Preclinical Studies of Granulysin-Based Anti-MUC1-Tn Immunotoxins as a New Antitumoral Treatment.

Two granulysin (GRNLY) based immunotoxins were generated, one containing the scFv of the SM3 mAb (SM3GRNLY) and the other the scFv of the AR20.5 mAb (AR20.5GRNLY). These mAb recognize different amino acid sequences of aberrantly O-glycosylated MUC1, also known as the Tn antigen, expressed in a variety of tumor cell types. We first demonstrated the affinity of these immunotoxins for their antigen using surface plasmon resonance for the purified antigen and flow cytometry for the antigen expressed on the surface of living tumor cells. The induction of cell death of tumor cell lines of different origin positive for Tn antigen expression was stronger in the cases of the immunotoxins than that induced by GRNLY alone. The mechanism of cell death induced by the immunotoxins was studied, showing that the apoptotic component demonstrated previously for GRNLY was also present, but that cell death induced by the immunotoxins included also necroptotic and necrotic components. Finally, we demonstrated the in vivo tumor targeting by the immunotoxins after systemic injection using a xenograft model of the human pancreatic adenocarcinoma CAPAN-2 in athymic mice. While GRNLY alone did not have a therapeutic effect, SM3GRNLY and AR20.5GRNLY reduced tumor volume by 42 and 60%, respectively, compared with untreated tumor-bearing mice, although the results were not statistically significant in the case of AR20.5GRNLY. Histological studies of tumors obtained from treated mice demonstrated reduced cellularity, nuclear morphology compatible with apoptosis induction and active caspase-3 detection by immunohistochemistry. Overall, our results exemplify that these immunotoxins are potential drugs to treat Tn-expressing cancers.

Organic-solvent-free extraction of carotenoids from yeast Rhodotorula glutinis by application of ultrasound under pressure.

The extraction of Rhodotorula glutinis carotenoids by ultrasound under pressure (manosonication) in an aqueous medium has been demonstrated. The influence of treatment time, pressure, and ultrasound amplitude on R. glutinis inactivation and on the extraction of carotenoids was evaluated, and the obtained data were described mathematically. The extraction yields were lineal functions of those three parameters, whereas inactivation responded to a more complex equation. Under optimum treatment conditions, 82% of carotenoid content was recovered. Extraction of carotenoids in an aqueous medium was attributed to the capacity of ultrasound for cell disruption and emulsification. Cavitation caused the rupture of cell envelopes and the subsequent formation of small droplets of carotenoids surrounded by the phospholipids of the cytoplasmic membrane that would stabilize the emulsion. Analysis of the dispersed particle size of the extracts demonstrated that a fine, homogeneous emulsion was formed after treatment (average size: 230 nm; polydispersity <0.22). This research describes an innovative green process for extracting carotenoids from fresh biomass of R. glutinis in which only two unit operations are required: ultrasonic treatment, followed by a centrifugation step to discard cell debris. The extract obtained thanks to this procedure is rich in carotenoids (25 mg/L) and could be directly incorporated as a pigment in foods, beverages, and diet supplements; it can also be utilized as an ingredient in drugs or cosmetics.

Factors influencing autolysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells induced by pulsed electric fields.

The influence of temperature (7-43 °C), pH (3.5-7.0) and ethanol concentration (6-25%) on PEFinduced autolysis and the release of mannose from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Changes in the release of intracellular compounds absorbing at 260 nm and 280 nm depended on storage conditions and differed among untreated and PEF-treated cells. For untreated cells, the increase of the Abs260 and Abs280 values during 3 weeks of storage was very low when incubated in media of different pH, different ethanol concentrations, or at 7° and 25 °C. Conversely, Abs260 and Abs280 values progressively increased for PEF-treated cells stored under the same conditions. Although the PEF treatment intensity was the same in all cases, the amount of intracellular material released depended on incubation conditions. Except for cells stored at 43 °C, for which the concentration of mannose in the media after 21 days was around 90 mg L-1, the amount of mannose released from untreated cells after 21 days of storage was lower than 60 mg L-1 under all other conditions assayed. After the same incubation time, the amount of mannose released from PEF treated cells ranged from 80 mg L-1, when they were stored in media with 25% ethanol, to 190 mg L-1 when they were stored at 43 °C. Interaction among assayed factors affecting mannose release was investigated in a medium containing 10% ethanol (v/v) and pH 3.5 for 21 days. Although the interaction of both factors delayed mannose release, the medium containing PEF-treated yeasts had approximately twice the amount of mannoproteins as those containing untreated yeasts.