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Ali FEM, Ibrahim IM, Althagafy HS, Hassanein EHM. Role of immunotherapies and stem cell therapy in the management of liver cancer: A comprehensive review. Int Immunopharmacol 2024; 132:112011. [PMID: 38581991 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Liver cancer (LC) is the sixth most common disease and the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality. The WHO predicts that more than 1 million deaths will occur from LC by 2030. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common form of primary LC. Today, the management of LC involves multiple disciplines, and multimodal therapy is typically selected on an individual basis, considering the intricate interactions between the patient's overall health, the stage of the tumor, and the degree of underlying liver disease. Currently, the treatment of cancers, including LC, has undergone a paradigm shift in the last ten years because of immuno-oncology. To treat HCC, immune therapy approaches have been developed to enhance or cause the body's natural immune response to specifically target tumor cells. In this context, immune checkpoint pathway inhibitors, engineered cytokines, adoptive cell therapy, immune cells modified with chimeric antigen receptors, and therapeutic cancer vaccines have advanced to clinical trials and offered new hope to cancer patients. The outcomes of these treatments are encouraging. Additionally, treatment using stem cells is a new approach for restoring deteriorated tissues because of their strong differentiation potential and capacity to release cytokines that encourage cell division and the formation of blood vessels. Although there is no proof that stem cell therapy works for many types of cancer, preclinical research on stem cells has shown promise in treating HCC. This review provides a recent update regarding the impact of immunotherapy and stem cells in HCC and promising outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fares E M Ali
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, 71524, Egypt; Michael Sayegh, Faculty of Pharmacy, Aqaba University of Technology, Aqaba 77110, Jordan.
| | - Islam M Ibrahim
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Assiut, 71524, Egypt
| | - Hanan S Althagafy
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Emad H M Hassanein
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, 71524, Egypt
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Mukherjee P, Zhou X, Galli S, Davidson B, Zhang L, Ahn J, Aljuhani R, Benicky J, Ailles L, Pomin VH, Olsen M, Goldman R. Aspartate β-Hydroxylase Is Upregulated in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Regulates Invasiveness in Cancer Cell Models. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4998. [PMID: 38732216 PMCID: PMC11084744 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Aspartate β-hydroxylase (ASPH) is a protein associated with malignancy in a wide range of tumors. We hypothesize that inhibition of ASPH activity could have anti-tumor properties in patients with head and neck cancer. In this study, we screened tumor tissues of 155 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients for the expression of ASPH using immunohistochemistry. We used an ASPH inhibitor, MO-I-1151, known to inhibit the catalytic activity of ASPH in the endoplasmic reticulum, to show its inhibitory effect on the migration of SCC35 head and neck cancer cells in cell monolayers and in matrix-embedded spheroid co-cultures with primary cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) CAF 61137 of head and neck origin. We also studied a combined effect of MO-I-1151 and HfFucCS, an inhibitor of invasion-blocking heparan 6-O-endosulfatase activity. We found ASPH was upregulated in HNSCC tumors compared to the adjacent normal tissues. ASPH was uniformly high in expression, irrespective of tumor stage. High expression of ASPH in tumors led us to consider it as a therapeutic target in cell line models. ASPH inhibitor MO-I-1151 had significant effects on reducing migration and invasion of head and neck cancer cells, both in monolayers and matrix-embedded spheroids. The combination of the two enzyme inhibitors showed an additive effect on restricting invasion in the HNSCC cell monolayers and in the CAF-containing co-culture spheroids. We identify ASPH as an abundant protein in HNSCC tumors. Targeting ASPH with inhibitor MO-I-1151 effectively reduces CAF-mediated cellular invasion in cancer cell models. We propose that the additive effect of MO-I-1151 with HfFucCS, an inhibitor of heparan 6-O-endosulfatases, on HNSCC cells could improve interventions and needs to be further explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritha Mukherjee
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Xin Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Biotechnology Program, Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas, VA 20109, USA
| | - Susana Galli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Bruce Davidson
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Lihua Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Jaeil Ahn
- Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Reem Aljuhani
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Julius Benicky
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Laurie Ailles
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1L7, Canada
| | - Vitor H. Pomin
- Department of BioMolecular Sciences, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677, USA;
- Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677, USA
| | - Mark Olsen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy Glendale Campus, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA
- Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA
| | - Radoslav Goldman
