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Wlodarczyk M, Torun A, Zerrouqi A, Pyrzynska B. NK Cell Degranulation Triggered by Rituximab Identifies Potential Markers of Subpopulations with Enhanced Cytotoxicity toward Malignant B Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:8980. [PMID: 39201666 PMCID: PMC11354239 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25168980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Revised: 08/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024] Open
Abstract
A promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy is to restore or enhance the cytotoxicity of NK cells, among others, by activating the mechanism of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Monoclonal antibodies targeting tumor antigens, such as rituximab (targeting CD20), induce NK cell-mediated ADCC and have been used to treat B cell malignancies, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but not always successfully. The aim of this study was to analyze the gene expression profile of the NK cells involved in the cytolytic response stimulated by rituximab. NK cells were co-cultured with rituximab-opsonized Raji cells. Sorting into responder and non-responder groups was based on the presence of CD107a, which is a degranulation marker. RNA-seq results showed that the KIT and TNFSF4 genes were strongly down-regulated in the degranulating population of NK cells (responders); this was further confirmed by qRT-PCR. Both genes encode surface proteins with cellular signaling abilities, namely c-KIT and the OX40 ligand. Consistent with our findings, c-KIT was previously reported to correlate inversely with cytokine production by activated NK cells. The significance of these findings for cancer immunotherapy seems essential, as the pharmacological inhibition of c-KIT and OX40L, or gene ablation, could be further tested for the enhancement of the anti-tumor activity of NK cells in response to rituximab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Wlodarczyk
- Chair and Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland; (M.W.); (A.T.); (A.Z.)
- Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacogenomics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Centre for Preclinical Research, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Torun
- Chair and Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland; (M.W.); (A.T.); (A.Z.)
- Institute of Mother and Child, 01-211 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Abdessamad Zerrouqi
- Chair and Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland; (M.W.); (A.T.); (A.Z.)
- Centre for Preclinical Research, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beata Pyrzynska
- Chair and Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland; (M.W.); (A.T.); (A.Z.)
- Centre for Preclinical Research, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
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2
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Barshidi A, Ardeshiri K, Ebrahimi F, Alian F, Shekarchi AA, Hojjat-Farsangi M, Jadidi-Niaragh F. The role of exhausted natural killer cells in the immunopathogenesis and treatment of leukemia. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:59. [PMID: 38254135 PMCID: PMC10802000 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-023-01428-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The immune responses to cancer cells involve both innate and acquired immune cells. In the meantime, the most attention has been drawn to the adaptive immune cells, especially T cells, while, it is now well known that the innate immune cells, especially natural killer (NK) cells, play a vital role in defending against malignancies. While the immune cells are trying to eliminate malignant cells, cancer cells try to prevent the function of these cells and suppress immune responses. The suppression of NK cells in various cancers can lead to the induction of an exhausted phenotype in NK cells, which will impair their function. Recent studies have shown that the occurrence of this phenotype in various types of leukemic malignancies can affect the prognosis of the disease, and targeting these cells may be considered a new immunotherapy method in the treatment of leukemia. Therefore, a detailed study of exhausted NK cells in leukemic diseases can help both to understand the mechanisms of leukemia progression and to design new treatment methods by creating a deeper understanding of these cells. Here, we will comprehensively review the immunobiology of exhausted NK cells and their role in various leukemic malignancies. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asal Barshidi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
| | - Keivan Ardeshiri
- Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farbod Ebrahimi
- Nanoparticle Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Alian
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Akbar Shekarchi
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | | | - Farhad Jadidi-Niaragh
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
- Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Aging, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
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3
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Lutz MS, Wang K, Jung G, Salih H, Hagelstein I. An Fc-modified monoclonal antibody as novel treatment option for pancreatic cancer. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1343929. [PMID: 38322253 PMCID: PMC10845339 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1343929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with limited treatment options. Hence, there is a considerable medical need for novel treatment strategies. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have significantly improved cancer therapy, primarily due to their ability to stimulate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), which plays a crucial role in their therapeutic efficacy. As a result, significant effort has been focused on improving this critical function by engineering mAbs with Fc regions that have increased affinity for the Fc receptor CD16 expressed on natural killer (NK) cells, the major cell population that mediates ADCC in humans. Here we report on the preclinical characterization of a mAb directed to the target antigen B7-H3 (CD276) containing an Fc part with the amino acid substitutions S239D/I332E to increase affinity for CD16 (B7-H3-SDIE) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. B7-H3 (CD276) is highly expressed in many tumor entities, whereas expression on healthy tissues is more limited. Our findings confirm high expression of B7-H3 on pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, our study shows that B7-H3-SDIE effectively activates NK cells against pancreatic cancer cells in an antigen-dependent manner, as demonstrated by the analysis of NK cell activation, degranulation and cytokine release. The activation of NK cells resulted in significant tumor cell lysis in both short-term and long-term cytotoxicity assays. In conclusion, B7-H3-SDIE constitutes a promising agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina S. Lutz
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Kevin Wang
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Gundram Jung
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Helmut R. Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ilona Hagelstein
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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4
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Qian C, Pan C, Liu J, Wu L, Pan J, Liu C, Zhang H. Differential expression of immune checkpoints (OX40/OX40L and PD-1/PD-L1) in decidua of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion women. Hum Immunol 2024; 85:110745. [PMID: 38142184 DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2023.110745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of OX40, OX40L, PD-1 and PD-L1 in patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) compared to normal pregnancies (NP). A total of 50 patients who were diagnosed with URSA and 41 NP were recruited to this study. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the expression of OX40, OX40L, PD-1 and PD-L1 in decidual tissues; Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted to characterize the distribution of the involved genes in decidual tissues; Double immunofluorescence staining was used to prove the localization of the involved genes in decidual tissues. The concentrations of OX40L and PD-L1 in plasma were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of OX40L in the decidua of URSA patients was significantly increased compared to that in the NP group, while the expression of PD-L1 in the URSA group was decreased compared to that in the NP group. Both proteins are localized in the decidual stroma as analyzed by double immunofluorescence staining. The staining results were confirmed at the mRNA level of decidual tissues, while the mRNA level of peripheral blood showed no significant difference. In conclusion, the results suggest that decidual stromal cells may promote the interaction with OX40 on T cells by upregulating the expression of OX40L and reduce the interaction with PD-1 on T cells by downregulating the expression of PD-L1 in URSA patients, which may interfere with the immune tolerance of the maternal-fetal interface, leading to poor pregnancy outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyue Qian
- Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China; Department of Pharmacy, Dushu Lake Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Medical Center of Soochow University, Suzhou Dushu Lake Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chenhuan Pan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Affiliated Women's Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Juanjuan Liu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Lijuan Wu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Jie Pan
- Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Cuiping Liu
- Jiangsu Institute of Clinical Immunology & Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
| | - Hong Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China; Jiangsu Institute of Clinical Immunology & Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
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5
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Balzasch BM, Cerwenka A. Microenvironmental signals shaping NK-cell reactivity in cancer. Eur J Immunol 2023; 53:e2250103. [PMID: 37194594 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202250103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Since the postulation of the "missing-self" concept, much progress has been made in defining requirements for NK-cell activation. Unlike T lymphocytes that process signals from receptors in a hierarchic manner dominated by the T-cell receptors, NK cells integrate receptor signals more "democratically." Signals originate not only the downstream of cell-surface receptors triggered by membrane-bound ligands or cytokines, but are also mediated by specialized microenvironmental sensors that perceive the cellular surrounding by detecting metabolites or the availability of oxygen. Thus, NK-cell effector functions are driven in an organ and disease-dependent manner. Here, we review the latest findings on how NK-cell reactivity in cancer is determined by the reception and integration of complex signals. Finally, we discuss how this knowledge can be exploited to guide novel combinatorial approaches for NK-cell-based anticancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca M Balzasch
- Department of Immunobiochemistry, Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunosciences (MI3), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Adelheid Cerwenka
- Department of Immunobiochemistry, Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunosciences (MI3), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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Yu J, Cui J, Zhang X, Xu H, Chen Z, Li Y, Niu Y, Wang S, Ran S, Zou Y, Ye W, Zhang D, Zhou C, Xia J, Wu J. The OX40-TRAF6 axis promotes CTLA-4 degradation to augment antitumor CD8 + T-cell immunity. Cell Mol Immunol 2023; 20:1445-1456. [PMID: 37932534 PMCID: PMC10687085 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-023-01093-y] [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: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), including anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), benefits only a limited number of patients with cancer. Understanding the in-depth regulatory mechanism of CTLA-4 protein stability and its functional significance may help identify ICB resistance mechanisms and assist in the development of novel immunotherapeutic modalities to improve ICB efficacy. Here, we identified that TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) mediates Lys63-linked ubiquitination and subsequent lysosomal degradation of CTLA-4. Moreover, by using TRAF6-deficient mice and retroviral overexpression experiments, we demonstrated that TRAF6 promotes CTLA-4 degradation in a T-cell-intrinsic manner, which is dependent on the RING domain of TRAF6. This intrinsic regulatory mechanism contributes to CD8+ T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity in vivo. Additionally, by using an OX40 agonist, we demonstrated that the OX40-TRAF6 axis is responsible for CTLA-4 degradation, thereby controlling antitumor immunity in both tumor-bearing mice and patients with cancer. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the OX40-TRAF6 axis promotes CTLA-4 degradation and is a potential therapeutic target for the improvement of T-cell-based immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jizhang Yu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jikai Cui
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Heng Xu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhang Chen
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuan Li
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuqing Niu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Song Wang
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Shuan Ran
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanqiang Zou
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Weicong Ye
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Cheng Zhou
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiahong Xia
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China.
