1
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Xu J, Zhang J, Chen W, Ni X. The tumor-associated fibrotic reactions in microenvironment aggravate glioma chemoresistance. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1388700. [PMID: 38863628 PMCID: PMC11165034 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1388700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Malignant gliomas are one of the most common and lethal brain tumors with poor prognosis. Most patients with glioblastoma (GBM) die within 2 years of diagnosis, even after receiving standard treatments including surgery combined with concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Temozolomide (TMZ) is the first-line chemotherapeutic agent for gliomas, but the frequent acquisition of chemoresistance generally leads to its treatment failure. Thus, it's urgent to investigate the strategies for overcoming glioma chemoresistance. Currently, many studies have elucidated that cancer chemoresistance is not only associated with the high expression of drug-resistance genes in glioma cells but also can be induced by the alterations of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Numerous studies have explored the use of antifibrosis drugs to sensitize chemotherapy in solid tumors, and surprisingly, these preclinical and clinical attempts have exhibited promising efficacy in treating certain types of cancer. However, it remains unclear how tumor-associated fibrotic alterations in the glioma microenvironment (GME) mediate chemoresistance. Furthermore, the possible mechanisms behind this phenomenon are yet to be determined. In this review, we have summarized the molecular mechanisms by which tumor-associated fibrotic reactions drive glioma transformation from a chemosensitive to a chemoresistant state. Additionally, we have outlined antitumor drugs with antifibrosis functions, suggesting that antifibrosis strategies may be effective in overcoming glioma chemoresistance through TME normalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Xu
- The Second Clinical Medical School, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ji Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wubing Chen
- Department of Radiology, Wuxi Fifth People’s Hospital, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Xiangrong Ni
- The Second Clinical Medical School, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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2
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Yang XS, Zhu P, Xie RX, Chen PF, Liu H, Cheng XM, Zhu ZQ, Peng XM, Liu HB, Yang QY, Li JQ, Zhang J. Tracking tumor alteration in glioma through serum fibroblast activation protein combined with image. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:1012. [PMID: 37864148 PMCID: PMC10588198 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-11544-4] [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: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Detecting tumor progression of glioma continues to pose a formidable challenge. The role of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in gliomas has been demonstrated to facilitate tumor progression. Glioma-circulating biomarkers have not yet been used in clinical practice. This study seeks to evaluate the feasibility of glioma detection through the utilization of a serum FAP marker. METHODS We adopted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to quantify the relative FAP level of serum autoantibodies in a cohort of 87 gliomas. The correlation between preoperative serum autoantibody relative FAP levels and postoperative pathology, including molecular pathology was investigated. A series of FAP tests were conducted on 33 cases of malignant gliomas in order to ascertain their efficacy in monitoring the progression of the disease in relation to imaging observations. To validate the presence of FAP expression in tumors, immunohistochemistry was conducted on four gliomas employing a FAP-specific antibody. Additionally, the investigation encompassed the correlation between postoperative tumor burden, as assessed through volumetric analysis, and the relative FAP level of serum autoantibodies. RESULTS A considerable proportion of gliomas exhibited a significantly increased level of serum autoantibody relative FAP level. This elevation was closely associated with both histopathology and molecular pathology, and demonstrated longitudinal fluctuations and variations corresponding to the progression of the disease The correlation between the rise in serum autoantibody relative FAP level and tumor progression and/or exacerbation of symptoms was observed. CONCLUSIONS The measurement of serum autoantibody relative FAP level can be used to detect the disease as a valuable biomarker. The combined utilization of its detection alongside MR imaging has the potential to facilitate a more accurate and prompt diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Song Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Peng Zhu
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rong-Xing Xie
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Peng-Fei Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hong Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Man Cheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zheng-Quan Zhu
- Department of neurosurgery, Tumor Hospital Affiliated of Xinjiang Medical University, Xinjiang, China
| | - Xiao-Min Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Bin Liu
- Department of Imaging Diagnosis Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Qun-Ying Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Jun-Qi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
- Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
| | - Ji Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
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3
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Zhao X, Ni S, Song Y, Hu K. Intranasal delivery of Borneol/R8dGR peptide modified PLGA nanoparticles co-loaded with curcumin and cisplatin alleviate hypoxia in pediatric brainstem glioma which improves the synergistic therapy. J Control Release 2023; 362:121-137. [PMID: 37633362 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.08.048] [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: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Cisplatin (cis) is a first-line chemotherapeutic used for the treatment of intractable pediatric brainstem glioma (PBSG). Its therapeutic effect in PBSG is, however, critically challenged by the hypoxic microenvironment of the tumor and the presence of the blood brain barrier (BBB). Herein, we report on the intranasal administration of borneol (Bo)/R8dGR peptide modified PLGA based nanoparticles (NP) co-loaded with curcumin and cisplatin (cur/cis). We observed that borneol modification improved the brain penetration of the nanoparticles by reduction of the expression of ZO-1 and occludin in nasal mucosa, while the R8dGR peptide modification allowed the targeting of the NP through the binding on integrin αvβ3 receptors which are present on PBSG cells. Following intranasal administration, BoR-cur/cis-NP attenuated hypoxia in the PBSG microenvironment and reduced angiogenesis, which prolonged survival of GL261-bearing PBSG mice. Therefore, intranasal administration of BoR-cur/cis-NP, which deeply penetrate PBSG, is an encouraging strategy to attenuate hypoxia which potentiates the efficacy of cisplatin in the treatment of PBSG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Zhao
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, PR China
| | - Shuting Ni
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, PR China
| | - Yangjie Song
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, PR China
| | - Kaili Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, PR China; Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, PR China.
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4
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Chandekar KR, Prashanth A, Vinjamuri S, Kumar R. FAPI PET/CT Imaging-An Updated Review. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2018. [PMID: 37370912 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13122018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite revolutionizing the field of oncological imaging, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) as its workhorse is limited by a lack of specificity and low sensitivity in certain tumor subtypes. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, is expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that form a major component of the tumor stroma. FAP holds the promise to be a pan-cancer target, owing to its selective over-expression in a vast majority of neoplasms, particularly epithelial cancers. Several radiolabeled FAP inhibitors (FAPI) have been developed for molecular imaging and potential theranostic applications. Preliminary data on FAPI PET/CT remains encouraging, with extensive multi-disciplinary clinical research currently underway. This review summarizes the existing literature on FAPI PET/CT imaging with an emphasis on diagnostic applications, comparison with FDG, pitfalls, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunal Ramesh Chandekar
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India
| | - Arun Prashanth
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, MIOT International Hospital, Chennai 600089, India
| | - Sobhan Vinjamuri
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital, Liverpool L7-8YE, UK
| | - Rakesh Kumar
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India
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5
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Wang P, Wang S, Liu F, Ren Y, Guo Q, Zhang Q, Hou X, Yao Y, Zhu H, Yang Z. Preclinical Evaluation of a Fibroblast Activation Protein and a Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Dual-Targeted Probe for Noninvasive Prostate Cancer Imaging. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:1415-1425. [PMID: 36697367 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c01000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a prostate cancer target that plays a crucial role in prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy. Herein, a novel dual-targeted imaging probe, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-PSMA, was prepared by radiolabeling conjugated DOTA-FAPI-PSMA with the short half-life radionuclide gallium-68 (68Ga), which is dedicated to prostate cancer diagnostic imaging. In vitro, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-PSMA had higher affinity for the PSMA and FAP high-expressing cell lines 22Rv1 and U87 MG with IC50 values of 4.73 and 2.10 nM, respectively, than in the corresponding negative expression cell lines PC3 and A549, and significant differences in cell uptake were also observed. In vivo, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-PSMA was rapidly cleared from the body, and the estimated radiation dose was relatively low compared with several other FAPI probes. In 22Rv1 and U87 MG tumor xenografts, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-PSMA rapidly accumulated in tumors after administration, and the best images can be obtained at 1 h postinjection. In conclusion, the dual-targeted probe [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-PSMA was successfully prepared for in vivo prostate cancer PET/CT imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Wang
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Shuailiang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Futao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Ya'nan Ren
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Qian Guo
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - XingGuo Hou
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Yuan Yao
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Hua Zhu
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Zhi Yang
- Guizhou University School of Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou550025, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals (National Medical Products Administration), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing100142, China
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6
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FAP-Specific Signalling Is an Independent Diagnostic Approach in ACC and Not a Surrogate Marker of MRI Sequences. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14174253. [PMID: 36077788 PMCID: PMC9454795 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14174253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) is a new target for positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of epithelial tumours embedded in a fibrous stroma. Adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) have shown elevated tracer uptake in 68Gallium (68Ga)-labelled FAPIs in previous studies. The current gold standard for ACC imaging is contrast-enhanced (ce) MRI, where intertumoural heterogeneity leads to variable appearance on T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) images. In this retrospective analysis, we correlated 68Ga-FAPI PET signalling at three time points with ceT1w and T2w MRI signals to further characterise the significance of 68Ga-FAPI uptake in ACCs. Methods: Clinical PET/CT scans of 12 ACC patients were performed at 10, 60 and 180 min post i.v. administration of 68Ga-labelled-FAPI tracer molecules. 68Ga-PET- and corresponding MRI-scans were co-registered, and 3D volumetric segmentations were performed on ceT1w and T2w lesions of co-registered MRI slides. Signal intensity values of 68Ga-FAPI PET signalling and ceT1w/T2w MRI scans were analysed for their pixelwise correlation in each patient. Pooled estimates of the correlation coefficients were calculated using the Fisher z-transformation. Results: 68Ga-FAPI PET signals showed a very weak positive correlation with ceT1w values (pooled correlation 0.114, 0.147 and 0.162 at 10, 60 and 180 min) and a weak negative correlation with T2w values (pooled correlation −0.148, −0.121 and −0.225 at 10, 60 and 180 min). Individual r-values at 60 min ranged from −0.130 to 0.434 in ceT1w and from −0.466 to 0.637 in T2w MRI scans. Conclusion: There are only slight correlations between the intensity of 68Ga-FAPI PET signals and tumour appearance in ceT1w or T2w MRI scans, which underlines that 68Ga-FAPI PET signalling is not a surrogate marker of MRI sequences but an independent signal.
