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Although radiotherapy (RT) decreases the incidence of locoregional recurrence in breast cancer, patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have increased risk of local recurrence following breast-conserving therapy. The relationship between RT and local recurrence is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that recurrence in some instances is due to the attraction of circulating tumor cells to irradiated tissues. To evaluate the effect of absolute lymphocyte count on local recurrence after RT in patients with TNBC, we analyzed radiation effects on tumor and immune cell recruitment to tissues in an orthotopic breast cancer model. Recurrent patients exhibited a prolonged low absolute lymphocyte count when compared with nonrecurrent patients following RT. Recruitment of tumor cells to irradiated normal tissues was enhanced in the absence of CD8+ T cells. Macrophages (CD11b+F480+) preceded tumor cell infiltration and were recruited to tissues following RT. Tumor cell recruitment was mitigated by inhibiting macrophage infiltration using maraviroc, an FDA-approved CCR5 receptor antagonist. Our work poses the intriguing possibility that excessive macrophage infiltration in the absence of lymphocytes promotes local recurrence after RT. This combination thus defines a high-risk group of patients with TNBC.Significance: This study establishes the importance of macrophages in driving tumor cell recruitment to sites of local radiation therapy and suggests that this mechanism contributes to local recurrence in women with TNBC that are also immunosuppressed.Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/15/4241/F1.large.jpg. Cancer Res; 78(15); 4241–52. ©2018 AACR.

CCR Translation for This Article from Hypoxia in Models of Lung Cancer: Implications for Targeted Therapeutics

Purpose: To efficiently translate experimental methods from bench to bedside, it is imperative that laboratory models of cancer mimic human disease as closely as possible. In this study, we sought to compare patterns of hypoxia in several standard and emerging mouse models of lung cancer to establish the appropriateness of each for evaluating the role of oxygen in lung cancer progression and therapeutic response.Experimental Design: Subcutaneous and orthotopic human A549 lung carcinomas growing in nude mice as well as spontaneous K-ras or Myc-induced lung tumors grown in situ or subcutaneously were studied using fluorodeoxyglucose and fluoroazomycin arabinoside positron emission tomography, and postmortem by immunohistochemical observation of the hypoxia marker pimonidazole. The response of these models to the hypoxia-activated cytotoxin PR-104 was also quantified by the formation of γH2AX foci in vitro and in vivo. Finally, our findings were compared with oxygen electrode measurements of human lung cancers.Results: Minimal fluoroazomycin arabinoside and pimonidazole accumulation was seen in tumors growing within the lungs, whereas subcutaneous tumors showed substantial trapping of both hypoxia probes. These observations correlated with the response of these tumors to PR-104, and with the reduced incidence of hypoxia in human lung cancers relative to other solid tumor types.Conclusions: These findings suggest that in situ models of lung cancer in mice may be more reflective of the human disease, and encourage judicious selection of preclinical tumor models for the study of hypoxia imaging and antihypoxic cell therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 16(19); 4843–52. ©2010 AACR.

Table S1 summarizes the patient radiation and chemotherapy conditions. Figure S1 shows that viable tumor cells are recruited to the MFP following RT. Figure S2 shows that tumor cell recruitment is dose dependent. Figure S3 shows tumor growth curves and lung metastasis after RT. Figure S4 confirms CD4+ and CD8+ T cell depletion in BALB/c mice. Figure S5 presents overall mouse health following MFP RT. Figure S6 illustrates that irradiation of normal cells enhances in vitro cancer cell invasion. Figure S7 evaluates CD8+ T cell infiltration in irradiated normal tissues. Figure S8 shows immune cell infiltration following RT in Nu/Nu mice. Figure S9 shows immune cell infiltration kinetics in BALB/c mice. Figure S10 shows that secreted factors from macrophages influence tumor cell invasion and chemotaxis and that blocking these factors results in a decrease in tumor cell recruitment in vivo. Figure S11 evaluates systemic cytokines following RT.

The physico-chemical and biological response to conventional and UHDR electron and proton beams was investigated, along with conventional photons. The temporal structure and nature of the beam affected both, with electron beam at ≥1400 Gy/s and proton beam at 0.1 and 1260 Gy/s found to be isoefficient at sparing zebrafish embryos.

Hypoxia plays a critical role in tumor progression including invasion and metastasis. To determine critical genes regulated by hypoxia that promote invasion and metastasis, we screen fifty hypoxia inducible genes for their effects on invasion. In this study, we identify v-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog F (MAFF) as a potent regulator of tumor invasion without affecting cell viability. MAFF expression is elevated in metastatic breast cancer patients and is specifically correlated with hypoxic tumors. Combined ChIP- and RNA-sequencing identifies IL11 as a direct transcriptional target of the heterodimer between MAFF and BACH1, which leads to activation of STAT3 signaling. Inhibition of IL11 results in similar levels of metastatic suppression as inhibition of MAFF. This study demonstrates the oncogenic role of MAFF as an activator of the IL11/STAT3 pathways in breast cancer., Hypoxia plays a critical role in tumor progression including invasion and metastasis. Here, the authors screened several hypoxia inducible genes and identified the oncogenic role of MAFF in breast cancer metastasis and that it activates IL11/STAT3 pathway.

