Peritumoral administration of IFNβ upregulated mesenchymal stem cells inhibits tumor growth in an orthotopic, immunocompetent rat glioma model.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Immunotherapy with IFNβ is a promising strategy for treating malignant glioma. However, systemic administration of IFNβ is inadequate because of low intratumoral concentration and major adverse effects. This study aimed to determine whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be used as cellular vehicles to locally deliver IFNβ for glioma therapy by using in vivo MRI tracking.

METHODS:

A recombinant lentiviral vector encoding IFNβ and ferritin heavy chain (FTH) reporter genes was constructed to transduce MSCs. The effectiveness and safety of transduction were assessed. After the IFNβ and FTH overexpressed MSCs (IFNβ-FTH-MSCs) were transplanted into intracranial orthotopic rat F98 gliomas via peritumoral, intracerebral, intratumoral or intra-arterial injection, MRI was performed to track IFNβ-FTH-MSCs and to evaluate their therapeutic effect on glioma in vivo, as validated by histologic analysis, quantitative PCR and ELISA assays.

RESULTS:

MSCs were efficiently and safely transduced to upregulate their IFNβ secretion and FTH expression by the constructed lentivirus. After peritumoral injection, IFNβ-FTH-MSCs appeared as hypointense signals on MRI, which gradually diminished but remained visible until 11 days. Compared with other administration routes, only peritumoral injection of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs showed a remarkable inhibition on the glioma growth. Nearly 30% of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs survived up to 11 days after peritumoral injection, while most of IFNβ-FTH-MSCs injected via other routes died within 11 days. IFNβ-FTH-MSCs grafted peritumorally secreted IFNβ persistently, leading to pronounced Batf3+ dendritic cells and CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration within the glioma.

CONCLUSIONS:

MSCs can be used as cellular vehicles of IFNβ to treat malignant glioma effectively via peritumoral injection.

• Authors: Jiaji Mao, Minghui Cao, Fang Zhang, Jingzhong Zhang, Xiaohui Duan, Liejing Lu, Zehong Yang, Xiang Zhang, Wangshu Zhu, Qinyuan Zhang, Zhe Wang, Jun Shen
• Journal: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer (J Immunother Cancer) Vol. 8 Issue 1 (03 2020) ISSN: 2051-1426 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 32169868 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Interferon-beta
• Apoferritins

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (administration & dosage)
• Apoferritins (administration & dosage, genetics)
• Brain Neoplasms (immunology, pathology, therapy)
• CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes (drug effects, immunology)
• Dendritic Cells (drug effects, immunology)
• Genes, Reporter
• Glioma (immunology, pathology, therapy)
• Interferon-beta (administration & dosage, genetics)
• Lentivirus (genetics)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (methods)
• Male
• Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation (methods)
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells (cytology, immunology)
• Random Allocation
• Rats
• Rats, Inbred F344
• Up-Regulation
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays