Desmond Pink

Real-time visualization and quantitation of vascular permeability in vivo: implications for drug delivery.

The leaky, heterogeneous vasculature of human tumors prevents the even distribution of systemic drugs within cancer tissues. However, techniques for studying vascular delivery systems in vivo often require complex mammalian models and time-consuming, surgical protocols. The developing chicken embryo is a well-established model for human cancer that is easily accessible for tumor imaging. To assess this model for the in vivo analysis of tumor permeability, human tumors were grown on the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM), a thin vascular membrane which overlays the growing chick embryo. The real-time movement of small fluorescent dextrans through the tumor vasculature and surrounding tissues were used to measure vascular leak within tumor xenografts. Dextran extravasation within tumor sites was selectively enhanced an interleukin-2 (IL-2) peptide fragment or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF treatment increased vascular leak in the tumor core relative to surrounding normal tissue and increased doxorubicin uptake in human tumor xenografts. This new system easily visualizes vascular permeability changes in vivo and suggests that vascular permeability may be manipulated to improve chemotherapeutic targeting to tumors.

Sensitivity of Cancer Cells to Truncated Diphtheria Toxin

Background Diphtheria toxin (DT) has been utilized as a prospective anti-cancer agent for the targeted delivery of cytotoxic therapy to otherwise untreatable neoplasia. DT is an extremely potent toxin for which the entry of a single molecule into a cell can be lethal. DT has been targeted to cancer cells by deleting the cell receptor-binding domain and combining the remaining catalytic portion with targeting proteins that selectively bind to the surface of cancer cells. It has been assumed that “receptorless” DT cannot bind to and kill cells. In the present study, we report that “receptorless” recombinant DT385 is in fact cytotoxic to a variety of cancer cell lines. Methods In vitro cytotoxicity of DT385 was measured by cell proliferation, cell staining and apoptosis assays. For in vivo studies, the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) system was used to evaluate the effect of DT385 on angiogenesis. The CAM and mouse model system was used to evaluate the effect of DT385 on HEp3 and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor growth, respectively. Results Of 18 human cancer cell lines tested, 15 were affected by DT385 with IC50 ranging from 0.12–2.8 µM. Furthermore, high concentrations of DT385 failed to affect growth arrested cells. The cellular toxicity of DT385 was due to the inhibition of protein synthesis and induction of apoptosis. In vivo, DT385 diminished angiogenesis and decreased tumor growth in the CAM system, and inhibited the subcutaneous growth of LLC tumors in mice. Conclusion DT385 possesses anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity and may have potential as a therapeutic agent.

In vivo histone H1 migration from necrotic to viable tissue

Necrosis is induced by ischemic conditions within the core of many solid tumors. Using fluorescent fusion proteins, we provide in vivo evidence of histone trafficking among cancer cells in implanted tumors. In particular, the most abundant H1 isoform (H1.2) was found to be transported from necrotic tumor cells into surrounding viable cells where histones are selectively taken up by energy-dependent endocytosis. We propose that intercellular histone trafficking could function as a target for drug delivery. This concept was validated using an anti-histone antibody that was co-internalized with histones from dead cells into viable ones surrounding the necrotic regions of a tumor, where some of the most chemoresistant cells reside. These findings demonstrate that cellular translocation of conjugated drugs using anti-histone antibodies is a promising strategy for targeted drug delivery to chemoresistant tumors.

High efficacy vasopermeability drug candidates identified by screening in an ex ovo chorioallantoic membrane model

The use of rodent models to evaluate efficacy during testing is accompanied by significant economic and regulatory hurdles which compound the costs of screening for promising drug candidates. Vasopermeation Enhancement Agents (VEAs) are a new class of biologics that are designed to increase the uptake of cancer therapeutics at the tumor site by modifying vascular permeability in the tumor to increase the therapeutic index of co-administered drugs. To evaluate the efficacy of a panel of VEA clinical candidates, we compared the rodent Miles assay to an equivalent assay in the ex ovo chicken embryo model. Both model systems identified the same candidate (PVL 10) as the most active promoter of vasopermeation in non-tumor tissues. An ex ovo chicken embryo system was utilized to test each candidate VEA in two human tumor models at a range of concentrations. Vasopermeation activity due to VEA was dependent on tumor type, with HEp3 tumors displaying higher levels of vasopermeation than MDA-MB-435. One candidate (PVL 10) proved optimal for HEp3 tumors and another (PVL 2) for MDA-MB-435. The use of the ex ovo chicken embryo model provides a rapid and less costly alternative to the use of rodent models for preclinical screening of drug candidates.

Cargo-Loading of Misfolded Proteins into Extracellular Vesicles: The Role of J Proteins

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted vesicles of diverse size and cargo that are implicated in the cell-to-cell transmission of disease-causing-proteins in several neurodegenerative diseases. Mutant huntingtin, the disease-causing entity in Huntington’s disease, has an expanded polyglutamine track at the N terminus that causes the protein to misfold and form toxic intracellular aggregates. In Huntington’s disease, mutant huntingtin aggregates are transferred between cells by an unknown route. We have previously identified a cellular pathway that is responsible for the export of mutant huntingtin via extracellular vesicles, given the heterogeneity of EVs, here we examine the specific EVs involved. In this work we expressed a form of polyglutamine expanded huntingtin (GFP-tagged 72Qhuntingtinexon1) in cells to assess the EVs involved in cellular export. We demonstrate that the molecular chaperone, cysteine string protein (CSPα; DnaJC5), mediates export of disease-causing-polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin cargo via two distinct vesicle populations of 180-240nm and 15-30μm. In doing so, our data links the molecular chaperone, CSPα, and the packaging of pathogenic misfolded huntingtin into two separate extracellular vesicles pathways.