Introduction: Cancer cells can escape tumor-specific T cell responses via engagement of inhibitory immune checkpoints. PD-L1/PD-1 interaction is one of the major checkpoints that limit effector T cell function against cancer cells, and monoclonal antibodies that block this interaction have been approved as therapies in multiple tumor indications. As a next generation therapy, small molecule inhibitors of PD-L1 potentially have advantageous properties compared to approved monoclonal antibodies, such as better penetration into solid tumors, reduced immunogenicity, lack of Fc-mediated side effects, convenience of oral administration, and lower cost of goods. We therefore embarked on an effort to identify and develop an orally available small molecule capable of targeting PD-L1/PD-1 interactions. Methods: Inhibition of the PD-L1/PD-1 interaction was measured using a binding assay, followed by a cell culture system assessing PD-1 inhibition of T cell receptor (TCR) activation. Human T cell responses were assessed in vitro using the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) assay, and a human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-mediated tumor cell killing assay. For in vivo studies CCX559 was dosed orally in a syngeneic tumor model and in a human tumor cell/PBMC co-implantation model in immune deficient mice. Results: Using structural information and focused medicinal chemistry, we identified CCX559 as a potent inhibitor of PD-L1 interaction with PD-1. CCX559 prevented PD-L1/PD-1 inhibition of TCR signaling in a cell-based reporter assay, increased IFNγ secretion in allogeneic MLR assays, and increased tumor cell killing by human PBMCs. We demonstrated that CCX559 potentially employs multiple mechanisms to inhibit PD-L1, which are distinct from those published for human anti-PD-L1 antibodies. In murine tumor models, orally administered CCX559 reduced tumor growth similarly to a clinically-approved anti-human PD-L1 antibody. Summary: CCX559 is a highly potent, small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor that can be orally administered. CCX559 enhanced primary human T cell activity in vitro and demonstrated anti-tumor efficacy in two murine tumor models. Based on its unique mechanism of PD-L1 inhibition, strong anti-tumor activity, desirable drug properties, and good safety profile, we plan to advance CCX559 into clinical development in the first half of 2021. Citation Format: Chris Li, Marta Vilalta, Linda S. Ertl, Yu Wang, Yibin Zeng, Pingchen Fan, Christopher Lange, Darren McMurtrie, Ju Yang, Rebecca Lui, Ryan Scamp, Vicky Chhina, Alice Kumamoto, Ryan Ong, Ton Dang, Ashton Easterday, Niky Zhao, Shirley Liu, Rajinder Singh, Israel Charo, Kathleen Sullivan, Thomas J. Schall, Penglie Zhang. CCX559 is a potent orally-administered small molecule PD-L1 inhibitor that induces anti-tumor immunity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1274.

PurposePreclinical studies of hypoxia are generally done using ectopic xenograft tumors, which behave differently from human tumors. Our previous findings have shown that subcutaneously implanted lung tumors exhibit more hypoxia than their orthotopic implanted or spontaneous K-ras-induced counterparts. We hypothesize that differences in hypoxia are due to site-specific differences in vascularity and perfusion.ProceduresTo compare the presence and functionality of vessels in these tumor models, we studied vascular perfusion in vivo in real time.ResultsOrthotopically implanted and spontaneous K-ras-induced lung tumors showed elevated perfusion, demonstrating vasculature functionality. Little contrast agent uptake was observed within the subcutaneously implanted tumors, indicating vascular dysfunction. These findings were corroborated at the microscopic level with Hoechst 33342 and Meca-32 staining.ConclusionsFrom these observations, we concluded that differences in hypoxia in experimental models is related to vessel perfusion. Thus, appropriate selection of preclinical lung tumor models is essential for the study of hypoxia, angiogenesis and therapies targeting these phenomena.

Breast cancer cells frequently home to the bone marrow, where they may enter a dormant state before forming a bone metastasis. Several members of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine family are implicated in breast cancer bone colonization, but the role for the IL-6 cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in this process is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that LIF provides a pro-dormancy signal to breast cancer cells in the bone. In breast cancer patients, LIF receptor (LIFR) levels are lower with bone metastases and are significantly and inversely correlated with patient outcome and hypoxia gene activity. Hypoxia also reduces the LIFR:STAT3:SOCS3 signalling pathway in breast cancer cells. Loss of the LIFR or STAT3 enables otherwise dormant breast cancer cells to downregulate dormancy-, quiescence- and cancer stem cell-associated genes, and to proliferate in and specifically colonize the bone, suggesting that LIFR:STAT3 signalling confers a dormancy phenotype in breast cancer cells disseminated to bone.