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7
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Tagirasa R, Yoo E. Role of Serine Proteases at the Tumor-Stroma Interface. Front Immunol 2022; 13:832418. [PMID: 35222418 PMCID: PMC8873516 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.832418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
During tumor development, invasion and metastasis, the intimate interaction between tumor and stroma shapes the tumor microenvironment and dictates the fate of tumor cells. Stromal cells can also influence anti-tumor immunity and response to immunotherapy. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern this complex and dynamic interplay, thus is important for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Proteolytic enzymes that are expressed and secreted by both cancer and stromal cells play important roles in modulating tumor-stromal interaction. Among, several serine proteases such as fibroblast activation protein, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, kallikrein-related peptidases, and granzymes have attracted great attention owing to their elevated expression and dysregulated activity in the tumor microenvironment. This review highlights the role of serine proteases that are mainly derived from stromal cells in tumor progression and associated theranostic applications.
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8
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Desai M, Sharma J, Slusarczyk AL, Chapin AA, Ohlendorf R, Wisniowska A, Sur M, Jasanoff A. Hemodynamic molecular imaging of tumor-associated enzyme activity in the living brain. eLife 2021; 10:e70237. [PMID: 34931988 PMCID: PMC8691830 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular imaging could have great utility for detecting, classifying, and guiding treatment of brain disorders, but existing probes offer limited capability for assessing relevant physiological parameters. Here, we describe a potent approach for noninvasive mapping of cancer-associated enzyme activity using a molecular sensor that acts on the vasculature, providing a diagnostic readout via local changes in hemodynamic image contrast. The sensor is targeted at the fibroblast activation protein (FAP), an extracellular dipeptidase and clinically relevant biomarker of brain tumor biology. Optimal FAP sensor variants were identified by screening a series of prototypes for responsiveness in a cell-based bioassay. The best variant was then applied for quantitative neuroimaging of FAP activity in rats, where it reveals nanomolar-scale FAP expression by xenografted cells. The activated probe also induces robust hemodynamic contrast in nonhuman primate brain. This work thus demonstrates a potentially translatable strategy for ultrasensitive functional imaging of molecular targets in neuromedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitul Desai
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Jitendra Sharma
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Adrian L Slusarczyk
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Ashley A Chapin
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Robert Ohlendorf
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Agata Wisniowska
- Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Alan Jasanoff
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
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9
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Engineered exosome-like nanovesicles suppress tumor growth by reprogramming tumor microenvironment and promoting tumor ferroptosis. Acta Biomater 2021; 135:567-581. [PMID: 34506976 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Tumor vaccines that induce effective and sustained antitumor immunity are highly promising for cancer therapy. However, the antitumor potential of these vaccines is weakened due to the immunosuppressive characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most abundant stromal cells within the TME; they play an important role in tumor growth, metastasis, immunosuppression, and drug resistance. Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) is overexpressed in CAFs in more than 90% of human tumor tissues. Further, FAP+CAFs are an ideal interstitial target for the immunotherapy of solid tumors. Exosomes derived from tumor cells contain many tumor antigens, which can be used as the basis of tumor vaccines that elicit strong antitumor immunity. Almost all exosome-based cancer vaccines have been designed and developed for tumor parenchymal cells. Moreover, the exosome production is very low and the purification is very difficult, limiting their clinical application as tumor vaccines. In this study, we developed FAP gene-engineered tumor cell-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (eNVs-FAP) as a tumor vaccine that can be prepared easily and in large quantities. The eNVs-FAP vaccine inhibited tumor growth by inducing strong and specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) immune responses against tumor cells and FAP+CAFs and reprogramming the immunosuppressive TME in the colon, melanoma, lung, and breast cancer models. Moreover, eNVs-FAP vaccine-activated cellular immune responses could promote tumor ferroptosis by releasing interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) from CTLs and depleting FAP+CAFs. Thus, eNVs-FAP is a candidate tumor vaccine targeting both the tumor parenchyma and the stroma. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Nanovaccines can activate immune cells and promote an antitumor immune response. In this study, we developed the fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) gene-engineered tumor cell-derived exosome-like vesicle vaccines (eNVs-FAP). A large number of eNVs-FAP were obtained by continuously squeezing FAP gene-engineered tumor cells. eNVs-FAP showed excellent antitumor effects in a variety of tumor-bearing mouse models. The mechanistic analysis showed that eNVs-FAP promoted the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), increased the infiltration of effector T cells into target tumor cells and FAP-positive cancer-associated fibroblasts (FAP+CAFs), and reduced the proportion of immunosuppressive cells, including M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and regulatory T cells (Tregs), in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Moreover, the clearance of FAP+CAFs helped enhance interferon-gamma-induced tumor cell ferroptosis.
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10
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Dendl K, Koerber SA, Kratochwil C, Cardinale J, Finck R, Dabir M, Novruzov E, Watabe T, Kramer V, Choyke PL, Haberkorn U, Giesel FL. FAP and FAPI-PET/CT in Malignant and Non-Malignant Diseases: A Perfect Symbiosis? Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:4946. [PMID: 34638433 PMCID: PMC8508433 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13194946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is an atypical type II transmembrane serine protease with both endopeptidase and post-proline dipeptidyl peptidase activity. FAP is overexpressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are found in most epithelial tumors. CAFs have been implicated in promoting tumor cell invasion, angiogenesis and growth and their presence correlates with a poor prognosis. However, FAP can generally be found during the remodeling of the extracellular matrix and therefore can be detected in wound healing and benign diseases. For instance, chronic inflammation, arthritis, fibrosis and ischemic heart tissue after a myocardial infarction are FAP-positive diseases. Therefore, quinoline-based FAP inhibitors (FAPIs) bind with a high affinity not only to tumors but also to a variety of benign pathologic processes. When these inhibitors are radiolabeled with positron emitting radioisotopes, they provide new diagnostic and prognostic tools as well as insights into the role of the microenvironment in a disease. In this respect, they deliver additional information beyond what is afforded by conventional FDG PET scans that typically report on glucose uptake. Thus, FAP ligands are considered to be highly promising novel tracers that offer a new diagnostic and theranostic potential in a variety of diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Dendl
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düsseldorf University Hospital, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.D.); (E.N.)
| | - Stefan A. Koerber
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
- Heidelberg Institute of Radiation Oncology (HIRO), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Clemens Kratochwil
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
| | - Jens Cardinale
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düsseldorf University Hospital, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.D.); (E.N.)
| | - Rebecca Finck
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
| | - Mardjan Dabir
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düsseldorf University Hospital, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.D.); (E.N.)
| | - Emil Novruzov
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düsseldorf University Hospital, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.D.); (E.N.)
| | - Tadashi Watabe
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka 565-0871, Japan;
| | - Vasko Kramer
- Positronpharma SA, Santiago 7500921, Chile;
- Center of Nuclear Medicine, PositronMed, Santiago 7501068, Chile
| | - Peter L. Choyke
- Molecular Imaging Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1088, USA;
| | - Uwe Haberkorn
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg, German Center for Lung Research DZL, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frederik L. Giesel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (C.K.); (J.C.); (R.F.); (U.H.); (F.L.G.)
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düsseldorf University Hospital, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.D.); (E.N.)
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11
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Xin L, Gao J, Zheng Z, Chen Y, Lv S, Zhao Z, Yu C, Yang X, Zhang R. Fibroblast Activation Protein-α as a Target in the Bench-to-Bedside Diagnosis and Treatment of Tumors: A Narrative Review. Front Oncol 2021; 11:648187. [PMID: 34490078 PMCID: PMC8416977 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.648187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) is a type II integral serine protease that is specifically expressed by activated fibroblasts. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor stroma have an abundant and stable expression of FAP, which plays an important role in promoting tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and immunosuppression. For example, in females with a high incidence of breast cancer, CAFs account for 50–70% of the cells in the tumor’s microenvironment. CAF overexpression of FAP promotes tumor development and metastasis by influencing extracellular matrix remodeling, intracellular signaling, angiogenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and immunosuppression. This review discusses the basic biological characteristics of FAP and its applications in the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. We review the emerging basic and clinical research data regarding the use of nanomaterials that target FAP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xin
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jinfang Gao
- Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Taiyuan, China
| | - Ziliang Zheng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Yiyou Chen
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Shuxin Lv
- Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Taiyuan, China
| | - Zhikai Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Chunhai Yu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xiaotang Yang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Ruiping Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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12
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Elboga U, Sahin E, Kus T, Cayirli YB, Aktas G, Uzun E, Cinkir HY, Teker F, Sever ON, Aytekin A, Yilmaz L, Aytekin A, Cimen U, Mumcu V, Kilbas B, Çelen YZ. Superiority of 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT scan in detecting additional lesions compared to 18FDG PET/CT scan in breast cancer. Ann Nucl Med 2021; 35:1321-1331. [PMID: 34436740 DOI: 10.1007/s12149-021-01672-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE We compared the ability of 68Ga-FAPI PET//CT with 18FDG PET/CT imaging techniques to detect additional lesions in breast cancer patients that may affect further chemotherapy options. METHODS A total of 48 patients with breast cancer underwent concurrent 68Ga-FAPI-04 and 18FDG PET/CT regardless of whether they had received chemotherapy or not in the last month before imaging. Both modalities were compared according to various parameters: clinical/pathological features, number of lesions detected, activity uptake (SUVmax), and the effect on the evaluation of response to treatment in the post-chemotherapy group. RESULTS This retrospective study included 48 patients with breast cancer (mean age 53.3 ± 11.7 years; IDC 89.6%; ILC 10.4%). In the comparison of both modalities, no statistical significance was obtained in terms of the pathological characteristics of the patients. More lesions were demonstrated in all categorized regions in 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT imaging with higher uptake values compared to 18FDG PET/CT in this study. In the treatment response evaluation of the post-chemotherapy group, 12 cases (12/24) who were evaluated as PMR, CMR, or SD according to 18FDG PET/CT results were later accepted as PD due to newly detected lesions in complementary 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT imaging and treatment of patients was managed accordingly by clinicians. CONCLUSION It was determined that 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT was superior to 18FDG PET/CT in terms of accuracy and it was thought that 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT could be utilized as an additional complementary imaging to 18FDG PET/CT. Moreover, 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT, with its significant theranostic potential, could become a key element in predicting the pathological response of breast cancer patients in further researches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umut Elboga
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey.
