搜索结果: 'gmp t cell activator'

Cancer stem cells are critical for cancer initiation,development,and treatment resistance. Our understanding of these processes,and how they relate to glioblastoma heterogeneity,is limited. To overcome these limitations,we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 53586 adult glioblastoma cells and 22637 normal human fetal brain cells,and compared the lineage hierarchy of the developing human brain to the transcriptome of cancer cells. We find a conserved neural tri-lineage cancer hierarchy centered around glial progenitor-like cells. We also find that this progenitor population contains the majority of the cancer's cycling cells,and,using RNA velocity,is often the originator of the other cell types. Finally,we show that this hierarchal map can be used to identify therapeutic targets specific to progenitor cancer stem cells. Our analyses show that normal brain development reconciles glioblastoma development,suggests a possible origin for glioblastoma hierarchy,and helps to identify cancer stem cell-specific targets. View Publication

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) play important roles in various cancers; however,few studies have assessed their clinical utility in neuroendocrine tumors. This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the prognostic value of CTC counts in Asian patients with neuroendocrine tumors before and during anti-cancer therapy. Patients who were diagnosed with unresectable histological neuroendocrine tumors between September 2011 and September 2017 were enrolled. CTC testing was performed before and during anti-cancer therapy using a negative selection protocol. Chromogranin A levels were also assessed. Univariate and multivariate Cox's proportional hazard model with forward LR model was performed to investigate the impact of independent factors on overall survival and progression-free survival. Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank tests were used to determine the difference among different clinicopathological signatures and CTC cutoff. The baseline CTC detection rate was 94.3{\%} (33/35). CTC counts were associated with cancer stages (I-III vs. IV,P = 0.015),liver metastasis (P = 0.026),and neuroendocrine tumor grading (P = 0.03). The median progression-free survival and overall survivals were 12.3 and 30.4 months,respectively. In multivariate Cox regression model,neuroendocrine tumors grading and baseline CTC counts were both independent prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS,P = 0.005 and 0.015,respectively) and overall survival (OS,P = 0.018 and 0.023,respectively). In Kaplan-Meier analysis,lower baseline chromogranin A levels were associated with longer PFS (P = 0.024). Baseline CTC counts are associated with the clinicopathologic features of neuroendocrine tumors and are an independent prognostic factor for this malignancy. View Publication

Personalized cancer therapy is based on a patient's tumor lineage,histopathology,expression analyses,and/or tumor DNA or RNA analysis. Here,we aim to develop an in vitro functional assay of a patient's living cancer cells that could complement these approaches. We present methods for developing cell cultures from tumor biopsies and identify the types of samples and culture conditions associated with higher efficiency of model establishment. Toward the application of patient-derived cell cultures for personalized care,we established an immunofluorescence-based functional assay that quantifies cancer cell responses to targeted therapy in mixed cell cultures. Assaying patient-derived lung cancer cultures with this method showed promise in modeling patient response for diagnostic use. This platform should allow for the development of co-clinical trial studies to prospectively test the value of drug profiling on tumor-biopsy-derived cultures to direct patient care. Kodack et al. report on the development of cancer models from tumor biopsies and technologies toward a functional approach for personalized medicine. They describe the ability to reliably test drug response in patient-derived samples of mixed cell populations. In doing so,they show that patient biopsy cultures may predict patient clinical responses. View Publication

Overcoming drug resistance and targeting cancer stem cells remain challenges for curative cancer treatment. To investigate the role of miRNAs in regulating drug resistance and leukemic stem cell (LSCs) fate,we performed global transcriptome profiling in treatment-na{\{i}}ve chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) stem/progenitor cells and identified that miR-185 levels anticipate their response to ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). miR-185 functions as a tumor suppressor; its restored expression impaired survival of drug-resistant cells sensitized them to TKIs in vitro and markedly eliminated long-term repopulating LSCs and infiltrating blast cells conferring a survival advantage in pre-clinical xenotransplantation models. Integrative analysis with mRNA profiles uncovered PAK6 as a crucial target of miR-185 and pharmacological inhibition of PAK6 perturbed the RAS/MAPK pathway and mitochondrial activity sensitizing therapy-resistant cells to TKIs. Thus miR-185 presents as a potential predictive biomarker and dual targeting of miR-185-mediated PAK6 activity and BCR-ABL may provide a valuable strategy for overcoming drug resistance in patients." View Publication

Solid tumor cells have an altered metabolism that can protect them from cytotoxic lymphocytes. The anti-diabetic drug metformin modifies tumor cell metabolism and several clinical trials are testing its effectiveness for the treatment of solid cancers. The use of metformin in hematologic cancers has received much less attention,although allogeneic cytotoxic lymphocytes are very effective against these tumors. We show here that metformin induces expression of Natural Killer G2-D (NKG2D) ligands (NKG2DL) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1),a ligand of the lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1). This leads to enhance sensitivity to cytotoxic lymphocytes. Overexpression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members decrease both metformin effects. The sensitization to activated cytotoxic lymphocytes is mainly mediated by the increase on ICAM-1 levels,which favors cytotoxic lymphocytes binding to tumor cells. Finally,metformin decreases the growth of human hematological tumor cells in xenograft models,mainly in presence of monoclonal antibodies that recognize tumor antigens. Our results suggest that metformin could improve cytotoxic lymphocyte-mediated therapy. View Publication