It is well known that tumor cells migrate from the primary lesion to distant sites to form metastases and that these lesions limit patient outcome in a majority of cases. However, the extent to which radiation influences this process and to which migration in turn alters radiation response remains controversial. There are preclinical and clinical reports showing that focal radiotherapy can both increase the development of distant metastasis, as well as that it can induce the regression of established metastases through the abscopal effect. More recently, preclinical studies have suggested that radiation can attract migrating tumor cells and may, thereby, facilitate tumor recurrence. In this review, we summarize these phenomena and their potential mechanisms of action, and evaluate their significance for modern radiation therapy strategies.

Introduction: Antibody-based therapies targeting the Programmed cell Death-1/ Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) immune checkpoint axis have achieved great success in cancer immunotherapy in recent years. As a next generation therapy, small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 offer the potential for increased tumor penetration, shorter half-life (to better manage immune related adverse events), and lower cost. We therefore embarked on an effort to identify and develop orally available small molecules capable of targeting PD-L1. Methods: We designed and optimized a number of small molecule PD-L1 inhibitors which potently disrupted the interaction of PD-1 with PD-L1. Active compounds were first profiled by an ELISA assay measuring inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction, followed by a functional cell-based reporter assay, mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) assay, and human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-mediated tumor cell killing assay. Targeted medicinal chemistry efforts were employed to improve potency and oral bioavailability, and candidate compounds were then evaluated in murine tumor models. Due to the specific reactivity of these compounds to human PD-L1 (but not murine PD-L1), a syngeneic tumor model with murine MC-38 colon tumor cells expressing human PD-L1 (MC38-hPD-L1 tumor model) was used. Results: The optimized PD-L1 inhibitors were highly potent in cell-based reporter assay, the MLR assay and PBMC-mediated tumor cell killing assays. These compounds also possess high oral bioavailability and desirable safety profiles. In the MC38-hPD-L1 tumor model, Lead compounds potently reduced tumor growth similarly to an anti-human PD-L1 antibody, which was used as a positive control for the experiments. The tumor microenvironment analysis by flow cytometry demonstrated that these compounds almost completely occupied human PD-L1 on the tumor cells in vivo, and thus could potently block the interaction of PD-1/PD-L1 and enhance the immune responses against tumor. Summary: We have identified and advanced unique small molecule inhibitors of human PD-L1 by rational design and optimization. Molecules resulting from these efforts exhibited marked inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and signaling in vitro, and potent anti-tumor effects in an animal model. Citation Format: Shijie "Chris" Li, Marta Vilalta, Linda S. Ertl, Yu Wang, Yibin Zeng, Pingchen Fan, Christopher Lange, Darren McMurtrie, Ju Yang, Rebecca Lui, Ryan Ong, Vicky Chhina, Alice Kumamoto, Simon Yau, Ton Dang, Ashton Easterday, Shirley Liu, Rajinder Singh, Israel Charo, Thomas J. Schall, Penglie Zhang. Anti-tumor effect of orally available small molecule PD-L1 inhibitors in a murine model of colon adenocarcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5693.

Although radiotherapy (RT) decreases the incidence of locoregional recurrence in breast cancer, patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have increased risk of local recurrence following breast-conserving therapy. The relationship between RT and local recurrence is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that recurrence in some instances is due to the attraction of circulating tumor cells to irradiated tissues. To evaluate the effect of absolute lymphocyte count on local recurrence after RT in patients with TNBC, we analyzed radiation effects on tumor and immune cell recruitment to tissues in an orthotopic breast cancer model. Recurrent patients exhibited a prolonged low absolute lymphocyte count when compared with nonrecurrent patients following RT. Recruitment of tumor cells to irradiated normal tissues was enhanced in the absence of CD8+ T cells. Macrophages (CD11b+F480+) preceded tumor cell infiltration and were recruited to tissues following RT. Tumor cell recruitment was mitigated by inhibiting macrophage infiltration using maraviroc, an FDA-approved CCR5 receptor antagonist. Our work poses the intriguing possibility that excessive macrophage infiltration in the absence of lymphocytes promotes local recurrence after RT. This combination thus defines a high-risk group of patients with TNBC. Significance: This study establishes the importance of macrophages in driving tumor cell recruitment to sites of local radiation therapy and suggests that this mechanism contributes to local recurrence in women with TNBC that are also immunosuppressed. Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/78/15/4241/F1.large.jpg. Cancer Res; 78(15); 4241–52. ©2018 AACR.

