Optimizing drug combinations against multiple myeloma using a quadratic phenotypic optimization platform (QPOP)

Content introduction:

• Optimizing drug combinations against multiple myeloma using a quadratic phenotypic optimization platform (QPOP)


• Laminin 511 is a target antigen in autoimmune pancreatitis


• Thy-1 (CD90) promotes bone formation and protects against obesity


• Profiling the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force in B cell activation


• G protein signaling–biased agonism at the κ-opioid receptor is maintained in striatal neurons

1. Optimizing drug combinations against multiple myeloma using a quadratic phenotypic optimization platform (QPOP)
Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological malignancy that relies on drug combinations for first and secondary lines of treatment. The inclusion of proteasome inhibitors, such as bortezomib, into these combination regimens has improved median survival. Resistance to bortezomib, however, is a common occurrence that ultimately contributes to treatment failure, and there remains a need to identify improved drug combinations. Masturah Bte Mohd Abdul Rashid at National University of Singapore in Singapore and his colleagues developed the quadratic phenotypic optimization platform (QPOP) to optimize treatment combinations selected from a candidate pool of 114 approved drugs. QPOP uses quadratic surfaces to model the biological effects of drug combinations to identify effective drug combinations without reference to molecular mechanisms or predetermined drug synergy data. Applying QPOP to bortezomib-resistant multiple myeloma cell lines determined the drug combinations that collectively optimized treatment efficacy. They found that these combinations acted by reversing the DNA methylation and tumor suppressor silencing that often occur after acquired bortezomib resistance in multiple myeloma. Successive application of QPOP on a xenograft mouse model further optimized the dosages of each drug within a given combination while minimizing overall toxicity in vivo, and application of QPOP to ex vivo multiple myeloma patient samples optimized drug combinations in patient-specific contexts.



Read more, please click http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/453/eaan0941

2. Laminin 511 is a target antigen in autoimmune pancreatitis
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), a major manifestation of immunoglobulin G4–related disease (IgG4-RD), is an immune-mediated disorder, but the target autoantigens are still unknown. Masahiro Shiokawa at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan and his colleagues previously reported that IgG in patients with AIP induces pancreatic injuries in mice by binding the extracellular matrix (ECM). In the current study, they identified an autoantibody against laminin 511-E8, a truncated laminin 511, one of the ECM proteins, in patients with AIP. Anti–laminin 511-E8 IgG was present in 26 of 51 AIP patients (51.0%), but only in 2 of 122 controls (1.6%), by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Because truncated forms of other laminin family members in other organs have been reported, they confirmed that truncated forms of laminin 511 also exist in human and mouse pancreas. Histologic studies with patient pancreatic tissues showed colocalization of patient IgG and laminin 511. Immunization of mice with human laminin 511-E8 induced antibodies and pancreatic injury, fulfilling the pathologic criteria for human AIP. Four of 25 AIP patients without laminin 511-E8 antibodies had antibodies against integrin α6β1, a laminin 511 ligand. AIP patients with laminin 511-E8 antibodies exhibited distinctive clinical features, as the frequencies of malignancies or allergic diseases were significantly lower in patients with laminin 511-E8 antibodies than in those without. The discovery of these autoantibodies should aid in the understanding of AIP pathophysiology and possibly improve the diagnosis of AIP.

Read more, please click http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/453/eaaq0997

3. Thy-1 (CD90) promotes bone formation and protects against obesity
Osteoporosis and obesity result from disturbed osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation and present emerging challenges for our aging society. Because of the regulatory role of Thy-1 in mesenchyme-derived fibroblasts, Ann-Kristin Picke at Technische Universität Dresden in Dresden, Germany and his colleagues investigated the impact of Thy-1 expression on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) fate between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation and consequences for bone formation and adipose tissue development in vivo. MSCs from Thy-1–deficient mice have decreased osteoblast differentiation and increased adipogenic differentiation compared to MSCs from wild-type mice. Consistently, Thy-1–deficient mice exhibited decreased bone volume and bone formation rate with elevated cortical porosity, resulting in lower bone strength. In parallel, body weight, subcutaneous/epigonadal fat mass, and bone fat volume were increased. Thy-1 deficiency was accompanied by reduced expression of specific Wnt ligands with simultaneous increase of the Wnt inhibitors sclerostin and dickkopf-1 and an altered responsiveness to Wnt. They demonstrated that disturbed bone remodeling in osteoporosis and dysregulated adipose tissue accumulation in patients with obesity were mirrored by reduced serum Thy-1 concentrations. Their findings provide new insights into the mutual regulation of bone formation and obesity and open new perspectives to monitor and to interfere with the dysregulated balance of adipogenesis and osteogenesis in obesity and osteoporosis.

Read more, please click http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/453/eaao6806

4. Profiling the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force in B cell activation
B lymphocytes use B cell receptors (BCRs) to recognize membrane-bound antigens to further initiate cell spreading and contraction responses during B cell activation. Junyi Wang at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China and his colleagues combined traction force microscopy and live-cell imaging to profile the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force generation in these responses. They showed that B cell activation required the generation of 10 to 20 nN of traction force when encountering antigens presented by substrates with stiffness values from 0.5 to 1 kPa, which mimic the rigidity of antigen-presenting cells in vivo. Perturbation experiments revealed that F-actin remodeling and myosin- and dynein-mediated contractility contributed to traction force generation and B cell activation. Moreover, membrane-proximal BCR signaling molecules (including Lyn, Syk, Btk, PLC-γ2, BLNK, and Vav3) and adaptor molecules (Grb2, Cbl, and Dok-3) linking BCR microclusters and motor proteins were also required for the sustained generation of these traction forces. They found a positive correlation between the strength of the traction force and the mean fluorescence intensity of the BCR microclusters. Furthermore, they demonstrated that isotype-switched memory B cells expressing immunoglobulin G (IgG)–BCRs generated greater traction forces than did mature naïve B cells expressing IgM-BCRs during B cell activation. Last, they observed that primary B cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis generated greater traction forces than did B cells from healthy donors in response to antigen stimulation. Together, these data delineate the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force during B cell activation.

Read more, please click http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/11/542/eaai9192

5. G protein signaling–biased agonism at the κ-opioid receptor is maintained in striatal neurons
Biased agonists of G protein–coupled receptors may present a means to refine receptor signaling in a way that separates side effects from therapeutic properties. Several studies have shown that agonists that activate the κ-opioid receptor (KOR) in a manner that favors G protein coupling over β-arrestin2 recruitment in cell culture may represent a means to treat pain and itch while avoiding sedation and dysphoria. Although it is attractive to speculate that the bias between G protein signaling and β-arrestin2 recruitment is the reason for these divergent behaviors, little evidence has emerged to show that these signaling pathways diverge in the neuronal environment. Jo-Hao Ho at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, USA and his colleagues further explored the influence of cellular context on biased agonism at KOR ligand–directed signaling toward G protein pathways over β-arrestin–dependent pathways and found that this bias persists in striatal neurons. These findings advance our understanding of how a G protein–biased agonist signal differs between cell lines and primary neurons, demonstrate that measuring [35S]GTPγS binding and the regulation of adenylyl cyclase activity are not necessarily orthogonal assays in cell lines, and emphasize the contributions of the environment to assessing biased agonism.

Read more, please click http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/11/542/eaar4309