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Relitti N, Saraswati AP, Federico S, Khan T, Brindisi M, Zisterer D, Brogi S, Gemma S, Butini S, Campiani G. Telomerase-based Cancer Therapeutics: A Review on their Clinical Trials. Curr Top Med Chem 2020; 20:433-457. [PMID: 31894749 DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200102104930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Telomeres are protective chromosomal ends that shield the chromosomes from DNA damage, exonucleolytic degradation, recombination, and end-to-end fusion. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that adds TTAGGG tandem repeats to the telomeric ends. It has been observed that 85 to 90% of human tumors express high levels of telomerase, playing a crucial role in the development of cancers. Interestingly, the telomerase activity is generally absent in normal somatic cells. This selective telomerase expression has driven scientists to develop novel anti-cancer therapeutics with high specificity and potency. Several advancements have been made in this area, which is reflected by the enormous success of the anticancer agent Imetelstat. Since the discovery of Imetelstat, several research groups have contributed to enrich the therapeutic arsenal against cancer. Such contributions include the application of new classes of small molecules, peptides, and hTERT-based immunotherapeutic agents (p540, GV1001, GRNVAC1 or combinations of these such as Vx-001). Many of these therapeutic tools are under different stages of clinical trials and have shown promising outcomes. In this review, we highlight the current status of telomerase-based cancer therapeutics and the outcome of these investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Relitti
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Akella P Saraswati
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Stefano Federico
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Tuhina Khan
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Margherita Brindisi
- Department of Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, University of Napoli Federico II, via D. Montesano 49, I-80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Daniela Zisterer
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 152-160, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Simone Brogi
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, via Bonanno Pisano 6, I-56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Sandra Gemma
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Stefania Butini
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Campiani
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Department of Excellence 2018-2022, via Aldo Moro 2, I- 53100 Siena, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
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Pierini S, Perales-Linares R, Uribe-Herranz M, Pol JG, Zitvogel L, Kroemer G, Facciabene A, Galluzzi L. Trial watch: DNA-based vaccines for oncological indications. Oncoimmunology 2017; 6:e1398878. [PMID: 29209575 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1398878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA-based vaccination is a promising approach to cancer immunotherapy. DNA-based vaccines specific for tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are indeed relatively simple to produce, cost-efficient and well tolerated. However, the clinical efficacy of DNA-based vaccines for cancer therapy is considerably limited by central and peripheral tolerance. During the past decade, considerable efforts have been devoted to the development and characterization of novel DNA-based vaccines that would circumvent this obstacle. In this setting, particular attention has been dedicated to the route of administration, expression of modified TAAs, co-expression of immunostimulatory molecules, and co-delivery of immune checkpoint blockers. Here, we review preclinical and clinical progress on DNA-based vaccines for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Pierini
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Renzo Perales-Linares
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mireia Uribe-Herranz
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jonathan G Pol
- Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, France.,Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Paris VI, Paris.,Equipe 11 labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Paris, France.,INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Laurence Zitvogel
- Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Villejuif, France.,INSERM, Villejuif, France.,Center of Clinical Investigations in Biotherapies of Cancer (CICBT), Villejuif, France.,Université Paris Sud/Paris XI, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France
| | - Guido Kroemer
- Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, France.,Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Paris VI, Paris.,Equipe 11 labellisée Ligue contre le Cancer, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Paris, France.,INSERM, Paris, France.,Metabolomics and Cell Biology Platforms, Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Villejuif, France.,Karolinska Institute, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Pôle de Biologie, Hopitâl Européen George Pompidou, AP-HP; Paris, France
| | - Andrea Facciabene
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Ovarian Cancer Research Center (OCRC), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lorenzo Galluzzi
- Université Paris Descartes/Paris V, France.,Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
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