
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Regular Articles |
Division of Human Gene Therapy, Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Surgery, and Gene Therapy Center [C. R. M., J. G-N. D. T. C.], Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology [F. J. K., M. N. B., R. D. A.], Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology [C. R. M., D. J. B.], and Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery [C. R. M.], University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294
ABSTRACT
Efficient
gene transfer by recombinant adenovirus (Ad) vectors depends on
expression of CAR and
v integrin on target cells.
Because Ad may also infect nearby nontarget cells expressing these
receptors, such as peritoneal mesothelial cells after i.p.
injection, we hypothesized that targeting Ad gene delivery to a
receptor overexpressed on most ovarian carcinoma cells, such as TAG-72,
would enhance the selectivity of Ad gene transfer when used in this
context. A monoclonal antibody that has been investigated clinically
for immunotherapy and immunodetection of ovarian carcinomas, namely
CC49, was used to construct a bispecific conjugate with the Fab
fragment of a neutralizing anti-knob mAb to target Ad binding via
TAG-72. This conjugate facilitated TAG-72-specific, CAR-independent Ad
reporter gene transfer to both ovarian cancer cell lines and primary
ovarian cancer cells cultured from malignant ascites fluid. Fab-CC49
was very selective for tumor cells, augmenting Ad gene transfer to
primary ovarian cancer cells 2- to 28-fold relative to untargeted Ad,
while also decreasing gene transfer to autologous cultured mesothelial
cells 4- to 9-fold. These data suggest that targeting Ad via TAG-72 may
improve the selectivity of Ad gene transfer for ovarian tumors 8- to
252-fold on i.p. vector injection. These results also define the
requirements for a candidate target receptor in the rational design of
a targeted Ad vector for ultimate clinical utility, one that
selectively infects tumor cells and spares normal cells on i.p.
injection. Such a vector may increase gene transfer and decrease the
toxicity of Ad vectors, which would improve the therapeutic index of
cytotoxic gene therapy for ovarian cancer in clinical trials.
INTRODUCTION
Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of gynecological cancer death in women with an estimated 23,000 new cases and 14,000 deaths in 2000 (1) . The lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is estimated at 1:70. Because of a paucity of symptoms early in the course of the disease process, most cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in late stages of the disease, which is largely responsible for the high mortality rate among these patients. Advanced cases are usually treated with initial surgical debulking followed by chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel and platinum-based agents, resulting in an 80% overall response rate. However, at 5 years, the overall survival is only 1520% mainly because of the high rate of recurrent, drug-resistant disease. Second-line systemic chemotherapeutic agents that have been used to date have generally proven ineffective (2) .
Therapeutic modalities other than systemic chemotherapy are currently being investigated for advanced-stage, treatment-refractory ovarian cancer (3, 4, 5, 6) . The potential to address changes at the molecular level makes gene therapy a particularly promising treatment alternative, because tumors arise because of the sequential accumulation of genetic alteration in genes controlling the balance between cellular proliferation and cell death (7) . A number of different strategies have already been devised for genetic manipulation of tumors (5) . These approaches modulate various stages of tumorigenesis, making gene therapy a much more flexible option compared with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Additionally, the combination of different genetic approaches has the potential to address the molecular heterogeneity inherent in treatment-refractory tumors.
Although gene therapy represents a potentially attractive treatment
alternative for ovarian cancer, its efficacy is currently limited by
the relative inefficiency of existing vectors to effect gene transfer
in vivo (4
, 5)
. Of the vectors currently being
investigated in clinical trials,
Ad3
is among the most
promising. Ad can efficiently infect a wide variety of tissues both
in vitro and in vivo (8)
. This
finding has recently been attributed to the rather ubiquitous
expression pattern of the receptors necessary for Ad entry into cells,
namely the CAR and the
v integrins
(9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
. Moreover, the efficiency of Ad gene transfer has
been shown to correlate directly with CAR levels on target cells
in vitro (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
. A corollary to this fact is
that certain target cells may be refractory to Ad gene transfer because
of their lack of CAR expression. Whereas the role of CAR expression on
the efficiency of Ad gene transfer has yet to be established in
vivo, it is likely that ubiquitous CAR expression on nontarget
tissues may permit extensive ectopic gene transfer and that low CAR
expression on target tissues may decrease Ad gene transfer efficiency,
both ultimately limiting the clinical efficacy of Ad-based gene
therapies.
