1
|
Gómez CE, Perdiguero B, Usero L, Marcos-Villar L, Miralles L, Leal L, Sorzano CÓS, Sánchez-Corzo C, Plana M, García F, Esteban M. Enhancement of the HIV-1-Specific Immune Response Induced by an mRNA Vaccine through Boosting with a Poxvirus MVA Vector Expressing the Same Antigen. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9090959. [PMID: 34579196 PMCID: PMC8473054 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9090959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of a vaccine against HIV remains a major target goal in the field. The recent success of mRNA vaccines against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is pointing out a new era of vaccine designs against pathogens. Here, we have generated two types of mRNA vaccine candidates against HIV-1; one based on unmodified vectors and the other on 1-methyl-3′-pseudouridylyl modified vectors expressing a T cell multiepitopic construct including protective conserved epitopes from HIV-1 Gag, Pol and Nef proteins (referred to as RNA-TMEP and RNA-TMEPmod, respectively) and defined their biological and immunological properties in cultured cells and in mice. In cultured cells, both mRNA vectors expressed the corresponding protein, with higher levels observed in the unmodified mRNA, leading to activated macrophages with differential induction of innate immune molecules. In mice, intranodal administration of the mRNAs induced the activation of specific T cell (CD4 and CD8) responses, and the levels were markedly enhanced after a booster immunization with the poxvirus vector MVA-TMEP expressing the same antigen. This immune activation was maintained even three months later. These findings revealed a potent combined immunization regimen able to enhance the HIV-1-specific immune responses induced by an mRNA vaccine that might be applicable to human vaccination programs with mRNA and MVA vectors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Elena Gómez
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain; (B.P.); (L.M.-V.); (C.S.-C.)
- Correspondence: (C.E.G.); (M.E.)
| | - Beatriz Perdiguero
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain; (B.P.); (L.M.-V.); (C.S.-C.)
| | - Lorena Usero
- AIDS Research Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (L.U.); (L.M.); (L.L.); (M.P.); (F.G.)
| | - Laura Marcos-Villar
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain; (B.P.); (L.M.-V.); (C.S.-C.)
| | - Laia Miralles
- AIDS Research Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (L.U.); (L.M.); (L.L.); (M.P.); (F.G.)
| | - Lorna Leal
- AIDS Research Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (L.U.); (L.M.); (L.L.); (M.P.); (F.G.)
| | | | - Cristina Sánchez-Corzo
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain; (B.P.); (L.M.-V.); (C.S.-C.)
| | - Montserrat Plana
- AIDS Research Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (L.U.); (L.M.); (L.L.); (M.P.); (F.G.)
| | - Felipe García
- AIDS Research Group, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (L.U.); (L.M.); (L.L.); (M.P.); (F.G.)
| | - Mariano Esteban
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049 Madrid, Spain; (B.P.); (L.M.-V.); (C.S.-C.)
- Correspondence: (C.E.G.); (M.E.)
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Induction of cytotoxic effector cells towards cholangiocellular, pancreatic, and colorectal tumor cells by activation of the immune checkpoint CD40/CD40L on dendritic cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2020; 70:1451-1464. [PMID: 33180184 PMCID: PMC8053193 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-020-02746-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, such as cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, and metastatic colorectal carcinoma, have a poor prognosis and effective therapeutic approaches are still challenging. Checkpoint inhibition with PD-1 or PDL-1 antibodies revealed promising results in different tumor entities; however, only few patients with GI tumors can potentially benefit from PD1/PDL1 inhibiting immunotherapy. Further immunotherapeutic strategies for GI malignancies are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that in vitro activation of the immune checkpoint CD40/CD40L can improve DC action towards bile duct, pancreas, and colorectal carcinoma. Methods Human DC were isolated from buffy coats from healthy donors, pulsed with tumor lysates and then transduced with adenoviruses encoding human CD40L (Ad-hCD40L). Using transwell assays, the effects of (m)CD40L on DC immunoactivation compared to (s)CD40L were analyzed. Surface marker and cytokine/chemokine expression were measured by flow cytometry, ELISA and cytokine arrays. Capacity of Ad-hCD40L-transduced DC to induce tumor-specific effector cells was tested using MTT proliferation assay and cytotoxicity assays. Apoptosis induction on tumor cells after culturing with supernatants of Ad-hCD40L-transduced DC was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results Ad-hCD40L transduction