Targeting antitumoral proteins to breast cancer by local administration of functional inclusion bodies

Biofabrication; Cancer therapy; Functional amyloidsBiofabricación; Terapia contra el cáncer; Amiloides funcionalesBiofabricació; Teràpia contra el càncer; Amiloides funcionalsTwo structurally and functionally unrelated proteins, namely Omomyc and p31, are engineered as CD44-targeted inclusion bodies produced in recombinant bacteria. In this unusual particulate form, both types of protein materials selectively penetrate and kill CD44+ tumor cells in culture, and upon local administration, promote destruction of tumoral tissue in orthotropic mouse models of human breast cancer. These findings support the concept of bacterial inclusion bodies as versatile protein materials suitable for application in chronic diseases that, like cancer, can benefit from a local slow release of therapeutic proteins.This study has been supported by La Fundacio Marato TV3 and NanoCanTri (CIBER-BBN) to E.V. and I.A., and partially by ISCIII (PI15/00272 and PI1702242 co-founded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), to E.V. and S.S., respectively), and Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) and FEDER (BIO2016-76063-R, AEI/FEDER, UE), AGAUR (2017SGR-229) and CIBER-BBN (VENOM4CANCER) granted to A.V. Protein production and DLS have been partially performed by the ICTS "NANBIOSIS," more specifically by the Protein Production Platform of CIBER-BBN/IBB () and the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (), respectively. Biodistribution and immunohistochemistry assays were performed at the ICTS "NANBIOSIS," specifically by U20/FVPR (). L.S.-G. was supported by predoctoral fellowship from AGAUR (2018FI_B2_00051). L.S. was supported by the European Research Council (CoG #617473) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS #PI16/01224). J.S.-F. was supported by an AECC post-doctoral fellowship. A.V. received an ICREA ACADEMIA awar

SPARC mediates metastatic cooperation between CSC and non-CSC prostate cancer cell subpopulations

Background Tumor cell subpopulations can either compete with each other for nutrients and physical space within the tumor niche, or co-operate for enhanced survival, or replicative or metastatic capacities. Recently, we have described co-operative interactions between two clonal subpopulations derived from the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line, in which the invasiveness of a cancer stem cell (CSC)-enriched subpopulation (PC-3M, or M) is enhanced by a non-CSC subpopulation (PC-3S, or S), resulting in their accelerated metastatic dissemination. Methods M and S secretomes were compared by SILAC (Stable Isotope Labeling by Aminoacids in Cell Culture). Invasive potential in vitro of M cells was analyzed by Transwell-Matrigel assays. M cells were co-injected with S cells in the dorsal prostate of immunodeficient mice and monitored by bioluminescence for tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. SPARC levels were determined by immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR in tumors and by ELISA in plasma from patients with metastatic or non-metastatic prostate cancer. Results Comparative secretome analysis yielded 213 proteins differentially secreted between M and S cells. Of these, the protein most abundantly secreted in S relative to M cells was SPARC. Immunodepletion of SPARC inhibited the enhanced invasiveness of M induced by S conditioned medium. Knock down of SPARC in S cells abrogated the capacity of its conditioned medium to enhance the in vitro invasiveness of M cells and compromised their potential to boost the metastatic behavior of M cells in vivo. In most primary human prostate cancer samples, SPARC was expressed in the epithelial tumoral compartment of metastatic cases. Conclusions The matricellular protein SPARC, secreted by a prostate cancer clonal tumor cell subpopulation displaying non-CSC properties, is a critical mediator of paracrine effects exerted on a distinct tumor cell subpopulation enriched in CSC. This paracrine interaction results in an enhanced metastatic behavior of the CSC-enriched tumor subpopulation. SPARC is expressed in the neoplastic cells of primary prostate cancer samples from metastatic cases, and could thus constitute a tumor progression biomarker and a therapeutic target in advanced prostate cancer