Recent technological advances have permitted the generation of targeted Ad vectors capable of binding alternative cellular receptors, effecting gene transfer in a CAR-independent fashion (19) . We and others have demonstrated this concept by generating Ad vectors targeted via several model receptors, including folate receptor (20) , heparan sulfate (21) , basic fibroblast growth factor receptor (22) , and the epidermal growth factor receptor (14 , 23) . Several of these model receptors were chosen for the initial generation of a targeted Ad vector based on results obtained from studies of mAb-based cancer immunotherapy. Their appeal lies in the fact that they are overexpressed on certain individual tumor types relative to their surrounding normal tissues. However, none of these markers are selectively expressed solely on tumors.
The ideal candidate tumor marker must satisfy two criteria. First, it should be selectively expressed solely on tumor cells, not surrounding normal cells. Second, it should be expressed at high levels on virtually all of the tumors of a given type. A potentially ideal tumor marker for ovarian carcinoma has recently been identified through studies with radioimmunotherapy, the pancarcinoma antigen tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72). At our institution (UAB), a Phase I/II trial of ovarian cancer radioimmunotherapy (protocol NCI-B95-0003) using i.p. injections of 177Lu-CC49, a ß-emitting radionuclide labeled mAb specific for TAG-72, is particularly promising (24 , 25) . TAG-72 appears to be a unique ovarian cancer marker in that it is: (a) expressed on virtually every ovarian carcinoma; and (b) selectively expressed on tumor cells, not surrounding normal peritoneal cells (26 , 27) . These unique features suggested to us that TAG-72 could be exploited for purposes other than radioimmunotherapy, in particular the rational design of a targeted vector to improve the selectivity of ovarian cancer gene therapy.
We investigated the potential utility of a TAG-72-targeted Ad vector for ovarian cancer gene delivery using a bispecific antibody conjugate consisting of CC49 and the Fab fragment of a neutralizing anti-Ad5 knob mAb (Fab-CC49). Results of studies using an Ad vector-encoding luciferase (AdCMVLuc) demonstrated that Fab-CC49 enhanced AdCMVLuc gene transfer 9- to 57-fold relative to untargeted AdCMVLuc with two of five established human ovarian carcinoma cell lines and 2- to 28-fold with three samples of primary human ovarian carcinoma cells derived from malignant ascites. Importantly, Fab-CC49 also decreased AdCMVLuc gene transfer to autologous primary human mesothelial cells 4- to 9-fold relative to untargeted AdCMVLuc. Thus, a genetically modified, TAG-72-targeted Ad vector may prove superior to Ad vectors currently being investigated in clinical trials for selective gene transfer to recurrent ovarian cancers after i.p. delivery.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Tumor Cells.
Human ovarian (CAOV-4, OVCAR-3, OV-1063, PA-1) and colon (LS174T, WiDr)
tumor cells were obtained from the ATCC (Manassas, VA). CAOV-4 cells
were cultured in L-15 medium (Mediatech, Herndon, VA) containing 20%
FBS (Summit Biotechnology, Fort Collins, CO). OVCAR-3 and OV-1063
cells, and LS174T and WiDR cells, were cultured in RPMI 1640 containing
20% and 10% FBS, respectively. PA-1 cells were cultured in
Earles-MEM with 10% FBS. SKOV3.ip1 human ovarian carcinoma
cells were obtained from Janet Price (M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,
Houston, TX) and cultured in DMEM containing 10% FBS. D54 MG human
glioma cells were kindly provided by Darrell Bigner (Duke University,
Durham, NC) and were cultured in DMEM/F12 containing 7% FBS. All of
the media formulations contained 2 mM glutamine. All of the
cells were cultured at 37°C in a 5% CO2
atmosphere and passaged less than 12 times during the course of these
experiments.
Primary human ovarian carcinoma cells were established in culture from fresh malignant ascites fluid obtained during surgery at the University of Alabama Hospital during 1999. Permission to obtain these specimens was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board for Human Experimentation at UAB. Cellular material from the ascites was obtained by centrifugation as described previously (28) and cultured in RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS and 2 mM glutamine without prior immunoaffinity separation. Although these early cultures were heterogeneous, tumor cells vastly outnumbered mesothelial cells as confirmed by phase contrast microscopy as described previously (28) . After two or three passages, only mesothelial cells continued to grow, and they appeared by phase-contrast microscopy as fibroblastic, polygonal cells with no evidence of any remaining ovarian tumor cells.
Viruses and mAbs.
AdCMVLuc and AdCMVGFP first-generation E1-, E3-deleted vectors
expressing firefly luciferase and green fluorescent protein,
respectively, driven by the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate
early promoter, were obtained from Robert Gerard (University of Leuven,
Leuven, Belgium) and Corey Goldman (Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH),
respectively. Viruses were propagated and plaque titered on the
permissive human embryonic kidney cell line 293 (Microbix, Hamilton,
Ontario) and purified twice by centrifugation on CsCl gradients. Virus
aliquots were maintained at -80°C until use. The particle:pfu ratio
of different virus preparations was found to be important in
determining the level of Fab-conjugate-targeted Ad gene transfer
(14)
. To maintain a constant particle:pfu ratio (indicated
in parentheses), all of the gene transfer experiments were
conducted with a single lot of either AdCMVLuc (8:1) or
AdCMVGFP (27:1) as well as with single lot of Fab-CC49.
