Nimotuzumab enhances the sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer cells to tumor necrosis factor-α by inhibiting the nuclear factor-кB signaling pathway

The Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor in Manipulating the Immunological Response of Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is an intricate system within solid neoplasms. In this review, we aim to provide an updated insight into the TME with a focus on the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on its various components and the use of TNF-α to improve the efficiency of drug delivery. The TME comprises the supporting structure of the tumor, such as its extracellular matrix and vasculature. In addition to cancer cells and cancer stem cells, the TME contains various other cell types, including pericytes, tumor-associated fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and immune cells. These cells produce signaling molecules such as growth factors, cytokines, hormones, and extracellular matrix proteins. This review summarizes the intricate balance between pro-oncogenic and tumor-suppressive functions that various non-tumor cells within the TME exert. We focused on the interaction between tumor cells and immune cells in the TME that plays an essential role in regulating the immune response, tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis. The multifunctional cytokine, TNF-α, plays essential roles in diverse cellular events within the TME. The uses of TNF-α in cancer treatment and to facilitate cancer drug delivery are discussed. The effects of TNF-α on tumor neovasculature and tumor interstitial fluid pressure that improve treatment efficacy are summarized.

Identification of a novel prognostic DNA methylation signature for lung adenocarcinoma based on consensus clustering method

Abnormal DNA methylation persists throughout carcinogenesis and cancer development. Hence, gene promoter methylation may act as a prognostic tool and provide new potential therapeutic targets for patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). In this study, to explore prognostic methylation signature, data regarding DNA methylation and RNA-seq, and clinical data of patients with LUAD from the Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA) were downloaded. After data preprocessing, the methylation data were divided into training (N = 405) and test sets (N = 62). Then, patients in the training set were assigned to five subgroups based on their different methylation levels using the consensus clustering method. We comprehensively analyzed the survival information, methylation levels, and clinical variables, including American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging, age, smoking history, and gender of these five groups. Subsequently, we identified a 16-CpG prognostic signature and constructed a prognostic model, which was verified in the test set. Further analyses showed stable prognostic performance in the stratified cohorts. In conclusion, the new predictive DNA methylation signature proposed in this study may be used as an independent biomarker to assess the overall survival of LUAD patients and provide bioinformatics information for development of targeted therapy.

Ferumoxytol and CpG oligodeoxynucleotide 2395 synergistically enhance antitumor activity of macrophages against NSCLC with EGFRL858R/T790M mutation

Purpose: Drug resistance is a major challenge for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) treatment of lung cancer. Ferumoxytol (FMT) drives macrophage (MΦ) transformation towards a M1-like phenotype and thereby inhibits tumor growth. CpG oligodeoxynucleotide 2395 (CpG), a toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, is an effective therapeutic agent to induce anticancer immune responses. Herein, the effect of co-administered FMT and CpG on MΦ activation for treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was explored.

Methods: The mRNA expression levels of M1-like genes in RAW 264.7 MΦ cells stimulated by FMT, CpG and FMT and CpG (FMT/CpG) were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Then, the effects of FMT/CpG-pretreated MΦ supernatant on apoptosis and proliferation of H1975 cells were detected by flow cytometry, and the expression of EGFR and its downstream signaling pathway in H1975 cells were explored by western blotting. Finally, a H1975 cell xenograft mouse model was used to study the anti-tumor effect of the combination of FMT and CpG in vivo.

Results: FMT and CpG synergistically enhanced M1-like gene expression in MΦ, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). FMT/CpG-pretreated MΦ supernatant inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of H1975 cells, accompanied by down-regulation of cell cycle-associated proteins and up-regulation of apoptosis-related proteins. Further studies indicated that the FMT/CpG-pretreated MΦ supernatant suppressed p-EGFR and its downstream AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in H1975 cells. Furthermore, FMT/CpG suppressed tumor growth in mice accompanied by a decline in the EGFR-positive tumor cell fraction and increased M1 phenotype macrophage infiltration.

Conclusion: FMT acted synergistically with CpG to activate MΦ for suppressed proliferation and promoted apoptosis of NSCLC cells via EGFR signaling. Thus, combining FMT and CpG is an effective strategy for the treatment of NSCLC with EGFR^L858R/T790M mutation.