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Cheon J, Song M, Kwon S. Alginate-gelatine hydrogel microspheres protect NK cell proliferation and cytotoxicity under hypoxic conditions. J Microencapsul 2024; 41:375-389. [PMID: 38945166 DOI: 10.1080/02652048.2024.2362170] [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: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
AIMS This study aimed to encapsulate natural killer (NK) cells in a hydrogel to sustain their function within the hypoxic tumour microenvironments. METHODS An alginate-gelatine hydrogel was generated via electrospray technology. Hydrogel biocompatibility was assessed through cell counting kit-8 and Live/Dead assays to ascertain cell. Moreover, we analysed lactate dehydrogenase assays to evaluate the cytotoxicity against tumours and utilised RT-qPCR to analyse cytokine gene level. RESULTS Alginate and gelatine formed hydrogels with diameters ranging from 489.2 ± 23.0 μm, and the encapsulation efficiency was 34.07 ± 1.76%. Encapsulated NK cells exhibited robust proliferation and tumour-killing capabilities under normoxia and hypoxia. Furthermore, encapsulation provided a protective shield against cell viability under hypoxia. Importantly, tumour-killing cytotoxicity through cytokines upregulation such as granzyme B and interferon-gamma was preserved under hypoxia. CONCLUSION The encapsulation of NK cells not only safeguards their viability but also reinforces anticancer capacity, countering the inhibition of activation induced by hypoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiyoung Cheon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
- Industry-Academia Interactive R&E Center for Bioprocess Innovation, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
| | - Myeongkwan Song
- Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
- Industry-Academia Interactive R&E Center for Bioprocess Innovation, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
| | - Soonjo Kwon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
- Industry-Academia Interactive R&E Center for Bioprocess Innovation, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
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Du Y, Metcalfe S, Akunapuram S, Ghosh S, Spruck C, Richardson AM, Cohen‐Gadol AA, Shen J. Image-based assessment of natural killer cell activity against glioblastoma stem cells. FEBS Open Bio 2024; 14:1028-1034. [PMID: 38740554 PMCID: PMC11148112 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13818] [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: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) poses a significant challenge in oncology and stands as the most aggressive form of brain cancer. A primary contributor to its relentless nature is the stem-like cancer cells, called glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). GSCs have the capacity for self-renewal and tumorigenesis, leading to frequent GBM recurrences and complicating treatment modalities. While natural killer (NK) cells exhibit potential in targeting and eliminating stem-like cancer cells, their efficacy within the GBM microenvironment is limited due to constrained infiltration and function. To address this limitation, novel investigations focusing on boosting NK cell activity against GSCs are imperative. This study presents two streamlined image-based assays assessing NK cell migration and cytotoxicity towards GSCs. It details protocols and explores the strengths and limitations of these methods. These assays could aid in identifying novel targets to enhance NK cell activity towards GSCs, facilitating the development of NK cell-based immunotherapy for improved GBM treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanning Du
- Medical Sciences ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Samuel Metcalfe
- Medical Sciences ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
- Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology Graduate ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Shreya Akunapuram
- Medical Sciences ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
- Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology Graduate ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Sugata Ghosh
- Medical Sciences ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
- Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology Graduate ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Charles Spruck
- Cancer CenterSanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery InstituteLa JollaCAUSA
| | - Angela M. Richardson
- Department of Neurological SurgeryIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisINUSA
| | - Aaron A. Cohen‐Gadol
- Department of Neurological SurgeryIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisINUSA
| | - Jia Shen
- Medical Sciences ProgramIndiana University School of MedicineBloomingtonINUSA
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisINUSA
- Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer CenterIndianapolisINUSA
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3
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Hu J, Sánchez-Rivera FJ, Wang Z, Johnson GN, Ho YJ, Ganesh K, Umeda S, Gan S, Mujal AM, Delconte RB, Hampton JP, Zhao H, Kottapalli S, de Stanchina E, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Pe'er D, Lowe SW, Sun JC, Massagué J. STING inhibits the reactivation of dormant metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature 2023; 616:806-813. [PMID: 36991128 PMCID: PMC10569211 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05880-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Metastasis frequently develops from disseminated cancer cells that remain dormant after the apparently successful treatment of a primary tumour. These cells fluctuate between an immune-evasive quiescent state and a proliferative state liable to immune-mediated elimination1-6. Little is known about the clearing of reawakened metastatic cells and how this process could be therapeutically activated to eliminate residual disease in patients. Here we use models of indolent lung adenocarcinoma metastasis to identify cancer cell-intrinsic determinants of immune reactivity during exit from dormancy. Genetic screens of tumour-intrinsic immune regulators identified the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway as a suppressor of metastatic outbreak. STING activity increases in metastatic progenitors that re-enter the cell cycle and is dampened by hypermethylation of the STING promoter and enhancer in breakthrough metastases or by chromatin repression in cells re-entering dormancy in response to TGFβ. STING expression in cancer cells derived from spontaneous metastases suppresses their outgrowth. Systemic treatment of mice with STING agonists eliminates dormant metastasis and prevents spontaneous outbreaks in a T cell- and natural killer cell-dependent manner-these effects require cancer cell STING function. Thus, STING provides a checkpoint against the progression of dormant metastasis and a therapeutically actionable strategy for the prevention of disease relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Hu
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Francisco J Sánchez-Rivera
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zhenghan Wang
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gabriela N Johnson
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yu-Jui Ho
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Karuna Ganesh
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shigeaki Umeda
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Siting Gan
