Anti-VEGFR2 and anti-IGF-1R-Adnectins inhibit Ewing's sarcoma A673-xenograft growth and normalize tumor vascular architecture.

Increasing experimental evidence suggests that IGF-1 may modulate tumor angiogenesis via activation of the expression of VEGF in Ewing sarcomas and rhabdomyosarcomas. This study investigates the effects of the PEGylated Adnectins™ CT-322, a VEGFR2-inhibitor and AT580Peg40, an IGF-1R inhibitor, as monotherapy and in combination in a murine A673 xenograft tumor model. The combination of Adnectins CT-322 and AT580Peg40 revealed a 83% reduction in tumor growth, a nearly 5 times lower vessel density, less necrotic areas and less appearance of intussusceptive angiogenesis. Monotherapy with IGF-1R or CT-322 revealed equally a significant inhibition of tumor and vessel growth. Combinatory inhibition of IGF-1R and VEGFR2 shows a downregulation of IGF-binding protein 2 and a compensatory upregulation of VEGF levels. Immunohistological analysis showed remodeling vascular effects of CT-322-treatment or combination therapy. The vascular architecture in Adnectin-treated tumors was characterized by a strong normalization of vasculature. 3D-evaluation in microvascular corrosion casts showed significantly higher intervascular and interbranching distances in Adnectin-treated tumors. CT-322-treatment and combinatory inhibition reveal a significant reduction of intussusceptive angiogenesis. These pronounced effects on tumor vasculature suggest potential therapeutic benefit of combinatorial IGF1- and VEGF-pathways inhibition in Ewing's sarcoma.

Cyclooxygenase-2-deficient mice are resistant to endotoxin-induced inflammation and death.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to a blood-borne infection that is associated with an extremely high rate of morbidity and mortality. The present study investigates the role of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in host responses to bacterial endotoxemia. After administration of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, 50% of wild-type mice die within 96 h. COX-2 deficient mice displayed a dramatic improvement in survival with reduced leukocyte infiltration into critical organs (kidneys and lungs) and a blunted and delayed induction of the cytokine inducible genes nitric oxide synthase 2 and heme oxygenase-1. Translocation and activation of transcription factors important for signaling events during an inflammatory response, such as nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, were also markedly reduced. While the absence of COX-2 did not alter the induction of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in tissue macrophages, induction of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was exaggerated. Administration of IL-10 to wild-type mice reduced NF-kappaB activation. Taken together, our data suggest that COX-2 deficient mice are resistant to many of the detrimental consequences of endotoxemia. These beneficial effects occur, in part, by a compensatory increase in IL-10 that counterbalances the pro-inflammatory host response to endotoxemia.

Nitric oxide synthase-2 down-regulates surfactant protein-B expression and enhances endotoxin-induced lung injury in mice.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening ailment characterized by severe lung injury involving inflammatory cell recruitment to the lung, cytokine production, surfactant dysfunction, and up-regulation of nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) resulting in nitric oxide (NO) production. We hypothesized that NO production from NOS2 expressed in lung parenchymal cells in a murine model of ARDS would correlate with abnormal surfactant function and reduced surfactant protein-B (SP-B) expression. Pulmonary responses to nebulized endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) were evaluated in wild-type (WT) mice, NOS2 null (-/-) mice, and NOS2-chimeric animals derived from bone marrow transplantation. NOS2-/- animals exhibited significantly less physiologic lung dysfunction and loss of SP-B expression than did WT animals. However, lung neutrophil recruitment and bronchoalveolar lavage cytokine levels did not significantly differ between NOS2-/- and WT animals. Chimeric animals for NOS2 exhibited the phenotype of the recipient and therefore demonstrated that parenchymal production of NOS2 is critical for the development of LPS-induced lung injury. Furthermore, administration of NO donors, independent of cytokine stimulation, decreased SP-B promoter activity and mRNA expression in mouse lung epithelial cells. This study demonstrates that expression of NOS2 in lung epithelial cells is critical for the development of lung injury and mediates surfactant dysfunction independent of NOS2 inflammatory cell expression and cytokine production.

Modulation of the thioredoxin system during inflammatory responses and its effect on heme oxygenase-1 expression.

