mRNA Subtype of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Significantly Affects Key Characteristics of Head and Neck Cancer Cells

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) belong among severe and highly complex malignant diseases showing a high level of heterogeneity and consequently also a variance in therapeutic response, regardless of clinical stage. Our study implies that the progression of HNSCC may be supported by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumour microenvironment (TME) and the heterogeneity of this disease may lie in the level of cooperation between CAFs and epithelial cancer cells, as communication between CAFs and epithelial cancer cells seems to be a key factor for the sustained growth of the tumour mass. In this study, we investigated how CAFs derived from tumours of different mRNA subtypes influence the proliferation of cancer cells and their metabolic and biomechanical reprogramming. We also investigated the clinicopathological significance of the expression of these metabolism-related genes in tissue samples of HNSCC patients to identify a possible gene signature typical for HNSCC progression. We found that the right kind of cooperation between cancer cells and CAFs is needed for tumour growth and progression, and only specific mRNA subtypes can support the growth of primary cancer cells or metastases. Specifically, during coculture, cancer cell colony supporting effect and effect of CAFs on cell stiffness of cancer cells are driven by the mRNA subtype of the tumour from which the CAFs are derived. The degree of colony-forming support is reflected in cancer cell glycolysis levels and lactate shuttle-related transporters

Long-term treatment with rilzabrutinib in patients with immune thrombocytopenia

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease associated with autoantibodymediated platelet destruction and impaired platelet production, resulting in thrombocytopenia and a predisposition to bleeding. The ongoing, global phase 1/2 study showed that rilzabrutinib, a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor specifically developed to treat autoimmune disorders, could be an efficacious and well-tolerated treatment for ITP. Clinical activity, durability of response, and safety were evaluated in 16 responding patients who continued rilzabrutinib 400 mg twice daily in the long-term extension (LTE) study. At LTE entry, the median platelet count was 87 × 109/L in all patients, 68 × 109/L in those who had rilzabrutinib monotherapy (n = 5), and 156 × 109/L in patients who received concomitant ITP medication (thrombopoietin-receptor agonists and/or corticosteroids, n = 11). At a median duration of treatment of 478 days (range, 303-764), 11 of 16 patients (69%) continued to receive rilzabrutinib. A platelet count of =50 × 109/L was reported in 93% of patients for more than half of their monthly visits. The median percentage of LTE weeks with platelet counts =30 × 109/L and =50 × 109/L was 100% and 88%, respectively. Five patients discontinued concomitant ITP therapy and maintained median platelet counts of 106 × 109/L at 3 to 6 months after stopping concomitant ITP therapy. Adverse events related to treatment were grade 1 or 2 and transient, with no bleeding, thrombotic, or serious adverse events. With continued rilzabrutinib treatment in the LTE, platelet responses were durable and stable over time with no new safety signals.</p

Long-term treatment with rilzabrutinib in patients with immune thrombocytopenia

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disease associated with autoantibodymediated platelet destruction and impaired platelet production, resulting in thrombocytopenia and a predisposition to bleeding. The ongoing, global phase 1/2 study showed that rilzabrutinib, a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor specifically developed to treat autoimmune disorders, could be an efficacious and well-tolerated treatment for ITP. Clinical activity, durability of response, and safety were evaluated in 16 responding patients who continued rilzabrutinib 400 mg twice daily in the long-term extension (LTE) study. At LTE entry, the median platelet count was 87 × 109/L in all patients, 68 × 109/L in those who had rilzabrutinib monotherapy (n = 5), and 156 × 109/L in patients who received concomitant ITP medication (thrombopoietin-receptor agonists and/or corticosteroids, n = 11). At a median duration of treatment of 478 days (range, 303-764), 11 of 16 patients (69%) continued to receive rilzabrutinib. A platelet count of =50 × 109/L was reported in 93% of patients for more than half of their monthly visits. The median percentage of LTE weeks with platelet counts =30 × 109/L and =50 × 109/L was 100% and 88%, respectively. Five patients discontinued concomitant ITP therapy and maintained median platelet counts of 106 × 109/L at 3 to 6 months after stopping concomitant ITP therapy. Adverse events related to treatment were grade 1 or 2 and transient, with no bleeding, thrombotic, or serious adverse events. With continued rilzabrutinib treatment in the LTE, platelet responses were durable and stable over time with no new safety signals.</p

Inhibition of Transglutaminase 2 activity increases cisplatin cytotoxicity in a model of human hepatocarcinoma chemotherapy

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is a ubiquitous multifunctional enzyme whose expression has been found to be altered in numerous studies of apoptosis and cell survival; its activity has been found to be increased in many types of cancer, where it is often over-expressed. Cisplatin has long been used as an effective therapeutic drug to treat numerous cancers. Although its activity is based on cross-linking of DNA, cisplatin may also operate via other mechanisms that involve modification and alteration in the activity of protein and RNA modulators of the cell cycle and apoptotic processes; these mechanisms are less well characterised. In this study, we investigated the effects of cisplatin-induced apoptosis on TG2 expression and activity in the human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cell line. Through a combination of Western blotting, enzymatic activity assays, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy we provide evidence that TG2 is inhibited during initiation of apoptosis by cisplatin, an observation that was reversed by increasing the expression of TG2, by treating cells with retinoic acid. We also report, for the first time, that cisplatin can directly inhibit transglutaminase activity in vitro. Collectively, these studies increase our understanding of the mechanism(s) of action of cisplatin, as cisplatin–mediated reduction in TG2 activity appears to act as an early activator of apoptosis during chemotherapeutic treatment of hepatocarcinoma cells. This observation suggests an explanation as to how increased levels of TG2 activity in cancer cells could contribute to chemotherapeutic resistance to cisplatin, and so has implications for novel approaches to cisplatin therap