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Biswas R, Swetha RG, Basu S, Roy A, Ramaiah S, Anbarasu A. Designing multi-epitope vaccine against human cytomegalovirus integrating pan-genome and reverse vaccinology pipelines. Biologicals 2024; 87:101782. [PMID: 39003966 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2024.101782] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is accountable for high morbidity in neonates and immunosuppressed individuals. Due to the high genetic variability of HCMV, current prophylactic measures are insufficient. In this study, we employed a pan-genome and reverse vaccinology approach to screen the target for efficient vaccine candidates. Four proteins, envelope glycoprotein M, UL41A, US23, and US28, were shortlisted based on cellular localization, high solubility, antigenicity, and immunogenicity. A total of 29 B-cell and 44 T-cell highly immunogenic and antigenic epitopes with high global population coverage were finalized using immunoinformatics tools and algorithms. Further, the epitopes that were overlapping among the finalized B-cell and T-cell epitopes were linked with suitable linkers to form various combinations of multi-epitopic vaccine constructs. Among 16 vaccine constructs, Vc12 was selected based on physicochemical and structural properties. The docking and molecular simulations of VC12 were performed, which showed its high binding affinity (-23.35 kcal/mol) towards TLR4 due to intermolecular hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, and hydrophobic interactions, and there were only minimal fluctuations. Furthermore, Vc12 eliciting a good response was checked for its expression in Escherichia coli through in silico cloning and codon optimization, suggesting it to be a potent vaccine candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhitam Biswas
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rayapadi G Swetha
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biosciences, SBST, VIT, Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Soumya Basu
- Department of Biotechnology, NIST University, Berhampur, 761008, Odisha, India
| | - Aditi Roy
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sudha Ramaiah
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biosciences, SBST, VIT, Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Anand Anbarasu
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Roy A, Swetha RG, Basu S, Biswas R, Ramaiah S, Anbarasu A. Integrating pan-genome and reverse vaccinology to design multi-epitope vaccine against Herpes simplex virus type-1. 3 Biotech 2024; 14:176. [PMID: 38855144 PMCID: PMC11153438 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-024-04022-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1), the etiological agent of sporadic encephalitis and recurring oral (sometimes genital) infections in humans, affects millions each year. The evolving viral genome reduces susceptibility to existing antivirals and, thus, necessitates new therapeutic strategies. Immunoinformatics strategies have shown promise in designing novel vaccine candidates in the absence of a clinically licensed vaccine to prevent HSV-1. However, to encourage clinical translation, the HSV-1 pan-genome was integrated with the reverse-vaccinology pipeline for rigorous screening of universal vaccine candidates. Viral targets were screened from 104 available complete genomes. Among 364 proteins, envelope glycoprotein D being an outer membrane protein with a high antigenicity score (> 0.4) and solubility (> 0.6) was selected for epitope screening. A total of 17 T-cell and 4 B-cell epitopes with highly antigenic, immunogenic, non-toxic properties and high global population coverage were identified. Furthermore, 8 vaccine constructs were designed using different combinations of epitopes and suitable linkers. VC-8 was identified as the most potential vaccine candidate regarding chemical and structural stability. Molecular docking revealed high interactive affinity (low binding energy: - 56.25 kcal/mol) of VC-8 with the target elicited by firm intermolecular H-bonds, salt-bridges, and hydrophobic interactions, which was validated with simulations. Compatibility of the vaccine candidate to be expressed in pET-29(a) + plasmid was established by in silico cloning studies. Immune simulations confirmed the potential of VC-8 to trigger robust B-cell, T-cell, cytokine, and antibody-mediated responses, thereby suggesting a promising candidate for the future of HSV-1 prevention. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-024-04022-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditi Roy
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
- Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
| | - Rayapadi G. Swetha
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
- Department of Biosciences, SBST, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
| | - Soumya Basu
- Department of Biotechnology, NIST University, Berhampur, Odisha 761008 India
| | - Rhitam Biswas
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
- Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
| | - Sudha Ramaiah
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
- Department of Biosciences, SBST, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
