1
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Liu Q, Wu P, Lei J, Bai P, Zhong P, Yang M, Wei P. Old concepts, new tricks: How peptide vaccines are reshaping cancer immunotherapy? Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 279:135541. [PMID: 39270889 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2024] [Revised: 09/09/2024] [Accepted: 09/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, research on cancer immunotherapy has firmly established immune cells as key players in effective cancer treatment. Peptide vaccines directly targeting immune cells have demonstrated immense potential due to their specificity and applicability. However, developing peptide vaccines to generate tumor-reactive T cells remains challenging, primarily due to suboptimal immunogenicity and overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we discuss various elements of effective peptide vaccines, including antigen selection, peptide epitope optimization, vaccine adjuvants, and the combination of multiple immunotherapies, in addition to recent advances in tumor neoantigens as well as epitopes bound by non-classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, to increase the understanding of cancer peptide vaccines and provide multiple references for the design of subsequent T cell-based peptide vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyang Liu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Peihua Wu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Jun Lei
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xixi Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou, China
| | - Peng Bai
- In Vivo Pharmacology Unit, WuXi AppTec, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Peiluan Zhong
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Min Yang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| | - Pengcheng Wei
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Special Biomedicine, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
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2
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Grace BE, Backlund CM, Morgan DM, Kang BH, Singh NK, Huisman BD, Rappazzo CG, Moynihan KD, Maiorino L, Dobson CS, Kyung T, Gordon KS, Holec PV, Mbah OCT, Garafola D, Wu S, Love JC, Wittrup KD, Irvine DJ, Birnbaum ME. Identification of Highly Cross-Reactive Mimotopes for a Public T Cell Response in Murine Melanoma. Front Immunol 2022; 13:886683. [PMID: 35812387 PMCID: PMC9260506 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.886683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
While immune checkpoint blockade results in durable responses for some patients, many others have not experienced such benefits. These treatments rely upon reinvigorating specific T cell-antigen interactions. However, it is often unknown what antigens are being recognized by T cells or how to potently induce antigen-specific responses in a broadly applicable manner. Here, we characterized the CD8+ T cell response to a murine model of melanoma following combination immunotherapy to determine the basis of tumor recognition. Sequencing of tumor-infiltrating T cells revealed a repertoire of highly homologous TCR sequences that were particularly expanded in treated mice and which recognized an antigen from an endogenous retrovirus. While vaccination against this peptide failed to raise a protective T cell response in vivo, engineered antigen mimotopes induced a significant expansion of CD8+ T cells cross-reactive to the original antigen. Vaccination with mimotopes resulted in killing of antigen-loaded cells in vivo yet showed modest survival benefit in a prophylactic vaccine paradigm. Together, this work demonstrates the identification of a dominant tumor-associated antigen and generation of mimotopes which can induce robust functional T cell responses that are cross-reactive to the endogenous antigen across multiple individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth E. Grace
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Coralie M. Backlund
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Duncan M. Morgan
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Byong H. Kang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Nishant K. Singh
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Brooke D. Huisman
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - C. Garrett Rappazzo
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Kelly D. Moynihan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Laura Maiorino
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Connor S. Dobson
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Taeyoon Kyung
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Khloe S. Gordon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Patrick V. Holec
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Daniel Garafola
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shengwei Wu
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - J. Christopher Love
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - K. Dane Wittrup
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Darrell J. Irvine
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Michael E. Birnbaum
