ABSTRACT
Tumor immunotherapies targeting PD-(L)1 exhibit anti-tumor efficacy in only 10-30% of patients with various cancers. Literature has demonstrated that a "hot tumor" which contains high T lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment exhibits a better response to immunotherapies than a "cold tumor." This study aimed to investigate whether tumor-intrinsic IFNα and CXCL10 determine the recruitment and activation of CD8+ T cells to become "hot tumor." In this study, we found that CXCL10 overexpressed in a variety of tumors including lung, colon, and liver tumors with a correlation with PD-L1. High PD-L1 and CXCL10 are associated with better survival rates in tumor patients receiving immunotherapies. IFNs-downstream transcriptional factor IRF-1 and STAT1 were correlated with PD-L1 and CXCL10 expression. We demonstrated that IRF-1 and STAT1 were both bound with the promoters of PD-L1 and CXCL10, sharing the same signaling pathway and determining IFNs-mediated PD-L1 and CXCL10 expression. In addition, IFNα significantly increased activation marker IFNγ in PBMCs, promoting M1 type monocyte differentiation, CD4+ T, and CD8+ T cell activation. Particularly, we found that CD8+ T lymphocytes abundantly expressed CXCR3, a receptor of CXCL10, by flow cytometry, indicating that tumor-intrinsic CXCL10 potentially recruited CD8+ T in tumor microenvironment. To demonstrate the hypothesis, immunotherapy-sensitive CT26 and immunotherapy-resistant LL/2 were used and we found that CT26 cells exhibited higher IFNα, IFNγ, CXCL10, and PD-L1 levels compared to LL/2, leading to higher IFNγ expression in mouse splenocytes. Moreover, we found that CD8+ T cells were recruited by CXCL10 in vitro, whereas SCH546738, an inhibitor of CXCR3, inhibited T cell migration and splenocytes-mediated anti-tumor effect. We then confirmed that CT26-derived tumor was sensitive to αPD-L1 immunotherapy and LL/2-tumor was resistant, whereas αPD-L1 significantly increased T lymphocyte activation marker CD107a in CT26-derived BALB/c mice. In conclusion, this study revealed that CXCL10 expression is correlated with PD-L1 in tumors, sharing the same signaling pathway and associating with better immunotherapeutic efficacy. Further evidence in the syngeneic tumor models demonstrated that immunotherapy-sensitive CT26 intrinsically exhibited higher IFNα and CXCL10 compared to immunotherapy-resistant LL/2 to recruit and activate CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment, exhibiting "hot tumor" characteristic of sensitizing αPD-L1 immunotherapies.
Subject(s)
Chemokine CXCL10 , Immunotherapy , Interferon-alpha , Tumor Microenvironment , Chemokine CXCL10/metabolism , Chemokine CXCL10/immunology , Tumor Microenvironment/immunology , Animals , Mice , Humans , Immunotherapy/methods , Neoplasms/immunology , Neoplasms/therapy , Lymphocyte Activation/immunology , Cell Line, Tumor , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , B7-H1 Antigen/antagonists & inhibitors , B7-H1 Antigen/immunology , Female , STAT1 Transcription Factor/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This nationwide prospective registry study investigated the real-world effectiveness, safety, and persistence of vedolizumab (VDZ) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in Taiwan. Disease relapse rates after VDZ discontinuation due to reimbursement restriction were assessed. METHODS: Data were collected prospectively (January 2018 to May 2020) from the Taiwan Society of IBD registry. RESULTS: Overall, 274 patients (147 ulcerative colitis [UC] patients, 127 Crohn's disease [CD] patients) were included. Among them, 70.7% with UC and 50.4% with CD were biologic-naïve. At 1 year, 76.0%, 58.0%, 35.0%, and 62.2% of UC patients and 57.1%, 71.4%, 33.3%, and 30.0% of CD patients achieved clinical response, clinical remission, steroid-free remission, and mucosal healing, respectively. All patients underwent hepatitis B and tuberculosis screening before initiating biologics, and prophylaxis was recommended when necessary. One hepatitis B carrier, without antiviral prophylaxis due to economic barriers, had hepatitis B reactivation during steroid tapering and increasing azathioprine dosage, which was controlled with an antiviral agent. No tuberculosis reactivation was noted. At 12 months, non-reimbursement-related treatment persistence rates were 94.0% and 82.5% in UC and CD patients, respectively. Moreover, 75.3% of IBD patients discontinued VDZ due to mandatory drug holiday. Relapse rates after VDZ discontinuation at 6 and 12 months were 36.7% and 64.3% in CD patients and 42.9% and 52.4% in UC patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated VDZ effectiveness in IBD patients in Taiwan, with high treatment persistence rates and favorable safety profiles. A substantial IBD relapse rate was observed in patients who had mandatory drug holiday.
