Ibrutinib-based therapy reinvigorates CD8+ T cells compared to chemoimmunotherapy: immune monitoring from the E1912 trial.

ABSTRACT: Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKis) that target B-cell receptor signaling have led to a paradigm shift in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment. BTKis have been shown to reduce abnormally high CLL-associated T-cell counts and the expression of immune checkpoint receptors concomitantly with tumor reduction. However, the impact of BTKi therapy on T-cell function has not been fully characterized. Here, we performed longitudinal immunophenotypic and functional analysis of pretreatment and on-treatment (6 and 12 months) peripheral blood samples from patients in the phase 3 E1912 trial comparing ibrutinib-rituximab with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR). Intriguingly, we report that despite reduced overall T-cell counts; higher numbers of T cells, including effector CD8+ subsets at baseline and at the 6-month time point, associated with no infections; and favorable progression-free survival in the ibrutinib-rituximab arm. Assays demonstrated enhanced anti-CLL T-cell killing function during ibrutinib-rituximab treatment, including a switch from predominantly CD4+ T-cell:CLL immune synapses at baseline to increased CD8+ lytic synapses on-therapy. Conversely, in the FCR arm, higher T-cell numbers correlated with adverse clinical responses and showed no functional improvement. We further demonstrate the potential of exploiting rejuvenated T-cell cytotoxicity during ibrutinib-rituximab treatment, using the bispecific antibody glofitamab, supporting combination immunotherapy approaches.

Interleukin-27 potentiates CD8+ T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells are highly dependent on interactions with the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) for survival and proliferation. In the search for novel treatments, pro-inflammatory cytokines have emerged as candidates to reactivate the immune system. Among those, interleukin 27 (IL-27) has recently gained attention, but its effects differ among malignancies. Here, we utilized the Eµ-TCL1 and EBI3 knock-out mouse models as well as clinical samples from patients to investigate the role of IL-27 in CLL. Characterization of murine leukemic spleens revealed that the absence of IL-27 leads to enhanced CLL development and a more immunosuppressive TME in transgenic mice. Gene-profiling of T-cell subsets from EBI3 knock-out highlighted transcriptional changes in the CD8+ T-cell population associated with T-cell activation, proliferation, and cytotoxicity. We also observed an increased anti-tumor activity of CD8+ T cells in the presence of IL-27 ex vivo with murine and clinical samples. Notably, IL-27 treatment led to the reactivation of autologous T cells from CLL patients. Finally, we detected a decrease in IL-27 serum levels during CLL development in both pre-clinical and patient samples. Altogether, we demonstrated that IL-27 has a strong anti-tumorigenic role in CLL and postulate this cytokine as a promising treatment or adjuvant for this malignancy.

The immunomodulatory molecule TIGIT is expressed by chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells and contributes to anergy.

T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) is an inhibitory checkpoint receptor that negatively regulates Tcell responses. CD226 competes with TIGIT for binding to the CD155 ligand, delivering a positive signal to the T cell. Here we studied the expression of TIGIT and CD226 in a cohort of 115 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and report expression of TIGIT and CD226 by leukemic cells. By devising a TIGIT/CD226 ratio, we showed that CLL cells favoring TIGIT over CD226 are typical of a more indolent disease, while those favoring CD226 are characterized by a shorter time to first treatment and shorter progression-free survival after first treatment. TIGIT expression was inversely correlated to the B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling capacity, as determined by studying BTK phosphorylation, cell proliferation and interleukin- 10 production. In CLL cells treated with ibrutinib, in which surface IgM and BCR signaling capacity are temporarily increased, TIGIT expression was downmodulated, in line with data indicating transient recovery from anergy. Lastly, cells from patients with Richter syndrome were characterized by high levels of CD226, with low to undetectable TIGIT, in keeping with their high proliferative drive. Together, these data suggest that TIGIT contributes to CLL anergy by downregulating BCR signaling, identifying novel and actionable molecular circuits regulating anergy and modulating CLL cell functions.

Extracellular Vesicle Secretion by Leukemia Cells In Vivo Promotes CLL Progression by Hampering Antitumor T-cell Responses.

Small extracellular vesicle (sEV, or exosome) communication among cells in the tumor microenvironment has been modeled mainly in cell culture, whereas their relevance in cancer pathogenesis and progression in vivo is less characterized. Here we investigated cancer-microenvironment interactions in vivo using mouse models of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). sEVs isolated directly from CLL tissue were enriched in specific miRNA and immune-checkpoint ligands. Distinct molecular components of tumor-derived sEVs altered CD8+ T-cell transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, leading to decreased functions and cell exhaustion ex vivo and in vivo. Using antagomiRs and blocking antibodies, we defined specific cargo-mediated alterations on CD8+ T cells. Abrogating sEV biogenesis by Rab27a/b knockout dramatically delayed CLL pathogenesis. This phenotype was rescued by exogenous leukemic sEV or CD8+ T-cell depletion. Finally, high expression of sEV-related genes correlated with poor outcomes in CLL patients, suggesting sEV profiling as a prognostic tool. In conclusion, sEVs shape the immune microenvironment during CLL progression. SIGNIFICANCE: sEVs produced in the leukemia microenvironment impair CD8+ T-cell mediated antitumor immune response and are indispensable for leukemia progression in vivo in murine preclinical models. In addition, high expression of sEV-related genes correlated with poor survival and unfavorable clinical parameters in CLL patients. See related commentary by Zhong and Guo, p. 5. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1.

Activation and expansion of T-follicular helper cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia nurselike cell co-cultures.

Interactions between chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells and T-cell subsets in the lymph node microenvironment are thought to play a central role in disease biology. To study these interactions in a model of the CLL lymph node microenvironment, we characterized T-cell subsets in CLL nurselike cell (NLC) co-cultures. We focused on T-follicular helper (Tfh) cells, which are characterized by CXCR5 expression and localization to B-cell follicles. In co-cultures from 28 different CLL patients, we detected an expansion of Tfh cells based on PD-1, BCL6, and ICOS expression, with increased IL-21 and downmodulated CD40L surface expression. Regulatory T cells (Treg), which promote immune tolerance, also expanded in NLC co-cultures. T-cell receptor (TR) gene repertoire analyses confirmed the clonal expansion of CD4+ T cells, with an enrichment of TR clonotypes commonly expanded also in primary CLL samples. Multicolor confocal microscopy revealed that Tfh, but not Treg co-localize with proliferating CLL cells in CLL lymph node sections. Collectively, these data provide new insight into the cellular and molecular cross-talk between CLL and T-cell subsets, resulting in clonal expansion of T-helper cells and interaction of Tfh cells with proliferating CLL cells which may open new avenues for therapeutic targeting.

Interleukin-10 receptor signaling promotes the maintenance of a PD-1int TCF-1+ CD8+ T cell population that sustains anti-tumor immunity.

T cell exhaustion limits anti-tumor immunity and responses to immunotherapy. Here, we explored the microenvironmental signals regulating T cell exhaustion using a model of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Single-cell analyses identified a subset of PD-1hi, functionally impaired CD8+ T cells that accumulated in secondary lymphoid organs during disease progression and a functionally competent PD-1int subset. Frequencies of PD-1int TCF-1+ CD8+ T cells decreased upon Il10rb or Stat3 deletion, leading to accumulation of PD-1hi cells and accelerated tumor progression. Mechanistically, inhibition of IL-10R signaling altered chromatin accessibility and disrupted cooperativity between the transcription factors NFAT and AP-1, promoting a distinct NFAT-associated program. Low IL10 expression or loss of IL-10R-STAT3 signaling correlated with increased frequencies of exhausted CD8+ T cells and poor survival in CLL and in breast cancer patients. Thus, balance between PD-1hi, exhausted CD8+ T cells and functional PD-1int TCF-1+ CD8+ T cells is regulated by cell-intrinsic IL-10R signaling, with implications for immunotherapy.

Immunomodulatory Drugs for the Treatment of B Cell Malignancies.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the tumor microenvironment (TME) is involved in disease progression and drug resistance in B cell malignancies, by supporting tumor growth and facilitating the ability of malignant cells to avoid immune recognition. Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) such as lenalidomide have some direct anti-tumor activity, but critically also target various cellular compartments of the TME including T cells, NK cells, and stromal cells, which interfere with pro-tumor signaling while activating anti-tumor immune responses. Lenalidomide has delivered favorable clinical outcomes as a single-agent, and in combination therapy leads to durable responses in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and several non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) including follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Recently, avadomide, a next generation cereblon E3 ligase modulator (CELMoD), has shown potent anti-tumor and TME immunomodulatory effects, as well as promising clinical efficacy in DLBCL. This review describes how the pleiotropic effects of IMiDs and CELMoDs could make them excellent candidates for combination therapy in the immuno-oncology era-a concept supported by preclinical data, as well as the recent approval of lenalidomide in combination with rituximab for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) FL.

Characterization of Phytophthora infestans Populations in Cyprus, the Southernmost Potato-Producing European Country.

Cyprus is the southernmost island country of Europe, located in the Mediterranean. Despite its limited area, potato production is considered an integral source of the national agricultural revenue. During 2010-2012, a late blight epidemic period for the country, the population structure of Phytophthora infestans was analyzed via a sample of 539 isolates collected from all of the main potato-cultivating regions of Cyprus. We determined mating type, mefenoxam sensitivity, and genetic polymorphism at 12 simple sequence repeat (SSRs) loci. Although both mating types were detected in the country, a gradual but dynamic shift toward A2 dominance was manifested over time. The pathogen population also demonstrated reduced sensitivity to the phenylamide fungicide, since 96.2% of the tested isolates had high (70.3%) and intermediate (25.9%) resistance to mefenoxam, which suggests that it should be replaced with other active ingredients in local disease management strategies. The genotypic analysis also revealed the predominance of the highly aggressive mefenoxam-insensitive EU_13_A2 lineage across the country, with a frequency of 79.2%. Other samples comprised an older lineage EU_2_A1 (19.5%), a very low proportion of EU_23_A1 (0.37%), and others that did not match any known lineage (0.92%). SSRs data supported triploid genomes among the dominant lineages, and patterns of their asexual population history were also apparent. A high subclonal variation of the 13_A2 population was detected, which suggested introduction events of this widespread genotype to Cyprus from major tuber-exporting countries. Present data indicate the severe impact of inoculum migration to the structure of the local population; thus, current phytosanitary procedures should be reconsidered and possibly attuned. This is the first comprehensive study to elucidate the diversity of P. infestans in Cyprus and could serve as a baseline for future monitoring of this highly adaptive plant pathogen, given that late blight management strategies should be constantly refined according to the traits of the dominant genotypes of P. infestans.

Understanding the Immune-Stroma Microenvironment in B Cell Malignancies for Effective Immunotherapy.

Cancers, including lymphomas, develop in complex tissue environments where malignant cells actively promote the creation of a pro-tumoral niche that suppresses effective anti-tumor effector T cell responses. Research is revealing that the tumor microenvironment (TME) differs between different types of lymphoma, covering inflamed environments, as exemplified by Hodgkin lymphoma, to non-inflamed TMEs as seen in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or diffuse-large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In this review we consider how T cells and interferon-driven inflammatory signaling contribute to the regulation of anti-tumor immune responses, as well as sensitivity to anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. We discuss tumor intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms critical to anti-tumor immune responses, as well as sensitivity to immunotherapies, before adding an additional layer of complexity within the TME: the immunoregulatory role of non-hematopoietic stromal cells that co-evolve with tumors. Studying the intricate interactions between the immune-stroma lymphoma TME should help to design next-generation immunotherapies and combination treatment strategies to overcome complex TME-driven immune suppression.

