12 pediatric cancers. Front Oncol 2012; 2:194. [PMID: 23251904 PMCID: PMC3523547 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2012.00194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2012] [Accepted: 11/30/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Technological advances now allow us to rapidly produce CARs and other antibody-derived therapeutics targeting cell surface receptors. To maximize the potential of these new technologies, relevant extracellular targets must be identified. The Pediatric Oncology Branch of the NCI curates a freely accessible database of gene expression data for both pediatric cancers and normal tissues, through which we have defined discrete sets of over-expressed transcripts in 12 pediatric cancer subtypes as compared to normal tissues. We coupled gene expression profiles to current annotation databases (i.e., Affymetrix, Gene Ontology, Entrez Gene), in order to categorize transcripts by their sub-cellular location. In this manner we generated a list of potential immune targets expressed on the cell surface, ranked by their difference from normal tissue. Global differences from normal between each of the pediatric tumor types studied varied, indicating that some malignancies expressed transcript sets that were more highly diverged from normal tissues than others. The validity of our approach is seen by our findings for pre-B cell ALL, where targets currently in clinical trials were top-ranked hits (CD19, CD22). For some cancers, reagents already in development could potentially be applied to a new disease class, as exemplified by CD30 expression on sarcomas. Moreover, several potential new targets shared among several pediatric solid tumors are herein identified, such as MCAM (MUC18), metadherin (MTDH), and glypican-2 (GPC2). These targets have been identified at the mRNA level and are yet to be validated at the protein level. The safety of targeting these antigens has yet to be demonstrated and therefore the identified transcripts should be considered preliminary candidates for new CAR and therapeutic antibody targets. Prospective candidate targets will be evaluated by proteomic analysis including Westerns and immunohistochemistry of normal and tumor tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rimas J Orentas
- Immunology Section, Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
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Intratumoral peptide injection enhances tumor cell antigenicity recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes: a potential option for improvement in antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2012; 62:639-52. [PMID: 23143746 PMCID: PMC3624010 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-012-1366-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2012] [Accepted: 10/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy is a promising strategy for improving cancer treatment. Recently, many tumor-associated antigens and their epitopes recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) have been identified. However, the density of endogenously presented antigen-derived peptides on tumor cells is generally sparse, resulting in the inability of antigen-specific CTLs to work effectively. We hypothesize that increasing the density of an antigen-derived peptide would enhance antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy. Here, we demonstrated that intratumoral peptide injection leads to additional peptide loading onto major histocompatibility complex class I molecules of tumor cells, enhancing tumor cell recognition by antigen-specific CTLs. In in vitro studies, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02:01-restricted glypican-3144–152 (FVGEFFTDV) and cytomegalovirus495–503 (NLVPMVATV) peptide-specific CTLs showed strong activity against all peptide-pulsed cell lines, regardless of whether the tumor cells expressed the antigen. In in vivo studies using immunodeficient mice, glypican-3144–152 and cytomegalovirus495–503 peptides injected into a solid mass were loaded onto HLA class I molecules of tumor cells. In a peptide vaccine model and an adoptive cell transfer model using C57BL/6 mice, intratumoral injection of ovalbumin257–264 peptide (SIINFEKL) was effective for tumor growth inhibition and survival against ovalbumin-negative tumors without adverse reactions. Moreover, we demonstrated an antigen-spreading effect that occurred after intratumoral peptide injection. Intratumoral peptide injection enhances tumor cell antigenicity and may be a useful option for improvement in antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy against solid tumors.
