• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2017

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is composed of heterogeneous subgroups that require a multidisciplinary team approach in order to ensure optimal therapy for each patient. Since 2010, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has recommended chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for bulky mediastinal disease and surgical combination for those patients with single-station N2 involvement who respond to neoadjuvant therapy. According to lung cancer tumor boards, thoracic surgeons make a decision on the resectability of the tumor, if it is determined to be unresectable, concurrent CRT (CCRT) is considered the next choice. However, the survival benefit of CCRT over sequential CRT or radiotherapy alone carries the risk of additional toxicity. Considering severe adverse events that may lead to death, fit patients who are able to tolerate CCRT must be identified by multidisciplinary tumor board. Decelerated approaches, such as sequential CRT or high-dose radiation alone may be a valuable alternative for patients who are not eligible for CCRT. As a new treatment strategy, investigators are interested in the application of the innovative radiation techniques, trimodality therapy combining surgery after high-dose definitive CCRT, and the combination of radiation with targeted or immunotherapy agents. The updated results and on-going studies are thoroughly reviewed in this article.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.38.1-38.24
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• 2022

Exosomes, which are well-known nanoscale extracellular vesicles, are multifunctional biomaterials derived from endosomes and perform various functions. The exosome is a critical material in cell-cell communication. In addition, it regulates the pathophysiological conditions of the tumor microenvironment in particular. In the tumor microenvironment, exosomes play a controversial role in supporting or killing cancer by conveying biomaterials derived from parent cells. Innate immunity is a crucial component of the host defense mechanism, as it prevents foreign substances, such as viruses and other microbes and tumorigenesis from invading the body. Early in the tumorigenesis process, the innate immunity explicitly recognizes the tumor via Ags and educates the adaptive immunity to eliminate it. Recent studies have revealed that exosomes regulate immunity in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor-derived exosomes regulate immunity against tumor progression and metastasis. Furthermore, tumor-derived exosomes regulate polarization, differentiation, proliferation, and activation of innate immune cells. Exosomes produced from innate immune cells can inhibit or support tumor progression and metastasis via immune cell activation and direct cancer inhibition. In this study, we investigated current knowledge regarding the communication between tumor-derived exosomes and innate immune cell-derived exosomes (from macrophages, dendritic cells, NK cells, and neutrophils) in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, we discussed the potential development of exosomal immunotherapy using native or engineered exosomes against cancer.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.37-48
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• 2024

Liposomes are one of the most actively studied and promising drug delivery systems for the treatment of various diseases. In this study, an aptamer-conjugated liposome called "aptamosome" was used, in which an anti-PD-L1 aptamer targeting cancer cells was conjugated to the liposome. These aptamosomes showed remarkable cellular uptake and efficient delivery to Lewis lung carcinoma 2 (LL/2) cancer cells. In addition, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), was delivered through this aptamer to induce a strong anticancer immunotherapeutic effect. The results of this study showed that when LL/2 cells were treated with SAHA-entrapped aptamosome [SAHA] and liposome [SAHA] and free SAHA, aptamosome [SAHA] improved cell death compared with that of liposomes [SAHA] or free SAHA, and it has demonstrated anticancer efficacy. Moreover, aptamosome [SAHA] induce the secretion of chemokines that promote the migration of activated T cells into tumor tissues. Finally, in vivo experiments showed that aptamosome [SAHA] significantly inhibited the growth rate of LL/2 tumors. Therefore, liposomes combined with an anti-PD-L1 aptamer for efficient SAHA delivery are suggested as an excellent model for drug delivery systems suitable for targeting cancer cells.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.139-147
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• 2012

Although adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) has become a promising immunotherapeutic regime for cancer treatment, its effectiveness has been hindered by several inherent shortcomings regarding safety and efficacy. During the past few decades, several strategies for enhancing the efficacy of ACT have been developed and introduced in clinic. This review will summarize not only the past approaches but also the latest strategies which have been shown to enhance the anticancer activity of ACT.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.36-44
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• 2005

