Despite frequent use of immunosuppressive drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and reports of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection following post-transplant immunosuppression, data on the frequency and clinical significance of CMV in patients with IBD are scant. Sixty-three patients with IBD (61 ulcerative colitis and two Crohn's disease) were evaluated for CMV using serology (IgM antibody, ì-capture ELISA), PCR for CMV DNA in colonic biopsy and histological assessment of haematoxylin and eosin-stained colonic biopsy. Positive result in any test was considered as CMV infection. Various parameters associated with CMV infection were analysed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Ten of 63 (15 . 8 %) patients (age 36 . 0 AE 11 . 2 years, 31 female) were infected with CMV (DNA alone in four, IgM antibody alone in two and both in four, inclusion body in one). Patients with CMV infection were more often female (8/10 vs 23/53, P , 0 . 05), had pancolitis (10/10 vs 33/53, P , 0 . 05), histological activity (9/10 vs 17/53, P , 0 . 005) and used azathioprine (5/10 vs 7/53, P ¼ 0 . 04; Fisher exact test for all). On multivariate analysis, female gender, pancolitis and histological activity were the independent factors associated with infection. Patients with CMV infection more often required surgical treatment for IBD (4/10 vs 4/ 53, P ¼ 0 . 01) and had fatal outcome (3/10 vs 0/53, P ¼ 0 . 003). CMV infection in patients with IBD may be common and is associated with poor outcome. PCR of rectal biopsy was the most sensitive method of detection followed by IgM antibody for diagnosis. INTRODUCTIONInfection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality after solid organ (kidney and liver) transplantation, as these patients receive multiple immunosuppressive drugs (Patel & Paya, 1997; Wiesner et al., 1993). Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly those with severe, corticosteroid-refractory and -dependent states are frequently treated with immunosuppressive agents including corticosteroids, cyclosporine, azathioprine and methotrexate, either alone or in combination (Kho et al., 2001). Therefore, patients with IBD [ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD)] are expected to be at an increased risk of infection with CMV. However, data on CMV infection in patients with IBD is still scant and most studies used only histology and/or serology for diagnosis of CMV infection (Powell et al., 1961;Cooper et al., 1977;Berk et al., 1985;Eyre-Brook & Dundas, 1986;Vega et al., 1999;Cottone et al., 2001). Although histology is quite specific, it is of low sensitivity (Beaugerie et al., 1997). PCR has emerged as the most sensitive method for diagnosis of viral infection including that with CMV (Storch et al., 1994). However, only a few studies used PCR for diagnosis of CMV infection in IBD. With blood and buffy coat preparation of leukocytes as specimens, PCR failed to detect CMV in blood of patients with IBD in some of these studies (Adani et al., 2001). Demonstrati...

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for aggressive tumor growth, metastasis and therapy resistance. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Shikonin (Shk) on breast cancer and found its anti-CSC potential. Shk treatment decreased the expression of various epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and CSC associated markers. Kinase profiling array and western blot analysis indicated that Shk inhibits STAT3, FAK and Src activation. Inhibition of these signaling proteins using standard inhibitors revealed that STAT3 inhibition affected CSCs properties more significantly than FAK or Src inhibition. We observed a significant decrease in cell migration upon FAK and Src inhibition and decrease in invasion upon inhibition of STAT3, FAK and Src. Combined inhibition of STAT3 with Src or FAK reduced the mammosphere formation, migration and invasion more significantly than the individual inhibitions. These observations indicated that the anti-breast cancer properties of Shk are due to its potential to inhibit multiple signaling proteins. Shk also reduced the activation and expression of STAT3, FAK and Src in vivo and reduced tumorigenicity, growth and metastasis of 4T1 cells. Collectively, this study underscores the translational relevance of using a single inhibitor (Shk) for compromising multiple tumor-associated signaling pathways to check cancer metastasis and stem cell load.

Intratumoral immune activation can induce local and systemic anti-tumor immunity. Imiquimod is a cream-formulated, TLR-7 agonist that is FDA-approved for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers, but has limited activity against melanoma. We studied the anti-tumor activity and mechanism of action of a novel, injectable, tissue-retained TLR 7/8 agonist, 3M-052, which avoids systemic distribution. Intratumoral administration of 3M-052 generated systemic anti-tumor immunity, and suppressed both injected and distant, uninjected wild-type B16.F10 melanomas. Treated tumors showed increased level of CCL2 chemokines and infiltration of M1 phenotype-shifted macrophages, which could kill tumor cells directly through production of nitric oxide and CCL2, was essential for the anti-tumor activity of 3M-052. CD8+ T cells, B cells, Type I IFN, IFN-γ, and pDC were contributed to efficient tumor suppression whereas perforin, NK cells and CD4 T cells were not required. Finally, 3M-052 therapy potentiated checkpoint blockade therapy with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies, even when checkpoint blockade alone was ineffective. Our findings suggest that intratumoral treatment with 3M-052 is a promising approach for the treatment of cancer and establish a rational strategy and mechanistic understanding for combination therapy with intratumoral, tissue-retained TLR7/8 agonist and checkpoint blockade in metastatic cancer.

High dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) is active against metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, but treatment-associated toxicity and expansion of suppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs) limit its use in patients with cancer. Bempegaldesleukin (NKTR-214) is an engineered IL-2 cytokine prodrug that provides sustained activation of the IL-2 pathway with a bias to the IL-2 receptor CD122 (IL-2Rβ). Here we assess the therapeutic impact and mechanism of action of NKTR-214 in combination with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade therapy or peptide-based vaccination in mice. NKTR-214 shows superior anti-tumor activity over native IL-2 and systemically expands anti-tumor CD8 + T cells while inducing Treg depletion in tumor tissue but not in the periphery. Similar trends of intratumoral Treg dynamics are observed in a small cohort of patients treated with NKTR-214. Mechanistically, intratumoral Treg depletion is mediated by CD8 + Teff-associated cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α. These findings demonstrate that NKTR-214 synergizes with T cell-mediated anti-cancer therapies.

Anticancer vaccination is a promising approach to increase the efficacy of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint blockade therapies. However, the landmark FDA registration trial for anti-CTLA-4 therapy (ipilimumab) revealed a complete lack of benefit of adding vaccination with gp100 peptide formulated in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). Here, using a mouse model of melanoma, we found that gp100 vaccination induced gp100-specific effector T cells (Teffs), which dominantly forced trafficking of anti-CTLA-4-induced, non-gp100-specific Teffs away from the tumor, reducing tumor control. The inflamed vaccination site subsequently also sequestered and destroyed anti-CTLA-4-induced Teffs with specificities for tumor antigens other than gp100, reducing the antitumor efficacy of anti-CTLA-4 therapy. Mechanistically, Teffs at the vaccination site recruited inflammatory monocytes, which in turn attracted additional Teffs in a vicious cycle mediated by IFN-γ, CXCR3, ICAM-1, and CCL2, dependent on IFA formulation. In contrast, nonpersistent vaccine formulations based on dendritic cells, viral vectors, or water-soluble peptides potently synergized with checkpoint blockade of both CTLA-4 and PD-L1 and induced complete tumor regression, including in settings of primary resistance to dual checkpoint blockade. We conclude that cancer vaccine formulation can dominantly determine synergy, or lack thereof, with CTLA-4 and PD-L1 checkpoint blockade therapy for cancer.