Impaired monocyte-derived dendritic cell phenotype in prostate cancer patients: A phenotypic comparison with healthy donors.

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in immunity. Research on monocyte-derived DCs (Mo-DCs) cancer vaccines is in progress despite limited success in clinical trials. This study focuses on Mo-DCs generated from prostate cancer (PCA) patients, comparing them with DCs from healthy donors (HD-DCs). METHODS: Mo-DCs were isolated from PCA patient samples, and their phenotype was compared to HD-DCs. Key parameters included monocyte count, CD14 expression, and the levels of maturation markers (HLA-DR, CD80, CD86) were assessed. RESULTS: PCA samples exhibited a significantly lower monocyte count and reduced CD14 expression compared to healthy samples (p ⟨ 0.0001). Additionally, PCA-DCs expressed significantly lower levels of maturation markers, including HLA-DR, CD80, and CD86, when compared to HD-DCs (p = 0.123, p = 0.884, and p = 0.309, respectively). CONCLUSION: The limited success of DC vaccines could be attributed to impaired phenotypic characteristics. These observations suggest that suboptimal characteristics of Mo-DCs generated from cancer patient blood samples might contribute to the limited success of DC vaccines. Consequently, this study underscores the need for alternative strategies to enhance the features of Mo-DCs for more effective cancer immunotherapies.

Sex-specific outcomes in cancer therapy: the central role of hormones.

Sex hormones play a pivotal role in modulating various physiological processes, with emerging evidence underscoring their influence on cancer progression and treatment outcomes. This review delves into the intricate relationship between sex hormones and cancer, elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms and their clinical implications. We explore the multifaceted roles of estrogen, androgens, and progesterone, highlighting their respective influence on specific cancers such as breast, ovarian, endometrial, and prostate. Special attention is given to estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) tumors, androgen receptor signaling, and the dual role of progesterone in both promoting and inhibiting cancer progression. Clinical observations reveal varied treatment responses contingent upon hormonal levels, with certain therapies like tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, and anti-androgens demonstrating notable success. However, disparities in treatment outcomes between males and females in hormone-sensitive cancers necessitate further exploration. Therapeutically, the utilization of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) during cancer treatments presents both potential risks and benefits. The promise of personalized therapies, tailored to an individual's hormonal profile, offers a novel approach to optimizing therapeutic outcomes. Concurrently, the burgeoning exploration of new drugs and interventions targeting hormonal pathways heralds a future of more effective and precise treatments for hormone-sensitive cancers. This review underscores the pressing need for a deeper understanding of sex hormones in cancer therapy and the ensuing implications for future therapeutic innovations.

Development of dendritic cell loaded MAGE-A2 long peptide; a potential target for tumor-specific T cell-mediated prostate cancer immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men worldwide. Immunotherapy is an emerging treatment modality for cancers that harnesses the immune system's ability to eliminate tumor cells. In particular, dendritic cell (DC) vaccines, have demonstrated promise in eliciting a tumor-specific immune response. In this study, we investigated the potential of using DCs loaded with the MAGE-A2 long peptide to activate T cell cytotoxicity toward PCa cell lines. METHODS: Here, we generated DCs from monocytes and thoroughly characterized their phenotypic and functional properties. Then, DCs were pulsed with MAGE-A2 long peptide (LP) as an antigen source, and monitored for their transition from immature to mature DCs by assessing the expression levels of several costimulatory and maturation molecules like CD14, HLA-DR, CD40, CD11c, CD80, CD83, CD86, and CCR7. Furthermore, the ability of MAGE-A2 -LP pulsed DCs to stimulate T cell proliferation in a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) setting and induction of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) in coculture with autologous T cells were examined. Finally, CTLs were evaluated for their capacity to produce interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and kill PCa cell lines (PC3 and LNCaP). RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the antigen-pulsed DCs exhibited a strong ability to stimulate the expansion of T cells. Moreover, the induced CTLs displayed substantial cytotoxicity against the target cells and exhibited increased IFN-γ production during activation compared to the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this innovative approach proved efficacious in targeting PCa cell lines, showcasing its potential as a foundation for the development and improved PCa cancer immunotherapy.

Immunoediting in SARS-CoV-2: Mutual relationship between the virus and the host.

Immunoediting is a well-known concept that occurs in cancer through three steps of elimination, equilibrium, and escape (3Es), where the immune system first suppresses the growth of tumor cells and then promotes them towards the malignancy. This phenomenon has been conceptualized in some chronic viral infections such as HTLV-1 and HIV by obtaining the resistance to elimination and making a persistent form of infected cells especially in untreated patients. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a heterogeneous disease characterizing from mild/asymptomatic to severe/critical courses with some behavioral aspects in an immunoediting setting. In this context, a coordinated effort between innate and adaptive immune system leads to detection and destruction of early infection followed by equilibrium between virus-specific responses and infected cells, which eventually ends up with an uncontrolled inflammatory response in severe/critical patients. Although the SARS-CoV-2 applies several escape strategies such as mutations in viral epitopes, modulating the interferon response and inhibiting the MHC I molecules similar to the cancer cells, the 3Es hallmark may not occur in all clinical conditions. Here, we discuss how the lesson learnt from cancer immunoediting and accurate understanding of these pathophysiological mechanisms helps to develop more effective therapeutic strategies for COVID-19.

Reduced cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-A2 predicts tumor aggressiveness and survival: an immunohistochemical analysis.

BACKGROUND: Melanoma antigen gene A2 (MAGE-A2) is one of the most cancer-testis antigens overexpressed in various types of cancers. Silencing the MAGE-A2 expression inhibited the proliferation of prostate cancer (PCa) cells and increased the chemosensitivity. However, the expression pattern of MAGE-A2 in PCa tissue samples and its prognostic and therapeutic values for PCa patients is still unclear. METHODS: In this study, for the first time, the staining pattern and clinical significance of MAGE-A2 were evaluated in 166 paraffin-embedded prostate tissues, including 148 cases of PCa and 18 cases of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HPIN), by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The simultaneous expression of both nuclear and cytoplasmic patterns of MAGE-A2 with different staining intensities was observed among studied cases. Increased expression of MAGE-A2 was significantly found in PCa tissues compared to HPIN cases (P < 0.0001). Among PCa samples, the strong staining intensity of nuclear expression was predominantly observed in comparison with cytoplasmic expression in PCa tissues (P < 0.0001). A significant and inverse correlation was found between the cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-A2 and increased Gleason score (P = 0.002). Increased cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-A2 was associated with longer biochemical recurrence-free survival (BCR-FS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients (P = 0.002, P = 0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, Gleason score and cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-A2 were independent predictors of the BCR-FS (P = 0.014; P = 0.028, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-A2 was inversely proportional to the malignant grade and duration of recurrence of the disease in patients with PCa.