Sulfated non-anticoagulant heparin derivative modifies intracellular hemoglobin, inhibits cell sickling in vitro, and prolongs survival of sickle cell mice under hypoxia

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by a single point mutation, resulting in abnormal sickle hemoglobin (HbS). During hypoxia or dehydration, HbS polymerizes to form insoluble aggregates and induces sickling of red blood cells, which increases the adhesiveness of the cells, thereby altering the rheological properties of the blood, and triggers inflammatory responses, leading to hemolysis and vaso-occlusive crises. Unfractionated heparin and low-molecular weight heparins have been suggested as treatments to relieve coagulation complications in SCD. However, they are associated with bleeding complications after repeated dosing. An alternative sulfated non-anticoagulant heparin derivative (S-NACH) was previously reported to have no to low systemic anticoagulant activity and no bleeding side effects, and it interfered with P-selectin-dependent binding of sickle cells to endothelial cells, with concomitant decrease in the levels of adhesion biomarkers in SCD mice. S-NACH has been further engineered and structurally enhanced to bind with and modify HbS to inhibit sickling directly, thus employing a multimodal approach. Here, we show that S-NACH can: (i) directly engage in Schiff-base reactions with HbS to decrease red blood cell sickling under both normoxia and hypoxia in vitro, (ii) prolong the survival of SCD mice under hypoxia, and (iii) regulate the altered steady state levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Thus, our proof-of-concept, in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies demonstrate that the multimodal S-NACH is a highly promising candidate for development into an improved and optimized alternative to low-molecular weight heparins for the treatment of patients with SCD.

PTSelect™: A post-transcriptional technology that enables rapid establishment of stable CHO cell lines and surveillance of clonal variation

Currently, stable Chinese hamster ovary cell lines producing therapeutic, recombinant proteins are established either by antibiotic and/or metabolic selection. Here, we report a novel technology, PTSelect™ that utilizes an siRNA cloned upstream of the gene of interest (GOI) that is processed to produce functional PTSelect™-siRNAs, which enable cell enrichment. Cells with stably integrated GOI are selected and separated from cells without GOI by transfecting CD4/siRNA mRNA regulated by PTSelect™-siRNAs and exploiting the variable expression of CD4 on the cell surface. This study describes the PTSelect™ principle and compares the productivity, doubling time and stability of clones developed by PTSelect™ with conventionally developed clones. PTSelect™ rapidly established a pool population with comparable stability and productivity to pools generated by traditional methods and can further be used to easily monitor productivity changes due to clonal drift, identifying individual cells with reduced productivity.

Microvesicle removal of anticancer drugs contributes to drug resistance in human pancreatic cancer cells

High mortality in pancreatic cancer patients is partly due to resistance to chemotherapy. We describe that human pancreatic cancer cells acquire drug resistance by a novel mechanism in which they expel and remove chemotherapeutic drugs from the microenvironment via microvesicles (MVs). Using human pancreatic cancer cells that exhibit varied sensitivity to gemcitabine (GEM), we show that GEM exposure triggers the cancer cells to release MVs in an amount that correlates with that cell line's sensitivity to GEM. The importance of MV-release in gaining drug resistance in GEM-resistant pancreatic cancer cells was confirmed when the inhibition of MV-release sensitized the cells to GEM treatment, both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, MVs remove drugs that are internalized into the cells and that are in the microenvironment. The differences between the drug-resistant and drug-sensitive pancreatic cancer cell lines tested here are explained based on the variable content of influx/efflux proteins present on MVs, which directly dictates the ability of MVs either to trap GEM or to allow GEM to flow back to the microenvironment.

Thymoquinone Modulates Blood Coagulation in Vitro via Its Effects on Inflammatory and Coagulation Pathways

Thymoquinone (THQ) is a major component of black seeds. Given that both THQ and black seeds exhibit anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities, we hypothesized that THQ will affect cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT), which is primarily triggered by tissue factor (TF) and inflammation. The effect of both black seed-extracted and purchased (“pure”) THQ on normal blood coagulation was tested with in vitro thromboelastography (TEG) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) coagulation assays. The effect of pure THQ on CAT was tested with aPTT assay using pancreatic cancer cell lines that are either positive or negative for TF, and with TEG assay using lipopolysaccharide as an inflammatory trigger. Additionally, the direct effect of THQ on the inactivation of factors IIa and Xa was assessed. Since TNF-α facilitates crosstalk between inflammation and thrombosis by triggering the NF-κB pathway, we tested THQ’s ability to interfere with this communication with a luciferase assay. Both extracted and pure THQ had minimal effects on normal blood coagulation. Pure THQ reversed CAT initiated by both TF and inflammation to basal levels (p < 0.001). Mechanistically, while THQ had minimal to no effect on factor IIa and Xa inactivation, it strongly reduced the effects of TNF-α on NF-κB elements (p < 0.001). THQ has a minimal effect on basal coagulation and can reverse CAT in vitro, possibly by interfering with the crosstalk between inflammation and coagulation. This study suggests the utility of THQ as a preventative anticoagulant and/or as a supplement to existing chemotherapies and anticoagulant therapies.

