Oleg S. Taranov

Identification of cancer stem cells and a strategy for their elimination

It has been established previously that up to 40% of mouse CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells are capable of internalizing exogenous dsDNA fragments both in vivo and ex vivo. Importantly, when mice are treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide and dsDNA, the repair of interstrand crosslinks in hematopoietic progenitors is attenuated, and their pluripotency is altered. Here we show for the first time that among various actively proliferating mammalian cell populations there are subpopulations capable of internalizing dsDNA fragments. In the context of cancer, such dsDNA-internalizing cell subpopulations display cancer stem cell-like phenotype. Furthermore, using Krebs-2 ascites cells as a model, we found that upon combined treatment with cyclophosphamide and dsDNA, engrafted material loses its tumor-initiating properties which we attribute to the elimination of tumor-initiating stem cell subpopulation or loss of its tumorigenic potential.

“Delayed death” phenomenon: A synergistic action of cyclophosphamide and exogenous DNA

Morbidity and mortality in mice were observed upon administration of exogenous DNA following their pre-treatment with a cytostatic agent cyclophosphamide. Upon intraperitoneal injections, the fragments of exogenous DNA reached bone marrow cells. These cells were also found to internalize up to 1800 kb of exogenous DNA ex vivo. The 18-24 h time frame represents a final stage in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, so when exogenous DNA was administered within this critical period of time, pathological changes were observed in many target organs. Namely, bone marrow cells underwent a sustained increase in apoptosis. Copy number of B1 and B2 DNA repeats in bone marrow cells remained unchanged, whereas in the control group of animals their levels were significantly decreased. Finally, the bone marrow cells of moribund animals completely lacked lymphoid progenitors, yet the CD34+ hematopoietic stem cell counts were normal. Histopathology analysis suggested that mice died due to accidental involution of lymphoid organs combined with a systemic inflammatory process induced by massive administration of exogenous DNA and depletion of lymphoid lineage.

Using the Ground Squirrel (Marmota bobak) as an Animal Model to Assess Monkeypox Drug Efficacy.

&NA; In experiments to study the sensitivity of ground squirrels (Marmota bobak) to monkeypox virus (MPXV) at intranasal challenge, expressed pox‐like clinical symptoms (hyperthermia, lymphadenitis, skin rash all over the body and mucous membranes and others) were observed 7–9 days post‐infection. The 50% infective dose (ID50) of MPXV for these marmots determined by the presence of clinical signs of the disease was 2.2 log10 PFU. Some diseased marmots (about 40%) died 13–22 days post‐infection, and the mortality rate was weakly dependent on MPXV infective dose. Lungs with trachea were primary target organs of marmots challenged intranasally (with ˜30 ID50). The pathogen got to secondary target organs of the animals mainly via the lymphatic way (with replication in bifurcation lymph nodes). Lungs with trachea, nasal mucosa and skin were the organs where the maximum MPXV amounts accumulated in these animals. Evidences of the pathogen presence and replication were revealed in these and subcutaneously infected marmots in the traditional primary target cells for MPXV (macrophages and respiratory tract epitheliocytes), as well as in some other cells (endotheliocytes, plasmocytes, fibroblasts, reticular and smooth muscle cells). Our use of this animal species to assess the antiviral efficacy of some drugs demonstrated the agreement of the obtained results with those described in scientific literature, which opens up the prospects of using marmots as animal models for monkeypox to develop therapeutic and preventive anti‐smallpox drugs.

Internalization of Exogenous DNA into Internal Compartments of Murine Bone Marrow Cells

Injections of exogenous DNA combined with a cytostatic agent cyclophosphamide (CP) cause illness and death in experimental mice. This phenomenon is referred to as delayed death. It has been found that fragments of exogenous DNA reach the bone marrow and enter the bone marrow cells (BMCs) 1–5 min after injections. Fragments of exogenous DNA are captured from culture medium by BMCs generated ex vivo. After joint incubation with BMCs of mice, the fragments of exogenous DNA are internalized into internal compartments in a nondegraded form. Up to 1800 kb of nucleic acid material can be present in each cell of BMCs generated ex vivo and treated with fragments of exogenous DNA. The fragments of exogenous DNA internalized in BMCs generated ex vivo of both intact and CP pretreated mice become circularized. In the case of intact mice, the fragments of exogenous DNA can form high-molecular weight structures in vivo. It is suggested that the exogenous fragments localized in BMC nuclei integrate into chromosome(s) of the recipient mouse genome when treated with CP and exogenous DNA.

