1
|
Liu D, Badeti S, Dotti G, Jiang JG, Wang H, Dermody J, Soteropoulos P, Streck D, Birge RB, Liu C. The Role of Immunological Synapse in Predicting the Efficacy of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Immunotherapy. Cell Commun Signal 2020; 18:134. [PMID: 32843053 PMCID: PMC7446110 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-020-00617-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) immunotherapy utilizes genetically-engineered immune cells that express a unique cell surface receptor that combines tumor antigen specificity with immune cell activation. In recent clinical trials, the adoptive transfer of CAR-modified immune cells (including CAR-T and CAR-NK cells) into patients has been remarkably successful in treating multiple refractory blood cancers. To improve safety and efficacy, and expand potential applicability to other cancer types, CARs with different target specificities and sequence modifications are being developed and tested by many laboratories. Despite the overall progress in CAR immunotherapy, conventional tools to design and evaluate the efficacy and safety of CAR immunotherapies can be inaccurate, time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive. Furthermore, existing tools cannot always determine how responsive individual patients will be to a particular CAR immunotherapy. Recent work in our laboratory suggests that the quality of the immunological synapse (IS) can accurately predict CAR-modified cell efficacy (and toxicity) that can correlate with clinical outcomes. Here we review current efforts to develop a Synapse Predicts Efficacy (SPE) system for easy, rapid and cost-effective evaluation of CAR-modified immune cell immunotherapy. Ultimately, we hypothesize the conceptual basis and clinical application of SPE will serve as an important parameter in evaluating CAR immunotherapy and significantly advance precision cancer immunotherapy. Video abstract
Graphical abstract Graphic abstract for manuscript CCAS-D-20-00136 by Liu, D., et al., ‘The Role of Immunological Synapse in Predicting the Efficacy of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Immunotherapy”. The various branches of evaluating cancer immunotherapy metaphorically represented as a Rubik’s cube. The development of a novel approach to predict the effectiveness of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-modified cells by quantifying the quality of CAR IS will introduce a new parameter to the rapidly expanding field of cancer immunotherapy. Currently, no single parameter can predict the clinical outcome or efficacy of a specific type of CAR-modified cell. IS quality will serve as a quantifiable measure to evaluate CAR products and can be used in conjunction with other conventional parameters to form a composite clinical predictor. Much like a Rubik’s cube has countless configurations, several methods and combinations of clinical metrics have arisen for evaluating the ability of a given immunotherapeutic strategy to treat cancer. The quality of IS depicting cancer immunotherapy is metaphorically expressed as a Rubik’s cube. Each face/color represents one aspect of cancer therapy. Each grid in one face indicates one factor within that aspect of cancer therapy. For example, the green color represents the tumor microenvironment, and one out of the nine grids in the green color indicates suppressor cells (suppressors in green). Changes in one factor may completely alter the entire strategy of cancer therapy. However, the quality of IS (illuminated center red grid) makes the effectiveness of CAR immunotherapy predictable.
![]()
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongfang Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University- New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA. .,Center for Immunity and Inflammation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07101, USA.
