Immune gene therapy of cancer

Recent advances in polymeric and lipid stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for cell-based cancer immunotherapy

Conventional cancer therapy has major limitations, including non-specificity, unavoidable side effects, low specific tumor accumulation and systemic toxicity. In recent years, more effective and precise treatment methods have been developed, including cell-based immunotherapy. Carriers that can accurately and specifically target cells and equip them to combat cancer cells are particularly important for developing this therapy. As a result, attention has been drawn to smart nanocarriers that can react to specific stimuli. Thus, stimuli-responsive nanocarriers have attracted increasing attention because they can change their physicochemical properties in response to stimulus conditions, such as pH, enzymes, redox agents, hypoxia, light and temperature. This review highlights recent advances in various stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, discussing loading, targeted delivery, cellular uptake, biocompatibility and immunomodulation in cell-based immunotherapy. Finally, future challenges and perspectives regarding the possible clinical translation of nanocarriers are discussed.

Aptamers: ushering in new hopes in targeted glioblastoma therapy

Glioblastoma, a formidable brain cancer, has remained a therapeutic challenge due to its aggressive nature and resistance to conventional treatments. Recent data indicate that aptamers, short synthetic DNA or RNA molecules can be used in anti-cancer therapy due to their better tumour penetration, specific binding affinity, longer retention in tumour sites and their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. With the ability to modify these oligonucleotides through the selection process, and using rational design to modify them, post-SELEX aptamers offer several advantages in glioblastoma treatment, including precise targeting of cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. This review discusses the pivotal role of aptamers in glioblastoma therapy and diagnosis, emphasising their potential to enhance treatment efficacy and also highlights recent advancements in aptamer-based therapies which can transform the landscape of glioblastoma treatment, offering renewed hope to patients and clinicians alike.

The future of interleukin gene therapy in head and neck cancers

INTRODUCTION

Head and neck cancer (HNC), primarily head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, originates from the squamous epithelium in areas like the oral cavity, lip, larynx, and oropharynx. With high morbidity impacting critical functions, combined treatments like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy often fall short in advanced stages, highlighting the need for innovative therapies.

AREAS COVERED

This review critically evaluates interleukin (IL) gene therapy for treating HNC. The discussion extends to key ILs in HNC, various gene therapy techniques and delivery methods. We particularly focus on the application of IL-2, IL-12, and IL-24 gene therapies, examining their mechanisms and outcomes in preclinical studies and clinical trials. The final sections address IL gene therapy challenges in HNC, exploring solutions and critically assessing future therapeutic directions.

EXPERT OPINION

Despite advancements in genomic and immunotherapy, significant challenges in HNC treatment persist, primarily due to the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment and the adverse effects of current therapies. The therapeutic efficacy of IL gene therapy hinges on overcoming these hurdles through refined delivery methods that ensure targeted, tumor-specific gene expression. Future strategies should focus on refining gene delivery methods and combining IL gene therapy with other treatments to optimize efficacy and minimize toxicity.

Advancements in nanomedicine delivery systems: unraveling immune regulation strategies for tumor immunotherapy

This review highlights the significant role of nanodrug delivery systems (NDDS) in enhancing the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy. Focusing on the integration of NDDS with immune regulation strategies, it explores their transformative impacts on the tumor microenvironment and immune response dynamics. Key advancements include the optimization of drug delivery through NDDS, targeting mechanisms like immune checkpoint blockade and modulating the immunosuppressive tumor environment. Despite the progress, challenges such as limited clinical efficacy and complex manufacturing processes persist. The review emphasizes the need for further research to optimize these systems, potentially revolutionizing cancer treatment by improving delivery efficiency, reducing toxicity and overcoming immune resistance.

Mechanism of action of nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg

Effective bladder-preserving therapeutic options are needed for patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg (Adstiladrin®) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as the first gene therapy in urology and the first intravesical gene therapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with high-risk bacillus Calmette-Guérin-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors. The proposed mechanism of action underlying nadofaragene firadenovec efficacy is likely due to the pleiotropic nature of interferon-α and its direct and indirect antitumor activities. Direct activities include cell death and the mediation of an antiangiogenic effect, and indirect activities are those initiated through immunomodulation of the innate and adaptive immune responses. The sustained expression of interferon-α that results from this treatment modality contributes to a durable response. This review provides insight into potential mechanisms of action underlying nadofaragene firadenovec efficacy.