Intronic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ANKRD55 gene are associated with the risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The risk alleles have been linked to higher expression levels of ANKRD55 and the neighboring IL6ST (gp130) gene in CD4+ T lymphocytes of healthy controls. The biological function of ANKRD55,its role in the immune system,and cellular sources of expression other than lymphocytes remain uncharacterized. Here,we show that monocytes gain capacity to express ANKRD55 during differentiation in immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) in the presence of interleukin (IL)-4/granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). ANKRD55 expression levels are further enhanced by retinoic acid agonist AM580 but downregulated following maturation with interferon (IFN)-$\gamma$ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ANKRD55 was detected in the nucleus of moDC in nuclear speckles. We also analyzed the adjacent IL6ST,IL31RA,and SLC38A9 genes. Of note,in healthy controls,MS risk SNP genotype influenced ANKRD55 and IL6ST expression in immature moDC in opposite directions to that in CD4+ T cells. This effect was stronger for a partially correlated SNP,rs13186299,that is located,similar to the main MS risk SNPs,in an ANKRD55 intron. Upon analysis in MS patients,the main GWAS MS risk SNP rs7731626 was associated with ANKRD55 expression levels in CD4+ T cells. MoDC-specific ANKRD55 and IL6ST mRNA levels showed significant differences according to the clinical form of the disease,but,in contrast to healthy controls,were not influenced by genotype. We also measured serum sgp130 levels,which were found to be higher in homozygotes of the protective allele of rs7731626. Our study characterizes ANKRD55 expression in moDC and indicates monocyte-to-dendritic cell (Mo-DC) differentiation as a process potentially influenced by MS risk SNPs. View Publication

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hypoxia is one of the central players in shaping the immune context of the tumor microenvironment (TME). However,the complex interplay between immune cell infiltrates within the hypoxic TME of HCC remains to be elucidated. APPROACH AND RESULTS We analyzed the immune landscapes of hypoxia-low and hypoxia-high tumor regions using cytometry by time of light,immunohistochemistry,and transcriptomic analyses. The mechanisms of immunosuppression in immune subsets of interest were further explored using in vitro hypoxia assays. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and a number of immunosuppressive myeloid subsets,including M2 macrophages and human leukocyte antigen-DR isotype (HLA-DRlo ) type 2 conventional dendritic cell (cDC2),were found to be significantly enriched in hypoxia-high tumor regions. On the other hand,the abundance of active granzyme Bhi PD-1lo CD8+ T cells in hypoxia-low tumor regions implied a relatively active immune landscape compared with hypoxia-high regions. The up-regulation of cancer-associated genes in the tumor tissues and immunosuppressive genes in the tumor-infiltrating leukocytes supported a highly pro-tumorigenic network in hypoxic HCC. Chemokine genes such as CCL20 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 20) and CXCL5 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 5) were associated with recruitment of both Tregs and HLA-DRlo cDC2 to hypoxia-high microenvironments. The interaction between Tregs and cDC2 under a hypoxic TME resulted in a loss of antigen-presenting HLA-DR on cDC2. CONCLUSIONS We uncovered the unique immunosuppressive landscapes and identified key immune subsets enriched in hypoxic HCC. In particular,we identified a potential Treg-mediated immunosuppression through interaction with a cDC2 subset in HCC that could be exploited for immunotherapies. View Publication

BACKGROUND Bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) molecules induce redirected lysis of cancer cells by T cells and are an emerging modality for solid tumor immunotherapy. While signs of clinical activity have been demonstrated,efficacy of T-cell engagers (TCEs) in solid tumors settings,molecular determinants of response,and underlying mechanisms of resistance to BiTE therapy require more investigation. METHODS To uncover cancer cell-intrinsic genetic modifiers of TCE-mediated cytotoxicity,we performed genome-wide CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) loss-of-function and CRISPRa (CRISPR activation) gain-of-function screens using TCEs against two distinct tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). By using in vitro T-cell cytotoxicity assays and in vivo efficacy studies,we validated the roles of two common pathways identified in our screen,T-cell costimulation pathway and apoptosis pathway,as key modifiers of BiTE activity. RESULTS Our genetic screens uncovered TAAs-independent cancer cell-intrinsic genes with functions in autophagy,T-cell costimulation,the apoptosis pathway,chromatin remodeling,and cytokine signaling that altered responsiveness to BiTE-mediated killing. Notably,loss of CD58 (the ligand of the CD2 T-cell costimulatory receptor),a gene frequently altered in cancer,led to decreased TCE-mediated cytotoxicity,T-cell activation and antitumor efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Moreover,the effects of CD58 loss were synergistically compounded by concurrent loss of CD80/CD86 (ligands for the CD28 T-cell costimulatory receptor),whereas joint CD2 and CD28 costimulation additively enhanced TCE-mediated killing,indicating non-redundant costimulatory mechanisms between the two pathways. Additionally,loss of CFLAR (Caspase-8 and FADD Like Apoptosis Regulator),BCL2L1,and BID (BH3 Interacting Domain Death Agonist) induced profound changes in sensitivity to TCEs,indicating that key regulators of apoptosis,which are frequently altered in cancer,impact tumor responsiveness to BiTE therapy. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that genetic alterations central to carcinogenesis and commonly detected in cancer samples lead to significant modulation of BiTE antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo,findings with relevance for a better understanding of patient responses to BiTE therapy and novel combinations that enhance TCE efficacy. View Publication