| | - Saiaditya Badeti
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University- New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Gianpietro Dotti
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Jie-Gen Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University- New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - He Wang
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University- New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - James Dermody
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Patricia Soteropoulos
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Deanna Streck
- Institute of Genomic Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Raymond B Birge
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers University- New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.,Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yang Y, Badeti S, Tseng HC, Ma MT, Liu T, Jiang JG, Liu C, Liu D. Superior Expansion and Cytotoxicity of Human Primary NK and CAR-NK Cells from Various Sources via Enriched Metabolic Pathways. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2020; 18:428-445. [PMID: 32695845 PMCID: PMC7364029 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Clinical success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy requires the engineering of autologous T cells, which limits the broader implementation of CAR cell therapy. The development of allogeneic and universal cell products will significantly broaden their application and reduce costs. Allogeneic natural killer (NK) cells can be used for universal CAR immunotherapy. Here, we develop an alternative approach for the rapid expansion of primary NK and CAR-NK cells with superior expansion capability and in vivo cytotoxicity from various sources (including peripheral blood, cord blood, and tumor tissue). We apply a human B-lymphoblastoid cell-line 721.221 (hereinafter, 221)-based artificial feeder cell system with membrane-bound interleukin 21 (mIL-21) to propagate NK and CAR-NK cells. The expansion capability, purity, and cytotoxicity of NK cells expanded with 221-mIL-21 feeder cells are superior to that of conventional K562-mIL-21 feeder cells. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data show that 221-mIL-21 feeder cell-expanded NK cells display a less differentiated, non-exhausted, limited fratricidal, memory-like phenotype correlated with enriched metabolic pathways, which explains underlying mechanisms. Thus, “off-the-shelf” NK and CAR-NK cells with superior functionalities and expansion using a genetically modified 221-mIL-21 feeder cell expansion system will greatly support clinical use of NK immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Yang
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Saiaditya Badeti
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Hsiang-Chi Tseng
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Minh Tuyet Ma
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Ting Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Jie-Gen Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Dongfang Liu
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.,Center for Immunity and Inflammation, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, 205 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07101, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang YL, Li J, Mo HY, Qiu F, Zheng LM, Qian CN, Zeng YX. Different subsets of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes correlate with NPC progression in different ways. Mol Cancer 2010; 9:4. [PMID: 20064222 PMCID: PMC2818695 DOI: 10.1186/1476-4598-9-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2009] [Accepted: 01/10/2010] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Increasing amounts of evidence indicate that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are correlated with the prognosis of cancer patients. This study focuses on the association between the densities of tumor infiltrating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), activated CTL, regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg) and Th17 lymphocytes, and the prognosis and clinicopathological features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Results Double immunohistochemical staining was performed in 106 biopsy specimens from newly diagnosed NPC patients. Prognostic values of infiltrating lymphocyte densities were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. The density of CD8+ TIL was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis, while the density of Foxp3+ TIL was negatively associated with T stage (P < 0.05). For survival evaluation, the density of Foxp3+ TIL or Foxp3+ TIL combined with GrB+ TIL together was associated with better overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (P < 0.01) in all patients and in the patients with late-stage diseases (Stages III and IV, P < 0.01). Meanwhile a low density of CD8+TIL or high ratio of FOXP3+TIL to CD8+TIL was correlated with better PFS in early stage patients (Stages I and II, P < 0.05). No significant association was found between IL-17+ TIL and clinicopathological characteristic or survival of NPC patients. Conclusions Our study identifies for the first time the tumor infiltrating Foxp3+ TIL as an independent favorable factor in the prognosis of NPC patients, especially for the patients with late-stage diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Lan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, PR China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Enhancing the in vivo expansion of adoptively transferred EBV-specific CTL with lymphodepleting CD45 monoclonal antibodies in NPC patients. Blood 2008; 113:2442-50. [PMID: 18971421 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2008-05-157222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with EBV-specific cytotoxic T cells (EBV-specific CTL) has been promising, producing clinical responses. However, infused EBV-specific CTL did not expand in vivo, likely limiting their antitumor activity. Lymphodepleting patients with chemotherapy before T-cell transfer enhances in vivo T-cell expansion, but results in nonspecific destruction of the resident immune system and can have significant toxicity. To evaluate if monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can produce a more selective lymphodepletion, we conducted a clinical study in which NPC patients received a pair of lymphodepleting mAbs targeted to the CD45 antigen (CD45 mAbs) before EBV-specific CTL infusion. Eight patients with recurrent NPC received CD45 mAbs followed by escalating doses of autologous EBV-specific CTL. Infusion of CD45 mAbs resulted in transient lymphopenia in all patients and an increase in interleukin-15 (IL-15) levels in 6 out 8 patients. All patients had an increase in their peripheral blood frequency of EBV-specific T cells after CTL infusion. Three patients with a persistent increase had clinical benefits including 1 complete response (> 24 months) and 2 with stable disease (for 12 and 15 months). Lymphodepleting mAbs prior CTL transfer may represent an alternative to chemotherapy to enhance expansion of infused CTL. This study is registered at (http://www.clinialtrials.gov) as NCT00608257.
Collapse
|