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Phung Y, Gao W, Man YG, Nagata S, Ho M. High-affinity monoclonal antibodies to cell surface tumor antigen glypican-3 generated through a combination of peptide immunization and flow cytometry screening. MAbs 2012; 4:592-9. [PMID: 22820551 DOI: 10.4161/mabs.20933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Isolating high-affinity antibodies against native tumor antigens on the cell surface is not straightforward using standard hybridoma procedures. Here, we describe a combination method of synthetic peptide immunization and high-throughput flow cytometry screening to efficiently isolate hybridomas for cell binding. Using this method, we identified high-affinity monoclonal antibodies specific for the native form of glypcian-3 (GPC3), a target heterogeneously expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other cancers. We isolated a panel of monoclonal antibodies (YP6, YP7, YP8, YP9 and YP9.1) for cell surface binding. The antibodies were used to characterize GPC3 protein expression in human liver cancer cell lines and tissues by flow cytometry, immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. The best antibody (YP7) bound cell surface-associated GPC3 with equilibrium dissociation constant, KD = 0.3 nmol/L and was highly specific for HCC, not normal tissues or other forms of primary liver cancers (such as cholangiocarcinoma). Interestingly, the new antibody was highly sensitive in that it detected GPC3 in low expression ovarian clear cell carcinoma and melanoma cells. The YP7 antibody exhibited significant HCC xenograft tumor growth inhibition in nude mice. These results describe an improved method for producing high-affinity monoclonal antibodies to cell surface tumor antigens and represent a general approach to isolate therapeutic antibodies against cancer. The new high-affinity antibodies described here have significant potential for GPC3-expressing cancer diagnostics and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yen Phung
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Boswell S, Pathan AA, Pereira SP, Williams R, Behboudi S. Induction of CD152 (CTLA-4) and LAP (TGF-β1) in human Foxp3- CD4+ CD25- T cells modulates TLR-4 induced TNF-α production. Immunobiology 2012; 218:427-34. [PMID: 22749982 DOI: 10.1016/j.imbio.2012.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2012] [Revised: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 05/30/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
CD152 (CTLA-4) is a co-stimulatory molecule that is expressed by T cells and negatively regulates immune responses. Here, we report the identification of a novel ligand, GPC(81-95), with the ability to induce both CD152 and LAP (TGF-β1) on human Foxp3(-) CD25(-) CD4(+) T cells. The results demonstrate that GPC(81-95) peptide-induced cell surface CD152 is endocytosed back into the cell during stimulation. The protein export and exocytosis of CD152 is also induced by this ligand. The inhibitory effects of GPC(81-95) on LPS-induced TNF-α production was shown to be closely associated with its ability to induce both LAP (TGF-β1) and CD152. Taken together, we have shown that a novel peptide ligand stimulates LAP (TGF-β1) and CD152 expression on resting CD4 T cells and have demonstrated that GPC(81-95) is a useful tool to study the functional properties of LAP (TGF-β1)(+) CD152(+) CD4(+) T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Boswell
- UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, University College London, London, UK
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Sawada Y, Yoshikawa T, Nobuoka D, Shirakawa H, Kuronuma T, Motomura Y, Mizuno S, Ishii H, Nakachi K, Konishi M, Nakagohri T, Takahashi S, Gotohda N, Takayama T, Yamao K, Uesaka K, Furuse J, Kinoshita T, Nakatsura T. Phase I trial of a glypican-3-derived peptide vaccine for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: immunologic evidence and potential for improving overall survival. Clin Cancer Res 2012; 18:3686-96. [PMID: 22577059 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-11-3044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 208] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The carcinoembryonic antigen glypican-3 (GPC3) is an ideal target of anticancer immunotherapy against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this nonrandomized, open-label, phase I clinical trial, we analyzed the safety and efficacy of GPC3 peptide vaccination in patients with advanced HCC. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Thirty-three patients with advanced HCC underwent GPC3 peptide vaccination (intradermal injections on days 1, 15, and 29 with dose escalation). The primary endpoint was the safety of GPC3 peptide vaccination. The secondary endpoints were immune response, as measured by IFN-γ ELISPOT assay, and the clinical outcomes tumor response, time to tumor progression, and overall survival (OS). RESULTS GPC3 vaccination was well-tolerated. One patient showed a partial response, and 19 patients showed stable disease 2 months after initiation of treatment. Four of the 19 patients with stable disease had tumor necrosis or regression that did not meet the criteria for a partial response. Levels of the tumor markers α-fetoprotein and/or des-γ-carboxy prothrombin temporarily decreased in nine patients. The GPC3 peptide vaccine induced a GPC3-specific CTL response in 30 patients. Furthermore, GPC3-specific CTL frequency after vaccination correlated with OS. OS was significantly longer in patients with high GPC3-specific CTL frequencies (N = 15) than in those with low frequencies (N = 18; P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS GPC3-derived peptide vaccination was well-tolerated, and measurable immune responses and antitumor efficacy were noted. This is the first study to show that peptide-specific CTL frequency can be a predictive marker of OS in patients with HCC receiving peptide vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Section for Cancer Immunotherapy, Investigative Treatment Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
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Allegretta M, Filmus J. Therapeutic potential of targeting glypican-3 in hepatocellular carcinoma. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2011; 11:543-8. [PMID: 21554204 DOI: 10.2174/187152011796011109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2011] [Accepted: 04/29/2011] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a developmentally-regulated oncofetal protein that has been established as a clinically-relevant biomarker for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is one of the first transcripts to appear during malignant hepatocyte transformation, and is expressed at the protein level in approximately half of high-grade dysplastic macronodules in cirrhotic liver. Several studies show it is expressed in most (75 to 100%) of HCCs confirmed by histopathology. The protein is anchored to the hepatocyte membrane by a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor and shows consistent membrane immunostaining pattern, making it a viable target for immunotherapeutic approaches. Targeting GPC3 for therapeutic intervention is a promising approach for the clinical management of HCC and selected other tumors that express the marker.
