Activity of an oral hyroxysterol.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20587-e20587
Author(s):  
Nabil Habib ◽  
Hamid Elia Daaboul ◽  
George Hage ◽  
Abdo Jabbour ◽  
Hind Zeitouni ◽  
...  

e20587 Background: Hydroxysterols are oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol. They have been shown to interfere with proliferation and cause the death of many cancer cell types, such as leukaemia, glioblastoma, colon, breast and prostate cancer cells. They control the transcription and the turnover of the key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Hydroxysterols interfere with PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK, hedgehog and Wnt pathways of proliferation and differentiation. When administered in vitro to cancer cell lines, hydroxysterols invariably both slow down proliferation and provoke cell death. Many of these compounds show antitumor activity in experimental models and most of them are very toxic. (24-ethyl-cholestane- 3β,5α,6α-triol) is the first oxysterol being tested in the clinic. It is also one of the safest in this class of compounds. Methods: We have treated with this new drug 18 patients suffering from Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); sixteen males and two females. Thirteen had adenocarcinomas and five had squamous-cell carcinoma. The median age was 65. Sixteen patients had a stage IV disease and two had a stage III disease. Seven had a PS: 1, seven had a PS: 2 and four had a PS:3. Seventy-five percent were symptomatic and fifty percent were taking pain killers. Six patients only did not receive previous chemotherapy and five received radiotherapy. Patients received daily 10 mg/Kg of oral (24-ethyl-cholestane- 3β,5α,6α-triol) divided in 3 equal doses, until disease progression. Results: Twelve patients had a partial response (PR), three patients had a stable disease (NC) and three patients had a disease progression (PD). The median duration of response was 8 months but 2 patients are still under treatment. No toxicity was observed so ever. Seventy-five percent of symptomatic patients had a remarkable symptom control. Conclusions: These encouraging results make this new and safe drug a good candidate for further clinical trials either alone or in association with other drugs for the treatment of NSCLC.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e16531-e16531
Author(s):  
Nabil Habib ◽  
George Hage ◽  
Hamid Elia Daaboul ◽  
Abdo Elias Jabbour ◽  
Hind Zeitouni ◽  
...  

e16531 Background: Hydroxysterols and oxysterols are oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol. They are involved in the regulation of some aspects of neoplastic cell growth and proliferation, as demonstrated in vitro in a variety of human cancer cells including prostate cancer cells.These effects can be dependent on the activation of the oxysterol-binding liver X receptors (LXRs). LNCaP prostate tumor cells stimulated with synthetic LXR agonists showed G1 to S-phase cell cycle arrest through the suppression of Skp2.Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men and most patients become resistant to upfront treatments with hormones. At advanced stages most refractory patients are symptomatic and their life expectancy is limited. (24-ethyl-cholestane- 3β,5α,6α-triol) is a new hydroxysterol developed by us. It is the first oxysterol to be tested in the clinic. It is also one of the safest in this class of compounds. Methods: We have treated with this new drug 14 patients suffering from advanced and hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Their median age was 73 (60-88). Seven with a Gleason 7, 5 with a Gleason 8 and 2 with a Gleason 9. Eleven had stage IV disease, Eight with bone metastasis, 4 with advanced loco-regional disease and 2 with visceral metastasis. Ten patients were symptomatic. Four patients had received also 1 line of chemotherapy and 2 others received 2 lines of chemo. Four patients were also previously treated with radiotherapy. Patients received daily 10 mg/Kg of oral (24-ethyl-cholestane- 3β,5α,6α-triol) divided into 3 equal doses, until disease progression. Results: Ten patients experienced either a biological or a radiological partial response (PR), Two patients had a stable disease (NC) and two patients had a disease progression (PD). The median duration of response was 2 years. Patients did not report any side-effect from treatment. Eighty percent of symptomatic patients had a remarkable symptom control. Conclusions: These encouraging results make this new and safe drug a good candidate for further clinical trials either alone or in combination with other drugs in the treatment of HRPC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Termini ◽  
Enrique Boccardo

