scholarly journals Neuroblastoma and DIPG Organoid Coculture System for Personalized Assessment of Novel Anticancer Immunotherapies

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 869
Author(s):  
Waleed M. Kholosy ◽  
Marc Derieppe ◽  
Femke van den Ham ◽  
Kim Ober ◽  
Yan Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Cells ◽  
Drug Testing ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
In Vitro Test ◽  
Chromium Release Assay ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Coculture System

Cancer immunotherapy has transformed the landscape of adult cancer treatment and holds a great promise to treat paediatric malignancies. However, in vitro test coculture systems to evaluate the efficacy of immunotherapies on representative paediatric tumour models are lacking. Here, we describe a detailed procedure for the establishment of an ex vivo test coculture system of paediatric tumour organoids and immune cells that enables assessment of different immunotherapy approaches in paediatric tumour organoids. We provide a step-by-step protocol for an efficient generation of patient-derived diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and neuroblastoma organoids stably expressing eGFP-ffLuc transgenes using defined serum-free medium. In contrast to the chromium-release assay, the new platform allows for visualization, monitoring and robust quantification of tumour organoid cell cytotoxicity using a non-radioactive assay in real-time. To evaluate the utility of this system for drug testing in the paediatric immuno-oncology field, we tested our in vitro assay using a clinically used immunotherapy strategy for children with high-risk neuroblastoma, dinutuximab (anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody), on GD2 proficient and deficient patient-derived neuroblastoma organoids. We demonstrated the feasibility and sensitivity of our ex vivo coculture system using human immune cells and paediatric tumour organoids as ex vivo tumour models. Our study provides a novel platform for personalized testing of potential anticancer immunotherapies for aggressive paediatric cancers such as neuroblastoma and DIPG.

scholarly journals Uncoupled biological and chronological aging of neutrophils in cancer promotes tumor progression

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e003495
Author(s):  
Laura A Mittmann ◽  
Florian Haring ◽  
Johanna B Schaubächer ◽  
Roman Hennel ◽  
Bojan Smiljanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Malignant Neoplasms ◽  
Chronological Aging ◽  
Functional Changes

BackgroundBeyond their fundamental role in homeostasis and host defense, neutrophilic granulocytes (neutrophils) are increasingly recognized to contribute to the pathogenesis of malignant tumors. Recently, aging of mature neutrophils in the systemic circulation has been identified to be critical for these immune cells to properly unfold their homeostatic and anti-infectious functional properties. The role of neutrophil aging in cancer remains largely obscure.MethodsEmploying advanced in vivo microscopy techniques in different animal models of cancer as well as utilizing pulse-labeling and cell transfer approaches, various ex vivo/in vitro assays, and human data, we sought to define the functional relevance of neutrophil aging in cancer.ResultsHere, we show that signals released during early tumor growth accelerate biological aging of circulating neutrophils, hence uncoupling biological from chronological aging of these immune cells. This facilitates the accumulation of highly reactive neutrophils in malignant lesions and endows them with potent protumorigenic functions, thus promoting tumor progression. Counteracting uncoupled biological aging of circulating neutrophils by blocking the chemokine receptor CXCR2 effectively suppressed tumor growth.ConclusionsOur data uncover a self-sustaining mechanism of malignant neoplasms in fostering protumorigenic phenotypic and functional changes in circulating neutrophils. Interference with this aberrant process might therefore provide a novel, already pharmacologically targetable strategy for cancer immunotherapy.

