Thyroid Cancer Imaging In Vivo by Targeting the Anti-Apoptotic Molecule Galectin-3

AbstractThe lack of a non-invasive test for malignant thyroid nodules makes the diagnosis of thyroid cancer (TC) challenging. Human galectin-3 (hGal3) has emerged as a promising target for medical TC imaging and diagnosis because of its exclusive overexpression in malignant thyroid tissues. We previously developed a human-chimeric αhGal3 Fab fragment derived from the rat monoclonal antibody (mAb) M3/38 with optimized clearance characteristics using PASylation technology. Here, we describe the elucidation of the hGal3 epitope recognized by mAb M3/38, X-ray crystallographic analysis of its complex with the chimeric Fab and, based on the three-dimensional structure, the rational humanization of the Fab by CDR grafting. Four CDR-grafted versions were designed using structurally most closely related fully human immunoglobulin VH/VL regions of which one—employing the acceptor framework regions of the HIV-1 neutralizing human antibody m66—showed the highest antigen affinity. By introducing two additional back-mutations to the rodent donor sequence, an affinity toward hGal3 indistinguishable from the chimeric Fab was achieved (KD = 0.34 ± 0.02 nM in SPR). The PASylated humanized Fab was site-specifically labelled with the fluorescent dye Cy7 and applied for the immuno-histochemical staining of human tissue sections representative for different TCs. The same protein was conjugated with the metal chelator Dfo, followed by radiolabelling with 89Zr(IV). The resulting protein tracer allowed the highly sensitive and specific PET/CT imaging of orthotopic tumors in mice, which was confirmed by quantitative analysis of radiotracer accumulation. Thus, the PASylated humanized αhGal3 Fab offers clinical potential for the diagnostic imaging of TC.

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Mycobacterial Phthiocerol Dimycocerosate Induces Galectin-3 Upregulation to Impair Proinflammatory Responses and Favor Immune Evasion in vivo

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3741239 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hankun Wang ◽

Xin Wen ◽

Weifeng Huang ◽

Dan Li ◽

Xinhua Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Evasion ◽

Proinflammatory Responses ◽

Galectin 3 ◽

Phthiocerol Dimycocerosate

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Characterization of LDD-2633 as a Novel RET Kinase Inhibitor with Anti-Tumor Effects in Thyroid Cancer

Pharmaceuticals ◽

10.3390/ph14010038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Hyo Jeong Lee ◽

Pyeonghwa Jeong ◽

Yeongyu Moon ◽

Jungil Choi ◽

Jeong Doo Heo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thyroid Cancer ◽

Thyroid Carcinoma ◽

Kinase Inhibitor ◽

Point Mutations ◽

Carcinoma Cells ◽

Medullary Thyroid ◽

Potent Inhibition ◽

Kinase Inhibitory Activity

Rearranged during transfection (RET), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is activated by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family ligands. Chromosomal rearrangement or point mutations in RET are observed in patients with papillary thyroid and medullary thyroid carcinomas. Oncogenic alteration of RET results in constitutive activation of RET activity. Therefore, inhibiting RET activity has become a target in thyroid cancer therapy. Here, the anti-tumor activity of a novel RET inhibitor was characterized in medullary thyroid carcinoma cells. The indirubin derivative LDD-2633 was tested for RET kinase inhibitory activity. In vitro, LDD-2633 showed potent inhibition of RET kinase activity, with an IC50 of 4.42 nM. The growth of TT thyroid carcinoma cells harboring an RET mutation was suppressed by LDD-2633 treatment via the proliferation suppression and the induction of apoptosis. The effects of LDD-2633 on the RET signaling pathway were examined; LDD-2633 inhibited the phosphorylation of the RET protein and the downstream molecules Shc and ERK1/2. Oral administration of 20 or 40 mg/kg of LDD-2633 induced dose-dependent suppression of TT cell xenograft tumor growth. The in vivo and in vitro experimental results supported the potential use of LDD-2633 as an anticancer drug for thyroid cancers.

