1
|
Abstract
Gene therapy has started in the late 1980s as novel, clinically applicable therapeutic option. It revolutionized the treatment of genetic diseases with the initial intent to repair or replace defective genes. Gene therapy has been adapted for treatment of malignant diseases to improve the outcome of cancer patients. In fact, cancer gene therapy has rapidly gained great interest and evolved into a research field with highest proportion of research activities in gene therapy. In this context, cancer gene therapy has long entered translation into clinical trials and therefore more than two-thirds of all gene therapy trials worldwide are aiming at the treatment of cancer disease using different therapeutic strategies. During the decades in cancer gene therapy, tremendous knowledge has accumulated. This led to significant improvements in vector design, transgene repertoire, more targeted interventions, use of novel gene therapeutic technologies such as CRISPR/Cas, sleeping beauty vectors, and development of effective cancer immunogene therapies. In this chapter, a brief overview of current key developments in cancer gene therapy is provided to gain insights into the recent directions in research as well as in clinical application of cancer gene therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Kobelt
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Deutsches Krebsforschungzentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jessica Pahle
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Walther
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Deutsches Krebsforschungzentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang Z, Li J, Ou Y, Yang G, Deng K, Wang Q, Wang Z, Wang W, Zhang Q, Wang H, Sun W, Sun P, Yang S. CDK4/6 inhibition blocks cancer metastasis through a USP51-ZEB1-dependent deubiquitination mechanism. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2020; 5:25. [PMID: 32296027 PMCID: PMC7064488 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-020-0118-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor metastasis is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths, yet it remains poorly understood. The transcription factor zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) is involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and plays a pivotal role in tumor metastasis. However, the underlying mechanisms of the posttranslational modification of ZEB1 remain largely unknown. Herein, we demonstrated that specific inhibition of CDK4/6 was able to block tumor metastasis of breast cancer by destabilizing the ZEB1 protein in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we determined that the deubiquitinase USP51 is a bona fide target of CDK4/6. The phosphorylation and activation of USP51 by CDK4/6 is necessary to deubiquitinate and stabilize ZEB1. Moreover, we found a strong positive correlation between the expression of p-RB (an indicator of CDK4/6 activity), p-USP51 and ZEB1 in metastatic human breast cancer samples. Notably, the high expression of p-RB, p-USP51, and ZEB1 was significantly correlated with a poor clinical outcome. Taken together, our results provide evidence that the CDK4/6-USP51-ZEB1 axis plays a key role in breast cancer metastasis and could be a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of advanced human cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Jianjun Li
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Yang Ou
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Guang Yang
- College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Kaiyuan Deng
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Qiong Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Zhaoyang Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Wenhao Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Quansheng Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Organ Transplantation, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, 300192, China
| | - Hang Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Peiqing Sun
- Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA
| | - Shuang Yang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yano S, Takehara K, Zhao M, Tan Y, Han Q, Li S, Bouvet M, Fujiwara T, Hoffman RM. Tumor-specific cell-cycle decoy by Salmonella typhimurium A1-R combined with tumor-selective cell-cycle trap by methioninase overcome tumor intrinsic chemoresistance as visualized by FUCCI imaging. Cell Cycle 2016; 15:1715-23. [PMID: 27152859 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2016.1181240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
We previously reported real-time monitoring of cell cycle dynamics of cancer cells throughout a live tumor intravitally using a fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI). Approximately 90% of cancer cells in the center and 80% of total cells of an established tumor are in G0/G1 phase. Longitudinal real-time FUCCI imaging demonstrated that cytotoxic agents killed only proliferating cancer cells at the surface and, in contrast, and had little effect on the quiescent cancer cells. Resistant quiescent cancer cells restarted cycling after the cessation of chemotherapy. Thus cytotoxic chemotherapy which targets cells in S/G2/M, is mostly ineffective on solid tumors, but causes toxic side effects on tissues with high fractions of cycling cells, such as hair follicles, bone marrow and the intestinal lining. We have termed this phenomenon tumor intrinsic chemoresistance (TIC). We previously demonstrated that tumor-targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R (S. typhimurium A1-R) decoyed quiescent cancer cells in tumors to cycle from G0/G1 to S/G2/M demonstrated by FUCCI imaging. We have also previously shown that when cancer cells were treated with recombinant methioninase (rMETase), the cancer cells were selectively trapped in S/G2, shown by cell sorting as well as by FUCCI. In the present study, we show that sequential treatment of FUCCI-expressing stomach cancer MKN45 in vivo with S. typhimurium A1-R to decoy quiescent cancer cells to cycle, with subsequent rMETase to selectively trap the decoyed cancer cells in S/G2 phase, followed by cisplatinum (CDDP) or paclitaxel (PTX) chemotherapy to kill the decoyed and trapped cancer cells completely prevented or regressed tumor growth. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the praradigm of "decoy, trap and shoot" chemotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuya Yano