induced a high expression of (s)CD40L and (m)CD40L on DC and seemed to induce a strong cellular CD40/CD40L interaction among DC, leading to the formation of cell aggregates. Due to the CD40/CD40L interaction, a significant upregulation of DC maturation markers and a Th1-shift on cytokines/chemokines in the supernatant of DC were achieved. Interestingly, a pure Th1-shift was only achieved, when a cellular CD40/CD40L interaction among DC took place. (s)CD40L induced almost no upregulation of maturation markers and rather resulted in a Th2-cytokine expression, such as IL-10. Correspondingly, (m)CD40L-expressing DC led to significant proliferation and stimulation of tumor-specific effector cells with increased cytotoxicity towards pancreatic, bile duct and colorectal tumor cells. Supernatants of Ad-hCD40L-transduced DC could also induce apoptosis in the different tumor cells in vitro. Conclusion Stimulation of the immune checkpoint CD40L/CD40 by endogenous expression of (m)CD40L provokes a cellular interaction, which increases the immunomodulatory capacity of DC. A Th1 cytokine/chemokine expression is induced, leading to a significant proliferation and enabling cytotoxicity of effector cells towards human bile duct, pancreatic and colorectal tumor cells. The present data point to the promising approach for DC-based immunotherapy of gastrointestinal malignances by activating the CD40/CD40L immune checkpoint. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00262-020-02746-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
|
3
|
Wojas-Turek J, Szczygieł A, Kicielińska J, Rossowska J, Piasecki E, Pajtasz-Piasecka E. Treatment with cyclophosphamide supported by various dendritic cell-based vaccines induces diversification in CD4⁺ T cell response against MC38 colon carcinoma. Int J Oncol 2015; 48:493-505. [PMID: 26648160 PMCID: PMC4725454 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2015.3278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study shows that an application of cyclophosphamide (CY) supported by dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccines affected differentiation of the activity of CD4+ T cell subpopulations accompanied by an alteration in CD8+ cell number. Vaccines were composed of bone marrow-derived DCs activated with tumor cell lysate (BM-DC/TAgTNF-α) and/or genetically modified DCs of JAWS II line (JAWS II/ Neo or JAWS II/IL-2 cells). Compared to untreated or CY-treated mice, the combined treatment of MC38 colon carcinoma-bearing mice resulted in significant tumor growth inhibition associated with an increase in influx of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells into tumor tissue. Whereas, the division of these cell population in spleen was not observed. Depending on the nature of DC-based vaccines and number of their applications, both tumor infiltrating cells and spleen cells were able to produce various amount of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 after mitogenic ex vivo stimulation. The administration of CY followed by BM-DC/TAgTNF-α and genetically modified JAWS II cells, increased the percentage of CD4+T-bet+ and CD4+GATA3+ cells and decreased the percentage of CD4+RORγt+ and CD4+FoxP3+ lymphocytes. However, the most intensive response against tumor was noted after the ternary treatment with CY + BM-DC/TAgTNF-α + JAWS II/IL-2 cells. Thus, the administration of various DC-based vaccines was responsible for generation of the diversified antitumor response. These findings demonstrate that the determination of the size of particular CD4+ T cell subpopulations may become a prognostic factor and be the basis for future development of anticancer therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justyna Wojas-Turek
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Szczygieł
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jagoda Kicielińska
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Rossowska
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Egbert Piasecki
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Pajtasz-Piasecka
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Pros and Cons of Antigen-Presenting Cell Targeted Tumor Vaccines. J Immunol Res 2015; 2015:785634. [PMID: 26583156 PMCID: PMC4637118 DOI: 10.1155/2015/785634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2015] [Revised: 08/26/2015] [Accepted: 09/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In therapeutic antitumor vaccination, dendritic cells play the leading role since they decide if, how, when, and where a potent antitumor immune response will take place. Since the disentanglement of the complexity and merit of different antigen-presenting cell subtypes, antitumor immunotherapeutic research started to investigate the potential benefit of targeting these subtypes in situ. This review will discuss which antigen-presenting cell subtypes are at play and how they have been targeted and finally question the true meaning of targeting antitumor-based vaccines.