Abstract 3799: Technical validation of a micro-flow cytometry platform for prostate cancer biomarker discovery

The analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in biofluids is an expanding area of biomarker discovery. To be effective, a diagnostic test must differentiate EVs originating from cancer cells versus non-cancerous origins, and also define biomarkers enriched in cancer EVs. Our team has developed a micro-flow cytometry platform using the Apogee A50 to analyze prostate cancer (PCa) EVs in different biofluids. While flow cytometry is powerful tool for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of cellular biomarkers, direct translation of most applications to EVs is challenging. For example, EVs in biofluids typically range in size from 50-1000nm, and are present as low refractive index, polydisperse populations. We have optimized 30 assay parameters for the identification of prostate specific EVs so that disease specific biomarkers may be evaluated. To illustrate the sensitivity of the system, conditioned media from palmitoylated-GFP-LNCaP cells was used as a positive signal sample. When spiked into increasing concentrations of unstained plasma EVs, the GFP spike was detected linearly, even when present as low as 0.03% of the total EV population. Furthermore, the rate of positive signal/uL sample was quantitative after 15-30 seconds of sample analysis. The platform also permits high throughput analysis using a 96 well plate autosampler. To show sample reproducibility, we analyzed both low and high positive-signal samples over an 8hr sampling window. Low positive samples (120events/uL; 0.1% of total EVs) had a 4% CV over 96 samples whereas the high positive signal samples (2300events/uL, 1.0% of total EVs) had a 2.2% CV. Similar CVs have been obtained with CD9 and CD63. Analysis of sample aliquots over multiple days shows less than 6% CV. Conventional flow cytometers acquire tens of thousands of events while the Apogee system is able to collect millions of events with several parameters/event, in a high throughput manner. This generates a significant amount of data for which we have designed a unique machine learning approach to detect specific EV populations within the whole sample. In this manner, we utilize all data from the sample and not simply a subjectively defined area of interest. Using fresh samples from the clinic we have standardized a 2hr arm-freezer protocol for the collection and preservation of serum and plasma. Comparison studies in LNCaps and PC3 cells of 5 antibodies against PSMA, indicated the J591 anti-PSMA monoclonal antibody as a selective marker for prostate cancer EVs. Positive signal for this antibody was linearly titrated in both a LNCaP EV system and plasma EVs from metastatic prostate cancer patients. Specificity was shown by saturating a plasma system with unconjugated J591 and then reacting with PE-conjugated J591. Using the A50 micro-flow cytometry platform, the J591 antibody to identify prostate specific EVs, and a unique machine learning algorithm, we identified a multiple biomarker, diagnostic signature for PCa. Citation Format: Desmond Pink, Robert Paproski, Deborah Sosnowski, Lian Willetts, Eric Hyndman, John D. Lewis. Technical validation of a micro-flow cytometry platform for prostate cancer biomarker discovery [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3799. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3799

Abstract 3224: Targeted non-invasive therapy of prostate cancer using fusogenic liposomes

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian men. Most chemotherapeutic drugs do not preferentially target the tumour and therefore subject the patients healthy cells to significant toxicity. There is therefore an urgent need for a novel strategy to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs specifically to the tumour. P14 is a fusion associated small transmembrane (FAST) protein which mediates efficient cell-cell interaction. When we incorporate this p14 FAST protein into liposomes we increase the fusion of the liposome to cell membranes. I hypothesize that targeted ablation of prostate cancer may be achieved by delivering chemotherapeutics encapsulated inside fusogenic liposomes targeted to the gastrin releasing peptide receptors. The objectives of the study are to i) validate the fusogenic properties of p14-containg liposomes ii) express and purify p14-bomesin fusion protein, iii) assemble targeted fusogenic lipsoomes iv) and assess the targeted ablation of human prostate cancer in a xenograft model. To validate the fusogenic properties of p14-containing liposomes in our cell lines, we encapsulated fluorescent dextran inside liposomes containing either no p14, mutant p14 (fusogenic incompetent) or an active p14. We incubated the liposomes on human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080) and measured the uptake of fluorescent dextran using fluorescent microscopy. To construct a fusion protein, we used PCR amplification to fuse bombesin to the C-terminus of the p14 protein. Our analysis demonstrates that the incorporation of the p14 protein significantly increased the fluorescent dextran uptake in the cytoplasm of the HT1080 cells compared to the liposomes that contained no p14 and the mutant p14. Protein purification of the p14-bombesin fusion protein is still in progress. I propose to use these targeted fusogenic liposomes for future studies to evaluate the ability of bombesin-coated fusogenic liposomes to target prostate cells in vitro and deliver a toxic therapeutic payload to prostate tumours in vivo and assess tumour reduction. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3224. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3224