Granzyme B-dependent proteolysis acts as a switch to enhance the proinflammatory activity of IL-1α.

Granzyme B is a cytotoxic lymphocyte-derived protease that plays a central role in promoting apoptosis of virus-infected target cells, through direct proteolysis and activation of constituents of the cell death machinery. However, previous studies have also implicated granzymes A and B in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, via a mechanism that remains undefined. Here we show that IL-1α is a substrate for granzyme B and that proteolysis potently enhanced the biological activity of this cytokine in vitro as well as in vivo. Consistent with this, compared with full-length IL-1α, granzyme B-processed IL-1α exhibited more potent activity as an immunoadjuvant in vivo. Furthermore, proteolysis of IL-1α within the same region, by proteases such as calpain and elastase, was also found to enhance its biological potency. Thus, IL-1α processing by multiple immune-related proteases, including granzyme B, acts as a switch to enhance the proinflammatory properties of this cytokine.

Granzyme A impairs host defense during Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Granzyme A (GzmA) is a serine protease produced by a variety of cell types involved in the immune response. We sought to determine the role of GzmA on the host response during pneumococcal pneumonia. GzmA was measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) harvested from CAP patients from the infected and contralateral uninfected side and in lung tissue slides from CAP patients and controls. In CAP patients, GzmA levels were increased in BALF obtained from the infected lung. Human lungs showed constitutive GzmA expression by both parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells. In an experimental setting, pneumonia was induced in wild-type (WT) and GzmA-deficient (GzmA(-/-)) mice by intranasal inoculation of S. pneumoniae In separate experiments, WT and GzmA(-/-) mice were treated with natural killer (NK) cell depleting antibodies. Upon infection with S. pneumoniae, GzmA(-/-) mice showed a better survival and lower bacterial counts in BALF and distant body sites compared with WT mice. Although NK cells showed strong GzmA expression, NK cell depletion did not influence bacterial loads in either WT or GzmA(-/-) mice. These results implicate that GzmA plays an unfavorable role in host defense during pneumococcal pneumonia by a mechanism that does not depend on NK cells.

Early Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Risk-Based Selection Strategies for Adjuvant Treatment in Stage II Colon Cancer: The Potential Value of Prognostic Molecular Markers.

BACKGROUND: To explore the potential value of consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) in stage II colon cancer treatment selection, we carried out an early cost-effectiveness assessment of a CMS-based strategy for adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: We used a Markov cohort model to evaluate three selection strategies: (i) the Dutch guideline strategy (MSS+pT4), (ii) the mutation-based strategy (MSS plus a BRAF and/or KRAS mutation or MSS plus pT4), and (iii) the CMS-based strategy (CMS4 or pT4). Outcomes were number of colon cancer deaths per 1,000 patients, total discounted costs per patient (pp), and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) pp. The analyses were conducted from a Dutch societal perspective. The robustness of model predictions was assessed in sensitivity analyses. To evaluate the value of future research, we performed a value of information (VOI) analysis. RESULTS: The Dutch guideline strategy resulted in 8.10 QALYs pp and total costs of €23,660 pp. The CMS-based and mutation-based strategies were more effective and more costly, with 8.12 and 8.13 QALYs pp and €24,643 and €24,542 pp, respectively. Assuming a threshold of €50,000/QALY, the mutation-based strategy was considered as the optimal strategy in an incremental analysis. However, the VOI analysis showed substantial decision uncertainty driven by the molecular markers (expected value of partial perfect information: €18M). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of current evidence, our analyses suggest that the mutation-based selection strategy would be the best use of resources. However, the extensive decision uncertainty for the molecular markers does not allow selection of an optimal strategy at present. IMPACT: Future research is needed to eliminate decision uncertainty driven by molecular markers.

Modeling Personalized Adjuvant TreaTment in EaRly stage coloN cancer (PATTERN).

AIM: To develop a decision model for the population-level evaluation of strategies to improve the selection of stage II colon cancer (CC) patients who benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: A Markov cohort model with a one-month cycle length and a lifelong time horizon was developed. Five health states were included; diagnosis, 90-day mortality, death other causes, recurrence and CC death. Data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry were used to parameterize the model. Transition probabilities were estimated using parametric survival models including relevant clinical and pathological covariates. Subsequently, biomarker status was implemented using external data. Treatment effect was incorporated using pooled trial data. Model development, data sources used, parameter estimation, and internal and external validation are described in detail. To illustrate the use of the model, three example strategies were evaluated in which allocation of treatment was based on (A) 100% adherence to the Dutch guidelines, (B) observed adherence to guideline recommendations and (C) a biomarker-driven strategy. RESULTS: Overall, the model showed good internal and external validity. Age, tumor growth, tumor sidedness, evaluated lymph nodes, and biomarker status were included as covariates. For the example strategies, the model predicted 83, 87 and 77 CC deaths after 5 years in a cohort of 1000 patients for strategies A, B and C, respectively. CONCLUSION: This model can be used to evaluate strategies for the allocation of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II CC patients. In future studies, the model will be used to estimate population-level long-term health gain and cost-effectiveness of biomarker-based selection strategies.

