Effects of electrochemotherapy on immunologically important modifications in tumor cells

Kešar, Urša (author), Markelc, Boštjan (author), Jesenko, Tanja (author), Uršič Valentinuzzi, Katja (author), Čemažar, Maja (author), Strojan, Primož (author), Serša, Gregor (author)

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a clinically acknowledged method that combines the use of anticancer drugs and electrical pulses. Electrochemotherapy with bleomycin (BLM) can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) in certain settings. However, whether this is ubiquitous over different cancer types and for other clinically relevant chemotherapeutics used with electrochemotherapy is unknown. Here, we evaluated in vitro in the B16-F10, 4T1 and CT26 murine tumor cell lines, the electrochemotherapy triggered changes in the ICD-associated damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs): Calreticulin (CRT), ATP, High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1), and four immunologically important cellular markers: MHCI, MHC II, PD-L1 and CD40. The changes in these markers were investigated in time up to 48 h after ECT. We showed that electrochemotherapy with all three tested chemotherapeutics induced ICD-associated DAMPs, but the induced DAMP signature was cell line and chemotherapeutic concentration specific. Similarly, electrochemotherapy with CDDP, OXA or BLM modified the expression of MHC I, MHC II, PD-L1 and CD40. The potential of electrochemotherapy to change their expression was also cell line and chemotherapeutic concentration specific. Our results thus put the electrochemotherapy with clinically relevant chemotherapeutics CDDP, OXA and BLM on the map of ICD inducing therapies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: electrochemotherapy, cisplatin, immune response, oxaliplatin, bleomycin, immunogenic cell death, ATP, HMGB1, calreticulin
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine; BF - Biotechnical Faculty; ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 24 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 5, art. 925
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-164871
• UDC: 602
• ISSN on article: 2076-393X
• DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11050925
• COBISS.SI-ID: 151344131
• Publication date in RUL: 14.11.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Vaccines
• Shortened title: Vaccines
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-393X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 520262937

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: elektrokemoterapija, cisplatin, imunski odgovor

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: Z3-2651
• Name: Elektrokemoterapija kot in situ vakcinacija

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P3-0003
• Name: Razvoj in ovrednotenje novih terapij za zdravljenje malignih tumorjev