Chronic decreases in the second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP) occur in numerous settings,but how cells compensate for such decreases is unknown. We have used a unique system-murine dendritic cells (DCs) with a DC-selective depletion of the heterotrimeric GTP binding protein G$\alpha$s-to address this issue. These mice spontaneously develop Th2-allergic asthma and their DCs have persistently lower cAMP levels. We found that phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) is the primary phosphodiesterase expressed in DCs and that its expression is preferentially decreased in G$\alpha$s-depleted DCs. PDE4B expression is dynamic,falling and rising in a protein kinase A-dependent manner with decreased and increased cAMP concentrations,respectively. Treatment of DCs that drive enhanced Th2 immunity with a PDE4B inhibitor ameliorated DC-induced helper T cell response. We conclude that PDE4B is a homeostatic regulator of cellular cAMP concentrations in DCs and may be a target for treating Th2-allergic asthma and other settings with low cellular cAMP concentrations. View Publication

Metabolic reprogramming is associated with myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) immunosuppressive function. Here,we outline the process for acquiring MDSCs from human and murine sources for subsequent analysis of fatty acid oxidation,oxidative phosphorylation,and glycolysis using the Seahorse XFe 96 Analyzer. Murine MDSCs can be isolated directly from tumor-bearing mice or derived through IL-6 and GM-CSF culture of bone marrow cells from non-tumor-bearing mice. To generate human MDSCs,peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) can be cultured with IL-6 and GM-CSF. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol,please refer to Mohammadpour et al. (2021). View Publication

Adoptive transfer of T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T) effectively treats refractory hematologic malignancies in a subset of patients but can be limited by poor T-cell expansion and persistence in vivo. Less differentiated T-cell states correlate with the capacity of CAR-T to proliferate and mediate antitumor responses,and interventions that limit tumor-specific T-cell differentiation during ex vivo manufacturing enhance efficacy. NOTCH signaling is involved in fate decisions across diverse cell lineages and in memory CD8+ T cells was reported to upregulate the transcription factor FOXM1,attenuate differentiation,and enhance proliferation and antitumor efficacy in vivo. Here,we used a cell-free culture system to provide an agonistic NOTCH1 signal during na{\{i}}ve CD4+ T-cell activation and CAR-T production and studied the effects on differentiation transcription factor expression cytokine production and responses to tumor. NOTCH1 agonism efficiently induced a stem cell memory phenotype in CAR-T derived from na{\"{i}}ve but not memory CD4+ T cells and upregulated expression of AhR and c-MAF driving heightened production of interleukin-22 interleukin-10 and granzyme B. NOTCH1-agonized CD4+ CAR-T demonstrated enhanced antigen responsiveness and proliferated to strikingly higher frequencies in mice bearing human lymphoma xenografts. NOTCH1-agonized CD4+ CAR-T also provided superior help to cotransferred CD8+ CAR-T driving improved expansion and curative antitumor responses in vivo at low CAR-T doses. Our data expand the mechanisms by which NOTCH can shape CD4+ T-cell behavior and demonstrate that activating NOTCH1 signaling during genetic modification ex vivo is a potential strategy for enhancing the function of T cells engineered with tumor-targeting receptors." View Publication

The past two decades have witnessed significant strides in leukemia therapies through approval of therapeutic inhibitors targeting oncogene-driving dysregulated tyrosine kinase activities and key epigenetic and apoptosis regulators. Although these drugs have brought about complete remission in the majority of patients,many patients face relapse or have refractory disease. The main factor contributing to relapse is the presence of a small subpopulation of dormant drug-resistant leukemia cells that possess stem cell features (termed as leukemia stem cells or LSCs). Thus,overcoming drug resistance and targeting LSCs remain major challenges for curative treatment of human leukemia. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a good example,with rare,propagating LSCs and drug-resistant cells that cannot be eradicated by BCR-ABL-directed tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) monotherapy and that are responsible for disease relapse/progression. Therefore,it is imperative to identify key players in regulating BCR-ABL1-dependent and independent drug-resistance mechanisms,and their key pathways,so that CML LSCs can be selectively targeted or sensitized to TKIs. Here,we describe several easily adaptable gene knockdown approaches in CD34+ CML stem/progenitor cells that can be used to investigate the biological properties of LSCs and molecular effects of genes of interest (GOI),which can be further explored as therapeutic modalities against LSCs in the context of human leukemia. View Publication