Effects of 200cH medications on mice bone marrow cells and macrophages

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (35) ◽  
pp. 75-76
Author(s):  
Carolina De Oliveira ◽  
Ana Paula R. Abud ◽  
Eneida Da Lozzo ◽  
Raffaello Di Bernardi ◽  
Simone De Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Bone Marrow Cells ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Hematopoietic Lineage ◽  
Lineage Markers ◽  
Lachesis Muta ◽  
Nonadherent Cells ◽  
Marrow Cells

Paracelsus once wrote: "All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." Latter Hahnemann formulated the law of similars, preparations which cause certain symptoms in healthy individuals if given in diluted form to patients exhibiting similar symptoms will cure it. Highly diluted natural complexes prepared according to Hahnemann’s ancient techniques may represent a new form of immunomodulatory therapy. The lack of scientific research with highly diluted products led us to investigate the in vivo and in vitro actions of commonly used medications. Here we describe the results of experimental studies aimed at verifying the effects of Mercurius solubilis, Atropa Belladonna, Lachesis muta and Bryonia alba. All medications were at 200cH dilution. Animals were maintained for 7 days and were allowed to drink the medications, which were prepared in a way that the final dilution and agitation (200cH) was performed in drinking water. The medication bottle was changed and sucussed every afternoon. Co-culture of non treated mice bone marrow cells and in vitro treated peritoneal macrophages were also performed. After animal treatment the bone marrow cells were immunophenotyped with hematopoietic lineage markers on a flow cytometer. We have determined CD11b levels on bone marrow cells after culture and co-culture with treated macrophages and these macrophages were processed to scanning electron microscopy. We have observed by morphological changes that macrophages were activated after all treatments. Mercurius solubilis treated mice showed an increase in CD3 expression and in CD11b on nonadherent bone marrow cells after co-culture with in vitro treatment. Atropa Belladonna increased CD45R and decreased Ly-6G expression on bone marrow cells after animal treatment. Lachesis muta increased CD3, CD45R and, CD11c expression and decreased CD11b ex vivo and in nonadherent cells from co-culture. Bryonia alba increased Ly-6G, CD11c and CD11b expression ex vivo and when in co-culture CD11b was increased in adherent cells as well as decreased in nonadherent cells. With these results we have demonstrated that highly diluted medications act on immune cells activating macrophages, and changing the expression profile of hematopoietic lineage markers. Highly diluted medications are less toxic and cheaper than other commonly used medications and based on our observations, it is therefore conceivable that this medications which are able to act on bone marrow and immune cells may have a potential therapeutic use in clinical applications in diseases were the immune system is affected and also as regenerative medicine as it may allow proliferation and differentiation of progenitor cells.

scholarly journals An in-vitro assay using human spermatozoa to detect toxicity of biologically active substances

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tino Vollmer ◽  
Börje Ljungberg ◽  
Vera Jankowski ◽  
Joachim Jankowski ◽  
Griet Glorieux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Human Spermatozoa ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Cellular Behavior ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Set Up

Abstract Identifying the key toxic players within an in-vivo toxic syndrome is crucial to develop targeted therapies. Here, we established a novel method that characterizes the effect of single substances by means of an ex-vivo incubation set-up. We found that primary human spermatozoa elicit a distinct motile response on a (uremic) toxic milieu. Specifically, this approach describes the influence of a bulk toxic environment (uremia) as well as single substances (uremic toxins) by real-time analyzing motile cellular behavior. We established the human spermatozoa-based toxicity testing (HSTT) for detecting single substance-induced toxicity to be used as a screening tool to identify in-vivo toxins. Further, we propose an application of the HSTT as a method of clinical use to evaluate toxin-removing interventions (hemodialysis).

scholarly journals Extracellular vesicles engineered with valency-controlled DNA nanostructures deliver CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene therapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (16) ◽  
pp. 8870-8882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialang Zhuang ◽  
Jizhou Tan ◽  
Chenglin Wu ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Ting Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Primary Liver Cancer ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dna Aptamer ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Tumor Growth Inhibition ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Dna Nanostructures