In vitro culture of primary or established cell lines is one of the leading techniques in many areas of basic biological research. The use of pure or highly enriched cultures of specific cell types obtained from different tissues and genetics backgrounds has greatly contributed to our current understanding of normal and pathological cellular processes. Cells in culture are easily propagated generating an almost endless source of material for experimentation. Besides, they can be manipulated to achieve gene silencing, gene overexpression and genome editing turning possible the dissection of specific gene functions and signaling pathways. However, monolayer and suspension cultures of cells do not reproduce the cell type diversity, cell-cell contacts, cell-matrix interactions and differentiation pathways typical of the three-dimensional environment of tissues and organs from where they were originated. Therefore, different experimental animal models have been developed and applied to address these and other complex issues in vivo. However, these systems are costly and time consuming. Most importantly the use of animals in scientific research poses moral and ethical concerns facing a steadily increasing opposition from different sectors of the society. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of alternative in vitro experimental models that accurately reproduce the events observed in vivo to reduce the use of animals. Organotypic cultures combine the flexibility of traditional culture systems with the possibility of culturing different cell types in a 3D environment that reproduces both the structure and the physiology of the parental organ. Here we present a summarized description of the use of epithelial organotypic for the study of skin physiology, human papillomavirus biology and associated tumorigenesis.


1993 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1573-1582 ◽  
Author(s):  
W H Wilson ◽  
G Bryant ◽  
S Bates ◽  
A Fojo ◽  
R E Wittes ◽  
...  

