Oncolytic adeno-immunotherapy modulates the immune system enabling CAR T-cells to cure pancreatic tumors.

High expression levels of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have been associated with poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, HER2-targeting immunotherapies have been unsuccessful to date. Here we increase the breadth, potency, and duration of anti-PDAC HER2-specific CAR T-cell (HER2.CART) activity with an oncolytic adeno-immunotherapy that produces cytokine, immune checkpoint blockade, and a safety switch (CAdTrio). Combination treatment with CAdTrio and HER2.CARTs cured tumors in two PDAC xenograft models and produced durable tumor responses in humanized mice. Modifications to the tumor immune microenvironment contributed to the antitumor activity of our combination immunotherapy, as intratumoral CAdTrio treatment induced chemotaxis to enable HER2.CART migration to the tumor site. Using an advanced PDAC model in humanized mice, we found that local CAdTrio treatment of primary tumor stimulated systemic host immune responses that repolarized distant tumor microenvironments, improving HER2.CART anti-tumor activity. Overall, our data demonstrate that CAdTrio and HER2.CARTs provide complementary activities to eradicate metastatic PDAC and may represent a promising co-operative therapy for PDAC patients.

Differentially Expressed miRNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Target Genes in the Genetic Information Processing and Metabolism Pathways.

To date, studies of the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have either focused on specific individual miRNAs and a small number of suspected targets or simply reported a list of differentially expressed miRNAs based on expression profiling. Here, we seek a more in-depth understanding of the roles of miRNAs and their targets in HCC by integrating the miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiles of tumorous and adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues of 100 HCC patients. We assessed the levels of 829 mature miRNAs, of which 32 were significantly differentially expressed. Statistical analysis indicates that six of these miRNAs regulate a significant proportion of their in silico predicted target mRNAs. Three of these miRNAs (miR-26a, miR-122, and miR-130a) were down-regulated in HCC, and their up-regulated gene targets are primarily associated with aberrant cell proliferation that involves DNA replication, transcription and nucleotide metabolism. The other three miRNAs (miR-21, miR-93, and miR-221) were up-regulated in HCC, and their down-regulated gene targets are primarily involved in metabolism and immune system processes. We further found evidence for a coordinated miRNA-induced regulation of important cellular processes, a finding to be considered when designing therapeutic applications based on miRNAs.

Silibinin down-regulates FAT10 and modulate TNF-α/IFN-γ-induced chromosomal instability and apoptosis sensitivity.

Pleiotropic pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IFN-γ (TI), play important yet diverse roles in cell survival, proliferation, and death. Recent evidence highlights FAT10 as a downstream molecule in the pathway of inflammation-induced tumorigenesis through mediating the effect of cytokines in causing numerical CIN and protecting cells from cytokines-induced cell death. cDNA microarray analysis of cells treated with TI revealed 493 deregulated genes with FAT10 being the most up-regulated (85.7-fold) gene and NF-κB being the key nodal hub of TI-response genes. Silibinin is reported to be a powerful antioxidant and has anti-C effects against various carcinomas by affecting various signaling molecules/pathways including MAPK, NF-κB and STATs. As NF-κB signaling pathway is a major mediator of the tumor-promoting activities of TI, we thus examine the effects of silibinin on TI-induced FAT10 expression and CIN. Our data showed that silibinin inhibited expression of FAT10, TI-induced chromosome instability (CIN) as well as sensitizes cells to TI-induced apoptosis. Significantly, silibinin suppressed intra-tumorally injected TNF-α-induced tumor growth. This represents the first report associating silibinin with FAT10 and demonstrating that silibinin can modulate TI-induced CIN, apoptosis sensitivity and suppressing TNF-α-induced tumor growth.

Disruption of FAT10-MAD2 binding inhibits tumor progression.

FAT10 (HLA-F-adjacent transcript 10) is a ubiquitin-like modifier that is commonly overexpressed in various tumors. It was found to play a role in mitotic regulation through its interaction with mitotic arrest-deficient 2 (MAD2). Overexpression of FAT10 promotes tumor growth and malignancy. Here, we identified the MAD2-binding interface of FAT10 to be located on its first ubiquitin-like domain whose NMR structure thus was determined. We further proceeded to demonstrate that disruption of the FAT10-MAD2 interaction through mutation of specific MAD2-binding residues did not interfere with the interaction of FAT10 with its other known interacting partners. Significantly, ablation of the FAT10-MAD2 interaction dramatically limited the promalignant capacity of FAT10, including promoting tumor growth in vivo and inducing aneuploidy, proliferation, migration, invasion, and resistance to apoptosis in vitro. Our results strongly suggest that the interaction of FAT10 with MAD2 is a key mechanism underlying the promalignant property of FAT10 and offer prospects for the development of anticancer strategies.

Methylation profiles reveal distinct subgroup of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with poor prognosis.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. However, the role of epigenetic changes such as aberrant DNA methylation in hepatocarcinogenesis remains largely unclear. In this study, we examined the methylation profiles of 59 HCC patients. Using consensus hierarchical clustering with feature selection, we identified three tumor subgroups based on their methylation profiles and correlated these subgroups with clinicopathological parameters. Interestingly, one tumor subgroup is different from the other 2 subgroups and the methylation profile of this subgroup is the most distinctly different from the non-tumorous liver tissues. Significantly, this subgroup of patients was found to be associated with poor overall as well as disease-free survival. To further understand the pathways modulated by the deregulation of methylation in HCC patients, we integrated data from both the methylation as well as the gene expression profiles of these 59 HCC patients. In these patients, while 4416 CpG sites were differentially methylated between the tumors compared to the adjacent non-tumorous tissues, only 536 of these CpG sites were associated with differences in the expression of their associated genes. Pathway analysis revealed that forty-four percent of the most significant upstream regulators of these 536 genes were involved in inflammation-related NFκB pathway. These data suggest that inflammation via the NFκB pathway play an important role in modulating gene expression of HCC patients through methylation. Overall, our analysis provides an understanding on aberrant methylation profile in HCC patients.

DNA methylation: potential biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and it is often associated with poor prognosis. Liver transplantation and resection are two currently available curative therapies. However, most patients cannot be treated with such therapies due to late diagnosis. This underscores the urgent need to identify potential markers that ensure early diagnosis of HCC. As more evidences are suggesting that epigenetic changes contribute hepatocarcinogenesis, DNA methylation was poised as one promising biomarker. Indeed, genome wide profiling reveals that aberrant methylation is frequent event in HCC. Many studies showed that differentially methylated genes and CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) status in HCC were associated with clinicopathological data. Some commonly studied hypermethylated genes include p16, SOCS1, GSTP1 and CDH1. In addition, studies have also revealed that methylation markers could be detected in patient blood samples and associated with poor prognosis of the disease. Undeniably, increasing number of methylation markers are being discovered through high throughput genome wide data in recent years. Proper and systematic validation of these candidate markers in prospective cohort is required so that their actual prognostication and surveillance value could be accurately determined. It is hope that in near future, methylation marker could be translate into clinical use, where patients at risk could be diagnosed early and that the progression of disease could be more correctly assessed.