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
| | - Jie Wu
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Wuhan, China.
- Center for Translational Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
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Xiong LJ, Tian YF, Zhai CT, Li W. Application and Effectiveness of Chinese Medicine in Regulating Immune Checkpoint Pathways. Chin J Integr Med 2023; 29:1045-1056. [PMID: 37580466 DOI: 10.1007/s11655-023-3743-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoint molecules has emerged as a key approach in cancer treatment, representing the forefront of antitumor research. However, studies on immune checkpoint molecules have mainly focused on targeted therapies. Chinese medicine (CM) research as a complementary medicine has revealed that immune checkpoint molecules also undergo disease-specific changes in the context of autoimmune diseases. This review article presents a comprehensive analysis of CM studies on immune checkpoint molecules in the last 5 years, with a focus on their role in different diseases and treatment modalities. CM research predominantly utilizes oral administration of herbal plant extracts or acupuncture techniques, which stimulate the immune system by activating specific acupoints through temperature and needling. In this study, we analyzed the modulation and mechanisms of immune checkpoint molecules associated with different coinhibitory and costimulatory molecules, and reviewed the immune functions of related molecules and CM studies in treating autoimmune diseases and tumors. By summarizing the characteristics and research value of CM in regulating immune checkpoint molecules, this review aims to provide a useful reference for future studies in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luo-Jie Xiong
- College of Acupuncture, Massage and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, 410208, China
| | - Yue-Feng Tian
- Second Clinical College, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, 030619, China.
| | - Chun-Tao Zhai
- Second Clinical College, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, 030619, China
| | - Wei Li
- Second Clinical College, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, 030619, China
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Mou J, Xie L, Xu Y, Zhou T, Liu Y, Huang Q, Tang K, Tian Z, Xing H, Qiu S, Rao Q, Wang M, Wang J. 2B4 inhibits the apoptosis of natural killer cells through phosphorylated extracellular signal-related kinase/B-cell lymphoma 2 signal pathway. Cytotherapy 2023; 25:1080-1090. [PMID: 37516949 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2023.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS Decades after the identification of natural killer (NK) cells as potential effector cells against malignantly transformed cells, an increasing amount of research suggests that NK cells are a prospective choice of immunocytes for cancer immunotherapy in addition to T lymphocytes for cancer immunotherapy. Recent studies have led to a breakthrough in the combination of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation with allogeneic NK cells infusion for the treatment of malignant tumors. However, the short lifespan of NK cells in patients is the major impediment, limiting their efficacy. Therefore, prolonging the survival of NK cells will promote the application of NK-cell immunotherapy. As we have known, NK cells use a "missing-self" mechanism to lyse target cells and exert their functions through a wide array of activating, co-stimulatory and inhibitory receptors. Our previous study has suggested that CD244 (2B4), one of the co-stimulatory receptors, can improve the function of chimeric antigen receptor NK cells. However, the underlying mechanism of how 2B4 engages in the function of NK cells requires further investigation. Overall, we established a feeder cell with the expression of CD48, the ligand of 2B4, to investigate the function of 2B4-CD48 axis in NK cells, and meanwhile, to explore whether the newly generated feeder cell can improve the function of ex vivo-expanded NK cells. METHODS First, K562 cells overexpressing 4-1BBL and membrane-bound IL-21 (mbIL-21) were constructed (K562-41BBL-mbIL-21) and were sorted to generate the single clone. These widely used feeder cells (K562-41BBL-mbIL-21) were named as Basic Feeder hereinafter. Based on the Basic feeder, CD48 was overexpressed and named as CD48 Feeder. Then, the genetically modified feeder cells were used to expand primary NK cells from peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood. In vitro experiments were performed to compare proliferation ability, cytotoxicity, survival and activation/inhibition phenotypes of NK cells stimulated via different feeder cells. K562 cells were injected into nude mice subcutaneously with tail vein injection of NK cells from different feeder system for the detection of NK in vivo persistence and function. RESULTS Compared with Basic Feeders, CD48 Feeders can promote the proliferation of primary NK cells from peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood and reduce NK cell apoptosis by activating the p-ERK/BCL2 pathway both in vitro and in vivo without affecting overall phenotypes. Furthermore, NK cells expanded via CD48 Feeders showed stronger anti-tumor capability and infiltration ability into the tumor microenvironment. CONCLUSIONS In this preclinical study, the engagement of the 2B4-CD48 axis can inhibit the apoptosis of NK cells through the p-ERK/BCL2 signal pathway, leading to an improvement in therapeutic efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junli Mou
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Leling Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Yingxi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Tong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Yu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Qianqian Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Kejing Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Zheng Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Haiyan Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Shaowei Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Qing Rao
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China
| | - Min Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China.
| | - Jianxiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, National Clinical Research Center for Blood Diseases, Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy for Blood Diseases, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Tianjin, China; Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China.