Highly Versatile Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Improving the Enzyme Replacement Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Lysosomal storage disorders are currently treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) through the direct administration of the unprotected recombinant protein to the patients. Herein we present an ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) composed of trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and α-galactosidase A (GLA), the defective enzyme in Fabry disease, with the capability of directly targeting endothelial cells by incorporating peptide ligands containing the RGD sequence. We assessed the physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity, and hemocompatibility of RGD-targeted and untargeted PECs, the uptake by endothelial cells and the intracellular activity of PECs in cell culture models of Fabry disease. Moreover, we also explored the effect of different freeze-drying procedures in the overall activity of the PECs. Our results indicate that the use of integrin-binding RGD moiety within the PEC increases their uptake and the efficacy of the GLA enzyme, while the freeze-drying allows the activity of the therapeutic protein to remain intact. Overall, these results highlight the potential of TMC-based PECs as a highly versatile and feasible drug delivery system for improving the ERT of lysosomal storage disorders

Contribució de la sobreexpressió de Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL i la inhibició de l'apoptosi en la progressió metastàtica del càncer de mama.

[cat] Els mecanismes moleculars i cel·lulars responsables del fenotip metastàtic en el càncer de mama són poc coneguts. Tanmateix, l'habilitat de les cèl·lules tumorals per resistir els senyals de mort podria contribuir a crear les condicions favorables per al desenvolupament de les metàstasis. Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL són proteïnes de la família de Bcl-2 capaces d'inhibir l'apoptosi. L'objectiu d'aquest estudi fou obtenir un model experimental de carcinoma de mama ortotòpic amb el qual estudiar la contribució que la sobreexpressió de Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL, junt amb la inhibició de l'apoptosi que indueixen, pot tenir en diferents etapes de la progressió metastàtica del càncer de mama humà. Amb aquest objectiu es van transfectar amb l'ADN complementari del bcl-2 i bcl-xL línies cel·lulars derivades d'adenocarcinoma de mama humana amb diferent capacitat tumorígena, metastàtica i hormonodependent: MCF-7, MDA-MB-468 i MDA-MB-435P. Els nostres resultats mostren que Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL confereixen resistència a l'apoptosi induïda per factors de creixement (TGF-alfa i TNF-beta) i agents quimioterapèutics (paclitaxel i tamoxifen) en funció de la dotació oncogènica de les cèl·lules. La sobreexpressió de les proteïnes antiapoptòtiques Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL afavoreix l'activitat metastàtica de les cèl·lules 435 en diferents etapes del procés: disminució de l'adhesió cel·lular a proteïnes de la matriu extracel·lular (laminina, fibronectina i col·lagen IV), inhibició de la mort cel·lular per desadhesió de la matriu extracel·lular o anoikis i avantatge per sobreviure en el torrent sanguini i/o en l'òrgan diana facilitant el creixement metastàtic. La inhibició de l'apoptosi i de l'anoikis induïdes per la sobreexpressió de Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL requereix alhora altres alteracions genètiques necessàries perquè les cèl·lules de càncer de mama esdevinguin metastàtiques. Així, Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL no indueixen el fenotip metastàtic dels tumors obtinguts amb les cèl·lules no metastàtiques 468. Les cèl·lules derivades dels tumors organotòpics van ser exposades repetidament al microambient de la glàndula mamària per analitzar si la perllongada supervivència induïda per la sobreexpressió de Bcl-2 o Bcl-xL afavoria la selecció d'un fenotip metastàtic més agressiu en els tumors 435 o si induïa el fenotip metastàtic en els tumors 468 no metastàtics. La sobreexpressió de Bcl-xL en cèl·lules 435 afavoreix la ubiqüitat de les metàstasis, induint metàstasis ganglionars i pulmonars. Però, la perllongada supervivència induïda per Bcl-2 no indueix l'aparició d'altres localitzacions metastàtiques. Altrament, Bcl-2 no és capaç d'induir el fenotip metastàtic a les cèl·lules 468 després dels successius implants in vivo/in vitro. Les cèl·lules tumorals no metastàtiques 468 no posseeixen tots els canvis genètics necessaris o propietats cel·lulars requerides per a la metàstasi, i la perllongació de l'expressió de Bcl-2 no és suficient per induir-los. De fet, l'augment de l'activitat metastàtica pulmonar i ganglionar induïda per la sobreexpressió de Bcl-xL es neutralitza en els tumors induïts amb cèl·lules 435/Bcl-xL transfectades amb la construcció antisentit de bcl-xL, cosa que reafirma el paper decisiu d'aquest gen en l'evolució metastàtica dels tumors. D'altra banda, la inhibició de l'apoptosi induïda per la sobreexpressió de Bcl-2 o Bcl-xL en els tumors afavoreix la selecció de cèl·lules 435 amb major capacitat tumorígena. En contraposició, Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL contribueixen a disminuir la tumorigènesi de les cèl·lules no metastàtiques 468 amb les successives fases de selecció in vivo/in vitro, comprovant-se in vitro menor proliferació. Així, la disregulació de les proteïnes antiapoptòtiques Bcl-2 i Bcl-xL afavoreix la selecció de cèl·lules de càncer de mama amb un fenotip més agressiu. I, consegüentment, la capacitat per modular la funció i/o expressió de Bcl-2 o Bcl-xL en tumors de mama amb sobreexpressió d'aquestes proteïnes pot representar un esdeveniment crític per induir la reversió del fenotip metastàtic i regular la sensibilitat de les cèl·lules tumorals a drogues terapèutiques, millorant la resposta als mètodes tradicionals de tractament del càncer