Recent advances of engineered oncolytic viruses-based combination therapy for liver cancer

Liver cancer is a major malignant tumor, which seriously threatens human health and increases the economic burden on patients. At present, gene therapy has been comprehensively studied as an excellent therapeutic measure in liver cancer treatment. Oncolytic virus (OV) is a kind of virus that can specifically infect and kill tumor cells. After being modified by genetic engineering, the specificity of OV infection to tumor cells is increased, and its influence on normal cells is reduced. To date, OV has shown its effectiveness and safety in experimental and clinical studies on a variety of tumors. Thus, this review primarily introduces the current status of different genetically engineered OVs used in gene therapy for liver cancer, focuses on the application of OVs and different target genes for current liver cancer therapy, and identifies the problems encountered in OVs-based combination therapy and the corresponding solutions, which will provide new insights into the treatment of liver cancer.

Bifidobacterium infantis-Mediated Herpes Simplex Virus-TK/Ganciclovir Treatment Inhibits Cancer Metastasis in Mouse Model

Previous studies have found that Bifidobacterium infantis-mediated herpes simplex virus-TK/ganciclovir (BF-TK/GCV) reduces the expression of VEGF and CD146, implying tumor metastasis inhibition. However, the mechanism by which BF-TK/GCV inhibits tumor metastasis is not fully studied. Here, we comprehensively identified and quantified protein expression profiling for the first time in gastric cancer (GC) cells MKN-45 upon BF-TK/GCV treatment using quantitative proteomics. A total of 159 and 72 differential expression proteins (DEPs) were significantly changed in the BF-TK/GCV/BF-TK and BF-TK/GCV/BF/GCV comparative analysis. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis enriched some metastasis-related pathways such as gap junction and cell adhesion molecules pathways. Moreover, the transwell assay proved that BF-TK/GCV inhibited the invasion and migration of tumor cells. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry (IHC) demonstrated that BF-TK/GCV reduced the expression of HIF-1α, mTOR, NF-κB1-p105, VCAM1, MMP13, CXCL12, ATG16, and CEBPB, which were associated with tumor metastasis. In summary, BF-TK/GCV inhibited tumor metastasis, which deepened and expanded the understanding of the antitumor mechanism of BF-TK/GCV.

STING activation in macrophages by vanillic acid exhibits antineoplastic potential

The host stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway is a major innate immune sensing pathway, and the stimulation of this pathway within antigen-presenting cells shows promise in targeting immune-suppressed tumors. Macrophages resident in tumors exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and enhance tumor growth and development. Polarizing such macrophages towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype is an effective strategy for tumor suppression. In the present study, we observed that the STING pathway was inactivated in breast and lung carcinomas, and a positive correlation existed between STING and macrophage markers in these tumors. We found that vanillic acid (VA) could stimulate the STING/TBK1/IRF3 pathway. VA mediated the production of type I IFN and promoted macrophage polarization into the M1 phenotype; this activity was dependent on STING activation. A direct-contact co-culture model and a transwell co-culture model revealed that macrophages with VA-induced STING activation exhibited anti-proliferative effects on SKBR3 and H1299 cells, although a STING antagonist and M2 macrophage-related cytokines alleviated this anti-proliferative effect. Further investigation indicated that phagocytosis and apoptosis-inducing effects were the major mediators of the anti-tumor effect of VA-treated macrophages. Mechanistically, VA promoted the polarization of macrophages to a M1 phenotype via IL-6R/JAK signaling, resulting in enhanced phagocytosis and apoptosis-induction effects. Additionally, STING activation-induced IFNβ production also participated in the apoptosis mediated by VA-treated macrophage in SKBR3 and H1299 cells. Mouse models with 4 T1 tumors confirmed the anti-tumor properties of VA in vivo and revealed the infiltration of VA-induced cytotoxic T cells into the tumors. These data suggest that VA is an effective agonist of STING and provides a new perspective for cancer immunotherapy.