Rimonabant Kills Colon Cancer Stem Cells without Inducing Toxicity in Normal Colon Organoids.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), like other tumor types, is a highly heterogeneous disease. Within the tumor bulk, intra-tumoral heterogeneity is also ascribable to Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) subpopulation, characterized by high chemoresistance and the unique ability to retain tumorigenic potential, thus associated to tumor recurrence. High dynamic plasticity of CSCs, makes the development of winning therapeutic strategies even more complex to completely eradicate tumor fuel. Rimonabant, originally synthesized as antagonist/inverse agonist of Cannabinoid Receptor 1, is able to inactivate Wnt signaling, both in vitro and in vivo, in CRC models, through inhibition of p300-histone acetyltransferase activity. Since Wnt/ß-Catenin pathway is the main player underlying CSCs dynamic, this finding candidates Rimonabant as potential modulator of cancer stemness, in CRC. In this work, using established 3D cultures of primary colon CSCs, taking into account the tumor heterogeneity through monitoring of Wnt activity, we demonstrated that Rimonabant was able to reduces both tumor differentiated cells and colon CSCs proliferation and to control their survival in long term cultures. Interestingly, in ex vivo model of wild type human organoids, retaining both architecture and heterogeneity of original tissue, Rimonabant showed no toxicity against cells from healthy colon epithelium, suggesting its potential selectivity toward cancer cells. Overall, results from this work provided new insights on anti-tumor efficacy of Rimonabant, strongly suggesting that it could be a novel lead compound for CRC treatment.

Stromal SPOCK1 supports invasive pancreatic cancer growth.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is marked by an abundant stromal deposition. This stroma is suspected to harbor both tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressing properties. This is underscored by the disappointing results of stroma targeting in clinical studies. Given the complexity of tumor-stroma interaction in PDAC, there is a need to identify the stromal proteins that are predominantly tumor-promoting. One possible candidate is SPOCK1 that we previously identified in a screening effort in PDAC. We extensively mined PDAC gene expression datasets, and used species-specific transcript analysis in mixed-species models for PDAC to study the patterns and driver mechanisms of SPOCK1 expression in PDAC. Advanced organotypic coculture models with primary patient-derived tumor cells were used to further characterize the function of this protein. We found SPOCK1 expression to be predominantly stromal. Expression of SPOCK1 was associated with poor disease outcome. Coculture and ligand stimulation experiments revealed that SPOCK1 is expressed in response to tumor cell-derived transforming growth factor-beta. Functional assessment in cocultures demonstrated that SPOCK1 strongly affects the composition of the extracellular collagen matrix and by doing so, enables invasive tumor cell growth in PDAC. By defining the expression pattern and functional properties of SPOCK1 in pancreatic cancer, we have identified a stromal mediator of extracellular matrix remodeling that indirectly affects the aggressive behavior of PDAC cells. The recognition that stromal proteins actively contribute to the protumorigenic remodeling of the tumor microenvironment should aid the design of future clinical studies to target specific stromal targets.

Cancer stem cells--important players in tumor therapy resistance.

Resistance to tumor therapy is an unsolved problem in cancer treatment. A plethora of studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon and many mechanisms of resistance have been suggested over recent decades. The concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which describes tumors as hierarchically organized, has added a new level of complexity to therapy failure. CSCs are the root of cancers and resist chemo- and radiotherapy, explaining cancer recurrence even many years after therapy is ended. This review discusses briefly CSCs in cancers, gives an overview of the role of CSCs in therapy resistance, and discusses the potential means of targeting these therapy-resistant tumor cells.

Methods to assess Myc function in intestinal homeostasis, regeneration, and tumorigenesis.

Within the intestinal epithelium, c-Myc has been characterized as a target of ß-catenin-TCF signalling (He et al., Science 281:1509-1512, 1998). Given the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor gene within colorectal cancer (CRC) is the APC (Adenomatous Polyposis Coli) gene, a negative regulator of ß-catenin-TCF signalling (Korinek et al., Science 275:1784-1787, 1997), loss of APC leads to Myc deregulation in the vast majority of CRC. This probably explains the numerous studies investigating c-Myc function within the intestinal epithelium. These have shown that c-Myc inhibition or deletion in the adult intestine results in proliferative defects (Muncan et al., Mol Cell Biol 26:8418-8426, 2006; Soucek et al., Nature 455:679-683, 2008). Importantly, intestinal enterocytes are able to survive in the absence of c-Myc which has allowed us (and others) to test the role of c-Myc in intestinal regeneration and tumorigenesis. Remarkably c-Myc deletion suppresses all the phenotypes of the Apc tumor suppressor gene loss and stops intestinal regeneration (Ashton et al., Dev Cell 19:259-269, 2010; Sansom et al., Oncogene 29:2585-2590, 2007). This suggests a clear therapeutic rationale for targeting c-Myc in CRC. Moreover haploinsufficiency for c-Myc in this tissue also reduces intestinal tumorigenesis (Athineos and Sansom, Oncogene 29:2585-2590, 2010; Yekkala and Baudino, Mol Cancer Res 5:1296-1303, 2007), and overexpression of c-Myc affects tissue homeostasis (Finch et al., Mol Cell Biol 29:5306-5315, 2009; Murphy et al., Cancer Cell 14:447-457, 2008). In this chapter we will provide an overview of our current laboratory protocols to characterize c-Myc function in intestinal homeostasis, regeneration, and tumorigenesis in vivo and in vitro.