B-Cell Lymphoma Cells Overexpressing BMI-1 Are Correlated with Drug Resistance through Enhanced Expression of Survivin and Are Effectively Eliminated by T Cells with Anti-CD38 Chimeric Receptor

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3613-3613
Author(s):  
Joyeeta Bhattacharyya ◽  
Keichiro Mihara ◽  
Motoaki Ohtsubo ◽  
Shin'ichiro Yasunaga ◽  
Yoshihiro Takihara ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3613 BMI-1 is essential for the self-renewal and proliferation of leukemic and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Increased expression of BMI-1 is known to be an indicator for a poor prognosis in cancer patients. Analysis of the expression of BMI-1 and survivin in 6 patients with B-cell lymphoma (3 drug-resistant and 3 sensitive cases) showed that in the drug-resistant patients, high levels of BMI-1 and survivin were maintained even after drug administration in vitro. However, there observed was a down-regulation of both BMI-1 and survivin expression in the drug-sensitive patients. BMI-1 transduction induced the drug-resistance of two B-cell lymphoma cell lines, HT and RL, to the anti-cancer drugs etoposide and oxaliplatin, but not to irinotecan. The expression of survivin was clearly augmented in the cells transduced with BMI-1. Moreover, we detected sustained expression of survivin level in the presence of etoposide in the BMI-1-overexpressing cells. By contrast, the mock-transduced cells succumbed in the medium with anti-cancer drugs with an accompanying decrease in the expression of survivin as well as BMI-1. Survivin has been reportedly implicated in resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Intriguingly, survivin mRNA levels in BMI-1-overexpressing cells were consistent with those in controls. Also, the level of survivin was enhanced by treatment with a proteasomal inhibitor, MG132, suggesting that overexpression of BMI-1 stabilized survivin expression post-translationally. We further showed that sh RNA-mediated knockdown of BMI-1 or survivin restored sensitivity to etoposide in the HT cells overexpressing BMI-1. Our findings suggest survivin as a potential target for BMI-1. Thus BMI-1, by acting as an upstream regulator, may control the expression of survivin, facilitating drug resistance in B-cell lymphoma. Next, we examined whether B-cell lymphoma cells overexpressing BMI-1 are abrogated by immunotherapy with T cells containing anti-CD38 chimeric receptor in vitro. Interestingly, these B-cell lymphoma cells were effectively eliminated by specific T cells against B-cell lymphoma cells bearing CD38. These results suggest that the immunotherapy is useful for treatment of patients with B-cell lymphoma cells overexpressing BMI-1, which are refractory to chemotherapeutic reagents. BMI-1 may be an important prognostic marker as well as a future therapeutic target in the treatment of drug-resistant lymphomas. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

2011 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyeeta Bhattacharyya ◽  
Keichiro Mihara ◽  
Motoaki Ohtsubo ◽  
Shin’ichiro Yasunaga ◽  
Yoshifumi Takei ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 4752-4752
Author(s):  
Maria K. Angelopoulou ◽  
Konstantinos Lilakos ◽  
Vassilios Salpeas ◽  
Sotirios Sachanas ◽  
Penelope Korkolopoulou ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Survivin is a member of the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins and has recently gained attention as a possible therapeutic target in malignancies, due to its dual role both as an antiapoptotic protein and as a cell cycle regulator. It is overexpressed in malignant cells and confers resistance to chemotherapy and other stimuli triggering apoptosis. Z-Guggulsterone (Z-GGS) is a plant sterol, which has been used in inflammatory conditions and has been recognized as a potent NF-kB suppressor. Since Survivin, as well as other antiapoptotic proteins, are under NFkB regulation, we studied the effect of Z-GGS on two B-cell lymphoma cell lines. Methods: DB and HT cell lines were treated with increasing concentrations (10μM, 20μM and 30μM) of Z-GGS, for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Survivin expression was tested with Flow Cytometry and Survivin transcripts were measured with quantitative real time PCR using the Universal Probe Library hydrolysis probes and expressed as Survivin/abl ratio. Cell viability was assessed with the MTT assay. Results: Both cell lines were positive for Survivin at baseline by flow cytometry (66% of total cells for DB and 95% for HT). Treatment of DB cells with 10, 20 and 30μM Z-GGS resulted in a 44%, 49% and 68% reduction of Survivin expression at 24 hours, respectively, whereas the effect on HT was less prominent with a 10% reduction at 24 hours with 30μM Z-GGS. Survivin transcripts decreased as well, with the maximum effect observed at 72 hours with 30μM Z-GGS for both cell lines: Survivin/abl was 0.009 for untreated cells vs 0.0008 with 30μM Z-GGS for DB cells and 0.0135 vs 0.0005 for HT cells. Linearity was observed for increasing concentrations of Z-GGS at 72 hours. Cell viability was practically unaffected at any time point with 10 and 20μM Z-GGS for both cell lines, whereas 30 μM Z-GGS resulted in a 63% and 78% cell death at 48 and 72 hours respectively for DB cells and 67% and 83% for HT cells. Conclusions: The steroid Z-GGS downregulates Survivin expression in B-lymphoma cells in vitro and induces cell death at 30μM concentration. Further experiments will clarify its possible role in the treatment of B-cell malignancies.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3279-3279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Kai Weng ◽  