Subject(s)
Colitis, Ulcerative , Crohn Disease , Hepatitis B , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases , Humans , Taiwan , Remission Induction , Gastrointestinal Agents/therapeutic use , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/drug therapy , Colitis, Ulcerative/drug therapy , Crohn Disease/drug therapy , Recurrence , Treatment Outcome , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Radiotherapy (RT) not only damages tumors but also induces interferon (IFN) expression in tumors. IFNs mediate PD-L1 to exhaust CD8+ T cells, but which also directly impact tumor cells and potentially activate anti-tumor immune surveillance. Little is known about the contradictory mechanism of IFNs in regulating CD8+ T-mediated anti-tumor activity in lung cancer. This study found that RT induced IFNs and CXCL9/10 expression in the RT-treated lung cancer cells. Specifically, RT- and IFNγ-pretreated A549 significantly activated CD8+ T cells, resulting in significant inhibition of A549 colony formation. RNAseq and consequent qPCR results revealed that IFNγ induced PD-L1, CXCL10, and ICAM-1, whereas PD-L1 knockdown activated CD8+ T cells, but ICAM-1 knockdown diminished CD8+ T cell activation. We further demonstrated that CXCR3 and CXCL10 decreased in the CD8+ T cells and nonCD8+ PBMCs, respectively, in the patients with lung cancer that expressed lower reactivation as co-cultured with A549 cells. In addition, inhibitors targeting CXCR3 and LFA-1 in CD8+ T cells significantly diminished CD8+ T cell activation and splenocytes-mediated anti-LL/2shPdl1. In conclusion, we validated that RT suppressed lung cancer and overexpress PD-L1, CXCL10, and ICAM-1, which exhibited different roles in regulating CD8+ T cell activity. We propose that CXCR3highCD8+ T cells stimulated by CXCL10 exhibit anti-tumor immunity, possibly by enhancing T cells-tumor cells adhesion through CXCL10/CXCR3-activated LFA-1-ICAM-1 interaction, but CXCR3lowCD8+ T cells with low CXCL10 in patients with lung cancer were exhausted by PD-L1 dominantly. Therefore, RT potentially activates CD8+ T cells by inducing IFNs-mediated CXCL10 and ICAM-1 expression in tumors to enhance CD8+ T-tumor adhesion and recognition. This study clarified the possible mechanisms of RT and IFNs in regulating CD8+ T cell activation in lung cancer.
Subject(s)
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes , Lung Neoplasms , Humans , Chemokine CXCL10/metabolism , B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1/metabolism , Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1/metabolism , Interferon-gamma/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Receptors, CXCR3/genetics , Receptors, CXCR3/metabolismABSTRACT
Radiotherapy (RT) is applied to eradicate tumors in the clinic. However, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibits resistance against RT. It is demonstrated that RT directly inhibits tumor growth but which induces type I interferons (IFNs) expression to phosphorylate STATs and increase STATs-downstream PD-L1 levels in the survival tumor cells. Since sorafenib is capable of suppressing STATs, we, therefore, hypothesize that sorafenib suppresses IFNs-mediated radioresistance and PD-L1 in the residual tumor cells and may synergistically enhance RT-mediated reactivation of CD8+ T immunological activity to eradicate HCC cells. We found that combined RT, sorafenib, and PBMCs significantly suppress the colony formation in the HCC cells, whereas CD8+ T cells expressed high granzyme B (GZMB) and perforin (PRF1) in co-cultured with RT-treated HCC cells. We demonstrated RT significantly inhibited HCC cell viability but induced IFNα and IL-6 expression in the RT-treated HCC cells, resulting in immune checkpoint PD-L1 and anti-apoptosis MCL1 and BCL2 overexpression in the non-RT HCC cells. We found that sorafenib decreased RT-PLC5 medium (RT-PLC5-m)-mediated cell growth by suppressing IFNα- and IL-6-mediated STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation. Sorafenib also reduced IFNα-mediated PD-L1 levels in HCC cells. Meanwhile, RT-PLC5-m reactivated CD8+ T cells and non-CD8+ PBMCs, resulting in high IFNγ and IL-2 levels in CD8+ T cells, and cytokines IFNα, IFNγ, IL-2, and IL-6 in non-CD8+ PBMCs. Particularly, CD8+ T cells expressed higher GZMB and PRF1 and non-CD8+ PBMCs expressed higher IFNα, IFNγ, IL-2, IL-6, CXCL9, and CXCL10 in co-cultured with RT-treated HCC cells compared to parental cells. Although we demonstrated that sorafenib slightly inhibited RT-mediated GZMB and PRF1 expression in CD8+ T cells, and cytokines levels in non-CD8+ PBMCs. Based on sorafenib significantly suppressed IFNα- and IL-6-mediated radioresistance and PD-L1 expression, we demonstrated that sorafenib synergized RT and immune surveillance for suppressing PLC5 cell viability in vitro. In conclusion, this study revealed that RT induced IFNα and IL-6 expression to phosphorylate STAT1 and STAT3 by autocrine and paracrine effect, leading to radioresistance and PD-L1 overexpression in HCC cells. Sorafenib not only suppressed IFNα- and IL-6-mediated PLC5 cell growth but also inhibited IFNα-mediated PD-L1 expression, synergistically enhancing RT-mediated CD8+ T cell reactivation against HCC cells.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular , Interferon Type I , Liver Neoplasms , Humans , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/radiotherapy , Sorafenib/pharmacology , Sorafenib/therapeutic use , B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , Granzymes/metabolism , Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy , Liver Neoplasms/radiotherapy , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , Perforin/metabolism , Interleukin-2/metabolism , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/metabolism , Cytokines/metabolism , Interferon Type I/metabolism , Cell Line, TumorABSTRACT
Tumor cells express immune checkpoints to exhaust CD8+ T cells. Irradiation damages tumor cells and augments tumor immunotherapy in clinical applications. However, the radiotherapy-mediated molecular mechanism affecting CD8+ T cell activity remains elusive. We aimed to uncover the mechanism of radiotherapy augmenting cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). EGFR-positive NSCLC cell lines were co-cultured with CD8+ T cells from healthy volunteers. Tumor cell viability and apoptosis were consequently measured. IFNγ was identified secreted by CD8+ T cells and PBMCs. Therefore, RNAseq was used to screen the IFNγ-mediated gene expression in A549 cells. The irradiation effect to IFNγ-mediated gene expression was investigated using qPCR and western blots. We found that the co-culture of tumor cells stimulated the increase of granzyme B and IFNγ in CD8+ T, but A549 exhibited resistance against CD8+ T cytotoxicity compared to HCC827. Irradiation inhibited A549 proliferation and enhanced apoptosis, augmenting PBMCs-mediated cytotoxicity against A549. We found that IFNγ simultaneously increased phosphorylation on STAT1 and STAT3 in EGFR-positive lung cancer, resulting in overexpression of PD-L1 (p < 0.05). In RNAseq analysis, MCL1 was identified and increased by the IFNγ-STAT3 axis (p < 0.05). We demonstrated that irradiation specifically inhibited phosphorylation on STAT1 and STAT3 in IFNγ-treated A549, resulting in reductions of PD-L1 and MCL1 (both p < 0.05). Moreover, knockdowns of STAT3 and MCL1 increased the PBMCs-mediated anti-A549 effect. This study demonstrated that A549 expressed MCL1 to resist CD8+ T cell-mediated tumor apoptosis. In addition, we found that irradiation suppressed IFNγ-mediated STAT3 phosphorylation and PD-L1 and MCL1 expression, revealing a potential mechanism of radiotherapy augmenting immune surveillance.