| | - Anand Anbarasu
- Medical and Biological Computing Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology (SBST), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
- Department of Biotechnology, SBST, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014 India
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Alsaiari AA, Hakami MA, Alotaibi BS, Alkhalil SS, Alkhorayef N, Khan K, Jalal K. Delineating multi-epitopes vaccine designing from membrane protein CL5 against all monkeypox strains: a pangenome reverse vaccinology approach. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-22. [PMID: 37599459 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2248301] [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: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
The recently identified monkeypox virus (MPXV or mpox) is a zoonotic orthopox virus that infects humans and causes diseases with traits like smallpox. The world health organization (WHO) estimates that 3-6% of MPXV cases result in death. As it might impact everyone globally, like COVID, and become the next pandemic, the cure for this disease is important for global public health. The high incidence and disease ratio of MPXV necessitates immediate efforts to design a unique vaccine candidate capable of addressing MPXV diseases. Here, we used a computational pan-genome-based vaccine design strategy for all currently reported 19 MPXV strains acquired from different regions of the world. Thus, this study's objective was to develop a new and safe vaccine candidate against MPXV by targeting the membrane CL5 protein; identified after the pangenome analysis. Proteomics and reverse vaccinology have covered up all of the MPXV epitopes that would usually stimulate robust host immune responses. Following this, only two mapped (MHC-I, MHC-II, and B-cell) epitopes were observed to be extremely effective that can be used in the construction of CL5 protein vaccine candidates. The suggested vaccine (V5) candidate from eight vaccine models was shown to be antigenic, non-allergenic, and stable (with 213 amino acids). The vaccine's candidate efficacy was evaluated by using many in silico methods to predict, improve, and validate its 3D structure. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations further reveal that the proposed vaccine candidate ensemble has a high interaction energy with the HLAs and TRL2/4 immunological receptors under study. Later, the vaccine sequence was used to generate an expression vector for the E. coli K12 strain. Further study uncovers that V5 was highly immunogenic because it produced robust primary, secondary, and tertiary immune responses. Eventually, the use of computer-aided vaccine designing may significantly reduce costs and speed up the process of developing vaccines. Although, the results of this research are promising, however, more research (experimental; in vivo, and in vitro studies) is needed to verify the biological efficacy of the proposed vaccine against MPXV.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahad Amer Alsaiari
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Ageeli Hakami
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al- Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Bader S Alotaibi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al- Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Samia S Alkhalil
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al- Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nada Alkhorayef
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al- Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kanwal Khan
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Khurshid Jalal
- HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
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Yari A, Bamdad T, Hosseini SY. Comparison of Three Different Methods of Transfection for the Production of Recombinant Adenovirus Expressing Human Carcinoembryonic Antigen Gene. ARCHIVES OF RAZI INSTITUTE 2023; 78:1057-1064. [PMID: 38028844 PMCID: PMC10657935 DOI: 10.22092/ari.2021.354824.1651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Adenoviral vectors (AdVs) are widely used as a gene delivery vehicle and vaccine design due to their genetic stability, transfer capacity of large genes, production at high titers, and remarkable efficacy of transduction. One of the most important applications of AdVs is in cancer immunotherapy. Tumor-associated antigens are overexpressed in cancer cells; however, they cannot induce immune responses sufficiently. Therefore, the immune system must be stimulated against these antigens to kill the cancer cells. This study described the construction steps of a recombinant AdV expressing human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene. Furthermore, in order to achieve a high titer of the virus, an efficient transfection was required. Three various transfection reagents were compared to achieve the best method of transfection. Carcinoembryonic antigen was cloned into the pAdV and transfected into the A293 cells using three different reagents, including polyethylenimine (PEI), calcium phosphate, and DMRIE-C. The PEI had the highest transfection efficiency, which was selected for the transfection of the recombinant plasmid. It has low toxicity for cells and is suitable for large-scale transfection. The virus produced in this study can be applied as a vaccine in cancer immunotherapy for stimulating the immune system against CEA-expressing tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Yari