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Michael E. Birnbaum,
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3
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He X, Zhou S, Quinn B, Jahagirdar D, Ortega J, Long MD, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. An In Vivo Screen to Identify Short Peptide Mimotopes with Enhanced Antitumor Immunogenicity. Cancer Immunol Res 2022; 10:314-326. [PMID: 34992135 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-21-0332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tumor-associated self-antigens are potential cancer vaccine targets but suffer from limited immunogenicity. There are examples of mutated, short self-peptides inducing epitope-specific CD8⁺ T cells more efficiently than the wild-type epitope, but current approaches cannot yet reliably identify such epitopes, which are referred to as enhanced mimotopes ("e-mimotopes"). Here, we present a generalized strategy to develop e-mimotopes, using the tyrosinase-related protein 2 (Trp2) peptide Trp2180-188, which is a murine major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) epitope, as a test case. Using a vaccine adjuvant that induces peptide particle formation and strong cellular responses with nanogram antigen doses, a two-step method systematically identified e-mimotope candidates with murine immunization. First, position-scanning peptide micro libraries were generated in which each position of the wild-type epitope sequence was randomized. Randomization of only one specific residue of the Trp2 epitope increased antitumor immunogenicity. Second, all 20 amino acids were individually substituted and tested at that position, enabling the identification of two e-mimotopes with single amino-acid mutations. Despite similar MHC-I affinity compared to the wild-type epitope, e-mimotope immunization elicited improved Trp2-specific cytotoxic T-cell phenotypes and improved T-cell receptor affinity for both the e-mimotopes and the native epitope, resulting in better outcomes in multiple prophylactic and therapeutic tumor models. The screening method was also applied to other targets with other murine MHC-I restriction elements, including epitopes within glycoprotein 70 and Wilms' Tumor Gene 1, to identify additional e-mimotopes with enhanced potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | - Shiqi Zhou
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | - Breandan Quinn
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | | | | | - Mark D Long
- Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
| | | | - Jonathan F Lovell
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
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4
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Structures suggest an approach for converting weak self-peptide tumor antigens into superagonists for CD8 T cells in cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100588118. [PMID: 34074778 PMCID: PMC8201969 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100588118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor vaccines using modified self-antigens that structurally enhance T cell receptor–peptide–major histocompatibility complex interactions greatly improve a T cell protective response against the tumor’s unmodified self-antigen. X-ray crystal structures of these interactions explain how the native and modified peptides can interact with the same T cell receptor, but with different affinities and abilities to drive T cell proliferation and differentiation. Tumors frequently express unmutated self-tumor–associated antigens (self-TAAs). However, trial results using self-TAAs as vaccine targets against cancer are mixed, often attributed to deletion of T cells with high-affinity receptors (TCRs) for self-TAAs during T cell development. Mutating these weak self-TAAs to produce higher affinity, effective vaccines is challenging, since the mutations may not benefit all members of the broad self-TAA–specific T cell repertoire. We previously identified a common weak murine self-TAA that we converted to a highly effective antitumor vaccine by a single amino acid substitution. In this case the modified and natural self-TAAs still raised very similar sets of CD8 T cells. Our structural studies herein show that the modification of the self-TAA resulted in a subtle change in the major histocompatibility complex I–TAA structure. This amino acid substitution allowed a dramatic conformational change in the peptide during subsequent TCR engagement, creating a large increase in TCR affinity and accounting for the efficacy of the modified self-TAA as a vaccine. These results show that carefully selected, well-characterized modifications to a poorly immunogenic self-TAA can rescue the immune response of the large repertoire of weakly responding natural self-TAA–specific CD8 T cells, driving them to proliferate and differentiate into functional effectors. Subsequently, the unmodified self-TAA on the tumor cells, while unable to drive this response, is nevertheless a sufficient target for the CD8 cytotoxic effectors. Our results suggest a pathway for more efficiently identifying variants of common self-TAAs, which could be useful in vaccine development, complementing other current nonantigen-specific immunotherapies.