A strategy to eradicate well-developed Krebs-2 ascites in mice

We describe the strategy, which allows curing experimental mice engrafted with Krebs-2 ascites. The strategy is based on the facts that i) Krebs-2 tumor-initiating stem cells (TISCs) are naturally capable of internalizing fragments of extracellular double-stranded DNA (dsDNA); ii) upon delivery into TISCs, these dsDNA fragments interfere with the on-going DNA repair process so that TISCs either die or lose their tumorigenic potential. The following 3-step regimen of therapeutic procedures leading to eradication of Krebs-2 ascites is considered. Firstly, three timed injections of cyclophosphamide (CP) exactly matching the interstrand cross-link (ICL) repair phases that lead to synchronization of ascites cells in late S/G2/M. Secondly, additional treatment of ascites 18 hours post each CP injection (at NER/HR transition timepoint) with a composite dsDNA-based preparation interfering with the NER and HR repair pathways, so that tumorigenic properties of ascites cells are compromised. Thirdly, final treatment of mice with a combination of CP and dsDNA injections as ascites cells undergo apoptotic destruction, and the surviving TAMRA+ TISCs arrested in late S/G2/M phases massively enter into G1/S, when they regain sensitivity to CP+dsDNA treatment. Thus, this regimen assures that no viable cells, particularly Krebs-2 TISCs, remain.

Gene expression profiling of tumor-initiating stem cells from mouse Krebs-2 carcinoma using a novel marker of poorly differentiated cells

Using the ability of poorly differentiated cells to natively internalize fragments of extracellular double-stranded DNA as a marker, we isolated a tumorigenic subpopulation present in Krebs-2 ascites that demonstrated the features of tumor-inducing cancer stem cells. Having combined TAMRA-labeled DNA probe and the power of RNA-seq technology, we identified a set of 168 genes specifically expressed in TAMRA-positive cells (tumor-initiating stem cells), these genes remaining silent in TAMRA-negative cancer cells. TAMRA+ cells displayed gene expression signatures characteristic of both stem cells and cancer cells. The observed expression differences between TAMRA+ and TAMRA− cells were validated by Real Time PCR. The results obtained corroborated the biological data that TAMRA+ murine Krebs-2 tumor cells are tumor-initiating stem cells. The approach developed can be applied to profile any poorly differentiated cell types that are capable of immanent internalization of double-stranded DNA.

SCID mice as an animal model to evaluate the efficacy of antismallpox drugs

There is currently no animal model to evaluate the preventive efficacy of antiviral drugs for the treatment of smallpox in human patients with a weak immune system. Therefore, the possibility of using outbred severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice as an animal model was examined by electron microscopy and virological, histological, and statistical methods. There were no clinical signs of disease after the intranasal infection of mice with the variola virus (VARV) at a dose of 5.2 log10 PFU (plaque forming unit). At the same time, the median infective dose (ID50) of VARV estimated by registering the presence of the virus in the lungs of animals four days after infection was 3.5 log10 PFU, and thus, was close to that theoretically determined in human patients by identifying the clinical picture of the disease. The reproduction of the virus was detected only in the respiratory organs of mice infected with VARV at a dose of 5.2 log10 PFU (50 ID50). The values of the VARV concentration in the lungs and nose were similar to those observed in human patients and well-known animal models such as Macaca cynomolgus and ICR mice respiratorily infected with almost the same doses of VARV. The known animal models were not shown to be significantly different from SCID mice in terms of the duration of the presence of the virus in the lungs. Moreover, the inflammatory and necrotic pathomorphological changes observed in the respiratory organs of SCID mice were similar to those occurring in other animal models and human patients. The use of SCID mice for evaluating the preventive efficacy of the NIOCH-14 and ST-246 antiviral drugs led to the results agreeing well with the previously reported data. Thus, SCID mice may be used as an experimental animal model for simulating smallpox to develop antiviral drugs for the treatment of human patients with a severe immunosuppressive state.

