Risk factors associated with delayed methotrexate clearance and increased toxicity in pediatric patients with osteosarcoma

High‐dose methotrexate (HD‐MTX; 12 g/m²) is part of standard therapy for pediatric osteosarcoma (OS). Risk factors associated with MTX toxicity in children with OS are not well defined. We investigated the association between peak MTX levels (four‐hour) and delayed MTX clearance or treatment toxicity. Information was retrieved from electronic medical records of 33 OS patients treated with HD‐MTX at Texas Children's Hospital from 2008 to 2015. We found that the four‐hour MTX level did not contribute to toxicity or delayed MTX clearance. We demonstrated that certain demographic characteristics are associated with delayed clearance and increased toxicity.     

Aneurysmal bone cyst inadvertently treated with chemotherapy—A series of three cases

Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a benign locally aggressive tumor that occurs in childhood and early adulthood. Most relevant differential diagnoses are the telangiectatic osteosarcoma and the giant cell tumor. In the present case series chemotherapy following the EURAMOS or the Euro‐Ewing 99 protocol was externally applied in three patients with the misdiagnosis of ABC as malignant bone tumor. In all three cases, a significant reduction of the volume of the ABC was achieved. This is the first report about the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ABC. Chemotherapy reduces the size of an ABC and leads to progressive sclerosis.     

Prexasertib (LY2606368) reduces clonogenic survival by inducing apoptosis in primary patient-derived osteosarcoma cells and synergizes with cisplatin and talazoparib

Progress in the systemic control of osteosarcoma has been limited over the past decades thus indicating the urgent clinical need for the development of novel treatment strategies. Therefore, we have recently developed new preclinical models to study promising novel agents for the treatment of pediatric osteosarcoma. The checkpoint kinase (chk) inhibitor prexasertib (LY2606368) and its salt form (LSN2940930) have recently been shown to be active in adult and pediatric malignancies, including sarcoma. We have now tested the potency of prexasertib in clonogenic survival assays in two new lines of primary patient-derived osteosarcoma cells and in two established osteosarcoma cell lines as a single agent and in combination with cisplatin and the poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib. Prexasertib alone results in strongly reduced clonogenic survival at low nanomolar concentrations and acts by affecting cell cycle progression, induction of apoptosis and induction of double-stranded DNA breakage at concentrations that are well below clinically tolerable and safe plasma concentrations. In combination with cisplatin and talazoparib, prexasertib acts in a synergistic fashion. Chk1 inhibition by prexasertib and its combination with the DNA damaging agent cisplatin and the PARP-inhibitor talazoparib thus emerges as a potential new treatment option for pediatric osteosarcoma which will now have to be tested in preclinical primary patient derived in vivo models and clinical studies.     

Reprograming the tumor immunologic microenvironment using neoadjuvant chemotherapy in osteosarcoma

Tumor‐infiltrating immune cells play a crucial role in tumor progression and response to treatment. However, the limited studies on infiltrating immune cells have shown inconsistent and even controversial results for osteosarcoma (OS). In addition, the dynamic changes of infiltrating immune cells after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are largely unknown. We downloaded the RNA expression matrix and clinical information of 80 OS patients from the TARGET database. CIBERSORT was used to evaluate the proportion of 22 immune cell types in patients based on gene expression data. M2 macrophages were found to be the most abundant immune cell type and were associated with improved survival in OS. Another cohort of pretreated OS samples was evaluated by immunohistochemistry to validate the results from CIBERSORT analysis. Matched biopsy and surgical samples from 27 patients were collected to investigate the dynamic change of immune cells and factors before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with increased densities of CD3+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, Ki67 + CD8+ T cells and PD‐L1+ immune cells. Moreover, HLA‐DR‐CD33+ myeloid‐derived suppressive cells (MDSC) were decreased after treatment. We determined that the application of chemotherapy may activate the local immune status and convert OS into an immune “hot” tumor. These findings provide rationale for investigating the schedule of immunotherapy treatment in OS patients in future clinical trials.     