Xia Tong ◽  
Mohammad Luqman ◽  
Ronald Levy

Abstract Immunotherapy using anti-tumor antibodies has become a feasible alternative for treating patients with lymphoma. These anti-tumor antibodies may target a specific receptor to disrupt proliferative signaling or mediate their anti-tumor effect by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) or complement-mediated killing. The CD40 antigen is a good target for such anti-tumor antibodies for several reasons: CD40 is expressed on the vast majority of the non-Hodgkin’s B cell lymphomas and it has been proposed that the CD40/CD40L interaction provides a critical survival or proliferative signal for B cell lymphoma, especially the low-grade follicular lymphoma. In addition, B lymphoma cell lines become less sensitive to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis after CD40 cross-linking in an in vitro study. Therefore, an anti-CD40 antagonist that disrupts the CD40/CD40L interaction and mediates effector mechanism could have a therapeutic advantage. In this report, we describe a fully human anti-CD40 antagonistic IgG1 monoclonal antibody, CHIR-12.12 that was generated from mice with a human immunoglobulin gene loci (XenoMouse®mice, Abgenix Inc.). We first compared the antigen expression level of CD40 to the level of CD20, the target for rituximab, on primary lymphoma cells. While the expression level of CD40 was similar between different samples of primary follicular lymphoma cells, it was 10 fold less than the level of CD20. The expression of CD40 and CD20 on chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma cells (CLL/SLL) was more variable. However, the level of CD20 was still significantly higher than the level of CD40 in all samples tested (2.4 to 13 fold). While CHIR-12.12 binds to primary lymphoma cells similarly to several other anti-CD40 antibodies, CHIR-12.12 did not induce proliferation of these primary tumore cells. By contrast, an agonist anti-CD40 antibody induced proliferation of these lymphoma cells up to 6-fold over baseline. To study the ability of CHIR-12.12 to interrupt the CD40-CD40L interaction, we cultured lymphoma cells with CD40L-transfected feeder cells in the presence of control IgG1, CHIR-12.12 or rituximab. In this system, the lymphoma cells proliferate in response to CD40-CD40L interaction. The addition of rituximab did not influence the proliferation. However, CHIR-12.12 inhibited the proliferation of follicular lymphoma and of CLL/SLL cells in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition was observed with antibody concentration at 1 μg/ml and reached maximum of 90% inhibition at 10 μg/ml. We then evaluated the ability of CHIR-12.12 to elicit complement-mediated killing or ADCC. In vitro, rituximab induced complement-mediated cytotoxicity, while CHIR-12.12 did not. However, both CHIR-12.12 and rituximab induced effective ADCC of primary follicular lymphoma cells using purified NK cells from a healthy donor. Even though the level of CD40 is 10-fold less than the level of CD20 on the cell surface of these tumor cells, CHIR-12.12 induced the same degree of ADCC killing as did rituximab. Thus, this novel antagonist CHIR-12.12 antibody both blocks tumor-stimulatory CD40/CD40L interaction and mediates ADCC in the presence of a low number of target antigen. Our results support further development of this antibody to treat patients with B cell lymphoma.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 5087-5087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Tokunaga ◽  
Akihiro Tomita ◽  
Kazuyuki Shimada ◽  
Junji Hiraga ◽  
Takumi Sugimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 5087 Background Rituximab is an anti-CD20 chimeric-monoclonal antibody, and its effectiveness for treatment of CD20-positive B-cell lymphomas has been proven over the past 10 years. Although rituximab is now a key molecular targeting drug for CD20-positive lymphomas, some patients with rituximab resistance have emerged. We previously reported that the CD20-protein-negative phenotypic change after using rituximab is one of the critical mechanisms in rituximab resistance (Hiraga J, Tomita A, et al., Blood, 2009., Sugimoto T, Tomita A, et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2009.). Recently, we have recognized that some newly-diagnosed B-cell lymphomas show CD20-protein-positive in immunohistochemistry (IHC) but -negative in flow cytometry (FCM) analyses. For these patients, so far, neither the molecular mechanisms of CD20 