A Detailed Analysis of Parameters Supporting the Engraftment and Growth of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells in Immune-Deficient Mice.

Patient-derived xenograft models of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can be created using highly immunodeficient animals, allowing analysis of primary tumor cells in an in vivo setting. However, unlike many other tumors, CLL B lymphocytes do not reproducibly grow in xenografts without manipulation, proliferating only when there is concomitant expansion of T cells. Here we show that in vitro pre-activation of CLL-derived T lymphocytes allows for a reliable and robust system for primary CLL cell growth within a fully autologous system that uses small numbers of cells and does not require pre-conditioning. In this system, growth of normal T and leukemic B cells follows four distinct temporal phases, each with characteristic blood and tissue findings. Phase 1 constitutes a period during which resting CLL B cells predominate, with cells aggregating at perivascular areas most often in the spleen. In Phase 2, T cells expand and provide T-cell help to promote B-cell division and expansion. Growth of CLL B and T cells persists in Phase 3, although some leukemic B cells undergo differentiation to more mature B-lineage cells (plasmablasts and plasma cells). By Phase 4, CLL B cells are for the most part lost with only T cells remaining. The required B-T cell interactions are not dependent on other human hematopoietic cells nor on murine macrophages or follicular dendritic cells, which appear to be relatively excluded from the perivascular lymphoid aggregates. Notably, the growth kinetics and degree of anatomic localization of CLL B and T cells is significantly influenced by intravenous versus intraperitoneal administration. Importantly, B cells delivered intraperitoneally either remain within the peritoneal cavity in a quiescent state, despite the presence of dividing T cells, or migrate to lymphoid tissues where they actively divide; this dichotomy mimics the human condition in that cells in primary lymphoid tissues and the blood are predominately resting, whereas those in secondary lymphoid tissues proliferate. Finally, the utility of this approach is illustrated by documenting the effects of a bispecific antibody reactive with B and T cells. Collectively, this model represents a powerful tool to evaluate CLL biology and novel therapeutics in vivo.

Triggering interferon signaling in T cells with avadomide sensitizes CLL to anti-PD-L1/PD-1 immunotherapy.

Cancer treatment has been transformed by checkpoint blockade therapies, with the highest anti-tumor activity of anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) antibody therapy seen in Hodgkin lymphoma. Disappointingly, response rates have been low in the non-Hodgkin lymphomas, with no activity seen in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with PD-1 blockade. Thus, identifying more powerful combination therapy is required for these patients. Here, we preclinically demonstrate enhanced anti-CLL activity following combinational therapy with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-1 ligand (PD-L1) and avadomide, a cereblon E3 ligase modulator (CELMoD). Avadomide induced type I and II interferon (IFN) signaling in patient T cells, triggering a feedforward cascade of reinvigorated T-cell responses. Immune modeling assays demonstrated that avadomide stimulated T-cell activation, chemokine expression, motility and lytic synapses with CLL cells, as well as IFN-inducible feedback inhibition through upregulation of PD-L1. Patient-derived xenograft tumors treated with avadomide were converted to CD8+ T cell-inflamed tumor microenvironments that responded to anti-PD-L1/PD-1-based combination therapy. Notably, clinical analyses showed increased PD-L1 expression on T cells, as well as intratumoral expression of chemokine signaling genes in B-cell malignancy patients receiving avadomide-based therapy. These data illustrate the importance of overcoming a low inflammatory T-cell state to successfully sensitize CLL to checkpoint blockade-based combination therapy.

