bims-malgli Biomed News
on Biology of malignant gliomas
Issue of 2023‒08‒20
fourteen papers selected by
Oltea Sampetrean
Keio University
  1. Headway against Brain Tumors with Molecular Targeting of IDH-Mutant Gliomas.
  2. Glioma-neuronal circuit remodeling induces regional immunosuppression.
  3. Targeting sphingolipid metabolism with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor SKI-II overcomes hypoxia-induced chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma cells: effects on cell death, self-renewal, and invasion.
  4. Optical blood-brain-tumor barrier modulation expands therapeutic options for glioblastoma treatment.
  5. Glioblastoma revisited: from neuronal-like invasion to pacemaking.
  6. pH-Weighted Amine Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Echo Planar Imaging (CEST-EPI) Visualizes Infiltrating Glioblastoma Cells.
  7. A review of the anti-tumor potential of current therapeutics targeting the mitochondrial protease ClpP in H3K27-altered, diffuse midline glioma.
  8. AKIP1 accelerates glioblastoma progression through stabilizing EGFR expression.
  9. Targeting IDH in Low-Grade Glioma.
  10. Prognostic value of integrative genomic approaches for IDH-mutant gliomas.
  11. Spatial immune profiling of glioblastoma identifies an inflammatory, perivascular phenotype associated with longer survival.
  12. Clinical efficacy of ONC201 in H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas is driven by disruption of integrated metabolic and epigenetic pathways.
  13. Inherited polymorphisms in the Human Leukocyte Antigen Region modify the association between varicella-zoster virus antibody reactivity and glioma prognosis.
  14. CTLA-4 blockade induces CD4+ T cell IFNγ-driven microglial phagocytosis and anti-tumor function in glioblastoma.
  1. N Engl J Med. 2023 Aug 17. 389(7): 653-654
    Headway against Brain Tumors with Molecular Targeting of IDH-Mutant Gliomas.
    David Schiff.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2305639
  2. bioRxiv. 2023 Aug 06. pii: 2023.08.04.548295. [Epub ahead of print]
    Glioma-neuronal circuit remodeling induces regional immunosuppression.
    Takahide Nejo, Saritha Krishna, Christian Jimenez, Akane Yamamichi, Jacob S Young, Senthilnath Lakshmanachetty, Tiffany Chen, Su Su Sabai Phyu, Hirokazu Ogino, Payal Watchmaker, David Diebold, Abrar Choudhury, Andy G S Daniel, David R Raleigh, Shawn L Hervey-Jumper, Hideho Okada.
      Neuronal activity-driven mechanisms impact glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion 1-7 , and glioblastoma remodels neuronal circuits 8,9 . Distinct intratumoral regions maintain functional connectivity via a subpopulation of malignant cells that mediate tumor-intrinsic neuronal connectivity and synaptogenesis through their transcriptional programs 8 . However, the effects of tumor-intrinsic neuronal activity on other cells, such as immune cells, remain unknown. Here we show that regions within glioblastomas with elevated connectivity are characterized by regional immunosuppression. This was accompanied by different cell compositions and inflammatory status of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment. In preclinical intracerebral syngeneic glioblastoma models, CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout of Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1/ Thbs1 ), a synaptogenic factor critical for glioma-induced neuronal circuit remodeling, in glioblastoma cells suppressed synaptogenesis and glutamatergic neuronal hyperexcitability, while simultaneously restoring antigen-presentation and pro-inflammatory responses. Moreover, TSP-1 knockout prolonged survival of immunocompetent mice harboring intracerebral syngeneic glioblastoma, but not of immunocompromised mice, and promoted infiltrations of pro-inflammatory TAMs and CD8+ T-cells in the tumor microenvironment. Notably, pharmacological inhibition of glutamatergic excitatory signals redirected tumor-associated macrophages toward a less immunosuppressive phenotype, resulting in prolonged survival. Altogether, our results demonstrate previously unrecognized immunosuppression mechanisms resulting from glioma-neuronal circuit remodeling and suggest future strategies targeting glioma-neuron-immune crosstalk may open up new avenues for immunotherapy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.04.548295
  3. BMC Cancer. 2023 Aug 16. 23(1): 762
    Targeting sphingolipid metabolism with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor SKI-II overcomes hypoxia-induced chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma cells: effects on cell death, self-renewal, and invasion.
    Nadia Sousa, Carsten Geiß, Laura Bindila, Ingo Lieberwirth, Ella Kim, Anne Régnier-Vigouroux.
      BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma patients commonly develop resistance to temozolomide chemotherapy. Hypoxia, which supports chemotherapy resistance, favors the expansion of glioblastoma stem cells (GSC), contributing to tumor relapse. Because of a deregulated sphingolipid metabolism, glioblastoma tissues contain high levels of the pro-survival sphingosine-1-phosphate and low levels of the pro-apoptotic ceramide. The latter can be metabolized to sphingosine-1-phosphate by sphingosine kinase (SK) 1 that is overexpressed in glioblastoma. The small molecule SKI-II inhibits SK and dihydroceramide desaturase 1, which converts dihydroceramide to ceramide. We previously reported that SKI-II combined with temozolomide induces caspase-dependent cell death, preceded by dihydrosphingolipids accumulation and autophagy in normoxia. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a low-dose combination of temozolomide and SKI-II under normoxia and hypoxia in glioblastoma cells and patient-derived GCSs.METHODS: Drug synergism was analyzed with the Chou-Talalay Combination Index method. Dose-effect curves of each drug were determined with the Sulforhodamine B colorimetric assay. Cell death mechanisms and autophagy were analyzed by immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and western blot; sphingolipid metabolism alterations by mass spectrometry and gene expression analysis. GSCs self-renewal capacity was determined using extreme limiting dilution assays and invasion of glioblastoma cells using a 3D spheroid model.
    RESULTS: Temozolomide resistance of glioblastoma cells was increased under hypoxia. However, combination of temozolomide (48 µM) with SKI-II (2.66 µM) synergistically inhibited glioblastoma cell growth and potentiated glioblastoma cell death relative to single treatments under hypoxia. This low-dose combination did not induce dihydrosphingolipids accumulation, but a decrease in ceramide and its metabolites. It induced oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress and triggered caspase-independent cell death. It impaired the self-renewal capacity of temozolomide-resistant GSCs, especially under hypoxia. Furthermore, it decreased invasion of glioblastoma cell spheroids.
    CONCLUSIONS: This in vitro study provides novel insights on the links between sphingolipid metabolism and invasion, a hallmark of cancer, and cancer stem cells, key drivers of cancer. It demonstrates the therapeutic potential of approaches that combine modulation of sphingolipid metabolism with first-line agent temozolomide in overcoming tumor growth and relapse by reducing hypoxia-induced resistance to chemotherapy and by targeting both differentiated and stem glioblastoma cells.
    Keywords:  Cell death; Drug combination; Glioblastoma stem cells; Glioblastoma therapy; Hypoxia; Invasion; SKI-II; Sphingolipids; Temozolomide
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-023-11271-w
  4. Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 15. 14(1): 4934
    Optical blood-brain-tumor barrier modulation expands therapeutic options for glioblastoma treatment.
    Qi Cai, Xiaoqing Li, Hejian Xiong, Hanwen Fan, Xiaofei Gao, Vamsidhara Vemireddy, Ryan Margolis, Junjie Li, Xiaoqian Ge, Monica Giannotta, Kenneth Hoyt, Elizabeth Maher, Robert Bachoo, Zhenpeng Qin.
      The treatment of glioblastoma has limited clinical progress over the past decade, partly due to the lack of effective drug delivery strategies across the blood-brain-tumor barrier. Moreover, discrepancies between preclinical and clinical outcomes demand a reliable translational platform that can precisely recapitulate the characteristics of human glioblastoma. Here we analyze the intratumoral blood-brain-tumor barrier heterogeneity in human glioblastoma and characterize two genetically engineered models in female mice that recapitulate two important glioma phenotypes, including the diffusely infiltrative tumor margin and angiogenic core. We show that pulsed laser excitation of vascular-targeted gold nanoparticles non-invasively and reversibly modulates the blood-brain-tumor barrier permeability (optoBBTB) and enhances the delivery of paclitaxel in these two models. The treatment reduces the tumor volume by 6 and 2.4-fold and prolongs the survival by 50% and 33%, respectively. Since paclitaxel does not penetrate the blood-brain-tumor barrier and is abandoned for glioblastoma treatment following its failure in early-phase clinical trials, our results raise the possibility of reevaluating a number of potent anticancer drugs by combining them with strategies to increase blood-brain-tumor barrier permeability. Our study reveals that optoBBTB significantly improves therapeutic delivery and has the potential to facilitate future drug evaluation for cancers in the central nervous system.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40579-1
  5. Trends Cancer. 2023 Aug 14. pii: S2405-8033(23)00136-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    Glioblastoma revisited: from neuronal-like invasion to pacemaking.