Recently it has been observed in preclinical models that that radiation enhances the recruitment of circulating tumor cells to primary tumors, and results in tumor regrowth after treatment. This process may have implications for clinical radiotherapy, which improves control of a number of tumor types but which, despite continued dose escalation and aggressive fractionation, is unable to fully prevent local recurrences. By irradiating a single tumor within an animal bearing multiple lesions, we observed an increase in tumor cell migration to irradiated and unirradiated sites, suggesting a systemic component to this process. Previous work has identified the cytokine GM-CSF, produced by tumor cells following irradiation, as a key effector of this process. We evaluated the ability of systemic injections of a PEGylated form of GM-CSF to stimulate tumor cell migration. While increases in invasion and migration were observed for tumor cells in a transwell assay, we found that daily injections of PEG-GM-CSF to tumor-bearing animals did not increase migration of cells to tumors, despite the anticipated changes in circulating levels of granulocytes and monocytes produced by this treatment. Combination of PEG-GM-CSF treatment with radiation also did not increase tumor cell migration. These findings suggest that clinical use of GM-CSF to treat neutropenia in cancer patients will not have negative effects on the aggressiveness of residual cancer cells. However, further work is needed to characterize the mechanism by which GM-CSF facilitates systemic recruitment of trafficking tumor cells to tumors.

Scaffold proteins are critical hubs within cells that have the ability to modulate upstream signaling molecules and their downstream effectors to fine-tune biological responses. Although they can serve as focal points for association of signaling molecules and downstream pathways that regulate tumorigenesis, little is known about how the tumor microenvironment affects the expression and activity of scaffold proteins. This study demonstrates that hypoxia, a common element of solid tumors harboring low oxygen levels, regulates expression of a specific variant of the scaffold protein AKAP12 (A-kinase anchor protein 12), AKAP12v2, in metastatic melanoma. In turn, through a kinome-wide phosphoproteomic and MS study, we demonstrate that this scaffolding protein regulates a shift in protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation events under hypoxia, causing alterations in tumor cell invasion and migration in vitro, as well as metastasis in an in vivo orthotopic model of melanoma. Mechanistically, the shift in AKAP12-dependent PKA-mediated phosphorylations under hypoxia is due to changes in AKAP12 localization vs. structural differences between its two variants. Importantly, our work defines a mechanism through which a scaffold protein can be regulated by the tumor microenvironment and further explains how a tumor cell can coordinate many critical signaling pathways that are essential for tumor growth through one individual scaffolding protein.

International audience; Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent primary pediatric cancer-related bone disease. These tumors frequently develop resistance to chemotherapy and are highly metastatic, leading to poor outcome. Thus, there is a need for new therapeutic strategies that can prevent cell dissemination. We previously showed that CYR61/CCN1 expression in osteosarcoma cells is correlated to aggressiveness both in vitro and in vivo in mouse models, as well as in patients. In this study, we found that CYR61 is a critical contributor to the vascularization of primary tumor. We demonstrate that silencing CYR61, using lentiviral transduction, leads to a significant reduction in expression level of pro-angiogenic markers such as VEGF, FGF2, PECAM and angiopoietins concomitantly to an increased expression of major anti-angiogenic markers such as thrombospondin-1 and SPARC. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 family member expression, a key pathway in osteosarcoma metastatic capacity was also downregulated when CYR61 was downregulated in osteosarcoma cells. Using a metastatic murine model, we show that CYR61 silencing in osteosarcoma cells results in reduced tumor vasculature and slows tumor growth compared with control. We also find that microvessel density correlates with lung metastasis occurrence and that CYR61 silencing in osteosarcoma cells limits the number of metastases. Taken together, our data indicate that CYR61 silencing can blunt the malignant behavior of osteosarcoma tumor cells by limiting primary tumor growth and dissemination process. INTRODUCTION Osteosarcoma is a highly vascular and extremely destructive bone malignancy that mainly affects children and young adults. It represents the most frequent pediatric cancer-related disease. Despite the introduction, during the 70 s, of aggressive multi-agent chemotherapy in addition to tumor ablation surgery, the long-term survival (45 years) increased from 10-60% for patients with localized primary tumors, but to o 30% for patients presenting metastases at initial diagnosis. Nowadays, knowledge of the mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma metastasis is quite limited. Thus, in order to improve the clinical outcomes for patients with poor prognosis and to manage primary osteosar-coma by preventing development of metastatic disease, it is imperative to find new approaches to block the metastasis process. Degradation of the extracellular matrix, facilitated by the action of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), is a prerequisite of tumor invasion and metastasis in a variety of cancers including osteosarcoma. MMP-2 and MMP-9 have been repetitively implicated in osteosarcoma cell invasion, 1-3 and increased expression of membrane type-1 MMP correlated with decreased overall survival. 4 A correlation was recently reported between the expression of the extracellular MMP inducer EMMPRIN (CD147) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in osteosarcoma