Subject(s)
B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/therapy , Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/metabolism , Radiotherapy , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Cell Proliferation/physiology , Humans , Immunotherapy/methods , Interferon-gamma/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Radiotherapy/methodsABSTRACT
Irradiation-broken DNA fragments increase type I interferon and chemokines secretion in tumor cells. Since radiotherapy may augment tumor immunotherapy, we hypothesize that the chemokines increased by irradiation could recruit CD8+ T cells to suppress tumor proliferation. This study intended to unveil the secreted factors activating and recruiting CD8+ T cells in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). EGFR-positive A549 was selected and treated by X-irradiation (IR) to identify the overexpression of chemokines associated to CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity and recruitment. A transwell assay with Alexa 488-labeled CD8+ T cells was used to evaluate CD8+ T cell motility in vitro. A nuclear imaging platform by In111-labeled nivolumab was used to track CD8+ T cells homing to tumors in vivo. The activation markers GZMB, PRF-1, and IFNγ, migration marker CD183 (CXCR3), and inhibitory marker CD274 (PD-1), were measured and compared in CD8+ T cells with A549 co-cultured, chemokines treated, and patients with late-stage lung cancer. We found that IR not only suppressed A549 proliferation but also induced IFNα and CXCL9 expression (p < 0.05). IFNα majorly increased IFNγ levels in CD8+ T cells (p < 0.05) and synergistically with CXCL9 enhanced CD8+ T cell migration in vitro (p < 0.05). We found that CXCR3 and PD-1 were down-regulated and up-regulated, respectively, in the peripheral blood CD8+ T cells in patients with lung cancer (n = 4 vs. healthy n = 3, both p < 0.05), which exhibited reduction of cell motility (p < 0.05). The in vivo nuclear imaging data indicated highly CD8+ T cells migrated to A549-induced tumors. In addition, we demonstrated that healthy PBMCs significantly suppressed the parallel tumor growth (p < 0.05) and the radioresistant tumor growth in the tumor xenograft mice (p < 0.05), but PBMCs from patients with lung cancer had lost the anti-tumor capacity. We demonstrated that IR induced IFNα and CXCL9 expression in A549 cells, leading to CD8+ T cell migration. This study unveiled a potential mechanism for radiotherapy to activate and recruit CD8+ T cells to suppress lung tumors.
