Project description:This West Coast Metabolomics Center pilot and feasibility project was granted to Ernst Lengyel (University of Chicago). The biology of ovarian cancer (OvCa) is clearly distinct from that of most epithelial tumors, in that hematogenous metastases are rare, and ovarian tumors remain confined to the peritoneal cavity. The omentum, a large pad of fat tissue (20x13x3cm) covering the bowel, is the most common site of OvCa metastasis. It consists primarily of adipocytes, which become the principal microenvironment for the OvCa cells. The underlying hypothesis for this application is that, in the presence of adipocytes, the metabolism of OvCa cells is reprogramed and shifts towards lipid utilization, which provides energy that facilitates tumor growth and metastasis. Preliminary results suggest that primary human omental adipocytes secrete cytokines which promote the metastasis of OvCa cells to the omentum and their subsequent invasion. Once metastasis has occurred, OvCa cells induce lipolysis in omental adipocytes, and use the energy derived from these lipids to proliferate. To study the metabolic changes in the tumor microenvironment we have established a 3D organotypic culture of the human omentum using primary human cells established from patient tissue. Metabolic studies will be performed on adipocytes and OvCa cells individually, on conditioned media and on adipocytes and OvCa cells co-cultured in our 3D model, with the goal of arriving at a comprehensive analysis of primary metabolites and lipids in the tumor microenvironment. In the current investigation, untargeted analysis of primary metabolites and complex lipids were conducted on adipocytes and OvCa cells individually, on conditioned media and on adipocytes and OvCa cells co-cultured in our 3D model. Analysis of oxylipins was conducted on conditioned media. To gain better understanding of the dynamic regulation of metabolic pathways we will also perform metabolic flux analysis using labeled cells (13C-glucose, 13C-glutamine) in the 3D culture model. The primary objective of this study is to gain insight into the dynamic interactions between OvCa cells and human adipocytes with the anticipation of elucidating targets of therapeutic intervention.

Project description:Underdeveloped lungs are the primary cause of death in premature infants, however, little is known about stem and progenitor cell maintenance during human lung development. In this study, we have identified that FGF7, Retinoic Acid and CHIR-99021, a small molecule that inhibits GSK3 to activate Wnt signaling, support in vitro maintenance of primary human fetal lung bud tip progenitor cells in a progenitor state. Furthermore, these factors are sufficient to derive a population of human bud tip-like progenitor cells in 3D organoid structures from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). Functional studies showed that hPSC-derived bud tip progenitor organoids do not contain any mesenchymal cell types, maintain multilineage potential in vitro and are able to engraft into the airways of injured mice and respond to systemic factors. We performed RNA-sequencing to assess the degree of similarity in global gene expression profiles between the full human fetal lung (59-127 days gestation), isolated human fetal bud tip progenitors, organoids grown from primary fetal bud tip progenitors, and hPSC-derived bud tip organoids. Results showed that hPSC-derived organoids have molecular profiles similar to organoids generated from primary human fetal lung tissue. Gene expression differences between hPSC-derived bud tip organoids and fetal progenitor organoids may be related to the presence of contaminating mesenchymal cells in primary cultures. hPSC-derived bud tip organoids are generated from a well-defined human cell sources, offering a distinct advantage over rare primary tissue as a means to study human specific lung development, homeostasis and disease. Sample Nomenclature - Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peripheral fetal lung the distal/peripheral portion of the fetal lung (i.e., distal 0.5 cm) was excised from the rest of the lung using a scalpel. This includes all components of the lung (e.g., epithelial, mesenchymal, vascular). Isolated fetal bud tip the bud peripheral portion of the fetal lung was excised with a scalpel and subjected to enzymatic digestion and microdissection. The epithelium was dissected and separated from the mesenchyme, but a small amount of associated mesenchyme likely remained. Fetal progenitor organoid 3D organoid structures that arose from culturing isolated fetal epithelial bud tips. Foregut spheroid 3D foregut endoderm structure as described in Dye et al. (2015). Gives rise to patterned lung organoid (PLO) when grown in 3F medium. Patterned lung organoid (PLO) lung organoids that were generated by differentiating hPSCs, as described throughout the manuscript. Bud tip organoid organoids derived from PLOs, enriched for SOX2/SOX9 co-expressing cells, and grown/passaged in 3F medium.

Project description:BACKGROUND: While many authorities theorize that cancer vaccines are too weak to be widely effective, there are quite a few reports with clearly demonstrated, significant clinical benefit in some patients. The literature of cellular cancer immunotherapies shows that 53% (78/147) of phase II studies showed evidence of clinical activity. While not all reached their primary endpoints, 75% (12/16) of phase III studies had positive data. SV-BR-1-GM, derived from a patient with grade 2 (moderately differentiated) breast cancer, is a GM-CSF-secreting breast cancer cell line with properties of antigen-presenting cells we established. METHODS: We report detailed molecular and clinical findings from an open-label phase I, single-arm pilot study in breast (3 subjects) and ovarian (1 subject) cancer with irradiated SV-BR-1-GM cells (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00095862). Inoculations of SV-BR-1-GM were preceded by low-dose cyclophosphamide and followed by injections of interferon-alpha2b into the SV-BR-1-GM inoculation sites. We assessed both cellular (delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions) and humoral (anti-SV-BR-1 antibody) immune responses and conducted molecular analyses on patient blood cells and SV-BR-1-GM cells. RESULTS: Treatment was generally safe and well tolerated. Immune responses were elicited universally. Overall survival was more than 33 months for three of the four patients. As previously reported, one patient (Subject A002, with grade 2 breast cancer) had regression of metastases in lung, breast and soft tissue within 2 months of treatment initiation. At later relapse, with multiple metastases including several in the brain, rapid tumor response was again seen, including complete regression of CNS metastases. Consistent with a role of Class II HLA in contributing to SV-BR-1-GM’s mechanism of action, Subject A002 allele-matched SV-BR-1-GM at the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DRB3 loci. Only the HLA-DRB1 alleles were clearly expressed in SV-BR-1-GM cells. However, interferon-gamma (possibly also present in situ) upregulated both HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DRB3 to substantial levels. Gene expression data supports the hypothesis that SV-BR-1-GM cells have retained some of the original breast cancer’s grade 2 character. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a whole-cell immunotherapy regimen with remarkable rapidity of response and a speedy rescue response, including complete resolution of CNS metastases after relapse. Class II HLA matches might be critical for SV-BR-1-GM’s therapeutic potential.

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Metabolomics Workbench ST000089 - GNPS - A study of changes in lipid metabolism of ovarian cancer cells co-cultured with adipocytes: UHPLC-QTOF MS analysis

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