The anti-CAR mAb RmcB (a generous gift from Robert W. Finberg, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, MA) has been previously described
(29)
. Murine mAb LM609 to
vß3 integrin and P1F6
to
vß5 integrin were
both purchased from Chemicon (Temecula, CA). The neutralizing murine
mAb 1D6.14 specific for the COOH-terminal, receptor-binding knob domain
of Ad serotype 5 fiber has been described previously (20)
.
The anti-TAG-72 mAb CC49 (a generous gift from Jeffrey Schlom, National
Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD) has been described previously
(30)
.
Indirect Immunofluorescence.
Receptor expression was analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence as
described previously (14)
. Briefly, subconfluent cells
were harvested with versene and resuspended at 12 x
106 cells/ml in PBS containing 0.1% BSA and
0.1% sodium azide. Cells were then incubated with primary mAbs to CAR
(RmcB),
vß3 and
vß5 integrin (LM609
and P1F6, respectively), or TAG-72 (CC49). After washing with buffer,
cells were stained with an Alexa 488-conjugated goat-antimouse IgG
secondary antibody (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). Cells
(104 per sample) were then analyzed on a Becton
Dickinson FACSVantage or FACScan at the UAB Rheumatology or UAB
Comprehensive Cancer Center FACS Core Facilities, respectively.
Percent positive was calculated by setting at 1% the percentage of
cells incubated in the absence of primary mAb (mock) as positive. R-MFI
was calculated as the ratio of the MFI of the sample of interest:the
MFI for the corresponding mock sample for each individual cell line.
Receptor expression on AdCMVGFP-infected cells was performed as above with the exception that PE-conjugated secondary antibodies were used (Molecular Probes). Concurrent GFP and receptor expression was determined by two-color flow cytometry. Scatter plot data were analyzed by linear regression to determine the correlation between GFP (X axis) and receptor (Y axis) expression on infected cells.
AdCMVLuc Targeting.
To facilitate targeted Ad gene transfer to TAG-72, a Fab-mAb conjugate
was generated using CC49 (Fab-CC49), and the conjugate was
characterized as described previously (14)
. Established or
primary human tumor cells were plated at 1.2 x
104 cells/well in 24-well dishes and were allowed
to adhere overnight at 37°C. AdCMVLuc (MOI, 100 pfu/cell) was
incubated for 30 min at room temperature with various concentrations of
Fab-CC49 to determine the optimum conjugate:virus ratio. OVCAR-3 or
SKOV3.ip1 cells were preincubated for 1 h at 4°C in the presence
or absence of 20 µg/ml recombinant Ad5 knob diluted in Opti-MEM (Life
Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD) and were then infected with virus
complexed with or without Fab-CC49 for 1 h at 37°C. Twenty-four
h postinfection, cells were harvested and analyzed for luciferase
expression as described previously (14)
. Subsequent
experiments were performed using a single, optimized conjugate:virus
ratio. In these experiments, cells were preincubated with OPTI-Mem
alone (negative control), 20 µg/ml of Ad5 knob, or 50 µg/ml of CC49
to determine the receptor specificity of gene transfer by
Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVLuc versus untargeted AdCMVLuc. These
data were statistically analyzed using a two-factor ANOVA on the
logarithm of RLU values, as described previously (14)
.
Differences were determined at the 0.05 level of significance.
AdCMVGFP Targeting.
Established or primary human ovarian carcinoma cells were plated in
6-well dishes and were allowed to adhere overnight at 37°C. AdCMVGFP
was incubated with the optimum concentration of Fab-CC49, and serial
dilutions were made to infect cells at various MOI. Cells were infected
with conjugated or unconjugated virus for 1 h at 37°C.
Twenty-four h postinfection, cells were harvested with versene and were
analyzed for GFP expression by flow cytometry as described above for
indirect immunofluorescence.
RESULTS
Expression of CAR,
v Integrins, and TAG-72 on
Established Human Tumor Cells.
The expression of the Ad receptors CAR,
vß3 and
vß5 integrins, and the
candidate target receptor for the generation of an ovarian
cancer-targeted Ad vector, TAG-72, were examined by indirect
immunofluorescence using a panel of human tumor cell lines (Table 1)
. The human glioblastoma multiforme
cell line D54 MG was included because it is known that these cells
express high levels of CAR and
vß5 integrin, and are,
hence, readily infected with recombinant Ad vectors (14)
.
