Under senare år har målinriktad terapi varit ett växande område inom cancerterapi som en mer målinriktad behandling än kemoterapi. Dessa behandlingar baseras främst på antikroppsbaserade läkemedel som är ganska stora och komplexa, vilket ökar den totala kostnaden för behandlingen. Därför måste man hitta en alternativ metod för både upptäckt och behandling för att hjälpa patienterna. Små affinitetsdomäner har skapats med målet att förbättra vävnadspenetrationen och samtidigt upprätthålla en hög grad av målspecificitet, vilket leder till färre biverkningar. Ett av exemplen på detta är Albumin Binding Domain-Derived Affinity Protein (ADAPT). Det har baserats på en av de albuminbindande domänerna (ABD) i streptokockproteinet G, med en storlek på 6,5 kDa. Nyligen modifierades ADAPT ytterligare för att samtidigt binda albumin och ett annat relevant målprotein av intresse, vilket tyder på en längre halveringstid i patientserum och möjliggör utveckling av nyare och terapeutiska läkemedel. I detta projekt presenteras den fjärde generationen av ADAPT-biblioteket som utformats för att ha förbättrad stabilitet. Selektioner med fagdisplay utfördes mot tre målproteiner: carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5), en biomarkör för kolorektalcancer, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), en markör för flera gastrointestinala karcinom och trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (Trop2) som är överuttryckt i trippel-negativ bröstcancer. Resultaten visar bindning till CEACAM5, EpCAM och Trop2, vilket har visats med monoklonal fag-ELISA. Bindningsaffiniteten, sekundärstrukturen hos de utvalda bindarna och den bispecifika bindningen till serumalbumin återstår att utvärdera ytterligare. Projektet visar således att de ADAPTs som valts ut mot målen CEACAM5, EpCAM och Trop2 har en enorm potential för framtida kliniska tillämpningar som syftar till utveckling av diagnostik och terapi för dessa cancerbiomarkörer. / In recent years, targeted therapy has been a growing field of cancer therapy as a more targeted treatment than chemotherapy. These treatments are primarily based on antibody-based pharmaceuticals which are quite large and complex, increasing the overall cost of the treatment. Thus, an alternative method of both detection and treatment needs to be found to aid patients. Small affinity domains have been created with the goal of enhancing tissue penetration while maintaining a high level of target specificity, leading to fewer side effects. One of the examples for these is the Albumin Binding Domain-Derived Affinity Protein (ADAPT). It has been based on one of the albumin binding domains (ABD) of the streptococcal protein G, with a size of 6.5 kDa. Recently, the ADAPTs were further modified to simultaneously bind albumin and another pertinent target protein of interest, suggesting a longer half-life in patient serum, and enabling the development of newer therapeutics. This project presents the 4th generation of the ADAPT library designed to have improved stability. Phage display selections were performed against three target proteins: carcinoembryonic antigen- related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5), a biomarker for colorectal cancer, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), a marker for several gastrointestinal carcinomas and trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (Trop2) which is overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer. The results demonstrate binding towards CEACAM5, EpCAM and Trop2, which has been shown by monoclonal phage ELISA. The binding affinity, secondary structure of the selected binders and bispecific binding towards serum albumin remain to be further assessed. The project thus reveals that the ADAPTs selected against the targets CEACAM5, EpCAM and Trop2 present a massive potential for future clinical applications aimed towards development of diagnostics and therapeutics for these cancer biomarkers.