Synergistic activity of agents targeting growth factor receptors, CDKs and downstream signaling molecules in a panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines and the identification of antagonistic combinations: Implications for future clinical trials in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive, heterogeneous and fatal type of human cancers for which more effective therapeutic agents are urgently needed. Here, we investigated the sensitivity of a panel of seven human pancreatic cancer cell lines (HPCCLs) to treatment with various tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), cyclin­dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, an inhibitor of STAT3 stattic, and a cytotoxic agent gemcitabine both as single agents and in combination. The membranous expression of various receptors and the effect of selected agents on cell cycle distribution, cell signaling pathways and migration was determined using flow cytometry, western blot analysis and scratch wound healing assays, respectively. While the expression of both HER­3 and HER­4 was low or negative, the expression of EGFR and HER2 was high or intermediate in all HPCCLs. Of all the agents examined, the CDK1/2/5/9 inhibitor, dinacicilib, was the most potent agent which inhibited the proliferation of all seven HPCCLs with IC50 values of ≤10 nM, followed by SRC targeting TKI dasatinib (IC50 of ≤258 nM), gemcitabine (IC50 of ≤330 nM), stattic (IC50 of ≤2 µM) and the irreversible pan­HER TKI afatinib (IC50 of ≤2.95 µM). Treatment with afatinib and dasatinib inhibited the ligand­induced phosphorylation of EGFR and SRC respectively. Statistically significant associations were found between HER2 expression and response to treatment with the ALK/IGF­IR/InsR inhibitor ceritinib and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)1/2/3 inhibitor AZD4547, HER3 and IGF­IR expression and their response to treatment with TKIs targeting HER family members (erlotinib and afatinib), and c­MET and ALK7 expression and their response to treatment with stattic. Interestingly, treatment with a combination of afatinib with dasatinib and gemcitabine with dasatinib resulted in synergistic tumor growth inhibition in all HPCCLs examined. In contrast, the combination of afatinib with dinaciclib was found to be antagonistic. Finally, the treatment with afatinib, dasatinib and dinaciclib strongly inhibited the migration of all HPCCLs examined. In conclusion, the CDK1/2/5/9 inhibitor dinaciclib, irreversible pan­HER TKI afatinib and SRC targeting TKI dasatinib were most effective at inhibiting the proliferation and migration of HPCCLs and the combination of afatinib with dasatinib and gemcitabine with dasatinib led to synergistic tumor growth inhibition in all HPCCLs examined. Our results support further investigation on the therapeutic potential of these combinations in future clinical trials in pancreatic cancer.

T-Cell Dynamics in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia under Different Treatment Modalities.

PURPOSE: Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), we recently documented T-cell oligoclonality in treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with evidence indicating T-cell selection by restricted antigens. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Here, we sought to comprehensively assess T-cell repertoire changes during treatment in relation to (i) treatment type [fludarabine-cyclophosphamide-rituximab (FCR) versus ibrutinib (IB) versus rituximab-idelalisib (R-ID)], and (ii) clinical response, by combining NGS immunoprofiling, flow cytometry, and functional bioassays. RESULTS: T-cell clonality significantly increased at (i) 3 months in the FCR and R-ID treatment groups, and (ii) over deepening clinical response in the R-ID group, with a similar trend detected in the IB group. Notably, in constrast to FCR that induced T-cell repertoire reconstitution, B-cell receptor signaling inhibitors (BcRi) preserved pretreatment clones. Extensive comparisons both within CLL as well as against T-cell receptor sequence databases showed little similarity with other entities, but instead revealed major clonotypes shared exclusively by patients with CLL, alluding to selection by conserved CLL-associated antigens. We then evaluated the functional effect of treatments on T cells and found that (i) R-ID upregulated the expression of activation markers in effector memory T cells, and (ii) both BcRi improved antitumor T-cell immune synapse formation, in marked contrast to FCR. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our NGS immunoprofiling data suggest that BcRi retain T-cell clones that may have developed against CLL-associated antigens. Phenotypic and immune synapse bioassays support a concurrent restoration of functionality, mostly evident for R-ID, arguably contributing to clinical response.

miR-181c-BRK1 axis plays a key role in actin cytoskeleton-dependent T cell function.