PURPOSE Based on in vitro evidence that tumor cells are less resistant to prolonged exposure to low concentrations of the natural product class, compared with brief higher concentration exposure, we developed a chemotherapy regimen (etoposide, vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and prednisone [EPOCH]) in which the natural products are administered as a continuous infusion. PATIENTS AND METHODS This is a phase II study of etoposide, vincristine, and doxorubicin, administered as a 96-hour continuous infusion, with intravenous (IV) bolus cyclophosphamide and oral prednisone (EPOCH) in 74 consecutive patients who relapsed from or failed to respond to most of the same drugs administered on a bolus schedule. Patients with aggressive lymphomas who achieved a good response after EPOCH were eligible to undergo bone marrow transplantation. RESULTS Patients with intermediate- or high-grade lymphoma comprised 76% of this series and 77% had stage IV disease. Seventy-one percent had previously received all of the drugs contained in the EPOCH regimen and 92% had received at least four of the drugs. Seventy patients were assessable for response, of whom 19 (27%) achieved a complete remission (CR) and 42 (60%) a partial remission (PR). Among 21 patients who had no response to prior chemotherapy, 15 (71%) responded, but only one achieved a CR. Patients who relapsed from an initial CR had a 100% response rate, with 76% CRs. With a median potential follow-up duration of 19 months, there was a 28% probability of being event-free at 1 year. Toxicity was primarily hematologic with neutropenia during 51% of cycles, but only a 17% incidence of febrile neutropenia. Gastrointestinal, neurologic, and cardiac toxicity were minimal. CONCLUSION EPOCH chemotherapy was well tolerated and highly effective in patients who were resistant to or relapsed from the same drugs administered on a bolus schedule, suggesting that continuous infusion of the natural drug component of this regimen is capable of partially reversing drug resistance and reducing toxicity. Dose-intensity (DI) was > or = that achieved in primary treatment regimens for aggressive lymphomas.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome Robert ◽  
Nicholas Weilinger ◽  
Li-Ping Zao ◽  
Stefano Cataldi ◽  
Emily Button ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: The neurovascular unit (NVU) – the interaction between the neurons and the cerebrovasculature – is increasingly important to interrogate through human-based experimental models. Although advanced models of cerebral capillaries have been developed in the last decade, there is currently noin vitro3-dimensional (3D) perfusible model of the human cortical arterial NVU. Method: We used a tissue-engineering technique to develop a scaffold-directed, perfusible, 3D human NVU that is cultured in native-like flow conditions that mimics the anatomy and physiology of cortical penetrating arteries. Results: This system, composed of primary human vascular cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and astrocytes) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neurons, demonstrates a physiological multilayer organization of the involved cell types. It also reproduces key characteristics of cortical neurons and astrocytes, as well as the formation of a selective and functional endothelial barrier. We further provide proof-of-principle that our in vitro human arterial NVU may be suitable to study neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as we report both phosphorylated tau and beta-amyloid accumulation in our model over time. Finally, we show that our arterial NVU model enables the study of neuronal and glial fluid biomarkers. Conclusion: This model is a suitable tool to investigate arterial NVU functions such as neuronal electrophysiology in health and disease. Further the design of platform allows culture under native-like flow conditions for extended periods of time and yields sufficient tissue and media for downstream immunohistochemistry and biochemistry analyses.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome Robert ◽  
Nicholas Weilinger ◽  
Li-Ping Zao ◽  
Stefano Cataldi ◽  
Emily Button ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: The neurovascular unit (NVU) – the interaction between the neurons and the cerebrovasculature – is increasingly important to interrogate through human-based experimental models. Although advanced models of cerebral capillaries have been developed in the last decade, there is currently no in vitro 3-dimensional (3D) perfusible model of the human cortical arterial NVU.Method: We used a tissue-engineering technique to develop a scaffold-directed, perfusible, 3D human NVU that is cultured in native-like flow conditions that mimics the anatomy and physiology of cortical penetrating arteries.Results: This system, composed of primary human vascular cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and astrocytes) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neurons, demonstrates a physiological multilayer organization of the involved cell types. It reproduces key characteristics of cortical neurons and astrocytes and enables formation of a selective and functional endothelial barrier. We provide proof-of-principle data showing that this in vitro human arterial NVU may be suitable to study neurovascular components of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as endogenously produced phosphorylated tau and beta-amyloid accumulate in the model over time. Finally, neuronal and glial fluid biomarkers relevant to neurodegenerative diseases are measurable in our arterial NVU model.Conclusion: This model is a suitable research tool to investigate arterial NVU functions in healthy and disease states. Further, the design of the platform allows culture under native-like flow conditions for extended periods of time and yields sufficient tissue and media for downstream immunohistochemistry and biochemistry analyses.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liqing Song ◽  
Yuanwei Yan ◽  
Mark Marzano ◽  
Yan Li