SummaryRadiotherapy (RT) is a localized therapy that is highly effective in killing primary tumor cells located within the field of the radiation beam. We present evidence that irradiation of breast tumors can attract migrating breast cancer cells. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) produced by tumor cells in response to radiation stimulates the recruitment of migrating tumor cells to irradiated tumors, suggesting a mechanism of tumor recurrence after radiation facilitated by transit of unirradiated, viable circulating tumor cells to irradiated tumors. Data supporting this hypothesis are presented through in vitro invasion assays and in vivo orthotopic models of breast cancer. Our work provides a mechanism for tumor recurrence in which RT attracts cells outside the radiation field to migrate to the site of treatment.

Purpose: To efficiently translate experimental methods from bench to bedside, it is imperative that laboratory models of cancer mimic human disease as closely as possible. In this study, we sought to compare patterns of hypoxia in several standard and emerging mouse models of lung cancer to establish the appropriateness of each for evaluating the role of oxygen in lung cancer progression and therapeutic response. Experimental Design: Subcutaneous and orthotopic human A549 lung carcinomas growing in nude mice as well as spontaneous K-ras or Myc-induced lung tumors grown in situ or subcutaneously were studied using fluorodeoxyglucose and fluoroazomycin arabinoside positron emission tomography, and postmortem by immunohistochemical observation of the hypoxia marker pimonidazole. The response of these models to the hypoxia-activated cytotoxin PR-104 was also quantified by the formation of γH2AX foci in vitro and in vivo. Finally, our findings were compared with oxygen electrode measurements of human lung cancers. Results: Minimal fluoroazomycin arabinoside and pimonidazole accumulation was seen in tumors growing within the lungs, whereas subcutaneous tumors showed substantial trapping of both hypoxia probes. These observations correlated with the response of these tumors to PR-104, and with the reduced incidence of hypoxia in human lung cancers relative to other solid tumor types. Conclusions: These findings suggest that in situ models of lung cancer in mice may be more reflective of the human disease, and encourage judicious selection of preclinical tumor models for the study of hypoxia imaging and antihypoxic cell therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 16(19); 4843–52. ©2010 AACR.

Mouse CT26 colorectal tumors are heavily infiltrated by tumor-specific CD8 T cells, but nevertheless grow rapidly in Balb/c mice. These tumors are partially responsive to anti-PD-1 (α-PD-1) monoclonal antibody therapy, which suggests that an active suppression of the tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells exists in the untreated tumor. As chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) is expressed by a potentially suppressive leukocyte subset within these tumors (monocytic myeloid derived suppressor cells aka M-MDSCs), we aimed to test whether CCR2 blockade could enhance the anti-tumor effects of α-PD-1. We have found that the therapeutic effects of α-PD-1 therapy are appreciably enhanced by specific blockade of CCR2 via a small molecule antagonist. This combined α-PD-1/CCR2i approach significantly decreases overall tumor size and increases the proportion of long-term survivors, with more than 50% of the mice (up to 73%) showing complete regression of a previously established tumor. The effects of this combined therapy are dependent on the presence of CD8+ T cells, as tumors do not respond to the therapy in CD8-depleted mice. The anti-CT26 tumor response is specific: long term survivors are resistant to re-inoculation with the CT26 tumor (even without further dosing of either drug) but are not resistant to the 4T1 breast tumor. CCR2 antagonism alters the tumor microenvironment by reducing the number of M-MDSC per gram of tumor (a CCR2hi population phenotypically defined as CD11b+/Ly6G-/Ly6Chi). Reduction in tumor size is inversely proportional to the ratio of CD8 T cells to M-MDSC. These data are consistent with a hypothesis that CCR2 antagonism enhances α-PD-1 therapy by preventing M-MDSC from accumulating within the tumor, thus reducing their suppressive effects on cytotoxic T cells. Citation Format: James J. Campbell, Christine Janson, Linda Ertl, Chris Li, Zhenhua Miao, Antoni Krasinski, Rebecca Lui, Venkat Mali, Jeffrey McMahon, Yibin Zheng, Yu Wang, Xiaoping Zang, Vicky Chhina, Marta Vilalta, Alice Kumamoto, Ton Dang, Shirley Liu, Simon Yao, Penglie Zhang, Thomas J. Schall, Rajinder Singh. Inhibition of chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) with a small molecule antagonist enhances the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibition by altering the tumor microenvironment in mouse colorectal tumors: Reducing tumor size and increasing long term survival [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1745.

