Simultaneous targeting of B-cell malignancies and human immunodeficiency virus with bispecific chimeric antigen receptor T cells.

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Enhanced characterization of beta cell mass in a Tg(Pdx1-GFP) mouse model.

Introduction: Measurement of pancreatic beta cell mass in animal models is a common assay in diabetes researches. Novel whole-organ clearance methods in conjunction with transgenic mouse models hold tremendous promise to improve beta cell mass measurement methods. Here, we proposed a refined method to estimate the beta cell mass using a new transgenic Tg(Pdx1-GFP) mouse model and a recently developed free-of-acrylamide clearing tissue (FACT) protocol. Methods: First, we generated and evaluated a Tg(Pdx1-GFP) transgenic mouse model. Using the FACT protocol in our model, we could quantify the beta cell mass and alloxan-induced beta cell destruction in whole pancreas specimens. Results: Compiled fluorescent images of pancreas resulted in enhanced beta cell mass characterization in FACT-cleared sections (2928869±120215 AU) compared to No-FACT cleared sections (1292372±325632 AU). Additionally, the total number of detected islets with this method was significantly higher than the other clearance methods (155.7 and 109, respectively). Using this method, we showed green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression confined to beta cells in Tg(Pdx1-GFP) transgenic. This enhanced GFP expression enabled us to accurately measure beta cell loss in a beta cell destruction model. The results suggest that our proposed method can be used as a simple, and rapid assay for beta cell mass measurement in islet biology and diabetes studies. Conclusion: The Tg(Pdx1-GFP) transgenic mouse in conjunction with the FACT protocol can enhance large-scale screening studies in the field of diabetes.

Generation and Functional Characterization of PLAP CAR-T Cells against Cervical Cancer Cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is one of the cancer treatment modalities that has recently shown promising results in treating hematopoietic malignancies. However, one of the obstacles that need to be addressed in solid tumors is the on-target and off-tumor cytotoxicity due to the lack of specific tumor antigens with low expression in healthy cells. Placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) is a shared placenta- and tumor-associated antigen (TAA) that is expressed in ovarian, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers and is negligible in normal cells. In this study, we constructed second-generation CAR T cells with a fully human scFv against PLAP antigen andthen evaluated the characteristics of PLAP CAR T cells in terms of tonic signaling and differentiation in comparison with ΔPLAP CAR T cells and CD19 CAR T cells. In addition, by co-culturing PLAP CAR T cells with HeLa and CaSki cells, we analyzed the tumor-killing functions and the secretion of anti-tumor molecules. Results showed that PLAP CAR T cells not only proliferated during co-culture with cancer cells but also eliminated them in vitro. We also observed increased secretion of IL-2, granzyme A, and IFN-γ by PLAP CAR T cells upon exposure to the target cells. In conclusion, PLAP CAR T cells are potential candidates for further investigation in cervical cancer and, potentially, other solid tumors.

COVID-19 immunopathology with emphasis on Th17 response and cell-based immunomodulation therapy: Potential targets and challenges.

The role of the immune system against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unknown in many aspects, and the protective or pathologic mechanisms of the immune response are poorly understood. Pro-inflammatory cytokine release and a consequent cytokine storm can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and result in multi-organ failure. There are many T cell subsets during anti-viral immunity. The Th17-associated response, as a pro-inflammatory pathway, and its consequent outcomes in many autoimmune disorders play a fundamental role in progression of systemic hyper-inflammation during COVID-19. Therapeutic strategies based on immunomodulation therapy could be helpful for targeting hyper-inflammatory immune responses in COVID-19, especially Th17-related inflammation and hyper-cytokinemia. Cell-based immunotherapeutic approaches including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) seem to be promising strategies as orchestrators of the immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this review, we highlight Th17-related immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and discuss cell-based immunomodulatory strategies and their mechanisms for regulation of the hyper-inflammation during COVID-19.

Induction of ß Cell Replication by Small Molecule-Mediated Menin Inhibition and Combined PKC Activation and TGF­ß Inhibition as Revealed by A Refined Primary Culture Screening.

OBJECTIVE: Pancreatic ß cells are recognized as central players in the pathogenesis of types 1 and 2 diabetes. Efficient and robust primary culture methods are required to interrogate ß cell biology and screen potential anti-diabetic therapeutics. The aim of this study was to refine monolayer culture of beta cells and to investigate potential inducers of beta cell proliferation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, we compared different culture methods to optimize conditions required for a monolayer culture of rat pancreatic islet cells in order to facilitate image analysis-based assays. We also used the refined culture method to screen a group of rationally selected candidate small molecules and their combinations to determine their potential proliferative effects on the ß cells. RESULTS: Ham's F10 medium supplemented with 2% foetal bovine serum (FBS) in the absence of any surface coating provided a superior monolayer ß cell culture, while other conditions induced fibroblast-like cell growth or multilayer cell aggregation over two weeks. Evaluation of candidate small molecules showed that a menin inhibitor MI-2 and a combination of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) inhibitor SB481542 and protein kinase C (PKC) activator indolactam V (IndV) significantly induced replication of pancreatic ß cells. CONCLUSION: Overall, our optimized culture condition provided a convenient approach to study the cultured pancreatic islet cells and enabled us to detect the proliferative effect of menin inhibition and combined TGF-ß inhibition and PKC activation, which could be considered as potential strategies for inducing ß cell proliferation and regeneration.