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold great promise for transporting CRISPR–Cas9 RNA-guided endonucleases (RNP) throughout the body. However, the cell-selective delivery of EVs is still a challenge. Here, we designed valency-controlled tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) conjugated with DNA aptamer, and loaded the valency-controlled TDNs on EV surface via cholesterol anchoring for specific cell targeting. The targeting efficacy of different ratios of aptamer/cholesterol from 1:3 to 3:1 in TDNs on decorating EVs was investigated. TDNs with one aptamer and three cholesterol anchors (TDN1) efficiently facilitated the tumor-specific accumulation of the EVs in cultured HepG2 cells and human primary liver cancer-derived organoids, as well as xenograft tumor models. The intracellular delivery of RNP by TDN1-EVs successfully realized its subsequent genome editing, leading to the downregulation of GFP or WNT10B in specific cells. This system was ultimately applied to reduce the protein expression of WNT10B, which presented remarkable tumor growth inhibition in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo, and could be extended to other therapeutic targets. The present study provides a platform for the directional display of aptamer on surface labeling and the EVs-based Cas9 delivery, which provides a meaningful idea for future cell-selective gene editing.

Development and Application of a Transcriptomic Signature of Bioactivation in an Advanced In Vitro Liver Model to Reduce Drug-induced Liver Injury Risk Early in the Pharmaceutical Pipeline

2020 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Kang ◽  
Alexei A Podtelezhnikov ◽  
Keith Q Tanis ◽  
Stephen Pacchione ◽  
Ming Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liver Injury ◽  
Human Model ◽  
Reactive Metabolites ◽  
In Vitro Test ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Drug Induced Liver Injury ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Transcriptomic Signature

Abstract Early risk assessment of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) potential for drug candidates remains a major challenge for pharmaceutical development. We have previously developed a set of rat liver transcriptional biomarkers in short-term toxicity studies to inform the potential of drug candidates to generate a high burden of chemically reactive metabolites that presents higher risk for human DILI. Here, we describe translation of those NRF1-/NRF2-mediated liver tissue biomarkers to an in vitro assay using an advanced micropatterned coculture system (HEPATOPAC) with primary hepatocytes from male Wistar Han rats. A 9-day, resource-sparing and higher throughput approach designed to identify new chemical entities with lower reactive metabolite-forming potential was qualified for internal decision making using 93 DILI-positive and -negative drugs. This assay provides 81% sensitivity and 90% specificity in detecting hepatotoxicants when a positive test outcome is defined as the bioactivation signature score of a test drug exceeding the threshold value at an in vitro test concentration that falls within 3-fold of the estimated maximum drug concentration at the human liver inlet following highest recommended clinical dose administrations. Using paired examples of compounds from distinct chemical series and close structural analogs, we demonstrate that this assay can differentiate drugs with lower DILI risk. The utility of this in vitro transcriptomic approach was also examined using human HEPATOPAC from a single donor, yielding 68% sensitivity and 86% specificity when the aforementioned criteria are applied to the same 93-drug test set. Routine use of the rat model has been adopted with deployment of the human model as warranted on a case-by-case basis. This in vitro transcriptomic signature-based strategy can be used early in drug discovery to derisk DILI potential from chemically reactive metabolites by guiding structure-activity relationship hypotheses and candidate selection.

scholarly journals GABAA receptor α4-subunit knockout enhances lung inflammation and airway reactivity in a murine asthma model

2017 ◽  
Vol 313 (2) ◽  
pp. L406-L415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene T. Yocum ◽  
Damian L. Turner ◽  
Jennifer Danielsson ◽  
Matthew B. Barajas ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cell ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Asthma Model

