Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and, if disseminated through the dermis, has a poor prognosis with a high mortality rate. Hypoxia is a component of the tumor microenvironment, which reduces efficacy of both immuno- and chemo-therapies resulting in poor clinical outcome. Therefore, we will exploit the hypoxic microenvironment as a target for gene therapy, utilizing commensal facultative anaerobic bacteria. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop an effective and safe delivery system for cancer gene therapy by targeting the hypoxic tumor microenvironment with food-grade lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis). The use of LAB, as opposed to other bacteria, represents a much more desirable strategy to deliver therapeutic genes than attenuated pathogenic strains, as there is no risk of reversion or potential to instigate host reactions in immunocompromised patients. Because identification of tumor-specific accumulation and biodistribution of gene delivery vehicles in vivo is essential for translation of these agents to the clinic, we will utilize a newly emerging technology, multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). MSOT is a hybrid modality that detects sound waves generated by the absorption of electromagnetic energy, thus enabling the capability for 3D high-resolution at depth and in real time. Our preliminary data indicates that L. lactis expresses high levels of -galactosidase (LacZ), and in combination with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-?-D- galactopyranoside (X-gal), produces a strong blue color to facilitate detection of L. lactis using MSOT. Given these findings, we hypothesize that L. lactis will preferentially colonize the hypoxic areas of the tumor microenvironment to deliver therapeutic genes in a safe, tumor-specific, and effective manner. We propose two aims: (1) Evaluate the efficacy of L. lactis as a gene delivery vehicle in melanoma cells in vitro, and (2) determine the biodistribution and tumor-specific accumulation of L. lactis in metastatic melanoma-bearing mice. The successful completion of this proposal will substantially influence the field of gene therapy, specifically utilization of facultative bacteria as delivery agents for tumor-specific targeting of melanoma.

Public Health Relevance

Some bacteria selectively grow in areas of low oxygen. We will evaluate the ability of L. lactis as a gene delivery vehicle to target areas of low oxygen within melanoma tumors implanted in the liver. The biodistribution and tumor accumulation of L. lactis will be evaluated using multispectral optoacoustic tomography. The efficacy of L. lactis as a gene delivery vehicle into melanoma cells will also be evaluated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21CA210202-02
Application #
9451254
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Schwartz, Elena Ivan
Project Start
2017-03-09
Project End
2019-12-31
Budget Start
2018-03-01
Budget End
2019-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Louisville
Department
Surgery
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
057588857
City
Louisville
State
KY
Country
United States
Zip Code
40292
Garza-Morales, Rodolfo; Yaddanapudi, Kavitha; Perez-Hernandez, Rigoberto et al. (2018) Temozolomide renders murine cancer cells susceptible to oncolytic adenovirus replication and oncolysis. Cancer Biol Ther 19:188-197
Martinez-Jaramillo, Elvis; Garza-Morales, Rodolfo; Wechman, Stephen L et al. (2018) Adenovirus Lacking E1b Efficiently Induces Cytopathic Effect in HPV-16-Positive Murine Cancer Cells via Virus Replication and Apoptosis. Cancer Invest 36:19-27
Garza-Morales, Rodolfo; Gonzalez-Ramos, Roxana; Chiba, Akiko et al. (2018) Temozolomide Enhances Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Virotherapy In Vitro. Cancers (Basel) 10:
Martinez-Jaramillo, E; Garza-Morales, R; Loera-Arias, M J et al. (2017) Development of Lactococcus lactis encoding fluorescent proteins, GFP, mCherry and iRFP regulated by the nisin-controlled gene expression system. Biotech Histochem 92:167-174