Evaluation of Placental Alkaline Phosphatase Expression as A Potential Target of Solid Tumors Immunotherapy by Using Gene and Protein Expression Repositories.

Placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) is a membrane enzyme mainly expressed in the placenta. PLAP is shown to be expressed in ovarian cancer (OV), however, there is little known about its expression in other cancers. Using gene and protein expression deposited data, we surveyed PLAP expression across malignant and normal human tissues to explore the potential of PLAP as an immunotherapy target. We detected more than two-fold increased PLAP expression in multiple solid tumors including ovarian cancer, testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) compared with matched normal tissues. We also showed association of PLAP expression with high mortality pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD). Altogether, our results suggest that PLAP can be a promising target for immunotherapy of multiple cancers, especially OV, TGCT, and UCEC.

Toll-Like Receptor-Based Strategies for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed and play multiple functional roles in a variety of immune cell types involved in tumor immunity. There are plenty of data on the pharmacological targeting of TLR signaling using agonist molecules that boost the antitumor immune response. A recent body of research has also demonstrated promising strategies for improving the cell-based immunotherapy methods by inducing TLR signaling. These strategies include systemic administration of TLR antagonist along with immune cell transfer and also genetic engineering of the immune cells using TLR signaling components to improve the function of genetically engineered immune cells such as chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells. Here, we explore the current status of the cancer immunotherapy approaches based on manipulation of TLR signaling to provide a perspective of the underlying rationales and potential clinical applications. Altogether, reviewed publications suggest that TLRs make a potential target for the immunotherapy of cancer.

Combined inhibition of menin-MLL interaction and TGF-ß signaling induces replication of human pancreatic beta cells.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are associated with hyperglycemia and loss of functional beta cell mass. Inducing proliferation of preexisting beta cells is an approach to increase the numbers of beta cells. In this study, we examined a panel of selected small molecules for their proliferation-inducing effects on human pancreatic beta cells. Our results demonstrated that a small molecule inhibitor of the menin-MLL interaction (MI-2) and small molecule inhibitors of TGF-ß signaling (SB431542, LY2157299, or LY364947) synergistically increased ex vivo replication of human beta cells. We showed that this increased proliferation did not affect insulin production, as a pivotal indication of beta cell function. We further provided evidence which suggested that menin-MLL and TGF-ß inhibition cooperated through downregulation of cell cycle inhibitors CDKN1A, CDKN1B, and CDKN2C. Our findings might provide a new option for extending the pharmacological repertoire for induction of beta cell proliferation as a potential therapeutic approach for diabetes.

Association of -77T>C and Arg194trp polymorphisms of XRCC1 with risk of coronary artery diseases in Iranian population.

OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in both male and female worldwide. The main cause of CAD is the atherosclerosis of coronary arteries, which is, mostly caused by genetic alteration. 50% of such cases occur in mitotic cells where single-strand breaks occur spontaneously or due to ionizing radiation. X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 1 (XRCC1) as a key element, participate in the base excision repair (BER) and Single-strand Break Repair (SSBR) pathways. It has been suggested that XRCC1 functions as a scaffold protein able to coordinate and facilitate the various steps of DNA repair pathways. Two Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Arg194Trp and -77T>C) were reported to affect the function and expression of XRCC1, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control study was performed to investigate the relation between these polymorphisms and the CAD development. A population of 406 individuals was screened for SNPs by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP) method. RESULTS: XRCC1 Arg194Trp polymorphism was associated with increased risk of CAD in examined population under a dominant model (Odds-ratio=2.604, P-value=0.001). Also the SNP of -77T>C revealed a protective role in the population under a dominant model (Odds-ratio=0.618, P-value=0.032). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated a contributory role of these two SNPs in CAD. Furthermore, our results support the role of DNA damages and the malfunctions of DNA repair system in cardiovascular disease development in Iranian patients.

Shining Light on the Sprout of Life: Optogenetics Applications in Stem Cell Research and Therapy.

Optogenetics is the integration of genetics and optics to achieve gain or loss of function of well-defined events in specific cells of living tissue. As a versatile tool, upon light illumination, it allows fast control of precisely defined events in biological systems from single cell to different parts of whole tissue in freely moving animals. Taking advantage of this method, a multitude of studies have been published to understand brain functions and dysfunctions. Although from the beginning, it has been used to target neurons within the neural networks and to understand how specific neurons contribute to brain function, it gradually has been extended to other fields of biology such as stem cell research and therapy. With a combination of optogenetics and stem cells, new opportunities were opened up in stem cell biology and also its integration in new circuit as a cell-based treatment strategy for more common disorders like neurodegenerative and cardiovascular one. Recently, some studies showed that engineered stem cells expressing exogenous light-activated opsins can be used in stem cell biology including tracking the differentiation of stem cells, functional analysis of embryonic stem cell-derived graft, and testing the functional integration of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons. With the advent of non-invasive approach, such as transcranial excitation or inhibition, optogenetics also holds promise for non-invasive control of engineered stem cell.