Reprogrammed CD8+ T-Lymphocytes Isolated from Bone Marrow Have Anticancer Potential in Lung Cancer

CD8⁺ T-lymphocytes play a key role in antitumor immune response. Patients with lung cancer often suffer from T-lymphocyte dysfunction and low T-cell counts. The exhaustion of effector T-lymphocytes largely limits the effectiveness of therapy. In this study, reprogrammed T-lymphocytes used MEK inhibitors and PD-1 blockers to increase their antitumor activity. Antitumor effects of reprogrammed T-lymphocytes were shown in vitro and in vivo in the Lewis lung carcinoma model. The population of T- lymphocytes with persistent expression of CCR7 was formed as a result of reprogramming. Reprogrammed T-lymphocytes were resistant to apoptosis and characterized by high cytotoxicity against Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells in vitro. Administration of reprogrammed T-lymphocytes to C57BL/6 mice with LLC reduced the number of lung metastases. The antitumor effect resulted from the elimination of tumor cells and cancer stem cells, and the effect of therapy on cytotoxic T-lymphocyte counts. Thus, reprogramming of T-lymphocytes using MEK inhibitors is a promising approach for targeted therapy of lung cancer.

Molecular targets for the management of gastrointestinal cancer using melatonin, a natural endogenous body hormone

Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the most common cancers globally. Melatonin, a natural endogenous body hormone, has been of interest for years, due to its anti-cancer characteristics, such as antiproliferative, antimetastatic, and cytotoxic as well as apoptotic induction. Through regulating several proteins such as melatonin upregulated mRNAs and proteins of downregulated Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), as well as cytoplasmic protein such as calcium-binding proteins calmodulin or tubulin, and nuclear receptors, including RORα/RZR, and acts by non-receptor-regulated mechanisms, melatonin can exert anti-cancer efficacy. Moreover, melatonin modulates angiogenesis by targeting mRNA and protein expression of endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE-1) protein. In the present review, we address in vivo, in vitro and clinical reports on its anti-cancer efficacies, and the molecular mechanisms of action responsible for these effects. We advance the possibility of therapeutic melatonin administration for cancer therapy.

Therapeutic Opportunities in Colorectal Cancer: Focus on Melatonin Antioncogenic Action

Colorectal cancer (CRC) influences individual health worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Melatonin, which shows multiple physiological functions (e.g., circadian rhythm, immune modulation, and antioncogenic action), can be present in almost all organisms and found in various tissues including gastrointestinal tract. Notably, melatonin disruption is closely associated with the elevation of CRC incidence, indicating that melatonin is effective in suppressing CRC development and progression. Mechanistically, melatonin favors in activating apoptosis and colon cancer immunity, while reducing proliferation, autophagy, metastasis, and angiogenesis, thereby exerting its anticarcinogenic effects. This review highlights that melatonin can be an adjuvant therapy and be beneficial in treating patients suffering from CRC.

Harnessing T-cell activity against prostate cancer: A therapeutic microparticulate oral cancer vaccine

Prostate Cancer specific immunotherapy in combination with immune stimulating adjuvants may serve as a viable strategy for facilitating tumor regression and preventing recurrence. In this study, an oral microparticulate vaccine encapsulating tumor associated antigens (TAA) extracted from a murine prostate cancer cell line, TRAMP-C2, was formulated with the help of a spray dryer. Microparticles were characterized in vitro to determine their physicochemical properties and antigenicity. Formulated microparticles had an average size of 4.92 ± 0.5 μm with a zeta potential of 7.92 ± 1.2 mV. In order to test our formulation for its ability to demonstrate adequate antigen presentation and co-stimulation, microparticles were tested in vitro on murine dendritic cells. In vitro biological characterization demonstrated the activation of specific immune system markers such as CD80/86, CD40, MHC-I and MHC-II. Following in vitro characterization, in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of the oral microparticulate vaccine was evaluated in C57BL/6 male mice. Combination therapy of vaccine microparticles with cyclophosphamide and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) demonstrated a five-fold reduction in tumor volume as compared to non-vaccinated mice. At the cellular level, cyclophosphamide and GM-CSF augmented the vaccine response as indicated by the reduced tumor volume and significant elevation of cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) CD8+ and (T-helper) CD4+ T-cells compared to mice receiving vaccine microparticles alone. Furthermore, our studies indicate a significant reduction in T-regulatory cells (T-regs) in mice receiving vaccine along with GM-CSF and cyclophosphamide, one of the immune escape mechanisms linked to tumor growth and progression. Thus, oral microparticulate vaccines have the potential to trigger a robust anti-tumor cellular response, and in combination with clinically relevant agents, significantly resist tumor growth and progression.