| | - Ertan Sahin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Tulay Kus
- Department of Oncology, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Yusuf Burak Cayirli
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Gokmen Aktas
- Department of Oncology, Medical Park Private Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Evren Uzun
- Department of Pathology, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | | | - Fatih Teker
- Department of Oncology, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | | | - Alper Aytekin
- Department of General Surgery, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Latif Yilmaz
- Department of General Surgery, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Aydin Aytekin
- Department of Oncology, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Ufuk Cimen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Vuslat Mumcu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Benan Kilbas
- Department of Chemistry, Moltek Inc., İstanbul, Turkey
| | - Y Zeki Çelen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gaziantep University, 27310, Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey
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13
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Balaziova E, Vymola P, Hrabal P, Mateu R, Zubal M, Tomas R, Netuka D, Kramar F, Zemanova Z, Svobodova K, Brabec M, Sedo A, Busek P. Fibroblast Activation Protein Expressing Mesenchymal Cells Promote Glioblastoma Angiogenesis. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13133304. [PMID: 34282761 PMCID: PMC8267680 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13133304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The perivascular niche in glioblastoma is crucial for maintaining a tumour- permissive microenvironment. In various extracranial cancers, mesenchymal cells that express fibroblast activation protein (FAP) are an important stromal component and a potential therapeutic target. In this study, we examine their functions in the glioblastoma microenvironment where their role is so far largely unexplored. Glioblastoma-associated FAP+ mesenchymal cells are localised around activated endothelial cells and their presence positively correlates with vascular density. They represent a subpopulation of stromal, non-tumorigenic cells which mostly lack the chromosomal aberrations characteristic of glioma cells. By soluble factors they induce angiogenic sprouting, chemotaxis of endothelial cells, contribute to destabilisation of blood vessels, and increase the migration and growth of glioma cells. Taken together, we identified a subpopulation of FAP+ mesenchymal cells in the perivascular niche in glioblastoma that may contribute to tumour progression by promoting angiogenesis and supporting dissemination of transformed cells into the surrounding tissue. Abstract Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a membrane-bound protease that is upregulated in a wide range of tumours and viewed as a marker of tumour-promoting stroma. Previously, we demonstrated increased FAP expression in glioblastomas and described its localisation in cancer and stromal cells. In this study, we show that FAP+ stromal cells are mostly localised in the vicinity of activated CD105+ endothelial cells and their quantity positively correlates with glioblastoma vascularisation. FAP+ mesenchymal cells derived from human glioblastomas are non-tumorigenic and mostly lack the cytogenetic aberrations characteristic of glioblastomas. Conditioned media from these cells induce angiogenic sprouting and chemotaxis of endothelial cells and promote migration and growth of glioma cells. In a chorioallantoic membrane assay, co-application of FAP+ mesenchymal cells with glioma cells was associated with enhanced abnormal angiogenesis, as evidenced by an increased number of erythrocytes in vessel-like structures and higher occurrence of haemorrhages. FAP+ mesenchymal cells express proangiogenic factors, but in comparison to normal pericytes exhibit decreased levels of antiangiogenic molecules and an increased Angiopoietin 2/1 ratio. Our results show that FAP+ mesenchymal cells promote angiogenesis and glioma cell migration and growth by paracrine communication and in this manner, they may thus contribute to glioblastoma progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Balaziova
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
| | - Petr Vymola
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
| | - Petr Hrabal
- Department of Pathology, Military University Hospital, 169 02 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Rosana Mateu
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
| | - Michal Zubal
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
| | - Robert Tomas
- Departments of Neurosurgery, Na Homolce Hospital, 150 00 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - David Netuka
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Military University Hospital, 168 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (D.N.); (F.K.)
| | - Filip Kramar
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Military University Hospital, 168 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (D.N.); (F.K.)
| | - Zuzana Zemanova
- Center of Oncocytogenomics, Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, General University Hospital and First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.Z.); (K.S.)
| | - Karla Svobodova
- Center of Oncocytogenomics, Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, General University Hospital and First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.Z.); (K.S.)
| | - Marek Brabec
- Institute of Computer Science, The Czech Academy of Sciences, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Aleksi Sedo
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
- Correspondence: (A.S.); (P.B.)
| | - Petr Busek
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (P.V.); (R.M.); (M.Z.)
- Correspondence: (A.S.); (P.B.)
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Wang S, Zhou X, Xu X, Ding J, Liu S, Hou X, Li N, Zhu H, Yang Z. Clinical translational evaluation of Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI for fibroblast activation protein-targeted tumour imaging. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2021; 48:4259-4271. [PMID: 34165601 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-021-05470-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In this study, a novel aluminium-[18F]fluoride (Al18F)-labelled 1,4,7‑triazacyclononane-N,N',N″-triacetic acid (NOTA)-conjugated fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) probe, named Al18F-NOTA-FAPI, was developed for fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeted tumour imaging; it could deliver hundreds of millicuries of radioactivity using automated synthesis. The tumour detection efficacy of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was further validated in both preclinical and clinical translational studies. METHODS The radiolabelling procedure of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was optimized. Cell uptake and competitive binding assays were completed with the U87MG and A549 cell lines to evaluate the affinity and specificity of the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe. The biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, radiation dosimetry and tumour imaging efficacy of the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe were researched in healthy Kunming (KM) and/or U87MG model mice. After the approval of the ethical committee, the Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe was translated into the clinic for PET/CT imaging of the first 10 cancer patients. RESULTS The radiolabelling yield of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was 33.8 ± 3.2% using manual synthesis (n = 10), with a radiochemical purity over 99% and the specific activity of 9.3-55.5 MBq/nmol. The whole body effective dose of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI was estimated to be 1.24E - 02 mSv/MBq, which was lower than several other FAPI probes (68Ga-FAPI-04, 68Ga-FAPI-46 and 68Ga-FAPI-74). In U87MG tumour-bearing mice, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI showed good tumour detection efficacy based on the results of micro PET/CT imaging and biodistribution studies. In an organ biodistribution study of patients, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI showed a lower SUVmean than 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-[18F]FDG) in most organs, especially in the liver (1.1 ± 0.2 vs. 2.0 ± 0.9), brain (0.1 ± 0.0 vs. 5.9 ± 1.3), and bone marrow (0.9 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ± 0.4). Meanwhile, Al18F-NOTA-FAPI did not show extensive bone uptake, and was able to detect more lesions than 2-[18F]FDG in the PET/CT imaging of several patients. CONCLUSION The Al18F-NOTA-FAPI probe was successfully fabricated and applied in fibroblast activation protein-targeted tumour PET/CT imaging, which showed excellent imaging quality and tumour detection efficacy in U87MG tumour-bearing mice as well as in cancer patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000038080. Registered 09 September 2020. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=61192.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuailiang Wang
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China.,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoxia Xu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Ding
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Song Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Xingguo Hou
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Li
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhi Yang
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China. .,Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education/Beijing, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fu-Cheng Rd., 100142, Beijing, China.
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15
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Oncogenesis, Microenvironment Modulation and Clinical Potentiality of FAP in Glioblastoma: Lessons Learned from Other Solid Tumors. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051142. [PMID: 34068501 PMCID: PMC8151573 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Currently, glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant tumor of the central nervous system in adults. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a member of the dipeptidyl peptidase family, which has catalytic activity and is engaged in protein recruitment and scaffolds. Recent studies have found that FAP expression in different types of cells within the GBM microenvironment is typically upregulated compared with that in lower grade glioma and is most pronounced in the mesenchymal subtype of GBM. As a marker of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) with tumorigenic activity, FAP has been proven to promote tumor growth and invasion via hydrolysis of molecules such as brevican in the extracellular matrix and targeting of downstream pathways and substrates, such as fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). In addition, based on its ability to suppress antitumor immunity in GBM and induce temozolomide resistance, FAP may be a potential target for immunotherapy and reversing temozolomide resistance; however, current studies on therapies targeting FAP are still limited. In this review, we summarized recent progress in FAP expression profiling and the understanding of the biological function of FAP in GBM and raised the possibility of FAP as an imaging biomarker and therapeutic target.
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16
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Abstract
Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) is a type-II transmembrane serine protease expressed almost exclusively to pathological conditions including fibrosis, arthritis, and cancer. Across most cancer types, elevated FAP is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Despite the clear association between FAP and disease severity, the biological reasons underlying these clinical observations remain unclear. Here we review basic FAP biology and FAP's role in non-oncologic and oncologic disease. We further explore how FAP may worsen clinical outcomes via its effects on extracellular matrix remodeling, intracellular signaling regulation, angiogenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and immunosuppression. Lastly, we discuss the potential to exploit FAP biology to improve clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison A Fitzgerald
- Department of Oncology, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3870 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Louis M Weiner
- Department of Oncology, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3870 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
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17
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Li M, Li G, Kiyokawa J, Tirmizi Z, Richardson LG, Ning J, Das S, Martuza RL, Stemmer-Rachamimov A, Rabkin SD, Wakimoto H. Characterization and oncolytic virus targeting of FAP-expressing tumor-associated pericytes in glioblastoma. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2020; 8:221. [PMID: 33308315 PMCID: PMC7730751 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-020-01096-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are activated fibroblasts constituting the major stromal components in many types of cancer. CAFs contribute to hallmarks of cancer such as proliferation, invasion and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and are associated with poor prognosis of patients with cancer. However, in glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor, our knowledge about CAFs or CAF-like stromal cells is limited. Here, using commonly accepted CAF markers, we characterized CAF-like cell populations in clinical glioma specimens and datasets along with mouse models of GBM. We found that tumor-associated pericytes marked by co-expression of fibroblast activation protein α (FAP) and PDGFRβ represent major stromal cell subsets in both human GBM and mouse GBM models, while a fraction of mesenchymal neoplastic cells also express FAP in patient tumors. Since oncolytic viruses can kill cancer cells and simultaneously modulate the tumor microenvironment by impacting non-neoplastic populations such as immune cells and tumor vasculature, we further investigated the ability of oncolytic viruses to target GBM-associated stromal cells. An oncolytic adenovirus, ICOVIR15, carrying ∆24-E1A and an RGD-fiber, infects and depletes FAP+ pericytes as well as GBM cells in murine GBM. Our study thus identifies FAP+/PDGFRβ+ pericytes as a major CAF-like stromal cell population in GBM, and highlights the unique property of this oncolytic adenovirus to target both GBM cells and GBM-associated stromal FAP+ cells.
