A SIRPα-Fc fusion protein enhances the antitumor effect of oncolytic adenovirus against ovarian cancer.

Oncolytic viruses armed with therapeutic transgenes of interest show great potential in cancer immunotherapy. Here, a novel oncolytic adenovirus carrying a signal regulatory protein-α (SIRPα)-IgG1 Fc fusion gene (termed SG635-SF) was constructed, which could block the CD47 'don't eat me' signal of cancer cells. A strong promoter sequence (CCAU) was chosen to control the expression of the SF fusion protein, and a 5/35 chimeric fiber was utilized to enhance the efficiency of infection.

Antitumor activity of EGFR-specific CAR T cells against non-small-cell lung cancer cells in vitro and in mice.

Effective control of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains clinically challenging, especially during advanced stages of the disease. This study developed an adoptive T-cell treatment through expression of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to target human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in NSCLC. We optimized the non-viral piggyBac transposon system to engineer human T cells for the expression of EGFR-CAR, consisting of EGFR scFv, transmembrane domain, and intracellular 4-1BB-CD3ζ signaling domains.

Cancer vaccine: learning lessons from immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Cancer vaccines have been exclusively studied all through the past decades, and have made exceptional achievements in cancer treatment. Few cancer vaccines have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for instance, Provenge, which was approved for the treatment of prostate carcinoma in 2012. Moreover, more recently, T-VEC got approval for the treatment of melanoma.

Mesothelin-targeting chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells by piggyBac transposon system suppress the growth of bile duct carcinoma.

Chimeric antigen receptor modified T cell-based immunotherapy is revolutionizing the field of cancer treatment. However, its potential in treating bile duct carcinoma has not been fully explored. Herein, we developed the second-generation mesothelin-targeting chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells with the 4-1BB co-stimulatory module by the piggyBac transposon system.

11R-P53 and GM-CSF Expressing Oncolytic Adenovirus Target Cancer Stem Cells with Enhanced Synergistic Activity.

Targeting cancer stem cells with oncolytic virus (OV) holds great potential for thorough elimination of cancer cells. Based on our previous studies, we here established 11R-P53 and mGM-CSF carrying oncolytic adenovirus (OAV) SG655-mGMP and investigated its therapeutic effect on hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells Hep3B-C and teratoma stem cells ECCG5. Firstly, the augmenting effect of 11R in our construct was tested and confirmed by examining the expression of EGFP with Fluorescence and FCM assays after transfecting Hep3B-C and ECCG5 cells with OVA SG7605-EGFP and SG7605-11R-EGFP.

New Strategies for the Treatment of Solid Tumors with CAR-T Cells.

Recent years, we have witnessed significant progresses in both basic and clinical studies regarding novel therapeutic strategies with genetically engineered T cells. Modification with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) endows T cells with tumor specific cytotoxicity and thus induce anti-tumor immunity against malignancies. However, targeting solid tumors is more challenging than targeting B-cell malignancies with CAR-T cells because of the histopathological structure features, specific antigens shortage and strong immunosuppressive environment of solid tumors.

Argonaute 2: A Novel Rising Star in Cancer Research.

AGO2 (Argonaute 2, EIF2C2) is the only member in AGO family with catalytic activity and of extreme importance during small RNAs guided gene silencing processes. The structural investigations have provided insights into details and functional mechanisms of the four major domains within AGO2. As a multifunction player, AGO2 has been revealed involved in tumorgenesis through miRNAs-dependent or independent ways.

Argonaute 2 promotes angiogenesis via the PTEN/VEGF signaling pathway in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Argonaute2 (AGO2) protein is the active part of RNA-induced silencing complex, cleaving the target mRNA strand complementary to their bound siRNA. An increasing number of miRNAs has been identified as essential to angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study we investigated how AGO2 affected HCC angiogenesis.

Establishment and characterization of a cell line, EH-GB2, derived from hepatic metastasis of gallbladder cancer.

Gallbladder cancer is a fatal neoplasia with an extremely low survival rate. Liver invasion and metastasis are the most common causes of death; however, the metastatic mechanism is still unclear, and no effective treatment methods are available. To provide comprehensive and profound approaches in investigating the metastatic mechanism and treatment methods, new cell lines derived from liver metastasis are urgently needed.

[Establishment and characterization of a human gallbladder carcinoma cell line EH-GB1 originated from a metastatic tumor].

Objective: To establish a human gallbladder carcinoma cell line derived from a metastatic gallbladder carcinoma and identify its biological characteristics.

Methods: Tissue samples were separated from the surgical specimen obtained from a patient with metastatic carcinoma and single-cell suspension was prepared. Then the cells were cultured in DMEM medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum.