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Chernov AN, Kim AV, Skliar SS, Fedorov EV, Tsapieva AN, Filatenkova TA, Chutko AL, Matsko MV, Galimova ES, Shamova OV. Expression of molecular markers and synergistic anticancer effects of chemotherapy with antimicrobial peptides on glioblastoma cells. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2024; 93:455-469. [PMID: 38280033 DOI: 10.1007/s00280-023-04622-8] [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: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and fatal malignant primary brain tumor. The enhancement of the survival rate for glioma patients remains limited, even with the utilization of a combined treatment approach involving surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. This study was designed to assess the expression of IDH1, TP53, EGFR, Ki-67, GFAP, H3K27M, MGMT, VEGF, NOS, CD99, and ATRX in glioblastoma tissue from 11 patients. We investigated the anticancer impact and combined effects of cathelicidin (LL-37), protegrin-1 (PG-1), with chemotherapy-temozolomide (TMZ), doxorubicin (DOX), carboplatin (CB), cisplatin (CPL), and etoposide (ETO) in primary GBM cells. In addition, we examined the effect of LL-37, PG-1 on normal human fibroblasts and in the C6/Wistar rat intracerebral glioma model. METHODS For this study, 11 cases of glioblastoma were evaluated immunohistochemically for IDH1, TP53, EGFR, Ki-67, GFAP, H3K27M, MGMT, VEGF, NOS, CD99, and ATRX. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay was used to study cells viability and to determine cytotoxic effects of LL-37, PG-1 and their combination with chemotherapy in primary GBM cells. Synergism or antagonism was determined using combination index (CI) method. Finally, we established C6 glioblastoma model in Wistar rats to investigate the antitumor activity. RESULTS Peptides showed a strong cytotoxic effect on primary GBM cells in the MTT test (IC50 2-16 and 1-32 μM) compared to chemotherapy. The dual-drug combinations of LL-37 + DOX, LL-37 + CB (CI 0.46-0.75) and PG-1 + DOX, PG-1 + CB, PG-1 + TMZ (CI 0.11-0.77), demonstrated a synergism in primary GBM cells. In rat C6 intracerebral GBM model, survival of rats in experimental group (66.75 ± 12.6 days) was prolonged compared with that in control cohort (26.2 ± 2.66 days, p = 0.0008). After LL-37 treatment, experimental group rats showed significantly lower tumor volumes (31.00 ± 8.8 mm3) and weight (49.4 ± 13.3 mg) compared with control group rats (153.8 ± 43.53 mg, p = 0.038; 82.50 ± 7.60 mm3, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The combination of antimicrobial peptides and chemical drugs enhances the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy and exerts synergistic antitumor effects in primary GBM cells. Moreover, in vivo study provided the first evidence that LL-37 could effectively inhibit brain tumor growth in rat C6 intracerebral GBM model. These results suggested a significant strategy for proposing a promising therapy for the treatment of GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandr V Kim
- Children's Neurosurgical Department No.7, Almazov Medical Research Centre, 197341, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Sofia S Skliar
- Polenov Neurosurgical Institute, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Evgeniy V Fedorov
- Children's Neurosurgical Department No.7, Almazov Medical Research Centre, 197341, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anna N Tsapieva
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, 197376, Russia
| | | | - Aleksei L Chutko
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, 197376, Russia
| | - Marina V Matsko
- Napalkov State Budgetary Healthcare Institution, Saint Petersburg Clinical Scientific and Practical Center for Specialised Types of Medical Care (Oncological), Saint Petersburg, 197758, Russia
| | - Elvira S Galimova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, 197376, Russia.
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, 194223, Russia.