Heme oxygenase (HO) enzymes catalyze the initial reaction in heme catabolism. HO-1 is an inducible isoform that is up-regulated by diverse stimuli, including inflammatory cytokines and factors that promote oxidative stress. HO-1 is a cytoprotective enzyme that degrades heme, a potent oxidant, to generate carbon monoxide, biliverdin (subsequently reduced to bilirubin), and iron. Recently, we found that thioredoxin (TRX), a disulfide reductase enzyme known to be important for the binding of transcription factors to DNA, contributes to the induction of HO-1 by inflammatory mediators. In the present study, we extended this observation and determined that, similar to HO-1, TRX and TRX reductase (TR) are induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide in macrophages at the level of mRNA and protein. However, maximal induction of TRX and TR precedes that of HO-1. Increased expression of HO-1 in the cytoplasm of inflammatory cells corresponds to a translocation of TRX into the nucleus of these cells. Finally, transfection of TRX into macrophages promoted an increase in HO-1 protein. Taken together, these data support the concept that the TRX system contributes to the up-regulation of HO-1 under conditions associated with increased oxidative stress.

High-mobility group-I/Y proteins: Potential role in the pathophysiology of critical illnesses.

High-mobility group (HMG) proteins are architectural factors that have been shown to play a role in the transcriptional regulation of various mammalian genes. One family of HMG proteins, HMG-I/Y, is known to facilitate the initiation of gene transcription by modifying the conformation of DNA and recruiting transcription factors into an organized complex on transcriptional regulatory regions of specific genes. In many circumstances, the nuclear factor-kappaB family of transcription factors is involved in gene regulation that is mediated by HMG-I/Y. We will review the mechanisms by which HMG-I/Y proteins regulate gene transcription, give an overview of selected genes regulated by HMG-I/Y, summarize the potential roles of these genes in critical illnesses, and provide more detailed information about the role of HMG-I/Y in the regulation of nitric oxide synthase-2 during an inflammatory response, such as endotoxemia/sepsis.

Adnectin CT-322 inhibits tumor growth and affects microvascular architecture and function in Colo205 tumor xenografts.

Antiangiogenesis has become a promising pillar in modern cancer therapy. This study investigates the antiangiogenic effects of the PEGylated Adnectin™, CT-322, in a murine Colo-205 xenograft tumor model. CT-322 specifically binds to and blocks vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR-2). Adnectins are a novel class of targeted biologics engineered from the 10th domain of human fibronectin. CT-322 treated tumors exhibited a significant reduction in tumor growth of 69%, a 2.8 times lower tumor surface area and fewer necrotic areas. Control tumors showed a 2.36-fold higher microvessel density (MVD) and a 2.42 times higher vessel volume in corrosion casts. The vascular architecture in CT-322-treated tumors was characterized by a strong normalization of vasculature. This was quantified in corrosion casts of CT-322 treated tumors in which the intervascular distance (a reciprocal parameter indicative of vessel density) and the distance between two consecutive branchings were assessed, with these distances being 2.21 times and 2.37 times greater than in controls, respectively. Fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) equally affirmed the inhibitory effects of CT-322 on tumor vasculature as indicated by a 60% reduction of the vascular probe, AngioSense, accumulating in tumor tissue, as a measurement of vascular permeability. Moreover, AngioSense accumulation was reduced as early as 24 h after starting treatment. The sum of these effects on tumor vasculature illustrates the anti-angiogenic mechanism underlying the antitumor activity of CT-322 and provides support for further evaluation of this Adnectin in combinatorial strategies with standard of care therapies.

A fibronectin scaffold approach to bispecific inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor and insulin-like growth factor-I receptor.

Engineered domains of human fibronectin (Adnectins™) were used to generate a bispecific Adnectin targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), two transmembrane receptors that mediate proliferative and survival cell signaling in cancer. Single-domain Adnectins that specifically bind EGFR or IGF-IR were generated using mRNA display with a library containing as many as 10 ( 13) Adnectin variants. mRNA display was also used to optimize lead Adnectin affinities, resulting in clones that inhibited EGFR phosphorylation at 7 to 38 nM compared to 2.6 µM for the parental clone. Individual, optimized, Adnectins specific for blocking either EGFR or IGF-IR signaling were engineered into a single protein (EI-Tandem Adnectin). The EI-Tandems inhibited phosphorylation of EGFR and IGF-IR, induced receptor degradation, and inhibited down-stream cell signaling and proliferation of human cancer cell lines (A431, H292, BxPC3 and RH41) with IC 50 values ranging from 0.1 to 113 nM. Although Adnectins bound to EGFR at a site distinct from those of anti-EGFR antibodies cetuximab, panitumumab and nimotuzumab, like the antibodies, the anti-EGFR Adnectins blocked the binding of EGF to EGFR. PEGylated EI-Tandem inhibited the growth of both EGFR and IGF-IR driven human tumor xenografts, induced degradation of EGFR, and reduced EGFR phosphorylation in tumors. These results demonstrate efficient engineering of bispecific Adnectins with high potency and desired specificity. The bispecificity may improve biological activity compared to monospecific biologics as tumor growth is driven by multiple growth factors. Our results illustrate a technological advancement for constructing multi-specific biologics in cancer therapy.

