Marc Vendrell,*,†,⊥ Duanting Zhai,‡ Jun Cheng Er,‡,§ and Young-Tae Chang*,†,‡ †Laboratory of Bioimaging Probe Development, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 11 Biopolis Way, 138667 Singapore ‡Department of Chemistry and MedChem Program for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, 117543 Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Centre for Life Sciences, #05-01, 28 Medical Drive, 117456 Singapore

Combinatorial Strategies in Fluorescent Probe Development

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are currently being investigated in numerous clinical trials of tissue repair and various immunological disorders based on their ability to secrete trophic factors and to modulate inflammatory responses. MSCs have been shown to migrate to sites of injury and inflammation in response to soluble mediators including the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-(SDF-)1, but during in vitro culture expansion MSCs lose surface expression of key homing receptors particularly of the SDF-1 receptor, CXCR4. Here we review studies on enhancement of SDF-1-directed migration of MSCs with the premise that their improved recruitment could translate to therapeutic benefits. We describe our studies on approaches to increase the CXCR4 expression in in vitro-expanded cord blood-derived MSCs, namely, transfection, using the commercial liposomal reagent IBAfect, chemical treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid, and exposure to recombinant complement component C1q. These methodologies will be presented in the context of other cell targeting and delivery strategies that exploit pathways involved in MSC migration. Taken together, these findings indicate that MSCs can be manipulated in vitro to enhance their in vivo recruitment and efficacy for tissue repair.

/pdf/enhancing-the-migration-ability-of-mesenchymal-stromal-cells-3wgbworfx9.pdf

Enhancing the Migration Ability of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells by Targeting the SDF-1/CXCR4 Axis

Combinatorial chemistry in drug discovery.

Skeletal disorders are among the leading debilitating factors affecting millions of people worldwide. The use of stem cells for tissue repair has raised many promises in various medical fields, including skeletal disorders. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells with mesodermal and neural crest origin. These cells are one of the most attractive candidates in regenerative medicine, and their use could be helpful in repairing and regeneration of skeletal disorders through several mechanisms including homing, angiogenesis, differentiation, and response to inflammatory condition. The most widely studied sources of MSCs are bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue, muscle, umbilical cord (UC), umbilical cord blood (UCB), placenta (PL), Wharton’s jelly (WJ), and amniotic fluid. These cells are capable of differentiating into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and myocytes in vitro. MSCs obtained from various sources have diverse capabilities of secreting many different cytokines, growth factors, and chemokines. It is believed that the salutary effects of MSCs from different sources are not alike in terms of repairing or reformation of injured skeletal tissues. Accordingly, differential identification of MSCs’ secretome enables us to make optimal choices in skeletal disorders considering various sources. This review discusses and compares the therapeutic abilities of MSCs from different sources for bone and cartilage diseases.

/pdf/mesenchymal-stem-cells-amazing-remedies-for-bone-and-hywctmot4v.pdf

Mesenchymal stem cells: amazing remedies for bone and cartilage defects

The surface of a cell represents a collection of macromolecules, which provides the cell with a unique cellular landscape specific to the type and state of the cell. Ligands that discriminate between subtle differences in cell surface phenotypes have utility in a wide variety of research and clinical applications. In particular, cell-binding ligands that can deliver biologically active cargo to a specific cell type or a diseased cell are highly sought. While the concept of the magic bullet drug was introduced by Paul Erlich over a century ago, the scientific community has yet to fully realize this goal.1 This stems primarily from hurdles in obtaining high-affinity cell-binding ligands with the necessary discriminating power. The difficulty of the problem is realized by considering that the human body contains 210 distinct cell types, not including diseased cells, and is composed of ~1014 cells. Furthermore, once isolated, the ligand must be able to be prepared in large quantities, must be amenable to chemical modification for optimal in vivo biodistribution, and must be able to be tailored to suit a variety of clinical applications.

As antibodies typically have high affinity and specificity for their targets, they have garnered attention as cell-targeting agents. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can be generated against differentially expressed cell surface features, and the number of FDA-approved mAbs that bind to cell surface antigens continues to grow.2 mAb therapies are used to treat a variety of diseases. However, most of the clinically approved therapeutic mAbs are not conjugated to drugs or toxins and therefore fall into the category of molecularly targeted therapies. Such antibodies function passively by either blocking the activity of receptors or activating the immune system to destroy the antibody target.3 Only a few clinically approved mAbs carry a deliverable. For example, two radiolabeled antibodies, Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan) and Bexxar (iodine-131 tositumomab), are approved in the United States; both are anti-CD20 antibodies used for select patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The only clinically approved antibody–drug conjugate in the United States is Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin). Approved in 2011, Adcetris is an anti-CD30 antibody conjugated to the highly toxic microtubule-disrupting agent monomethyl auristatin E and is utilized for the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) or systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (sALCL). Mylotarg, a calicheamicin anti-CD33 antibody conjugate, was recently removed from the market after 10 years in the clinic for failing to show efficacy.

Despite their successes, mAbs have limitations, especially in their ability to serve as delivery vehicles. Significantly, chemically modifying antibodies is challenging, and production costs are substantial. Additionally, nonspecific clearance of antibodies by the reticuloendothelial system can lead to accumulation of conjugated drugs or toxins in unwanted sites such as the liver and bone, damaging these organs.4,5 Recently, concerns have risen over post-translational modifications on mAbs, especially glycosylation, which can trigger severe hypersensitivity reactions. Due to their long in vivo half-lives, intact mAbs are not well suited for molecular imaging techniques, requiring the use of antibody fragments (Fab’s). Of the approved mAb therapies, only 11 different cell surface biomarkers are targeted. This is a minute fraction of the cell surface repertoire.