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18
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Shankar A, Bomanji J, Hyare H. Hybrid PET-MRI Imaging in Paediatric and TYA Brain Tumours: Clinical Applications and Challenges. J Pers Med 2020; 10:jpm10040218. [PMID: 33182433 PMCID: PMC7711629 DOI: 10.3390/jpm10040218] [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: 09/19/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains the gold standard for brain tumour imaging in paediatric and teenage and young adult (TYA) patients. Combining positron emission tomography (PET) with MRI offers an opportunity to improve diagnostic accuracy. (2) Method: Our single-centre experience of 18F-fluorocholine (FCho) and 18fluoro-L-phenylalanine (FDOPA) PET–MRI in paediatric/TYA neuro-oncology patients is presented. (3) Results: Hybrid PET–MRI shows promise in the evaluation of gliomas and germ cell tumours in (i) assessing early treatment response and (ii) discriminating tumour from treatment-related changes. (4) Conclusions: Combined PET–MRI shows promise for improved diagnostic and therapeutic assessment in paediatric and TYA brain tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ananth Shankar
- Children and Young People’s Cancer Services, University College London hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2PG, UK
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +44-20-3447-9950
| | - Jamshed Bomanji
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University College London hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2PG, UK;
| | - Harpreet Hyare
- Department of Radiology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London NW1 2PG, UK;
- Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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19
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Ebert LM, Yu W, Gargett T, Toubia J, Kollis PM, Tea MN, Ebert BW, Bardy C, van den Hurk M, Bonder CS, Manavis J, Ensbey KS, Oksdath Mansilla M, Scheer KG, Perrin SL, Ormsby RJ, Poonnoose S, Koszyca B, Pitson SM, Day BW, Gomez GA, Brown MP. Endothelial, pericyte and tumor cell expression in glioblastoma identifies fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as an excellent target for immunotherapy. Clin Transl Immunology 2020; 9:e1191. [PMID: 33082953 PMCID: PMC7557106 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Targeted immunotherapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells are emerging as attractive treatment options for glioblastoma, but rely on identification of a suitable tumor antigen. We validated a new target antigen for glioblastoma, fibroblast activation protein (FAP), by undertaking a detailed expression study of human samples. Methods Glioblastoma and normal tissues were assessed using immunostaining, supported by analyses of published transcriptomic datasets. Short-term cultures of glioma neural stem (GNS) cells were compared to cultures of healthy astrocytes and neurons using flow cytometry. Glioblastoma tissues were dissociated and analysed by high-parameter flow cytometry and single-cell transcriptomics (scRNAseq). Results Compared to normal brain, FAP was overexpressed at the gene and protein level in a large percentage of glioblastoma tissues, with highest levels of expression associated with poorer prognosis. FAP was also overexpressed in several paediatric brain cancers. FAP was commonly expressed by cultured GNS cells but absent from normal neurons and astrocytes. Within glioblastoma tissues, the strongest expression of FAP was around blood vessels. In fact, almost every tumor vessel was highlighted by FAP expression, whereas normal tissue vessels and cultured endothelial cells (ECs) lacked expression. Single-cell analyses of dissociated tumors facilitated a detailed characterisation of the main cellular components of the glioblastoma microenvironment and revealed that vessel-localised FAP is because of expression on both ECs and pericytes. Conclusion Fibroblast activation protein is expressed by multiple cell types within glioblastoma, highlighting it as an ideal immunotherapy antigen to target destruction of both tumor cells and their supporting vascular network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M Ebert
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Wenbo Yu
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Tessa Gargett
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - John Toubia
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Paris M Kollis
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Melinda N Tea
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Brenton W Ebert
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Cedric Bardy
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Adelaide Australia.,College of Medicine & Public Health Flinders University Adelaide Australia
| | - Mark van den Hurk
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Adelaide Australia.,College of Medicine & Public Health Flinders University Adelaide Australia
| | - Claudine S Bonder
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Jim Manavis
- Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Kathleen S Ensbey
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology Sid Faithfull Brain Cancer Laboratory QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Brisbane QLD Australia
| | | | - Kaitlin G Scheer
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Clinical and Health Sciences University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Sally L Perrin
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Clinical and Health Sciences University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Rebecca J Ormsby
- College of Medicine & Public Health Flinders University Adelaide Australia
| | - Santosh Poonnoose
- College of Medicine & Public Health Flinders University Adelaide Australia.,Department of Neurosurgery Flinders Medical Centre Bedford Park Australia
| | - Barbara Koszyca
- Department of Anatomical Pathology SA Pathology Adelaide Australia
| | - Stuart M Pitson
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia
| | - Bryan W Day
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology Sid Faithfull Brain Cancer Laboratory QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Brisbane QLD Australia.,Faculty of Health Queensland University of Technology Brisbane QLD Australia.,Faculty of Medicine The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Guillermo A Gomez
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia
| | - Michael P Brown
- Centre for Cancer Biology SA Pathology and University of South Australia Adelaide Australia.,Adelaide Medical School University of Adelaide Adelaide Australia.,Cancer Clinical Trials Unit Royal Adelaide Hospital Adelaide Australia
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Pandya DN, Sinha A, Yuan H, Mutkus L, Stumpf K, Marini FC, Wadas TJ. Imaging of Fibroblast Activation Protein Alpha Expression in a Preclinical Mouse Model of Glioma Using Positron Emission Tomography. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25163672. [PMID: 32806623 PMCID: PMC7464128 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25163672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive glioma of the primary central nervous system. Due to the lack of effective treatment options, the prognosis for patients remains bleak. Fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP), a 170 kDa type II transmembrane serine protease was observed to be expressed on glioma cells and within the glioma tumor microenvironment. To understand the utility of targeting FAP in this tumor type, the immuno-PET radiopharmaceutical [89Zr]Zr-Df-Bz-F19 mAb was prepared and Lindmo analysis was used for its in vitro evaluation using the U87MG cell line, which expresses FAP endogenously. Lindmo analysis revealed an association constant (Ka) of 10-8 M-1 and an immunoreactivity of 52%. Biodistribution studies in U87MG tumor-bearing mice revealed increasing radiotracer retention in tumors over time, leading to average tumor-to-muscle ratios of 3.1, 7.3, 7.2, and 8.3 at 2, 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Small animal PET corroborated the biodistribution studies; tumor-to-muscle ratios at 2, 24, 48, and 72 h were 2.0, 5.0, 6.1 and 7.8, respectively. Autoradiography demonstrated accumulated activity throughout the interior of FAP+ tumors, while sequential tumor sections stained positively for FAP expression. Conversely, FAP- tissues retained minimal radioactivity and were negative for FAP expression by immunohistochemistry. These results demonstrate FAP as a promising biomarker that may be exploited to diagnose and potentially treat GBM and other neuroepithelial cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darpan N. Pandya
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (D.N.P.); (A.S.)
| | - Akesh Sinha
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (D.N.P.); (A.S.)
| | - Hong Yuan
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Lysette Mutkus
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA; (L.M.); (K.S.); (F.C.M.)
| | - Kristina Stumpf
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA; (L.M.); (K.S.); (F.C.M.)
| | - Frank C. Marini
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA; (L.M.); (K.S.); (F.C.M.)
| | - Thaddeus J. Wadas
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; (D.N.P.); (A.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-319-335-5009
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Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) specific PET for advanced target volume delineation in glioblastoma. Radiother Oncol 2020; 150:159-163. [PMID: 32598977 DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2020.06.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP)-specific Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has shown promising results in various cancers. This pilot study compares FAP-specific PET to MRI for treatment planning in 13 Glioblastoma patients. The resulting incongruent volumes could provide additional information for radiotherapy or biopsy planning.
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FAP-specific PET signaling shows a moderately positive correlation with relative CBV and no correlation with ADC in 13 IDH wildtype glioblastomas. Eur J Radiol 2020; 127:109021. [PMID: 32344293 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.109021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) is a new approach for glioblastoma imaging. In a recent pilot study glioblastomas showed elevated tracer uptake with high intratumoral heterogeneity in projection on the corresponding T2w/FLAIR and contrast enhanced MRI lesions. In this study, we correlated FAP-specific signaling with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) signals in MRI to further characterize the significance of FAP uptake. METHODS Clinical PET/CT scans of 13 glioblastoma patients were performed post i. v. administration of 68Ga-labelled-FAP-specific tracer molecules. PET- and corresponding MRI-scans were co-registrated. 3d volumetric segmentations were performed of T2w/FLAIR lesions and contrast enhancing lesions within co-registrated MRI slides. Signal intensity values of FAP-specific PET signaling, ADC and rCBV were analyzed for their pixel wise correlation in each patient. Pooled estimates of the correlation coefficients were calculated by using the Fisher z-transformation. RESULTS FAP-specific PET signals showed a moderately positive correlation with rCBV values which is more pronounced within the T2w/FLAIR lesion (pooled correlation 0,229) than in the contrast enhancing tumor region (pooled correlation 0.09). FAP-specific PET signals showed no correlation with ADC values. CONCLUSIONS The moderately positive correlation of FAP-specific signals with rCBV values in MRI indicates that FAP-signaling is not independent from perfusion, but also does not only reflect intratumoral perfusion differences. The missing correlation of FAP-specific signals with ADC indicates that FAP-specific imaging does not reflect cell density, but the spot-like expression of FAP in glioblastomas. The clinical value of FAP-specific imaging needs further investigation.
