Project description:Glutamine-dependence of cancer cells reduces local glutamine availability, which hinders anti-tumor T-cell functionality and facilitates immune evasion. We thus speculated that glutamine deprivation might be limiting efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies in cancer patients. We have seen that antigen-specific T cells are unable to proliferate or produce IFN-γ in response to antigen stimulation when glutamine concentration is limited. Using multiple myeloma (MM) as a glutamine-dependent disease model, we found that murine CAR-T cells selectively targeting BCMA in MM cells were sensitive to glutamine deprivation. However, CAR-T cells engineered to increase glutamine uptake by expression of the glutamine transporter Asct2 exhibited enhanced proliferation and responsiveness to antigen stimulation, increased production of IFN-, and heightened cytotoxic activity, even under conditions of low glutamine concentration. Mechanistically, Asct2 overexpression reprogrammed CAR-T cell metabolic fitness, improving basal oxygen consumption rate and glycolytic function that enhanced CAR-T cell persistence in vivo. Accordingly, expression of Asct2 increased the efficacy of BCMA CAR-T cells in syngeneic and genetically-engineered mouse models of MM, which prolonged mouse survival. In patients, reduced expression of Asct2 by MM cells predicted poor outcome to combined immunotherapy and BCMA-CAR T-cell therapy. Our results indicate that reprogramming glutamine metabolism may enhance anti-tumor CAR T-cell functionality in multiple myeloma. This approach may also be effective for other cancers that depend on glutamine as a key energy source and metabolic hallmark.
Project description:To investigate the function of SLC1A5 in glioma cells, we establishedT98G cell line in which SLC1A5 has been knocked down by shRNA.
Project description:Mevalonate metabolism is essential for proper functioning of eukaryotic cells. Widely prescribed drugs, like statins and bisphosphonates, inhibit specific enzymes in the mevalonate pathway and modulate immune responses. Intermediate metabolites of the pathway activate innate-like Vd2 T cells, while bisphosphonates effectively expand these cells for potential therapeutic use. Yet, the role of the mevalonate metabolism in Vd2 T cells is poorly defined. We show that in vitro and in vivo inhibition of the mevalonate metabolism results in compromised cytokine production and cytotoxic activity of Vd2 T cells. Impaired Vd2 T cell function is accompanied by global transcriptome changes. Protein prenylation and kinome analysis unraveled dysregulated signaling pathways as the leading cause of the reduced effector function of Vd2 T cells upon mevalonate pathway inhibition. Our findings reveal the importance of mevalonate metabolism for the proper functioning of Vd2 T cells and provides important considerations for improving their therapeutic use.
Project description:FOXA1 is a transcription factor which aids AR function in prostate. There is controversary over the effect of high FOXA1 level has on prostate cancer so we forced the overexpression in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. LNCaP prostate cancer cell line was transfected with GFP control plasmid or plasmid containing FOXA1 full length cDNA. The effect on gene expression was assessed by microarray.
Project description:To analyze the whole-genome profile regulated by SLC1A5-AS in HCC, we treated Huh-7 cells using two independent siRNAs and a negative control (NC), followed by RNA-seq.
Project description:FOXA1 is a transcription factor which aids AR function in prostate. There is controversary over the effect of high FOXA1 level has on prostate cancer so we forced the overexpression in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line.