Peptides are an attractive alternative to antibody-targeting therapies. Unlike antibodies, peptides are easy to synthesize in large quantities,6 and their smaller size improves tissue penetration while preventing nonspecific uptake by the reticuloendothelial system. Additionally, peptides can be chemically modified to alter affinity, charge, hydrophobicity, stability, and solubility and can be optimized for in vivo use through reiterative modifications. Importantly, peptides can display antibody-like affinities for their receptors. The biological half-life of peptides is well matched with that of many clinically used radionuclides, making them attractive probes for molecular imaging. Several naturally occurring peptides have been used as delivery agents. For example, reproductive hormone peptides and their derivatives are useful for tumor targeting, due to overexpression of their receptors on many cancer cells.7,8 However, relying on known peptidic ligands limits the types of cells that can be targeted. For this reason, chemists and biologists have turned to diverse peptide libraries to select additional peptides that bind to specific cell types.

Combinatorial Peptide Libraries: Mining for Cell-Binding Peptides

In clinical settings, biopsies are routinely used to determine cancer type and grade based on tumor cell morphology, as determined via histochemical or immunohistochemical staining. Unfortunately, in a significant number of cases, traditional biopsy results are either inconclusive or do not provide full subtype differentiation, possibly leading to inefficient or ineffective treatment. Glycomic profiling of the cell membrane offers an alternate route toward cancer diagnosis. In this study, isomer-sensitive nano-LC/MS was used to directly obtain detailed profiles of the different N-glycan structures present on cancer cell membranes. Membrane N-glycans were extracted from cells representing various subtypes of breast, lung, cervical, ovarian, and lymphatic cancer. Chip-based porous graphitized carbon nano-LC/MS was used to separate, identify, and quantify the native N-glycans. Structure-sensitive N-glycan profiling identified hundreds of glycan peaks per cell line, including multiple isomers for most composi...

/pdf/differentiation-of-cancer-cell-origin-and-molecular-subtype-55wftdynju.pdf

Differentiation of cancer cell origin and molecular subtype by plasma membrane N-glycan profiling.

The one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) technology enables one to generate thousands to millions of chemical molecules on resin beads (90 μm diameter) such that each bead displays 1013 copies of the same chemical entity. Whole-cell binding assays have been developed to screen OBOC combinatorial libraries for ligands that bind to specific cell surface receptors. While very powerful, this screening method does not address the downstream cell signaling properties of the binding ligand. We have modified the OBOC technology by introducing a fixed known cell adhesion ligand to the outer layer of each bead. This one-bead-two-compound (OB2C) library configuration allows the bound cells to interact with the random immobilized chemical molecules on each bead. The bound cells can then be probed for specific cellular responses such as apoptosis and activation or inhibition of a specific cell signaling pathway. To validate this concept, an OB2C combinatorial library was created such that a random hexapeptide plus a high affi...

Rapid discovery of death ligands with one-bead-two-compound combinatorial library methods.

Membrane active peptides (MAPs) represent a class of short biomolecules that have shown great promise in facilitating intracellular delivery without disrupting cellular plasma membranes. Yet their clinical application has been stalled by numerous factors: off-target delivery, a requirement for high local concentration near cells of interest, degradation en route to the target site, and in the case of cell-penetrating peptides, eventual entrapment in endolysosomal compartments. The current method of deriving MAPs from naturally occurring proteins has restricted the discovery of new peptides that may overcome these limitations. Here, we describe a new branch of assays featuring high-throughput functional screening capable of discovering new peptides with tailored cell uptake and endosomal escape capabilities. The one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial method is used to screen libraries containing millions of potential MAPs for binding to synthetic liposomes, which can be adapted to mimic various aspects...

/pdf/combinatorial-library-screening-with-liposomes-for-discovery-f8i6bf7ypx.pdf

Combinatorial Library Screening with Liposomes for Discovery of Membrane Active Peptides

Bone regeneration by systemic transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is problematic due to the inability to control the MSCs' commitment, growth, and differentiation into functional osteoblasts on the bone surface. Our research group has developed a method to direct the MSCs to the bone surface by conjugating a synthetic peptidomimetic ligand (LLP2A) that has high affinity for activated α4β1 integrin on the MSC surface, with a bisphosphonates (alendronate) that has high affinity for bone (LLP2A-Ale), to direct the transplanted MSCs to bone. Our in vitro experiments demonstrated that mobilization of LLP2A-Ale to hydroxyapatite accelerated MSC migration that was associated with an increase in the phosphorylation of Akt kinase and osteoblastogenesis. LLP2A-Ale increased the homing of the transplanted MSCs to bone as well as the osteoblast surface, significantly increased the rate of bone formation and restored both trabecular and cortical bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency or advanced age in mice. These results support LLP2A-Ale as a novel therapeutic option to direct the transplanted MSCs to bone for the treatment of established bone loss related to hormone deficiency and aging.

/pdf/reversing-bone-loss-by-directing-mesenchymal-stem-cells-to-1qosxmq584.pdf

Reversing Bone Loss by Directing Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Bone

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Differentiation of cancer cell origin and molecular subtype by plasma membrane N-glycan profiling.

Rapid discovery of death ligands with one-bead-two-compound combinatorial library methods.

Combinatorial Library Screening with Liposomes for Discovery of Membrane Active Peptides

Reversing Bone Loss by Directing Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Bone