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9
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Redmond WL. Challenges and opportunities in the development of combination immunotherapy with OX40 agonists. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2023; 23:901-912. [PMID: 37587644 PMCID: PMC10530613 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2023.2249396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Costimulatory members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family, such as OX40 (CD134), provide essential survival and differentiation signals that enhance T cell function. Specifically, OX40 (CD134) agonists stimulate potent anti-tumor immunity in a variety of preclinical models but their therapeutic impact in patients with advanced malignancies has been limited thus far. AREAS COVERED In this review, we discuss the current state of combination immunotherapy with OX40 agonists including preclinical studies and recent clinical trials. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of these approaches and provide insight into alternatives that may help enhance the efficacy of combination OX40 agonist immunotherapy. EXPERT OPINION OX40 agonist immunotherapy has not yet demonstrated significant clinical activity as a monotherapy or in combination with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), likely due to several factors including the timing of administration, drug potency, and selection of agents for combination therapy clinical trials. We believe that careful consideration of the biological mechanisms regulating OX40 expression and function may help inform new approaches, particularly in combination with novel agents, capable of increasing the therapeutic efficacy of this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- William L Redmond
- Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Cancer Institute, 4805 NE Glisan St., 2N35, Portland, OR, 97213
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10
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Wang D, Hu H, Ding H, Zhao H, Tian F, Chi Q. Elevated expression of TNFRSF4 impacts immune cell infiltration and gene mutation in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Biomark 2023; 36:147-159. [PMID: 36591653 DOI: 10.3233/cbm-210538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous disease, which makes prognostic prediction challenging.We aimed to investigate association of TNFRSF4 expression with the immune infiltration and gene mutation in HCC. METHODS In this study, the expression profiles and corresponding clinical data of HCC patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to evaluate the clinical value of TNFRSF4. ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms were applied to investigate the infiltration ratio of 22 immune cells. The WGCNA and LASSO COX algorithms were performed, establishing a prognostic risk model that was then validated by HCC samples from GEO. Finally, the effects on gene mutation occurring in HCC patients of TNFRSF4 expression and risk score were appraised. RESULTS In HCC tissues, it was found the TNFRSF4 expression profile was significantly different with age, gender, tumor grade, disease stage, prominently affecting the survival outcome and prognosis of patients. Univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis suggested that TNFRSF4 was an independent prognostic marker. Samples of high/low expression of TNFRSF4 were screened for differential genes, and then the WGCNA and LASSO COX constructed a 13-gene signature, excellently dividing samples into hign/low risk groups. Compared with the low-risk group, the overall survival (OS) of high-risk group was markedly lower, with P< 0.0001. By ROC curve analysis, the predictive ability of the 13-gene signature was further confirmed. Both the high/low TNFRSF4 expression and the high/low risk score were demonstrated to exert effects on the frequency of gene mutation in HCC. CONCLUSIONS As an independent prognostic marker of HCC, TNFRSF4 was found simultaneously to affect the immune infiltration of cells and the frequency of gene mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Wang
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Huan Hu
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Huan Ding
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Han Zhao
- School of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Feifei Tian
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Qingjia Chi
- Department of Engineering Structure and Mechanics, School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
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11
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Hagelstein I, Engel M, Hinterleitner C, Manz T, Märklin M, Jung G, Salih HR, Zekri L. B7-H3-targeting Fc-optimized antibody for induction of NK cell reactivity against sarcoma. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1002898. [PMID: 36275693 PMCID: PMC9585277 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1002898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells largely contribute to antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), a central factor for success of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) treatment of cancer. The B7 family member B7-H3 (CD276) recently receives intense interest as a novel promising target antigen for immunotherapy. B7-H3 is highly expressed in many tumor entities, whereas expression on healthy tissues is rather limited. We here studied expression of B7-H3 in sarcoma, and found substantial levels to be expressed in various bone and soft-tissue sarcoma subtypes. To date, only few immunotherapeutic options for treatment of sarcomas that are limited to a minority of patients are available. We here used a B7-H3 mAb to generate chimeric mAbs containing either a wildtype Fc-part (8H8_WT) or a variant Fc part with amino-acid substitutions (S239D/I332E) to increase affinity for CD16 expressing NK cells (8H8_SDIE). In comparative studies we found that 8H8_SDIE triggers profound NK cell functions such as activation, degranulation, secretion of IFNγ and release of NK effector molecules, resulting in potent lysis of different sarcoma cells and primary sarcoma cells derived from patients. Our findings emphasize the potential of 8H8_SDIE as novel compound for treatment of sarcomas, particularly since B7-H3 is expressed in bone and soft-tissue sarcoma independent of their subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Hagelstein
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Monika Engel
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Department for Immunology and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Clemens Hinterleitner
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Department of Medical Oncology and Pneumology (Internal Medicine VIII), University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Timo Manz
- Department for Immunology and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Melanie Märklin
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Gundram Jung
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Department for Immunology and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Helmut R. Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Latifa Zekri
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC 2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
- Department for Immunology and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany
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12
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Salavaty A, Shehni SA, Ramialison M, Currie PD. Systematic molecular profiling of acute leukemia cancer stem cells allows identification of druggable targets. Heliyon 2022; 8:e11093. [PMID: 36281397 PMCID: PMC9586918 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11093] [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: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most prevalent and acute blood cancers with a poor prognosis and low overall survival rate, especially in the elderly. Although several new AML markers and drug targets have been recently identified, the rate of long-term cancer eradication has not improved significantly due to the presence and drug resistance of AML cancer stem cells (CSCs). Here we develop a novel computational pipeline to analyze the transcriptomic profiles of AML cancer (stem) cells and identify novel candidate AML CSC markers and drug targets. In our novel pipeline we apply a top-down meta-analysis strategy to integrate The Cancer Genome Atlas data with CSC datasets to infer cell stemness features. As a result, a set of genes termed the "AML key CSC genes" along with all the available drugs/compounds that could target them were identified. Overall, our novel computational pipeline could retrieve known cancer drugs (Carfilzomib) and predicted novel drugs such as Zonisamide, Amitriptyline, and their targets amongst the top ranked drugs and drug targets for targeting AML. Additionally, the pipeline applied in this study could be used for the identification of CSC-specific markers, drivers and their respective targeting drugs in other cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Salavaty
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Systems Biology Institute Australia, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Sara Alaei Shehni
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Mirana Ramialison
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Systems Biology Institute Australia, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Pediatrics, The Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Peter D. Currie
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- EMBL Australia, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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13
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Landeira-Viñuela A, Arias-Hidalgo C, Juanes-Velasco P, Alcoceba M, Navarro-Bailón A, Pedreira CE, Lecrevisse Q, Díaz-Muñoz L, Sánchez-Santos JM, Hernández ÁP, García-Vaquero ML, Góngora R, De Las Rivas J, González M, Orfao A, Fuentes M. Unravelling soluble immune checkpoints in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Physiological immunomodulators or immune dysfunction. Front Immunol 2022; 13:965905. [PMID: 36248816 PMCID: PMC9554405 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.965905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoid neoplasm characterized by the accumulation of mature B cells. The diagnosis is established by the detection of monoclonal B lymphocytes in peripheral blood, even in early stages [monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBLhi)], and its clinical course is highly heterogeneous. In fact, there are well-characterized multiple prognostic factors that are also related to the observed genetic heterogenicity, such as immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) mutational status, del17p, and TP53 mutations, among others. Moreover, a dysregulation of the immune system (innate and adaptive immunity) has been observed in CLL patients, with strong impact on immune surveillance and consequently on the onset, evolution, and therapy response. In addition, the tumor microenvironment is highly complex and heterogeneous (i.e., matrix, fibroblast, endothelial cells, and immune cells), playing a critical role in the evolution of CLL. In this study, a quantitative profile of 103 proteins (cytokines, chemokines, growth/regulatory factors, immune checkpoints, and soluble receptors) in 67 serum samples (57 CLL and 10 MBLhi) has been systematically evaluated. Also, differential profiles of soluble immune factors that discriminate between MBLhi and CLL (sCD47, sCD27, sTIMD-4, sIL-2R, and sULBP-1), disease progression (sCD48, sCD27, sArginase-1, sLAG-3, IL-4, and sIL-2R), or among profiles correlated with other prognostic factors, such as IGHV mutational status (CXCL11/I-TAC, CXCL10/IP-10, sHEVM, and sLAG-3), were deciphered. These results pave the way to explore the role of soluble immune checkpoints as a promising source of biomarkers in CLL, to provide novel insights into the immune suppression process and/or dysfunction, mostly on T cells, in combination with cellular balance disruption and microenvironment polarization leading to tumor escape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Landeira-Viñuela
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Carlota Arias-Hidalgo
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Pablo Juanes-Velasco
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Miguel Alcoceba
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Salamanca, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00233, Center Research-Centre Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL, IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Almudena Navarro-Bailón
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Salamanca, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00233, Center Research-Centre Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL, IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Carlos Eduardo Pedreira
- Systems and Computing Department Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia-Programa de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computação (COPPE-PESC), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Quentin Lecrevisse
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Laura Díaz-Muñoz
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | | | - Ángela-Patricia Hernández
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Organic Chemistry Section, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Marina L. García-Vaquero
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Rafael Góngora
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Javier De Las Rivas
- Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Group, Cancer Research Center Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad de Salamanca (CIC-IBMCC, CSIC/USAL), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and University of Salamanca (USAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Marcos González
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Salamanca, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00233, Center Research-Centre Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL, IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Alberto Orfao
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
| | - Manuel Fuentes
- Department of Medicine and General Service of Cytometry, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer (CIBERONC)- CB16/12/00400, Cancer Research Centre-Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad de Salamanca (CSIC-USAL), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain
- Proteomics Unit, Cancer Research Centre-IBMCC, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Salamanca, Spain
- *Correspondence: Manuel Fuentes,
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14
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Marconato M, Kauer J, Salih HR, Märklin M, Heitmann JS. Expression of the immune checkpoint modulator OX40 indicates poor survival in acute myeloid leukemia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15856. [PMID: 36151238 PMCID: PMC9508266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19972-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite therapeutic advances, mortality of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is still high. Currently, the determination of prognosis which guides treatment decisions mainly relies on genetic markers. Besides molecular mechanisms, the ability of malignant cells to evade immune surveillance influences the disease outcome and, among others, the expression of checkpoints modulators contributes to this. In AML, functional expression of the checkpoint molecule OX40 was reported, but the prognostic relevance of OX40 and its ligand OX40L axis has so far not been investigated. Here we described expression and prognostic relevance of the checkpoint modulators OX40 and OX40L, analyzed on primary AML cells obtained from 92 therapy naïve patients. Substantial expression of OX40 and OX40L on AML blasts was detected in 29% and 32% of the investigated subjects, respectively, without correlation between the expression of the receptor and its ligand. Whereas OX40L expression was not associated with different survival, patients with high expression levels of the receptor (OX40high) on AML blasts survived significantly shorter than OX40low patients (p = 0.009, HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24–0.86), which identifies OX40 as novel prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target in AML patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maddalena Marconato
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (IFIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Joseph Kauer
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Oncology and Hematology, University Clinic Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Helmut R Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (IFIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Melanie Märklin
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. .,DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (IFIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Jonas S Heitmann
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 'Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy' (IFIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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15
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Goldman JW, Piha-Paul SA, Curti B, Pedersen KS, Bauer TM, Groenland SL, Carvajal RD, Chhaya V, Kirby G, McGlinchey K, Hammond SA, Streicher KL, Townsley D, Chae YK, Voortman J, Marabelle A, Powderly J. Safety and tolerability of MEDI0562, an OX40 agonist monoclonal antibody, in combination with durvalumab or tremelimumab in adult patients with advanced solid tumors. Clin Cancer Res 2022; 28:3709-3719. [PMID: 35699623 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-21-3016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Combination therapies targeting immunological checkpoints have shown promise in treating multiple tumor types. We report safety and tolerability of MEDI0562, a humanized IgG1K OX40 monoclonal antibody, in combination with durvalumab (anti-PD-L1), or tremelimumab (anti-CTLA-4), in adult patients with previously treated advanced solid tumors. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN In this phase 1, multicenter, open-label study, patients received escalating doses of MEDI0562 (2.25, 7.5, or 22.5 mg) every two weeks (Q2W) in combination with durvalumab (1500 mg) or tremelimumab (75 or 225 mg) Q4W, intravenously, until unacceptable toxicity or progressive disease. Tumor assessments were performed Q8W. The primary objective was to evaluate safety and tolerability. RESULTS Among the 27 and 31 patients who received MEDI0562 + durvalumab or MEDI0562 + tremelimumab, 74.1% and 67.7% reported a treatment-related adverse event (AE), and 22.2% and 19.4% experienced a treatment‑emergent AE that led to discontinuation, respectively. The maximum tolerated dose of MEDI0562 + durvalumab was 7.5 mg MEDI0562 + 1500 mg durvalumab; the maximum administered dose of MEDI0562 + tremelimumab was 22.5 mg MEDI0562 + 225 mg tremelimumab. Three patients in the MEDI0562 + durvalumab arm had a partial response. The mean percentage of Ki67+CD4+ and Ki67+CD8+ memory T cells increased by >100% following the first dose of MEDI0562 + durvalumab or tremelimumab in all dose cohorts. A decrease in OX40+FOXP3 T regulatory cells was observed in a subset of patients with available paired biopsies. CONCLUSIONS Following dose escalation, moderate toxicity was observed in both treatment arms, with no clear efficacy signals demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarina A Piha-Paul
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Brendan Curti
- Providence Cancer Center and Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Portland, OR, United States
| | | | - Todd M Bauer
- Sarah Cannon Research Institute / Tennessee Oncology, PLLC., Nashville, TN, United States
| | | | | | - Vaishali Chhaya
- AstraZeneca (United States), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Gray Kirby
- AstraZeneca (United States), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Kelly McGlinchey
- AstraZeneca (United Kingdom), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
| | | | | | | | - Young Kwang Chae
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Jens Voortman
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - John Powderly
- Carolina BioOncology Institute, Huntersville, NC, United States
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Gelmez MY, Betul Oktelik F, Cinar S, Ozbalak M, Ozluk O, Aktan M, Deniz G. High expression of OX-40, ICOS, and low expression PD-L1 of follicular helper and follicular cytotoxic T cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Hematop 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12308-022-00497-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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17
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Huang Y, Lin S, Zhan F, Xiao L, Zhan Y, Wang R. OX40-Fc Fusion Protein Alleviates PD-1-Fc-Aggravated Rheumatoid Arthritis by Inhibiting Inflammatory Response. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2022; 2022:6244175. [PMID: 35222687 PMCID: PMC8872694 DOI: 10.1155/2022/6244175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Researches have confirmed that the abnormal signals of OX40 and PD-1 lead to the changes of T cell biological behavior, thus participating the immunopathological process of RA. However, the pathogenesis of RA immunopathological process has not been clarified yet. METHODS 30 DBA/1 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (6 mice per group): control group, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) group, PD-1-Fc/CIA group, OX40-Fc/CIA group, and PD-1-Fc + OX40-Fc/CIA group. The pathological changes in mice joints were observed by H&E staining. The proportion of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, CD28+, and CD19+ cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was detected by flow cytometry. Serum inflammatory factors (CRP, IL-2, IL-4, IL-1β, INF-γ) and bone metabolism-related genes (CTX-I, TRACP-5b, BALP) were detected by ELISA assay. Western blotting was applied to measure the NF-κB signaling pathway-related protein (p-IKKβ, p-IκBα, p50) expression in synovial tissue of mice joint. RESULTS Compared with the control group, CIA mice showed significant increases in arthritis score and pathological score. In the CIA group, a marked decrease was identified in the proportion of CD8+ T, CD19+, and CD68+ cells. Additionally, the CIA group was associated with upregulation of secretion of inflammatory factors in serum and expression of bone metabolism-related genes and NF-κB pathway-related proteins. Compared with the CIA group, the same indexes above showed a further aggravation in the PD-1-Fc group while all indexes improved in the OX40-Fc group. Besides, OX40-Fc fusion protein slowed down significantly the further deterioration of CIA mouse pathological process caused by PD-1-Fc fusion protein. CONCLUSION OX40-Fc fusion protein alleviates PD-1-Fc-aggravated RA by inhibiting inflammatory response. This research provides biological markers with clinical significance for diagnosis and prognosis of RA, as well as offers theoretical and experimental foundation to the new targets for immune intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyan Huang
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
| | - Shudian Lin
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
| | - Feng Zhan
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
| | - Lu Xiao
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
| | - Yuwei Zhan
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
| | - Ru Wang
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, Hainan 570311, China
