Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies

About: Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies is a nonprofit organization based out in San Diego, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Antigen & T cell. The organization has 2323 authors who have published 2217 publications receiving 112618 citations.

Grape Extract, Resveratrol, and Its Analogs: A Review.

Abstract: The recent and essential reports on the biological activity of the principal phytophenols of Vitis vinifera and wine, with special attention to resveratrol, are reviewed. The phytophenols are arbitrarily divisible into single-ring phenolic acids, bisphenols including stilbenes, tricyclic phenols (flavonoids) and their subclasses, and oligomeric and polymeric species, the proanthocyanidins and anthocyanidins. Their precursors and the stilbenes, including resveratrol with its analogs and conjugates, appear to be of preventative and possibly therapeutic value in atherosclerosis and certain neoplastic and inflammatory afflictions. The probable mechanisms are free radical scavenging and selective interference with a multitude of factors affecting the division cycle of rapidly and abnormally proliferating mammalian cells. Reviewed are studies of natural occurrence, extraction methods, bioavailability, analytical detection, and metabolism of resveratrol, as well as its effects on cancer and inflammation, atheros...

Design of Switchable Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells Targeting Breast Cancer.

Abstract: Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells have demonstrated promising results against hematological malignancies, but have encountered significant challenges in translation to solid tumors. To overcome these hurdles, we have developed a switchable CAR-T cell platform in which the activity of the engineered cell is controlled by dosage of an antibody-based switch. Herein, we apply this approach to Her2-expressing breast cancers by engineering switch molecules through site-specific incorporation of FITC or grafting of a peptide neo-epitope (PNE) into the anti-Her2 antibody trastuzumab (clone 4D5). We demonstrate that both switch formats can be readily optimized to redirect CAR-T cells (specific for the corresponding FITC or PNE) to Her2-expressing tumor cells, and afford dose-titratable activation of CAR-T cells ex vivo and complete clearance of the tumor in rodent xenograft models. This strategy may facilitate the application of immunotherapy to solid tumors by affording comparable efficacy with improved safety owing to switch-based control of the CAR-T response.

Targeting the apoptotic machinery in pancreatic cancers using small-molecule antagonists of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein

Abstract: Resistance to apoptosis is a hallmark of many solid tumors, including pancreatic cancers, and may be the underlying basis for the suboptimal response to chemoradiation therapies. Overexpression of a family of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAP) is commonly observed in pancreatic malignancies. We determined the therapeutic efficacy of recently described small-molecule antagonists of the X-linked IAP (XIAP) in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. Primary pancreatic cancers were assessed for XIAP expression by immunohistochemistry, using a pancreatic cancer tissue microarray. XIAP small-molecule antagonists ("XAntag"; compounds 1396-11 and 1396-12) and the related compound 1396-28 were tested in vitro in a panel of human pancreatic cancer cell lines (Panc1, Capan1, and BxPC3) and in vivo in s.c. xenograft models for their ability to induce apoptosis and impede neoplastic growth. In addition, pancreatic cancer cell lines were treated with XAntags in conjunction with either tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) or with radiation to determine potential synergy for such dual targeting of the apoptotic machinery. XIAP was overexpressed in 14 of 18 (77%) of primary pancreatic cancers. The XAntags1396-11 and 1396-12, but not the inactive isomer 1396-28, induced profound apoptosis in multiple pancreatic cancer cell lines tested in vitro, with a IC(50) in the range of 2 to 5 mumol/L. Mechanistic specificity of the XAntags for the baculoviral IAP repeat-2 domain of XIAP was shown by preferential activation of downstream "effector" caspases (caspase-3 and caspase-7) versus the upstream "initiator" caspase-9. S.c. BxPC3 xenograft growth in athymic mice was significantly inhibited by monotherapy with XAntags; treated xenografts showed marked apoptosis and increased cleavage of caspase-3. Notably, striking synergy was demonstrable when XAntags were combined with either TRAIL or radiation therapy, as measured by growth inhibition in vitro and reduced colony formation in soft agar of pancreatic cancer cell lines, at dosages where these therapeutic modalities had minimal to modest effects when used alone. Finally, XAntags in combination with the standard-of-care agent for advanced pancreatic cancer, gemcitabine, resulted in significantly greater inhibition of in vitro growth than gemcitabine alone. Our results confirm that pharmacologic inhibition of XIAP is a potent therapeutic modality in pancreatic cancers. These antagonists are independently capable of inducing pancreatic cancer cell death and also show synergy when combined with proapoptotic ligands (TRAIL), with radiation, and with a conventional antimetabolite, gemcitabine. These preclinical results suggest that targeting of the apoptotic machinery in pancreatic cancers with XAntags is a promising therapeutic option that warrants further evaluation.