MicroRNAs are short endogenous noncoding RNAs that play pivotal roles in a diverse range of cellular processes. The miR-181 family is important in T cell development, proliferation, and activation. In this study, we have identified BRK1 as a potential target of miR-181c using a dual selection functional assay and have showed that miR-181c regulates BRK1 by translational inhibition. Given the importance of miR-181 in T cell function and the potential role of BRK1 in the involvement of WAVE2 complex and actin polymerization in T cells, we therefore investigated the influence of miR-181c-BRK1 axis in T cell function. Stimulation of PBMC derived CD3+ T cells resulted in reduced miR-181c expression and up-regulation of BRK1 protein expression, suggesting that miR-181c-BRK1 axis is important in T cell activation. We further showed that overexpression of miR-181c or suppression of BRK1 resulted in inhibition of T cell activation and actin polymerization coupled with defective lamellipodia generation and immunological synapse formation. Additionally, we found that BRK1 silencing led to reduced expressions of other proteins in the WAVE2 complex, suggesting that the impairment of T cell actin dynamics was a result of the instability of the WAVE2 complex following BRK1 depletion. Collectively, we demonstrated that miR-181c reduces BRK1 protein expression level and highlighted the important role of miR-181c-BRK1 axis in T cell activation and actin polymerization-mediated T cell functions.

Follow-up of the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness of diabetic patients type 2, as a predisposing factor for glaucoma compared to normal subjects.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and follow-up the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 compared to a group of healthy individuals with similar demographic characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prospective, noninvasive, observational case series study. For the purposes of the study, 27 eyes of diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy, 24 eyes of patients with mild retinopathy, and 25 normal age-matched subjects (control group [CG]) were examined. All participants underwent complete ophthalmological examination and imaging with GDx variable corneal compensation scanning laser polarimetry. Follow-up was 2 years for all three groups. RESULTS: The mean inferior average was statistically significantly lower in both diabetic groups compared to CG at baseline examination and during follow-up. The nerve fiber indicator (NFI) was higher in both diabetic groups compared to CG, both at baseline examination and during follow-up. The NFI was 21.7±11.9 and 22.0±11.8 for the diabetic group without retinopathy, 20.8±9.6 and 21.9±9.8 for the group with mild retinopathy, and 15.3±5.4 and 15.9±5.5 for the normal subjects, at baseline and 24 months, respectively. There was no statistically significant reduction of the RNFL thickness in all three groups compared to baseline examination. CONCLUSION: This is the first long-term study documenting the RNFL thickness in diabetic patients in comparison with normal controls. Although the lower RNFL was found thinner in diabetics, the 2-year follow-up showed no significant reduction of RNFL thickness in all groups, indicating that RNFL damage may occur early in diabetic patients.

Acquired resistance of pancreatic cancer cells to treatment with gemcitabine and HER-inhibitors is accompanied by increased sensitivity to STAT3 inhibition.