The ability of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCBMSCs) to transdifferentiate towards cardiomyocytes remains unclear. The aim of this study was to direct UCBMSCs to the cardiac lineage by exposure to: (1) 5-azacytidine (AZ) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO); (2) a combination of growth factors involved in early cardiomyogenesis (BMP-2 + bFGF + IGF-1); (3) the Wnt signaling activators lithium chloride (LiCl) and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA); and (4) direct contact with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Expression of cardiomyocyte-specific proteins and beta-catenin were assessed by quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and Western blot. Cocultures of human UCBMSCs with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were also analyzed for the presence of calcium oscillations and changes in electrical potential using Fura Red and di-4-ANEPPS confocal imaging, respectively. Induction of cardiac-specific proteins was not detected in 5-AZ- or DMSO-treated cells. Following DMSO addition, beta-catenin cytoplasmic expression increased, but did not translocate into cell nuclei to promote cardiac gene activation. Likewise, neither co-stimulation with BMP-2 + bFGF + IGF-1, nor exposure to LiCl and PMA resulted in the acquisition of a cardiac phenotype by UCBMSCs. Direct contact with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes promoted neither the expression of cardiomyocyte-specific proteins, nor the presence of calcium rhythmic oscillations and potential-dependent fluorescence emission in UCBMSCs. The cardiomyogenic stimuli investigated in this study failed to transdifferentiate human UCBMSCs. Alternative strategies or regulatory factors and signaling pathways may be better suited to recruit UCBMSCs into cardiac cell lineage.

Non-invasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI) to monitor changes in gene expression of cells implanted in live animals should facilitate the development of biomaterial scaffolds for tissue regeneration. We show that, in vitro, induction of chondrogenic differentiation in mouse bone marrow stromal cell line (CL1) and human adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hAMSCs), permanently transduced with a procollagen II (COL2A1) promoter driving a firefly luciferase gene reporter (PLuc) (COL2A1p·PLuc), induces PLuc expression in correlation with increases in COL2A1 and Sox9 mRNA expression and acquisition of chondrocytic phenotype. To be able to simultaneously monitor in vivo cell differentiation and proliferation, COL2A1p·PLuc labelled cells were also genetically labelled with a renilla luciferase (RLuc) gene driven by a constitutively active cytomegalovirus promoter, and then seeded in demineralized bone matrix (DBM) subcutaneously implanted in SCID mice. Non-invasive BLI monitoring of the implanted mice showed that the PLuc/RLuc ratio reports on gene expression changes indicative of cell differentiation. Large (CL1) and moderated (hAMSCs) changes in the PLuc/RLuc ratio over a 6 week period, revealed different patterns of in vivo chondrogenic differentiation for the CL1 cell line and primary MSCs, in agreement with in vitro published data and our results from histological analysis of DBM sections. This double bioluminescence labelling strategy together with BLI imaging to analyze behaviour of cells implanted in live animals should facilitate the development of progenitor cell/scaffold combinations for tissue repair.

Development of new materials for tissue engineering can be facilitated by the capacity to efficiently monitor in vivo the survival, proliferation and differentiation behaviour of cells implanted in different target tissues. We present here the application of a previously developed platform that allows to monitor in real time the survival and proliferative behaviour of implanted cells in two anatomical sites: subcutaneous and intramuscular. Basically, the system is based on the use of a non-invasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI) technique to detect luciferase expressing C57BL/6 cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, seeded in two sets of scaffolds: 1, a RAD16-I self-assembling peptide nanofiber matrix and 2, a composite consisted of the same RAD16-I nanofibers contained into a microporous biorubber scaffold. Interestingly, our results indicated considerable differences in the behaviour of implanted cells in each scaffold type. We observed that the self-assembling peptide scaffold alone foster cell survival and promotes cell proliferation where the composite scaffold not. Since self-assembling peptide scaffolds presents value stiffness proximal to the implanted tissues it is suggestive to think that harder materials will provide a physical constriction for cells to proliferate as well as mechanical discontinuity. We therefore propose that it is important to close match the implantation environment with the cell/material constructs in order to obtain the best response of the cells, illustrating the convenience of this strategy for the development of new tissue engineering platforms.

Human adipose tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (AMSCs) share common traits, including similar differentiation potential and cell surface markers, with their bone marrow counterparts. Owing to their general availability, higher abundance and ease of isolation AMSCs may be convenient autologous delivery vehicles for localized tumor therapy. We demonstrate a model for tumor therapy development based on the use of AMSCs expressing renilla luciferase and thymidine kinase, as cellular vehicles for ganciclovir-mediated bystander killing of firefly luciferase expressing tumors, and noninvasive bioluminescence imaging to continuously monitor both, tumor cells and AMSCs. We show that the therapy delivering AMSCs survive long time within tumors, optimize the ratio of AMSCs to tumor cells for therapy, and asses the therapeutic effect in real time. Treatment of mice bearing prostate tumors plus therapeutic AMSCs with the prodrug ganciclovir induced bystander killing effect, reducing the number of tumor cells to 1.5 % that of control tumors. Thus, AMSCs could be useful vehicles to deliver localized therapy, with potential for clinical application in inoperable tumors and surgical borders after tumor resection. This approach, useful to evaluate efficiency of therapeutic models, should facilitate the selection of cell types, dosages, therapeutic agents and treatment protocols for cell-based therapies of specific tumors.