The human colon cancer cell line LS174T was included in the analysis
because it is known to express high levels of the target receptor
TAG-72 (31
, 32)
. Finally, an additional human colon cancer
cell line, WiDR, and five human ovarian cancer cell lines were
analyzed, including CAOV-4, OV-1063, PA-1, SKOV3.ip1, and the known
TAG-72-positive cell line OVCAR-3 (33)
.
|
vß5 integrin (R-MFI,
>3.9).
vß3 integrin
expression was variable, with R-MFI ranging from 2.4 with OV-1063 and
CAOV-4 cells to 5.2 with SKOV3.ip1 cells. These results are consistent
with previous reports describing
v integrin
expression on cells of epithelial origin (34
, 35)
.
All of the cell lines tested expressed TAG-72, with SKOV3.ip1 and
CAOV-4 cells displaying the lowest level of expression (R-MFI, 1.8 and
2.0, respectively). In contrast, WiDR, OVCAR-3, and PA-1 cells
expressed very high levels of TAG-72, with R-MFI values of 28.2, 21.6,
and 48.7, respectively.
Optimization of Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVLuc Gene Transfer to Human
Ovarian Carcinoma Cell Lines.
Both OVCAR-3 and SKOV3.ip1 cells were infected by AdCMVLuc via a fiber
(CAR)-dependent pathway, because preincubating cells with recombinant
Ad5 knob blocked >99% of luciferase gene transfer to both of these
cell lines (Fig. 1)
. Preincubating
AdCMVLuc with increasing concentrations of Fab-CC49 increased the level
of TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc gene transfer and decreased the level of
CAR-dependent AdCMVLuc gene transfer with both cell lines, as
determined with cells preincubated in the presence and absence,
respectively, of a neutralizing amount of recombinant Ad5 knob. The
optimum Fab-CC49:AdCMVLuc ratios for OVCAR-3 and SKOV3.ip1 cells were
0.3 ng and 10 ng of Fab-CC49 per 1.2 x 106
pfu AdCMVLuc, respectively. Increasing the conjugate:virus ratio
further had a minimal effect on AdCMVLuc gene transfer with both of the
cell lines. The conjugate:virus ratio of 10 ng of Fab-CC49 per 1.2 x 106 pfu of AdCMVLuc or of AdCMVGFP was, thus,
chosen for all of the subsequent targeting experiments to facilitate
CAR-independent, TAG-72-specific gene transfer.
|
v integrins (Table 1)
|
We next determined the specificity of TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc gene
delivery (Table 2)
. The expected pattern of significant CC49 inhibition
and lack of significant inhibition by Ad5 knob was seen with five of
eight cell lines, which indicated that Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVLuc
facilitated CAR-independent, TAG-72-specific gene transfer with the
cells. Results with the remaining three cell lines, LS174T, PA-1, and
OV-1063, were unexpected. Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVLuc gene transfer to
PA-1 and OV-1063 cells was significantly inhibited by Ad5 knob and not
by CC49. These results suggested that Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVLuc failed
to facilitate CAR-independent, TAG-72-specific gene transfer to these
cell lines. Results with PA-1 and OV-1063 cells could be explained by
the observation that targeted AdCMVLuc gene transfer to both of these
cell lines was relatively low, and, although the levels of blocking
obtained were statistically significant, the level of luciferase
expression in these samples approached the lower limit of detection of
this assay. The pattern of Ad5 knob and CC49 mAb inhibition obtained
with LS174T cells, however, could not be readily explained.
To more stringently analyze the specificity of Fab-CC49-targeted Ad
gene transfer, we used two-color flow cytometry to detect concurrent
CAR and TAG-72 receptor expression and reporter gene transfer from an
Ad vector encoding green fluorescent protein (AdCMVGFP) with OVCAR-3
cells (Fig. 2)
. Cells were infected at
increasing MOI with either AdCMVGFP or Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVGFP, were
harvested 24 h postinfection, and were analyzed for CAR and TAG-72
expression by indirect immunofluorescence using a
R-PE-conjugated secondary antibody. As shown in Fig. 2
A,
virtually all of the OVCAR-3 cells were transduced by AdCMVGFP at a MOI
of 100 pfu/cell. This MOI was thus chosen for the two-color flow
cytometry analysis. To determine the correlation between AdCMVGFP
expression and target receptor expression, a linear regression analysis
was performed on the logarithm of fluorescence from GFP
(X/axis) and the logarithm of fluorescence from PE
(Y axis). Compared with control cells incubated without a
primary antibody (Fig. 2
C, slope, 0.10;
r2, 0.11), GFP expression in cells
infected with AdCMVGFP strongly correlated with CAR expression (Fig. 2
E, slope, 0.27; r2, 0.52),
but not with TAG-72 expression (Fig. 2
F, slope, 0.08;
r2, 0.07). In contrast, compared with
negative control cells incubated without a primary antibody (Fig. 2
D, slope, 0.18; r2, 0.16),
Fab-CC49-targeted AdCMVGFP-mediated expression of GFP correlated with
TAG-72 expression (Fig. 2
H, slope, 0.25;
r2, 0.40), but not with CAR expression
(Fig. 2
G, slope, 0.12; r2,
0.08). This pattern of correlation between GFP and receptor expression
in OVCAR-3 cells infected with either AdCMVGFP or Fab-CC49-targeted
AdCMVGFP was also evident at multiple MOI, ranging from 10 to 100
pfu/cell (data not shown).