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An Y, Liu F, Chen Y, Yang Q. Crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and immune cells in cancer. J Cell Mol Med 2019; 24:13-24. [PMID: 31642585 PMCID: PMC6933413 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.14745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple studies have shown that cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in tumour progression, including carcinogenesis, invasion, metastasis and the chemoresistance of cancer cells. Immune cells, including macrophages, natural killer cells, dendritic cells and T cells, play a dual role in the tumour microenvironment. Although increasing research has focused on studying interactions between distinct cells in the tumour microenvironment, the complex relationships between CAFs and immune cells remain unclear and need further study. Here, we summarize our current understanding of crosstalk between CAFs and immune cells, which may help clarify their diagnostic and therapeutic value in tumour progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan An
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China
| | - Fengtian Liu
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China
| | - Ying Chen
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China
| | - Qing Yang
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China
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Röhrich M, Loktev A, Wefers AK, Altmann A, Paech D, Adeberg S, Windisch P, Hielscher T, Flechsig P, Floca R, Leitz D, Schuster JP, Huber PE, Debus J, von Deimling A, Lindner T, Haberkorn U. IDH-wildtype glioblastomas and grade III/IV IDH-mutant gliomas show elevated tracer uptake in fibroblast activation protein-specific PET/CT. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2019; 46:2569-2580. [PMID: 31388723 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-019-04444-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Targeting fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a new diagnostic approach allowing the visualization of tumor stroma. Here, we applied FAP-specific PET imaging to gliomas. We analyzed the target affinity and specificity of two FAP ligands (FAPI-02 and FAPI-04) in vitro, and the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution in mice in vivo. Clinically, we used 68Ga-labeled FAPI-02/04 for PET imaging in 18 glioma patients (five IDH-mutant gliomas, 13 IDH-wildtype glioblastomas). METHODS For binding studies with 177Lu-radiolabeled FAPI-02/04, we used the glioblastoma cell line U87MG, FAP-transfected fibrosarcoma cells, and CD26-transfected human embryonic kidney cells. For pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies, U87MG-xenografted mice were injected with 68Ga-labeled compounds followed by small-animal PET imaging and 177Lu-labeled FAPI-02/04, respectively. Clinical PET/CT scans were performed 30 min post intravenous administration of 68Ga-FAPI-02/04. PET and MRI scans were co-registrated. Immunohistochemistry was done on 14 gliomas using a FAP-specific antibody. RESULTS FAPI-02 and FAPI-04 showed high binding specificity to FAP. FAPI-04 demonstrated higher tumor accumulation and delayed elimination compared with FAPI-02 in preclinical studies. IDH-wildtype glioblastomas and grade III/IV, but not grade II, IDH-mutant gliomas showed elevated tracer uptake. In glioblastomas, we observed spots with increased uptake in projection on contrast-enhancing areas. Immunohistochemistry showed FAP-positive cells with mainly elongated cell bodies and perivascular FAP-positive cells in glioblastomas and an anaplastic IDH-mutant astrocytoma. CONCLUSIONS Using FAP-specific PET imaging, increased tracer uptake in IDH-wildtype glioblastomas and high-grade IDH-mutant astrocytomas, but not in diffuse astrocytomas, may allow non-invasive distinction between low-grade IDH-mutant and high-grade gliomas. Therefore, FAP-specific imaging in gliomas may be useful for follow-up studies although further clinical evaluation is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Röhrich
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Anastasia Loktev
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Annika K Wefers
- Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology, German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Annette Altmann
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniel Paech
- Division of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Adeberg
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paul Windisch
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Hielscher
- Department of Biostatistics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paul Flechsig
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ralf Floca
- Division of Medical Image Computing, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dominik Leitz
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Julius P Schuster
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Radiooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter E Huber
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Radiooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Debus
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andreas von Deimling
- Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuropathology, German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Lindner
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Uwe Haberkorn
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
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Lindner T, Loktev A, Giesel F, Kratochwil C, Altmann A, Haberkorn U. Targeting of activated fibroblasts for imaging and therapy. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem 2019; 4:16. [PMID: 31659499 PMCID: PMC6658625 DOI: 10.1186/s41181-019-0069-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumors form a complex environment consisting of a variety of non-malignant cells. Especially cancer-associated fibroblasts have been shown to have an important role for different aspects of malignant tumors such as migration, metastasis, resistance to chemotherapy and immunosuppression. Therefore, a targeting of these cells may be useful for both imaging and therapy. In this respect, an interesting target is the fibroblast activation protein (FAP) which is expressed in activated fibroblasts, but not in quiescent fibroblasts, giving the opportunity to use this membrane-anchored enzyme as a target for radionuclide-based approaches for diagnosis and treatment of tumors and for the diagnosis of non-malignant disease associated with a remodelling of the extracellular matrix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Lindner
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anastasia Loktev
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frederik Giesel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Clemens Kratochwil
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Annette Altmann
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Uwe Haberkorn
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
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Geng F, Guo J, Guo QQ, Xie Y, Dong L, Zhou Y, Liu CL, Yu B, Wu H, Wu JX, Zhang HH, Kong W, Yu XH. A DNA vaccine expressing an optimized secreted FAPα induces enhanced anti-tumor activity by altering the tumor microenvironment in a murine model of breast cancer. Vaccine 2019; 37:4382-4391. [PMID: 31202521 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), major components of the tumor microenvironment (TME), promote tumor growth and metastasis and inhibit the anti-tumor immune response. We previously constructed a DNA vaccine expressing human FAPα, which is highly expressed by CAFs, to target these cells in the TME, and observed limited anti-tumor effects in the 4T1 breast cancer model. When the treatment time was delayed until tumor nodes formed, the anti-tumor effect of the vaccine completely disappeared. In this study, to improve the safety and efficacy, we constructed a new FAPα-targeted vaccine containing only the extracellular domain of human FAPα with a tissue plasminogen activator signal sequence for enhanced antigen secretion and immunogenicity. The number of CAFs was more effectively reduced by CD8+ T cells induced by the new vaccine. This resulted in decreases in CCL2 and CXCL12 expression, leading to a significant decrease in the ratio of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the TME. Moreover, when mice were treated after the establishment of tumors, the vaccine could still delay tumor growth. To facilitate the future application of the vaccine in clinical trials, we further optimized the gene codons and reduced the homology between the vaccine and the original sequence, which may be convenient for evaluating the vaccine distribution in the human body. These results indicated that the new FAPα-targeted vaccine expressing an optimized secreted human FAPα induced enhanced anti-tumor activity by reducing the number of FAPα+ CAFs and enhancing the recruitment of effector T cells in the 4T1 tumor model mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Geng
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Jie Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Qian-Qian Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Yu Xie
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Ling Dong
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Yi Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Chen-Lu Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Bin Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Hui Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Jia-Xin Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Hai-Hong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China.
| | - Wei Kong
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
| | - Xiang-Hui Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China
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Yang YN, Zhang XH, Wang YM, Zhang X, Gu Z. miR-204 reverses temozolomide resistance and inhibits cancer initiating cells phenotypes by degrading FAP-α in glioblastoma. Oncol Lett 2018; 15:7563-7570. [PMID: 29725461 PMCID: PMC5920462 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2018.8301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Malignant gliomas are treated with temozolomide (TMZ) at present, but often exhibit resistance to this agent. Cancer-initiating cells (CICs) have been suggested to lead to TMZ resistance. The mechanisms underlying CICs-based TMZ resistance are not fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to serve important roles in tumorigenesis and TMZ resistance. In the present study, a sphere forming assay and western blot analysis were performed to detect the formation of CICs and fibroblast activation protein α (FAP-α) protein expression. It was revealed that TMZ resistance promoted the formation of CICs and upregulated FAP-α expression in glioblastoma cells. Over-expressing FAP-α was also demonstrated to promote TMZ resistance and induce the formation of CICs in U251MG cells. In addition, using a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, it was observed that miR-204 was downregulated in U251MG-resistant (-R) cells. miR-204 expression negatively correlated with the FAP-α levels in human glioblastoma tissues, and it may inhibit the formation of CICs and reverse TMZ resistance in U251MG-R cells. Therefore, it was concluded that miR-204 reversed temozolomide resistance and inhibited CICs phenotypes by degrading FAP-α in glioblastoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Na Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100043, P.R. China
| | - Xiang-Hua Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, P.R. China
| | - Yan-Ming Wang
- Department of Spinal Surgery, Dezhou People's Hospital, Dezhou, Shandong 253014, P.R. China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100043, P.R. China
| | - Zheng Gu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100043, P.R. China
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Zeng C, Wen M, Liu X. Fibroblast activation protein in osteosarcoma cells promotes angiogenesis via AKT and ERK signaling pathways. Oncol Lett 2018; 15:6029-6035. [PMID: 29552230 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2018.8027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is established as a marker of cancer-associated fibroblasts, the expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is not restricted to stromal cells; its expression in multiple types of tumor cell and its pro-tumor functions have been reported. However, the role of FAP in angiogenesis in osteosarcoma remains uncharacterized. In the present study, it was identified that the mRNA and protein expression levels of FAP and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) corresponded to each other in MG63, U2-OS and HOS osteosarcoma cells. Subsequent to upregulating FAP in MG63 cells, VEGF-A mRNA and protein expression significantly increased; subsequent to downregulating FAP in U2-OS cells, VEGF-A mRNA and protein expression significantly declined. These changes in VEGF-A level were also detected in the cell supernatant with ELISA. Conditioned medium (CM) from MG63 cells overexpressing FAP promoted the phosphorylation of AKT and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), as well as the proliferation rate. The CM from U2-OS cells with FAP knockdown inhibited the proliferation rate of HUVECs. The phosphorylation of AKT and ERK was increased in MG63 cells overexpressing FAP, but reduced in U2-OS cells with FAP knockdown. Furthermore, treatment with the AKT inhibitor LY294002 or the ERK inhibitor U0126 inhibited the upregulation of VEGF-A induced by FAP expression. Collectively, the results suggest that FAP expression in osteosarcoma cells promotes angiogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zeng
- Department of Orthopedics, Weifang Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Weifang, Shandong 261041, P.R. China
| | - Ming Wen
- Department of Orthopedics, Weifang Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Weifang, Shandong 261041, P.R. China
| | - Xiaomei Liu
- Oncology and Hematology Department, Huangdao District People's Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266000, P.R. China
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29
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MicroRNA-146a suppresses rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes proliferation and inflammatory responses by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-kB signaling. Oncotarget 2018; 9:23944-23959. [PMID: 29844864 PMCID: PMC5963611 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.24050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated whether microRNA-146a (miR-146a) mediating TLR4/NF-κB pathway affected proliferation and inflammatory responses of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes from 12 RA patients (RA-FLSs). FLSs in the logarithmic growth phase were assigned into the control, miR-146a mimic miR-146a inhibitor, Tak-242 (treated with TLR4/NF-κB pathway inhibitor) and mimic + lipopolysaccharide (LPS) groups. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected using CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry. The expression of miR-146a, TLR4/NF-κB pathway-related proteins and cytokines were determined by RT-qPCR, western blotting and ELISA, and the release of NO by Greiss reaction. RA rat models were constructed and the primary cells were classified into the control, negative control (NC), miR-146a mimic, miR-146a inhibitor, Tak-242, mimic + LPS, and TLR4 groups. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and intercellular adhesion molecular-1 (ICAM-1). The results showed that miR-146a levels were lower in RA-FLSs than control fibroblasts. miR-146a mimic and Tak-242 decreased RA-FLS proliferation and increased RA-FLS apoptosis, while miR-146a inhibitor had an opposite trend. miR-146a mimic and Tak-242 also decreased expression of TLR4, NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, COX-2, MMP-3, Seprase, and iNOS, as well as reduced NO level in RA-FLSs while miR-146a inhibitor and TLR4 increased them. TLR4 and NF-κB levels and the positive rates of PCNA and ICAM-1 expressions were lower in RA-FLSs from RA rats given miR-146a mimic from control or miR-146a inhibitor-treated rats. These results suggest that miR-146a inhibits the proliferation and inflammatory response of RA-FLSs by down-regulating TLR4/NF-κB pathway.