Background: The anti-tumor therapeutic effect of autologous tumor cell lysate pulseddendritic cells (DCs) was studied for non-immunogenic and immune suppressive lung cancer model. To test the possibility as an adjuvant therapy, minimal residual disease model was considered in mouse in vivo experiments. Methods: Syngeneic 3LL lung cancer cells were inoculated intravenously into the C57BL/6 mouse. Autologous tumor cell (3LL) or allogeneic leukemia cell (WEHI-3) lysate pulsed-DCs were injected twice in two weeks. Intraperitoneal DC injection was started one day (MRD model) after tumor cell inoculation. Two weeks after the final DC injection, tumor formation in the lung and the tumor-specific systemic immunity were observed. Tumor-specific lymphocyte proliferation and the IFN-${\gamma}$ secretion were analyzed for the immune monitoring. Therapeutic DCs were cultured from the bone marrow myeloid lineage cells with GM-CSF and IL-4 for 7 days and pulsed with tumor cell lysate for 18 hrs. Results: Compared to the saline treated group, tumor formation was suppressed in 3LL tumor cell lysate pulsed-DC treated group, while 3LL-specific immune stimulation was minimum. WEHI-3-specific immune stimulation occurred in WEHI-3 lysate-pulsed DC treated group, which had no correlation with tumor regression. Conclusion: The data suggest the possible anti-tumor effect of cultured DCs as an adjuvant therapy for minimal residual disease state of lung cancer. The significance of immune modulation in DC therapy including the possible involvement of NK cell as well as antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell activity induction was discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.467-477
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• 2020

Doenjang is a major fermented soy-based food in Korea. Recent investigations have shown that fermented soybean foods have immunity-enhancing, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects. Several studies also have reported that genistein and daidzein, which are easily absorbed in the body are produced in larger quantities in aged doenjang. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variations in the anti-cancer effects of commercialized doenjang as it ages. Four groups were formed for this study according to aging periods of doenjang, namely short (under 5 years, S group), mid (under 10 years, M group), long (under 15 years, L group) and very long (over 15 years, E group). The anti-cancer effects of doenjang were determined by cell cytotoxicity assays in A549, YAC-1, and HepG2 cancer cell lines. Also, NK cell activity and splenocyte proliferation were assayed for cancer immunotherapy. The quantities of phenolic compounds in doenjang at different ages were also measured. The results showed that the anti-cancer effects increased in the S and M groups for all three cancer cell lines. Interestingly, similar to this result, splenocyte proliferation and NK activity were also the highest in the S and M groups. In contrast, the E group showed significantly reduced splenocyte proliferation. The quantity of phenolic compounds was similar to that of the anti-cancer results. Collectively, these results suggest that the fermentation period of doenjang plays a very important role in determining its anti-cancer effects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.571-578
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• 2015

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. In this study, we investigated immune responses of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against TRAMP-C2 prostate cancer cells after activation by dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and/or PEP-3 peptide in vitro. Bone marrow-derived DC from the bone marrow of the C57BL/6 were induced to mature by using the cytokine of rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4, and loaded with either the freeze-thaw antigen or PEP-3 peptide or both of them. Maturation of DCs was detected by flow cytometry. The killing efficiency of the CTLs on TRAMP-C2 cells were detected by flow cytometry, CCK8, colony formation, transwell migration, and wound-healing assay. The levels of the IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with the unloaded DCs, the loaded DCs had significantly increased expression of several phenotypes related to DC maturation. CTLs activated by DCs loaded with freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide had more evident cytotoxicity against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro. The secretion levels of IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\beta}$ and IL-12, secreted by DCs loaded with antigen and PEP-3 and interaction with T cells, were higher than in the other groups. Our results suggest that the CTLs activated by DCs loaded with TRAMP-C2 freeze-thaw antigen and PEP-3 peptide exert a remarkable killing efficiency against TRAMP-C2 cells in vitro.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3635-3638
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• 2015