The selection and optimization of the detection system for self-contained multiplexed dot-immunoassay

ABSTRACT This study performed a comparative estimation of the detection systems with the use of conjugates based on peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, colloidal gold, and the amplification system “Super-CARD” for multiplex dot-immunoassay of antibodies. The results of the study show that the sensitivity of the detection system with colloidal gold was approximately 8 times higher than that of the system with amplification “Super-CARD”, 30 times higher than that of the system with conjugate of alkaline phosphatase, and 250 times higher than the sensitivity of the system with the peroxidase conjugate. Gold immunosols limit the direct detection of human IgG of 10 pg with dynamic range of optical signal change from 5 ng to 10 pg. This limit corresponds to a range of concentrations of IgG from 2.5 μg/mL to 5 ng/mL and covers the range of specific IgG concentrations, to which a typical natural immune response leads. The most typical reasons for aggregate formation during obtainment of colloidal gold and the binding of colloidal gold with biocomponents were explored. The method of minimization of particle clusters formation was suggested as well as the method for increasing stability of diluted preparations of probe by means of sedimentation of aggregates from the ready-made product.

Efficacy of a new cancer treatment strategy based on eradication of tumor-initiating stem cells in a mouse model of Krebs-2 solid adenocarcinoma

Krebs-2 solid carcinoma was cured using a new “3+1” strategy for eradication of Krebs-2 tumor-initiating stem cells. This strategy was based on synchronization of these cells in a treatment-sensitive phase of the cell cycle. The synchronization mechanism, subsequent destruction of Krebs-2 tumor-initiating stem cells, and cure of mice from a solid graft were found to depend on the temporal profile of the interstrand cross-link repair cycle. Also, the temporal profile of the Krebs-2 interstrand repair cycle was found to have a pronounced seasonal cyclicity at the place of experiments (Novosibirsk, Russia). As a result, the therapeutic effect that is based on application of the described strategy, originally developed for the “winter repair cycle” (November−April), is completely eliminated in the summer period (June−September). We conclude that оne of the possible and the likeliest reasons for our failure to observe the therapeutic effects was the seasonal cyclicity in the duration of the interstrand repair cycle, the parameter that is central to our strategy.

Combination of cyclophosphamide and double-stranded DNA demonstrates synergistic toxicity against established xenografts.

BackgroundExtracellular double-stranded DNA participates in various processes in an organism. Here we report the suppressive effects of fragmented human double-stranded DNA along or in combination with cyclophosphamide on solid and ascites grafts of mouse Krebs-2 tumor cells and DNA preparation on human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7.MethodsApoptosis and necrosis were assayed by electrophoretic analysis (DNA nucleosomal fragmentation) and by measurements of LDH levels in ascitic fluid, respectively. DNA internalization into MCF-7 was analyzed by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy.ResultsDirect cytotoxic activity of double-stranded DNA (along or in combination with cyclophosphamide) on a solid transplant was demonstrated. This resulted in delayed solid tumor proliferation and partial tumor lysis due to necrosis of the tumor and adjacent tissues. In the case of ascites form of tumor, extensive apoptosis and secondary necrosis were observed. Similarly, MCF-7 cells showed induction of massive apoptosis (up to 45%) as a result of treatments with double-stranded DNA preparation.ConclusionsDouble-stranded DNA (along or in combination with cyclophosphamide) induces massive apoptosis of Krebs-2 ascite cells and MCF-7 cell line (DNA only). In treated mice it reduces the integrity of gut wall cells and contributes to the development of systemic inflammatory reaction.