Collapse
|
5
|
Sharpe M, Mount N. Genetically modified T cells in cancer therapy: opportunities and challenges. Dis Model Mech 2015; 8:337-50. [PMID: 26035842 PMCID: PMC4381333 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.018036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumours use many strategies to evade the host immune response, including downregulation or weak immunogenicity of target antigens and creation of an immune-suppressive tumour environment. T cells play a key role in cell-mediated immunity and, recently, strategies to genetically modify T cells either through altering the specificity of the T cell receptor (TCR) or through introducing antibody-like recognition in chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have made substantial advances. The potential of these approaches has been demonstrated in particular by the successful use of genetically modified T cells to treat B cell haematological malignancies in clinical trials. This clinical success is reflected in the growing number of strategic partnerships in this area that have attracted a high level of investment and involve large pharmaceutical organisations. Although our understanding of the factors that influence the safety and efficacy of these therapies has increased, challenges for bringing genetically modified T-cell immunotherapy to many patients with different tumour types remain. These challenges range from the selection of antigen targets and dealing with regulatory and safety issues to successfully navigating the routes to commercial development. However, the encouraging clinical data, the progress in the scientific understanding of tumour immunology and the improvements in the manufacture of cell products are all advancing the clinical translation of these important cellular immunotherapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Sharpe
- Cell Therapy Catapult, 12th Floor Tower Wing, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK
| | - Natalie Mount
- Cell Therapy Catapult, 12th Floor Tower Wing, Guy's Hospital, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Benencia F, Muccioli M, Alnaeeli M. Perspectives on reprograming cancer-associated dendritic cells for anti-tumor therapies. Front Oncol 2014; 4:72. [PMID: 24778991 PMCID: PMC3984996 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the relevance of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the progression of cancer has gained considerable attention. It has been shown that the TME is capable of inactivating various components of the immune system responsible for tumor clearance, thus favoring cancer cell growth and tumor metastasis. In particular, effects of the TME on antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs) include rendering these cells unable to promote specific immune responses or transform them into suppressive cells capable of inducing regulatory T cells. In addition, under the influence of the TME, DCs can produce growth factors that induce neovascularization, therefore further contributing to tumor development. Interestingly, cancer-associated DCs harbor tumor antigens and thus have the potential to become anti-tumor vaccines in situ if properly reactivated. This perspective article provides an overview of the scientific background and experimental basis for reprograming cancer-associated DCs in situ to generate anti-tumor immune responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Benencia
- Biomedical Engineering Program, Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA ; Diabetes Institute, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA ; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA ; Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA
| | - Maria Muccioli
- Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA
| | - Mawadda Alnaeeli
- Diabetes Institute, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA ; Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University , Athens, OH , USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Lundberg K, Albrekt AS, Nelissen I, Santegoets S, de Gruijl TD, Gibbs S, Lindstedt M. Transcriptional profiling of human dendritic cell populations and models--unique profiles of in vitro dendritic cells and implications on functionality and applicability. PLoS One 2013; 8:e52875. [PMID: 23341914 PMCID: PMC3544800 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2012] [Accepted: 11/22/2012] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Dendritic cells (DCs) comprise heterogeneous populations of cells, which act as central orchestrators of the immune response. Applicability of primary DCs is restricted due to their scarcity and therefore DC models are commonly employed in DC-based immunotherapy strategies and in vitro tests assessing DC function. However, the interrelationship between the individual in vitro DC models and their relative resemblance to specific primary DC populations remain elusive. Objective To describe and assess functionality and applicability of the available in vitro DC models by using a genome-wide transcriptional approach. Methods Transcriptional profiling was performed with four commonly used in vitro DC models (MUTZ-3-DCs, monocyte-derived DCs, CD34-derived DCs and Langerhans cells (LCs)) and nine primary DC populations (dermal DCs, LCs, blood and tonsillar CD123+, CD1c+ and CD141+ DCs, and blood CD16+ DCs). Results Principal Component Analysis showed that transcriptional profiles of each in vitro DC model most closely resembled CD1c+ and CD141+ tonsillar myeloid DCs (mDCs) among primary DC populations. Thus, additional differentiation factors may be required to generate model DCs that more closely resemble other primary DC populations. Also, no model DC stood out in terms of primary DC resemblance. Nevertheless, hierarchical clustering showed clusters of differentially expressed genes among individual DC models as well as primary DC populations. Furthermore, model DCs were shown to differentially express immunologically relevant transcripts and transcriptional signatures identified for each model DC included several immune-associated transcripts. Conclusion The unique transcriptional profiles of in vitro DC models suggest distinct functionality in immune applications. The presented results will aid in the selection of an appropriate DC model for in vitro assays and assist development of DC-based immunotherapy.
Collapse
|