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Staffeldt L, Mattert G, Riecken K, Rövenstrunk G, Volkmar A, Heumann A, Moustafa M, Jücker M, Fehse B, Schumacher U, Lüth S, Kah J. Generating Patient-Derived HCC Cell Lines Suitable for Predictive In Vitro and In Vivo Drug Screening by Orthotopic Transplantation. Cells 2023; 13:82. [PMID: 38201286 PMCID: PMC10778205 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results in high mortality due to ineffective systemic therapy. Human immortalized cell lines are commonly used to study anti-tumor effects in the context of new anti-tumor therapies and tumor biology. As immortalized cell lines have limited biological relevance and heterogeneity compared to primary cells, patient-derived tumor tissues, and corresponding immune cells are the gold standards for studying the complexity of individual tumor entities. However, culturing primary HCC cells has a low success rate. Here, we aimed to establish a reproducible approach to preserve the patient-derived liver cancer cells for in vitro and in vivo studies. The underlying study aimed to establish an in vitro pre-screening platform to test treatment options' effectivity and dosage, e.g., for new substances, autologous modified immune cells, or combined therapies in HCC. We initially employed 15 surgical resection specimens from patients with different HCC entities for isolation and preservation. The isolated liver cancer cells from four HCC-diagnosed patients were used for orthotopic transplantation into the healthy liver of immunodeficient mice, allowing them to grow for six months before human liver cancer cells were isolated and cultured. As a result, we generated and characterized four new primary-like liver cancer cell lines. Compared to immortalized HCC cell lines, freshly generated liver cancer cells displayed individual morphologies and heterogeneous protein-level characteristics. We assessed their ability to proliferate, migrate, form spheroids, and react to common medications compared to immortalized HCC cell lines. All four liver cancer cell lines exhibit strong migration and colony-forming characteristics in vitro, comparable to extensively investigated immortalized HCC cell lines. Moreover, the four etiological different liver cancer cell lines displayed differences in the response to 5-FU, Sorafenib, Axitinib, and interferon-alpha treatment, ranking from non-responders to responders depending on the applicated medication. In sum, we generated individual patient-derived liver cancer cell lines suitable for predictive in vitro drug screenings and for xenograft transplantations to realize the in vivo investigation of drug candidates. We overcame the low cultivation success rate of liver cancer cells derived from patients and analyzed their potential to serve a pre-clinical model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Staffeldt
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany (U.S.)
| | - Gregor Mattert
- Brandenburg Medical School, Center for Translational Medicine, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany; (G.M.); (G.R.)
| | - Kristoffer Riecken
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Götz Rövenstrunk
- Brandenburg Medical School, Center for Translational Medicine, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany; (G.M.); (G.R.)
| | - Anika Volkmar
- Brandenburg Medical School, Center for Translational Medicine, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany; (G.M.); (G.R.)
| | - Asmus Heumann
- Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mohamed Moustafa
- Department of Visceral Transplantation, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Manfred Jücker
- Center for Experimental Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany;
| | - Boris Fehse
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel Partner Site, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Udo Schumacher
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany (U.S.)
- Medical School Berlin, Mecklenburgische Straße 57, 14197 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Lüth
- Brandenburg Medical School, Center for Translational Medicine, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany; (G.M.); (G.R.)
- Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Brandenburg, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
| | - Janine Kah
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany (U.S.)
- Brandenburg Medical School, Center for Translational Medicine, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany; (G.M.); (G.R.)
- Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Brandenburg, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany
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Lange T, Valentiner U, Wicklein D, Maar H, Labitzky V, Ahlers AK, Starzonek S, Genduso S, Staffeldt L, Pahlow C, Dück AM, Stürken C, Baranowsky A, Bauer AT, Bulk E, Schwab A, Riecken K, Börnchen C, Kiefmann R, Abraham V, DeLisser HM, Gemoll T, Habermann JK, Block A, Pantel K, Schumacher U. Tumor cell E-selectin ligands determine partialefficacy of bortezomib on spontaneous lung metastasis formation of solid human tumors in vivo. Mol Ther 2022; 30:1536-1552. [PMID: 35031433 PMCID: PMC9077315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Extravasation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is critical for metastasis and is initiated by adhesive interactions between glycoligands on CTCs and E-selectin on endothelia. Here, we show that the clinically approved proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (BZM; Velcade) counteracts the cytokine-dependent induction of E-selectin in the lung mediated by the primary tumor, thereby impairing endothelial adhesion and thus spontaneous lung metastasis in vivo. However, the efficacy of BZM crucially depends on the tumor cells' E-selectin ligands, which determine distinct adhesion patterns. The canonical ligands sialyl-Lewis A (sLeA) and sLeX mediate particularly high-affinity E-selectin binding so that the incomplete E-selectin-reducing effect of BZM is not sufficient to disrupt adhesion or metastasis. In contrast, tumor cells lacking sLeA/X nevertheless bind E-selectin, but with low affinity, so that adhesion and lung metastasis are significantly diminished. Such low-affinity E-selectin ligands apparently consist of sialylated MGAT5 products on CD44. BZM no longer has anti-metastatic activity after CD44 knockdown in sLeA/X-negative tumor cells or E-selectin knockout in mice. sLeA/X can be determined by immunohistochemistry in cancer samples, which might aid patient stratification. These data suggest that BZM might act as a drug for inhibiting extravasation and thus distant metastasis formation in malignancies expressing low-affinity E-selectin ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Lange
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Ursula Valentiner
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Wicklein
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hanna Maar
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vera Labitzky
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ann-Kristin Ahlers
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Starzonek
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sandra Genduso
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lisa Staffeldt
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Carolin Pahlow
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anna-Maria Dück
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christine Stürken
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anke Baranowsky
- Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alexander T Bauer
- Department of Dermatology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Etmar Bulk
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Albrecht Schwab
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Kristoffer Riecken
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christian Börnchen
- Department of Anesthesiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rainer Kiefmann
- Department of Anesthesiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Valsamma Abraham
- Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4539, USA
| | - Horace M DeLisser
- Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Division, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4539, USA
| | - Timo Gemoll
- Section for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jens K Habermann
- Section for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Andreas Block
- Department of Oncology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Udo Schumacher
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
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