ABSTRACT
The mechanism exhausting CD8+ T cells is not completely clear against tumors. Literature has demonstrated that cigarette smoking disables the immunological activity, so we propose nicotine is able to exhaust CD8+ T cells. The CD8+ T cells from healthy volunteers with and without cigarette smoking and the capacity of CD8+ T cells against tumor cells were investigated. RNAseq was used to investigate the gene profiling expression in CD8+ T cells. Meanwhile, small RNAseq was also used to search novel microRNAs involved in the exhaustion of CD8+ T cells. The effect of nicotine exhausting CD8+ T cells was investigated in vitro and in the humanized tumor xenografts in vivo. We found that CD8+ T cells were able to reduce cell viability in lung cancer HCC827 and A549 cells, that secreted granzyme B, but CD8+ T cells from the healthy cigarette smokers lost anti-HCC827 effect. Moreover, nicotine suppressed the anti-HCC827 effect of CD8+ T cells. RNAseq revealed lower levels of IL2RB and GZMB in the exhausted CD8+ T cells. We identified that miR-629-5p was increased by nicotine, that targeted IL2RB. Transfection of miR-629-5p mimic reduced IL2RB and GZMB levels. We further validated that nicotine reduced granzyme B levels using a nuclear imaging technique, and demonstrated that nicotine exhausted peripheral blood mononuclear cells against HCC827 growth in the humanized tumor xenografts. This study demonstrated that nicotine exhausted CD8+ T cells against HCC827 cells through increasing miR-629-5p to suppress IL2RB.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma of Lung/metabolism , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Interleukin-2 Receptor beta Subunit/metabolism , MicroRNAs/genetics , Nicotine/metabolism , A549 Cells , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Cigarette Smoking/adverse effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Granzymes/genetics , Granzymes/metabolism , Humans , Interleukin-2 Receptor beta Subunit/genetics , Male , Mice , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a transcriptional factor involved in tumorigenesis and cancer stemness formation, contributes to drug resistance in cancer therapies. STAT3 not only mediates gene transcription but also participates in microRNA suppression. This study identified a STAT3-downstream micro RNA (miRNA) involved in drug resistance against regorafenib in colorectal cancer stem-like tumorspheres. Small RNAseq was used to investigate differential microRNAs in colorectal cancer cell-derived tumorspheres and in a STAT3-knockdown strain. The miRNA-mediated genes were identified by comparing RNAseq data with gene targets predicted using TargetScan. Assays for detecting cell viability and apoptosis were used to validate findings. The formation of colorectal cancer stem-like tumorspheres was inhibited by BBI608, a STAT3 inhibitor, but not by regorafenib. Additional investigations for microRNA expression demonstrated an increase in 10 miRNAs and a decrease in 13 miRNAs in HT29-derived tumorspheres. A comparison of small RNAseq results between tumorspheres and HT29shSTAT3 cells revealed the presence of four STAT3-mediated miRNAs in HT29-derived tumorspheres: hsa-miR-215-5p, hsa-miR-4521, and hsa-miR-215-3p were upregulated, whereas miR-30a-5p was downregulated. Furthermore, hsa-miR-4521 was associated with poor overall survival probability, and miR-30a-5p was associated with better overall survival probability in patients with rectum cancer. Comparisons of RNAseq findings between HCT116- and HT29-derived tumorspheres revealed that HSPA5 were mediated by the STAT3-miR-30a-5p axis, which is overexpressed in colorectal tumorspheres associating to anti-apoptosis. In addition, the transfection of miR-30a-5p and inhibition of HSPA5 by HA15 significantly reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis in HT29 cells. In conclusion, a STAT3-miR-30a-5p-HSPA5 axis was observed against regorafenib-mediated apoptosis in colorectal cancer tumorspheres. The expression of miR-30a-5p was repressed by STAT3; in addition, HSPA5 was identified as the target gene of miR-30a-5p and contributed to both tumorsphere formation and anti-apoptosis.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics , MicroRNAs/genetics , STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics , Apoptosis/genetics , Cell Movement/genetics , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Cell Survival/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics , HCT116 Cells , HT29 Cells , HumansABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: HER3 mediates drug resistance against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), resulting in tumor relapse in lung cancers. Previously, we demonstrated that EGFR induces HER3 overexpression, which facilitates the formation of cancer stem-like tumorspheres. However, the cellular mechanism through which EGFR regulates HER3 expression remains unclear. We hypothesized that EGFR downstream of STAT3 participates in HER3 expression because STAT3 contributes to cancer stemness and survival of EGFR-TKI resistant cancers. METHODS: First, RNAseq was used to uncover potential genes involved in the formation of lung cancer HCC827-derived stem-like tumorspheres. EGFR-positive lung cancer cell lines, including HCC827, A549, and H1975, were individually treated with a panel containing 172 therapeutic agents targeting stem cell-associated genes to search for potential agents that could be applied against EGFR-positive lung cancers. In addition, gene knockdown and RNAseq were used to investigate molecular mechanisms through which STAT3 regulates tumor progression and the survival in lung cancer. RESULTS: BBI608, a STAT3 inhibitor, was a potential therapeutic agent that reduced the cell viability of EGFR-positive lung cancer cell lines. Notably, the inhibitory effects of BBI608 were similar with those associated with YM155, an ILF3 inhibitor. Both compounds reduced G9a-mediated HER3 expression. We also demonstrated that STAT3 upregulated G9a to silence miR-145-5p, which exacerbated HER3 expression in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that BBI608 could eradicate EGFR-positive lung cancers and demonstrated that STAT3 enhanced the expression of HER3 through miR-145-5p repression by G9a, indicating that STAT3 is a reliable therapeutic target against EGFR-TKI-resistant lung cancers.