Emerging evidence indicates that hypnotic anesthetics affect immune function. Many anesthetics potentiate γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR) activation, and these receptors are expressed on multiple subtypes of immune cells, providing a potential mechanistic link. Like immune cells, airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells also express GABAARs, particularly isoforms containing α4-subunits, and activation of these receptors leads to ASM relaxation. We sought to determine if GABAAR signaling modulates the ASM contractile and inflammatory phenotype of a murine allergic asthma model utilizing GABAAR α4-subunit global knockout (KO; Gabra40/0) mice. Wild-type (WT) and Gabra4 KO mice were sensitized with house dust mite (HDM) antigen or exposed to PBS intranasally 5 days/wk for 3 wk. Ex vivo tracheal rings from HDM-sensitized WT and Gabra4 KO mice exhibited similar magnitudes of acetylcholine-induced contractile force and isoproterenol-induced relaxation ( P = not significant; n = 4). In contrast, in vivo airway resistance (flexiVent) was significantly increased in Gabra4 KO mice ( P < 0.05, n = 8). Moreover, the Gabra4 KO mice demonstrated increased eosinophilic lung infiltration ( P < 0.05; n = 4) and increased markers of lung T-cell activation/memory (CD62L low, CD44 high; P < 0.01, n = 4). In vitro, Gabra4 KO CD4+ cells produced increased cytokines and exhibited increased proliferation after stimulation of the T-cell receptor as compared with WT CD4+ cells. These data suggest that the GABAAR α4-subunit plays a role in immune cell function during allergic lung sensitization. Thus GABAAR α4-subunit-specific agonists have the therapeutic potential to treat asthma via two mechanisms: direct ASM relaxation and inhibition of airway inflammation.

scholarly journals Optimized cell culture conditions promote ex-vivo manipulation and expansion of primitive hematopoietic stem cells for therapeutic gene editing.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev Rai ◽  
Winston Vetharoy ◽  
Asma Naseem ◽  
Zohar Steinberg ◽  
Adrian James Thrasher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Editing ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Monogenic Diseases

During the last few years, gene editing has emerged as a powerful tool for the therapeutic correction of monogenic diseases. CRISPR/Cas9 applied to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) has shown great promise in proof-of-principle preclinical studies to treat haematological disorders, and clinical trials using these tools are now underway. Nonetheless, there remain important challenges that need to be addressed, such as the efficiency of targeting primitive, long-term repopulating HSPCs and expand them in vitro for clinical purposes. Here we have tested the effect exerted by different culture media compositions on the ability of HSPCs to proliferate and undergo homology directed repair-mediated knock-in of a reporter gene, while preserving their stemness features during ex-vivo culture. We tested different combinations of compounds and demonstrated that by supplementing the culture media with inhibitors of histone deacetylases, and/or by fine-tuning its cytokine composition it is possible to achieve high levels of gene targeting in long-term repopulating HSPCs both in vitro and in vivo, with a beneficial balance between preservation of stemness and cell expansion, thus allowing to obtain a significant amount of edited, primitive HSPCs compared to established, state-of-the-art culture conditions. Overall, the implantation of this optimized ex vivo HSPC culture protocol will improve the efficacy, feasibility and applicability of gene editing and will likely provide one step further to unlock the full therapeutic potential of such powerful technology.

scholarly journals Modeling Prostate Cancer Treatment Responses in the Organoid Era: 3D Environment Impacts Drug Testing

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1572
Author(s):  
Annelies Van Hemelryk ◽  
Lisanne Mout ◽  
Sigrun Erkens-Schulze ◽  
Pim J. French ◽  
Wytske M. van Weerden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Treatment Effect ◽  
Drug Testing ◽  
Nuclear Translocation ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
3D Scaffolds ◽  
The Impact

Organoid-based studies have revolutionized in vitro preclinical research and hold great promise for the cancer research field, including prostate cancer (PCa). However, experimental variability in organoid drug testing complicates reproducibility. For example, we observed PCa organoids to be less affected by cabazitaxel, abiraterone and enzalutamide as compared to corresponding single cells prior to organoid assembly. We hypothesized that three-dimensional (3D) organoid organization and the use of various 3D scaffolds impact treatment efficacy. Live-cell imaging of androgen-induced androgen receptor (AR) nuclear translocation and taxane-induced tubulin stabilization was used to investigate the impact of 3D scaffolds, spatial organoid distribution and organoid size on treatment effect. Scaffolds delayed AR translocation and tubulin stabilization, with Matrigel causing a more pronounced delay than synthetic hydrogel as well as incomplete tubulin stabilization. Drug effect was further attenuated the more centrally organoids were located in the scaffold dome. Moreover, cells in the organoid core revealed a delayed treatment effect compared to cells in the organoid periphery, underscoring the impact of organoid size. These findings indicate that analysis of organoid drug responses needs careful interpretation and requires dedicated read-outs with consideration of underlying technical aspects.

mTOR inhibition by metformin impacts monosodium urate crystal–induced inflammation and cell death in gout: a prelude to a new add-on therapy?

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Vazirpanah ◽  
Andrea Ottria ◽  
Maarten van der Linden ◽  
Catharina G K Wichers ◽  
Mark Schuiveling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Mtor Pathway ◽  
Monosodium Urate ◽  
Mtor Inhibition ◽  
Msu Crystals

ObjectiveGout is the most common inflammatory arthritis worldwide, and patients experience a heavy burden of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The inflammation is caused by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in tissues, especially in the joints, triggering immune cells to mount an inflammatory reaction. Recently, it was shown that MSU crystals can induce mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling in monocytes encountering these crystals in vitro. The mTOR pathway is strongly implicated in cardiovascular and metabolic disease. We hypothesised that inhibiting this pathway in gout might be a novel avenue of treatment in these patients, targeting both inflammation and comorbidities.Methods We used a translational approach starting from ex vivo to in vitro and back to in vivo.ResultsWe show that ex vivo immune cells from patients with gout exhibit higher expression of the mTOR pathway, which we can mimic in vitro by stimulating healthy immune cells (B lymphocytes, monocytes, T lymphocytes) with MSU crystals. Monocytes are the most prominent mTOR expressers. By using live imaging, we demonstrate that monocytes, on encountering MSU crystals, initiate cell death and release a wide array of proinflammatory cytokines. By inhibiting mTOR signalling with metformin or rapamycin, a reduction of cell death and release of inflammatory mediators was observed. Consistent with this, we show that patients with gout who are treated with the mTOR inhibitor metformin have a lower frequency of gout attacks.ConclusionsWe propose mTOR inhibition as a novel therapeutic target of interest in gout treatment.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the In Vitro Pyrogen Test System Based on Proinflammatory Cytokine Release from Human Monocytes: Comparison with a Human Whole Blood Culture Test System and with the Rabbit Pyrogen Test

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 588-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukari Nakagawa ◽  
Hideko Maeda ◽  
Toshimi Murai
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Proinflammatory Cytokine ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Test System ◽  
In Vitro Test ◽  
Cytokine Release ◽  
Human Whole Blood ◽  
Culture Test

ABSTRACT The reliability of an in vitro pyrogen test system based on proinflammatory cytokine release from human monocytic cells was assessed by comparison with a test system based on a human whole blood culture as well as with the conventional rabbit pyrogen test. The human cells used as the pyrogen indicator cells were newly selected by subcloning of a human monocytic cell line, Mono-Mac-6. The selected cells, named MM6-CA8, responded to various pyrogens, including endotoxin, peptidoglycan (PG), Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 (SAC), and poly(I ·  C), with a high sensitivity and produced proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Among these cytokines, IL-6 was produced most sensitively in response to traces of the pyrogens and detected in the largest quantities in the culture medium. The cytokine-producing responses of MM6-CA8 cells correlated significantly with the responses of cultured human whole blood, which represents an ex vivo culture test system reproducing pyrogen-induced cytokine production in the human body. In terms of cytokine inducibility, the pyrogens were ranked in the order endotoxin > PG > poly (I · C) > SAC in both culture systems, a ranking which almost agreed with the ranking of their pyrogenicity as assessed by the rabbit pyrogen test. These results suggest that the in vitro responsiveness of MM6-CA8 cells to various pyrogens is highly relevant for human pyrogenic reactions. Therefore, the in vitro test system is useful and reliable for detecting the presence of materials that are pyrogenic for humans.

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