Daniel J. Allendorf

CXCR4-SDF-1 signalling, locomotion, chemotaxis and adhesion.

Chemokines, small pro-inflammatory chemoattractant cytokines, that bind to specific G-protein-coupled seven-span transmembrane receptors present on plasma membranes of target cells are the major regulators of cell trafficking. In addition some chemokines have been reported to modulate cell survival and growth. Moreover, compelling evidence is accumulating that cancer cells may employ several mechanisms involving chemokine–chemokine receptor axes during their metastasis that also regulate the trafficking of normal cells. Of all the chemokines, stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), an α-chemokine that binds to G-protein-coupled CXCR4, plays an important and unique role in the regulation of stem/progenitor cell trafficking. First, SDF-1 regulates the trafficking of CXCR4+ haemato/lymphopoietic cells, their homing/retention in major haemato/lymphopoietic organs and accumulation of CXCR4+ immune cells in tissues affected by inflammation. Second, CXCR4 plays an essential role in the trafficking of other tissue/organ specific stem/progenitor cells expressing CXCR4 on their surface, e.g., during embryo/organogenesis and tissue/organ regeneration. Third, since CXCR4 is expressed on several tumour cells, these CXCR4 positive tumour cells may metastasize to the organs that secrete/express SDF-1 (e.g., bones, lymph nodes, lung and liver). SDF-1 exerts pleiotropic effects regulating processes essential to tumour metastasis such as locomotion of malignant cells, their chemoattraction and adhesion, as well as plays an important role in tumour vascularization. This implies that new therapeutic strategies aimed at blocking the SDF-1–CXCR4 axis could have important applications in the clinic by modulating the trafficking of haemato/lymphopoietic cells and inhibiting the metastatic behaviour of tumour cells as well. In this review, we focus on a role of the SDF-1–CXCR4 axis in regulating the metastatic behaviour of tumour cells and discuss the molecular mechanisms that are essential to this process.

Mechanism by Which Orally Administered -1,3-Glucans Enhance the Tumoricidal Activity of Antitumor Monoclonal Antibodies in Murine Tumor Models 1

Antitumor mAb bind to tumors and activate complement, coating tumors with iC3b. Intravenously administered yeast β-1,3;1,6-glucan functions as an adjuvant for antitumor mAb by priming the inactivated C3b (iC3b) receptors (CR3; CD11b/CD18) of circulating granulocytes, enabling CR3 to trigger cytotoxicity of iC3b-coated tumors. Recent data indicated that barley β-1,3;1,4-glucan given orally similarly potentiated the activity of antitumor mAb, leading to enhanced tumor regression and survival. This investigation showed that orally administered yeast β-1,3;1,6-glucan functioned similarly to barley β-1,3;1,4-glucan with antitumor mAb. With both oral β-1,3-glucans, a requirement for iC3b on tumors and CR3 on granulocytes was confirmed by demonstrating therapeutic failures in mice deficient in C3 or CR3. Barley and yeast β-1,3-glucan were labeled with fluorescein to track their oral uptake and processing in vivo. Orally administered β-1,3-glucans were taken up by macrophages that transported them to spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. Within the bone marrow, the macrophages degraded the large β-1,3-glucans into smaller soluble β-1,3-glucan fragments that were taken up by the CR3 of marginated granulocytes. These granulocytes with CR3-bound β-1,3-glucan-fluorescein were shown to kill iC3b-opsonized tumor cells following their recruitment to a site of complement activation resembling a tumor coated with mAb.

Yeast β-Glucan Amplifies Phagocyte Killing of iC3b-Opsonized Tumor Cells via Complement Receptor 3-Syk-Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathway

Anti-tumor mAbs hold promise for cancer therapy, but are relatively inefficient. Therefore, there is a need for agents that might amplify the effectiveness of these mAbs. One such agent is β-glucan, a polysaccharide produced by fungi, yeast, and grains, but not mammalian cells. β-Glucans are bound by C receptor 3 (CR3) and, in concert with target-associated complement fragment iC3b, elicit phagocytosis and killing of yeast. β-Glucans may also promote killing of iC3b-opsonized tumor cells engendered by administration of anti-tumor mAbs. In this study, we report that tumor-bearing mice treated with a combination of β-glucan and an anti-tumor mAb show almost complete cessation of tumor growth. This activity evidently derives from a 25-kDa fragment of β-glucan released by macrophage processing of the parent polysaccharide. This fragment, but not parent β-glucan, binds to neutrophil CR3, induces CBRM 1/5 neoepitope expression, and elicits CR3-dependent cytotoxicity. These events require phosphorylation of the tyrosine kinase, Syk, and consequent PI3K activation because β-glucan-mediated CR3-dependent cytotoxicity is greatly decreased by inhibition of these signaling molecules. Thus, β-glucan enhances tumor killing through a cascade of events, including in vivo macrophage cleavage of the polysaccharide, dual CR3 ligation, and CR3-Syk-PI3K signaling. These results are important inasmuch as β-glucan, an agent without evident toxicity, may be used to amplify tumor cell killing and may open new opportunities in the immunotherapy of cancer.

