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Floerchinger A, Klein JE, Finkbeiner MSC, Schäfer TE, Fuchs G, Doerner J, Zirngibl H, Ackermann M, Kvasnicka HM, Chester KA, Jäger D, Ball CR, Ungerechts G, Engeland CE. A vector-encoded bispecific killer engager to harness virus-activated NK cells as anti-tumor effectors. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:104. [PMID: 36765035 PMCID: PMC9918448 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-05624-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Treatment with oncolytic measles vaccines (MV) elicits activation of immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells. However, we found that MV-activated NK cells show only modest direct cytotoxic activity against tumor cells. To specifically direct NK cells towards tumor cells, we developed oncolytic measles vaccines encoding bispecific killer engagers (MV-BiKE) targeting CD16A on NK cells and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a model tumor antigen. MV-BiKE are only slightly attenuated compared to parental MV and mediate secretion of functional BiKE from infected tumor cells. We tested MV-BiKE activity in cocultures of colorectal or pancreatic cancer cells with primary human NK cells. MV-BiKE mediate expression of effector cytokines, degranulation and specific anti-tumor cytotoxicity by NK cells. Experiments with patient-derived pancreatic cancer cultures indicate that efficacy of MV-BiKE may vary between individual tumors with differential virus permissiveness. Remarkably, we confirmed MV-BiKE activity in primaryhuman colorectal carcinoma specimens with autochthonous tumor and NK cells.This study provides proof-of-concept for MV-BiKE as a novel immunovirotherapy to harness virus-activated NK cells as anti-tumor effectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Floerchinger
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | - Jessica E Klein
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maximiliane S C Finkbeiner
- Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | - Theresa E Schäfer
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
- Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gwendolin Fuchs
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
- Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Johannes Doerner
- Department of Surgery, Helios University Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Hubert Zirngibl
- Department of Surgery, Helios University Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Maximilian Ackermann
- Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, Helios University Clinic Wuppertal, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | - Hans M Kvasnicka
- Institute of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, Helios University Clinic Wuppertal, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | | | - Dirk Jäger
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudia R Ball
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC), Dresden, Germany: German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Dresden, Germany
- Translational Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Biology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Guy Ungerechts
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine E Engeland
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany.
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
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