Subject(s)
Histocompatibility Antigens/metabolism , Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Receptor, ErbB-3/metabolism , STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism , A549 Cells , Animals , Benzofurans/pharmacology , Cell Movement/drug effects , Cell Survival/drug effects , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/drug effects , ErbB Receptors/antagonists & inhibitors , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Gene Knockdown Techniques , Histocompatibility Antigens/genetics , Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase/genetics , Humans , Imidazoles/pharmacology , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred NOD , Mice, SCID , MicroRNAs/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Naphthoquinones/pharmacology , Nuclear Factor 90 Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Nuclear Factor 90 Proteins/genetics , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/adverse effects , Receptor, ErbB-3/antagonists & inhibitors , STAT3 Transcription Factor/antagonists & inhibitors , STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cancer stem cells are capable of undergoing cell division after surviving cancer therapies, leading to tumor progression and recurrence. Inhibitory agents against cancer stem cells may be therapeutically used for efficiently eradicating tumors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the relevant driver genes that maintain cancer stemness in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and to discover effective therapeutic agents against these genes. METHODS: In this study, EGFR-positive cancer stem-like cells (CSLCs) derived from HCT116 and HT29 cells were used as study models for in vitro inductions. To identify the differential genes that maintain CSLCs, RNAseq analysis was conducted followed by bioinformatics analysis. Moreover, a panel containing 172 therapeutic agents targeting the various pathways of stem cells was used to identify effective therapeutics against CSLCs. RESULTS: RNAseq analysis revealed that 654 and 840 genes were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively, in the HCT116 CSLCs. Among these genes, notably, platelet-derived growth factor A (PDGFA) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) were relevant according to the cancer pathway analyzed using NetworkAnalyst. Furthermore, therapeutic screening revealed that the agents targeting STAT3 and Wnt signaling pathways were efficient in reducing the cell viabilities of both HCT116 and HT29 cells. Consequently, we discovered that STAT3 inhibition using homoharringtonine and STAT3 knockdown significantly reduced the formation and survival of HT29-derived tumorspheres. We also observed that STAT3 phosphorylation was regulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) to induce PDGFA and Wnt signaling cascades. CONCLUSIONS: We identified the potential genes involved in tumorsphere formation and survival in selective EGFR-positive CRCs. The results reveal that the EGF-STAT3 signaling pathway promotes and maintains CRC stemness. In addition, a crosstalk between STAT3 and Wnt activates the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, which is also responsible for cancer stemness. Thus, STAT3 is a putative therapeutic target for CRC treatment.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , ErbB Receptors/genetics , Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology , STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Early Detection of Cancer , Epidermal Growth Factor/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , HT29 Cells , Humans , Phosphorylation , Platelet-Derived Growth Factor/genetics , Sequence Analysis, RNA , Wnt Signaling PathwayABSTRACT
The epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in many cancers, including lung and head and neck cancers, and is involved in cancer cell progression and survival. PD-L1, increases in tumor cells to evade and inhibit CD8+ T cells, is a clinical immunotherapeutic target. This study investigated the molecular mechanism of EGF on regulating PD-L1 in EGFR-positive cancers and determined potential agents to reduce PD-L1 expression. RNA sequencing (RNAseq) and bioinformatics analysis were performed to determine potential driver genes that regulate PD-L1 in tumor cells-derived tumorspheres which mimicking cancer stem cells. Then, the specific inhibitors targeting EGFR were applied to reduce the expression of PD-L1 in vitro and in vivo. We validated that EGF could induce PD-L1 expression in the selected EGFR-positive cancers. RNAseq results revealed that STAT1 increased as a driver gene in KOSC-3-derived tumorspheres; these data were analyzed using PANTHER followed by NetworkAnalyst. The blockade of EGFR by afatinib resulted in decreased STAT1 and IRF-1 levels, both are transcriptional factors of PD-L1, and disabled the IFNr-STAT1-mediated PD-L1 axis in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, STAT1 knockdown significantly reduced EGF-mediated PD-L1 expression, and ruxolitinib, a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, significantly inhibited STAT1 phosphorylation to reduce the IFNr-mediated PD-L1 axis. These results indicate that EGF exacerbates PD-L1 by increasing the protein levels of STAT1 to enforce the IFNr-JAK1/2-mediated signaling axis in selected EGFR-positive cancers. The inhibition of EGFR by afatinib significantly reduced PD-L1 and may be a potential strategy for enhancing immunotherapeutic efficacy.
Subject(s)
B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , Epidermal Growth Factor/metabolism , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Interferon-gamma/metabolism , Neoplasms/genetics , Neoplasms/metabolism , STAT1 Transcription Factor/genetics , Afatinib/pharmacology , Animals , B7-H1 Antigen/antagonists & inhibitors , Biomarkers , Cell Line, Tumor , ErbB Receptors/antagonists & inhibitors , Humans , Immunophenotyping , Male , Mice , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , STAT1 Transcription Factor/metabolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: YM155, an inhibitor of interleukin enhancer-binding factor 3 (ILF3), significantly suppresses cancer stemness property, implying that ILF3 contributes to cell survival of cancer stem cells. However, the molecular function of ILF3 inhibiting cancer stemness remains unclear. This study aimed to uncover the potential function of ILF3 involving in cell survival of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive lung stem-like cancer, and