scholarly journals Pimavanserin: A Novel Autophagy Modulator for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5661
Author(s):  
Sharavan Ramachandran ◽  
Itishree S. Kaushik ◽  
Sanjay K. Srivastava

Pancreatic tumors exhibit high basal autophagy compared to that of other cancers. Several studies including those from our laboratory reported that enhanced autophagy leads to apoptosis in cancer cells. In this study, we evaluated the autophagy and apoptosis inducing effects of Pimavanserin tartrate (PVT). Autophagic effects of PVT were determined by Acridine Orange assay and Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis. Clinical significance of ULK1 in normal and pancreatic cancer patients was evaluated by R2 and GEPIA cancer genomic databases. Modulation of proteins in autophagy signaling was assessed by Western blotting and Immunofluorescence. Apoptotic effects of PVT was evaluated by Annexin-V/APC assay. Subcutaneous xenograft pancreatic tumor model was used to evaluate the autophagy-mediated apoptotic effects of PVT in vivo. Autophagy was induced upon PVT treatment in pancreatic ducal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells. Pancreatic cancer patients exhibit reduced levels of autophagy initiator gene, ULK1, which correlated with reduced patient survival. Interestingly, PVT induced the expression of autophagy markers ULK1, FIP200, Atg101, Beclin-1, Atg5, LC3A/B, and cleavage of caspase-3, an indicator of apoptosis in several PDAC cells. ULK1 agonist LYN-1604 enhanced the autophagic and apoptotic effects of PVT. On the other hand, autophagy inhibitors chloroquine and bafilomycin blocked the autophagic and apoptotic effects of PVT in PDAC cells. Notably, chloroquine abrogated the growth suppressive effects of PVT by 25% in BxPC3 tumor xenografts in nude mice. Collectively, our results indicate that PVT mediated pancreatic tumor growth suppression was associated with induction of autophagy mediated apoptosis.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Innamarato ◽  
Jennifer Morse ◽  
Amy Mackay ◽  
Sarah Asby ◽  
Matthew Beatty ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Chemotherapy regimens that include the utilization of gemcitabine are the standard of care in pancreatic cancer patients. However, most patients with advanced pancreatic cancer die within the first 2 years after diagnosis, even if treated with standard of care chemotherapy. This study aims to explore combination therapies that boost the efficacy of standard of care regimens in pancreatic cancer patients. Methods In this study, we used PV-10, a 10% solution of rose bengal, to induce the death of human pancreatic tumor cells in vitro. Murine in vivo studies were carried out to examine the effectiveness of the direct injection of PV-10 into syngeneic pancreatic tumor cells in causing lesion-specific ablation. Intralesional PV-10 treatment was combined with systemic gemcitabine treatment in tumor-bearing mice to investigate the control of growth among treated tumors and distal untreated tumors. The involvement of the immune-mediated clearance of tumors was examined in immunogenic tumor models that express ovalbumin (OVA). Results In this study, we demonstrate that the injection of PV-10 into mouse pancreatic tumors caused lesion-specific ablation. We show that the combination of intralesional PV-10 with the systemic administration of gemcitabine caused lesion-specific ablation and delayed the growth of untreated distal tumors. We observed that this treatment strategy was markedly more successful in immunogenic tumors that express the neoantigen, OVA, suggesting that the combination therapy enhanced the immune clearance of tumors. Moreover, the regression of tumors in mice that received PV-10 in combination with gemcitabine was associated with the depletion of splenic CD11b+Gr-1+ cells and increases in damage associated molecular patterns HMGB1, S100A8, and IL-1α. Conclusions These results demonstrate that intralesional therapy with PV-10 can enhance the efficacy gemcitabine against pancreatic tumors.


Nanophotonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Liu ◽  
Jiawen He ◽  
Ruixiang Song ◽  
Mengmeng Zhang ◽  
Lianghao Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Treatment of pancreatic cancer is faced with great difficulties and challenges due to high lethality and metastasis. Synergism of targeted therapy and immunotherapy has been considered as ideal strategy to both eliminate primary tumors and control metastases. For the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, we demonstrated a local photothermal therapy (PTT) following administration of monoclonal antibody of programmed death ligand 1 (αPD-L1). Fe2P nanorods were employed as a Fenton agent and photothermal agent, which modified with DSPE-PEG2000-Mal for improved biocompatibility and Mal mediated-antigen presentation. Under a low dose laser irradiation at 980 nm, Fe2P-PEG-Mal nanorods (NRs) mediated PTT could induce immunogenic tumor cell death that can cause dendritic cells (DCs) infiltration and maturation. In a bilateral pancreatic tumor model, the local treatment of NRs-PTT on primary tumor could cause the increased infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and decreased residential of M2 macrophages in untreated distal tumors. Furthermore, subsequently intervened αPD-L1 could enhance cell death triggered by CTLs in distal tumors through reversing immunosuppression. An orthotopic pancreatic tumor model was used to further confirm the therapeutic outcome. Finally, the combination of NRs based PTT and αPD-L1 based immunotherapy was able to significantly eliminate orthotopic pancreatic tumors and reduce mesentery metastases. Thus, the strategy may provide a more effective treatment for pancreatic cancer.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Innamarato ◽  
Jennifer Morse ◽  
Amy Mackay ◽  
Sarah Asby ◽  
Matthew Beatty ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Chemotherapy regimens that include the utilization of gemcitabine are the standard of care in pancreatic cancer patients. However, most patients with advanced pancreatic cancer die within the first 2 years after diagnosis, even when treated with standard of care chemotherapy. This study aims to explore combination therapies that could boost the efficacy of standard of care regimens in pancreatic cancer patients. Methods In this study, we used PV-10, a 10% solution of rose bengal, to induce the death of human pancreatic tumor cells in vitro. Murine in vivo studies were carried out to examine the effectiveness of the direct injection of PV-10 into syngeneic pancreatic tumors in causing lesion-specific ablation. Intralesional PV-10 treatment was combined with systemic gemcitabine treatment in tumor-bearing mice to investigate the control of growth among treated tumors and distal uninjected tumors. The involvement of the immune-mediated clearance of tumors was examined in immunogenic tumor models that express ovalbumin (OVA). Results In this study, we demonstrate that the injection of PV-10 into mouse pancreatic tumors caused lesion-specific ablation. We show that the combination of intralesional PV-10 with the systemic administration of gemcitabine caused lesion-specific ablation and delayed the growth of distal uninjected tumors. We observed that this treatment strategy was markedly more successful in immunogenic tumors that express the neoantigen OVA, suggesting that the combination therapy enhanced the immune clearance of tumors. Moreover, the regression of tumors in mice that received PV-10 in combination with gemcitabine was associated with the depletion of splenic CD11b+Gr-1+ cells and increases in damage associated molecular patterns HMGB1, S100A8, and IL-1α. Conclusions These results demonstrate that intralesional therapy with PV-10 in combination with gemcitabine can enhance anti-tumor activity against pancreatic tumors and raises the potential for this strategy to be used for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15507-e15507
Author(s):  
Bo-Kyeong Jung ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
JinWoo Hong ◽  
Eonju Oh ◽  
Chae-Ok Yun

e15507 Background: Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease. Excessive accumulation of tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype are two main contributors to drug resistance in desmoplastic pancreatic tumors. Methods: To overcome the limitations of various conventional therapeutics against desmoplastic pancreatic cancer, we utilized an oncolytic adenovirus (oAd) for combination therapy with gemcitabine, a standard chemotherapeutic for pancreatic cancer treatment. Here, we report the results of preclinical pharmacology and efficology studies conducted in pancreatic cancer model. Results: Efficacy studies in orthotopic pancreatic xenograft tumor model demonstrated that oAd effectively attenuated tumor cell proliferation. oAd further prevented metastasis of pancreatic cancer and sensitized pancreatic tumor to gemcitabine treatment. Furthermore, oAd augmented drug penetration and dispersion within pancreatic tumor xenografts and patient-derived pancreatic tumor spheroids. These results suggest that oAd enhance the therapeutic effect of chemotherapeutic agent in chemo-resistant and desmoplastic pancreatic tumor, thus overcoming the preexisting limitations of standard treatments. Conclusions: Overall, these results demonstrate that local administration of an oncolytic adenovirus with gemcitabine is well tolerated and support moving this investigational approach into human trials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 218 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Qiang ◽  
Hong Cao ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Shaun G. Weller ◽  
Eugene W. Krueger ◽  
...  

The process by which tumor cells mechanically invade through surrounding stroma into peripheral tissues is an essential component of metastatic dissemination. The directed recruitment of the metalloproteinase MT1-MMP to invadopodia plays a critical role in this invasive process. Here, we provide mechanistic insight into MT1-MMP cytoplasmic tail binding protein 1 (MTCBP-1) with respect to invadopodia formation, matrix remodeling, and invasion by pancreatic tumor cells. MTCBP-1 localizes to invadopodia and interacts with MT1-MMP. We find that this interaction displaces MT1-MMP from invadopodia, thereby attenuating their number and function and reducing the capacity of tumor cells to degrade matrix. Further, we observe an inverse correlation between MTCBP-1 and MT1-MMP expression both in cultured cell lines and human pancreatic tumors. Consistently, MTCBP-1–expressing cells show decreased ability to invade in vitro and metastasize in vivo. These findings implicate MTCBP-1 as an inhibitor of the metastatic process.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5775
Author(s):  
Hae Hyun Hwang ◽  
Hee Jeong Jeong ◽  
Sangwu Yun ◽  
Youngro Byun ◽  
Teruo Okano ◽  
...  