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Adriana M Mujal
- Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca B Delconte
- Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jessica P Hampton
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Huiyong Zhao
- Antitumor Assessment Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sanjay Kottapalli
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elisa de Stanchina
- Antitumor Assessment Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christine A Iacobuzio-Donahue
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dana Pe'er
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- The Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Scott W Lowe
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joseph C Sun
- Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joan Massagué
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- The Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
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Ngan Ngo TK, Kuo CH, Tu TY. Recent advances in microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip strategies. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:011501. [PMID: 36647540 PMCID: PMC9840534 DOI: 10.1063/5.0108792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Despite several extraordinary improvements in cancer immunotherapy, its therapeutic effectiveness against many distinct cancer types remains mostly limited and requires further study. Different microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip (ITOC) systems have been developed to help researchers replicate the tumor microenvironment and immune system. Numerous microfluidic platforms can potentially be used to perform various on-chip activities related to early clinical cancer immunotherapy processes, such as improving immune checkpoint blockade therapy, studying immune cell dynamics, evaluating cytotoxicity, and creating vaccines or organoid models from patient samples. In this review, we summarize the most recent advancements in the development of various microfluidic-based ITOC devices for cancer treatment niches and present future perspectives on microfluidic devices for immunotherapy research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thi Kim Ngan Ngo
- Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsiang Kuo
- International Center for Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Yuan Tu
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
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Abstract
The discovery of immune checkpoints (ICs) and the development of specific blockers to relieve immune effector cells from this inhibiting mechanism has changed the view of anti-cancer therapy. In addition to cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) and programmed death 1 (PD1), classical ICs of T lymphocytes and recently described also on a fraction of natural killer (NK) cells, several NK cell receptors, including killer immunoglobulin-like inhibitory receptors (KIRs) and NGK2A, have been recognized as checkpoint members typical of the NK cell population. This offers the opportunity of a dual-checkpoint inhibition approach, targeting classical and non-classical ICs and leading to a synergistic therapeutic effect. In this review, we will overview and discuss this new perspective, focusing on the most relevant candidates for this role among the variety of potential NK ICs. Beside listing and defining classical ICs expressed also by NK cells, or non-classical ICs either on T or on NK cells, we will address their role in NK cell survival, chronic stimulation or functional exhaustion, and the potential relevance of this phenomenon on anti-tumor immune response. Furthermore, NK ICs will be proposed as possible new targets for the development of efficient combined immunotherapy, not forgetting the relevant concerns that may be raised on NK IC blockade. Finally, the impact of epigenetic drugs in such a complex therapeutic picture will be briefly addressed.
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EZH2 inhibits NK cell-mediated antitumor immunity by suppressing CXCL10 expression in an HDAC10-dependent manner. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2102718118. [PMID: 34301901 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102718118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is a histone H3 lysine 27 methyltransferase that has been shown to function as an oncogene in some cancers. Previous reports have largely focused on the ability of EZH2 to regulate cell-intrinsic tumor regulatory pathways as its mechanism-of-oncogenic action. However, the role that EZH2-mediated immune suppression plays in its oncogenic activity is not fully known. In particular, the role of natural killer (NK) cells in EZH2-driven tumor growth remains incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of EZH2 induces reexpression of the chemokine CXCL10 in hepatic tumor cells. We find that histone deacetylase 10 (HDAC10) is necessary for EZH2 recruitment to the CXCL10 promoter, leading to CXCL10 transcriptional repression. Critically, CXCL10 is necessary and sufficient for stimulating NK cell migration, and EZH2's ability to inhibit NK cell migration via CXCL10 suppression is conserved in other EZH2-dependent cancers. NK cell depletion in an immunocompetent syngeneic mouse model of hepatic tumorigenesis reverses the tumor inhibitory effects of an EZH2 inhibitor (GSK343), and inhibitor-mediated reexpression of CXCL10 is required for its tumor suppressive effects in the same mouse model. Collectively, these results reveal a decisive role for NK cells and CXCL10 in mediating the oncogenic function of EZH2.
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Disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like promotes ovarian cancer tumor growth by stimulating pro-tumorigenic metabolic pathways and blocking apoptosis. Oncogenesis 2021; 10:48. [PMID: 34253709 PMCID: PMC8275629 DOI: 10.1038/s41389-021-00339-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecological malignancy-related deaths. Current therapies for ovarian cancer do not provide meaningful and sustainable clinical benefits, highlighting the need for new therapies. We show that the histone H3K79 methyltransferase disruptor of telomeric silencing 1-like (DOT1L) is overexpressed in ovarian cancer and that a higher level of DOT1L expression correlates with shorter progression-free and overall survival (OS). Pharmacological inhibition of DOT1L (EPZ-5676, EPZ004777, and SGC0946) or genetic inhibition of DOT1L attenuates the growth of ovarian cancer cells in cell culture and in a mouse xenograft model of ovarian cancer. Transcriptome-wide mRNA expression profiling shows that DOT1L inhibition results in the downregulation of genes involved in cellular biosynthesis pathways and the upregulation of proapoptotic genes. Consistent with the results of transcriptome analysis, the unbiased large-scale metabolomic analysis showed reduced levels of several metabolites of the amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis pathways after DOT1L inhibition. DOT1L inhibition also resulted in the upregulation of the NKG2D ligand ULBP1 and subsequent increase in natural killer (NK) cell-mediated ovarian cancer eradication. Collectively, our results demonstrate that DOT1L promotes ovarian cancer tumor growth by regulating apoptotic and metabolic pathways as well as NK cell-mediated eradication of ovarian cancer and identifies DOT1L as a new pharmacological target for ovarian cancer therapy.
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