Human cerebral organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide novel tools for recapitulating the cytoarchitecture of the human brain and for studying biological mechanisms of neurological disorders. However, the heterotypic interactions of neurovascular units, composed of neurons, pericytes (i.e., the tissue resident mesenchymal stromal cells), astrocytes, and brain microvascular endothelial cells, in brain-like tissues are less investigated. In addition, most cortical organoids lack a microglia component, the resident immune cells in the brain. Impairment of the blood-brain barrier caused by improper crosstalk between neural cells and vascular cells is associated with many neurodegenerative disorders. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), with a phenotype overlapping with pericytes, have promotion effects on neurogenesis and angiogenesis, which are mainly attributed to secreted growth factors and extracellular matrices. As the innate macrophages of the central nervous system, microglia regulate neuronal activities and promote neuronal differentiation by secreting neurotrophic factors and pro-/anti-inflammatory molecules. Neuronal-microglia interactions mediated by chemokines signaling can be modulated in vitro for recapitulating microglial activities during neurodegenerative disease progression. In this review, we discussed the cellular interactions and the physiological roles of neural cells with other cell types including endothelial cells and microglia based on iPSC models. The therapeutic roles of MSCs in treating neural degeneration and pathological roles of microglia in neurodegenerative disease progression were also discussed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 5148-5157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Breuilh ◽  
François Vanhoutte ◽  
Josette Fontaine ◽  
Caroline M. W. van Stijn ◽  
Isabelle Tillie-Leblond ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a multifunctional β-galactoside-binding lectin that senses self-derived and microbial glycoconjugates. Although Gal-3 is important in immune reactions and host defense in some experimental models, the function of Gal-3 during helminthic diseases (e.g., schistosomiasis) is still elusive. We show that, compared to wild-type Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice, infected Gal-3−/− mice have a reduced number of T and B lymphocytes in the spleen, develop reduced liver granulomas at 7 weeks (acute phase) and 14 weeks (chronic phase) postinfection, and mount a biased cellular and humoral Th1 response. In an attempt to understand this latter phenomenon, we studied the role of endogenous Gal-3 in dendritic cells (DCs), the most potent antigen-presenting cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Although Gal-3 deficiency in DCs does not impact their differentiation and maturation processes, it greatly influences the strength (but not the nature) of the adaptive immune response that they trigger, suggesting that Gal-3 deficiency in some other cell types may be important during murine schistosomiasis. As a whole, this study implies that Gal-3 is a modulator of the immune/inflammatory responses during helminthic infection and reveals for the first time that Gal-3 expression in DCs is pivotal to control the magnitude of T-lymphocyte priming.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Armignacco ◽  
Giulia Cantini ◽  
Giada Poli ◽  
Daniele Guasti ◽  
Gabriella Nesi ◽  
...  

Metabolic interplay between the tumor microenvironment and cancer cells is a potential target for novel anti-cancer approaches. Among stromal components, adipocytes and adipose precursors have been shown to actively participate in tumor progression in several solid malignancies. In adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare endocrine neoplasia with a poor prognosis, cancer cells often infiltrate the fat mass surrounding the adrenal organ, enabling possible crosstalk with the adipose cells. Here, by using an in vitro co-culture system, we show that the interaction between adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and the adrenocortical cancer cell line H295R leads to metabolic and functional reprogramming of both cell types: cancer cells limit differentiation and increase proliferation of ASCs, which in turn support tumor growth and invasion. This effect associates with a shift from the paracrine cancer-promoting IGF2 axis towards an ASC-associated leptin axis, along with a shift in the SDF-1 axis towards CXCR7 expression in H295R cells. In conclusion, our findings suggest that adipose precursors, as pivotal components of the ACC microenvironment, promote cancer cell reprogramming and invasion, opening new perspectives for the development of more effective therapeutic approaches.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8153
Author(s):  
Kimin Kim ◽  
Yeh Joo Sohn ◽  
Ruri Lee ◽  
Hye Ju Yoo ◽  
Ji Yoon Kang ◽  
...  

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the cancer microenvironment play an essential role in metastasis. Differentiation of endothelial cells into CAFs is induced by cancer cell-derived exosomes secreted from cancer cells that transfer molecular signals to surrounding cells. Differentiated CAFs facilitate migration of cancer cells to different regions through promoting extracellular matrix (ECM) modifications. However, in vitro models in which endothelial cells exposed to cancer cell-derived exosomes secreted from various cancer cell types differentiate into CAFs or a microenvironmentally controlled model for investigating cancer cell invasion by CAFs have not yet been studied. In this study, we propose a three-dimensional in vitro cancer cell invasion model for real-time monitoring of the process of forming a cancer invasion site through CAFs induced by exosomes isolated from three types of cancer cell lines. The invasiveness of cancer cells with CAFs induced by cancer cell-derived exosomes (eCAFs) was significantly higher than that of CAFs induced by cancer cells (cCAFs) through physiological and genetic manner. In addition, different genetic tendencies of the invasion process were observed in the process of invading cancer cells according to CAFs. Our 3D microfluidic platform helps to identify specific interactions among multiple factors within the cancer microenvironment and provides a model for cancer drug development.


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