C5a-Mediated Leukotriene B4-Amplified Neutrophil Chemotaxis Is Essential in Tumor Immunotherapy Facilitated by Anti-Tumor Monoclonal Antibody and β-Glucan

Intravenous and orally administered β-glucans promote tumor regression and survival by priming granulocyte and macrophage C receptor 3 (CR3, iC3bR and CD11b/CD18) to trigger the cytotoxicity of tumor cells opsonized with iC3b via anti-tumor Abs. Despite evidence for priming of macrophage CR3 by oral β-glucan in vivo, the current study in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice showed that granulocytes were the essential killer cells in mAb- and oral β-glucan-mediated tumor regression, because responses were absent in granulocyte-depleted mice. Among granulocytes, neutrophils were the major effector cells, because tumor regression did not occur when C5a-dependent chemotaxis was blocked with a C5aR antagonist, whereas tumor regression was normal in C3aR−/− mice. Neutrophil recruitment by C5a in vivo required amplification via leukotriene B4, because both C5a-mediated leukocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity and tumor regression were suppressed in leukotriene B4R-deficient (BLT-1−/−) mice.

Yeast whole glucan particle (WGP) beta-glucan in conjunction with antitumour monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer.

Beta-glucans, biological response modifiers (BRMs) derived from the cell walls of yeast and other sources, have been demonstrated to prime leukocyte c-omplement receptor 3 (CR3), thus enabling these cells to kill tumours opsonised with complement fragment iC3b. Many tumours activate complement via the classical pathway mediated by antitumour monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or natural antibodies. Studies into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action have demonstrated that orally administrated yeast β-glucans are ingested and processed by macrophages. These macrophages secrete the active moiety that primes neutrophil CR3 to kill iC3b-opsonised tumour cells. Extensive studies in preclinical animal tumour models have demonstrated the efficacy of combined oral particulate yeast β-glucan with antitumour mAb therapy in terms of tumour regression and long-term survival. It is proposed that the addition of β-glucan will further improve the clinical therapeutic efficacy of antitumour mAbs in cancer patients.

The Role of Membrane Complement Regulatory Proteins in Cancer Immunotherapy

Anti-tumor monoclonal antibody therapy represents one of the earliest targeted therapies in clinical cancer care and has achieved great clinical promise. Complement activation mediated by anti-tumor mAbs can result in direct tumor lysis or enhancement of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicy. Chemotaxis of phagocytic cells by complement activation products C5a is also required for certain cancer immunotherapy such as combined beta-glucan with anti-tumor mAb therapy. However, high expression levels of membrane-bound complement regulatory proteins (mCRPs) such as CD46, CD55 and CD59 on tumors significantly limit the anti-tumor mAb therapeutic efficacy. In addition, mCRPs have been shown to directly or indirectly down-regulate adaptive T cell responses. Therefore, it is desirable to combine anti-tumor mAb therapy or tumor vaccines with the blockade of mCRPs. Such strategies so far include the utilization of neutralizing mAbs for mCRPs, small interfering RNAs or anti-sense oligos for mCRPs, and chemotherapeutic drugs or cytokines. In vitro studies have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of such methods, although concerns have been raised about the utilization of neutralizing mAbs in vivo due to widespread expression of mCRPs on normal cells and tissues. Strategies have been developed to address these issues and more in vivo studies are needed to further validate these combination approaches.

Combined yeast {beta}-glucan and antitumor monoclonal antibody therapy requires C5a-mediated neutrophil chemotaxis via regulation of decay-accelerating factor CD55.

Administration of a combination of yeast-derived beta-glucan with antitumor monoclonal antibodies (mAb) has significant therapeutic efficacy in a variety of syngeneic murine tumor models. We have now tested this strategy using human carcinomas implanted in immunocompromised severe combined immunodeficient mice. Combined immunotherapy was therapeutically effective in vivo against NCI-H23 human non-small-cell lung carcinomas, but this modality was surprisingly ineffective against SKOV-3 human ovarian carcinomas. Whereas NCI-H23 tumors responded to this combination therapy with increased intratumoral neutrophil infiltration and C5a production, these responses were lacking in treated SKOV-3 tumors. Further results suggested that SKOV-3 tumors were protected by up-regulation of the membrane complement regulatory protein CD55 (decay-accelerating factor). Blockade of CD55 in vitro led to enhanced deposition of C activation product C3b and increased cytotoxicity mediated by beta-glucan-primed neutrophils. In vivo, administration of anti-CD55 mAb along with beta-glucan and anti-Her-2/neu mAb caused tumor regression and greatly improved long-term survival in animals bearing the previously resistant SKOV-3 tumors. This was accompanied by increased intratumoral neutrophil accumulation and C5a production. We conclude that CD55 suppresses tumor killing by antitumor mAb plus beta-glucan therapy (and, perhaps, in other circumstances). These results suggest a critical role for CD55 to regulate iC3b and C5a release and in turn to influence the recruitment of beta-glucan-primed neutrophils eliciting killing activity.

β-Glucans Augment the Function of Anti-Tumor Monoclonal Antibodies by Providing a Novel Mechanism for Killing Tumors Via Circulating Blood Neutrophils

resistance to lethal tumor rechallenge in wild type vaccination mice; however, without resistance groups in monoclonal antibody depletion of CD4 lymphocyte subpopulations. We discuss the role of CD4 helper T cells is central role in successful tumor immunity and generation of long-term tumor antigen-specific memory responses in mice with established local regional malignancy. This promising results of CD4-dependent pathway provided predominant ratio (80%) for long-term immunity to eradicate invasive cervical cancer following primary treatment in future clinical application.