Targeting antitumoral proteins to breast cancer by local administration of functional inclusion bodies

Biofabrication; Cancer therapy; Functional amyloidsBiofabricación; Terapia contra el cáncer; Amiloides funcionalesBiofabricació; Teràpia contra el càncer; Amiloides funcionalsTwo structurally and functionally unrelated proteins, namely Omomyc and p31, are engineered as CD44-targeted inclusion bodies produced in recombinant bacteria. In this unusual particulate form, both types of protein materials selectively penetrate and kill CD44+ tumor cells in culture, and upon local administration, promote destruction of tumoral tissue in orthotropic mouse models of human breast cancer. These findings support the concept of bacterial inclusion bodies as versatile protein materials suitable for application in chronic diseases that, like cancer, can benefit from a local slow release of therapeutic proteins.This study has been supported by La Fundacio Marato TV3 and NanoCanTri (CIBER-BBN) to E.V. and I.A., and partially by ISCIII (PI15/00272 and PI1702242 co-founded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), to E.V. and S.S., respectively), and Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) and FEDER (BIO2016-76063-R, AEI/FEDER, UE), AGAUR (2017SGR-229) and CIBER-BBN (VENOM4CANCER) granted to A.V. Protein production and DLS have been partially performed by the ICTS "NANBIOSIS," more specifically by the Protein Production Platform of CIBER-BBN/IBB () and the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (), respectively. Biodistribution and immunohistochemistry assays were performed at the ICTS "NANBIOSIS," specifically by U20/FVPR (). L.S.-G. was supported by predoctoral fellowship from AGAUR (2018FI_B2_00051). L.S. was supported by the European Research Council (CoG #617473) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS #PI16/01224). J.S.-F. was supported by an AECC post-doctoral fellowship. A.V. received an ICREA ACADEMIA awar

Highly Versatile Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Improving the Enzyme Replacement Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Lysosomal storage disorders are currently treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) through the direct administration of the unprotected recombinant protein to the patients. Herein we present an ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) composed of trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and α-galactosidase A (GLA), the defective enzyme in Fabry disease, with the capability of directly targeting endothelial cells by incorporating peptide ligands containing the RGD sequence. We assessed the physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity, and hemocompatibility of RGD-targeted and untargeted PECs, the uptake by endothelial cells and the intracellular activity of PECs in cell culture models of Fabry disease. Moreover, we also explored the effect of different freeze-drying procedures in the overall activity of the PECs. Our results indicate that the use of integrin-binding RGD moiety within the PEC increases their uptake and the efficacy of the GLA enzyme, while the freeze-drying allows the activity of the therapeutic protein to remain intact. Overall, these results highlight the potential of TMC-based PECs as a highly versatile and feasible drug delivery system for improving the ERT of lysosomal storage disorders