|
v integrins, and TAG-72 on
Primary Ovarian Carcinoma and Mesothelial Cells Cultured from Malignant
Ascitic Fluid.
vß3 integrin and
TAG-72, but two of three expressed low levels of
vß5 integrin. In
contrast, cultured mesothelial cells expressed high levels of CAR and
vß3 integrin and
moderate levels of
vß5
integrin (Fig. 3
|
vß5
integrin expression on primary ovarian tumor cells but high levels of
CAR and
vß5 integrin
expression on mesothelial cells (Fig. 3)
|
|
DISCUSSION
The high rate of recurrence of ovarian cancer after initial cytoreductive surgery and front-line chemotherapy has necessitated the exploration of additional therapeutic options. Gene therapy is a rational therapeutic modality in this clinical setting because it maintains promise in eradicating the chemotherapy-resistant, recurrent disease that invariably arises in this patient population (2) . Phase I gene therapy trials using Ad vectors are ongoing for such patients. Whereas Ads are among the most promising vectors available, they are currently limited by the low gene transfer efficiency seen clinically on i.p. injection in patients with ovarian cancer.4 Several recently published reports have suggested that this phenomenon may be attributable in part to low level expression on target cells of the receptors necessary for Ad entry, particularly the Ad fiber-binding protein CAR (14, 15, 16, 17, 18) . To overcome this limitation, tropism-modified Ad vectors may be used because they mediate CAR-independent, target receptor-specific gene transfer. A number of such vectors have been described, generated either by genetic incorporation of targeting ligands into Ad capsid proteins or through the use of bispecific antibody conjugates. The target receptors used for these vectors have included RGD-binding integrins (37) , heparan sulfate proteoglycans (21) , basic fibroblast growth factor receptor (22) , epidermal growth factor receptor (14 , 23) , and the pancarcinoma antigen EpCAM (38) . Although each of these target receptors is overexpressed on neoplastic tissues, the lack of tumor specificity of these markers may limit the selectivity of the corresponding targeted Ad vector for neoplastic tissue.
In this investigation, we demonstrate that the pancarcinoma antigen TAG-72 may represent an ideal marker for the generation of a targeted Ad vector with selectivity for ovarian cancer in i.p. gene therapy applications. TAG-72 has been shown to be selectively expressed at high levels on virtually all of the epithelial ovarian malignancies but not on surrounding normal mesothelial cells lining the peritoneal cavity (26 , 27 , 36 , 39) . Several mAbs to this receptor have been investigated for the diagnosis and immunotherapy of ovarian cancer (24, 25, 26, 27 , 36 , 39) . One such mAb, CC49, was selected for its high binding affinity and favorably high tumor:normal tissue ratio relative to other TAG-72-specific mAbs to construct a bispecific antibody conjugate (Fab-CC49) to facilitate targeted Ad gene transfer to TAG-72 (30) .
Results with ovarian cancer cell lines showed that the level of
luciferase reporter gene transfer from AdCMVLuc (Table 2)
correlated
well with the levels of CAR expression and
v
integrins on these cells (Table 1)
. As previously shown with cell lines
derived from bladder (15)
, glioma (14)
, lung
(18)
, and melanoma tumors (16)
, the lack of
CAR expression on some ovarian cancer cell lines (CAOV-4) and
v integrins on others (PA-1, CAOV-4) could
readily explain the low level of AdCMVLuc gene transfer seen with
these cells.
However, the lack of CAR expression on target cells could be overcome
by targeting Ad via TAG-72 using Fab-CC49. To compare the level of
TAG-72-targeted Ad gene transfer to that of untargeted Ad, the Ti was
calculated as the ratio of TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc-mediated luciferase
expression to the luciferase expression of untargeted AdCMVLuc.