to investigate the potential role to improve the efficacy of anti-EGFR therapeutics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The association of EGFR and ILF3 in expression and regulations was first investigated in this study. Lung cancer A549 cells with deprivation of ILF3 were created by the gene-knockdown method and then RNAseq was applied to identify the putative genes regulated by ILF3. Meanwhile, HCC827- and A549-derived cancer stem-like cells were used to investigate the role of ILF3 in the formation of cancer stem-like tumorspheres. RESULTS: We found that EGFR induced ILF3 expression, and YM155 reduced EGFR expression. The knockdown of ILF3 reduced not only EGFR expression in mRNA and protein levels, but also cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating that ILF3 may play an important role in contributing to cancer cell survival. Moreover, the knockdown and inhibition of ILF3 by shRNA and YM155, respectively, reduced the formation and survival of HCC827- and A549-derived tumorspheres through inhibiting ErbB3 (HER3) expression, and synergized the therapeutic efficacy of afatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, against EGFR-positive A549 lung cells. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that ILF3 plays an oncogenic like role in maintaining the EGFR-mediated cellular pathway, and can be a therapeutic target to improve the therapeutic efficacy of afatinib. Our results suggested that YM155, an ILF3 inhibitor, has the potential for utilization in cancer therapy against EGFR-positive lung cancers.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism , Imidazoles/pharmacology , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Naphthoquinones/pharmacology , Neoplastic Stem Cells/metabolism , Nuclear Factor 90 Proteins/metabolism , A549 Cells , Afatinib/administration & dosage , Animals , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/pharmacology , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology , Cell Line, Tumor , Drug Synergism , ErbB Receptors/antagonists & inhibitors , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Humans , Imidazoles/administration & dosage , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred NOD , Mice, SCID , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Naphthoquinones/administration & dosage , Neoplastic Stem Cells/drug effects , Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology , Nuclear Factor 90 Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Phosphorylation , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Random Allocation , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) is a tumor target for developing the anti-tumor theranostic agents. Cetuximab, an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody against EGFR-positive tumors, inhibits cell proliferation and growth was labeled with radioactive 111indium (111In) in this study for diagnosing EGFR-positive CRC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of noninvasive nuclear imaging agent 111In-cetuximab and investigate the biological distribution of 111In-cetuximab in the HCT-15-induced EGFR-positive CRC tumor xenografts. METHODS: We conjugated cetuximab with an isotope chelator, diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA), and consequently labeled cetuximab-DTPA with 111In and measured the labeling efficacy by an instant thin layer chromatography (iTLC). Furthermore, the 111In-cetuximab was investigated and compared for imaging small (50 mm3) and large (250 mm3) tumor of CRC xenografts, respectively. RESULTS: The conjugated ratio between cetuximab and DTPA was 1:6 measured by MALDI-TOF-MS. The better labeling concentration of cetuximab with 10 mCi of 111In was calculated and experimented as 48 µg, resulting in labeling efficacy >80% detected by iTLC. The results revealed that the 111In-cetuximab accumulated in the both sizes of tumors as a reliable noninvasive diagnostic agent, whereas the ratio of tumor to muscle in the large tumor was 7.5-fold. The biodistribution data indicated that the 111In-cetuximab bound to tumor specifically that was higher than that in other organs. CONCLUSION: We suggested that the 111In-cetuximab was potential for early diagnosis and prognostic monitor of EGFR-positive CRC in further clinical practice.
Subject(s)
Cetuximab/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , ErbB Receptors/analysis , Indium Radioisotopes , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon/methods , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Colorectal Neoplasms/chemistry , Humans , Male , Mice , Tissue DistributionABSTRACT
Cancer stem cell survival is the leading factor for tumor recurrence after tumor-suppressive treatments. Therefore, specific and efficient inhibitors of cancer stemness must be discovered for reducing tumor recurrence. YM155 has been indicated to significantly reduce stemness-derived tumorsphere formation. However, the pharmaceutical mechanism of YM155 against cancer stemness is unclear. This study investigated the potential mechanism of YM155 against cancer stemness in lung cancer. Tumorspheres derived from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant HCC827 and EGFR wild-type A549 cells expressing higher cancer stemness markers (CD133, Oct4, and Nanog) were used as cancer stemness models. We observed that EGFR autophosphorylation (Y1068) was higher in HCC827- and A549-derived tumorspheres than in parental cells; this autophosphorylation induced tumorsphere formation by activating G9a-mediated stemness. Notably, YM155 inhibited tumorsphere formation by blocking the autophosphorylation of EGFR and the EGFR-G9a-mediated stemness pathway. The chemical and genetic inhibition of EGFR and G9a revealed the significant role of the EGFR-G9a pathway in maintaining the cancer stemness property. In conclusion, this study not only revealed that EGFR could trigger tumorsphere formation by elevating G9a-mediated stemness but also demonstrated that YM155 could inhibit this formation by simultaneously blocking EGFR autophosphorylation and G9a activity, thus acting as a potent agent against lung cancer stemness.