TRAIL-based gene delivery and therapeutic strategies

Song

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

Low transfection efficacy of non-viral gene vectors restricts their applications. In this paper, N 1 ,N 3-dicarbamimidoyl-5-methylisophthalamide (BGG) is designed as a functional group, in which two guanidyls are located at the meta positions of an aryl ring. BGG is conjugated with PAMAM G5 (G5-BGG) and G5-BGG/DNA complex is dispersed into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel for local injection. Molecular docking, NMR, IR and Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments demonstrate that G5-BGG has multiple molecular interactions with nucleic acids, which yield high binding affinity toward nucleic acids. Interestingly, the in vitro transfection efficiency and serum stability of G5-BGG are significantly improved when the BGG modification ratio is just one. The integrated G5-BGG/DNA complex is released from a PVA hydrogel sustainably, crosses the cell membrane and escapes from endosome/lysosome. After local injection only once, these features of the G5-BGG/DNA-loaded PVA hydrogel are found to improve antitumor efficiency in vivo, and antitumor efficiency is significantly better than PEI 25K. The results confirm that BGG is a potential group for developing non-viral gene vectors with high transfection efficacy.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Gene Delivery Based on Guanidyl‐Nucleic Acid Molecular Interactions

Song

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

“…In addition to inducing tumor cell apoptosis, TRAIL also plays a role in immune regulation, although the impact of the TRAIL/TRAIL-R system on the immune environment of cancer is unclear. 42,43 Therefore, defining the effect of TRAIL expressed on oncolytic viruses on antitumor immunity is critical for further application of TRAIL-coated oncolytic adenovirus vectors, and we will evaluate their antileukemia activity in permissive immunocompetent animal models in future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the antitumor activity of an engineered TRAIL-coated oncolytic adenovirus for treating acute myeloid leukemia

Liu

Sig Transduct Target Ther

et al. 2020

The use of oncolytic viruses has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach due to the features of these viruses, which selectively replicate and destroy tumor cells while sparing normal cells. Although numerous oncolytic viruses have been developed for testing in solid tumors, only a few have been reported to target acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and overall patient survival has remained low. We previously developed the oncolytic adenovirus rAd5pz-zTRAIL-RFP-SΔ24E1a (A4), which carries the viral capsid protein IX linked to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and results in increased infection of cancer cells and improved tumor targeting. To further improve the therapeutic potential of A4 by enhancing the engagement of virus and leukemia cells, we generated a new version of A4, zA4, by coating A4 with additional soluble TRAIL that is fused with a leucine zipper-like dimerization domain (zipper). ZA4 resulted in enhanced infectivity and significant inhibition of the proliferation of AML cells from cell lines and primary patient samples that expressed moderate levels of TRAIL-related receptors. ZA4 also elicited enhanced anti-AML activity in vivo compared with A4 and an unmodified oncolytic adenoviral vector. In addition, we found that the ginsenoside Rh2 upregulated the expression of TRAIL receptors and consequently enhanced the antitumor activity of zA4. Our results indicate that the oncolytic virus zA4 might be a promising new agent for treating hematopoietic malignancies such as AML.

“…In this regard, TRAIL-based therapy merits attention for its promise as a cancer drug. However, a major concern of TRAIL therapy is that most tumor cells, including CRC cells, show TRAIL resistance and the short half-life in the clinical trials [ 23 ]. Various therapeutic strategies have been studied to overcome these limitations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Romo1 Inhibition Induces TRAIL-Mediated Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer

Kim

Park

et al. 2020

Cancers

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is known to behave as an attractive anti-cancer agent in various cancers. Despite its promise TRAIL has limitations such as short half-life and rapid development of resistance. In this regard, approaches to sensitizers of TRAIL that can overcome the limitations of TRAIL are necessary. However, the molecular targets and mechanisms underlying sensitization to TRAIL-induced apoptosis are not fully understood. Here, we propose that reactive oxygen species modulator-1 (Romo1) as an attractive sensitizer of TRAIL. Romo1 is a mitochondrial inner membrane channel protein that controls reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and its expression is highly upregulated in various cancers, including colorectal cancer. In the present study, we demonstrated that Romo1 inhibition significantly increased TRAIL-induced apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells, but not of normal colon cells. The combined effect of TRAIL and Romo1 inhibition was correlated with the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathways. Romo1 silencing elevated the protein levels of BCL-2-associated X protein (Bax) by downregulating the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). Romo1 inhibition downregulated the interaction between Bax and Parkin. Furthermore, Romo1 knockdown triggered the mitochondrial dysfunction and ROS generation. We validated the effect of combination in tumor xenograft model in vivo. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that Romo1 inhibition induces TRAIL-mediated apoptosis by identifying the novel mechanism associated with the Bax/Parkin interaction. We suggest that targeting of Romo1 is essential for the treatment of colorectal cancer and may be a new therapeutic approach in the future and contribute to the drug discovery.