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5
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Abstract
T cells recognize and respond to self antigens in both cancer and autoimmunity. One strategy to influence this response is to incorporate amino acid substitutions into these T cell-specific epitopes. This strategy is being reconsidered now with the goal of increasing time to regression with checkpoint blockade therapies in cancer and antigen-specific immunotherapies in autoimmunity. We discuss how these amino acid substitutions change the interactions with the MHC class I or II molecule and the responding T cell repertoire. Amino acid substitutions in epitopes that are the most effective in therapies bind more strongly to T cell receptor and/or MHC molecules and cross-react with the same repertoire of T cells as the natural antigen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12800 E. 19thAvenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
| | - Maki Nakayama
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12800 E. 19thAvenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 1775 Aurora Court, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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6
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Rudqvist NP, Pilones KA, Lhuillier C, Wennerberg E, Sidhom JW, Emerson RO, Robins HS, Schneck J, Formenti SC, Demaria S. Radiotherapy and CTLA-4 Blockade Shape the TCR Repertoire of Tumor-Infiltrating T Cells. Cancer Immunol Res 2017; 6:139-150. [PMID: 29180535 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-17-0134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors activate T cells to reject tumors. Unique tumor mutations are key T-cell targets, but a comprehensive understanding of the nature of a successful antitumor T-cell response is lacking. To investigate the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire associated with treatment success versus failure, we used a well-characterized mouse carcinoma that is rejected by CD8 T cells in mice treated with radiotherapy (RT) and anti-CTLA-4 in combination, but not as monotherapy, and comprehensively analyzed tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) by high-throughput sequencing of the TCRΒ CDR3 region. The combined treatment increased TIL density and CD8/CD4 ratio. Assessment of the frequency of T-cell clones indicated that anti-CTLA-4 resulted in fewer clones and a more oligoclonal repertoire compared with untreated tumors. In contrast, RT increased the CD8/CD4 ratio and broadened the TCR repertoire, and when used in combination with anti-CTLA-4, these selected T-cell clones proliferated. Hierarchical clustering of CDR3 sequences showed a treatment-specific clustering of TCRs that were shared by different mice. Abundant clonotypes were commonly shared between animals and yet treatment-specific. Analysis of amino-acid sequence similarities revealed a significant increase in the number and richness of dominant CDR3 motifs in tumors treated with RT + anti-CTLA-4 compared with control. The repertoire of TCRs reactive with a single tumor antigen recognized by CD8+ T cells was heterogeneous but highly clonal, irrespective of treatment. Overall, data support a model whereby a diverse TCR repertoire is required to achieve tumor rejection and may underlie the synergy between RT and CTLA-4 blockade. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(2); 139-50. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karsten A Pilones
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Claire Lhuillier
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Erik Wennerberg
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - John-William Sidhom
- Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Harlan S Robins
- Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington.,Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research, Seattle, Washington
| | - Jonathan Schneck
- Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Silvia C Formenti
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Sandra Demaria
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York. .,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
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7
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Bruno TC, Ebner PJ, Moore BL, Squalls OG, Waugh KA, Eruslanov EB, Singhal S, Mitchell JD, Franklin WA, Merrick DT, McCarter MD, Palmer BE, Kern JA, Slansky JE. Antigen-Presenting Intratumoral B Cells Affect CD4 + TIL Phenotypes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Cancer Immunol Res 2017; 5:898-907. [PMID: 28848053 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-17-0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Effective immunotherapy options for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are becoming increasingly available. The immunotherapy focus has been on tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs); however, tumor-infiltrating B cells (TIL-Bs) have also been reported to correlate with NSCLC patient survival. The function of TIL-Bs in human cancer has been understudied, with little focus on their role as antigen-presenting cells and their influence on CD4+ TILs. Compared with other immune subsets detected in freshly isolated primary tumors from NSCLC patients, we observed increased numbers of intratumoral B cells relative to B cells from tumor-adjacent tissues. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TIL-Bs can efficiently present antigen to CD4+ TILs and alter the CD4+ TIL phenotype using an in vitro antigen-presentation assay. Specifically, we identified three CD4+ TIL responses to TIL-Bs, which we categorized as activated, antigen-associated, and nonresponsive. Within the activated and antigen-associated CD4+ TIL population, activated TIL-Bs (CD19+CD20+CD69+CD27+CD21+) were associated with an effector T-cell response (IFNγ+ CD4+ TILs). Alternatively, exhausted TIL-Bs (CD19+CD20+CD69+CD27-CD21-) were associated with a regulatory T-cell phenotype (FoxP3+ CD4+ TILs). Our results demonstrate a new role for TIL-Bs in NSCLC tumors in their interplay with CD4+ TILs in the tumor microenvironment, establishing them as a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(10); 898-907. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tullia C Bruno
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Peggy J Ebner
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Brandon L Moore
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Olivia G Squalls
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Katherine A Waugh
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Evgeniy B Eruslanov
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Sunil Singhal
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - John D Mitchell
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Wilbur A Franklin
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Daniel T Merrick
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Martin D McCarter
- Department of Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Brent E Palmer
- Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Jeffrey A Kern
- Division of Oncology, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado
| | - Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado.
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8
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Probst P, Kopp J, Oxenius A, Colombo MP, Ritz D, Fugmann T, Neri D. Sarcoma Eradication by Doxorubicin and Targeted TNF Relies upon CD8 + T-cell Recognition of a Retroviral Antigen. Cancer Res 2017; 77:3644-3654. [PMID: 28484076 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-cytokine complexes may offer new tools to treat cancer. Here, we show how TNF-linked antibodies, which recognize tumor-selective splice isoforms of fibronectin (F8-TNF), can be exploited to eradicate sarcomas in immunocompetent mice. We treated mice bearing WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma with a combination of F8-TNF and doxorubicin, curing the majority of treated animals (29/37). Notably, cured mice were resistant to rechallenge not only by WEHI-164 cells but also heterologous C51 or CT26 colorectal tumor cells in a CD8+ T-cell-dependent process. Mechanistic analyses revealed that each tumor cell line presented AH1, a common endogenous retroviral peptide. Numbers of AH1-specific CD8+ T cells exhibiting cytotoxic capacity were increased by F8-TNF plus doxorubicin treatment, arguing that cognate CD8+ T cells contributed to tumor eradication. Sequence analysis of T-cell receptors of CD8+ T cells revealed the presence of H-2Ld/AH1-specific T cells and an expansion of sequence diversity in treated mice. Overall, our findings provide evidence that retroviral genes contribute to tumoral immunosurveillance in a process that can be generally boosted by F8-TNF and doxorubicin treatment. Cancer Res; 77(13); 3644-54. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Probst
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Janine Kopp
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Annette Oxenius
- Department of Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Mario P Colombo
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | - Dario Neri
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland.
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9
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Buhrman JD, Slansky JE. Mimotope vaccine efficacy gets a "boost" from native tumor antigens. Oncoimmunology 2014; 2:e23492. [PMID: 23734309 PMCID: PMC3654579 DOI: 10.4161/onci.23492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2012] [Accepted: 01/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-targeting mimotope peptides exert more prominent immunostimulatory functions than unmodified TAAs, with the caveat that some T-cell clones exhibit a relatively low affinity for TAAs. Combining mimotope-based vaccines with native TAAs in a prime-boost setting significantly improves antitumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D Buhrman
- Integrated Department of Immunology; University of Colorado School of Medicine; Denver CO, USA
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10
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NoeDominguez-Romero A, Zamora-Alvarado R, Servín-Blanco R, Pérez-Hernández EG, Castrillon-Rivera LE, Munguia ME, Acero G, Govezensky T, Gevorkian G, Manoutcharian K. Variable epitope library carrying heavily mutated survivin-derived CTL epitope variants as a new class of efficient vaccine immunogen tested in a mouse model of breast cancer. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2014; 10:3201-13. [PMID: 25483665 PMCID: PMC4514078 DOI: 10.4161/hv.29679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2014] [Revised: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 06/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The antigenic variability of tumor cells leading to dynamic changes in cancer epitope landscape along with escape from immune surveillance by down-regulating tumor antigen expression/presentation and immune tolerance are major obstacles for the design of effective vaccines. We have developed a novel concept for immunogen construction based on introduction of massive mutations within the epitopes targeting antigenically variable pathogens and diseases. Previously, we showed that these immunogens carrying large combinatorial libraries of mutated epitope variants, termed as variable epitope libraries (VELs), induce potent, broad and long lasting CD8+IFN-γ+ T-cell response as well as HIV-neutralizing antibodies. In this proof-of-concept study, we tested immunogenic properties and anti-tumor effects of the VELs bearing survivin-derived CTL epitope (GWEPDDNPI) variants in an aggressive metastatic mouse 4T1 breast tumor model. The constructed VELs had complexities of 10,500 and 8,000 individual members, generated as combinatorial M13 phage display and synthetic peptide libraries, respectively, with structural composition GWXPXDXPI, where X is any of 20 natural amino acids. Statistically significant tumor growth inhibition was observed in BALB/c mice immunized with the VELs in both prophylactic and therapeutic settings. Vaccinated mice developed epitope-specific spleen cell and CD8+ IFN-γ+ T-cell responses that recognize more than 50% of the panel of 87 mutated epitope variants, as demonstrated in T-cell proliferation assays and FACS analysis. These data indicate the feasibility of the application of this new class of immunogens based on VEL concept as an alternative approach for the development of molecular vaccines against cancer.
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MESH Headings
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Cancer Vaccines/immunology
- Cell Proliferation
- Cells, Cultured
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/genetics
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Female
- Immune Tolerance/immunology
- Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins/genetics
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Lymphocyte Activation/immunology
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/genetics
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/immunology
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/prevention & control
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Peptide Library
- Repressor Proteins/genetics
- Survivin
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- Tumor Escape/immunology
- Vaccination
- Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan NoeDominguez-Romero
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Rubén Zamora-Alvarado
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Rodolfo Servín-Blanco
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Erendira G Pérez-Hernández
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | | | - Maria Elena Munguia
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Gonzalo Acero
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Tzipe Govezensky
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Goar Gevorkian
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
| | - Karen Manoutcharian
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Cuidad Universitaria; México D.F., México
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Buhrman JD, Jordan KR, Munson DJ, Moore BL, Kappler JW, Slansky JE. Improving antigenic peptide vaccines for cancer immunotherapy using a dominant tumor-specific T cell receptor. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:33213-25. [PMID: 24106273 PMCID: PMC3829168 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.509554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines that incorporate peptide mimics of tumor antigens, or mimotope vaccines, are commonly used in cancer immunotherapy and function by eliciting increased numbers of T cells that cross-react with the native tumor antigen. Unfortunately, they often elicit T cells that do not cross-react with or that have low affinity for the tumor antigen. Using a high affinity tumor-specific T cell clone, we identified a panel of mimotope vaccines for the dominant peptide antigen from a mouse colon tumor that elicits a range of tumor protection following vaccination. The TCR from this high affinity T cell clone was rarely identified in ex vivo evaluation of tumor-specific T cells elicited by mimotope vaccination. Conversely, a low affinity clone found in the tumor and following immunization was frequently identified. Using peptide libraries, we determined if this frequently identified TCR improved the discovery of efficacious mimotopes. We demonstrated that the representative TCR identified more protective mimotopes than the high affinity TCR. These results suggest that targeting a dominant fraction of tumor-specific T cells generates potent immunity and that consideration of the available T cell repertoire is necessary for targeted T cell therapy. These results have important implications when optimizing mimotope vaccines for cancer immunotherapy.
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Dougan SK, Dougan M, Kim J, Turner JA, Ogata S, Cho HI, Jaenisch R, Celis E, Ploegh HL. Transnuclear TRP1-specific CD8 T cells with high or low affinity TCRs show equivalent antitumor activity. Cancer Immunol Res 2013; 1:99-111. [PMID: 24459675 PMCID: PMC3895912 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-13-0047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
We have generated, via somatic cell nuclear transfer, two independent lines of transnuclear (TN) mice, using as nuclear donors CD8 T cells, sorted by tetramer staining, that recognize the endogenous melanoma antigen TRP1. These two lines of nominally identical specificity differ greatly in their affinity for antigen (TRP1(high) or TRP1(low)) as inferred from tetramer dissociation and peptide responsiveness. Ex vivo-activated CD8 T cells from either TRP1(high) or TRP1(low) mice show cytolytic activity in 3D tissue culture and in vivo, and slow the progression of subcutaneous B16 melanoma. Although naïve TRP1(low) CD8 T cells do not affect tumor growth, upon activation these cells function indistinguishably from TRP1(high) cells in vivo, limiting tumor cell growth and increasing mouse survival. The anti-tumor effect of both TRP1(high) and TRP1(low) CD8 T cells is enhanced in RAG-deficient hosts. However, tumor outgrowth eventually occurs, likely due to T cell exhaustion. The TRP1 TN mice are an excellent model for examining the functional attributes of T cells conferred by TCR affinity, and they may serve as a platform for screening immunomodulatory cancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie K. Dougan
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Michael Dougan
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Jun Kim
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
| | - Jacob A. Turner
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
- University of Cincinnati, 2600 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45221
| | - Souichi Ogata
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Janssen Research and Development, division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Turnhoutseweg 30, Beerse B2340, Belgium