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FOXE1-Dependent Regulation of Macrophage Chemotaxis by Thyroid Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22147666 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (14) ◽

pp. 7666

Author(s):

Sara C. Credendino ◽

Marta De Menna ◽

Irene Cantone ◽

Carmen Moccia ◽

Matteo Esposito ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thyroid Cancer ◽

Immune Cells ◽

Cancer Susceptibility ◽

Macrophage Infiltration ◽

M2 Macrophage ◽

Thyroid Cells ◽

Transcriptional Alterations ◽

Cancer Phenotypes

Forkhead box E1 (FOXE1) is a lineage-restricted transcription factor involved in thyroid cancer susceptibility. Cancer-associated polymorphisms map in regulatory regions, thus affecting the extent of gene expression. We have recently shown that genetic reduction of FOXE1 dosage modifies multiple thyroid cancer phenotypes. To identify relevant effectors playing roles in thyroid cancer development, here we analyse FOXE1-induced transcriptional alterations in thyroid cells that do not express endogenous FOXE1. Expression of FOXE1 elicits cell migration, while transcriptome analysis reveals that several immune cells-related categories are highly enriched in differentially expressed genes, including several upregulated chemokines involved in macrophage recruitment. Accordingly, FOXE1-expressing cells induce chemotaxis of co-cultured monocytes. We then asked if FOXE1 was able to regulate macrophage infiltration in thyroid cancers in vivo by using a mouse model of cancer, either wild type or with only one functional FOXE1 allele. Expression of the same set of chemokines directly correlates with FOXE1 dosage, and pro-tumourigenic M2 macrophage infiltration is decreased in tumours with reduced FOXE1. These data establish a novel link between FOXE1 and macrophages recruitment in the thyroid cancer microenvironment, highlighting an unsuspected function of this gene in the crosstalk between neoplastic and immune cells that shape tumour development and progression.

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Macropinocytosis requires Gal-3 in a subset of patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02258-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Laetitia Seguin ◽

Soline Odouard ◽

Francesca Corlazzoli ◽

Sarah Al Haddad ◽

Laurine Moindrot ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Cell Survival ◽

Small Gtpases ◽

Molecular Signature ◽

Carbohydrate Binding ◽

Pancreatic Cancers ◽

Galectin 3 ◽

Pharmacologic Inhibition

AbstractRecently, we involved the carbohydrate-binding protein Galectin-3 (Gal-3) as a druggable target for KRAS-mutant-addicted lung and pancreatic cancers. Here, using glioblastoma patient-derived stem cells (GSCs), we identify and characterize a subset of Gal-3high glioblastoma (GBM) tumors mainly within the mesenchymal subtype that are addicted to Gal-3-mediated macropinocytosis. Using both genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of Gal-3, we showed a significant decrease of GSC macropinocytosis activity, cell survival and invasion, in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Gal-3 binds to RAB10, a member of the RAS superfamily of small GTPases, and β1 integrin, which are both required for macropinocytosis activity and cell survival. Finally, by defining a Gal-3/macropinocytosis molecular signature, we could predict sensitivity to this dependency pathway and provide proof-of-principle for innovative therapeutic strategies to exploit this Achilles’ heel for a significant and unique subset of GBM patients.

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METTL14 promotes tumorigenesis by regulating lncRNA OIP5-AS1/miR-98/ADAMTS8 signaling in papillary thyroid cancer

Cell Death and Disease ◽

10.1038/s41419-021-03891-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoping Zhang ◽