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Hou CM, Qu XM, Zhang J, Ding TT, Han W, Ji GC, Zhong ZH, Chen H, Zhang F. Fibroblast activation proteins-α suppress tumor immunity by regulating T cells and tumor-associated macrophages. Exp Mol Pathol 2017; 104:29-37. [PMID: 29273462 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2017.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAPα) is a type-II cell-surface-bound integral transmembrane serine protease and selectively overexpressed by tumor-associated stromal fibroblasts (TAFs), which are the main components in the tumor microenvironment, in >90% of malignant epithelial carcinomas. FAPα regulates the immunosuppression of tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the major immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, the effect of FAPα on Tregs and TAMs is unknown. The non-enzymatic function of FAPα on Treg and TAM was investigated. In this study, we confirm that FAPα can promote the generation of Tregs and TAMs, which suggests that FAPα plays a immunosuppressive role in the tumor microenvironment and provides evidence for FAP α as a potent immunotherapeutic target for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Mei Hou
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - Xue Mei Qu
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - Jian Zhang
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - Ting Ting Ding
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - Wei Han
- Department of Pathology, The First Hospital, Harbin Medical University, China
| | - Guang Chuan Ji
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - Zhao Hua Zhong
- Department of Microbiology, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - He Chen
- Department of Forensic, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China; Departmnet of Pathology, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
| | - FengMin Zhang
- Department of Microbiology, Basic Medicine College, Harbin Medical University, China.
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Juillerat-Jeanneret L, Tafelmeyer P, Golshayan D. Fibroblast activation protein-α in fibrogenic disorders and cancer: more than a prolyl-specific peptidase? Expert Opin Ther Targets 2017; 21:977-991. [DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2017.1370455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucienne Juillerat-Jeanneret
- Transplantation Center and Transplantation Immunopathology Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
- CHUV and UNIL, University Institute of Pathology, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Petra Tafelmeyer
- Hybrigenics Services, Laboratories and Headquarters, Paris, France
- Hybrigenics Corporation, Cambridge Innovation Center, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Dela Golshayan
- Transplantation Center and Transplantation Immunopathology Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Krepela E, Busek P, Hilser M, Vanickova Z, Sedo A. Species-specific real-time RT-PCR analysis of expression of stromal cell genes in a tumor xenotransplantation model in mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2017; 491:126-133. [PMID: 28711492 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.07.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Human tumor xenografts in mice together with the species-specific analysis of expressed genes allow to study the molecular processes driving tumor growth and progression in vivo and help to develop and evaluate anticancer therapies. In the present work, we designed and validated species-specific real-time RT-PCR assays for discrimination and quantitation of expression of human and mouse transcripts in cancer and stromal cells including dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) 4, DPP8, DPP9, fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 in mixed human-mouse biological samples. Using single species RNA samples and mixed human-mouse RNA samples, we formulated and characterized two-step real-time RT-PCR assays to quantitate expression of the indicated transcripts and described analytical performance of the assays. We also demonstrated the applicability of these assays for species-specific quantitation of transcriptional expression of mouse stromal cell genes including Dpp4, Dpp8, Dpp9, Fap and Cxcr4 in mixed human-mouse RNA samples from human glioma cell-derived tumor xenografts growing in mouse brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evzen Krepela
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Petr Busek
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Hilser
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdislava Vanickova
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Aleksi Sedo
- Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Matrasova I, Busek P, Balaziova E, Sedo A. Heterogeneity of molecular forms of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV and fibroblast activation protein in human glioblastomas. Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub 2017; 161:252-260. [PMID: 28452380 DOI: 10.5507/bp.2017.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Proteolytic enzymes contribute to the progression of various cancers. We previously reported increased expression of the proline specific peptidases dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) and its closest paralogue fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in human glioblastomas. Here we analyze the molecular heterogeneity of DPP-IV and FAP in glioblastomas. METHODS ELISA, isoelectric focusing, 1D and 2D electrophoresis followed by WB or enzyme overlay assay were utilized to analyze DPP-IV and FAP isoforms. Cell fractionation using a Percoll gradient and deglycosylation with PNGase F were performed to analyze the possible basis of DPP-IV and FAP microheterogeneity. RESULTS Molecular forms of DPP-IV with an estimated molecular weight of 140-160 kDa and a pI predominantly 5.8 were detected in human glioblastoma; in some tumors additional isoforms with a more acidic (3.5-5.5) as well as alkaline (8.1) pI were revealed. Using 2D electrophoresis, two to three molecular forms of FAP with an alkaline (7.0-8.5) pI and an estimated MW of 120-140 kDa were identified in glioblastoma tissues. In glioma cell lines in vitro, several isoforms of both enzymes were expressed, however the alkalic forms present in glioblastoma tissues were not detected. Removal of N-linked oligosaccharides decreased the estimated molecular weight of both enzymes; the overall pattern of molecular forms nevertheless remained unchanged. CONCLUSION Several isoforms of DPP-IV and FAP are present in glioblastoma tissue. The absence of alkaline isoforms of both enzymes in glioma cell lines however suggests that isoforms from other, most likely stromal, cell types contribute to the overall pattern seen in glioblastoma tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Matrasova
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 12853 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Busek
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 12853 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Balaziova
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 12853 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Aleksi Sedo
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 12853 Prague 2, Czech Republic
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Kiseleva LN, Kartashev AV, Vartanyan NL, Pinevich AA, Samoilovich MP. A172 and T98G cell lines characteristics. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.1134/s1990519x16050072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Adamski V, Schmitt AD, Flüh C, Synowitz M, Hattermann K, Held-Feindt J. Isolation and Characterization of Fast-Migrating Human Glioma Cells in the Progression of Malignant Gliomas. Oncol Res 2016; 25:341-353. [PMID: 27641619 PMCID: PMC7841193 DOI: 10.3727/096504016x14737243054982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors. The most malignant form, the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM; WHO IV), is characterized by an invasive phenotype, which enables the tumor cells to infiltrate into adjacent brain tissue. When investigating GBM migration and invasion properties in vitro, in most cases GBM cell lines were analyzed. Comprehensive investigations focusing on progression-dependent characteristics of migration processes using fresh human glioma samples of different malignancy grades do not exist. Thus, we isolated fast-migrating tumor cells from fresh human glioma samples of different malignancy grades (astrocytomas WHO grade II, grade III, GBM, and GBM recurrences) and characterized them with regard to the transcription of genes involved in the migration and invasion, tumor progression, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and stemness. In addition, we transferred our results to GBM cell lines and glioma stem-like cells and examined the influence of temozolomide on the expression of the above-mentioned genes in relation to migratory potential. Our results indicate that "evolutionary-like" expression alterations occur during glioma progression when comparing slow- and fast-migrating cells of fresh human gliomas. Furthermore, a close relation between migratory and stemness properties seems to be most likely. Variations in gene expression were also identified in GBM cell lines, not only when comparing fast- and slow-migrating cells but also regarding temozolomide-treated and untreated cells. Moreover, these differences coincided with the expression of stem cell markers and their migratory potential. Expression of migration-related genes in fast-migrating glioma cells is not only regulated in a progression-dependent manner, but these cells are also characterized by specific stem cell-like features.