| | - Olga V Shamova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, 197376, Russia
- Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia
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Henderson EA, Ivey A, Choi SJ, Santiago S, McNitt D, Liu TW, Lukomski S, Boone BA. Group A streptococcal collagen-like protein 1 restricts tumor growth in murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma and inhibits cancer-promoting neutrophil extracellular traps. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1363962. [PMID: 38515758 PMCID: PMC10955053 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1363962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal cancer associated with an immunosuppressive environment. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were initially described in the context of infection but have more recently been implicated in contributing to the tolerogenic immune response in PDAC. Thus, NETs are an attractive target for new therapeutic strategies. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) has developed defensive strategies to inhibit NETs. Methods In the present work, we propose utilizing intra-tumoral GAS injection to stimulate anti-tumor activity by inhibiting cancer-promoting NETs. Mice harboring Panc02 or KPC subcutaneous tumors injected with three different M-type GAS strains. Tumors and spleens were harvested at the endpoint of the experiments to assess bacterial colonization and systemic spread, while sera were analyzed for humoral responses toward the streptococcal antigens, especially the M1 and Scl1 proteins. Role of the streptococcal collagen-like protein 1 (Scl1) in anti-PDAC activity was assessed in vivo after intratumoral injection with M1 GAS wild-type, an isogenic mutant strain devoid of Scl1, or a complemented mutant strain with restored scl1 expression. In addition, recombinant Scl1 proteins were tested for NET inhibition using in vitro and ex vivo assays assessing NET production and myeloperoxidase activity. Results Injection of three different M-type GAS strains reduced subcutaneous pancreatic tumor volume compared to control in two different murine PDAC models. Limitation of tumor growth was dependent on Scl1, as isogenic mutant strain devoid of Scl1 did not reduce tumor size. We further show that Scl1 plays a role in localizing GAS to the tumor site, thereby limiting the systemic spread of bacteria and off-target effects. While mice did elicit a humoral immune response to GAS antigens, tested sera were weakly immunogenic toward Scl1 antigen following intra-tumoral treatment with Scl1-expressing GAS. M1 GAS inhibited NET formation when co-cultured with neutrophils while Scl1-devoid mutant strain did not. Recombinant Scl1 protein inhibited NETs ex vivo in a dose-dependent manner by suppressing myeloperoxidase activity. Discussion Altogether, we demonstrate that intra-tumoral GAS injections reduce PDAC growth, which is facilitated by Scl1, in part through inhibition of cancer promoting NETs. This work offers a novel strategy by which NETs can be targeted through Scl1 protein and potentiates its use as a cancer therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Abby Ivey
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Soo Jeon Choi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Stell Santiago
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Dudley McNitt
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Tracy W. Liu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Slawomir Lukomski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Brian A. Boone
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
- Department of Surgery, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
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Henderson EA, Ivey A, Choi S, Santiago S, McNitt D, Liu TW, Lukomski S, Boone BA. Group A Streptococcal Collagen-like Protein 1 Restricts Tumor Growth in Murine Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma and Inhibits Cancer-Promoting Neutrophil Extracellular Traps. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.17.576060. [PMID: 38293049 PMCID: PMC10827155 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.17.576060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal cancer associated with an immunosuppressive environment. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were initially described in the context of infection but have more recently been implicated in contributing to the tolerogenic immune response in PDAC. Thus, NETs are an attractive target for new therapeutic strategies. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) has developed defensive strategies to inhibit NETs. In the present work, we propose utilizing intra-tumoral GAS injection to stimulate anti-tumor activity by inhibiting cancer-promoting NETs. Injection of three different M-type GAS strains reduced subcutaneous pancreatic tumor volume compared to control in two different murine PDAC models. Limitation of tumor growth was dependent on streptococcal collagen-like protein 1 (Scl1), as isogenic mutant strain devoid of Scl1 did not reduce tumor size. We further show that Scl1 plays a role in localizing GAS to the tumor site, thereby limiting the systemic spread of bacteria and off-target effects. While mice did elicit a humoral immune response to GAS antigens, tested sera were negative toward Scl1 antigen following intra-tumoral treatment with Scl1-expressing GAS. M1 GAS inhibited NET formation when co-cultured with neutrophils while Scl1-devoid mutant strain did not. Recombinant Scl1 protein inhibited NETs ex vivo in a dose-dependent manner by suppressing myeloperoxidase activity. Altogether, we demonstrate that intra-tumoral GAS injections reduce PDAC growth, which is facilitated by Scl1, in part through inhibition of cancer promoting NETs. This work offers a novel strategy by which NETs can be targeted through Scl1 protein and potentiates its use as a cancer therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Henderson
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Abby Ivey
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Soo Choi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Stell Santiago
- Department of Pathology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Dudley McNitt
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Tracy W. Liu
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Slawomir Lukomski
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
| | - Brian A. Boone
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
- West Virginia University Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
- Department of Surgery, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
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Salinas-Restrepo C, Naranjo-Duran AM, Quintana J, Bueno J, Guzman F, Hoyos Palacio LM, Segura C. Short Antimicrobial Peptide Derived from the Venom Gland Transcriptome of Pamphobeteus verdolaga Increases Gentamicin Susceptibility of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 13:6. [PMID: 38275316 PMCID: PMC10812672 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics13010006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Infectious diseases account for nine percent of annual human deaths, and the widespread emergence of antimicrobial resistances threatens to significantly increase this number in the coming decades. The prospect of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from venomous animals presents an interesting alternative for developing novel active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Small, cationic and amphiphilic peptides were predicted from the venom gland transcriptome of Pamphobeteus verdolaga using a custom database of the arthropod's AMPs. Ninety-four candidates were chemically synthesized and screened against ATCC® strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Among them, one AMP, named PvAMP66, showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties with selectivity towards Gram-negative bacteria. It also exhibited activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as both an ATCC® and a clinically isolated multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain of K. pneumoniae. The scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that PvAMP66 induced morphological changes of the MDR K. pneumoniae strain suggesting a potential "carpet model" mechanism of action. The isobologram analysis showed an additive interaction between PvAMP66 and gentamicin in inhibiting the growth of MDR K. pneumoniae, leading to a ten-fold reduction in gentamicin's effective concentration. A cytotoxicity against erythrocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells was observed at concentrations three to thirteen-fold higher than those exhibited against the evaluated bacterial strains. This evidence suggests that PvAMP66 can serve as a template for the development of AMPs with enhanced activity and deserves further pre-clinical studies as an API in combination therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Salinas-Restrepo
- Grupo Toxinología, Alternativas Terapéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050012, Colombia; (C.S.-R.); (A.M.N.-D.)
| | - Ana María Naranjo-Duran
- Grupo Toxinología, Alternativas Terapéuticas y Alimentarias, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Alimentarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050012, Colombia; (C.S.-R.); (A.M.N.-D.)
| | - Juan Quintana
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín 050012, Colombia;
| | - Julio Bueno
- Grupo Reproducción, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050012, Colombia;
| | - Fanny Guzman
- Núcleo Biotecnología Curauma (NBC), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 3100000, Chile;
| | - Lina M. Hoyos Palacio
- Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud, Grupo de Investigación Biología de Sistemas, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín 050031, Colombia;
| | - Cesar Segura
- Grupo Malaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín 050012, Colombia
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Chernov A, Kudryavtsev I, Komlev A, Alaverdian D, Tsapieva A, Galimova E, Shamova O. Nerve Growth Factor, Antimicrobial Peptides and Chemotherapy: Glioblastoma Combination Therapy to Improve Their Efficacy. Biomedicines 2023; 11:3009. [PMID: 38002009 PMCID: PMC10669874 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11113009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive and lethal malignancy of the central nervous system with a median survival rate of 15 months. We investigated the combined anticancer effects of nerve growth factor (NGF), cathelicidin (LL-37), and protegrin-1 (PG-1) with chemotherapy (temozolomide, doxorubicin, carboplatin, cisplatin, and etoposide) in the glioblastoma U251 cell line to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy and to guarantee specific treatments to succeed. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay was used to study cell viability and to determine the cytotoxic effects of NGF, LL-37, and PG-1 and their combination with chemotherapy in U251 cells. Synergism or antagonism was determined using the combination index (CI) method. Caspase-3 activity was evaluated spectrophotometrically using a caspase-3 activity assay kit. Apoptosis was analyzed with flow cytometry using propidium iodide (PI) and YO-PRO-1. NGF and the peptides showed a strong cytotoxic effect on U251 glioma cells in the MTT test (IC50 0.0214, 3.1, and 26.1 μM, respectively) compared to chemotherapy. The combination of PG-1 + etoposide had a synergistic effect on apoptosis of U251 glioma cells. It should be noted that the cells were in the early and late stages of apoptosis, respectively, compared with the control cells. The caspase-3 activation analysis revealed that the caspase-3 level was not significantly (p > 0.05) increased in U251 cells following PG-1 with etoposide treatment compared with that in the untreated cells, suggesting that the combination of PG-1 and etoposide may induce caspase-independent apoptosis in U251 cells. NGF, LL-37, and PG-1 represent promising drug candidates as the treatment regimen for GBM. Furthermore, the synergistic efficacy of the combined protocol using PG-1 and etoposide may overcome some of the typical limitations of the conventional therapeutic protocols, thus representing a promising approach for GBM therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandr Chernov
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
| | - Igor Kudryavtsev
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
| | - Aleksei Komlev
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
| | - Diana Alaverdian
- Medical Genetics, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy;
| | - Anna Tsapieva
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
| | - Elvira Galimova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
- Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg 194223, Russia
| | - Olga Shamova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, WCRC “Center for Personalized Medicine”, Saint-Petersburg 197022, Russia; (I.K.); (A.K.); (A.T.); (O.S.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg 199034, Russia
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Lu F, Zhu Y, Zhang G, Liu Z. Renovation as innovation: Repurposing human antibacterial peptide LL-37 for cancer therapy. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:944147. [PMID: 36081952 PMCID: PMC9445486 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.944147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In many organisms, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) display wide activities in innate host defense against microbial pathogens. Mammalian AMPs include the cathelicidin and defensin families. LL37 is the only one member of the cathelicidin family of host defense peptides expressed in humans. Since its discovery, it has become clear that they have pleiotropic effects. In addition to its antibacterial properties, many studies have shown that LL37 is also involved in a wide variety of biological activities, including tissue repair, inflammatory responses, hemotaxis, and chemokine induction. Moreover, recent studies suggest that LL37 exhibits the intricate and contradictory effects in promoting or inhibiting tumor growth. Indeed, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that human LL37 including its fragments and analogs shows anticancer effects on many kinds of cancer cell lines, although LL37 is also involved in cancer progression. Focusing on recent information, in this review, we explore and summarize how LL37 contributes to anticancer effect as well as discuss the strategies to enhance delivery of this peptide and selectivity for cancer cells.
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