Inflammation Control and Immunotherapeutic Strategies in Comprehensive Cancer Treatment

Tumor growth and expansion are determined by the immunological tumor microenvironment (TME). Typically, early tumorigenic stages are characterized by the immune system not responding or weakly responding to the tumor. However, subsequent tumorigenic stages witness the tumor promoting its growth and metastasis by stimulating tumor-protective (pro-tumor) inflammation to suppress anti-tumor immune responses. Here, we propose the pivotal role of inflammation control in a successful anti-cancer immunotherapy strategy, implying that available and novel immunotherapeutic modalities such as inflammation modulation, antibody (Ab)-based immunostimulation, drug-mediated immunomodulation, cancer vaccination as well as adoptive cell immunotherapy and donor leucocyte transfusion could be applied in cancer patients in a synergistic manner to amplify each other’s clinical effects and achieve robust anti-tumor immune reactivity. In addition, the anti-tumor effects of immunotherapy could be enhanced by thermal and/or oxygen therapy. Herein, combined immune-based therapy could prove to be beneficial for patients with advanced cancers, as aiming to provide long-term tumor cell/mass dormancy by restraining compensatory proliferation of surviving cancer cells observed after traditional anti-cancer interventions such as surgery, radiotherapy, and metronomic (low-dose) chemotherapy. We propose the Inflammatory Prognostic Score based on the blood levels of C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase as well as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to effectively monitor the effectiveness of comprehensive anti-cancer treatment

Immune-based, multifaceted inactivation of pathogenic T lymphocytes in treating autoimmune diseases

Immunotherapeutic treatment of autoimmune diseases should aim to inactivate autoaggressive memory T-cells and restore immune tolerance. It is envisaged that three approaches could be used to achieve this goal: stimulation of anti-idiotypic immune responses by vaccination with pathogenic T-cells; administration of suboptimal doses of antibodies (Abs) against two or more surface T-cell markers to provide selective Ab-mediated destruction of activated pathogenic memory T-cells; and induction of oral immune tolerance. The proposal entails the use of T-cell vaccination (TCV) or Ab-based therapy as an initial approach to reduce autoantigenic T-cell sensitization. Subsequently, the implementation of oral immunotherapy (OIT) is recommended to reinstate a consistent immune tolerance

Inflammation Control and Immunotherapeutic Strategies in Comprehensive Cancer Treatment

Tumor growth and expansion are determined by the immunological tumor microenvironment (TME). Typically, early tumorigenic stages are characterized by the immune system not responding or weakly responding to the tumor. However, subsequent tumorigenic stages witness the tumor promoting its growth and metastasis by stimulating tumor-protective (pro-tumor) inflammation to suppress anti-tumor immune responses. Here, we propose the pivotal role of inflammation control in a successful anti-cancer immunotherapy strategy, implying that available and novel immunotherapeutic modalities such as inflammation modulation, antibody (Ab)-based immunostimulation, drug-mediated immunomodulation, cancer vaccination as well as adoptive cell immunotherapy and donor leucocyte transfusion could be applied in cancer patients in a synergistic manner to amplify each other’s clinical effects and achieve robust anti-tumor immune reactivity. In addition, the anti-tumor effects of immunotherapy could be enhanced by thermal and/or oxygen therapy. Herein, combined immune-based therapy could prove to be beneficial for patients with advanced cancers, as aiming to provide long-term tumor cell/mass dormancy by restraining compensatory proliferation of surviving cancer cells observed after traditional anti-cancer interventions such as surgery, radiotherapy, and metronomic (low-dose) chemotherapy. We propose the Inflammatory Prognostic Score based on the blood levels of C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase as well as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio to effectively monitor the effectiveness of comprehensive anti-cancer treatment

Directs effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on adaptive immunogenesis

Background: We studied direct effects of human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on phenotypical characteristics and cytokine-production of non-activated and activated human monocytes/macrophages (Mc/Mphs) and T cells. Methods: Purified Mc/Mphs were activated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 μg/ml) for 24 h, while T cells were activated by particles conjugated and antibodies (Abs) against human CD2, CD3, and CD28 for 48 h. Results: GM-CSF treatment (0.01–10 ng/ml) was shown to reduce percentages of CD197 (CCR7)-positive cells in non-activated Mph cultures, without affecting significantly CD14+ (LPS co-receptor), CD16+ (FcγRIII, low-affinity Fc-receptor), CD119+ (interferon-gamma receptor 1), and CD124+ (IL4 receptor α-subunit) cells. In addition, GM-CSF reduced relative numbers of CD197+ cells, as well as CD14+, CD16+, and CD119+ cells in activated Mph cultures without affecting CD124+ cell distribution. GM-CSF at the highest dose of 10 ng/ml enhanced TNF-α and IL-6 (but not IL-1β and IL-10) production in activated Mc/Mphs. In activated T cell cultures, GM-CSF at 0.1–1.0 ng/ml augmented CD38+ cell numbers in naïve СD45RA+/СD197+ and central memory СD45RA−/СD197+ cell subsets, with no effect on effector СD45RA−/СD197− and terminally differentiated effector СD45RA+/СD197− cells. GM-CSF at a low dose (0.01 ng/ml) down-regulated INF-γ production, while at a high dosage (10.0 ng/ml) up-regulated IL-2 and IL-4 production. Conclusion: In general, the results suggest that GM-CSF is able to facilitate the implication of both Mph and T cells in the adaptive immunogenesis

DIRECT EFFECTS OF GM-CSF ON THE FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES

We investigated direct effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on the surface properties and cytokine-producing activity of human monocytes / macrophages (Mc/Mphs). The CD14+ cells were isolated from peripheral blood of healthy donors by positive magnetic separation. The isolated Mc/Mphs were cultured with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 μg/ml) or without LPS for 24 hours. Membrane expression of CD14, CD16, CD119, CD124, and CD197 molecules was assessed by flow cytometry. The contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (interleukin-1β, IL-1β), IL-6 and IL-10 in culture supernatants were determined by the enzyme immunoassay technique. It was found that GM-CSF at a concentration range of 0.01-10 ng/ml did significantly reduce the number of cells expressing CD197 (CC receptor of chemokine 7), without significantly affecting the percentage of CD14+ (coreceptor of LPS), CD16+ (low-affinity Fc receptor), CD119+ (IFN-γ receptor) and CD124+ (IL4 receptor) cells. At the same time, GM-CSF reduced the contents of CD197+ macrophages, as well as CD14+, CD16 +, and CD119+ cells among the activated cell population, without significantly altering the number of CD124+ cells. It was also shown that GM-CSF (10 ng/ml), was able to enhance production of TNF-α and IL-6, but not IL-1β and IL-10 by activated Mc/Mphs. The results obtained indicate the ability of GM-CSF to exert both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory effects upon macrophage cell populations. In general, such effects could contribute to the development of adaptive immunogenesis in peripheral tissues