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Busek P, Balaziova E, Matrasova I, Hilser M, Tomas R, Syrucek M, Zemanova Z, Krepela E, Belacek J, Sedo A. Fibroblast activation protein alpha is expressed by transformed and stromal cells and is associated with mesenchymal features in glioblastoma. Tumour Biol 2016; 37:13961-13971. [PMID: 27492457 DOI: 10.1007/s13277-016-5274-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastomas are deadly neoplasms resistant to current treatment modalities. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a protease which is not expressed in most of the normal adult tissues but is characteristically present in the stroma of extracranial malignancies. FAP is considered a potential therapeutic target and is associated with a worse patient outcome in some cancers. The FAP localization in the glioma microenvironment and its relation to patient survival are unknown. By analyzing 56 gliomas and 15 non-tumorous brain samples, we demonstrate increased FAP expression in a subgroup of high-grade gliomas, in particular on the protein level. FAP expression was most elevated in the mesenchymal subtype of glioblastoma. It was neither associated with glioblastoma patient survival in our patient cohort nor in publicly available datasets. FAP was expressed in both transformed and stromal cells; the latter were frequently localized around dysplastic blood vessels and commonly expressed mesenchymal markers. In a mouse xenotransplantation model, FAP was expressed in glioma cells in a subgroup of tumors that typically did not express the astrocytic marker GFAP. Endogenous FAP was frequently upregulated and part of the FAP+ host cells coexpressed the CXCR4 chemokine receptor. In summary, FAP is expressed by several constituents of the glioblastoma microenvironment, including stromal non-malignant mesenchymal cells recruited to and/or activated in response to glioma growth. The limited expression of FAP in healthy tissues together with its presence in both transformed and stromal cells suggests that FAP may be a candidate target for specific delivery of therapeutic agents in glioblastoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Busek
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Eva Balaziova
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Ivana Matrasova
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Hilser
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Robert Tomas
- Department of Neurosurgery, Na Homolce Hospital, Roentgenova 2, 150 30, Prague 5, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Syrucek
- Department of Pathology, Na Homolce Hospital, Roentgenova 2, 150 30, Prague 5, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Zemanova
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics of the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, U Nemocnice 2, 128 01, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Evzen Krepela
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Jaromir Belacek
- Institute of Biophysics and Bioinformatics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Salmovská 1, 120 00, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Aleksi Sedo
- Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, U Nemocnice 5, 128 53, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: Their Characteristics and Their Roles in Tumor Growth. Cancers (Basel) 2015; 7:2443-58. [PMID: 26690480 PMCID: PMC4695902 DOI: 10.3390/cancers7040902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 544] [Impact Index Per Article: 60.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer tissues are composed of cancer cells and the surrounding stromal cells (e.g., fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and immune cells), in addition to the extracellular matrix. Most studies investigating carcinogenesis and the progression, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis of cancer have focused on alterations in cancer cells, including genetic and epigenetic changes. Recently, interactions between cancer cells and the stroma have attracted considerable attention, and increasing evidence has accumulated on this. Several researchers have gradually clarified the origins, features, and roles of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a major component of the cancer stroma. CAFs function in a similar manner to myofibroblasts during wound healing. We previously reported the relationship between CAFs and angiogenesis. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a multifunctional cytokine, plays a central role in regulating inflammatory and immune responses, and important roles in the progression, including proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis, of several cancers. We showed that CAFs are an important IL-6 source and that anti-IL-6 receptor antibody suppressed angiogenesis and inhibited tumor-stroma interactions. Furthermore, CAFs contribute to drug-resistance acquisition in cancer cells. The interaction between cancer cells and the stroma could be a potential target for anti-cancer therapy.
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Zhang M, Xu L, Wang X, Sun B, Ding J. Expression levels of seprase/FAPα and DPPIV/CD26 in epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Oncol Lett 2015; 10:34-42. [PMID: 26170973 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2015.3151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV; also known as cluster of differentiation 26) and the surface-expressed protease, seprase [also known as fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPα)], are able to degrade the extracellular matrix; therefore, they are involved in malignant cell invasion and metastasis. However, the prognostic implications of their overexpression in carcinomas remain controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and potential prognostic effects of DPPIV and seprase in cases of ovarian carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) was performed to assess the protein expression of DPPIV and seprase/FAPα in 199 patients (malignant epithelial ovarian cancer, 128; borderline ovarian tumors, 41; and benign ovarian tumors, 30). In addition, in situ hybridization was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of DPPIV and seprase in 86 malignant epithelial ovarian cancer samples. IHC revealed positive staining for seprase and DPPIV proteins in 110/128 (85.94%) and 106/128 (82.81%) patients with ovarian cancer, respectively. Seprase and DPPIV protein expression was associated with lymph node metastasis and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage. By contrast, no significant correlation was detected between the proteins and the patient age or histological grade and type of tumor. Immunostaining was stronger in the cancerous tissues compared with the borderline and benign tissues. Increased levels of seprase, but not DPPIV, were significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival (P=0.033). Further analysis revealed that 96.5 (83/86) and 97.67% (84/86) of the malignant epithelial ovarian cancer samples stained positively for seprase and DPPIV mRNA, respectively. Therefore, DPPIV and seprase may be involved in the development of ovarian cancer, and that they are potential predictive markers of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengzhen Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
| | - Liwei Xu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoling Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
| | - Beibei Sun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
| | - Juan Ding
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
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Zi F, He J, He D, Li Y, Yang L, Cai Z. Fibroblast activation protein α in tumor microenvironment: recent progression and implications (review). Mol Med Rep 2015; 11:3203-11. [PMID: 25593080 PMCID: PMC4368076 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2015.3197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Accumulated evidence has demonstrated that the microenvironment of a given tumor is important in determining its drug resistance, tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis. These microenvironments, like tumor cells, are vital targets for cancer therapy. The cross-talk between tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs, alternatively termed activated fibroblasts) is crucial in regulating the drug resistance, tumorigenesis, neoplastic progression, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis of a tumor. Fibroblast activation protein α (FAPα) is a transmembrane serine protease and is highly expressed on CAFs present in >90% of human epithelial neoplasms. FAPα activity, alongside that of gelatinase and type I collagenase, has become increasingly important in cancer therapy due to its effectiveness in modulating tumor behavior. In this review, recent progression in the knowledge of the role of FAPα in tumor microenvironments is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuming Zi
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
| | - Jingsong He
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
| | - Donghua He
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
| | - Li Yang
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
| | - Zhen Cai
- Department of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China
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Zi FM, He JS, Li Y, Wu C, Wu WJ, Yang Y, Wang LJ, He DH, Yang L, Zhao Y, Zheng GF, Han XY, Huang H, Yi Q, Cai Z. Fibroblast activation protein protects bortezomib-induced apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells through β-catenin signaling pathway. Cancer Biol Ther 2014; 15:1413-22. [PMID: 25046247 DOI: 10.4161/cbt.29924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant plasma cells proliferative disease. The intricate cross-talk of myeloma cells with bone marrow microenvironment plays an important role in facilitating growth and survival of myeloma cells. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are important cells in MM microenvironment. In solid tumors, BMMSCs can be educated by tumor cells to become cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) with high expression of fibroblast activation protein (FAP). FAP was reported to be involved in drug resistance, tumorigenesis, neoplastic progression, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis of tumor cells. However, the expression and the role of FAP in MM bone marrow microenvironment are still less known. The present study is aimed to investigate the expression of FAP, the role of FAP, and its relevant signaling pathway in regulating apoptosis induced by bortezomib in MM cells. In this study, our data illustrated that the expression levels of FAP were not different between the cultured BMMSCs isolated from MM patients and normal donors. The expression levels of FAP can be increased by tumor cells conditioned medium (TCCM) stimulation or coculture with RPMI8226 cells. FAP has important role in BMMSCs mediated protecting MM cell lines from apoptosis induced by bortezomib. Further study showed that this process may likely through β-catenin signaling pathway in vitro. The activation of β-catenin in MM cell lines was dependent on direct contact with BMMSCs other than separated by transwell or additional condition medium from BMMSCs and cytokines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Ming Zi
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Jing-Song He
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Yi Li
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Cai Wu
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Wen-Jun Wu
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Yang Yang
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Li-Juan Wang
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Dong-Hua He
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Li Yang
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Yi Zhao
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Gao-Feng Zheng
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Xiao-Yan Han
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - He Huang
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
| | - Qing Yi
- Department of Cancer Biology; Lerner Research Institute; Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, OH USA
| | - Zhen Cai
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Center; The First Affiliated Hospital; Zhejiang University School of Medicine; Hangzhou, PR China
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Jia J, Martin TA, Ye L, Jiang WG. FAP-α (Fibroblast activation protein-α) is involved in the control of human breast cancer cell line growth and motility via the FAK pathway. BMC Cell Biol 2014; 15:16. [PMID: 24885257 PMCID: PMC4062507 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2121-15-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2013] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fibroblast Activation Protein alpha (FAP-α) or seprase is an integral membrane serine peptidase. Previous work has not satisfactorily explained both the suppression and promotion effects that have been observed in cancer. The purpose of this work was to investigate the role of FAP-α in human breast cancer. Expression of FAP-α was characterized in primary tumour samples and in cell lines, along with the effects of FAP-α expression on in vitro growth, invasion, attachment and migration. Furthermore the potential interaction of FAP-α with other signalling pathways was investigated. RESULTS FAP-α was significantly increased in patients with poor outcome and survival. In vitro results showed that breast cancer cells over expressing FAP-α had increased growth ability and impaired migratory ability. The growth of MDA-MB-231 cells and the adhesion and invasion ability of both MCF-7 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells were not dramatically influenced by FAP-α expression. Over-expression of FAP-α resulted in a reduction of phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) level in both cells cultured in normal media and serum-free media. An inhibitor to FAK restored the reduced motility ability of both MCF-7exp cells and MDA-MB-231exp cells and prevented the change in phosphorylated FAK levels. However, inhibitors to PI3K, ERK, PLCΥ, NWASP, ARP2/3, and ROCK had no influence this. CONCLUSIONS FAP-α in significantly associated with poor outcome in patients with breast cancer. In vitro, FAP-α promotes proliferation and inhibits migration of breast cancer cells, potentially by regulating the FAK pathway. These results suggest FAP-α could be a target for future therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Jia
- Cardiff University-Peking University Cancer Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XNWales, UK.
