How are MCPIP1 and cytokines mutually regulated in cancer-related immunity?

Cytokines are secreted by various cell types and act as critical mediators in many physiological processes, including immune response and tumor progression. Cytokines production is precisely and timely regulated by multiple mechanisms at different levels, ranging from transcriptional to post-transcriptional and posttranslational processes. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 induced protein 1 (MCPIP1), a potent immunosuppressive protein, was first described as a transcription factor in monocytes treated with monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and subsequently found to possess intrinsic RNase and deubiquitinase activities. MCPIP1 tightly regulates cytokines expression via various functions. Furthermore, cytokines such as interleukin 1 beta (IL-1B) and MCP-1 and inflammatory cytokines inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS) strongly induce MCPIP1 expression. Mutually regulated MCPIP1 and cytokines form a complicated network in the tumor environment. In this review, we summarize how MCPIP1 and cytokines reciprocally interact and elucidate the effect of the network formed by these components in cancer-related immunity with aim of exploring potential clinical benefits of their mutual regulation.

Construction of a fusion plasmid containing the PSCA gene and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and its anti-tumor effect in an animal model of prostate cancer

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is a negative regulator of T cell activation, which competes with CD28 for B7.1/B7.2 binding, and which has a greater affinity. Fusion of specific antigens to extracellular domain of CTLA4 represents a promising approach to increase the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. In this study, we evaluated this interesting approach for CTLA4 enhancement on prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA)-specific immune responses and its anti-tumor effects in a prostate cancer mouse model. Consequently, we constructed a DNA vaccine containing the PSCA and the CTLA-4 gene. Vaccination with the CTLA4-fused DNA not only induced a much higher level of anti-PSCA antibody, but also increased PSCA-specific T cell response in mice. To evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of the plasmids, murine models with PSCA-expressing tumors were generated. After injection of the tumor-bearing mouse model, the plasmid carrying the CTLA4 and PSCA fusion gene showed stronger inhibition of tumor growth than the plasmid expressing PSCA alone. These observations emphasize the potential of the CTLA4-fused DNA vaccine, which could represent a promising approach for tumor immunotherapy.

Phospholipid Remodeling and Eicosanoid Signaling in Colon Cancer Cells.

Phospholipid remodeling and eicosanoid synthesis are central to lipid-based inflammatory reactions. Studies have revealed that membrane phospholipid remodeling by fatty acids through deacylation/reacylation reactions increases the risk of colorectal cancers (CRC) by allowing the cells to produce excess inflammatory eicosanoids, such as prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes. Over the years, efforts have been made to understand the lipid remodeling pathways and to design anti-cancer drugs targeting the enzymes of eicosanoid biosynthesis. Here, we discuss the recent progress in phospholipid remodeling and eicosanoid biosynthesis in CRC.

A Case of Hepatic Angiomyolipoma Mimicking Hepatocellular Carcinoma / 대한소화기학회지

No abstract availble.

Citometria de fluxo, imunocitoquimica e western blot na detecção da expressão da proteína p53 em células tumorais: uma análise comparativa / Flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and western blot in measurement of p53 protein expression in tumor cells: a comparative analysis

Introdução e objetivos: p53 é a proteína cuja função é crucial no controle do ciclo celular, reparo do DNA e indução de apoptose de células geneticamente instáveis. O Western Blot (WB) e a imunocitoquímica (ICQ) são atualmente os métodos de detecção mais empregados da proteína p53, se tratando, porém de técnicas de execução demorada e trabalhosa. O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma metodologia rápida para detecção e quantificação da proteína p53 em células tumorais através da citometria de fluxo (CF). Material e métodos:Empregou-se 14 linhagens de células tumorais humanas: Namalva, Raji e Daudi (linfoma de Burkitt), C91 e MT-2 (leucemia de células T do adulto), Jurkat (leucemia linfoblástica de células T), HL-60 (leucemia promielocítica), HT-29 (adenocarcinoma de colon), GLC-4 (carcinoma de pulmão), MCF-7 (carcinoma de mama), H460 e H460/bcl-2 (carcinoma de células não pequenas de pulmão), k562 e lucena (leucemia mielóide crônica em crise blástica) e C6 (astrocitoma originária de rato). Paralelamente, linfócitos provenientes de 36 indivíduos sadios serviram como controle da reação negativa. A iCQ foi realizada pelo método da imunoperoxidase indireta, a CF por marcação direta com anticorpo monoclonal anti-p53 diretamente conjugado ao isotiocianato de fluoresceína após permeabilização celular e o WB através do método padrão. A quantificação antigênica foi realizada através da média de intensidade de fluorescência na CF e densitometria no WB. Resultados: Observou-se uma correlação direta entre os resultados da CF, WB e ICQ, com expressão positiva nas linhagens Namalva, Raji, HT-29, GLC-4, MT-2, C91pl, MCF-7, H460 e H460/bcl-2 e negativa nas demais linhagens e em todas as células do grupo controle. A ICQ foi eficaz na demonstração da presença da p53 no núcleo da célula e a CF e WB permitiram também a quantificação antigênica, evidenciando células com variados níveis de expressão antigênica. A CF quando comparada ao WB apresentou maior sensibilidade. Conclusões: Nossos resultados mostraram que a proteína p53 pode ser detectada em células tumorais através da CF. Esta metodologia é eficaz, sensível e prática, podendo ser empregada rotineiramente em estudos de expressão da proteína p53 em células tumorais.

Immunotherapy of melanoma: peptide mimics of a human high molecular weight-melanoma associated antigen

The realization that tumor cells utilize multiple mechanisms to escape from immune recognition and destruction has stimulated interest in developing and applying immunotherapeutic strategies which target both humoral and cellular immunity to malignant cells. As a result, the tumor-associated antigens (TAA) used as targets have to be expressed on the cell surface membrane of malignant cells. Furthermore, since most of the TAA used for active specific immunotherapy are self-antigens, a challenge facing tumor immunologists is to develop strategies which are effective in breaking tolerance to self-antigens. This chapter describes one strategy which relies on the use of peptide mimics of the human high molecular weight-melanoma associated antigen (HMW-MAA) as immunogens to implement active specific immunotherapy in patients with malignant melanoma. These mimics, which are isolated from phage display peptide libraries by panning with anti-HMW-MAA monoclonal antibodies, are expected to induce both humoral and cellular anti-HMW-MAA immunity.