- a AntiCancer Inc. , San Diego , CA.,b Department of Surgery , University of California , San Diego , CA.,c Department of Gastroenterological Surgery , Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences , Okayama , Japan
| | - Kiyoto Takehara
- a AntiCancer Inc. , San Diego , CA.,b Department of Surgery , University of California , San Diego , CA.,c Department of Gastroenterological Surgery , Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences , Okayama , Japan
| | | | | | | | | | - Michael Bouvet
- b Department of Surgery , University of California , San Diego , CA
| | - Toshiyoshi Fujiwara
- c Department of Gastroenterological Surgery , Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences , Okayama , Japan
| | - Robert M Hoffman
- a AntiCancer Inc. , San Diego , CA.,b Department of Surgery , University of California , San Diego , CA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Deb M, Sengupta D, Rath SK, Kar S, Parbin S, Shilpi A, Pradhan N, Bhutia SK, Roy S, Patra SK. Clusterin gene is predominantly regulated by histone modifications in human colon cancer and ectopic expression of the nuclear isoform induces cell death. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2015; 1852:1630-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2015.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2014] [Revised: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
5
|
Yano S, Li S, Han Q, Tan Y, Bouvet M, Fujiwara T, Hoffman RM. Selective methioninase-induced trap of cancer cells in S/G2 phase visualized by FUCCI imaging confers chemosensitivity. Oncotarget 2015; 5:8729-36. [PMID: 25238266 PMCID: PMC4226717 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.2369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A major impediment to the response of tumors to chemotherapy is that the large majority of cancer cells within a tumor are quiescent in G0/G1, where cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy. To attempt to solve this problem of quiescent cells in a tumor, cancer cells were treated with recombinant methioninase (rMETase), which selectively traps cancer cells in S/G2. The cell cycle phase of the cancer cells was visualized with the fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI). At the time of rMETase-induced S/G2-phase blockage, identified by the cancer cells' green fluorescence by FUCCI imaging, the cancer cells were administered S/G2-dependent chemotherapy drugs, which interact with DNA or block DNA synthesis such as doxorubicin, cisplatin, or 5-fluorouracil. Treatment of cancer cells with drugs only, without rMETase-induced S/G2 phase blockage, led to the majority of the cancer-cell population being blocked in G0/G1 phase, identified by the cancer cells becoming red fluorescent in the FUCCI system. The G0/G1 blocked cells were resistant to the chemotherapy. In contrast, trapping of cancer cells in S/G2 phase by rMETase treatment followed by FUCCI-imaging-guided chemotherapy was highly effective in killing the cancer cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuya Yano
- AntiCancer, Inc, San Diego, CA. Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA. Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
| | | | | | | | - Michael Bouvet
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA
| | - Toshiyoshi Fujiwara
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
| | - Robert M Hoffman
- AntiCancer, Inc, San Diego, CA. Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, CA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
KONG HENG, LIU CHUNLI, ZHU TING, HUANG ZONGHAI, YANG LIUCHENG, LI QIANG. Effects of an adenoviral vector containing a suicide gene fusion on growth characteristics of breast cancer cells. Mol Med Rep 2014; 10:3227-32. [DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2014.2631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
|
7
|
Sakkas A, Zarogoulidis P, Domvri K, Hohenforst-Schmidt W, Bougiouklis D, Kakolyris S, Zarampoukas T, Kioumis I, Pitsiou G, Huang H, Li Q, Meditskou S, Tsiouda T, Pezirkianidis N, Zarogoulidis K. Safety and efficacy of suicide gene therapy with adenosine deaminase 5-fluorocytosine silmutaneously in in vitro cultures of melanoma and retinal cell lines. J Cancer 2014; 5:368-81. [PMID: 24799955 PMCID: PMC4007525 DOI: 10.7150/jca.9147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2014] [Accepted: 03/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Local treatment as a treatment modality is gaining increased general acceptance over time. Novel drugs and methodologies of local administration are being investigated in an effort to achieve disease local control. Suicide gene therapy is a method that has been investigated as a local treatment with simultaneously distant disease control. In our current experiment we purchased HTB-70 (melanoma cell line, derived from metastatic axillary node) and CRL-2302 (human retinal epithelium) were from ATCC LGC Standards and Ancotil®, 2.5 g/250 ml (1 g/00ml) (5-Flucytosine) MEDA; Pharmaceuticals Ltd. UK. Adenosine Cytosine Deaminase (Ad.CD) was also used in order to convert the pro-drug 5-Flucytosine to the active 5-Fluoracil. Three different concentrations of 5-Flucytosine (5-FC) were administered (0.2ml, 0.8ml and 1.2ml). At indicated time-points (4h, 8h and 24h) cell viability and apoptosis were measured. Our concept was to investigate whether suicide gene therapy with Ad. CD-5-FC could be used with safety and efficiency as a future local treatment for melanoma located in the eye cavity. Indeed, our results indicated that in every 5-FC administration had mild cytotoxicity for the retinal cells, while increased apoptosis was observed for the melanoma cell line.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonios Sakkas
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Paul Zarogoulidis