Gene transfer was enhanced with two of five human ovarian carcinoma
cell lines by TAG-72 targeting, with Ti for OVCAR-3 and CAOV-4 being
9.0 and 57, respectively (Table 3)
. The target receptor specificity and
CAR-independence of TAG-72-targeted Ad gene transfer was confirmed by
two separate methods: (a) inhibition of TAG-72-targeted
AdCMVLuc gene transfer by CC49 mAb and lack of inhibition of Ad5 knob
inhibition (Table 2)
as described previously (14)
; and
(b) a two-color flow cytometry assay to directly correlate
untargeted and TAG-72-targeted AdCMVGFP-mediated GFP expression with
concurrent cell surface CAR and TAG-72 receptor expression determined
by indirect immunofluorescence with a R-PE conjugated secondary
antibody (Fig. 3)
.
At the optimal conjugate:virus ratio, TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc gene
transfer facilitated target receptor-specific, CAR-independent gene
transfer to five of eight TAG-72-positive cell lines (Table 2)
. The
remaining three cell lines, PA-1 and OV-1063 ovarian cells and LS174T
colon carcinoma cells, all expressed TAG-72. The low level of
TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc gene transfer to these cells could possibly be
attributable to their low expression of
v
integrins, which may be necessary for the internalization of the
TAG-72-targeted vector (40)
. Similar results,
demonstrating the importance of additional factors in determining the
level of targeted Ad gene transfer, have been previously reported
(14)
. The expected CC49 and Ad5 knob inhibition pattern of
TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc gene transfer was also not seen with LS174T
cells, but these results could not be readily explained based on the
LS174T profile of target receptor expression. Two-color flow
cytometry demonstrated that GFP expression mediated by untargeted
AdCMVGFP infection of OVCAR-3 cells at a MOI of 10100 directly
correlated with CAR expression but not with TAG-72 expression on
these cells (Fig. 3
and data not shown). Conversely, Fab-CC49-targeted
AdCMVGFP-mediated GFP expression directly correlated with TAG-72
expression but not with CAR expression.
On the basis of the results with cell lines, a similar analysis was
performed using patient-matched primary ovarian carcinoma cells and
autologous mesothelial cells cultured from malignant ascitic fluid.
These experiments were performed with fresh ascites samples without
separation of tumor cells from mesothelial cells before culture to more
closely approximate the situation likely to be encountered clinically
with a TAG-72-targeted Ad. Morphological confirmation of the absence of
tumor cells, which die after 23 passages in culture, was performed by
phase-contrast microscopy as described previously (28)
to
ensure that the mesothelial cells were homogeneous and that
subsequent studies using these cells would be valid as a surrogate
indicator of Ad gene transfer to the peritoneal lining on injection of
a TAG-72-targeted Ad into the peritoneal cavity. Receptor analysis of
mesothelial cells demonstrated high CAR and
vß3 integrin
expression, moderate
vß5 integrin
expression, but undetectable levels of TAG-72 expression (Fig. 3)
. This
profile of Ad receptor expression correlated well with the
high levels of AdCMVLuc gene transfer seen with these cells, which were
more than one order of magnitude higher than that with the highly
AdCMVLuc-transducible ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR-3 (RT values of
19.4 and 14.3 for 021 and 0305 mesothelial cells, respectively; Table 3
). In contrast, targeting AdCMVLuc gene transfer via TAG-72 decreased
the level of luciferase gene expression with both mesothelial samples
compared with untargeted AdCMVLuc (Ti, 0.11 and 0.25), which was
perhaps attributable to the relatively low TAG-72 expression levels on
these cells (Fig. 3)
.
Unlike the mesothelial cells, primary ovarian carcinoma cells displayed
moderate-to-low levels of both CAR and
vß5 integrins, and
high levels of
vß3
integrins (Fig. 3)
. AdCMVLuc-mediated luciferase expression was two to
three orders of magnitude lower in these cells than in OVCAR-3 cells
(Table 3)
, results that correlated well with the levels of CAR
expression on these cells (Fig. 3)
. However, because all three of the
samples of primary ovarian cancer cells displayed high TAG-72
expression, the Ti of TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc at 100 pfu/cell was high
for all three (Ti, 1.9227.92). Moreover, equivalent results were
obtained using AdCMVGFP (Fig. 4)
, which also showed that the Ti was not
independent of input MOI at <200 pfu/cell (Fig. 4
C).
Because mesothelial cells were derived from the same patient samples as the primary ovarian cancer cells, a relative level of selectivity (selectivity index) could be calculated for the TAG-72-targeted AdCMVLuc vector. For the 0217 and 0305 samples, the selectivity index was determined to be 252- and 8-fold, respectively. These data suggest that targeting Ad via TAG-72 may potentially increase the tumor selectivity of Ad gene transfer 12.5 orders of magnitude relative to CAR-dependent untargeted Ad vectors.