A combined strategy using bioluminescence imaging, bone densitometry and histology was used to analyze the bone regeneration capacity of human bone marrow (hBMSC) and adipose tissue (hAMSC) mesenchymal stem cells, seeded in an osteoconductive arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) crosslinked hydrogel scaffold, implanted in a mouse calvarial bone defect. We show that firefly luciferase labeled stem cells can be monitored in vivo through a prolonged 90 days period, during which hBMSCs survive better than hAMSCs and that the density of scaffold bearing defects increased significantly more than that of defects without scaffolds. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent developments in stem cell research have promoted a flourishing of new biomaterials and scaffolds for tissue repair. However, there is a scarcity of procedures to monitor the performance of scaffold-stem cell combinations implanted in live animals, avoiding the inherent artefacts associated with in vitro assay conditions. We report the implementation of a procedure based on the use of the luciferase gene as a cell proliferation tracer to monitor, by in vivo non-invasive imaging, the performance of stem cell-biomaterial combinations used for tissue regeneration. In a model system using immunodepressed mice we show preference of a mouse embryonic mesenchymal cell line (C3H/10T1/2) for specific implantation sites and biomaterials during a prolonged in vivo growth period (3 months). Moreover, we analyzed the safety of implanted cells using a sensitive luminometric procedure and showed that the implanted cells did not spread to other organs. Our results demonstrate the utility of this simple and resource-saving procedure in the development and screening of biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Los sitios prehispánicos de la costa oriental de Quintana Roo han tenido siempre un lugar especial en la arqueología maya; se localizan a lo largo de la costa y en las cercanías de la misma; son tan abundantes que no dejan la menor duda que la región estuvo densamente poblada en tiempos prehispánicos (Andrews 1976: 10) (Fig. 1). Quintana Roo se puede dividir en tres provincias geográficas: la sur, cubierta por el bosque tropical y que se extiende un poco a la región central, la cual se caracteriza por el bosque tropical seco, y por ultimo la zona del norte que se localiza en la costa oriental y toda la parte norte.

Breast cancer recurrence remains high in triple-negative cases despite aggressive surgical, radiological, and chemotherapeutic intervention. Recent studies suggest that circulating tumor cell re-seeding of primary tumors may facilitate recurrence. However, the tumor microenvironment's role in recurrence is not well understood. We hypothesize that the irradiated tumor stroma and microenvironment may influence tumor cell migration. In this study, we characterize the effects of normal tissue irradiation on tumor and immune cell migration to evaluate how tumor-stromal interactions modulate recurrence after therapy. This work represents the first step toward elucidating how stromal tissue radiation response contributes to tumor and immune cell recruitment. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) were irradiated to 20 Gy with a cesium source. Supernatant was collected after 2 or 7 d incubation to be used as a chemoattractant in a transwell assay to investigate the induction of 4T1 murine or MDA-MB-231 human mammary carcinoma cell invasion. An orthotopic breast cancer model was used to evaluate the effect of radiation on tumor cell migration to normal tissues. Nude mice were inoculated with luciferase labeled 4T1 or MDA-MB-231 cells in the mammary fat pad (MFP), and BALB/c mice with depleted CD4 and CD8+ T cells were inoculated with 4T1 MFP tumors. The contralateral normal MFP was irradiated to a dose of 20 Gy with a 250 kVp cabinet x-ray machine when tumors were palpable. Cell migration was monitored with bioluminescence imaging (BLI) 10 d after irradiation. Irradiated and control tissues were evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tissue sections were stained with F4/80 to determine the extent of macrophage infiltration. Flow cytometry was also performed on dissociated irradiated and control tissues to characterize immune cell populations. Of particular interest were CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages and CD11b+GR1+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Radiation enhanced tumor cell migration to normal tissues both in vitro and in vivo. 4T1 and MDA-MB-231 cells exhibited an increase in invasion (p This study establishes that normal tissue radiation response may play a role in modulating tumor and immune cell migration after radiation. The increase in macrophage and MDSC infiltration after irradiation indicates the immune contribution in tumor cell migration. These results suggest that the tumor stroma may facilitate tumor cell invasion and tumor regrowth following radiotherapy. Citation Format: Marjan Rafat, Marta Vilalta, Todd A. Aguilera, Amato J. Giaccia, Edward E. Graves. Tumor and immune cell infiltration are enhanced by irradiation of normal tissues in immunocompromised mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 5124.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are known to promote physiological processes that drive tumor progression and survival, including angiogenesis, immunosuppression, and invasion. While most studies on TAMs have focused on the molecular mechanisms by which TAMs drive these processes, less focus has been given to direct effects that TAMs may exert on tumor cells. It is known that monocytes are recruited to tumor sites after radiotherapy and support tumor regrowth. In this study we sought to determine if TAMs are able to exert a direct, protective effect on tumor cells against radiotherapy in vitro. We used murine 4T1 cells, a well-characterized animal model for breast cancer, and murine RAW264.7 macrophages to carry out co-culture experiments. Co-culture of 4T1 cells with RAW264.7 macrophages resulted in increased 4T1 cell survival rates post-irradiation compared to 4T1 cells cultured alone. We further determined that this effect is not contact-dependent but mediated through macrophage secreted factors. Next, we tested whether co-culturing RAW264.7 macrophages with 4T1 cells induced macrophage polarization to an M2/TAM phenotype. Using antibodies against M2 markers and FACS, we found that co-culture of RAW macrophages with 4T1 cells polarizes these macrophages toward an M2 phenotype. We hypothesized that the increased 4T1 cell survival rates were mediated by an enhanced DNA damage repair mechanism induced by TAMs. We tested this via a combination of immunofluorescence against phosphorylated histone H2AX and comet assays. We show that co-culture of 4T1 cells with TAMs after irradiation results in lower 4T1 cell levels of DNA damage and a faster decrease in DNA damage over time compared to 4T1 cells alone. Future work will focus on characterizing the molecular mechanism through which TAMs induce this enhanced DNA damage repair response in 4T1 cells after irradiation and we will test whether such response occurs in vivo after radiotherapy. In conclusion, we show that TAMs confer resistance against ionizing radiation to tumor cells in vitro and that this resistance is driven by an enhanced DNA damage repair mechanism in tumor cells induced by TAM secreted factors. Citation Format: Luis A. Soto, Marjan Rafat, Marta Vilalta Colomer, Amato Giaccia, Edward Graves. Tumor-associated macrophages enhance DNA damage repair and improve survival of murine breast cancers after irradiation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1645.