Regulated delivery of molecular cargo to invasive tumour-derived microvesicles

Cells release multiple, distinct forms of extracellular vesicles including structures known as microvesicles, which are known to alter the extracellular environment. Despite growing understanding of microvesicle biogenesis, function and contents, mechanisms regulating cargo delivery and enrichment remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that in amoeboid-like invasive tumour cell lines, the v-SNARE, VAMP3, regulates delivery of microvesicle cargo such as the membrane-type 1 matrix metalloprotease (MT1-MMP) to shedding microvesicles. MT1-MMP delivery to nascent microvesicles depends on the association of VAMP3 with the tetraspanin CD9 and facilitates the maintenance of amoeboid cell invasion. VAMP3-shRNA expression depletes shed vesicles of MT1-MMP and decreases cell invasiveness when embedded in cross-linked collagen matrices. Finally, we describe functionally similar microvesicles isolated from bodily fluids of ovarian cancer patients. Together these studies demonstrate the importance of microvesicle cargo sorting in matrix degradation and disease progression.

Modulation of Sickle Red Blood Cell Adhesion and its Associated Changes in Biomarkers by Sulfated Nonanticoagulant Heparin Derivative

Abnormal cellular adhesion is one of the primary causes of vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease (SCD). Levels of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and P-selectin are upregulated, resulting in increased adhesion of leukocytes and sickle red blood cells (RBCs) to endothelium. This study compares the inhibitory effect of a sulfated nonanticoagulant heparin (S-NACH) derivative with a low-molecular-weight heparin, tinzaparin, on the adhesion of sickle RBCs to endothelium. The S-NACH exhibits minimum effects on hemostasis and bleeding and interferes with the binding of pancreatic cancer cells to endothelial cells via P-selectin. We show by static binding assay that pretreatment of both erythrocytes and endothelial cells with S-NACH significantly inhibits the increased adhesion of sickle RBCs to endothelial cells. The S-NACH treatment also decreases the higher plasma levels of (adhesion biomarkers) ICAM-1 and P-selectin in SCD mice. This investigation signals further research into the potential use of S-NACH in treating vaso-occlusions with minimal bleeding events in patients with SCD.

Microvesicles: mediators of extracellular communication during cancer progression

Microvesicles are generated by the outward budding and fission of membrane vesicles from the cell surface. Recent studies suggest that microvesicle shedding is a highly regulated process that occurs in a spectrum of cell types and, more frequently, in tumor cells. Microvesicles have been widely detected in various biological fluids including peripheral blood, urine and ascitic fluids, and their function and composition depend on the cells from which they originate. By facilitating the horizontal transfer of bioactive molecules such as proteins, RNAs and microRNAs, they are now thought to have vital roles in tumor invasion and metastases, inflammation, coagulation, and stem-cell renewal and expansion. This Commentary summarizes recent literature on the properties and biogenesis of microvesicles and their potential role in cancer progression.

ADP-ribosylation factor 6 regulates tumorigenic and invasive properties in vivo

This study shows that the small GTP-binding protein ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) is an important regulator of tumor growth and metastasis. Using spontaneous melanoma tumor growth assays and experimental metastasis assays in nude mice, we show that sustained activation of ARF6 reduces tumor mass growth but significantly enhances the invasive capacity of tumor cells. In contrast, mice injected with tumor cells expressing a dominantly inhibitory ARF6 mutant exhibited a lower incidence and degree of invasion and lung metastasis compared with control animals. Effects on tumor growth correlate with reduced cell proliferation capacity and are linked at least in part to alterations in mitotic progression induced by defective ARF6 cycling. Furthermore, phospho-ERK levels in subcultured cells from ARF6(GTP) and ARF6(GDP) tumor explants correlate with invasive capacity. ARF6-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling leads to Rac1 activation to promote invadopodia formation and cell invasion. These findings document an intricate role for ARF6 and the regulation of ERK activation in orchestrating mechanisms underlying melanoma growth, invasion, and metastases.

Investigating the role of ADP-ribosylation factor 6 in tumor cell invasion and extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation

Tumor cell invasion is a coordinated process involving the formation of invadopodia and the localized degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The process of cell invasion is regulated by cell-signaling proteins such as Ras-related GTPases and members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. Our studies have focused on the role of the ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) GTPase in the process of tumor cell invasion. Using activated and dominant negative mutants of ARF6 in a tumor cell culture model, our laboratory has demonstrated that the GTPase cycle of ARF6 regulates invadopodia formation and matrix degradation. Furthermore, ARF6-mediated cell invasion was found to be dependent on the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). These findings demonstrate a critical role for ARF6 in ERK activation and tumor cell invasion. To investigate the role of ARF6 in tumor cell invasion and ERK activation, a number of methods were employed. These procedures include transfection of LOX cells, in vitro matrix-degradation assays, immunofluorescence microscopy, and biochemical assays. These approaches can be applied effectively to measure the degree of invasiveness fostered by ARF6 and/or other GTPases and to examine the subcellular distribution of the molecular players that are trafficked or recruited to sites of cell invasion.