技术资料

The farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib exhibits modest activity against acute myelogenous leukemia. To build on these results,we examined the effect of combining tipifarnib with other agents. Tipifarnib inhibited signaling downstream of the farnesylated small G protein Rheb and synergistically enhanced etoposide-induced antiproliferative effects in lymphohematopoietic cell lines and acute myelogenous leukemia isolates. We subsequently conducted a phase 1 trial of tipifarnib plus etoposide in adults over 70 years of age who were not candidates for conventional therapy. A total of 84 patients (median age,77 years) received 224 cycles of oral tipifarnib (300-600 mg twice daily for 14 or 21 days) plus oral etoposide (100-200 mg daily on days 1-3 and 8-10). Dose-limiting toxicities occurred with 21-day tipifarnib. Complete remissions were achieved in 16 of 54 (30%) receiving 14-day tipifarnib versus 5 of 30 (17%) receiving 21-day tipifarnib. Complete remissions occurred in 50% of two 14-day tipifarnib cohorts: 3A (tipifarnib 600,etoposide 100) and 8A (tipifarnib 400,etoposide 200). In vivo,tipifarnib plus etoposide decreased ribosomal S6 protein phosphorylation and increased histone H2AX phosphorylation and apoptosis. Tipifarnib plus etoposide is a promising orally bioavailable regimen that warrants further evaluation in elderly adults who are not candidates for conventional induction chemotherapy. These clinical studies are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00112853. View Publication

Although toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists,such as CpG,are used as immunotherapeutic agents in clinical trials for cancer and infectious diseases,their effects are limited and the underlying mechanism(s) that restrains CpG efficacy remains obscure. Here,we show that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) plays a key role in down-modulating immunostimulatory effects of CpG. In the absence of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-10 induction,CpG directly activates Stat3 within minutes through TLR9. Ablating Stat3 in hematopoietic cells results in rapid activation of innate immunity by CpG,with enhanced production of IFN-gamma,tumor necrosis factor-alpha,IL-12,and activation of macrophages,neutrophils,and natural killer cells marked with Stat1 activation. Innate immune responses induced by CpG in mice with a Stat3-ablated hematopoietic system cause potent antitumor effects,leading to eradication of large (textgreater1 cm) B16 melanoma tumors within 72 h. Moreover,ablating Stat3 in myeloid cells increases CpG-induced dendritic cell maturation,T-cell activation,generation of tumor antigen-specific T cells,and long-lasting antitumor immunity. A critical role of Stat3 in mediating immunosuppression by certain cytokines and growth factors in the tumor microenvironment has been recently documented. By demonstrating direct and rapid activation of Stat3 by TLR agonists,we identify a second level of Stat3-mediated immunosuppression. Our results further suggest that targeting Stat3 can drastically improve CpG-based immunotherapeutic approaches. View Publication

Tumor contains small population of cancer stem cells (CSC) that are responsible for its maintenance and relapse. Analysis of these CSCs may lead to effective prognostic and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer patients. We report here the identification of CSCs from human lung cancer cells using Aldefluor assay followed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. Isolated cancer cells with relatively high aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) activity display in vitro features of CSCs,including capacities for proliferation,self-renewal,and differentiation,resistance to chemotherapy,and expressing CSC surface marker CD133. In vivo experiments show that the ALDH1-positive cells could generate tumors that recapitulate the heterogeneity of the parental cancer cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of 303 clinical specimens from three independent cohorts of lung cancer patients and controls show that expression of ALDH1 is positively correlated with the stage and grade of lung tumors and related to a poor prognosis for the patients with early-stage lung cancer. ALDH1 is therefore a lung tumor stem cell-associated marker. These findings offer an important new tool for the study of lung CSCs and provide a potential prognostic factor and therapeutic target for treatment of the patients with lung cancer. View Publication

Immune dysfunction develops in patients with many cancer types and may contribute to tumor progression and failure of immunotherapy. Mechanisms underlying cancer-associated immune dysfunction are not fully understood. Efficient IFN signaling is critical to lymphocyte function; animals rendered deficient in IFN signaling develop cancer at higher rates. We hypothesized that altered IFN signaling may be a key mechanism of immune dysfunction common to cancer. To address this,we assessed the functional responses to IFN in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with 3 major cancers: breast cancer,melanoma,and gastrointestinal cancer. Type-I IFN (IFN-alpha)-induced signaling was reduced in T cells and B cells from all 3 cancer-patient groups compared to healthy controls. Type-II IFN (IFN-gamma)-induced signaling was reduced in B cells from all 3 cancer patient groups,but not in T cells or natural killer cells. Impaired-IFN signaling was equally evident in stage II,III,and IV breast cancer patients,and downstream functional defects in T cell activation were identified. Taken together,these findings indicate that defects in lymphocyte IFN signaling arise in patients with breast cancer,melanoma,and gastrointestinal cancer,and these defects may represent a common cancer-associated mechanism of immune dysfunction. View Publication

OBJECTIVE: Animal models have provided evidence for the existence of leukemia stem cells (LSC). However,prospective isolation of human LSC from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML),as well as the assessment of their clinical significance,has remained a major challenge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have studied the functional characteristics of a subset of leukemia cells that expressed CD34 and high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDH(br)),which was freshly isolated from the mononuclear cells at the time of diagnosis from the marrow of 68 consecutive patients suffering from AML. RESULTS: The percentage of ALDH(br) cells ranged from 0.01% to 16.0% with a median of 0.5%. Compared to their counterparts with low aldehyde dehydrogenase activity from the same individual patients,the ALDH(br) population showed a significantly higher affinity to human mesenchymal stromal cells (n=12; ptextless0.01),a more than twofold higher proportion of slow-dividing and quiescent cells (n=4; ptextless0.05),higher numbers of long-term culture-initiating cell colonies in vitro (n=25; ptextless0.01),and an enhanced engraftment in the nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mouse model (n=3; ptextless0.05). Above all,we found that the frequency of ALDH(br) cells correlated significantly with diminished survival probability (p=0.025) and with adverse cytogenetic factors (ptextless0.05). CONCLUSION: A small proportion of leukemia cells derived from the marrow of patients with AML were ALDH(br) and CD34(+). They demonstrated functional characteristics of LSC and high percentages of these cells among the leukemia cells correlated significantly with poor clinical outcome. View Publication

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with a high morbidity and mortality due to its high rate of recurrence. However,little is known about the biological characteristics of recurrent HCC cells. A single patient's primary and recurrent HCC-derived cell lines,Hep-11 and Hep-12,respectively,were established by primary culture. These two cell lines have the same hepatitis B virus integration site and share many common amplifications and deletions,which suggest that they have the same clonal origin. While Hep-11 cells were non-tumorigenic at 16 weeks following injection of up to 10 000 cells,injection of only 100 Hep-12 cells was sufficient to initiate tumor growth,and all single Hep-12 clones were tumorigenic in immunodeficient mice. Compared with Hep-11,Hep-12 cells expressed the oval cell markers AFP,NCAM/CD56,c-kit/CD117,as well as multiple stem cell markers such as Nanog,OCT4 and SOX2. In addition,textgreater90% of Hep-12 cells were aldehyde dehydrogenase positive. They were also less resistant to paclitaxel,but more resistant to doxorubicin,cisplatin and hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT),which had been administrated to the patient. Furthermore,Hep-12 cells expressed higher levels of poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) than Hep-11,and PARP-1 inhibition potentiated the sensitivity to HCPT in Hep-12 cells but not in Hep-11 cells. These results indicate that a large population of the recurrent HCC-derived Hep-12 cells were tumor-initiating cells and that elevated expression of PARP-1 was related to their resistance to HCPT. View Publication

Patients with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) have poorer response to conventional chemotherapy and lower survival rates than those with embryonal RMS (ERMS). To identify compounds that preferentially block the growth of ARMS,we conducted a small-scale screen of 160 kinase inhibitors against the ARMS cell line Rh30 and ERMS cell line RD and identified inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3),including TWS119 as ARMS-selective inhibitors. GSK3 inhibitors inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis more effectively in Rh30 than RD cells. Ectopic expression of fusion protein PAX3-FKHR in RD cells significantly increased their sensitivity to TWS119. Down-regulation of GSK3 by GSK3 inhibitors or siRNA significantly reduced the transcriptional activity of PAX3-FKHR. These results suggest that GSK3 is directly involved in regulating the transcriptional activity of PAX3-FKHR. Also,GSK3 phosphorylated PAX3-FKHR in vitro,suggesting that GSK3 might regulate PAX3-FKHR activity via phosphorylation. These findings support a novel mechanism of PAX3-FKHR regulation by GSK3 and provide a novel strategy to develop GSK inhibitors as anti-ARMS therapies. View Publication

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is characterized by a reciprocal chromosomal translocation (9;22) that generates the Bcr-Abl fusion gene. The Ras/Raf-1/MEK/ERK pathway is constitutively activated in Bcr-Abl-transformed cells,and Ras activity enhances the oncogenic ability of Bcr-Abl. However,the mechanism by which Bcr-Abl activates the Ras pathway is not completely understood. Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) inhibits activation of MEK by Raf-1 and its downstream signal transduction,resulting in blocking the MAP kinase pathway. In the present study,we found that RKIP was depleted in CML cells. We investigated the interaction between RKIP and Bcr-Abl in CML cell lines and Bcr-Abl(+) progenitor cells from CML patients. The Abl kinase inhibitors and depletion of Bcr-Abl induced the expression of RKIP and reduced the pERK1/2 status,resulting in inhibited proliferation of CML cells. Moreover,RKIP up-regulated cell cycle regulator FoxM1 expression,resulting in G(1) arrest via p27(Kip1) and p21(Cip1) accumulation. In colony-forming unit granulocyte,erythroid,macrophage,megakaryocyte,colony-forming unit-granulocyte macrophage,and burst-forming unit erythroid,treatment with the Abl kinase inhibitors and depletion of Bcr-Abl induced RKIP and reduced FoxM1 expressions,and inhibited colony formation of Bcr-Abl(+) progenitor cells,whereas depletion of RKIP weakened the inhibition of colony formation activity by the Abl kinase inhibitors in Bcr-Abl(+) progenitor cells. Thus,Bcr-Abl represses the expression of RKIP,continuously activates pERK1/2,and suppresses FoxM1 expression,resulting in proliferation of CML cells. View Publication