    Sophie Heuer, Frank Winkler.
      In recent years, two developments have helped us to better understand the fundamental biology of glioblastoma: the description of a striking intratumoral heterogeneity including gene expression-based cell states, and the discovery that neuro-cancer interactions and cancer-intrinsic neurodevelopmental mechanisms are fundamental features of glioblastoma. In this opinion article, we aim to integrate both developments. We explain how two key disease features are characterized by different neural mechanisms related to distinct but plastic cancer cell states: first, the single cell-dominated invasive parts and second, the more solid parts which are dominated by communicating cell networks constantly activated by pacemaker-like glioblastoma cells. The resulting integrative roadmap of molecular and functional heterogeneity contributes to the Cancer Neuroscience of glioblastoma and suggests novel therapeutic strategies.
    Keywords:  cancer neuroscience; cellular heterogeneity; glioblastoma; invasion; neuron-glioma synapse; tumor cell network
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trecan.2023.07.009
  6. Neuro Oncol. 2023 Aug 18. pii: noad150. [Epub ahead of print]
    pH-Weighted Amine Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Echo Planar Imaging (CEST-EPI) Visualizes Infiltrating Glioblastoma Cells.
    Kunal S Patel, Jingwen Yao, Nicholas S Cho, Francesco Sanvito, Kaleab Tessema, Alvaro Alvarado, Lindsey Dudley, Fausto Rodriguez, Richard Everson, Timothy F Cloughesy, Noriko Salamon, Linda Liau, Harley Kornblum, Benjamin M Ellingson.
      BACKGROUND: Given the invasive nature of glioblastoma, tumor cells exist beyond the contrast enhancing (CE) region targeted during treatment. However, areas of non-enhancing (NE) tumor are difficult to visualize and delineate from edematous tissue. Amine chemical exchange saturation transfer echo planar imaging (CEST-EPI) is a pH-sensitive molecular MRI technique that was evaluated in its ability to identify infiltrating non-enhancing tumor and prognosticate survival.METHODS: In this prospective study, CEST-EPI was obtained in 30 patients and areas with elevated CEST contrast ("CEST+" based on the asymmetry in magnetization transfer ratio: MTRasym at 3ppm) within NE regions were quantitated. Median MTRasym at 3ppm and volume of CEST+ NE regions were correlated with progression-free survival (PFS). In 20 samples from 14 patients, image guided biopsies of these areas were obtained to correlate MTRasym at 3ppm to tumor and non-tumor cell burden using immunohistochemistry.
    RESULTS: In 15 newly diagnosed and 15 recurrent glioblastoma, higher median MTRasym at 3ppm within CEST+ NE regions [p=0.007;p=0.0326] and higher volumes of CEST+ NE tumor [p=0.020;p<0.001] were associated with decreased PFS. CE recurrence occurred in areas of pre-operative CEST+ NE regions in 95.4% of patients. MTRasym at 3ppm was correlated with presence of tumor, cell density, %Ki-67 positivity, and %CD31 positivity [p=0.001;p<0.001;p<0.001;p=0.001].
    CONCLUSIONS: pH-weighted amine CEST-EPI allows for visualization of NE tumor, likely through surrounding acidification of the tumor microenvironment. The magnitude and volume of CEST+NE tumor correlates with tumor cell density, degree of proliferating or "active" tumor, and PFS.
    Keywords:  CEST-EPI; Glioblastoma; Non-enhancing; pH MRI
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noad150
  7. Neuro Oncol. 2023 Aug 17. pii: noad144. [Epub ahead of print]
    A review of the anti-tumor potential of current therapeutics targeting the mitochondrial protease ClpP in H3K27-altered, diffuse midline glioma.
    Evangeline R Jackson, Mika L Persson, Cameron J Fish, Izac J Findlay, Sabine Mueller, Javad Nazarian, Esther Hulleman, Jasper van der Lugt, Ryan J Duchatel, Matthew D Dun.
      Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) are devastating pediatric brain tumors recognized as the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. DMGs are high-grade gliomas (HGGs) diagnosed along the brain's midline. Euchromatin is the hallmark feature of DMG, caused by global hypomethylation of H3K27 either through point mutations in histone H3 genes (H3K27M), or by overexpression of the enhancer of zeste homolog inhibitory protein (EZHIP). In a clinical trial for adults with progressive HGGs, a 22-year-old patient with a thalamic H3K27-altered DMG, showed remarkable clinical and radiological responses to dordaviprone (ONC201). This response in a H3K27-altered HGG patient, coupled with the lack of response of patients harboring wildtype-H3 tumors, has increased the clinical interest in dordaviprone for the treatment of DMG. Additional reports of clinical benefit have emerged, but research defining mechanisms of action (MOA) fall behind dordaviprone's clinical use, with biomarkers of response unresolved. Here, we summarize dordaviprone's safety, interrogate its preclinical MOA- identifying the mitochondrial protease 'ClpP' as a biomarker of response, and discuss other ClpP-agonists, expanding the arsenal of potential weapons in the fight against DMG. Finally, we discuss combination strategies including ClpP-agonists, and its immunomodulatory effects suggestive of a role for the tumor microenvironment in DMG patients' response.
    Keywords:  CLPP; CLPP agonist; DMG; ONC201; dordaviprone
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noad144
  8. Oncogene. 2023 Aug 18.
    AKIP1 accelerates glioblastoma progression through stabilizing EGFR expression.
    Sicheng Wan, Chaolong Liu, Chongyang Li, Zhi Wang, Gaichao Zhao, Jingui Li, Wenhao Ran, Xi Zhong, Yongsen Li, Li Zhang, Hongjuan Cui.
      A Kinase Interacting Protein 1 (AKIP1) is found to be overexpressed in a variety of human cancers and associated with patients' worse prognosis. Several studies have established AKIP1's malignant functions in tumor metastasis, angiogenesis, and chemoradiotherapy resistance. However, the mechanism of AKIP1 involved in accelerating glioblastoma (GBM) progression remains unknown. Here, we showed that the expression of AKIP1 was positively correlated with the glioma pathological grades. Down-regulating AKIP1 greatly impaired the proliferation, colony formation, and tumorigenicity of GBM cells. In terms of the mechanism, AKIP1 cooperates with transcriptional factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1)-mediated Heat Shock Protein 90 Alpha Family Class A Member 1 (HSP90AA1) transcriptional activation, enhancing the stability of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). YY1 was identified as a potential transcriptional factor of HSP90AA1 and directly interacts with AKIP1. The overexpression of HSP90α significantly reversed AKIP1 depletion incurred EGFR instability and the blocked cell proliferation. Moreover, we further investigated the interacted pattern between EGFR and HSP90α. These findings established that AKIP1 acted as a critical oncogenic factor in GBM and uncovered a novel regulatory mechanism in EGFR aberrant expression.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-023-02796-2
  9. N Engl J Med. 2023 Aug 17. 389(7): 655-659
    Targeting IDH in Low-Grade Glioma.
    Elizabeth B Claus, Roel G W Verhaak.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2305602
  10. Neuro Oncol. 2023 Aug 17. pii: noad151. [Epub ahead of print]
    Prognostic value of integrative genomic approaches for IDH-mutant gliomas.
    Marco Gallo.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noad151
  11. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 Aug 13.
    Spatial immune profiling of glioblastoma identifies an inflammatory, perivascular phenotype associated with longer survival.
    Hans-Georg Wirsching, Jörg Felsberg, Michael Prummer, Vlad Moisoiu, Roxanne Lourman, Caroline Hertler, Michelle Antonios, Patrick J Cimino, Patrick Roth, Thierry Gorlia, Robert M Prins, Timothy Cloughesy, Patrick Y Wen, Eric C Holland, Guido Reifenberger, Michael Weller.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-023-02617-6
  12. Cancer Discov. 2023 Aug 16. pii: CD-23-0131. [Epub ahead of print]
    Clinical efficacy of ONC201 in H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline gliomas is driven by disruption of integrated metabolic and epigenetic pathways.