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Suzuki S, Yoshikawa T, Hirosawa T, Shibata K, Kikkawa F, Akatsuka Y, Nakatsura T. Glypican-3 could be an effective target for immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy against ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Cancer Sci 2011; 102:1622-9. [PMID: 21668581 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2011.02003.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is useful not only as a novel tumor marker, but also as an oncofetal antigen for immunotherapy. We recently established HLA-A2-restricted GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTL clones from hepatocellular carcinoma patients after GPC3(144-152) peptide vaccination. The present study was designed to evaluate the tumor reactivity of a HLA-A2-restricted GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTL clone against ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) cell lines. The GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTL clone could recognize HLA-A2-positive and GPC3-positive ovarian CCC cell lines on interferon (IFN)-γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay and showed cytotoxicity against KOC-7c cells. The CTL clone recognized naturally processed GPC3-derived peptide on ovarian CCC cells in a HLA class I-restricted manner. Moreover, we confirmed that the level of GPC3 expression was responsible for CTL recognition and that subtoxic-dose chemotherapy made tumor cells more susceptible to the cytotoxic effect of CTL. Thus, it might be possible to treat ovarian CCC patients by combining chemotherapy with immunotherapy. Our data suggest that GPC3 could be an effective target for immunotherapy against ovarian CCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiro Suzuki
- Section for Cancer Immunotherapy, Investigative Treatment Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan
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Nambotin SB, Wands JR, Kim M. Points of therapeutic intervention along the Wnt signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2011; 11:549-59. [PMID: 21554202 DOI: 10.2174/187152011796011019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2011] [Accepted: 04/29/2011] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. However, there is little known about targeted therapeutics for the treatment of this devastating tumor. Among the growth factor signaling cascades deregulated in HCC, evidences suggest that the WNT/Frizzled-mediated signaling pathway plays a key role in the hepatic carcinogenesis. Aberrant activation of the signaling in HCC is mostly due to deregulated expression of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling components. This leads to the activation of the β-catenin/TCF dependent target genes, which controls cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis or motility. It has been shown that disruption of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade displayed anti-cancer properties in HCC. Currently, no therapeutic molecules targeting the WNT pathway are available or under clinical evaluation for the treatment of HCC. This review will discuss the identified potential molecular targets related to the canonical WNT signaling pathway and their potential therapeutic usefulness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah B Nambotin
- Liver Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
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Ning S, Bin C, Na H, Peng S, Yi D, Xiang-hua Y, Fang-yin Z, Da-yong Z, Rong-cheng L. Glypican-3, a novel prognostic marker of hepatocellular cancer, is related with postoperative metastasis and recurrence in hepatocellular cancer patients. Mol Biol Rep 2011; 39:351-7. [PMID: 21655958 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-011-0745-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2010] [Accepted: 04/27/2011] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Metastasis/recurrence has been the most fundamental characteristic of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and the ultimate cause of most HCC-related deaths. However, there are still a limited number of reliable tumor markers that can be used to predict the possibility of metastasis/recurrence in an HCC patient after operation. Recently, much evidence has shown that glypican-3 (GPC3) can be a useful tool to identify the early development of HCC, but little research has been done to test its usefulness as a prognostic marker related to post-operative metastasis/recurrence in HCC patients. In this study, the expression of GPC3 and its relationship with clinicopathological factors were determined by immunohistochemical analysis in 61 primary HCC patients. The potential prognostic value of GPC3 was investigated by comparing the survival time between HCC patients with high and low GPC3 expression. The results demonstrated that GPC3 expression was closely related with metastasis/recurrence in an HCC patient who can receive the operation. The risk of metastasis/recurrence after surgery in an HCC patient with high GPC3 expression was increased to 3.214 as compared to that of an HCC patient with low GPC3 expression. Survival analysis showed that HCC patients with high GPC3 expression had a significantly shorter overall survival time than HCC patients with low GPC3 expression (P=0.003). Further, multivariate analysis showed that GPC3 expression was a significant, independent prognostic parameter (P=0.030) for HCC patients. Overall, the study indicates that GPC3 might be a valuable marker closely related with prognosis and post-operative metastasis/recurrence in HCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Ning