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Augoff K, Hryniewicz-Jankowska A, Tabola R, Czapla L, Szelachowski P, Wierzbicki J, Grabowski K, Sikorski AF. Upregulated expression and activation of membrane‑associated proteases in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Oncol Rep 2014; 31:2820-6. [PMID: 24789592 DOI: 10.3892/or.2014.3162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 04/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
To better understand the role of membrane-associated proteolytic systems in the development of esophageal cancer, we studied the expression of two serine proteases, fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP-α) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) and three metalloproteinases, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9 and MT1-MMP in 24 primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and paired non-cancer tissues. Using reverse-transcription PCR, western blotting and zymography, we showed that both serine proteases and all three metalloproteinases were highly altered in ESCC. A positive correlation between the expression of FAP-α and DPPIV and the activity of both gelatinases was found. This may indicate that these proteolytic systems are tightly linked to each other and collectively are involved in the process of ECM degradation that facilitates cancer cell invasion and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Augoff
- Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Renata Tabola
- Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Leszek Czapla
- Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Szelachowski
- Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jaroslaw Wierzbicki
- Department of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Proctology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Grabowski
- Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Aleksander F Sikorski
- Laboratory of Cytobiochemistry, Biotechnology Faculty, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
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Jansen K, De Winter H, Heirbaut L, Cheng JD, Joossens J, Lambeir AM, De Meester I, Augustyns K, Van der Veken P. Selective inhibitors of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) with a xanthine scaffold. MEDCHEMCOMM 2014. [DOI: 10.1039/c4md00167b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The first selective, non-peptide derived inhibitors of FAP are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen Jansen
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Hans De Winter
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Leen Heirbaut
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Jurgen Joossens
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Anne-Marie Lambeir
- Medical Biochemistry
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ingrid De Meester
- Medical Biochemistry
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Koen Augustyns
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Pieter Van der Veken
- Medicinal Chemistry (UAMC)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- University of Antwerp (UA)
- Universiteitsplein 1
- B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
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44
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Keane FM, Yao TW, Seelk S, Gall MG, Chowdhury S, Poplawski SE, Lai JH, Li Y, Wu W, Farrell P, Vieira de Ribeiro AJ, Osborne B, Yu DMT, Seth D, Rahman K, Haber P, Topaloglu AK, Wang C, Thomson S, Hennessy A, Prins J, Twigg SM, McLennan SV, McCaughan GW, Bachovchin WW, Gorrell MD. Quantitation of fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-specific protease activity in mouse, baboon and human fluids and organs. FEBS Open Bio 2013; 4:43-54. [PMID: 24371721 PMCID: PMC3871272 DOI: 10.1016/j.fob.2013.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2013] [Revised: 12/04/2013] [Accepted: 12/04/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The protease fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a specific marker of activated mesenchymal cells in tumour stroma and fibrotic liver. A specific, reliable FAP enzyme assay has been lacking. FAP's unique and restricted cleavage of the post proline bond was exploited to generate a new specific substrate to quantify FAP enzyme activity. This sensitive assay detected no FAP activity in any tissue or fluid of FAP gene knockout mice, thus confirming assay specificity. Circulating FAP activity was ∼20- and 1.3-fold less in baboon than in mouse and human plasma, respectively. Serum and plasma contained comparable FAP activity. In mice, the highest levels of FAP activity were in uterus, pancreas, submaxillary gland and skin, whereas the lowest levels were in brain, prostate, leukocytes and testis. Baboon organs high in FAP activity included skin, epididymis, bladder, colon, adipose tissue, nerve and tongue. FAP activity was greatly elevated in tumours and associated lymph nodes and in fungal-infected skin of unhealthy baboons. FAP activity was 14- to 18-fold greater in cirrhotic than in non-diseased human liver, and circulating FAP activity was almost doubled in alcoholic cirrhosis. Parallel DPP4 measurements concorded with the literature, except for the novel finding of high DPP4 activity in bile. The new FAP enzyme assay is the first to be thoroughly characterised and shows that FAP activity is measurable in most organs and at high levels in some. This new assay is a robust tool for specific quantitation of FAP enzyme activity in both preclinical and clinical samples, particularly liver fibrosis. A novel synthetic fluorogenic substrate is proven to be FAP-specific. Mice have higher levels of circulating FAP activity compared to baboons or humans. No FAP activity was detected in urine or bile but bile contained high DPP4 activity. FAP activity is greatest in pancreas, uterus, salivary gland, skin and lymph node. FAP activity and protein is elevated in both serum and liver in human liver disease.
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Key Words
- ALD, alcoholic liver disease
- AMC, amino-4-methylcoumarin
- Biomarker
- DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide
- DPP4, dipeptidyl peptidase 4
- Dipeptidyl peptidase
- EDTA, ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid
- FAP, fibroblast activation protein-α
- Fibroblast
- Fibrosis
- HCV, hepatitis C virus
- LDS, lithium dodecyl sulphate
- LN, lymph node
- Liver disease
- ND, non-diseased
- PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis
- PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cells
- PBS, phosphate-buffered saline
- PEP, prolyl endopeptidase
- PVDF, polyvinylidene fluoride
- Protease activity
- Protease substrates
- STLV, simian T-cell lymphotrophic virus
- gko, gene knock out
- het, heterozygous
- mAb, monoclonal antibody
- wt, wild type
- yrs, years
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona M Keane
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Tsun-Wen Yao
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Margaret G Gall
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sumaiya Chowdhury
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sarah E Poplawski
- Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jack H Lai
- Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Youhua Li
- Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Wengen Wu
- Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Penny Farrell
- Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Ana Julia Vieira de Ribeiro
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Brenna Osborne
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Denise M T Yu
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Devanshi Seth
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Drug Health Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Khairunnessa Rahman
- Drug Health Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul Haber
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Drug Health Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - A Kemal Topaloglu
- Pediatric Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
| | - Chuanmin Wang
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Collaborative Transplantation Research Group, Bosch Institute, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Sally Thomson
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Annemarie Hennessy
- Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - John Prins
- Mater Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, and Department of Endocrinology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Stephen M Twigg
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Department of Endocrinology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Susan V McLennan
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Department of Endocrinology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Geoffrey W McCaughan
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - William W Bachovchin
- Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark D Gorrell
- Centenary Institute, Camperdown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
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45
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Yang L, Ma L, Lai D. Over-expression of fibroblast activation protein alpha increases tumor growth in xenografts of ovarian cancer cells. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2013; 45:928-37. [PMID: 24028972 DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmt095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPα) is a 95-kDa serine protease of post-prolyl peptidase family on cell surface. FAPα is widely expressed in tumor microenvironment. The wide spread association of FAPα expression with cancer suggests that it has important functions in the disease. However, the nature of FAPα's roles in cancer cell activity is not well-determined. It has been showed that FAPα silencing in SKOV3 cells induces ovarian tumors but significantly reduces tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. To further determine the role of FAPα in epithelial ovarian cancer cells, SKOV3-FAPα and HO8910-FAPα cell lines, which over-expressed FAPα stably, were constructed and then their biological behaviors were investigated. It was found that FAPα promoted ovarian cancer cell proliferation, drug resistance, invasiveness, and migration in vitro. Immunochemistry assay showed that FAPα significantly facilitated tumor growth in xenograft tumor tissues. These results suggested that FAPα might directly promote tumor growth and invasiveness in ovarian cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Yang
- The International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
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46
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Kakarla S, Chow KKH, Mata M, Shaffer DR, Song XT, Wu MF, Liu H, Wang LL, Rowley DR, Pfizenmaier K, Gottschalk S. Antitumor effects of chimeric receptor engineered human T cells directed to tumor stroma. Mol Ther 2013; 21:1611-20. [PMID: 23732988 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2013.110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 245] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 04/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the principle component of the tumor-associated stroma, form a highly protumorigenic and immunosuppressive microenvironment that mediates therapeutic resistance. Co-targeting CAFs in addition to cancer cells may therefore augment the antitumor response. Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP), a type 2 dipeptidyl peptidase, is expressed on CAFs in a majority of solid tumors making it an attractive immunotherapeutic target. To target FAP-positive CAFs in the tumor-associated stroma, we genetically modified T cells to express a FAP-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). The resulting FAP-specific T cells recognized and killed FAP-positive target cells as determined by proinflammatory cytokine release and target cell lysis. In an established A549 lung cancer model, adoptive transfer of FAP-specific T cells significantly reduced FAP-positive stromal cells, with a concomitant decrease in tumor growth. Combining these FAP-specific T cells with T cells that targeted the EphA2 antigen on the A549 cancer cells themselves significantly enhanced overall antitumor activity and conferred a survival advantage compared to either alone. Our study underscores the value of co-targeting both CAFs and cancer cells to increase the benefits of T-cell immunotherapy for solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunitha Kakarla
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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47
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Lai D, Ma L, Wang F. Fibroblast activation protein regulates tumor-associated fibroblasts and epithelial ovarian cancer cells. Int J Oncol 2012; 41:541-50. [PMID: 22614695 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2012.1475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2012] [Accepted: 03/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a cell surface serine protease which has emerged as a specific marker of tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs). FAP has been shown to have both in vitro dipeptidyl peptidase and collagenase activity. However, the biological function of FAP in the tumor microenvironment is largely unknown. In this study, we first show that TAFs isolated from ovarian cancer samples have the characteristics of stem cells. To explore the functional role of FAP, the protein was silenced by siRNA lentiviral vector transfection. FAP silencing inhibited the growth of TAFs in vitro, accompanied with cell cycle arrest at the G2 and S phase in TAFs. FAP silencing also reduced the stem cell marker gene expression in TAFs. SKOV3 cells do not express FAP. Although FAP-silenced SKOV3 cells induced ovarian tumors, the rate of tumor growth was significantly decreased, as shown in the xenograft mouse model. TAF phenotypes in the xenograft tumor tissues were further assayed by immunohistochemistry. The expression of TAF markers, including fibroblast-specific protein, FAP, smooth muscle actin, desmin, vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor was decreased in the tumor stroma induced by FAP-silenced SKOV3 cells. In conclusion, FAP is an important regulator of the microenvironment in tumor formation and targeting FAP is a potential therapeutic strategy to combat ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongmei Lai
- Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
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48
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Busek P, Stremenova J, Sromova L, Hilser M, Balaziova E, Kosek D, Trylcova J, Strnad H, Krepela E, Sedo A. Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibits glioma cell growth independent of its enzymatic activity. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2012; 44:738-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2012.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2011] [Revised: 01/10/2012] [Accepted: 01/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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49
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Mentlein R, Hattermann K, Held-Feindt J. Lost in disruption: Role of proteases in glioma invasion and progression. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2012; 1825:178-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2011.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2011] [Revised: 12/14/2011] [Accepted: 12/15/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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50
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Liu R, Li H, Liu L, Yu J, Ren X. Fibroblast activation protein: A potential therapeutic target in cancer. Cancer Biol Ther 2012; 13:123-9. [PMID: 22236832 DOI: 10.4161/cbt.13.3.18696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The concept of targeting antigens selectively expressed on the surface of tumor capillary endothelial cells or in tumor stroma has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapeutics. Identification of stromal targets for anticancer therapy and development of selective inhibitors of these targets are of great clinical interest. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a member of the serine protease family, selectively expressed in the stromal fibroblasts associated with epithelial cancers, whereas with low or undetectable expression in the resting fibroblasts of normal adult tissues. The proteolytic activity of FAP has been shown to support tumor growth and proliferation, making it a potential target for novel anticancer therapies, such as those by immune-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Liu
- Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China
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