Evaluation of the Spatial Diffusion of Methylene Blue Injected in vivo by Bronchoscopy into Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Bronchoscopic intratumoural therapies for non-small cell lung cancer

The past decade has brought remarkable improvements in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with novel therapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, although response rates remain suboptimal. Direct intratumoural injection of therapeutic agents via bronchoscopic approaches poses the unique ability to directly target the tumour microenvironment and offers several theoretical advantages over systemic delivery including decreased toxicity. Increases in understanding of the tumour microenvironment and cancer immunology have identified many potential options for intratumoural therapy, especially combination immunotherapies. Herein, we review advances in the development of novel bronchoscopic treatments for NSCLC over the past decade with a focus on the potential of intratumoural immunotherapy alone or in combination with systemic treatments.

Embryoid body morphology influences diffusive transport of inductive biochemicals: a strategy for stem cell differentiation

Differentiation of human embryonic stem (hES) cells into cells for regenerative medicine is often initiated by embryoid body (EB) formation. EBs may be treated with soluble biochemicals such as cytokines, growth factors and vitamins to induce differentiation. A scanning electron microscopy analysis, conducted over 14 days, revealed time-dependent changes in EB structure which led to the formation of a shell that significantly reduced the diffusive transport of a model molecule (374 Da) by >80%. We found that the shell consists of 1) an extracellular matrix (ECM) comprised of collagen type I; 2) a squamous cellular layer with tight cell-cell adhesions associated with E-cadherin; and 3) a collagen type IV lining indicative of a basement membrane. Disruption of the basement membrane, by either inhibiting its formation with noggin or permeabilizing it with collagenase, resulted in recovery of diffusive transport. Increasing the diffusive transport of retinoic acid (RA) and serum in EBs by a 15-min collagenase digestion on days 4, 5, 6 and 7 promoted neuronal differentiation. Flow cytometry and quantitative RT-PCR analysis of collagenase-treated EBs revealed 68% of cells expressing neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) relative to 28% for untreated EBs. Our results suggest that limitations in diffusive transport of biochemicals need to be considered when formulating EB differentiation strategies.