We have designed an immobilization bed that accommodates mice of all ages and sizes, to improve image registration for multimodal scans and for longitudinal preclinical imaging studies. Stationary pegs were placed such that they effectively immobilized mice and reduced set-up time. (22)Na fiducial markers were placed into the pegs at unique depths to provide 3D references to facilitate image registration. Multiple users registered positron emission tomographic (PET) and CT data obtained with and without the bed to examine the effect of the bed on registration accuracy and interuser variability. The image registrations performed by different users were evaluated for their similarity by using the Entropy Correlation Coefficient as a metric. The immobilization bed significantly reduced variations in body movement and interuser variability. Average differences in quantification of tumor PET signal among users when registering images without versus with the fiduciary-marker bed fell from 9.1% to 0.8% for maximal percentage injected dose per gram (%ID/g), from 15.6% to 2.3% for mean %ID/g, and from 9.4% to 0.7% for the 90th percentile of the maximum %ID/g. The bed improves animal immobilization, greatly reduces interuser variability, and supports registration of image data acquired from different imaging sessions.

Skin cancer, which accounts for at least half of all cancers in the United States, is predicted to affects 1 in 5 Americans in their lifetime. Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is also the leading cause of all skin cancer deaths. This study demonstrates that AKAP12 (SSeCKS, AKAP250, gravin), a hypoxia-inducible scaffold protein, is considerably increased at the protein and RNA level in melanoma cell lines. In addition, there is a significant increase in RNA expression in primary and metastatic tumors when compared to normal specimens, as well as patients with poor prognosis, as measured by diminished 5- year survival. AKAP12 functions to dock many kinases and signaling proteins that regulate cell adhesion, spreading and migration, including: PKC, Src and F-actin. Since these processes are critical for tumor cell metastasis, we hypothesize that AKAP12 could be a central regulator of cancer progression. Stable knockdown of AKAP12 in two melanoma cell lines demonstrate decreases in invasion, migration and clonogenic potential in vitro, as well reduced colony forming abilities in conditions requiring anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. In vivo studies in a metastatic model of melanoma demonstrate a statistically significant decrease in tumors within the lungs of the AKAP12 knockdown groups, highlighting the importance of AKAP12 in metastatic disease. An orthotopic model also demonstrates decreased primary tumor growth and metastatic potential in mice injected with AKAP12 knocked down cells. Additionally, changes in cell morphology characteristic of increased motility and invasiveness are seen in cells containing AKAP12 but not those in which it had been knocked down. While this scaffold protein has been found to act as a tumor suppressor in several tissue types (lung, colon, prostate), we have uncovered its novel oncogenic properties in metastatic melanoma. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1460. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1460