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - T Bamdad
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Y Hosseini
- Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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Hussein MS, Li Q, Mao R, Peng Y, He Y. TCR T cells overexpressing c-Jun have better functionality with improved tumor infiltration and persistence in hepatocellular carcinoma. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1114770. [PMID: 37215108 PMCID: PMC10192869 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1114770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The overall 5-year survival rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a major form of liver cancer, is merely 20%, underscoring the need for more effective therapies. We recently identified T cell receptors (TCR) specific for the HLA-A2/alpha fetoprotein amino acids 158-166 (AFP158) and showed that these TCR engineered T cells could control HCC xenografts in NSG mice. However, their efficacy was limited by poor expansion, loss of function, and short persistence of the TCR T cells. Here, we studied whether overexpression of c-Jun, a transcription factor required for T cell activation, in the TCR T cells could enhance their expansion, function, and persistence in HCC tumor models. Methods Recombinant lentiviral vectors (lv), expressing either the HLA-A2/AFP158-specific TCR or both the TCR and c-Jun (TCR-JUN), were constructed and used to transduce primary human T cells to generate the TCR or TCR-JUN T cells, respectively. We compared the expansion, effector function, and exhaustion status of the TCR and TCR-JUN T cells in vitro after HCC tumor stimulation. Additionally, we studied the persistence and antitumor effects of the TCR and TCR-JUN T cells using the HCC xenografts in NSG mice. Results We could effectively transduce primary human T cells to express both TCR and c-Jun. Compared to the HLA-A2/AFP158 TCR T cells, the TCR-JUN T cells have better expansion potential in culture, with enhanced functional capacity against HCC tumor cells. In addition, the TCR-JUN T cells were less apoptotic and more resistant to exhaustion after HepG2 tumor stimulation. In the HCC xenograft tumor model, c-Jun overexpression enhanced the TCR T cell expansion and increased the overall survival rate of the treated mice. Importantly, the TCR-JUN T cells were less exhausted in the tumor lesions and demonstrated enhanced tumor infiltration, functionality, and persistence. Conclusion c-Jun overexpression can enhance the expansion, function, and persistence of the A2/AFP158 TCR engineered T cells. The c-Jun gene co-delivery has the potential to enhance the antitumor efficacy of AFP specific TCR T cells when treating patients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed S. Hussein
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Qi Li
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Rui Mao
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Yibing Peng
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Yukai He
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
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Multi-Epitope Vaccine for Monkeypox Using Pan-Genome and Reverse Vaccinology Approaches. Viruses 2022; 14:v14112504. [PMID: 36423113 PMCID: PMC9695528 DOI: 10.3390/v14112504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Outbreaks of monkeypox virus infections have imposed major health concerns worldwide, with high morbidity threats to children and immunocompromised adults. Although repurposed drugs and vaccines are being used to curb the disease, the evolving traits of the virus, exhibiting considerable genetic dynamicity, challenge the limits of a targeted treatment. A pan-genome-based reverse vaccinology approach can provide fast and efficient solutions to resolve persistent inconveniences in experimental vaccine design during an outbreak-exigency. The approach encompassed screening of available monkeypox whole genomes (n = 910) to identify viral targets. From 102 screened viral targets, viral proteins L5L, A28, and L5 were finalized based on their location, solubility, and antigenicity. The potential T-cell and B-cell epitopes were extracted from the proteins using immunoinformatics tools and algorithms. Multiple vaccine constructs were designed by combining the epitopes. Based on immunological properties, chemical stability, and structural quality, a novel multi-epitopic vaccine construct, V4, was finalized. Flexible-docking and coarse-dynamics simulation portrayed that the V4 had high binding affinity towards human HLA-proteins (binding energy < -15.0 kcal/mol) with low conformational fluctuations (<1 Å). Thus, the vaccine construct (V4) may act as an efficient vaccine to induce immunity against monkeypox, which encourages experimental validation and similar approaches against emerging viral infections.