大黄酸通过抑制STAT3基因的表达调控骨肉瘤细胞的增殖和凋亡

目的:探讨大黄酸对骨肉瘤细胞增殖和凋亡的影响及潜在的作用机制。方法:以人骨肉瘤MG-63细胞为研究对象,利用CCK-8实验检测大黄酸对MG-63细胞增殖的影响,并计算大黄酸作用48 h的半数抑制浓度（IC50）,采用该浓度进行后续的实验。转染STAT3 siRNA至MG-63细胞,qRT-PCR和Western blot检测分别在mRNA和蛋白水平上检测转染效果,采用CCK-8实验、克隆形成实验、流式细胞术验证大黄酸和STAT3 siRNA及其联合作用对MG-63细胞存活率、克隆形成、凋亡能力的影响,Western blot检测各组MG-63细胞中凋亡相关蛋白Bax、Bcl-2、Cleaved Caspase-3的表达情况。结果:大黄酸能够呈浓度依赖性的抑制骨肉瘤MG-63细胞增殖,干预48 h的IC50为46.05 μmol/L。大黄酸或STAT3 siRNA均能降低MG-63细胞中STAT3的表达,抑制MG-63细胞存活率,阻碍细胞克隆形成能力,促进细胞凋亡,上调细胞中Bax和Cleaved Caspase-3的表达,下调Bcl-2的表达;且二者联合效果更显著。结论:大黄酸通过抑制STAT3基因表达抑制骨肉瘤细胞增殖并促进细胞凋亡。     

HSP90β干扰和过表达慢病毒载体的构建及其在骨肉瘤细胞Saos-2中的表达

目的:获得热休克蛋白90β(HSP90β)基因干扰和过表达慢病毒表达系统,并检测其在人骨肉瘤细胞株Saos-2中的表达水平。方法:设计合成shRNA,以慢病毒表达质粒构建HSP90β干扰和过表达载体,酶切电泳、测序技术鉴定载体构建是否成功。重组病毒转染H1299细胞,以嘌呤霉素筛选稳定转染的Saos-2细胞,通过荧光显微镜观察计数获得转染效率。将感染好的细胞分为干扰NC组（NEG-shRNA）、干扰组（shRNA-HSP90β）、过表达NC对照组（NEG-pEZ）及过表达组（pEZ-HSP90β）。通过qRT-PCR 与Western blotting 分别从mRNA 和蛋白表达水平验证目的基因的干扰和过表达水平。结果:插入慢病毒表达载体的基因片段与目的基因的碱基序列完全一致。病毒包装成功后,嘌呤霉素最小致死浓度1 μg/ml,感染复数200,感染人Saos-2的感染效率达80%,其中shRNA-HSP90β组干扰效率为86.35%,pEZ-HSP90β组的mRNA相对表达量增加2.8倍。进一步研究发现,shRNA-HSP90β组较NEG-shRNA组中HSP90β蛋白表达明显降低,pEZ-HSP90β组较NEG-pEZ组HSP90β蛋白表达增加。结论:HSP90β基因干扰和过表达慢病毒载体构建成功,并能够在Saos-2中稳定表达。     

Aven‐mediated checkpoint kinase control regulates proliferation and resistance to chemotherapy in conventional osteosarcoma

Conventional high‐grade osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone sarcoma, with relatively high incidence in young people. In this study we found that expression of Aven correlates inversely with metastasis‐free survival in osteosarcoma patients and is increased in metastases compared to primary tumours. Aven is an adaptor protein that has been implicated in anti‐apoptotic signalling and serves as an oncoprotein in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In osteosarcoma cells, silencing Aven triggered G₂ cell‐cycle arrest; Chk1 protein levels were attenuated and ATR–Chk1 DNA damage response signalling in response to chemotherapy was abolished in Aven‐depleted osteosarcoma cells, while ATM, Chk2 and p53 activation remained intact. Osteosarcoma is notoriously difficult to treat with standard chemotherapy, and we examined whether pharmacological inhibition of the Aven‐controlled ATR–Chk1 response could sensitize osteosarcoma cells to genotoxic compounds. Indeed, pharmacological inhibitors targeting Chk1/Chk2 or those selective for Chk1 synergized with standard chemotherapy in 2D cultures. Likewise, in 3D extracellular matrix‐embedded cultures, Chk1 inhibition led to effective sensitization to chemotherapy. Together, these findings implicate Aven in ATR–Chk1 signalling and point towards Chk1 inhibition as a strategy to sensitize human osteosarcomas to chemotherapy. Copyright © 2015 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ossifying Fibroma of Non-odontogenic Origin: A Fibro-osseous Lesion in the Craniofacial Skeleton to be (Re-)considered

In the cranio-facial skeleton, a heterogeneous group of well characterized fibro-osseous lesions can be distinguished. Whereas fibrous dysplasia can affect any skeletal bone, ossifying fibroma and cemento-osseous dysplasia exclusively develop in the cranio-facial region, with most subtypes restricted to the tooth bearing areas of the jaws. Herein we present a series of 20 fibro-osseous lesions that developed mostly in the frontal bone and in the mandible, presenting as expansile intramedullary tumors with a unique histologic appearance and an indolent clinical course. We provide evidence that these tumors are distinct from the categories included in the WHO classification and are therefore currently unclassifiable. The definition of cemento-ossifying fibroma as an odontogenic neoplasm developing only in close proximity to teeth should be re-considered and incorporate also extragnathic lesions as shown here.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12105-021-01351-3.