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Zhang J, Zhang W, Liu Y, Pi M, Jiang Y, Ainiwaer A, Mao S, Chen H, Ran Y, Sun S, Li W, Yao X, Chang Z, Yan Y. Emerging roles and potential application of PIWI-interacting RNA in urological tumors. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:1054216. [PMID: 36733811 PMCID: PMC9887041 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1054216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The piRNA (PIWI-interacting RNA) is P-Element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNA which is a small molecule, non-coding RNA with a length of 24-32nt. It was originally found in germ cells and is considered a regulator of germ cell function. It can interact with PIWI protein, a member of the Argonaute family, and play a role in the regulation of gene transcription and epigenetic silencing of transposable factors in the nucleus. More and more studies have shown that piRNAs are abnormally expressed in a variety of cancer tissues and patient fluids, and may become diagnostic tools, therapeutic targets, staging markers, and prognostic evaluation tools for cancer. This article reviews the recent research on piRNA and summarizes the structural characteristics, production mechanism, applications, and its role in urological tumors, to provide a reference value for piRNA to regulate urological tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingcheng Zhang
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wentao Zhang
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuchao Liu
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Man Pi
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yufeng Jiang
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ailiyaer Ainiwaer
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shiyu Mao
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haotian Chen
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuefei Ran
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuwen Sun
- Cancer Institute, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
- Center of Clinical Oncology, the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xudong Yao
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yang Yan, ; Zhengyan Chang, ; Xudong Yao,
| | - Zhengyan Chang
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yang Yan, ; Zhengyan Chang, ; Xudong Yao,
| | - Yang Yan
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Urologic Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yang Yan, ; Zhengyan Chang, ; Xudong Yao,
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Gao L, Xue J, Liu X, Cao L, Wang R, Lei L. A risk model based on autophagy-related lncRNAs for predicting prognosis and efficacy of immunotherapy and chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients. Aging (Albany NY) 2021; 13:25453-25465. [PMID: 34897033 PMCID: PMC8714132 DOI: 10.18632/aging.203765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of non-protein-coding RNAs essential to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC). We aimed to identify critical lncRNA pairs to construct a prognostic model and assess its performances in prognosis and efficacy prediction in GC patients receiving immunotherapy and chemotherapy. We searched transcriptome and clinical data of GC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Autophagy-related lncRNAs were identified using co-expression network analysis, and lncRNA pairs with prognostic value were selected using pairwise transcriptome analysis. The gene pairs were subjected to LASSO algorithm for identification of optimal gene pairs for risk model construction. Patients were classified into the low-risk and high-risk groups with the RiskScore as a cutoff. Finally, 9 optimal gene pairs were identified in the LASSO algorithm model for construction of a lncRNA prognostic risk model. For predictive performances, it successfully predicted a shorter survival of high-risk patients than that obtained in low-risk individuals (P < 0.001). It showed moderate AUC (area under the curve) values for 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival prediction of 0.713 and could serve as an independent predictor for GC prognosis. Compared to the low-risk group, high-risk patients had higher expressions of marker genes for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and showed higher sensitivity to the chemotherapy agents, rapamycin, bexarotene, and bicalutamide. Our findings demonstrate a robust prognostic model based on nine autophagy-related lncRNA pairs for GC. It acts as an independent predictor for survival and efficacy prediction of immunotherapy and chemotherapy in GC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Gao
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Juan Xue
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Xiaomin Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Lei Cao
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Ruifang Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Liangliang Lei
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, And College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
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Clar KL, Weber LM, Schmied BJ, Heitmann JS, Marconato M, Tandler C, Schneider P, Salih HR. Receptor Activator of NF-κB (RANK) Confers Resistance to Chemotherapy in AML and Associates with Dismal Disease Course. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13236122. [PMID: 34885231 PMCID: PMC8657109 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13236122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults. Despite the emergence of new therapeutic agents in recent years, curation remains challenging, and new and better treatment options are needed. In the present study, we investigated the expression, prognostic significance, and functional role of the Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB (RANK) in AML. We found that RANK is expressed on leukemic cells in a substantial proportion of AML patients and is associated with a dismal disease course. We further demonstrated that signaling via RANK induces release of factors that favor AML cell survival and confers resistance to chemotherapeutics in AML treatment. Together, our findings identify RANK as novel prognostic marker and putative candidate for therapeutic intervention in AML to enhance response to treatment. Abstract Although treatment options of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have improved over the recent years, prognosis remains poor. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms influencing and predicting treatment efficacy may improve disease control and outcome. Here we studied the expression, prognostic relevance and functional role of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family member Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB (RANK) in AML. We conducted an experimental ex vivo study using leukemic cells of 54 AML patients. Substantial surface expression of RANK was detected on primary AML cells in 35% of the analyzed patients. We further found that RANK signaling induced the release of cytokines acting as growth and survival factors for the leukemic cells and mediated resistance of AML cells to treatment with doxorubicin and cytarabine, the most commonly used cytostatic compounds in AML treatment. In line, RANK expression correlated with a dismal disease course as revealed by reduced overall survival. Together, our results show that RANK plays a yet unrecognized role in AML pathophysiology and resistance to treatment, and identify RANK as “functional” prognostic marker in AML. Therapeutic modulation of RANK holds promise to improve treatment response in AML patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim L. Clar
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Lisa M. Weber
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Bastian J. Schmied
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Jonas S. Heitmann
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Maddalena Marconato
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
| | - Claudia Tandler
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Pascal Schneider
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, 1066 Epalinges, Switzerland;
| | - Helmut R. Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany; (K.L.C.); (L.M.W.); (B.J.S.); (J.S.H.); (M.M.); (C.T.)
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 “Image-Guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)”, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-7071-29-83275
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Gamaleldin MA, Imbaby SAE. The role of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 4 (TNFRSF4) gene expression in diagnosis and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia. Mol Biol Rep 2021; 48:6831-6843. [PMID: 34453673 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-021-06682-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still challenging in predicting the prognosis due to its high heterogeneity. Molecular aberrations and abnormalities play a significant prognostic role in AML patients. Our aim of the study was to investigate the prognostic role of TNFRSF4 gene expression in AML patients and its potential effect on treatment protocols. METHODS Bone marrow mononuclear cells were analyzed for TNFRSF4 expression by real-time quantitative PCR as well as of FLT3/ITD and NPM1 mutations in 80 newly diagnosed AML patients and 80 control subjects. RESULTS TNFRSF4 was significantly overexpressed in the AML patients (p < 0.001). TNFRSF4 expression was associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes including treatment response, relapse free survival, and overall survival. On multivariate testing, TNFRSF4 high expression proved to be an independent prognostic marker for clinical remission and relapse free survival but not overall survival. CONCLUSION TNFRSF4 expression was revealed as an unfavorable prognostic marker and might be a target for immunotherapy in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwa Ahmed Gamaleldin
- Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
| | - Salma Alaa Eldin Imbaby
- Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
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22
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Islam R, Pupovac A, Evtimov V, Boyd N, Shu R, Boyd R, Trounson A. Enhancing a Natural Killer: Modification of NK Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051058. [PMID: 33946954 PMCID: PMC8146003 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells are potent innate immune system effector lymphocytes armed with multiple mechanisms for killing cancer cells. Given the dynamic roles of NK cells in tumor surveillance, they are fast becoming a next-generation tool for adoptive immunotherapy. Many strategies are being employed to increase their number and improve their ability to overcome cancer resistance and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. These include the use of cytokines and synthetic compounds to bolster propagation and killing capacity, targeting immune-function checkpoints, addition of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to provide cancer specificity and genetic ablation of inhibitory molecules. The next generation of NK cell products will ideally be readily available as an “off-the-shelf” product and stem cell derived to enable potentially unlimited supply. However, several considerations regarding NK cell source, genetic modification and scale up first need addressing. Understanding NK cell biology and interaction within specific tumor contexts will help identify necessary NK cell modifications and relevant choice of NK cell source. Further enhancement of manufacturing processes will allow for off-the-shelf NK cell immunotherapies to become key components of multifaceted therapeutic strategies for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasa Islam
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton 3168, Australia
| | - Aleta Pupovac
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
| | - Vera Evtimov
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
| | - Nicholas Boyd
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
| | - Runzhe Shu
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
| | - Richard Boyd
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
| | - Alan Trounson
- Cartherics Pty Ltd., Clayton 3168, Australia; (R.I.); (A.P.); (V.E.); (N.B.); (R.S.); (R.B.)