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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Ge C, Yang X, Xin J, Gong X, Wang X, Kong L. Recent Advances in Antitumor Dendritic Cell Vaccines. Cancer Biother Radiopharm 2023; 38:450-457. [PMID: 37699203 DOI: 10.1089/cbr.2023.0041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most important antigen-presenting cells in the body and play a key role in antigen recognition, uptake, processing, and presentation and mediate nonspecific immunity and specific immunity. Purpose: To summarize the main findings that DC vaccines are a new immunotherapy scheme combining the strengths of tumor antigens and DCs that can boost the body's identification and clearance of tumors. Methods: In this review, the authors focus on the biological characteristics of DCs, recent advances in the understanding of antitumor mechanisms, and the classification of DC vaccines. Results: The current progress of DC-based vaccine immunotherapy for common tumors with high morbidity or mortality in China were systematically summarize. Conclusions: The DC vaccines combining the strengths of tumor antigens will provide directions to explore reasonable, safe, and effective combination immunotherapy strategies for tumors in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunxia Ge
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
| | | | - Jiaxuan Xin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
| | - Xiangqian Gong
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, China
| | - Xuhan Wang
- Department of Hemodialysis, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
| | - Lijun Kong
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
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Motamedi Dehbarez F, Mahmoodi S. Production of a Novel Multi-Epitope Peptide Vaccine against Hepatocellular Carcinoma. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES 2022; 47:558-565. [PMID: 36380977 PMCID: PMC9652490 DOI: 10.30476/ijms.2021.90916.2199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the prevalent cancers in the world with a high recurrence rate. In recent years, different researches have focused on designing efficient multi-epitope peptide vaccines against HCC. In designing these vaccines, over-expressed antigens in HCC patients, such as α- fetoprotein (AFP) and glypican-3 (GPC-3), have been employed. In our previous study, a multi-epitope peptide vaccine for HCC was designed by in-silico methods. The designed vaccine construct included the AFP, GPC-3, and aspartyl-β-hydroxylase (ASPH) as CytoLoxic T cell Lymphocytes (CTL), one epitope from Tetanus Toxin Fragment C (TTFrC) as Helper T cell Lymphocytes (HTL), and a segment of microbial heat shock protein (HSP70) peptide407-426 as an adjuvant. All the mentioned parts were connected by appropriate linkers. The aim of this study is the production of the designed vaccine. METHODS This research is experimental and was carried out in Fasa, Iran, in 2017. The designed vaccine construct gene was transformed to the Escherchia coli BL21 (DE3) strain and expressed in different isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations (0.6 and 1 mM), times (4, 6, 8, 16 hours), and temperatures (25 and 37 °C). Then, the expressed protein was analyzed by Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and the Western blot methods. RESULTS The best conditions for protein expression were obtained in the Super Optimal Broth (SOB) medium at 37 °C after the induction of expression by 1 mM IPTG for six hour. CONCLUSION The recombinant HCC vaccine was produced with a proper concentration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Motamedi Dehbarez
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| | - Shirin Mahmoodi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
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Jeng LB, Liao LY, Shih FY, Teng CF. Dendritic-Cell-Vaccine-Based Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Clinical Trials and Recent Preclinical Studies. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14184380. [PMID: 36139542 PMCID: PMC9497058 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14184380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many surgical and nonsurgical therapeutic options have been well-established, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Therefore, the discovery of novel potential therapeutic strategies is still urgently required for improving survival and prognosis of HCC patients. As the most potent antigen-presenting cells in the human immune system, dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in activating not only innate but also adaptive immune responses to specifically destroy tumor cells. As a result, DC-based vaccines, which are prepared by different tumor-antigen-pulsing strategies or maturation-stimulating reagents, either alone or in combination with various anticancer therapies and/or immune effector cells, have been developed as a promising personalized cancer immunotherapy. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the evidence from clinical trials evaluating the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of DC-based vaccines in treating HCC patients and highlights the data from recent preclinical studies regarding the development of promising strategies for optimizing the efficacy of DC-vaccine-based immunotherapy for HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long-Bin Jeng
- Organ Transplantation Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan
- Cell Therapy Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan
| | - Li-Ying Liao
- Development of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan
| | - Fu-Ying Shih
- Ph.D. Program for Biotech Pharmaceutical Industry, School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan
| | - Chiao-Fang Teng
- Organ Transplantation Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan
- Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Development, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan
- Research Center for Cancer Biology, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-4-2205-2121
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