Highly Versatile Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Improving the Enzyme Replacement Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Lysosomal storage disorders are currently treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) through the direct administration of the unprotected recombinant protein to the patients. Herein we present an ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) composed of trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and α-galactosidase A (GLA), the defective enzyme in Fabry disease, with the capability of directly targeting endothelial cells by incorporating peptide ligands containing the RGD sequence. We assessed the physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity, and hemocompatibility of RGD-targeted and untargeted PECs, the uptake by endothelial cells and the intracellular activity of PECs in cell culture models of Fabry disease. Moreover, we also explored the effect of different freeze-drying procedures in the overall activity of the PECs. Our results indicate that the use of integrin-binding RGD moiety within the PEC increases their uptake and the efficacy of the GLA enzyme, while the freeze-drying allows the activity of the therapeutic protein to remain intact. Overall, these results highlight the potential of TMC-based PECs as a highly versatile and feasible drug delivery system for improving the ERT of lysosomal storage disorders

Highly Versatile Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Improving the Enzyme Replacement Therapy of Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Lysosomal storage disorders are currently treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) through the direct administration of the unprotected recombinant protein to the patients. Herein we present an ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) composed of trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and α-galactosidase A (GLA), the defective enzyme in Fabry disease, with the capability of directly targeting endothelial cells by incorporating peptide ligands containing the RGD sequence. We assessed the physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity, and hemocompatibility of RGD-targeted and untargeted PECs, the uptake by endothelial cells and the intracellular activity of PECs in cell culture models of Fabry disease. Moreover, we also explored the effect of different freeze-drying procedures in the overall activity of the PECs. Our results indicate that the use of integrin-binding RGD moiety within the PEC increases their uptake and the efficacy of the GLA enzyme, while the freeze-drying allows the activity of the therapeutic protein to remain intact. Overall, these results highlight the potential of TMC-based PECs as a highly versatile and feasible drug delivery system for improving the ERT of lysosomal storage disorders

SPARC mediates metastatic cooperation between CSC and non-CSC prostate cancer cell subpopulations

Background Tumor cell subpopulations can either compete with each other for nutrients and physical space within the tumor niche, or co-operate for enhanced survival, or replicative or metastatic capacities. Recently, we have described co-operative interactions between two clonal subpopulations derived from the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line, in which the invasiveness of a cancer stem cell (CSC)-enriched subpopulation (PC-3M, or M) is enhanced by a non-CSC subpopulation (PC-3S, or S), resulting in their accelerated metastatic dissemination. Methods M and S secretomes were compared by SILAC (Stable Isotope Labeling by Aminoacids in Cell Culture). Invasive potential in vitro of M cells was analyzed by Transwell-Matrigel assays. M cells were co-injected with S cells in the dorsal prostate of immunodeficient mice and monitored by bioluminescence for tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. SPARC levels were determined by immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR in tumors and by ELISA in plasma from patients with metastatic or non-metastatic prostate cancer. Results Comparative secretome analysis yielded 213 proteins differentially secreted between M and S cells. Of these, the protein most abundantly secreted in S relative to M cells was SPARC. Immunodepletion of SPARC inhibited the enhanced invasiveness of M induced by S conditioned medium. Knock down of SPARC in S cells abrogated the capacity of its conditioned medium to enhance the in vitro invasiveness of M cells and compromised their potential to boost the metastatic behavior of M cells in vivo. In most primary human prostate cancer samples, SPARC was expressed in the epithelial tumoral compartment of metastatic cases. Conclusions The matricellular protein SPARC, secreted by a prostate cancer clonal tumor cell subpopulation displaying non-CSC properties, is a critical mediator of paracrine effects exerted on a distinct tumor cell subpopulation enriched in CSC. This paracrine interaction results in an enhanced metastatic behavior of the CSC-enriched tumor subpopulation. SPARC is expressed in the neoplastic cells of primary prostate cancer samples from metastatic cases, and could thus constitute a tumor progression biomarker and a therapeutic target in advanced prostate cancer