Analysis of the regulatory mechanisms of prognostic immune factors in thyroid cancer

Objective

To explore the regulatory mechanism of immune prognostic factors in thyroid cancer.

Methods

Based on the TCGA database and GEO database, this study used bioinformatics methods to study the potential regulatory mechanism of thyroid cancer prognosis, analyzed the differentially expressed genes and differential miRNAs between thyroid cancer and normal paracancerous tissues by R software, and constructed lasso risk factors. The immune prognostic factors of thyroid cancer were obtained from the model, and the miRDB website was used to predict the possibility of differential miRNA target binding of the immune prognostic factors and correlation analysis was performed, and finally verified by cell experiments.

Results

There were 1413 differentially expressed genes between thyroid cancer and normal paracancerous tissues, among which 21 immune-related genes were prognostic factors with significant differences in expression; lasso risk model obtained AKAP12, APOC1, TIMP3, ADAMTS9, ANK2, HTRA3, SYNDIG1 , ADAMTS5 and DACT1 were nine prognostic factors. A total of 58 differential miRNAs were found in thyroid cancer tissues and non-cancerous tissues. The possibility of differential miRNA targeting and binding of immune prognostic factors on the miRDB website and cell experiments was analyzed.

Conclusions

The potential miRNA regulatory mechanism of immune prognostic factors in thyroid cancer has been explored.

Administration of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor enhanced chimeric antigen receptor T-cell expansion and cellular immunity recovery without inducing cytokine release syndrome

Background

Neutropenia and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) are two major toxicities of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is an ideal candidate treatment for neutropenia except for its potential aggravation of CRS. We hypothesized that the optimal timing of supplemental with GM-CSF in a shortage of host immunity and CAR T-cell was chosen as avoidance of CRS. In the study we evaluated the safety and efficacy of GM-CSF intervention post-CAR T-cell therapy while circulating CAR T-cell declined.

Materials and methods

Nine patients received GM-CSF therapy who displayed moderate neutropenia with absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) < 1,500 cells/mm³ with concomitant declination of circulating CAR T-cell.

Results

The median duration of GM-CSF intervention was 15 days (4–30). CAR T-cell expansion was observed in peripheral blood (PB) of seven patients (7/9). The median baseline and peak CAR T cells count in PB of the seven patients with CAR T-cell expansion were 0.85 × 10⁶/L (0–50.9) and 6.06 × 10⁶/L (1.43–112.55). And the peaks of CAR T-cell levels in PB appeared in day 7 (2–11) following the initiation of GM-CSF administration with increases of 2.84 × 10⁶/L (0.38–61.65). Also, increased white blood cells in PB were observed in all patients. The median onset and duration time of WBC recovery were 9 (1–14) and 17 (3–53) days. Moreover, the increment of WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte and CD3-CD16 + CD56 + natural killer cell in PB was observed. In addition, no CRS or fatal infection occurred during GM-CSF treatment.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence for the clinical feasibility of combining CAR T-cell therapy with the GM-CSF to treat neutropenia patients with concomitant declination of circulating CAR T-cell.

Recent Progress of Machine Learning in Gene Therapy

With new developments in biomedical technology, it is now a viable therapeutic treatment to alter genes with techniques like CRISPR. At the same time, it is increasingly cheaper to do whole genome sequencing, resulting in rapid advancement in gene therapy and editing in precision medicine. Thus, understanding the current industry and academic applications of gene therapy provides an important backdrop to future scientific developments. Additionally, machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques allow for the reduction of time and money spent in the development of new gene therapy products and techniques. In this paper, we survey the current progress of gene therapy treatments for several diseases and explore machine learning applications in gene therapy. We also discuss the ethical implications of gene therapy and the use of machine learning in precision medicine. Machine learning and gene therapy are both topics gaining popularity in various publications, and we conclude that there is still room for continued research and application of machine learning techniques in the gene therapy field.