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Histocompatibility Antigens/metabolism , Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase/metabolism , Imidazoles/pharmacology , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Naphthoquinones/pharmacology , Afatinib , Cell Line, Tumor , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical , ErbB Receptors/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/physiology , Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase/antagonists & inhibitors , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Methylation/drug effects , Octamer Transcription Factor-3/metabolism , Phosphorylation/drug effects , Phosphorylation/physiology , Quinazolines/pharmacology , RNA, Messenger/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hypoxia in tumor niche is one of important factors to start regeneration of blood vessels, leading to increase survival, proliferation, and invasion in cancer cells. Under hypoxia microenvironment, furthermore, steadily increased hypoxia-inducible factor -1α (HIF-1α) is observed, and can increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and promote angiogenesis. Zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), a heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) inhibitor, is potential to inhibit tumor proliferation and progression. However, the mechanism of ZnPP in inhibition of tumor is not completely clear. We hypothesize that ZnPP may modulate HIF-1α through inhibiting HO-1, and then inhibit angiogenesis and tumor progression. This study aimed to dissect the mechanism of ZnPP in tumor suppression. RESULTS: We observed the amount of VEGF was increased in the sera of the colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (n = 34, p < 0.05). Furthermore, increased VEGF expression was also measured in colorectal cancer cells, HCT-15, culturing under mimicking hypoxic condition. It suggested that hypoxia induced VEGF production from cancer cells. VEGF production was significantly reduced from HCT-15 cells after exposure to HIF-1α inhibitor KC7F2, suggesting that HIF-1α regulated VEGF production. Moreover, we observed that the HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP inhibited the expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF coupled with cell proliferations of HCT-15 cells, suggesting that ZnPP blocked HIF-1α expression, and then inhibited the consequent VEGF production. In the xenograft model, we also observed that the animals exposed to ZnPP displayed much smaller tumor nodules and less degree of angiogenesis with decreased expression of the angiogenesis marker, αvß3 integrin, compared to that in normal control. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that VEGF level in serum was elevated in the patients with CRC. The HO-1 inhibitor, ZnPP, possessed the properties of anti-tumor agent by decreasing HIF-1α levels, blocking VEGF production, impairing tumor angiogenesis, and inhibiting tumor growth.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms , Heme Oxygenase-1/antagonists & inhibitors , Hypoxia , Metalloporphyrins/pharmacology , Neoplasm Proteins , Neovascularization, Pathologic/drug therapy , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Colorectal Neoplasms/blood supply , Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Colorectal Neoplasms/enzymology , Heme Oxygenase-1/metabolism , Humans , Mice , Neoplasm Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism , Neovascularization, Pathologic/enzymology , Neovascularization, Pathologic/pathology , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
Hypoxic microenvironment is a common situation in solid tumors. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9) is one of the reliable cellular biomarkers of hypoxia. The role of CA9 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains to be clarified. CA9 inhibitor such as sulfonamides is known to block CA9 activation and reduce tumor growth consequently. Here, we aimed to investigate the CA9 expression in serum and tumor from different stages of CRC patients and utilize sulfonamide derivative with indium-111 labeling as a probe for CRC nuclear imaging detection in vivo. The serum CA9 was correlated with the tumor CA9 levels in different stages of CRC patients. Hypoxia increased cell viability and CA9 expression in colorectal cancer HCT-15 cells. Sulfonamide derivative 5-(2-aminoethyl)thiophene-2-sulfonamide (ATS) could bind with CA9 in vitro under hypoxia. Moreover, tumor tissues in HCT-15-induced xenograft mice possessed higher hypoxic fluorescence signal as compared with other organs. We also found that the radioisotope signal of indium-111 labeled ATS, which was utilized for CRC detection in HCT-15-induced xenograft mice, was markedly enhanced in tumors as compared with non-ATS control. Taken together, these findings suggest that CA9 is a potential hypoxic CRC biomarker and measurement of serum CA9 can be as a potential tool for diagnosing CA9 expressions in CRC clinical practice. The radioisotope-labeled sulfonamide derivative (ATS) may be useful to apply in CRC patients for nuclear medicine imaging.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Neoplasm/blood , Carbonic Anhydrases/blood , Colorectal Neoplasms/enzymology , Diagnostic Imaging/methods , Sulfonamides/chemistry , Animals , Carbonic Anhydrase IX , Cell Hypoxia/physiology , Cell Line, Tumor , Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Heterografts , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Radionuclide Imaging , Sulfonamides/pharmacokineticsABSTRACT
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is known as a common malignant neoplasm worldwide. The role of EGFR/HER2 in CRC is unclear. Afatinib is an irreversible EGFR/HER2 inhibitor. There were few studies of afatinib on CRC. Here, we investigated the protein levels/expressions of HER2 in sera and tumors from CRC patients and the therapeutic effect of afatinib on HER2-overexpressed CRC in vitro and in vivo. The increased HER2 levels were detected in the collected sera and tumors of patients with CRC. The serological HER2 levels were correlated with the tumor HER2 expressions in patients. Afatinib also inhibited the HER2-positive tumor cell growth and caused apoptosis in HER2-overexpressed human colorectal cancer HCT-15 cells but not in low HER2 expressed human gastric cancer MKN45 cells. In vivo study showed that afatinib reduced tumor growth in HER2-overexpressed xenografts. Moreover, afatinib-encapsulated micelles displayed higher cytotoxic activity in HCT-15 cells and were more effective for tumor growth suppression in HCT-15-induced tumor xenografts than afatinib performance alone. Taken together, these findings suggest that higher serum HER2 levels reflect the higher HER2 contents in tumors of CRC patients, and the improved afatinib-encapsulated micelles possess high therapeutic efficacy in HER2-overexpressed CRC in vitro and in vivo.