IHC(+)/FCM(−) phenotype, nor the relationship between this phenotype and rituximab resistance are clear. Thus, the clinical significance of introducing rituximab therapy for these patients must be elucidated. Aims Analyses of the molecular backgrounds of CD20 IHC(+)/FCM(−) phenotype in primary B-lymphoma cells, and confirmation of the effectiveness of rituximab therapy for the patients who show CD20 IHC(+)/FCM(−) phenotype. Results Primary B-cell lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL), follicular, MALT, mantle cell, and Burkitt) tissues and cells were analyzed by IHC and FCM. Four newly-diagnosed B-cell lymphoma patients showed IHC CD79(+)/CD20(+) and FCM CD19(+)/CD20(−) phenotype using anti-CD20 antibodies L26 for IHC and B1 for FCM, and all were diagnosed as DLBCL. Chromosomal analysis showed complex karyotypes in 3 out of 3 patients analyzed, and no shared abnormalities were confirmed. Primary lymphoma cells from 3 patients were available for further molecular analyses, and the genomic DNA, the total RNA, and the protein from whole cell lysate were obtained from these lymphoma cells. DNA sequencing analysis indicated no significant genetic mutations on the coding sequences (CDS) of MS4A1 (CD20) gene. Semi-quantitative and quantitative RT-PCR indicated that CD20 mRNA expression was almost normal in 2 patients and ≂~f10 times lower in 1 patient compared to the positive control B-lymphoma/leukemia cells. Almost the same expression tendency with RT-PCR was confirmed in immunoblot analysis using whole cell lysate and the two different anti-CD20 antibodies. The molecular weight of the CD20 protein in immunoblotting corresponded to the wild type in these patients. Rituximab binding assay in vitro was performed using primary lymphoma cells from a patient and the fluorescent-labeled rituximab (Alexa488-rituximab). Interestingly, rituximab binding on the surface of the CD19 positive lymphoma cells was confirmed in vitro. Rituximab containing combination chemotherapy was performed, resulting in complete response in all 4 cases after completing 4 to 8 courses. Conclusions and Discussion CD20 IHC(+)/FCM(−) phenotype was confirmed in newly-diagnosed DLBCL patients. Significant abnormalities in CD20 protein and mRNA expression in immunoblotting and RT-PCR were not confirmed, and genetic mutations on CDS of MS4A1 gene, resulting in the conformation change of CD20 protein, were not detected. The possibility of abnormal post-translational modification or aberrant localization of CD20 protein, leading to interference with antibody binding, can not be excluded. Rituximab binding with CD19-positive primary lymphoma cells was confirmed in a patient, suggesting that CD20 IHC(+)/FCM(-) phenotype does not directly indicate the ineffectiveness of rituximab for these cells. Further investigations, performing in vitro CDC and ADCC assay using primary lymphoma cells, are still warranted to show rituximab effectiveness and sensitivity to those cells. Disclosures: Kinoshita: Zenyaku Kogyo Co.: Research Funding; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Research Funding. Naoe:Zenyaku Kogyo Co.: Research Funding; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Research Funding.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 3726-3726
Author(s):  
Jutta Deckert ◽  
Sharon Chicklas ◽  
Yong Yi ◽  
Min Li ◽  
Jan Pinkas ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3726 CD37 is a B-cell surface antigen which is widely expressed on malignant B cells in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In normal tissues CD37 expression is limited to blood cells and lymphoid tissues. This restricted expression profile makes CD37 an attractive therapeutic target for antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. We developed a novel anti-CD37 antibody, K7153A, which provides a unique combination of functional properties: it demonstrated strong pro-apoptotic and direct cell killing activity against NHL cell lines and could mediate effector activity such as CDC and ADCC. The antibody-maytansinoid conjugate, IMGN529, was produced by conjugation of K7153A with the potent maytansinoid, DM1, via the non-cleavable linker, SMCC. The direct cytotoxic potency of the K7153A antibody was superior to that of the CD20-directed rituximab and was further enhanced with maytansinoid conjugation in IMGN529. In vivo, IMGN529 demonstrated better anti-tumor activity than the K7153A antibody in established subcutaneous follicular lymphoma (FL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and CLL xenograft models in SCID mice. A single administration of IMGN529 showed similar or improved efficacy compared to anti-CD20 antibodies or standard chemotherapy where tested. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of formalin fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) NHL tissue sections was performed to evaluate CD37 expression. CD37 exhibited a similar prevalence to CD20 in subtypes of NHL such as FL, DLBCL, Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). B-cell depletion is an important measure of efficacy for targeted therapies, such as CD20-directed antibodies, in B-cell malignancies. CD37 expression in blood cells from healthy human donors was measured by quantitative flow cytometry in comparison to CD20. The greatest CD37 expression was found in B cells at approximately 77,000 antibodies bound per cell (ABC), which was similar to CD20 expression in B cells at 95,000 ABC. In other blood cell types CD37 staining was seen at low levels, about 2,000 – 5,000 ABC, in monocytes, NK cells and T cells. In vitro depletion experiments were performed with purified peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and with whole blood, both derived from several healthy donors. Cells were incubated for 1 hr with 10 μg/mL of either K7153A, IMGN529, CD37-targeting TRU-016, rituximab or the anti-CD52 antibody alemtuzumab, with cell depletion determined relative to counting beads by flow cytometry. The K7153A antibody and the IMGN529 conjugate efficiently and specifically depleted B-cells in a dose-dependent manner in the context of purified PBMCs and whole blood. With purified PBMCs, both K7153A and IMGN529 caused 50–60% depletion of B cells, with little to no depletion of T cells or monocytes. IMGN529 was more potent than rituximab, which led to 30–40% B-cell depletion, or TRU-016, which caused 20–30% B-cell depletion. IMGN529 also was more specific than alemtuzumab, which depleted T-cells and monocytes as well as B cells. With whole blood samples, both K7153A and IMGN529 resulted in 30–40% B-cell depletion with no effect on T cells, NK cells or monocytes. IMGN529 was again more potent than rituximab or TRU-016, which caused approximately 10% B-cell depletion, and was more specific than alemtuzumab, which depleted the majority of T cells in addition to 40% of B cells. IMGN529 embodies a unique B-cell targeted agent as it combines the intrinsic pro-apoptotic, CDC and ADCC activities of its anti-CD37 antibody component with the potent cytotoxic mechanism provided by the targeted delivery of its maytansinoid payload. It is highly active in vitro and in vivo against B-cell lymphoma and CLL cell lines. In addition, it mediates specific B-cell depletion in vitro that is greater than B-cell depletion by CD20-directed rituximab. Together, these findings indicate that IMGN529 is a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Disclosures: Deckert: ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Chicklas:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Yi:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Li:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Pinkas:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Chittenden:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Lutz:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment. Park:ImmunoGen, Inc.: Employment.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 111 (11) ◽  
pp. 5350-5358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Paoluzzi ◽  
Mithat Gonen ◽  
Jeffrey R. Gardner ◽  
Jill Mastrella ◽  
Dajun Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Overexpression of antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family are observed in approximately 80% of B-cell lymphomas, contributing to intrinsic and acquired drug resistance. Nullifying antiapoptotic function can potentially overcome this in-trinsic and acquired drug resistance. AT-101 is a BH3 mimetic known to be a potent inhibitor of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members including Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, and Mcl-1. In vitro, AT-101 exhibits concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxicity against lymphoma and multiple myeloma cell lines, enhancing the activity of cytotoxic agents. The IC50 for AT-101 is between 1 and 10 μM for a diverse panel of B-cell lymphomas. AT-101 was synergistic with carfilzomib (C), etoposide (E), doxorubicin (D), and 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (4-HC) in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) lines. In a transformed large B-cell lymphoma line (RL), AT-101 was synergistic when sequentially combined with 4-HC, but not when both drugs were added simultaneously. AT-101 also induced potent mitochondrial membrane depolarization (ΔΨm) and apoptosis when combined with carfilzomib, but not with bortezomib in MCL. In severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) beige mouse models of drug-resistant B-cell lymphoma, 35 mg/kg per day of AT-101 was safe and efficacious. The addition of AT-101 to cyclophosphamide (Cy) and rituximab (R) in a schedule-dependent manner enhanced the efficacy of the conventional therapy.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1675-1675
Author(s):  
Ashish Sharma ◽  
Anne Roe ◽  
Filipa Blasco Lopes ◽  
Ruifu Liu ◽  
