No abstract

Patient-based cancer models are essential tools for studying tumor biology and for the assessment of drug responses in a translational context. We report the establishment a large cohort of unique organoids and patient-derived orthotopic xenografts (PDOX) of various glioma subtypes, including gliomas with mutations in IDH1, and paired longitudinal PDOX from primary and recurrent tumors of the same patient. We show that glioma PDOXs enable long-term propagation of patient tumors and represent clinically relevant patient avatars that retain histopathological, genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic features of parental tumors. We find no evidence of mouse-specific clonal evolution in glioma PDOXs. Our cohort captures individual molecular genotypes for precision medicine including mutations in IDH1, ATRX, TP53, MDM2/4, amplification of EGFR, PDGFRA, MET, CDK4/6, MDM2/4, and deletion of CDKN2A/B, PTCH, and PTEN. Matched longitudinal PDOX recapitulate the limited genetic evolution of gliomas observed in patients following treatment. At the histological level, we observe increased vascularization in the rat host as compared to mice. PDOX-derived standardized glioma organoids are amenable to high-throughput drug screens that can be validated in mice. We show clinically relevant responses to temozolomide (TMZ) and to targeted treatments, such as EGFR and CDK4/6 inhibitors in (epi)genetically defined subgroups, according to MGMT promoter and EGFR/CDK status, respectively. Dianhydrogalactitol (VAL-083), a promising bifunctional alkylating agent in the current clinical trial, displayed high therapeutic efficacy, and was able to overcome TMZ resistance in glioblastoma. Our work underscores the clinical relevance of glioma organoids and PDOX models for translational research and personalized treatment studies and represents a unique publicly available resource for precision oncology.

Celastrol, a triterpene extracted from the Chinese “Thunder of God Vine”, is known to have anticancer activity, but its underlying mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, we show that celastrol kills several breast and colon cancer cell lines by induction of paraptosis, a cell death mode characterized by extensive vacuolization that arises via dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. Celastrol treatment markedly increased mitochondrial Ca2+ levels and induced ER stress via proteasome inhibition in these cells. Both MCU (mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter) knockdown and pretreatment with ruthenium red, an inhibitor of MCU, inhibited celastrol-induced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, dilation of mitochondria/ER, accumulation of poly-ubiquitinated proteins, and cell death in MDA-MB 435S cells. Inhibition of the IP3 receptor (IP3R) with 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB) also effectively blocked celastrol-induced mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation and subsequent paraptotic events. Collectively, our results show that the IP3R-mediated release of Ca2+ from the ER and its subsequent MCU-mediated influx into mitochondria critically contribute to celastrol-induced paraptosis in cancer cells.

Leishmania has developed an intricate relationship with its host, primarily cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage, where it exploits and subverts the host immune system by either inducing immunosuppression or promoting proparasitic host factors to ensure its survival and growth in an otherwise harsh milieu (3). Hijacking of innate immune functions of macrophages by Leishmania appears to be a multifarious event, as macrophages have inherently evolved to defend the host against invading pathogens by a myriad of effectors rather than providing a favorable environment to the pathogen. The chief molecular mechanisms by which Leishmania is known to inhibit the activation of macrophages toward its own benefit include suppression of deadly antimicrobial free radicals such as nitric oxide (NO), faulty antigen presentation, selective induction and suppression of host cell apoptosis, inhibition of cytokine production and hence cytokine-inducible macrophage function, and activation of T cells (4-8). Leishmania has evolved sophisticated mechanisms to alter the physiological program and activation of adaptive immune responses of host cells by exploiting host cell signaling mechanisms such as the downregulation of Ca 2ϩ -dependent classical protein kinase C (PKC) activity and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation and activity (9, 10). Using mainly host tyrosine phosphatases, Leishmania is known to deactivate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in infected macrophages (5). Extensive manipulations of host cell effector (innate and adaptive) functions by pathogens must be reflected at the levels of transcripts as well as proteins. Enormous efforts made in the field of host gene expression profiling using different (murine and/or human) cell types and different species of Leishmania provide key insights into an extensive modulation of gene function and contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of gene expres-

Purpose: The increasing prevalence of distant metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) indicates an urgent need for novel therapeutic modalities. Brain metastasis is particularly common in NSCLC, with severe adverse effects on clinical prognosis. Although the molecular heterogeneity of NSCLC and availability of various targeted agents suggest personalized therapeutic approaches for such brain metastases, further development of appropriate preclinical models is needed to validate the strategies.Experimental Design: We established patient-derived xenografts (PDX) using NSCLC brain metastasis surgical samples and elucidated their possible preclinical and clinical implications for personalized treatment.Results: NSCLC brain metastases (n ¼ 34) showed a significantly higher successful PDX establishment rate than primary specimens (n ¼ 64; 74% vs. 23%). PDXs derived from NSCLC brain metastases recapitulated the pathologic, genetic, and functional properties of corresponding parental tumors. Furthermore, tumor spheres established in vitro from the xenografts under serum-free conditions maintained their in vivo brain metastatic potential. Differential phenotypic and molecular responses to 20 targeted agents could subsequently be screened in vitro using these NSCLC PDXs derived from brain metastases. Although PDX establishment from primary NSCLCs was significantly influenced by histologic subtype, clinical aggressiveness, and genetic alteration status, the brain metastases exhibited consistently adequate in vivo tumor take rate and in vitro tumor sphere formation capacity, regardless of clinical and molecular conditions.Conclusions: Therefore, PDXs from NSCLC brain metastases may better represent the heterogeneous advanced NSCLC population and could be utilized as preclinical models to meet unmet clinical needs such as drug screening for personalized treatments.