Antitumor Effect of Sclerostin against Osteosarcoma

Various risk factors and causative genes of osteosarcoma have been reported in the literature; however, its etiology remains largely unknown. Bone formation is a shared phenomenon in all types of osteosarcomas, and sclerostin is an extracellular soluble factor secreted by osteocytes that prevents bone formation by inhibiting the Wnt signaling pathway. We aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of sclerostin against osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma model mice were prepared by transplantation into the dorsal region of C3H/He and BALB/c-nu/nu mice using osteosarcoma cell lines LM8 (murine) and 143B (human), respectively. Cell proliferations were evaluated by using alamarBlue and scratch assays. The migratory ability of the cells was evaluated using a migration assay. Sclerostin was injected intraperitoneally for 7 days to examine the suppression of tumor size and extension of survival. The administration of sclerostin to osteosarcoma cells significantly inhibited the growth and migratory ability of osteosarcoma cells. Kaplan–Meier curves and survival data demonstrated that sclerostin significantly inhibited tumor growth and improved survival. Sclerostin suppressed the proliferative capacity and migratory ability of osteosarcoma cells. Osteosarcoma model mice inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival periods by the administration of sclerostin. The effect of existing anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin should be investigated for future clinical applications.

Cytologic and Histologic Findings of Nephroblastoma in a Captive Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

A 97-year-old, male, captive desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ) had a 2 month history of lethargy. Imaging with ultrasound, X-ray, and computed tomography revealed a 10-cm-diameter mass in the caudal coelom. Fine needle aspiration revealed spindle and epithelial cell proliferations with formation of rosettes. Exploratory surgery was performed and the mass was removed and submitted for pathology. There was no evidence of metastasis on imaging or at surgery. Histology revealed a mass arising from and compressing the kidney. The mass was composed of primitive glomeruli, tubules, blastemal cells, and mesenchymal cells, features that are diagnostic for nephroblastoma. Tubules were reactive to cytokeratin and mesenchymal cells were reactive to desmin via immunohistochemistry; other immunohistochemical markers were either negative (i.e. S-100) or non-contributory (i.e. epithelial membrane antigen, myogenin, vimentin, and Wilms’ Tumor 1). This is the first report of nephroblastoma in a chelonian.

Enhanced proliferation of rabbit chondrocytes by using a well circulated nanoshock system

The gold nanorods (GNRs) embedded alginate-chitosan (scaffold), which was designed and fabricated to produce efficient handling of the cell proliferations. Scaffold embedded GNR (SGNR) and NIR (near infrared) irradiations are developing into an interesting medical prognosis tool for rabbit chondrocyte (RC) proliferation. SGNR contained a pattern of uniform pores. Biocompatibility and cellular proliferation achieved by disclosures to NIR irradiations, providing high cell survival. SGNR and NIR irradiations could produce mechanical and biochemical cues for regulating RCs proliferations. To determine the thermal stress, it exposed RCs to 39–42 °C for 0–240 min at the start point of the cell culture cycle. It produced photothermal stress in cellular surrounding (cells located adjacent to and within scaffold) and it deals with the proliferation behavior of RC. All the processes were modeled with experimental criteria and time evolution process. Our system could help the cell proliferation by generating heat for cells. Hence, the present strategy could be implemented for supporting cell therapeutics after transplantation. This implementation would open new design techniques for integrating the interfaces between NIR irradiated and non-irradiated tissues.

MicroRNA as a Prognostic and Diagnostic Marker in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a biologically and genetically heterogeneous disease with a poor prognosis overall and several subtypes. The neoplastic transformation takes place through the accumulation of numerous genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. There are only a few prognostic factors in comparison to B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is characterized by a lower variability and more homogeneous course. The microarray and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies exploring the coding and non-coding part of the genome allow us to reveal the complexity of the genomic and transcriptomic background of T-ALL. miRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of cellular functions: cell proliferations, apoptosis, migrations, and many other processes. No miRNA has become a significant prognostic and diagnostic factor in T-ALL to date; therefore, this topic of investigation is extremely important, and T-ALL is the subject of intensive research among scientists. The altered expression of many genes in T-ALL might also be caused by wide miRNA dysregulation. The following review focuses on summarizing and characterizing the microRNAs of pediatric patients with T-ALL diagnosis and their potential future use as predictive factors.

Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma: Molecular Characterization of Clonal T and B-Cells and a Patient Derived Xenograft Model of Coexisting T and B-Cell Proliferations

Introduction: Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare and aggressive type of lymphoma that accounts for about 20% of peripheral T-cell lymphomas with a 5 year overall survival rate of 30%. As most patients relapse after anthracycline-containing regimens and newer agents such as histone deacetylase inhibitors, other novel therapeutic approaches are needed. Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule F7 (SLAMF7), a molecule expressed on a subset of T-cells, activated B cells and myeloma cells, is an attractive target to explore based on our previous studies showing SLAMF7 expression in a subset of AITL cases. The association of AITL with Epstein Barr virus (EBV) positive B-cells is nearly always present and the efficacy of treatment in such patients with significant EBV viral load is not well-understood. In this study, we performed the molecular characterization of an aggressive EBV+ AITL case, established a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) AITL model of coexisting T and B-cell proliferations and evaluated novel therapeutic strategies. Methods: Primary tumor cells were injected into a NSG mouse. Flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry (IHC), CISH-EBER and BIOMED 2 PCR based clonality studies were used to confirm the engraftment and compared the consistency of engrafted tumor cells with the primary sample. Genomic DNA extracted from sorted T and B cells and from paired normal neutrophils of the original patient were subjected to Whole Exome sequencing (WES). In vivo AITL PDX model trials were tested for the efficacy of romidepsin (Rom), elotuzumab (Elo), rituximab (Rit) and in combinations of these drugs. Results: A 53 year old woman with AITL was treated with 6 cycles of CHOEP followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. 3 months after transplantation (9 months after diagnosis) she developed progressive fatigue and arthralgias. PET-CT scan showed new cervical, thoracic, abdominal and pelvic lymphadenopathy. A cervical lymph node biopsy was performed to confirm relapse. IHC staining showed atypical T cells expressing CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, CD7, CD10, BCL6, PD1, SLAMF7 and CXCL13. Scattered CD20+/EBER+ B-immunoblasts were present with focal large clusters/small sheets. Primary tumor cells engrafted in NSG mouse via tail vein injection caused splenomegaly. Flow cytometry assay demonstrated the engraftment of tumor cells in peripheral blood, bone marrow and spleen tissue. CD3+CD19- cells dominated the engrafted cells in all three tissues. Histologic examination and immunophenotyping (IHC and EBER staining) of spleen were consistent with primary tumor tissue. Engrafted tumor cells were capable of serial passage in NSG mice with an increasing malignant B cell percentage that mimics the situation in which the B-cell component masks an underlying T-cell lymphoma in humans. T-cell receptor gene rearrangement assay confirmed the clonal identity of engrafted T-cells matched the primary relapsed tumor. A clonal IGH rearrangement of engrafted B-cells was also detected, while no monoclonal B-cell population was detected in the relapsed AITL sample, possibly due to the low number of EBV+ B-cells present in that biopsy. WES of sorted malignant T-cells showed 33 mutants in 31genes, including RhoA G17V, TET2,STAT3 and VAV1, previously described in AITL or other T-cell lymphomas. In parallel WES assay, 9 mutations were found in 9 genes from sorted EBV+ B immunoblasts. A PDX model using cells harvested from the second passage showed single agent, Elo or Rit, extended the survival of mice compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Rom alone had no such effect (p = 0.27). Combination of Rit with either Elo or Rom further improved survival compared to each single agent exposed cohort (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between Rit/Elo and Rit/Rom (p = 0.067). PARP cleavage by IHC was higher in the Rit/Rom and Rit/Elo groups compared to other cohorts. Expression of SLAMF7 in a subset of engrafted T and B cells of the control mouse were confirmed via flow cytometry assay. Conclusions: To date, this is the first molecular characterization of AITL tumor cells in comparison with associated EBV+ B cells and use of such a PDX model for therapeutic evaluation of agents targeting both malignant T and B cells simultaneously. The in vivo data support further clinical investigation of applying elotuzumab or romidepsin in combination with rituximab in AITL containing EBV-positive B-cell proliferations. Disclosures Maciejewski: Novartis: Consultancy; Alexion: Consultancy. Hsi:Abbvie: Research Funding; Eli Lilly: Research Funding; Jazz: Consultancy; Cleveland Clinic&Abbvie Biotherapeutics Inc: Patents & Royalties: US8,603,477 B2.