    Sriram Venneti, Abed Rahman Kawakibi, Sunjong Ji, Sebastian M Waszak, Stefan R Sweha, Mateus Mota, Matthew Pun, Akash Deogharkar, Chan Chung, Rohinton S Tarapore, Samuel Ramage, Andrew Chi, Patrick Y Wen, Isabel Arrillaga-Romany, Tracy T Batchelor, Nicholas A Butowski, Ashley Sumrall, Nicole Shonka, Rebecca A Harrison, John de Groot, Minesh Mehta, Matthew D Hall, Doured Daghistani, Timothy F Cloughesy, Benjamin M Ellingson, Kevin Beccaria, Pascale Varlet, Michelle M Kim, Yoshie Umemura, Hugh Garton, Andrea Franson, Jonathan Schwartz, Rajan Jain, Maureen Kachman, Heidi Baum, Charles F Burant, Sophie L Mottl, Rodrigo T Cartaxo, Vishal John, Dana Messinger, Tingting Qin, Erik Peterson, Peter Sajjakulnukit, Karthik Ravi, Alyssa Waugh, Dustin Walling, Yujie Ding, Ziyun Xia, Anna Schwendeman, Debra Hawes, Fusheng Yang, Alexander R Judkins, Daniel Wahl, Costas A Lyssiotis, Daniel de la Nava, Marta M Alonso, Augustine Eze, Jasper Spitzer, Susanne V Schmidt, Ryan J Duchatel, Matthew D Dun, Jason E Cain, Li Jiang, Sylwia A Stopka, Gerard Baquer, Michael S Regan, Mariella G Filbin, Nathalie Y R Agar, Lili Zhao, Chandan Kumar-Sinha, Rajen Mody, Arul Chinnaiyan, Ryo Kurokawa, Drew Pratt, Viveka N Yadav, Jacques Grill, Cassie Kline, Sabine Mueller, Adam Resnick, Javad Nazarian, Joshua E Allen, Yazmin Odia, Sharon L Gardner, Carl Koschmann.
      H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma (DMG) patients have no proven effective therapies. ONC201 has recently demonstrated efficacy in these patients, but the mechanism behind this remains unknown. We assessed clinical outcomes, tumor sequencing, and tissue/CSF correlate samples from patients treated in two completed multi-site clinical studies. Patients treated with ONC201 following initial radiation but prior to recurrence demonstrated a median overall survival of 21.7 months, while those treated after recurrence had a median overall survival of 9.3 months. Radiographic response was associated with increased expression of key tricarboxylic acid cycle-related genes in baseline tumor sequencing. ONC201 treatment increased 2-hydroxyglutarate levels in cultured H3K27M-DMG cells and patient CSF samples. This corresponded with increases in repressive H3K27me3 in vitro and in human tumors accompanied by epigenetic downregulation of cell cycle regulation and neuro-glial differentiation genes. Overall, ONC201 demonstrates efficacy in H3K27M-DMG by disrupting integrated metabolic and epigenetic pathways and reversing pathognomonic H3K27me3 reduction.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-0131
  13. Neuro Oncol. 2023 Aug 18. pii: noad122. [Epub ahead of print]
    Inherited polymorphisms in the Human Leukocyte Antigen Region modify the association between varicella-zoster virus antibody reactivity and glioma prognosis.
    Stephen S Francis, Geno Guerra, Helen M Hansen, George Wendt, Linda Kachuri, John K Wiencke, Margaret Wrensch.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noad122
  14. Immunity. 2023 Aug 06. pii: S1074-7613(23)00328-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    CTLA-4 blockade induces CD4+ T cell IFNγ-driven microglial phagocytosis and anti-tumor function in glioblastoma.
    Dan Chen, Siva Karthik Varanasi, Toshiro Hara, Kacie Traina, Ming Sun, Bryan McDonald, Yagmur Farsakoglu, Josh Clanton, Shihao Xu, Lizmarie Garcia-Rivera, Thomas H Mann, Victor Du, H Kay Chung, Ziyan Xu, Victoria Tripple, Eduardo Casillas, Shixin Ma, Carolyn O'Connor, Qiyuan Yang, Ye Zheng, Tony Hunter, Greg Lemke, Susan M Kaech.
      The limited efficacy of immunotherapies against glioblastoma underscores the urgency of better understanding immunity in the central nervous system. We found that treatment with αCTLA-4, but not αPD-1, prolonged survival in a mouse model of mesenchymal-like glioblastoma. This effect was lost upon the depletion of CD4+ T cells but not CD8+ T cells. αCTLA-4 treatment increased frequencies of intratumoral IFNγ-producing CD4+ T cells, and IFNg blockade negated the therapeutic impact of αCTLA-4. The anti-tumor activity of CD4+ T cells did not require tumor-intrinsic MHC-II expression but rather required conventional dendritic cells as well as MHC-II expression on microglia. CD4+ T cells interacted directly with microglia, promoting IFNγ-dependent microglia activation and phagocytosis via the AXL/MER tyrosine kinase receptors, which were necessary for tumor suppression. Thus, αCTLA-4 blockade in mesenchymal-like glioblastoma promotes a CD4+ T cell-microglia circuit wherein IFNγ triggers microglia activation and phagocytosis and microglia in turn act as antigen-presenting cells fueling the CD4+ T cell response.
    Keywords:  AXL; CD4(+) T cell; CTLA-4; MER; MHC-II; glioblastoma; immunotherapy; microglia
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.07.015
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2023‒08‒20 at 0:39.