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton 3168, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Green SE, McCusker MG, Mehra R. Emerging immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of head and neck cancers. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs 2020; 25:501-514. [PMID: 33196319 DOI: 10.1080/14728214.2020.1852215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: The benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have been demonstrated through multiple studies to improve overall survival (OS) with decreased side effects when compared to the standard of care (SOC) treatment regimens in place for decades, leading to the approval of two ICIs, nivolumab and pembrolizumab. There has been a subsequent influx in the development of novel immunotherapy agents for the treatment of HNSCC. Areas covered: Data for anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) antibodies in treatment of R/M HNSCC will be reviewed. Emerging immune checkpoint inhibitors as well as combined therapies in HNSCC will be discussed. The role of predictive biomarkers, HPV-status, PD-L1 expression, and challenges related to treating patients with ICIs will be summarized. Expert opinion: A shift toward ICIs as SOC for the treatment of R/M HNSCC will continue as emerging immune checkpoints and combination therapies are evaluated. Response rates are variable in this patient population underlying the importance of identifying predictive biomarkers to aid in patient selection for ICI treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Green
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center , Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael G McCusker
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center , Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ranee Mehra
- University of Maryland Medical Center, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center , Baltimore, MD, USA
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Taghiloo S, Asgarian-Omran H. Immune evasion mechanisms in acute myeloid leukemia: A focus on immune checkpoint pathways. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2020; 157:103164. [PMID: 33271388 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2020.103164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune surveillance mechanisms comprising of adaptive and innate immune systems are naturally designed to eliminate AML development. However, leukemic cells apply various immune evasion mechanisms to deviate host immune responses resulting tumor progression. One of the recently well-known immune escape mechanisms is over-expression of immune checkpoint receptors and their ligands. Introduction of blocking antibodies targeting co-inhibitory molecules achieved invaluable success in tumor targeted therapy. Moreover, several new co-inhibitory pathways are currently studying for their potential impacts on improving anti-tumor immune responses. Although immunotherapeutic strategies based on the blockade of immune checkpoint molecules have shown promising results in a number of hematological malignances, their effectiveness in AML patients showed less remarkable success. This review discusses current knowledge about the involvement of co-inhibitory signaling pathways in immune evasion mechanisms of AML and potential application of immune checkpoint inhibitors for targeted immunotherapy of this malignancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeid Taghiloo
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Hossein Asgarian-Omran
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Non-Communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Immunogenetics Research Center, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
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Li Y, Chen Y, Miao L, Wang Y, Yu M, Yan X, Zhao Q, Cai H, Xiao Y, Huang G. Stress-induced upregulation of TNFSF4 in cancer-associated fibroblast facilitates chemoresistance of lung adenocarcinoma through inhibiting apoptosis of tumor cells. Cancer Lett 2020; 497:212-220. [PMID: 33132120 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.10.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 10/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Stress conditions induced by routine treatments might affect cancer-associated fibroblasts in lung adenocarcinoma. The present study tried to explore transcriptome changes in lung fibroblasts under chemotherapeutics, irradiation, and hypoxia, which were induced by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and anti-angiogenesis therapy, respectively. We established three in vitro models to mimic the stress conditions for lung fibroblasts. Interestingly, one of the secretory molecules, tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4, also known as OX40L), was significantly up-regulated in lung fibroblasts under stress environments. Lung adenocarcinoma patients received chemotherapy and radiotherapy had a higher expression level of TNFSF4 in serum and tumor tissues. There was a negative correlation between the increase of serum TNFSF4 levels and the shrink of the tumor after chemotherapy. TNFSF4 could promote cisplatin resistance and inhibit the apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Furthermore, TNFSF4 could significantly increase the activity of NF-κB/BCL-XL pathway in lung adenocarcinoma cells, which could be counteracted by knocking down the expression of TNFRSF4 (receptor of TNFSF4). In conclusion, TNFSF4, secreted by cancer-associated fibroblasts under stress conditions, could facilitate chemoresistance of lung adenocarcinoma through inhibiting apoptosis of tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Li
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Ying Chen
- Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210093, China
| | - Liyun Miao
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Yongsheng Wang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Min Yu
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Xin Yan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Qi Zhao
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Hourong Cai
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Yonglong Xiao
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China
| | - Guichun Huang
- Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210093, China.
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He S, Xu J, Wu J. The emerging role of co-stimulatory molecules and their agonistic mAb-based combination therapies in melanoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2020; 89:107097. [PMID: 33091814 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.107097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Although anti-PD-1/L1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, the validated immune checkpoint blockades, can elicit durable long-lasting antitumor immunity and improve the clinical outcomes of melanoma treatment, there are still a fraction of patients who did not receive therapeutic benefits as expected. In addition to findings of blocking the co-inhibitory pathways, the preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that triggering the co-stimulatory pathways through agonists such as CD137, OX40, CD40, GITR and CD27 may be a rational next step for melanoma therapy. In this review, we discuss the progress of studies on these co-stimulatory molecules in terms of their promising therapeutic effects and underlying antitumor mechanisms, and provide a review of the possible combinations that orchestrate the interplay of co-stimulatory agonistic mAbs and other therapies for treating melanoma, including inhibitory immune checkpoint mAbs, adoptive T cell therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We also briefly present the limitations and challenges involved in these co-stimulatory agonistic mAb-based combination strategies for melanoma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan He
- Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, PR China
| | - Jinhua Xu
- Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, PR China
| | - Jinfeng Wu
- Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, PR China.
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Chauhan SKS, Koehl U, Kloess S. Harnessing NK Cell Checkpoint-Modulating Immunotherapies. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E1807. [PMID: 32640575 PMCID: PMC7408278 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12071807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
During the host immune response, the precise balance of the immune system, regulated by immune checkpoint, is required to avoid infection and cancer. These immune checkpoints are the mainstream regulator of the immune response and are crucial for self-tolerance. During the last decade, various new immune checkpoint molecules have been studied, providing an attractive path to evaluate their potential role as targets for effective therapeutic interventions. Checkpoint inhibitors have mainly been explored in T cells until now, but natural killer (NK) cells are a newly emerging target for the determination of checkpoint molecules. Simultaneously, an increasing number of therapeutic dimensions have been explored, including modulatory and inhibitory checkpoint molecules, either causing dysfunction or promoting effector functions. Furthermore, the combination of the immune checkpoint with other NK cell-based therapeutic strategies could also strengthen its efficacy as an antitumor therapy. In this review, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of the literature to date regarding underlying mechanisms of modulatory and inhibitory checkpoint molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ulrike Koehl
- Institute of cellular therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (U.K.); (S.K.)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephan Kloess
- Institute of cellular therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (U.K.); (S.K.)
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Alizadeh M, Safarzadeh A, Hoseini SA, Piryaei R, Mansoori B, Hajiasgharzadeh K, Baghbanzadeh A, Baradaran B. The potentials of immune checkpoints for the treatment of blood malignancies. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2020; 153:103031. [PMID: 32622320 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2020.103031] [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: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoints are the regulators of the immune system, which include stimulatory and inhibitory receptors. They play substantial roles in the maintenance of immune system homeostasis and the prevention of autoimmunity and cancer. In the current review, immune checkpoints roles are surveyed in the initiation, progression, and treatment of blood malignancies. The significant roles of immune checkpoints are discussed as clinical markers in the diagnosis and prognosis of a plethora of blood malignancies and also as potential targets for the treatment of these malignancies. It could be concluded that the regulation of immune checkpoints in various blood cancers can be employed as a novel strategy to obtain effective results in leukemia treatment and introduce immune checkpoint inhibitors as sufficient weapons against blood cancers in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Alizadeh
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ali Safarzadeh
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
| | - Seyed Ali Hoseini
- Department of Genetic, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Reza Piryaei
- Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
| | - Behzad Mansoori
- Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | | | - Amir Baghbanzadeh
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Behzad Baradaran
- Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
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Immune checkpoint inhibition in myeloid malignancies: Moving beyond the PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 pathways. Blood Rev 2020; 45:100709. [PMID: 32487480 DOI: 10.1016/j.blre.2020.100709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have yielded mixed but largely underwhelming results in clinical trials in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes to date. However, increasing understanding of the immunologic landscape, potential biomarkers for benefits, and mechanisms of resistance, as well as the use of rational combinations, and identification of novel targets leaves plenty of room for optimism. Herein, we review recent advances in the preclinical and clinical development of ICI therapy in patients with myeloid malignancies and explore some of the important challenges facing the field such as the absence of validated biomarkers, the development of synergistic and safe combination therapies, and efforts to determine the best setting of ICI along the disease course. We finally foresee the future of the field and propose solutions to some of the major beforementioned obstacles.