PURPOSE: B-cell receptor signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However,blocking B-cell receptor signaling with dasatinib,an inhibitor of SRC kinase,produced variable results in preclinical and clinical studies. We aim to define the molecular mechanisms underlying the differential dasatinib sensitivity and to uncover more effective therapeutic targets in CLL. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Fresh CLL B cells were treated with dasatinib,and cell viability was followed. The CLL cases were then divided into good and poor responders. The cellular response was correlated with the activities of B-cell receptor signaling molecules,as well as with molecular and cytogenetic prognostic factors. RESULTS: Among 50 CLL cases,dasatinib treatment reduced cell viability by 2% to 90%,with an average reduction of 47% on day 4 of culture. The drug induced CLL cell death through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway mediated by reactive oxygen species. Unexpectedly,phosphorylation of SRC family kinases was inhibited by dasatinib in good,as well as poor,responders. As opposed to SRC family kinases,activities of two downstream molecules,SYK and phospholipase Cgamma2,correlate well with the apoptotic response of CLL cells to dasatinib. CONCLUSIONS: Thus,SYK inhibition predicts cellular response to dasatinib. SYK,together with phospholipase Cgamma2,may serve as potential biomarkers to predict dasatinib therapeutic response in patients. From the pathogenic perspective,our study suggests the existence of alternative mechanisms or pathways that activate SYK,independent of SRC kinase activities. The study further implicates that SYK might serve as a more effective therapeutic target in CLL treatment. View Publication

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is an intracellular kinase that regulates both cellular adhesion and apoptosis. FAK is overexpressed in a number of human tumors including neuroblastoma. Previously,we have shown that the MYCN oncogene,the primary adverse prognostic indicator in neuroblastoma,regulates the expression of FAK in neuroblastoma. In this study,we have examined the effects of FAK inhibition upon neuroblastoma using a small molecule [1,2,4,5-benzenetetraamine tetrahydrochloride (Y15)] to inhibit FAK expression and the phosphorylation of FAK at the Y397 site. Utilizing both non-isogenic and isogenic MYCN(+)/MYCN(-) neuroblastoma cell lines,we found that Y15 effectively diminished phosphorylation of the Y397 site of FAK. Treatment with Y15 resulted in increased detachment,decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis in the neuroblastoma cell lines. We also found that the cell lines with higher MYCN are more sensitive to Y15 treatment than their MYCN negative counterparts. In addition,we have shown that treatment with Y15 in vivo leads to less tumor growth in nude mouse xenograft models,again with the greatest effects seen in MYCN(+) tumor xenografts. The results of the current study suggest that FAK and phosphorylation at the Y397 site plays a role in neuroblastoma cell survival,and that the FAK Y397 phosphorylation site is a potential therapeutic target for this childhood tumor. View Publication

Comprehensive in vitro and in vivo studies comparing EpCAM-based methods with other cytometric CTC enrichment technologies in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients are lacking. We compare four manual cytometric methods to detect CTCs in vitro and in mCRC patients. The EpCAM-based technology,MACS HEA MicroBeads((R)),showed a significant better tumor cell recovery rate compared to other cytometric methods (p-valuetextless0.0001). CTCs of 38 mCRC patients were enriched with MACS HEA MicroBeads(R). Progression-free survival did significantly differ between mCRC patients without detectable and with textgreateror= 1 CTCs (p=0.007). CTC enrichment with EpCAM coupled antibodies is superior to other cytometric methods and is a feasible method for CTC detection in mCRC patients. View Publication

Determining how normal and leukemic stem cells behave in vivo,in a dynamic and noninvasive way,remains a major challenge. Most optical tracking technologies rely on the use of fluorescent or bioluminescent reporter genes,which need to be stably expressed in the cells of interest. Because gene transfer in primary leukemia samples represents a major risk to impair their capability to engraft in a xenogenic context,we evaluated the possibility to use gene transfer-free labeling technologies. The lipophilic dye 3,3,3',3' tetramethylindotricarbocyanine iodide (DiR) was selected among 4 near-infrared (NIR) staining technologies. Unfortunately we report here a massive transfer of the dye occurring toward the neighbor cells both in vivo and in vitro. We further demonstrate that all lipophilic dyes tested in this study (1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine perchlorate [DiI],DiD,DiR,and PKH26) can give rise to microenvironmental contamination,including when used in suboptimal concentration,after extensive washing procedures and in the absence of phagocytosis or marked cell death. This was observed from all cell types tested. Eventually,we show that this microenvironmental contamination is mediated by both direct cell-cell contacts and diffusible microparticles. We conclude that tracking of labeled cells using non-genetically encoded markers should always be accompanied by drastic cross validation using multimodality approaches. View Publication