Dan Li ◽

Chengyou Jia ◽

Haidong Cai ◽

Zhongwei Lv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Proliferation ◽

Thyroid Cancer ◽

Papillary Thyroid Cancer ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

Luciferase Reporter ◽

Papillary Thyroid ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of cancer of the endocrine system. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as a novel class of gene expression regulators associated with tumorigenesis. Through preexisting databases available for differentially expressed lncRNAs in PTC, we uncovered that lncRNA OIP5-AS1 was significantly upregulated in PTC tissues. However, the function and the underlying mechanism of OIP5-AS1 in PTC are poorly understood. Methods Expression of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 and miR-98 in PTC tissue and cells were measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). And expression of METTL14 and ADAMTS8 in PTC tissue and cells were measured by qRT-PCR and western blot. The biological functions of METTL14, OIP5-AS1, and ADAMTS8 were examined using MTT, colony formation, transwell, and wound healing assays in PTC cells. The relationship between METTL14 and OIP5-AS1 were evaluated using RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull down assay. And the relationship between miR-98 and ADAMTS8 were examined by luciferase reporter assay. For in vivo experiments, a xenograft model was used to investigate the effects of OIP5-AS1 and ADAMTS8 in PTC. Results Functional validation revealed that OIP5-AS1 overexpression promotes PTC cell proliferation, migration/invasion in vitro and in vivo, while OIP5-AS1 knockdown shows an opposite effect. Mechanistically, OIP5-AS1 acts as a target of miR-98, which activates ADAMTS8. OIP5-AS1 promotes PTC cell progression through miR-98/ADAMTS8 and EGFR, MEK/ERK pathways. Furthermore, RIP and RNA pull down assays identified OIP5-AS1 as the downstream target of METTL14. Overexpression of METTL14 suppresses PTC cell proliferation and migration/invasion through inhibiting OIP5-AS1 expression and regulating EGFR, MEK/ERK pathways. Conclusions Collectively, our findings demonstrate that OIP5-AS1 is a METTL14-regulated lncRNA that plays an important role in PTC progression and offers new insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying PTC development.

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Efficacy and Biomarker Analysis of Adavosertib in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13143487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 3487

Author(s):

Yu-Ling Lu ◽

Ming-Hsien Wu ◽

Yi-Yin Lee ◽

Ting-Chao Chou ◽

Richard J. Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thyroid Cancer ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Differentiated Thyroid Cancer ◽

Xenograft Model ◽

In Vivo Studies ◽

Follicular Thyroid Cancer ◽

Biomarker Analysis ◽

Cancer Tumor

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients are usually known for their excellent prognoses. However, some patients with DTC develop refractory disease and require novel therapies with different therapeutic mechanisms. Targeting Wee1 with adavosertib has emerged as a novel strategy for cancer therapy. We determined the effects of adavosertib in four DTC cell lines. Adavosertib induces cell growth inhibition in a dose-dependent fashion. Cell cycle analyses revealed that cells were accumulated in the G2/M phase and apoptosis was induced by adavosertib in the four DTC tumor cell lines. The sensitivity of adavosertib correlated with baseline Wee1 expression. In vivo studies showed that adavosertib significantly inhibited the xenograft growth of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer tumor models. Adavosertib therapy, combined with dabrafenib and trametinib, had strong synergism in vitro, and revealed robust tumor growth suppression in vivo in a xenograft model of papillary thyroid cancer harboring mutant BRAFV600E, without appreciable toxicity. Furthermore, combination of adavosertib with lenvatinib was more effective than either agent alone in a xenograft model of follicular thyroid cancer. These results show that adavosertib has the potential in treating DTC.

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Glycolipid-dependent and lectin-driven transcytosis in mouse enterocytes

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-01693-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alena Ivashenka ◽

Christian Wunder ◽

Valerie Chambon ◽

Roger Sandhoff ◽

Richard Jennemann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Basolateral Membrane ◽

Intestinal Barrier ◽

Growth Factor Signaling ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Galectin 3 ◽

Cell Adhesion And Migration ◽

Range Of Functions ◽

Mouse Intestine ◽

And Migration

AbstractGlycoproteins and glycolipids at the plasma membrane contribute to a range of functions from growth factor signaling to cell adhesion and migration. Glycoconjugates undergo endocytic trafficking. According to the glycolipid-lectin (GL-Lect) hypothesis, the construction of tubular endocytic pits is driven in a glycosphingolipid-dependent manner by sugar-binding proteins of the galectin family. Here, we provide evidence for a function of the GL-Lect mechanism in transcytosis across enterocytes in the mouse intestine. We show that galectin-3 (Gal3) and its newly identified binding partner lactotransferrin are transported in a glycosphingolipid-dependent manner from the apical to the basolateral membrane. Transcytosis of lactotransferrin is perturbed in Gal3 knockout mice and can be rescued by exogenous Gal3. Inside enterocytes, Gal3 is localized to hallmark structures of the GL-Lect mechanism, termed clathrin-independent carriers. These data pioneer the existence of GL-Lect endocytosis in vivo and strongly suggest that polarized trafficking across the intestinal barrier relies on this mechanism.

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