Le carcinome hépatocellulaire (CHC) est un cancer au pronostic sombre, car il est souvent diagnostiqué trop tardivement pour entreprendre un traitement curatif. Il se développe dans 80-90% des cas sur fond de cirrhose. On connait mal comment la fibrose, étape préliminaire à la cirrhose, et son principal constituant, le collagène de type 1 (COL1), peuvent jouer un rôle dans le processus du CHC. Nous avons tout d’abord étudié le développement de la fibrose dans un modèle utilisant la souris nue. Nous avons déterminé qu’après 16 semaines d’administration de thioacétamide dans l’eau de boisson, il est possible d’obtenir une fibrose suffisante pour induire une hépatoprotection en présence de différents hépatotoxiques (AST dans le sérum de souris fibrotiques vs non-fibrotiques : Anti-Fas JO2 (4665 ± 2596 vs. 13953 ± 2260 U/L; P<0.05), acétaminophène (292 ± 66 vs. 4087 ± 2205 U/L; P<0.01) et CCL4 (888 ± 268 vs. 15673 ± 2782 U/L; P<0.001)). Ces résultats confirment que la présence de COL1 et de fibrose favorise la survie des hépatocytes normaux tel qu’observé précédemment au laboratoire. Par la suite, nous avons sélectionné in vivo, par injection intrasplénique de la lignée de CHC Hepa1-6, une lignée à forte tumorigénicité nommée dt-Hepa1-6 (28±12 lésions vs. 0±0 lésions à 21 jours). Cette lignée était composée d’une sous-population cellulaire arborant la protéine de surface EpCAM (34.0±0.1%). Par tri cellulaire, nous avons démontré que ces cellules étaient partiellement responsables de la tumorigénicité accrue (EpCAM + (86.7±2.3%) :1093±74 lésions vs. EpCAM- (15.3±1.0%) :473±100 lésions; P<0.01). Nous avons alors démontré que la présence de fibrose favorise le développement de la lignée dt-Hepa1-6 in vivo (604±242 vs 22±9 lésions; P<0.05). De plus, la présence de fibrose réduit l’efficacité du traitement au cisplatin in vivo (44.5±4.9 vs. 78.7±6.9%; P<0.01) confirmant les résultats obtenus in vitro (Apoptose : COL1 13.75±0.44% vs. plastique 31.45±1.37%; P<0.001). En conclusion, la présence de fibrose et de son principal constituant, le COL1, favorise la survie et la progression du CHC. / Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a dreadful pathology, often diagnosed too late to be cured. In 80-90% of cases, it arises in the context of liver cirrhosis. Little is known on the implication of liver fibrosis, one of the key elements of cirrhosis, and its major constituent, type I collagen (COL1), on the development of HCC. We first studied the development of fibrosis in a nude mouse model. We determined that, after 16 weeks of thioacetamide administration in drinking water, we obtained a sufficient degree of fibrosis to reach a hepatoprotective state when animals were exposed to different hepatotoxic agents (Serum AST of fibrotic vs non-fibrotic mice : Anti-Fas JO2 (4665 ± 2596 vs. 13953 ± 2260 U/L; P<0.05), acetaminophen (292 ± 66 vs. 4087 ± 2205 U/L; P<0.01) et CCL4 (888 ± 268 vs. 15673 ± 2782 U/L; P<0.001)). This confirmed that COL1 and the presence of fibrosis protects normal hepatocytes as observed previously in our laboratory. Next, we selected in vivo, by intrasplenic injection of the murine HCC cell line Hepa1-6, a highly tumorigenic cell line that we named dt-Hepa1-6 (28±12 lesions vs. 0±0 lesions at 21 days). This cell line was constituted of cell subsets expressing EpCAM protein at their surface (34.0±0.1%). Through cell sorting, we demonstrated that these cells were partially responsible for the enhanced tumorigenicity observed (EpCAM + (86.7±2.3%) :1093±74 lesions vs. EpCAM- (15.3±1.0%) :473±100 lesions; P<0.01). We then showed that the presence of liver fibrosis increases the development of dt-Hepa1-6 cell line in vivo (604±242 vs 22±9 lesions; P<0.05). Moreover, fibrosis reduced the anti-neoplastic efficacy of cisplatinum in vivo (44.5±4.9 vs. 78.7±6.9%; P<0.01) confirming in vitro results (Apototic index : COL1 13.75±0.44% vs. plastic 31.45±1.37%; P<0.001). In conclusion, fibrosis and its major constituent, COL1, favor the survival and progression of HCC.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The non-hematopoietic, stationary stromal cells located inside and surrounding skin-draining lymph nodes play a key role in regulating immune responses. We studied distinct populations of lymph node stromal cells from both human subjects and animal models in order to describe their phenotype and function. In the mouse model, we studied two distinct populations: an endothelial cell population expressing Ly51 and MHC-II, and an epithelial cell population expressing the epithelial adhesion molecule EpCAM. Analysis of intra-nodal and extra-nodal lymph node (CD45-) stromal cells through flow cytometry and qPCR provides a general phenotypic profile of the distinct populations. My research focused on the EpCAM+ epithelial cell population located in the fat pad surrounding the skin draining lymph nodes. The EpCAM+ population has been characterized by surface marker phenotype, anatomic location, and gene expression profile. This population demonstrates the ability to inhibit the activation and proliferation of both CD4 and CD8 T cells. This population may play a role in suppressing overactive inflammation and auto-reactive T cells that escaped thymic deletion. The other major arm of my project consisted of identifying a novel endothelial cell population in human lymph nodes. Freshly resected lymph nodes were processed into single cell suspensions and selected for non-hematopoietic CD45- stromal cells. The unique endothelial population expressing CD34 HLA-DR was then characterized and analyzed for anatomic position, surface marker expression, and gene profiles. Overall, these studies emphasize the importance of stationary lymph node stromal cells to our functioning immune systems, and may have clinical relevance to autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and bone marrow transplantation.