Pancreatic ductal-derived mesenchymal stem cells : their distribution, characterization and cytotoxic effect on pancreatic cancer cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted significant attention in cancer research as a result of their accessibility, tumor-oriented homing capacity, and the feasibility of auto-transplantation. This study detected the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer cell lines (PCCs) to pancreatic-derived, engineered MSCs under different culture conditions. Pancreatic ductal tissue was extracted from adult human pancreas. MSCs were derived and expanded ex-vivo and verified to fulfil criteria for human MSCs according to the guidelines of the International Society for Cellular Therapy. MSCs were analyzed for distribution and migratory capacity to the site of pancreas and PCCs in in vivo and in vitro models, and found to have homing capacity to the pancreas and towards PCCs (MSCs were attracted to all PCCs compared to normal human A1F8 cells and they displayed significant attraction to the media obtained from cancer cells compared to normal media (p<0.05)). PCCs (BXPC3, ASPC1, Panc-1, TRM6 and HP62) were analyzed by FACS for TNF-α Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) receptors. MSCs engineered with non-secreting TRAIL (MSCnsTRAIL) and secreting TRAIL (MSCstTRAIL) and PTEN (MSCPTEN) were used for both direct and indirect co-cultures. TRAIL/PTEN expression was assessed by both ELISA and western blot analysis; higher molecular weight was observed in the MSCnsTRAIL (56kDA) compared with MSCstTRAIL (26kDa). The TRAIL content of supernanatats from MSCstTRAIL was significantly higher than MSCnsTRAIL (p<0.05). PTEN-RFP fusion protein showed a higher molecular weight of 74 kDa in comparison with endogenous PTEN (47 kDa). A real time detection of MSCs cytotoxicity on PCCs displayed proportional cancer cell death to the ratio of conditioned media used from MSCnsTRAIL, MSCstTRAIL, and MSCPTEN. Naive MSCs exhibit intrinsic cytotoxic effect on pancreatic cancer cells and this effect was potentiated by TRAIL/PTEN-engineering. This study provides a practical platform for the development of MSC-based therapy for pancreatic cancer.Medicine, Faculty ofMedicine, Department ofExperimental Medicine, Division ofGraduat

Development of ERG inhibitors as potential drugs for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in men worldwide. If diagnosed early, prostate cancer can be treated by surgery and/or radiotherapy. In cases where the cancer has returned or is more aggressive and has metastasized, hormone therapy is the standard treatment. While initially effective, resistance to hormone therapy often occurs. Therefore, there is a pressing demand for new therapeutics to be developed to treat this disease. Previous studies have established that in up to 50% of all prostate cancer cases, a genomic irregularity involving the ETS-related gene (ERG) is present. This alteration results in the aberrant production of predominantly amino-terminal truncated ERG proteins in the prostate where it is linked to disease development and progression. This thesis tested the hypothesis that direct, small molecule targeting of ERG DNA binding could result in inhibition of the metastatic potential of PCa through the following specific aims: a) develop and apply in vitro assays to validate inhibitory activities/mechanisms of lead anti-ERG compounds, and b) determine the therapeutic effects of the lead compounds based on their effects and activity in in vivo xenograft models. The results demonstrate the direct binding of a novel small molecule, VPC-18005, with the ERG-ETS domain using biophysical approaches. This was further supported by reduced migration and invasion rates of ERG expressing prostate cancer cells, and reduced metastasis in a zebrafish xenograft model following exposure to VPC-18005. These results support the concept that small molecules targeting the ERG-ETS domain that suppress transcriptional activity and reverse transformed characteristics of prostate cancers aberrantly expressing ERG can be developed. It is hoped that these approaches might lead to identification of small molecules that can be further developed as drug candidates as alternatives to, or in combination with, current therapies for prostate cancer patients harboring ERG fusions.Medicine, Faculty ofExperimental Medicine, Division ofMedicine, Department ofGraduat

Use it or lose it? Sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, a species representing a fifth teleostean group where the βNHE associated with the red blood cell adrenergic stress response has been secondarily lost

Like most teleosts, sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria Pallas 1814) blood exhibits a moderate Root effect (~35% maximal desaturation), where a reduction in blood pH dramatically reduces O₂ carrying capacity, a mechanism important for oxygenating the eye and filling the swim bladder (SB) in teleosts. Although sablefish lack a SB, we observed a well-defined choroid rete at the eye. The adrenergically mediated cell swelling typically associated with a functional red blood cell (RBC) β-adrenergic Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger (βNHE), which would normally protect RBC pH, and thus O₂ transport, during a generalized acidosis, was not observed in sablefish blood. Neither isoproterenol (a β-agonist) nor 8-bromo cAMP could elicit this response. Furthermore, RBC osmotic shrinkage, known to stimulate NHEs in general and βNHE in other teleosts such as trout and flounder, resulted in no significant regulatory volume increase (RVI), further supporting the absence of a functional RBC βNHE. The onset of the Root effect occurs at a much lower RBC pH (6.83–6.92) than in other teleosts, and thus RBC βNHE may not be required to protect O₂ transport during a generalized acidosis in vivo. Phylogenetically, sablefish may represent a fifth group of teleosts exhibiting a secondary reduction or loss of βNHE activity. However, sablefish have not lost the choroid rete at the eye (unlike in the other four groups), which may still function with the Root effect to oxygenate the retina, but the low pH onset of the Root effect may ensure haemoglobin (Hb)-O₂ binding is not compromised at the respiratory surface during a general acidosis in the absence of RBC βNHE. The sablefish may represent an anomaly within the framework of Root effect evolution, in that they possess a moderate Root effect and a choroid rete at the eye, but lack the RBC βNHE and the SB system

Neuropilin-1 is upregulated in the adaptive response of prostate tumors to androgen-targeted therapies and is prognostic of metastatic progression and patient mortality

Recent evidence has implicated the transmembrane co-receptor neuropilin-1 (NRP1) in cancer progression. Primarily known as a regulator of neuronal guidance and angiogenesis, NRP1 is also expressed in multiple human malignancies, where it promotes tumor angiogenesis. However, non-angiogenic roles of NRP1 in tumor progression remain poorly characterized. In this study, we define NRP1 as an androgen-repressed gene whose expression is elevated during the adaptation of prostate tumors to androgen-targeted therapies (ATTs), and subsequent progression to metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Using short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated suppression of NRP1, we demonstrate that NRP1 regulates the mesenchymal phenotype of mCRPC cell models and the invasive and metastatic dissemination of tumor cells in vivo. In patients, immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays and mRNA expression analyses revealed a positive association between NRP1 expression and increasing Gleason grade, pathological T score, positive lymph node status and primary therapy failure. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of several large clinical prostate cancer (PCa) cohorts identified NRP1 expression at radical prostatectomy as an independent prognostic biomarker of biochemical recurrence after radiation therapy, metastasis and cancer-specific mortality. This study identifies NRP1 for the first time as a novel androgen-suppressed gene upregulated during the adaptive response of prostate tumors to ATTs and a prognostic biomarker of clinical metastasis and lethal PCa

Therapy-induced developmental reprogramming of prostate cancer cells and acquired therapy resistance

Treatment-induced neuroendocrine transdifferentiation (NEtD) complicates therapies for metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). Based on evidence that PCa cells can transdifferentiate to other neuroectodermally-derived cell lineages in vitro, we proposed that NEtD requires first an intermediary reprogramming to metastable cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) of a neural class and we demonstrate that several different AR+/PSA+ PCa cell lines were efficiently reprogrammed to, maintained and propagated as CSCs by growth in androgen-free neural/neural crest (N/NC) stem medium. Such reprogrammed cells lost features of prostate differentiation; gained features of N/NC stem cells and tumor-initiating potential; were resistant to androgen signaling inhibition; and acquired an invasive phenotype in vitro and in vivo. When placed back into serum-containing mediums, reprogrammed cells could be re-differentiated to N-/NC-derived cell lineages or return back to an AR+ prostate-like state. Once returned, the AR+ cells were resistant to androgen signaling inhibition. Acute androgen deprivation or anti-androgen treatment in serum-containing medium led to the transient appearance of a sub-population of cells with similar characteristics. Finally, a 132 gene signature derived from reprogrammed PCa cell lines distinguished tumors from PCa patients with adverse outcomes. This model may explain neural manifestations of PCa associated with lethal disease. The metastable nature of the reprogrammed stem-like PCa cells suggests that cycles of PCa cell reprogramming followed by re-differentiation may support disease progression and therapeutic resistance. The ability of a gene signature from reprogrammed PCa cells to identify tumors from patients with metastasis or PCa-specific mortality implies that developmental reprogramming is linked to aggressive tumor behaviors