- Department of Oncology, Nanfang Hospital, and Department of Clinical Laboratory, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
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Yoshikawa T, Nakatsugawa M, Suzuki S, Shirakawa H, Nobuoka D, Sakemura N, Motomura Y, Tanaka Y, Hayashi SI, Nakatsura T. HLA-A2-restricted glypican-3 peptide-specific CTL clones induced by peptide vaccine show high avidity and antigen-specific killing activity against tumor cells. Cancer Sci 2011; 102:918-25. [PMID: 21281401 PMCID: PMC11158063 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2011.01896.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an onco-fetal antigen that is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is only expressed in the placenta and embryonic liver among normal tissues. Previously, we identified an HLA-A2-restricted GPC3(144-152) (FVGEFFTDV) peptide that can induce GPC3-reactive CTLs without inducing autoimmunity in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. In this study, we carried out a phase I clinical trial of HLA-A2-restricted GPC3(144-152) peptide vaccine in 14 patients with advanced HCC. Immunological responses were analyzed by ex vivo γ-interferon enzyme-linked immunospot assay. The frequency of GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTLs after vaccination (mean, 96; range, 5-441) was significantly larger than that before vaccination (mean, 6.5; range, 0-43) (P < 0.01). An increase in the GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTL frequency was observed in 12 (86%) of 14 patients after vaccination. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the maximum value of GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTLs after vaccination and the dose of the peptide injected (P = 0.0166, r = 0.665). Moreover, we established several GPC3(144-152) peptide-specific CTL clones from PBMCs of patients vaccinated with GPC3(144-152) peptide by single cell sorting using Dextramer and CD107a antibody. These CTL clones had high avidity (the recognition efficiency showing 50% cytotoxicity was 10(-10) or 10(-11) M) and could recognize HCC cell lines expressing GPC3 in an HLA-class I-restricted manner. These results suggest that GPC3(144-152) peptide vaccine can induce high avidity CTLs capable of killing HCC cells expressing GPC3. This trial was registered with University Hospital Medical Information Network number 000001395.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Section for Cancer Immunotherapy, Investigative Treatment Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
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Iozzo RV, Sanderson RD. Proteoglycans in cancer biology, tumour microenvironment and angiogenesis. J Cell Mol Med 2011; 15:1013-31. [PMID: 21155971 PMCID: PMC3633488 DOI: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2010.01236.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 420] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2010] [Accepted: 12/08/2010] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteoglycans, key molecular effectors of cell surface and pericellular microenvironments, perform multiple functions in cancer and angiogenesis by virtue of their polyhedric nature and their ability to interact with both ligands and receptors that regulate neoplastic growth and neovascularization. Some proteoglycans such as perlecan, have pro- and anti-angiogenic activities, whereas other proteoglycans, such as syndecans and glypicans, can also directly affect cancer growth by modulating key signalling pathways. The bioactivity of these proteoglycans is further modulated by several classes of enzymes within the tumour microenvironment: (i) sheddases that cleave transmembrane or cell-associated syndecans and glypicans, (ii) various proteinases that cleave the protein core of pericellular proteoglycans and (iii) heparanases and endosulfatases which modify the structure and bioactivity of various heparan sulphate proteoglycans and their bound growth factors. In contrast, some of the small leucine-rich proteoglycans, such as decorin and lumican, act as tumour repressors by physically antagonizing receptor tyrosine kinases including the epidermal growth factor and the Met receptors or integrin receptors thereby evoking anti-survival and pro-apoptotic pathways. In this review we will critically assess the expanding repertoire of molecular interactions attributed to various proteoglycans and will discuss novel proteoglycan functions modulating cancer progression, invasion and metastasis and how these factors regulate the tumour microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato V Iozzo
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, and the Cancer Cell Biology and Signaling Program, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson UniversityPhiladelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ralph D Sanderson
- Department of Pathology, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, AL, USA