The results in this report have significant implications for the
potential clinical utility of Ad vectors for i.p. gene therapy
applications. High-level expression of CAR and
v integrins on mesothelial cells lining the
peritoneal cavity may significantly limit the bioavailability of
untargeted Ad vectors for carcinoma cells. In essence, the peritoneal
lining may serve as an "Ad sink," and, in addition to limiting gene
transfer to the target cancer cells, it may potentially increase Ad
vector toxicity caused by ectopic transgene expression in nontarget
mesothelial cells. Successful targeting to a receptor not found on
mesothelium and found in abundance on tumor tissues, such as
TAG-72, may thus improve the toxicity of Ad vectors.
Furthermore, considering the vast surface area covered by
"normal peritoneum" versus minimal residual tumor after
cytoreductive surgery and adjunctive chemotherapy, an Ad vector with an
extremely high selectivity index, on the order of three to four orders
of magnitude, may be necessary for ultimate clinical efficacy.
Additional limitations of untargeted Ad vector efficacy may be the low
level of CAR expression on tumor cells, as shown in this report and
others (14)
. With a selectivity index of one to three
orders of magnitude and the capacity to achieve CAR-independent gene
transfer, a TAG-72-targeted Ad may overcome these limitations.
We have previously shown that gene delivery may be enhanced by the genetic incorporation of targeting moieties into the capsid proteins of Ad vectors (34 , 35 , 37 , 41) . Specifically, the addition of a RGD motif in the HI loop of the Ad5 fiber has been shown to enhance gene transfer to both established and primary ovarian carcinoma cells (35) . Whereas this vector may significantly increase the level of Ad gene transfer in the peritoneum, a RGD-modified Ad vector may not be selective for ovarian cancer cells because of the ubiquitous expression of RGD-binding integrins on most cell types. However, a genetically modified Ad vector containing a TAG-72-specific peptide epitope in the HI loop of the fiber protein may be more efficacious and more selective in the clinical setting. Notably, TAG-72-specific peptides have been generated using hexapeptide and decapeptide phage libraries (42) . We are currently exploring the use of such peptides to develop a HI-loop modified TAG-72-specific Ad vector.
Other antigens selectively expressed on ovarian tumors may also be investigated in a similar manner for the design of targeted Ad vectors. Although expressed in a large proportion (65100%) of ovarian tumors (26 , 27 , 36 , 39) , some ovarian tumors or subpopulations of cells within a single tumor may not express TAG-72. Thus, the heterogeneity of cell surface receptor expression may limit the universal applicability of a TAG-72-targeted Ad vector for ovarian cancer. To overcome this potential limitation, targeted Ad vectors may be generated to alternative ovarian cancer-specific targets. Studies currently ongoing in our laboratory that compare TAG-72-targeted Ad with Ad targeted to other ovarian tumor antigens using patient-matched primary ovarian and mesothelial cell cultures will be important in addressing the potential clinical utility of these vectors. In addition, the combination of targeted vectors in a "cocktail" may increase the proportion of tumor cells susceptible to Ad gene transfer.
In summary, the selective targeting of Ad vectors to the TAG-72 oncofetal antigen on tumor cells in the ovarian carcinoma i.p. gene therapy setting may increase the magnitude of Ad gene delivery to target tumor cells, render CAR-negative, Ad-refractory tumor cells susceptible to Ad gene transfer, and potentially decrease vector toxicity by exclusion of normal tissues from Ad gene transfer. Future gene therapy trials using TAG-72-targeted Ad vectors should evaluate these parameters. Additional ovarian carcinoma-specific cell surface receptors should be investigated for selective Ad vector targeting to improve current gene therapy for consolidation regimens or second-line treatment.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Debbie Della Manna, Richard Kirkman, Barbara Krum, Lucretia Sumerel, Tracey Thomas, and Bryan Tillman for technical assistance; Buck Rogers for helpful discussions; and Joanne Douglas for critical review of the manuscript.