CXCL9 promotes prostate cancer progression through inhibition of cytokines from T cells

Chemokines have been demonstrated to serve an important role in a variety of diseases, particularly in tumor progression. There have been numerous studies that have reported that T cells serve major roles in tumor progression. However, the function of CXC motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9) in prostate cancer remains unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the role of CXCL9 in prostate cancer. A prostate cancer mouse model was generated by treating C57/BL‑6 and B6.Cg‑Selplgtm1Fur/J mice with 3,2'‑dimethyl 4‑aminobiphenyl (DMAB). Hematoxylin and eosin staining detected the histopathological alterations of mouse prostate tissues. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining determined cell proliferation of the mice. Flow cytometry was used to detect the alterations of T cells in C57+DMAB or CXCL9+DMAB mice. Immunofluorescence revealed that there was positive expression of interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) and transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β in the mouse tissues. The survival rates of C57+DMAB and CXCL9+DMAB mice was analyzed. The association of CXCL9 expression and clinical stages was also evaluated. Results revealed that prostate cancer pathology and cell proliferation in CXCL9+DMAB mice were significantly greater compared with the C57+DMAB mice. Compared with C57+DMAB mice, the number of T cells in peripheral blood and spleen of CXCL9+DMAB mice was significantly reduced. IHC demonstrated that the expression of IL‑6 and TGF‑β was significantly downregulated in the CXCL9+DMAB mice. The survival rate of CXCL9+DMAB mice was significantly decreased compared with the C57+DMAB mice. In addition, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that CXCL9 mRNA expression in clinical samples was positively associated with clinical pathological stages of prostate cancer. In conclusion, CXCL9 may promote prostate cancer progression via inhibition of cytokines from T cells.

Oncolytic virotherapy for urological cancers

Oncolytic virotherapy is a cancer treatment in which replication-competent viruses are used that specifically infect, replicate in and lyse malignant tumour cells, while minimizing harm to normal cells. Anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of this strategy has existed since the late nineteenth century, but advances and innovations in biotechnological methods in the 1980s and 1990s led to a renewed interest in this type of therapy. Multiple clinical trials investigating the use of agents constructed from a wide range of viruses have since been performed, and several of these enrolled patients with urological malignancies. Data from these clinical trials and from preclinical studies revealed a number of challenges to the effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy that have prompted the development of further sophisticated strategies. Urological cancers have a range of distinctive features, such as specific genetic mutations and cell surface markers, which enable improving both effectiveness and safety of oncolytic virus treatments. The strategies employed in creating advanced oncolytic agents include alteration of the virus tropism, regulating transcription and translation of viral genes, combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or gene therapy, arming viruses with factors that stimulate the immune response against tumour cells and delivery technologies to ensure that the viral agent reaches its target tissue.

Melatonin as a treatment for gastrointestinal cancer: a review

Gastrointestinal cancer is a disease that affects the population worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Melatonin, an endogenously produced molecule, may provide a defense against a variety of cancer types. In particular, the ability of melatonin to inhibit gastrointestinal cancer is substantial. In this review, we first clarify the relationship between the disruption of the melatonin rhythm and gastrointestinal cancer (based on epidemiologic surveys and animal and human studies) and summarize the preventive effect of melatonin on carcinogenesis. Thereafter, the mechanisms through which melatonin exerts its anti-gastrointestinal cancer actions are explained, including inhibition of proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis, and promotion of apoptosis and cancer immunity. Moreover, we discuss the drug synergy effects and the role of melatonin receptors involved in the growth-inhibitory effects on gastrointestinal cancer. Taken together, the information compiled here serves as a comprehensive reference for the anti-gastrointestinal cancer actions of melatonin that have been identified to date and will hopefully aid in the design of further experimental and clinical studies and increase the awareness of melatonin as a therapeutic agent in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.