| | - Hyun-Il Cho
- Dept. of Immunology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612
| | - Rudolf Jaenisch
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Esteban Celis
- Dept. of Immunology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612
| | - Hidde L. Ploegh
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
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Diken M, Attig S, Grunwitz C, Kranz L, Simon P, van de Roemer N, Vascotto F, Kreiter S. CIMT 2013: advancing targeted therapies--report on the 11th Annual Meeting of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, May 14-16 2013, Mainz, Germany. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2013; 9:2025-32. [PMID: 23877042 PMCID: PMC3906376 DOI: 10.4161/hv.25768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The 11th Annual Meeting of Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) welcomed more than 700 scientists around the world to Mainz, Germany and continued to be the largest immunotherapy meeting in Europe. Renowned speakers from various fields of cancer immunotherapy gave lectures under CIMT2013’s tag: “Advancing targeted therapies” the highlights of which are summarized in this meeting report.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa Diken
- TRON-Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University; Mainz, Germany
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14
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Buhrman JD, Slansky JE. Improving T cell responses to modified peptides in tumor vaccines. Immunol Res 2013; 55:34-47. [PMID: 22936035 DOI: 10.1007/s12026-012-8348-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Immune recognition and elimination of cancerous cells is the primary goal of cancer immunotherapy. However, obstacles including immune tolerance and tumor-induced immunosuppression often limit beneficial immune responses. Vaccination is one proposed intervention that may help to overcome these issues and is an active area of study in cancer immunotherapy. Immunizing with tumor antigenic peptides is a promising, straight-forward vaccine strategy hypothesized to boost preexisting antitumor immunity. However, tumor antigens are often weak T cell agonists, attributable to several mechanisms, including immune self-tolerance and poor immunogenicity of self-derived tumor peptides. One strategy for overcoming these mechanisms is vaccination with mimotopes, or peptide mimics of tumor antigens, which alter the antigen presentation and/or T cell activation to increase the expansion of tumor-specific T cells. Evaluation of mimotope vaccine strategies has revealed that even subtle alterations in peptide sequence can dramatically alter antigen presentation and T cell receptor recognition. Most of this research has been performed using T cell clones, which may not be accurate representations of the naturally occurring antitumor response. The relationship between clones generated after mimotope vaccination and the polyclonal T cell repertoire is unclear. Our work with mimotopes in a mouse model of colon carcinoma has revealed important insights into these issues. We propose that the identification of mimotopes based on stimulation of the naturally responding T cell repertoire will dramatically improve the efficacy of mimotope vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D Buhrman
- Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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Buhrman JD, Jordan KR, U'ren L, Sprague J, Kemmler CB, Slansky JE. Augmenting antitumor T-cell responses to mimotope vaccination by boosting with native tumor antigens. Cancer Res 2012; 73:74-85. [PMID: 23161490 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-12-1005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Vaccination with antigens expressed by tumors is one strategy for stimulating enhanced T-cell responses against tumors. However, these peptide vaccines rarely result in efficient expansion of tumor-specific T cells or responses that protect against tumor growth. Mimotopes, or peptide mimics of tumor antigens, elicit increased numbers of T cells that crossreact with the native tumor antigen, resulting in potent antitumor responses. Unfortunately, mimotopes may also elicit cells that do not crossreact or have low affinity for tumor antigen. We previously showed that one such mimotope of the dominant MHC class I tumor antigen of a mouse colon carcinoma cell line stimulates a tumor-specific T-cell clone and elicits antigen-specific cells in vivo, yet protects poorly against tumor growth. We hypothesized that boosting the mimotope vaccine with the native tumor antigen would focus the T-cell response elicited by the mimotope toward high affinity, tumor-specific T cells. We show that priming T cells with the mimotope, followed by a native tumor-antigen boost, improves tumor immunity compared with T cells elicited by the same prime with a mimotope boost. Our data suggest that the improved tumor immunity results from the expansion of mimotope-elicited tumor-specific T cells that have increased avidity for the tumor antigen. The enhanced T cells are phenotypically distinct and enriched for T-cell receptors previously correlated with improved antitumor immunity. These results suggest that incorporation of native antigen into clinical mimotope vaccine regimens may improve the efficacy of antitumor T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D Buhrman
- Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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