Several improvements in ovarian cancer treatment have been achieved in recent years, both in surgery and in combination chemotherapy with targeting. However, ovarian tumors remain the women's cancers with highest mortality rates. In this scenario, a pivotal role has been endorsed to the immunological environment and to the immunological mechanisms involved in ovarian cancer behavior. Recent evidence suggests a loss of the critical balance between immune-activating and immune-suppressing mechanisms when oncogenesis and cancer progression occur. Ovarian cancer generates a mechanism to escape the immune system by producing a highly suppressive environment. Immune-activated tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in ovarian tumor tissue testify that the immune system is the trigger in this neoplasm. The TIL mileau has been demonstrated to be associated with better prognosis, more chemosensitivity, and more cases of optimal residual tumor achieved during primary cytoreduction. Nowadays, scientists are focusing attention on new immunologically effective tumor biomarkers in order to optimize selection of patients for recruitment in clinical trials and to identify relationships of these biomarkers with responses to immunotherapeutics. Assessing this point of view, TILs might be considered as a potent predictive immunotherapy biomarker.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.611-616
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• 2014

Objectives: Dendritic cell (DC)-based tumor immunotherapy needs an immunogenic tumor associated antigen (TAA) and an effective approach for its presentation to lymphocytes. In this study we explored whether transduction of DCs with lentiviruses (LVs) expressing the human interleukin-12 gene could stimulate antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) against human lung cancer cells in vitro. Methods: Peripheral blood monocyte-derived DCs were transduced with a lentiviral vector encoding human IL-12 gene (LV-12). The anticipated target of the human IL-12 gene was detected by RT-PCR. The concentration of IL-12 in the culture supernatant of DCs was measured by ELISA.Transduction efficiencies and CD83 phenotypes of DCs were assessed by flow cytometry. DCs were pulsed with tumor antigen of lung cancer cells (DC+Ag) and transduced with LV-12 (DC-LV-12+Ag). Stimulation of T lymphocyte proliferation by DCs and activation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) stimulated by LV-12 transduced DCs pulsed with tumor antigen against A549 lung cancer cells were assessed with methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT). Results: A recombinant lentivirus expressing the IL-12 gene was successfully constructed. DC transduced with LV-12 produced higher levels of IL-12 and expressed higher levels of CD83 than non-transduced. The DC modified by interleukin -12 gene and pulsed with tumor antigen demonstrated good stimulation of lymphocyte proliferation, induction of antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and antitumor effects. Conclusions: Dendritic cells transduced with a lentivirus-mediated interleukin-12 gene have an enhanced ability to kill lung cancer cells through promoting T lymphocyte proliferation and cytotoxicity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.893-900
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• 2011

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) is one of the widely used biomarkers in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. It was initially identified in 1935 and is the most abundant phosphatase in the human prostate. PAP is a prostate-specific enzyme that is synthesized in prostate epithelial cells. It belongs to the acid phosphatase group that shows enzymatic activity in acidic conditions. PAP is abundant in prostatic fluid and is thought to have a role in fertilization and oligospermia. It also has a potential role in reducing chronic pain. But one of the most apparent functions of PAP is the dephosphorylation of macromolecules such as HER-2 and PI3P that are involved in the ERK1/2 and MAPK pathways, which in turn leads to inhibition of cell growth and tumorigenesis. Currently, clinical trials using PAP DNA vaccine are underway and FDA-approved immunotherapy using PAP is commercially available. Despite these clinically important aspects, molecular mechanisms underlying PAP regulation are not fully understood. The promoter region of PAP was reported to be regulated by NF-${\kappa}B$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-1, androgen and androgen receptors. Here, the features of PAP gene and protein structures together with the function, regulation and roles of PAP in prostate cancer are discussed.