Various food commodities including dairy products may be contaminated with aflatoxins, which, even in small quantities, have detrimental effects on human and animal health. Several microorganisms have been reported to bind or degrade aflatoxins in foods and feeds. This study assessed the binding of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) from contaminated solution by 20 strains of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria. The selected strains are used in the food industry and comprised 12 Lactobacillus, five Bifidobacterium, and three Lactococcus strains. Bacteria and AFB1 were incubated (24 h, +37 degrees C) and the amount of unbound AFB1 was quantitated by HPLC. Between 5.6 and 59.7% AFB1 was bound from solution by these strains. Two Lactobacillus amylovorus strains and one Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain removed more than 50% AFB1 and were selected for further study. Bacterial binding of AFB1 by these strains was rapid, and more than 50% AFB1 was bound throughout a 72-h incubation period. Binding was reversible, and AFB1 was released by repeated aqueous washes. These findings further support the ability of specific strains of lactic acid bacteria to bind selected dietary contaminants.

DNA intercalation is a major therapeutic modality for cancer therapeutic drugs. The therapeutic activity comes at a cost of normal tissue toxicity and genotoxicity. We have recently described a planar heterocyclic small molecule DNA intercalator, BMH-21, that binds ribosomal DNA and inhibits RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription. Despite DNA intercalation, BMH-21 does not cause phosphorylation of H2AX, a key biomarker activated in DNA damage stress. Here we assessed whether BMH-21 activity towards expression and localization of Pol I marker proteins depends on DNA damage signaling and repair pathways. We show that BMH-21 effects on the nucleolar stress response were independent of major DNA damage associated PI3-kinase pathways, ATM, ATR and DNA-PKcs. However, testing a series of BMH-21 derivatives with alterations in its N,N-dimethylaminocarboxamide arm showed that several derivatives had acquired the property to activate ATM- and DNA-PKcs -dependent damage sensing and repair pathways while their ability to cause nucleolar stress and affect cell viability was greatly reduced. The data show that BMH-21 is a chemically unique DNA intercalator that has high bioactivity towards Pol I inhibition without activation or dependence of DNA damage stress. The findings also show that interference with DNA and DNA metabolic processes can be exploited therapeutically without causing DNA damage.

Virus-based cancer vaccines are nowadays considered an interesting approach in the field of cancer immunotherapy, despite the observation that the majority of the immune responses they elicit are against the virus and not against the tumor. In contrast, targeting tumor associated antigens is effective, however the identification of these antigens remains challenging. Here, we describe ExtraCRAd, a multi-vaccination strategy focused on an oncolytic virus artificially wrapped with tumor cancer membranes carrying tumor antigens. We demonstrate that ExtraCRAd displays increased infectivity and oncolytic effect in vitro and in vivo. We show that this nanoparticle platform controls the growth of aggressive melanoma and lung tumors in vivo both in preventive and therapeutic setting, creating a highly specific anti-cancer immune response. In conclusion, ExtraCRAd might serve as the next generation of personalized cancer vaccines with enhanced features over standard vaccination regimens, representing an alternative way to target cancer.

BACKGROUND. Relatlimab+nivolumab (anti-LAG3+anti-PD1) has been approved by FDA as a 1^st-line therapy in stage III/IV melanoma, but its detailed effect on the immune system is unknown. METHODS. We evaluated blood samples from 40 immunotherapy-naïve or prior immunotherapy-refractory patients with metastatic melanoma treated with anti-LAG3+anti-PD1 in a phase I trial (NCT01968109) using single-cell RNA and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing (scRNA+TCRαβ-seq) combined with other multiomics profiling. RESULTS. The highest LAG3 expression was noted in NK cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and CD8+ T cells, and these cell populations underwent the most significant changes during the treatment. Adaptive NK cells were enriched in responders and underwent profound transcriptomic changes during the therapy resulting in an active phenotype. LAG3+ Tregs expanded but based on the transcriptome profile became metabolically silent during the treatment. Lastly, higher baseline TCR clonality was observed in responding patients, and their expanding CD8+ T cell clones gained more cytotoxic and NK-like phenotype. CONCLUSION. Anti-LAG3+anti-PD1 therapy has profound effects on NK cells and Tregs in addition to CD8+ T cells. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01968109) FUNDING. Cancer Foundation Finland, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, Relander Foundation, State funding for university-level health research in Finland, a Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences Fellow grant, Academy of Finland, and an investigator-initiated research grant from BMS.