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Xu Y, Li H, Gao RL, Adeyemo O, Itkin M, Kaplan DE. Expansion of interferon-gamma-producing multifunctional CD4+ T-cells and dysfunctional CD8+ T-cells by glypican-3 peptide library in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Clin Immunol 2011; 139:302-13. [PMID: 21419713 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2011.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2011] [Revised: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 02/17/2011] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Glypican-3 is a promising target for immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, but limited data exist regarding its immunogenicity in patients with diverse HLA types, immunogenicity for CD4(+) T-cells, and the impact of inhibitory co-stimulation on glypican-3-specific T-cells. Using a 15mer overlapping peptide library for glypican-3, PBMC from patients with HCC were assessed ex vivo and after short-term in vitro expansion for tumor antigen-specific T-cell responses with and without blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 signaling. Glypican-3-specific T-cells were undetectable ex vivo, but primarily IFNγ(+)TNFα(+) CD4(+) T-cells expanded with short-term in vitro stimulation in 10/19 (52%) patients. Glypican-3-specific CD8(+) T-cells predominantly produced TNFα, but did not secrete IFNγ nor degranulate. CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade minimally impacted the cytokine secretion and proliferation of glypican-3-specific T-cells. These data suggest that CD8(+) T-cell-directed tumor vaccines in HCC may have limited potential for efficacy unless optimal co-stimulation conditions can be identified but CD4(+)-directed vaccines merit consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhui Xu
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA
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Identification of HLA-A2-restricted CTL epitopes of a novel tumour-associated antigen, KIF20A, overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. Br J Cancer 2010; 104:300-7. [PMID: 21179034 PMCID: PMC3031900 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6606052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Identification of tumour-associated antigens (TAAs) that induce cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific to cancer cells is critical for the development of anticancer immunotherapy. In this study, we aimed at identifying a novel TAA of pancreatic cancer for immunotherapy. Methods: On the basis of the genome-wide cDNA microarray analysis, we focused on KIF20A (also known as RAB6KIFL/MKlp2) as a candidate TAA in pancreatic cancer cells. The HLA-A2 (A*02:01)-restricted CTL epitopes of KIF20A were identified using HLA-A2 transgenic mice (Tgm) and the peptides were examined to check whether they could generate human CTLs exhibiting cytotoxic responses against KIF20A+, HLA-A2+ tumour cells in vitro. Results: KIF20A was overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and in some other malignancies, but not in their non-cancerous counterparts and many normal adult tissues. We found that KIF20A-2 (p12–20, LLSDDDVVV), KIF20A-8 (p809–817, CIAEQYHTV), and KIF20A-28 (p284–293, AQPDTAPLPV) peptides could induce HLA-A2-restricted CTLs in HLA-A2 Tgm without causing autoimmunity. Peptide-reactive human CTLs were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HLA-A2+ healthy donors by in vitro stimulation with the three peptides, and those CTLs successfully exhibited cytotoxic responses to cancer cells expressing both KIF20A and HLA-A2. Conclusion: KIF20A is a novel promising candidate for anticancer immunotherapeutic target for pancreatic cancers.
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Ho M, Kim H. Glypican-3: a new target for cancer immunotherapy. Eur J Cancer 2010; 47:333-8. [PMID: 21112773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2010.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2010] [Accepted: 10/27/2010] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a common malignant cancer worldwide. There is an urgent need to identify new molecular targets for the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Herein, we review the structure, function and biology of glypican-3 (GPC3) and its role in human cancer with a focus on its potential as a therapeutic target for immunotherapy. GPC3 is a cell-surface protein that is over-expressed in HCC. Loss-of-function mutations of GPC3 cause Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS), a rare X-linked overgrowth condition. GPC3 binds Wnt and Hedgehog (Hh) signalling proteins. GPC3 is also able to bind basic growth factors such as fibroblast growth factor 2 through its heparan sulphate glycan chains. GPC3 is a promising candidate for liver cancer therapy given that it shows high expression in HCC. An anti-GPC3 monoclonal antibody has shown anti-cancer activity in mice and its humanised IgG molecule is currently undergoing clinical evaluation in patients with HCC. There is also evidence that soluble GPC3 may be a useful serum biomarker for HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell Ho
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
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