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Kalliopi Domvri
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Dimitris Bougiouklis
- 3. Gene and Cell Therapy Center, Hematology-BMT Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Stylianos Kakolyris
- 4. Oncology Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Thomas Zarampoukas
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Kioumis
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgia Pitsiou
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Haidong Huang
- 5. Department of Respiratory Diseases, Changhai Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiang Li
- 5. Department of Respiratory Diseases, Changhai Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Soultana Meditskou
- 6. Laboratory of Histology, Embryology and Anthropology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Theodora Tsiouda
- 7. Internal Medicine Department, ``Theiageneio`` Anticancer Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Konstantinos Zarogoulidis
- 1. Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, ``G. Papanikolaou`` General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Mishra RK, Ramasamy K, Ahmad NA, Eshak Z, Majeed ABA. pH dependent poly[2-(methacryloyloxyethyl)trimetylammonium chloride-co-methacrylic acid]hydrogels for enhanced targeted delivery of 5-fluorouracil in colon cancer cells. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE. MATERIALS IN MEDICINE 2014; 25:999-1012. [PMID: 24398912 DOI: 10.1007/s10856-013-5132-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Accepted: 12/23/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Stimuli responsive hydrogels have shown enormous potential as a carrier for targeted drug delivery. In this study we have developed novel pH responsive hydrogels for the delivery of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in order to alleviate its antitumor activity while reducing its toxicity. We used 2-(methacryloyloxyethyl) trimetylammonium chloride a positively charged monomer and methacrylic acid for fabricating the pH responsive hydrogels. The released 5-FU from all except hydrogel (GEL-5) remained biologically active against human colon cancer cell lines [HT29 (IC50 = 110-190 μg ml(-1)) and HCT116 (IC50 = 210-390 μg ml(-1))] but not human skin fibroblast cells [BJ (CRL2522); IC50 ≥ 1000 μg ml(-1)]. This implies that the copolymer hydrogels (1-4) were able to release 5-FU effectively to colon cancer cells but not normal human skin fibroblast cells. This is probably due to the shorter doubling time that results in reduced pH in colon cancer cells when compared to fibroblast cells. These pH sensitive hydrogels showed well defined cell apoptosis in HCT116 cells through series of events such as chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, and formation of apoptotic bodies. No cell killing was observed in the case of blank hydrogels. The results showed the potential of these stimuli responsive polymer hydrogels as a carrier for colon cancer delivery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R K Mishra
- Brain Science Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia,
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Lehouritis P, Springer C, Tangney M. Bacterial-directed enzyme prodrug therapy. J Control Release 2013; 170:120-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2013] [Revised: 05/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
|
10
|
Zarogoulidis P, Darwiche K, Sakkas A, Yarmus L, Huang H, Li Q, Freitag L, Zarogoulidis K, Malecki M. Suicide Gene Therapy for Cancer - Current Strategies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 4. [PMID: 24294541 DOI: 10.4172/2157-7412.1000139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Current cancer treatments may create profound iatrogenic outcomes. The adverse effects of these treatments still remain, as the serious problems that practicing physicians have to cope with in clinical practice. Although, non-specific cytotoxic agents constitute an effective treatment modality against cancer cells, they also tend to kill normal, quickly dividing cells. On the other hand, therapies targeting the genome of the tumors are both under investigation, and some others are already streamlined to clinical practice. Several approaches have been investigated in order to find a treatment targeting the cancer cells, while not affecting the normal cells. Suicide gene therapy is a therapeutic strategy, in which cell suicide inducing transgenes are introduced into cancer cells. The two major suicide gene therapeutic strategies currently pursued are: cytosine deaminase/5-fluorocytosine and the herpes simplex virus/ganciclovir. The novel strategies include silencing gene expression, expression of intracellular antibodies blocking cells' vital pathways, and transgenic expression of caspases and DNases. We analyze various elements of cancer cells' suicide inducing strategies including: targets, vectors, and mechanisms. These strategies have been extensively investigated in various types of cancers, while exploring multiple delivery routes including viruses, non-viral vectors, liposomes, nanoparticles, and stem cells. We discuss various stages of streamlining of the suicide gene therapy into clinical oncology as applied to different types of cancer. Moreover, suicide gene therapy is in the center of attention as a strategy preventing cancer from developing in patients participating in the clinical trials of regenerative medicine. In oncology, these clinical trials are aimed at regenerating, with the aid of stem cells, of the patients' organs damaged by pathologic and/or iatrogenic factors. However, the stem cells carry the risk of neoplasmic transformation. We discuss cell suicide inducing strategies aimed at preventing stem cell-originated cancerogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul Zarogoulidis
- Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, EU ; Department of Interventional Pneumology, Ruhrlandklinik, West German Lung Center, University Hospital, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany, EU
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|