FOOTNOTES
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 Supported by NIH Grants R01-CA 68245 (to
D. T. C.) and R01-CA 74242 (to D. T. C.), NIH Gene Therapy Training
Grant IT32-CA 75930 (to C. R. M. and D. T. C.), NCI Grant N01-CO
97110, and a grant from the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation (to
D. T. C.). ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Gene Therapy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 620, 1824 Sixth Avenue South, Birmingham,
AL 35294. Phone: (205) 934-8627; Fax: (205) 975-7476; E-mail: david.curiel{at}ccc.uab.edu ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: Ad,
adenovirus; CAR, coxsackie-adenovirus receptor; MFI, mean fluorescence
intensity; MOI, multiplicity of infection; pfu, plaque-forming unit(s);
RLU, relative light units; RT, relative transduction; mAb, monoclonal
antibody; FBS, fetal bovine serum; UAB, University of Alabama at
Birmingham; ATCC, American Type Culture Collection; R-MFI, relative
MFI; PE, phycoerytherin; GFP, green fluorescent protein; Ti, targeting
index; RGD, arginine-glycine-asparagine. ![]()
Received 4/21/00; revised 9/ 7/00; accepted 9/12/00.
REFERENCES
v integrins in adenovirus cell entry and gene delivery. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 63: 725-734, 1999.
vß3 and
vß5 promote adenovirus internalization but not virus attachment. Cell, 73: 309-319, 1993.[CrossRef][Medline]
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
H.-J. Li, M. Everts, L. Pereboeva, S. Komarova, A. Idan, D. T. Curiel, and H. R. Herschman Adenovirus Tumor Targeting and Hepatic Untargeting by a Coxsackie/Adenovirus Receptor Ectodomain Anti-Carcinoembryonic Antigen Bispecific Adapter Cancer Res., June 1, 2007; 67(11): 5354 - 5361. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Tsuruta, L. Pereboeva, J. N. Glasgow, D. T. Rein, Y. Kawakami, R. D. Alvarez, R. P. Rocconi, G. P. Siegal, P. Dent, P. B. Fisher, et al. A Mosaic Fiber Adenovirus Serotype 5 Vector Containing Reovirus {sigma}1 and Adenovirus Serotype 3 Knob Fibers Increases Transduction in an Ovarian Cancer Ex vivo System via a Coxsackie and Adenovirus Receptor Independent Pathway Clin. Cancer Res., May 1, 2007; 13(9): 2777 - 2783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. C.A. Graat, P. I.J.M. Wuisman, V. W. van Beusechem, J. E. Carette, W. R. Gerritsen, J. Bras, G. R. Schaap, G. J.L. Kaspers, A. Ogose, W. Gu, et al. Coxsackievirus and Adenovirus Receptor Expression on Primary Osteosarcoma Specimens and Implications for Gene Therapy with Recombinant Adenoviruses Clin. Cancer Res., March 15, 2005; 11(6): 2445 - 2448. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Wang, S. Thorne, J. Hannock, J. Francis, T. Au, T. Reid, N. Lemoine, D. Kirn, and G. Hallden A Novel Assay to Assess Primary Human Cancer Infectibility by Replication-Selective Oncolytic Adenoviruses Clin. Cancer Res., January 1, 2005; 11(1): 351 - 360. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K.-W. Peng, C. J. TenEyck, E. Galanis, K. R. Kalli, L. C. Hartmann, and S. J. Russell Intraperitoneal Therapy of Ovarian Cancer Using an Engineered Measles Virus Cancer Res., August 15, 2002; 62(16): 4656 - 4662. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. Russell Adenovirus Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer J Natl Cancer Inst, May 15, 2002; 94(10): 706 - 707. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Hemminki, K. R. Zinn, B. Liu, T. R. Chaudhuri, R. A. Desmond, B. E. Rogers, M. N. Barnes, R. D. Alvarez, and D. T. Curiel In Vivo Molecular Chemotherapy and Noninvasive Imaging With an Infectivity-Enhanced Adenovirus J Natl Cancer Inst, May 15, 2002; 94(10): 741 - 749. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. J. Bauerschmitz, J. T. Lam, A. Kanerva, K. Suzuki, D. M. Nettelbeck, I. Dmitriev, V. Krasnykh, G. V. Mikheeva, M. N. Barnes, R. D. Alvarez, et al. Treatment of Ovarian Cancer with a Tropism Modified Oncolytic Adenovirus Cancer Res., March 1, 2002; 62(5): 1266 - 1270. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Kanerva, G. V. Mikheeva, V. Krasnykh, C. J. Coolidge, J. T. Lam, P. J. Mahasreshti, S. D. Barker, M. Straughn, M. N. Barnes, R. D. Alvarez, et al. Targeting Adenovirus to the Serotype 3 Receptor Increases Gene Transfer Efficiency to Ovarian Cancer Cells Clin. Cancer Res., January 1, 2002; 8(1): 275 - 280. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Hemminki, I. Dmitriev, B. Liu, R. A. Desmond, R. Alemany, and D. T. Curiel Targeting Oncolytic Adenoviral Agents to the Epidermal Growth Factor Pathway with a Secretory Fusion Molecule Cancer Res., September 1, 2001; 61(17): 6377 - 6381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||