Drug-resistance is a major contributing factor for the poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer. We have shown previously that the irreversible ErbB family blocker afatinib, is more effective than the reversible EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib in inhibiting the growth of human pancreatic cancer cells. The aim of this study was to develop human pancreatic cancer cell (BxPc3) variants with acquired resistance to treatment with gemcitabine, afatinib, or erlotinib, and to investigate the molecular changes that accompany the acquisition of a drug-resistant phenotype. We also investigated the therapeutic potential of various agents in the treatment of such drug-resistant variants. Three variant forms of BxPc3 cells with acquired resistance to gemcitabine (BxPc3GEM), afatinib (BxPc3AFR) or erlotinib (BxPc3OSIR) were developed following treatment with increasing doses of such drugs. The expression level, mutational and phosphorylation status of various growth factor receptors and downstream cell signaling molecules were determined by FACS, human phopsho-RTK array, and western blot analysis while the sulforhodamine B assay was used for determining the effect of various agents on the growth of such tumours. We found that all three BxPc3 variants with acquired resistance to gemcitabine (BxPc3GEM), afatinib (BxPc3AFR) or erlotinib (BxPc3OSIR) also become less sensitive to treatment with the two other agents. Acquisition of resistance to these agents was accompanied by upregulation of p-c-MET, p-STAT3, CD44, increased autocrine production of EGFR ligand amphiregulin and differential activation status of EGFR tyrosine residues as well as downregulation of total and p-SRC. Of all therapeutic interventions examined, including the addition of an anti-EGFR antibody ICR62, an anti-CD44 monoclonal antibody, and of STAT3 or c-MET inhibitors, only treatment with the STAT3 inhibitor Stattic produced a higher growth inhibitory effect in all three drug-resistant variants. In addition, treatment with a combination of afatinib with either c-MET inhibitor Crizotinib or Stattic resulted in an additive or synergistic growth inhibition in all three variants. Our results suggest that activation of STAT3 may play an important role in the acquisition of resistance to gemcitabine and HER inhibitors in pancreatic cancer and warrant further studies on the therapeutic potential of STAT3 inhibitors in such a setting.

Comparison of the nerve fiber layer of type 2 diabetic patients without glaucoma with normal subjects of the same age and sex.

BACKGROUND: The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 was compared to normal subjects of similar age and sex, having first excluded any risk factors for glaucoma. The correlation between the RNFL thickness and the severity of diabetic retinopathy was investigated at its primary stages and with other ocular and diabetic parameters. METHODS: A prospective, case series study was carried out. Twenty-seven diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy, 24 diabetic patients with mild retinopathy, and 25 normal, age-matched subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological examination and imaging with scanning laser polarimetry for the evaluation of the RNFL. Multivariate analysis was applied in order to investigate the correlation between RNFL and diabetic parameters, such as age, duration of diabetes, insulin therapy, levels of glycosylated hemoglobin; and ocular parameters, such as cup to disc ratio, levels of normal intraocular pressure, and central corneal thickness. RESULTS: The mean inferior average of RNFL and the temporal-superior-nasal-inferior-temporal standard deviation were statistically significantly lower in both diabetic groups, and the nerve fiber index was higher (P=0.04) compared to the normal group. There was no statistically significant difference between the diabetic groups. The factor analysis showed no significant correlation between the RNFL and the previously mentioned diabetic and ocular parameters. CONCLUSION: The existence of diabetes should be seriously considered in evaluating the results of scanning laser polarimetry. Multivariate analysis for RNFL was used for the first time.

Treatment with a combination of the ErbB (HER) family blocker afatinib and the IGF-IR inhibitor, NVP-AEW541 induces synergistic growth inhibition of human pancreatic cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression and activation of the IGF-IR have been reported in a variety of human cancers and have been associated with resistance to HER targeted therapy. In this study, we investigated the effect of simultaneous targeting of IGF-IR and HER (erbB) family, with NVP-AEW541 and afatinib, on proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. METHODS: The sensitivity of a panel of human pancreatic cancer cell lines to treatment with NVP-AEW541 used alone or in combination with afatinib, anti-EGFR antibody ICR62, and cytotoxic agents was determined using the Sulforhodamine B colorimetric assay. Growth factor receptor expression, cell-cycle distribution and cell signalling were determined using flow cytometry and western blot analysis. RESULTS: All pancreatic cancer cell lines were found to be IGF-IR positive and NVP-AEW541 treatment inhibited the growth of the pancreatic cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 342 nM (FA6) to 2.73 µM (PT45). Interestingly, of the various combinations examined, treatment with a combination of NVP-AEW541 and afatinib was superior in inducing synergistic growth inhibition of the majority of pancreatic cancer cells. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that co-targeting of the erbB (HER) family and IGF-IR, with a combination of afatinib and NVP-AEW541, is superior to treatment with a single agent and encourages further investigation in vivo on their therapeutic potential in IGF-IR and HER positive pancreatic cancers.