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Gu S, Zi J, Han Q, Song C, Ge Z. Elevated TNFRSF4 gene expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in non-M3 acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer Cell Int 2020; 20:146. [PMID: 32390761 PMCID: PMC7197135 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-020-01213-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background We used bioinformatic tools to dichotomize 157 non-M3 AML patients from the TCGA dataset based on the presence or absence of TP53 mutations, and screened out a key gene related to TP53 mutation for future analysis. Methods DEGs were analyzed by R package “DESeq2” and then run GSEA, GO enrichment, KEGG pathway and PPI network. Hub genes were selected out according to MCC. Log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test was used for survival analysis. Mann–Whitney U’s nonparametric t test and Fisher’s exact test was used for continuous and categorical variables respectively. p value< 0.05 was considered to be statistical significance. Results TNFRSF4 was final screened out as a key gene. Besides TP53 mutation (p = 0.0118), high TNFRSF4 was also associated with FLT3 mutation (p = 0.0102) and NPM1 mutation (p = 0.0024). Elevated TNFRSF4 was significantly related with intermediate (p = 0.0004) and poor (p = 0.0011) risk stratification as well as relapse statute (p = 0.0099). Patients with elevated TNFRSF4 expression had significantly shorter overall survival (median survival: 2.35 months vs. 21 months, p < 0.0001). Based on our clinical center data, TNFRSF4 expression was significantly higher in non-M3 AML patients than HDs (p = 0.0377) and MDS patients (EB-1, 2; p = 0.0017). Conclusions Elevated TNFRSF4 expression was associated with TP53, FLT3 and NPM1 mutation as well as poor clinical outcome. TNFRSF4 expression was significantly higher in non-M3 AML patients than HDs and MDS (EB-1, 2) patients. TNFRSF4 is need for future functional and mechanistic studies to investigate the role in non-M3 AML.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Gu
- 1Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009 Jiangsu China
| | - Jie Zi
- 1Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009 Jiangsu China
| | - Qi Han
- 1Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009 Jiangsu China
| | - Chunhua Song
- 2Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University Medical College, Hershey, PA17033 USA
| | - Zheng Ge
- 1Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Institute of Hematology Southeast University, No. 87, Dingjiaqiao, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009 Jiangsu China
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31
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Shang Y, Zhou F. Current Advances in Immunotherapy for Acute Leukemia: An Overview of Antibody, Chimeric Antigen Receptor, Immune Checkpoint, and Natural Killer. Front Oncol 2019; 9:917. [PMID: 31616632 PMCID: PMC6763689 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2019.00917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, due to the application of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and small molecule inhibitor, the survival of acute leukemia is prolonged. However, the 5 year survival rate remains low due to a high incidence of relapse. Immunotherapy is expected to improve the prognosis of patients with relapsed or refractory hematological malignancies because it does not rely on the cytotoxic mechanisms of conventional therapy. In this paper, the advances of immunotherapy in acute leukemia are reviewed from the aspects of Antibody including Unconjugated antibodies, Antibody-drug conjugate and Bispecific antibody, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CARs), Immune checkpoint, Natural killer cells. The immunological features, mechanisms and limitation in clinic will be described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Shang
- Department of Hematology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Fuling Zhou
- Department of Hematology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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Deng J, Zhao S, Zhang X, Jia K, Wang H, Zhou C, He Y. OX40 (CD134) and OX40 ligand, important immune checkpoints in cancer. Onco Targets Ther 2019; 12:7347-7353. [PMID: 31564917 PMCID: PMC6735535 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s214211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has shown promising results in cancer treatment. Research shows that most patients might be resistant to these therapies. So, new immune therapies are needed. OX40 (CD134) and OX40 ligand (OX40L), costimulatory molecules, express on different types of immune cells. The interaction between OX40 and OX40L (OX40/OX40L) induces the expansion and proliferation of T cells and decreases the immunosuppression of regulatory T (Treg) cells to enhance the immune response to the specific antigen. For the important role OX40 takes in the process of immunity, many clinical trials are focusing on OX40 to find out whether it may have active effects in clinical cancer treatment. The results of clinical trials are still not enough. So, we reviewed the OX40 and its ligand (OX40L) function in cancer, clinical trials with OX40/OX40L and the correlation between OX40/OX40L and other immune checkpoints to add more ideas to tumor feasible treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Deng
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.,Medical School, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China
| | - Sha Zhao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.,Medical School, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoshen Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.,Medical School, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China
| | - Keyi Jia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.,Medical School, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China
| | - Hao Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.,Medical School, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China
| | - Caicun Zhou
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China
| | - Yayi He
- Department of Medical Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University Medical School Cancer Institute, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
Immuno-oncology is an emerging field that has revolutionized cancer treatment. Most immunomodulatory strategies focus on enhancing T cell responses, but there has been a recent surge of interest in harnessing the relatively underexplored natural killer (NK) cell compartment for therapeutic interventions. NK cells show cytotoxic activity against diverse tumour cell types, and some of the clinical approaches originally developed to increase T cell cytotoxicity may also activate NK cells. Moreover, increasing numbers of studies have identified novel methods for increasing NK cell antitumour immunity and expanding NK cell populations ex vivo, thereby paving the way for a new generation of anticancer immunotherapies. The role of other innate lymphoid cells (group 1 innate lymphoid cell (ILC1), ILC2 and ILC3 subsets) in tumours is also being actively explored. This Review provides an overview of the field and summarizes current immunotherapeutic approaches for solid tumours and haematological malignancies.
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34
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Kon E, Benhar I. Immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations: Current efforts and important aspects for success. Drug Resist Updat 2019; 45:13-29. [DOI: 10.1016/j.drup.2019.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Schmied BJ, Riegg F, Zekri L, Grosse-Hovest L, Bühring HJ, Jung G, Salih HR. An Fc-Optimized CD133 Antibody for Induction of Natural Killer Cell Reactivity against Colorectal Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11060789. [PMID: 31181683 PMCID: PMC6627285 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11060789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The introduction of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has largely improved treatment options for cancer patients. The ability of antitumor mAbs to elicit antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) contributes to a large extent to their therapeutic efficacy. Many efforts accordingly aim to improve this important function by engineering mAbs with Fc parts that display enhanced affinity to the Fc receptor CD16 expressed, e.g., on natural killer (NK) cells. Here we characterized the CD133 mAb 293C3-SDIE that contains an engineered Fc part modified by the amino acid exchanges S239D/I332E—that reportedly increase the affinity to CD16—with regard to its ability to induce NK reactivity against colorectal cancer (CRC). 293C3-SDIE was found to be a stable protein with favorable binding characteristics achieving saturating binding to CRC cells at concentrations of approximately 1 µg/mL. While not directly affecting CRC cell growth and viability, 293C3-SDIE potently induced NK cell activation, degranulation, secretion of Interferon-γ, as well as ADCC resulting in potent lysis of CRC cell lines. Based on the preclinical characterization presented in this study and the available data indicating that CD133 is broadly expressed in CRC and represents a negative prognostic marker, we conclude that 293C3-SDIE constitutes a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of CRC and thus warrants clinical evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian J Schmied
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 72076 Partner site Tuebingen, Germany.
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 "Image-guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)", 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Fabian Riegg
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 72076 Partner site Tuebingen, Germany.
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 "Image-guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)", 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Latifa Zekri
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 72076 Partner site Tuebingen, Germany.
- Department for Immunology, Eberhard Karls University, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
| | | | - Hans-Jörg Bühring
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Eberhard Karls University, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Gundram Jung
- Department for Immunology, Eberhard Karls University, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
| | - Helmut R Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 72076 Partner site Tuebingen, Germany.