Jane Reese ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have shown enormous promise in the treatment of certain B cell malignancies. Access to treatment is still limited due to a variety of issues, including pricing and centralized manufacturing models. Generation of CAR-T cells using an automated platform, followed by rigorous functional phenotyping, may contribute to the development of a robust long-lasting therapy. METHODS: Here, we used the Miltenyi Prodigy (Miltenyi Biotech, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) to automate the process of manufacturing genetically manipulated T cells in a closed system. The system obviates the need for clean room infrastructure. We tested the feasibility of utilizing the Miltenyi Prodigy to manufacture CAR-T cells using a CD19 scFV vector with the 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain. (Lentigen Technology, Inc, Gaithersburg, MD). The purity, differentiation capacity and effector function of the enriched CAR-T cells was studied using high-dimensional flow cytometry. Finally, the functional potential of these cells was tested in vitro and by treating NOD-SCID-gamma (NSG) mice infused with B cell lymphoma cells (Raji B cell), with the CAR-T cells. RESULTS: Starting with 1 x 108 CD4 and CD8 cells from donor apheresis products, CAR-T cells were expanded for 12 days in culture media containing with TransAct (Miltenyi Biotech), IL7 and IL15. The mean fold-expansion at day 12 was 44 ± 5.6, range 39-50 (n=3). The mean transduction efficiency of CAR-T vector was 20%, range 10-25% (n=3), which is similar to other reported methods. The CD19 CAR-T product was enriched in both the CD4 and CD8 T cells subsets, and showed high-level of cytotoxicity against CD19+ cell lines in vitro and in vivo (Figure 1: Mice treated with the CD19-CAR T demonstrated a marked reduction in disease burden as compared to T cell control as measured by bioluminescence imaging and flow cytometric analysis). The CAR-T product was enriched in cell subsets with both effector (CD27-CCR7-; ~20% of total cells) and central memory phenotypes (CD27+CCR7+; ~30% of total T cells). The effector CD4 and CD8 T cells showed increased expression of major functional T cell differentiation transcription factors (i.e. T-bet and GATA3) critical for the development of anti-tumor responses. Whereas, the central CD4 and CD8 T cells were enriched for the expression of TCF7 (a stemness related member of the WNT signaling known to increase longevity of these cells). The frequencies and phenotypes of these cells were maintained in peripheral blood of NSG mice infused with B cell lymphoma cells (Raji B cells), 1 week after treatment. A significant expansion of CD8+ effector T cells and a dramatic reduction in tumor burden was observed over the next 4 weeks in all major organs. Interestingly, we observed that smaller proportion of central-memory like cells (with higher TCF7 levels) continued to persist 6 weeks post-treatment, potentially contributing to a long-lived recallable response. Based on these data we have initiated a phase 1 clinical trial to test the therapeutic potential of the CAR-T product in patients with advanced/refractory B cell lymphoma. The first clinical grade manufacturing run resulted in a CD19 + cell yield of 1.4 x109. CONCLUSION: Our data highlight that the automated CAR-T generation platform (i.e. Miltenyi Prodigy) is effective at the generating purified functionally competent CAR-T cells. Further, findings from our phenotyping analyses show that the CAR-T product is enriched in both effector and central memory subsets and is effective at tumor clearance in vivo. Thus far, we have treated one patient with CD19 CAR-T manufactured on this platform and 2 more have been enrolled. Though this initial study is based on CD19 CAR-T cells, the approach described here could easily be utilized to genetically engineer T cells with gene constructs that are more relevant for specific cancers and infectious diseases. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chathurika D. B. Gamage ◽  
So-Yeon Park ◽  
Yi Yang ◽  
Rui Zhou ◽  
İsa Taş ◽  
...  

Deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT) is a cyclolignan compound that exerts anti-cancer effects against various types of cancers. DPT induces apoptosis and inhibits the growth of breast, brain, prostate, gastric, lung, and cervical tumors. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of DPT on cell proliferation, apoptosis, motility, and tumorigenesis of three colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines: HT29, DLD1, and Caco2. DPT inhibited the proliferation of these cells. Specifically, the compound-induced mitotic arrest in CRC cells by destabilizing microtubules and activating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway via regulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins (increasing Bcl-2 associated X (BAX) and decreasing B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (Bcl-xL)) ultimately led to caspase-mediated apoptosis. In addition, DPT inhibited tumorigenesis in vitro, and in vivo skin xenograft experiments revealed that DPT significantly decreased tumor size and tumor weight. Taken together, our results suggest DPT to be a potent compound that is suitable for further exploration as a novel chemotherapeutic for human CRC.


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