Subject(s)
Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Micelles , Quinazolines/pharmacology , Receptor, ErbB-2/antagonists & inhibitors , Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays , Adult , Afatinib , Aged , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cell Survival/drug effects , Colorectal Neoplasms/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Drug Compounding , Female , Hep G2 Cells , Humans , Immunoblotting , MCF-7 Cells , Male , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Nude , Middle Aged , Polymers/chemistry , Quinazolines/chemistry , Receptor, ErbB-2/blood , Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism , Tumor Burden/drug effectsABSTRACT
Neutrophil elastase (NE), a serine protease secreted by neutrophils, contributes to the progression of cancers to enhance tumor invasion and metastasis. It has been well reported that the regions surrounding the colorectal cancerous tissues usually are decorated with increased accumulation or aggregation of neutrophils coupled with a higher deposition/expression of NE. Therefore, we hypothesized that an increased expressional level of NE in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) may represent as one of putative biomarkers for CRC. The aim of this study was to evaluate and assure our hypothesis by measurements of the expressional level of NE in the sera and tissues from CRC patients. Moreover, we also proposed a potential therapeutic strategy by blocking enzymatic activity of NE using sivelestat to inhibit the progression of tumor developments. The infiltrated numbers of neutrophils from specimen tissues of CRC patients, and the secreted forms of NE in the sera were quantitatively measured and compared. To evaluate the serum NE as one of putative biomarkers of CRC patients, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was made to determine the cut-off value of NE in sera for assurance of CRC diagnosis. To evaluate NE as therapeutic target for CRC, sivelestat, a NE inhibitor, was used and administrated into the CRC xenografts. NE expression level coupled with tumor volume were measured and compared between the control and sivelestat-treated xenografts. We found that more infiltrated neutrophils and an increased NE expression were detected in the cancerous tissues compared to the normal tissues. The serum NE concentration in CRC patients was statistically higher than that in the healthy controls (0.56 ± 0.08 µg/ml vs. 0.22 ± 0.03 µg/ml) (p<0.05), indicating that serum NE can potentially be a putative marker of CRC. To characterize the role of NE in tumorigenesis, the NE activity was detected in HCT-15-xenografts using in vivo imaging system (IVIS). Compare to normal mice, the amounts of active NE in xenografts are significantly higher than normal control animals. In the therapeutic characterizing studies, we found that sivelestat can inhibit tumor growth in the HCT-15-induced xenografts. This study suggests that NE is not only as a putative diagnostic biomarker of CRC, but also a potential therapeutic target for patients suffered with CRC.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/blood , Colorectal Neoplasms/enzymology , Leukocyte Elastase/blood , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Colorectal Neoplasms/blood , Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Glycine/analogs & derivatives , Glycine/pharmacology , Humans , Leukocyte Elastase/antagonists & inhibitors , Leukocyte Elastase/biosynthesis , Mice , Mice, Nude , Molecular Sequence Data , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Serine Proteinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Sulfonamides/pharmacology , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
Increased expression of cellular membrane bound glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is considered to be one of the biomarkers for gastric cancers. Therefore, peptides or molecules with specific recognition to GRP78 can act as a guiding probe to direct conjugated imaging agents to localized cancers. Based on this rationale, GRP78-guided polymeric micelles were designed and manufactured for nuclear imaging detection of tumors. Thiolated GRP78 binding peptide (GRP78BP) was first labeled with maleimide-terminated poly(ethylene glycol)- poly(É-caprolactone) and then mixed with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-linked poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(É-caprolactone) to form DTPA/GRP78BP-conjugated micelles. The coupling efficiency of micelles with radioisotope indium-111 ((111)In) was measured and analyzed by instant thin layer chromatography. The coupling efficiency of DTPA-conjugated micelles and DTPA/GRP78BP-conjugated micelles with (111)In was 85% and 93%, respectively. For characterization and trace imaging, the radioisotope (111)In-targeting tumors were detected and imaged in a xenograft murine model using nano single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography. The results revealed that the radioactive intensity measured in the animals administered with GRP78BP-guided (111)In-labeled micelles was statistically higher than that in animals administered with (111)In-labeled micelles, demonstrating that GRP78BP more than doubled the accumulation of micelles to the tumor tissue (P < 0.05). The results indicate that the gastric cancer biomarker GRP78 is a probing target in the application of nuclear imaging for tumor diagnosis. This novel GRP78BP-guided micelle agent may be applied in clinical practice to complement the histological diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism , Indium Radioisotopes , Micelles , Molecular Imaging/methods , Radiopharmaceuticals , Stomach Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Animals , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Drug Carriers/chemistry , Drug Carriers/pharmacokinetics , Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP , Heterografts , Humans , Indium Radioisotopes/chemistry , Indium Radioisotopes/pharmacokinetics , Mice , Mice, Nude , Particle Size , Peptides/chemistry , Peptides/pharmacokinetics , Radionuclide Imaging , Radiopharmaceuticals/chemistry , Radiopharmaceuticals/pharmacokinetics , Stomach Neoplasms/metabolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Human neutrophil peptides (HNPs) -1, -2 and -3 are significantly upregulated and were reported as biomarkers in gastric cancer (GC). However, the tissue location and function of HNPs 1-3 are still unclear in GC, and the spatial distribution of the triad needs to be disclosed. The aims of this study were to investigate the distribution and relationships among HNPs-1, -2 and -3, and assess whether infiltrated neutrophils accumulate in gastric tumor. METHODS: In this study, paired samples (n=33) of the GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from the same patients were obtained from surgery. Expression of HNPs 1-3 were detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The distributions of the HNPs 1-3 in GC tissues were investigated. After verification of HNPs-1 by immunohistochemistry, infiltrated neutrophils were also detected. Then, an in vitro assay was used to observe the binding capacity and measure the cytotoxic effect of HNPs-1 against AGS cells. RESULTS: Comparing to neighboring normal tissue, expressional level of HNPs 1-3 were significantly higher and their distributions overlapped in cancerous tissues of GC patients with high abundance in the lamina propria, whereas HNPs-1 was identified as the highest major peak. Moreover, HNPs-1, -2 and -3 correlated with each other. Besides, we also observed that increased infiltrated neutrophils accumulating in GC tissues, indicating that a strong positive correlation between HNPs 1-3 and infiltrated neutrophils. In addition, the further investigated demonstrated that the major peptide, HNPs-1, was statistically increased with the advance of tumor development from the early to advanced stage of GC (p< 0.05). Moreover, we also noticed that HNPs-1 with a great binding capacity to GC AGS cells in vitro can inhibit tumor cell growth. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that neutrophil secreted peptides, HNPs 1-3, increased in the GC tissues and could be used as potential biomarkers detected using MALDI-TOF MS, implying that elevated neutrophils may be used as a tumor target for tumor treatment. The binding capacity of HNPs-1 with GC cells implies that tracking molecules conjugated with HNPs-1 could be applied as a specific probe for GC diagnoses.