- DFG Cluster of Excellence 2180 "Image-guided and Functional Instructed Tumor Therapy (iFIT)", 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
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Lv YW, Chen Y, Lv HT, Li X, Tang YJ, Qian WG, Xu QQ, Sun L, Qian GH, Ding YY. Kawasaki disease OX40-OX40L axis acts as an upstream regulator of NFAT signaling pathway. Pediatr Res 2019; 85:835-840. [PMID: 30723312 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-019-0312-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 12/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigated a costimulatory molecule OX40-OX40L acting as an upstream regulator to regulate the nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD). METHODS One hundred and one samples were collected and divided into six groups: coronary artery lesion (KD-CAL) before intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), KD-CAL after IVIG, KD without CAL (KD-nCAL) before IVIG, KD-nCAL after IVIG, fever of unknown (Fou), and Healthy. In vitro OX40-stimulating and OX40L-inhibiting tests were conducted in Healthy and KD groups, respectively. Both the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression levels of OX40, OX40L, NFAT1, and NFAT2 were investigated using quantitative reverse transcription PCR and immunoblotting assay, respectively. RESULTS The mRNA and protein expression levels of NFAT1, NFAT2, OX40, and OX40L were significantly increased in KD-CAL and KD-nCAL groups before IVIG compared with Fou and Healthy groups and decreased after IVIG. A positive correlation was found between them in KD. In vitro OX40-stimulating test demonstrated the significantly increased mRNA and protein expression levels of NFAT1 and NFAT2 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the Healthy group. Meanwhile, OX40L-inhibiting test showed significantly decreased expression levels of NFAT1 and NFAT2 in the KD group. CONCLUSION OX40-OX40L acts as an upstream regulator in the NFAT signaling pathway involved in KD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Wen Lv
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Ye Chen
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Hai-Tao Lv
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Xuan Li
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yun-Jia Tang
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Wei-Guo Qian
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Qiu-Qin Xu
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Ling Sun
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Guang-Hui Qian
- Institute of Pediatric Research, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
| | - Yue-Yue Ding
- Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, 215025, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
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Philipp Bewersdorf J, Stahl M, Zeidan AM. Immune checkpoint-based therapy in myeloid malignancies: a promise yet to be fulfilled. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 2019; 19:393-404. [PMID: 30887841 PMCID: PMC6527485 DOI: 10.1080/14737140.2019.1589374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Immune system evasion is essential for tumor cell survival and is mediated by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the activation of inhibitory immune checkpoints. While immune checkpoint-based therapy yielded impressive results in several advanced solid malignancies such as melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, its role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is still evolving. Areas covered: Here we review the immunology in the tumor microenvironment in the bone marrow and discuss the current preclinical and clinical data for immune checkpoint-based therapy in myeloid neoplasms. Expert commentary: Clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in AML and MDS are still in early stages and reported results so far have been modest especially for monotherapy use in the refractory settings. However, there are preliminary data for synergistic effects for combination of multiple ICI with hypomethylating agents and conventional chemotherapy. ICI might also be effective in eradicating minimal residual disease and to prevent relapse following induction chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Additional trials to provide insight into the efficacy and safety profile of immune checkpoint-based therapy, its optimal timing and potential combination with other types of therapy as well as identification of predictive biomarkers are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Philipp Bewersdorf
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Hematology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
| | - Maximilian Stahl
- Department of Medicine, Section of Hematologic Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
| | - Amer M Zeidan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Hematology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
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Kweon S, Phan MTT, Chun S, Yu H, Kim J, Kim S, Lee J, Ali AK, Lee SH, Kim SK, Doh J, Cho D. Expansion of Human NK Cells Using K562 Cells Expressing OX40 Ligand and Short Exposure to IL-21. Front Immunol 2019; 10:879. [PMID: 31105701 PMCID: PMC6491902 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Natural Killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy used to treat cancer requires the adoptive transfer of a large number of activated NK cells. Here, we report a new effective method to expand human NK cells ex vivo using K562 cells genetically engineered (GE) to express OX40 ligand (K562-OX40L) in combination with a short exposure to soluble IL-21. In addition, we describe a possible mechanism of the NK cell expansion through the OX40 receptor-OX40 ligand axis which is dependent on NK cell homotypic interaction. Methods: K562-OX40L cells were generated by lentiviral transduction and were used as feeder cells to expand and activate NK cells from PBMCs in the presence of IL-2/IL-15. Soluble IL-21 was also added in various concentrations only once at the beginning of the culture. NK cells were expanded for 4–5 weeks, and the purity, expansion rate, phenotype and function (cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), cytokine production, CD107a degranulation) of these expanded NK cells were compared to those generated by using K562 feeder cells. Results: The culture of NK cells with K562-OX40L cells in combination with the transient exposure to IL-21 highly enhanced NK cell expansion to approximately 2,000-fold after 4 weeks of culture, compared to a 303-fold expansion using the conventional K562 cells. Mechanistically, the OX40-OX40L axis between the feeder cells and NK cells as well as the homotypic interaction between NK cells through the OX40-OX40L axis were both necessary for NK cell expansion. The short exposure of NK cells to IL-21 had a synergistic effect with OX40 signaling for NK cell expansion. Apart from their enhanced expansion, NK cells grown with K562-OX40L feeder cells were similar to those grown with conventional K562 cells in regard to the surface expression of various receptors, cytotoxicity, ADCC, cytokine secretion, and CD107 degranulation. Conclusion: Our data suggest that OX40 ligand is a potent co-stimulant for the robust expansion of human NK cells and the homotypic NK cell interactions through the OX40-OX40L axis is a mechanism of NK cell expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- SoonHo Kweon
- School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering (I-Bio), POSTECH, Pohang, South Korea
| | | | - Sejong Chun
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chonnam National University, GwangJu, South Korea
| | - HongBi Yu
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jinho Kim
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Seokho Kim
- Immunotherapy Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jaemin Lee
- Immunotherapy Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Alaa Kassim Ali
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Seung-Hwan Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sang-Ki Kim
- Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Companion, Kongju National University, Yesan, South Korea
| | - Junsang Doh
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Duck Cho
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.,Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
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Clar KL, Hinterleitner C, Schneider P, Salih HR, Maurer S. Inhibition of NK Reactivity Against Solid Tumors by Platelet-Derived RANKL. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11030277. [PMID: 30813611 PMCID: PMC6468810 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11030277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
NK cells play an important role in tumor immunosurveillance. Their reactivity is governed by various activating and inhibitory surface receptors, which include several members of the TNF/TNF receptor family. For more than 50 years, it has been recognized that tumor immunosurveillance and in particular NK cell antitumor reactivity is largely influenced by platelets, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Here we report that upon activation, which reportedly occurs following interaction with cancer cells, platelets upregulate the TNF family member RANKL. Comparative analysis of the expression of RANK among different NK cell subsets and RANKL on platelets in cancer patients and healthy volunteers revealed a distinct malignant phenotype, and platelet-derived RANKL was found to inhibit the activity of normal NK cells against cancer cells. Notably, NK cell antitumor reactivity could be partially restored by application of denosumab, a RANKL-neutralizing antibody approved for treatment of benign and malignant osteolysis. Together, our data not only unravel a novel mechanism of tumor immune evasion mediated by platelets, but they also provide a functional explanation for the clinical observation that denosumab, beyond protecting from bone loss, may prolong disease-free survival in patients with solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim L Clar
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tuebingen 72076, Germany.
| | - Clemens Hinterleitner
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen 72076, Germany.
| | - Pascal Schneider
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, Epalinges 1066, Switzerland.
| | - Helmut R Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tuebingen 72076, Germany.
| | - Stefanie Maurer
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tuebingen 72076, Germany.
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Rothfelder K, Hagelstein I, Roerden M, Blumenstock G, Hofmann M, Nuebling T, Jung G, Salih HR, Dörfel D. Expression of the Immune Checkpoint Modulator OX40 in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Is Associated with BCR-ABL Positivity. Neoplasia 2018; 20:1150-1160. [PMID: 30300827 PMCID: PMC6175778 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2018.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OX40 and its ligand are members of the TNF/TNF receptor superfamily, which includes various molecules influencing cellular signaling and function of both tumor and immune cells. The ability of OX40 to promote proliferation and differentiation of activated T cells fueled present attempts to modulate this immune checkpoint to reinforce antitumor immunity. While we recently found evidence for the involvement of OX40 in pathophysiology of acute myeloid leukemia including natural killer (NK) cell immunosurveillance, less is known on its role in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In the present study, OX40 expression on ALL cells was significantly associated with positivity for the adverse risk factor BCR-ABL. In line, signaling via OX40 increased metabolic activity of primary ALL cells and resulted in release of cytokines involved in disease pathophysiology. Furthermore, interaction of ALL-expressed OX40 with its cognate ligand on NK cells stimulated ALL cell lysis. The data presented thus not only identify the yet unknown involvement of OX40/OX40L in ALL pathophysiology and NK cell immunosurveillance but also point to the necessity to thoroughly consider the consequences of modulating the OX40/OX40L molecule system beyond its effects on T cells when developing OX40-targeting approaches for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Rothfelder
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ilona Hagelstein
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tübingen, Germany
| | - Malte Roerden
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Pulmonology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gunnar Blumenstock
- Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Martin Hofmann
- Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tina Nuebling
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gundram Jung
- Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Helmut Rainer Salih
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tübingen, Germany; Department of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Pulmonology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Dörfel
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Partner site Tübingen, Germany; Department of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Immunology, Rheumatology and Pulmonology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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Schürch CM. Therapeutic Antibodies for Myeloid Neoplasms-Current Developments and Future Directions. Front Oncol 2018; 8:152. [PMID: 29868474 PMCID: PMC5968093 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2018.00152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) such as antibody-drug conjugates, ligand-receptor antagonists, immune checkpoint inhibitors and bispecific T cell engagers have shown impressive efficacy in the treatment of multiple human cancers. Numerous therapeutic mAbs that have been developed for myeloid neoplasms, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), are currently investigated in clinical trials. Because AML and MDS originate from malignantly transformed hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells-the so-called leukemic stem cells (LSCs) that are highly resistant to most standard drugs-these malignancies frequently relapse and have a high disease-specific mortality. Therefore, combining standard chemotherapy with antileukemic mAbs that specifically target malignant blasts and particularly LSCs or utilizing mAbs that reinforce antileukemic host immunity holds great promise for improving patient outcomes. This review provides an overview of therapeutic mAbs for AML and MDS. Antibody targets, the molecular mechanisms of action, the efficacy in preclinical leukemia models, and the results of clinical trials are discussed. New developments and future studies of therapeutic mAbs in myeloid neoplasms will advance our understanding of the immunobiology of these diseases and enhance current therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian M. Schürch
- Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
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