Pancreatic cancers are classified based on where they occur, and are grouped into those derived from exocrine and those derived from neuroendocrine tumors, thereby experiencing different anticancer effects under medication. Therefore, it is necessary to develop anticancer drugs that can inhibit both types. To this end, we developed a heparin–taurocholate conjugate, i.e., LHT, to suppress tumor growth via its antiangiogenic activity. Here, we conducted a study to determine the anticancer efficacy of LHT on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET), in an orthotopic animal model. LHT reduced not only proliferation of cancer cells, but also attenuated the production of VEGF through ERK dephosphorylation. LHT effectively reduced the migration, invasion and tube formation of endothelial cells via dephosphorylation of VEGFR, ERK1/2, and FAK protein. Especially, these effects of LHT were much stronger on PNET (RINm cells) than PDAC (PANC1 and MIA PaCa-2 cells). Eventually, LHT reduced ~50% of the tumor weights and tumor volumes of all three cancer cells in the orthotopic model, via antiproliferation of cancer cells and antiangiogenesis of endothelial cells. Interestingly, LHT had a more dominant effect in the PNET-induced tumor model than in PDAC in vivo. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that LHT could be a potential antipancreatic cancer medication, regardless of pancreatic cancer types.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (06) ◽  
pp. 1369-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bosung Kim ◽  
Eun-Yeong Kim ◽  
Eun-Ji Lee ◽  
Jung Ho Han ◽  
Chung-Hwan Kwak ◽  
...  

Among the herbal ingredients of HangAmDan-B, a medicinal formula that redirects macrophages to become tumoricidal effectors, we found that Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen is the active component responsible for its macrophage-mediated antitumor activity. The water extracted roots of P. notoginseng (PN) did not affect the viability of RAW264.7 murine macrophage-like cells and murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells up to a concentration of 100[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL. However, the transfer of culture media from PN-treated RAW264.7 cells suppressed the growth of LLC cells. The expression of classically activated (M1) markers, such as interleukin (IL)-1[Formula: see text], monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-[Formula: see text], and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), was increased by PN treatment. The expression of alternatively activated (M2) markers including CD206, IL-10, and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-acetylhexosaminidases (YM-1) was reduced by PN treatment in the presence of IL-4. Flow cytometry also revealed that PN drives M1 activation of RAW264.7 cells. The transfer of culture media from PN-treated RAW264.7 cells induced the apoptosis of LLC cells as measured by flow cytometry using Annexin-V staining and western blot analysis for caspase cascade-related proteins. In addition, the results from in vivo tumor allograft model demonstrated that PN reduced both tumor volume and weight. The activation of macrophages toward an M1 phenotype was confirmed in the tumor allograft tumor model. These results collectively show that PN can serve as a potent anticancer agent through reeducation of macrophages toward an M1 phenotype.


2006 ◽  
Vol 191 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
O A Sukocheva ◽  
D O Carpenter

The present study demonstrates that 3,5,3′-tri-iodothyronine (T3) in physiological dose range inhibits tumor necrosis factor α(TNFα)/Fas-induced apoptosis in mouse hepatocytes. T3 pretreatment prevented Fas-induced early stage of apoptosis signs assessed by flow cytometry analysis of the annexin V positive cell population. T3 attenuated TNFα/Fas-induced cleavage of caspase-8 and DNA fragmentation. We found that T3 exerted its anti-apoptotic effects by mobilization of several non-genomic mechanisms independent of transcriptional activity. Inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and Na+/H+ exchanger blocked T3-dependent anti-apoptotic effects indicating an involvement of these intracellular targets into T3-induced signaling cascade. Furthermore, physiological concentrations of T3, but not reverse T3, caused increases in intracellular cAMP content and activated PKA. T3 markedly induced phosphorylation of ERK. We also detected T3-dependent intracellular alkalinization that abolished TNFα-induced acidification. PKA inhibitor KT-5720 blocked T3-induced activation of ERK and intracellular alkalinization confirming the upstream position of PKA signaling. We further detected that hepatocytes from hypothyroid mice are more sensitive to TNFα/Fas-induced apoptosis than euthyroid animals in vivo. Together, these findings imply that T3 triggers PKA- and ERK-regulated intracellular pathways capable of driving and ensuring hepatocytes survival in the presence of death receptor ligand-induced damage under chronic inflammatory conditions.


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