Anti-tumor effect of CT-322 as an adnectin inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2.

CT-322 is a new anti-angiogenic therapeutic agent based on an engineered variant of the tenth type III domain of human fibronectin, i.e., an Adnectin™, designed to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2. This PE Gylated Adnectin was developed using an mRNA display technology. CT-322 bound human VEGFR-2 with high affinity (K(D), 11 nM), but did not bind VEGFR-1 or VEGFR-3 at concentrations up to 100 nM, as determined by surface plasmon resonance studies. Western blot analysis showed that CT-322 blocked VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR-2 and mitogen-activated protein kinase in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells. CT-322 significantly inhibited the growth of human tumor xenograft models of colon carcinoma and glioblastoma at doses of 15-60 mg/kg administered 3 times/week. Anti-tumor effects of CT-322 were comparable to those of sorafenib or sunitinib, which inhibit multiple kinases, in a colon carcinoma xenograft model, although CT-322 caused less overt adverse effects than the kinase inhibitors. CT-322 also enhanced the anti-tumor activity of the chemotherapeutic agent temsirolimus in the colon carcinoma model. The high affinity and specificity of CT-322 binding to VEGFR-2 and its anti-tumor activities establish CT-322 as a promising anti-angiogenic therapeutic agent. Our results further suggest that Adnectins are an important new class of targeted biologics that can be developed as potential treatments for a wide variety of diseases.

High-mobility group-I/Y proteins: potential role in the pathophysiology of critical illnesses.

High-mobility group (HMG) proteins are architectural factors that have been shown to play a role in the transcriptional regulation of various mammalian genes. One family of HMG proteins, HMG-I/Y, is known to facilitate the initiation of gene transcription by modifying the conformation of DNA and recruiting transcription factors into an organized complex on transcriptional regulatory regions of specific genes. In many circumstances, the nuclear factor-kappa B family of transcription factors is involved in gene regulation that is mediated by HMG-I/Y. We will review the mechanisms by which HMG-I/Y proteins regulate gene transcription, give an overview of selected genes regulated by HMG-I/Y, summarize the potential roles of these genes in critical illnesses, and provide more detailed information about the role of HMG-I/Y in the regulation of nitric oxide synthase-2 during an inflammatory response, such as endotoxemia/sepsis.

Reduction of nitric oxide synthase 2 expression by distamycin A improves survival from endotoxemia.

NO synthase 2 (NOS2) plays an important role in endotoxemia through overproduction of NO. Distamycin A (Dist A) belongs to a class of drugs termed minor-groove DNA binders, which can inhibit transcription factor binding to AT-rich regions of DNA. We and others have previously shown that AT-rich regions of DNA surrounding transcription factor binding sites in the NOS2 promoter are critical for NOS2 induction by inflammatory stimuli in vitro. Therefore, we hypothesized that Dist A would attenuate NOS2 up-regulation in vivo during endotoxemia and improve animal survival. C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) mice treated with Dist A and LPS (endotoxin) showed significantly improved survival compared with animals treated with LPS alone. In contrast, LPS-treated C57BL/6 NOS2-deficient (NOS2-/-) mice did not benefit from the protective effect of Dist A on mortality from endotoxemia. Treatment with Dist A resulted in protection from hypotension in LPS-treated WT mice, but not in NOS2-/- mice. Furthermore, LPS-induced NOS2 expression was attenuated in vivo (WT murine tissues) and in vitro (primary peritoneal and RAW 264.7 murine macrophages) with addition of Dist A. Dist A selectively decreased IFN regulatory factor-1 DNA binding in the enhancer region of the NOS2 promoter, and this IFN regulatory factor-1 site is critical for the effect of Dist A in attenuating LPS induction of NOS2. Our data point to a novel approach in modulating NOS2 expression in vivo during endotoxemia and suggest the potential for alternative treatment approaches for critical illness.