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Yousaf M, Ullah A, Sarosh N, Abbasi SW, Ismail S, Bibi S, Hasan MM, Albadrani GM, Talaat Nouh NA, Abdulhakim JA, Abdel-Daim MM, Bin Emran T. Design of Multi-Epitope Vaccine for Staphylococcus saprophyticus: Pan-Genome and Reverse Vaccinology Approach. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10081192. [PMID: 36016080 PMCID: PMC9414393 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10081192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a Gram-positive coccus responsible for the occurrence of cystitis in sexually active, young females. While effective antibiotics against this organism exist, resistant strains are on the rise. Therefore, prevention via vaccines appears to be a viable solution to address this problem. In comparison to traditional techniques of vaccine design, computationally aided vaccine development demonstrates marked specificity, efficiency, stability, and safety. In the present study, a novel, multi-epitope vaccine construct was developed against S. saprophyticus by targeting fully sequenced proteomes of its five different strains, which were examined using a pangenome and subtractive proteomic strategy to characterize prospective vaccination targets. The three immunogenic vaccine targets which were utilized to map the probable immune epitopes were verified by annotating the entire proteome. The predicted epitopes were further screened on the basis of antigenicity, allergenicity, water solubility, toxicity, virulence, and binding affinity towards the DRB*0101 allele, resulting in 11 potential epitopes, i.e., DLKKQKEKL, NKDLKKQKE, QDKLKDKSD, NVMDNKDLE, TSGTPDSQA, NANSDGSSS, GSDSSSSNN, DSSSSNNDS, DSSSSDRNN, SSSDRNNGD, and SSDDKSKDS. All these epitopes have the efficacy to cover 99.74% of populations globally. Finally, shortlisted epitopes were joined together with linkers and three different adjuvants to find the most stable and immunogenic vaccine construct. The top-ranked vaccine construct was further scrutinized on the basis of its physicochemical characterization and immunological profile. The non-allergenic and antigenic features of modeled vaccine constructs were initially validated and then subjected to docking with immune receptor major histocompatibility complex I and II (MHC-I and II), resulting in strong contact. In silico cloning validations yielded a codon adaptation index (CAI) value of 1 and an ideal percentage of GC contents (46.717%), indicating a putative expression of the vaccine in E. coli. Furthermore, immune simulation demonstrated that, after injecting the proposed MEVC, powerful antibodies were produced, resulting in the sharpest peaks of IgM + IgG formation (>11,500) within 5 to 15 days. Experimental testing against S. saprophyticus can evaluate the safety and efficacy of these prophylactic vaccination designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maha Yousaf
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan; (M.Y.); (N.S.)
| | - Asad Ullah
- Department of Health and Biological Sciences, Abasyn University, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan;
| | - Nida Sarosh
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan; (M.Y.); (N.S.)
| | - Sumra Wajid Abbasi
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan;
| | - Saba Ismail
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan;
- Correspondence: (S.I.); (S.B.)
| | - Shabana Bibi
- Department of Biosciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
- Yunnan Herbal Laboratory, College of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
- Correspondence: (S.I.); (S.B.)
| | - Mohammad Mehedi Hasan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail 1902, Bangladesh;
| | - Ghadeer M. Albadrani
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Nehal Ahmed Talaat Nouh
- Department of Microbiology, Medicine Program, Batterjee Medical College, P.O. Box 6231, Jeddah 21442, Saudi Arabia;
- Inpatient Pharmacy, Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Jawaher A. Abdulhakim
- Medical Laboratory Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Yanbu 46522, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy Program, Batterjee Medical College, P.O. Box 6231, Jeddah 21442, Saudi Arabia;
- Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
| | - Talha Bin Emran
- Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh;
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Daffodil International University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
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Jalal K, Khan K, Ahmad D, Hayat A, Basharat Z, Abbas MN, Alghamdi S, Almehmadi M, Sahibzada MUK. Pan-Genome Reverse Vaccinology Approach for the Design of Multi-Epitope Vaccine Construct against Escherichia albertii. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:12814. [PMID: 34884620 PMCID: PMC8657462 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222312814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia albertii is characterized as an emerging pathogen, causing enteric infections. It is responsible for high mortality rate, especially in children, elderly, and immunocompromised people. To the best of our knowledge, no vaccine exists to curb this pathogen. Therefore, in current study, we aimed to identify potential vaccine candidates and design chimeric vaccine models against Escherichia albertii from the analysis of publicly available data of 95 strains, using a reverse vaccinology approach. Outer-membrane proteins (n = 4) were identified from core genome as vaccine candidates. Eventually, outer membrane Fimbrial usher (FimD) protein was selected as a promiscuous vaccine candidate and utilized to construct a potential vaccine model. It resulted in three epitopes, leading to the design of twelve vaccine constructs. Amongst these, V6 construct was found to be highly immunogenic, non-toxic, non-allergenic, antigenic, and most stable. This was utilized for molecular docking and simulation studies against six HLA and two TLR complexes. This construct can therefore be used for pan-therapy against different strains of E. albertii and needs to be tested in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khurshid Jalal
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; (K.J.); (D.A.)
| | - Kanwal Khan
- Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan;
| | - Diyar Ahmad
- International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; (K.J.); (D.A.)
| | - Ajmal Hayat
- Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan 23200, Pakistan;
| | - Zarrin Basharat
- Jamil-ur-Rahman Center for Genome Research, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Naseer Abbas
- Department of Pharmacy, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat 26000, Pakistan;
| | - Saad Alghamdi
- Laboratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Mazen Almehmadi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia;
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Kim E, Weisel FJ, Balmert SC, Khan MS, Huang S, Erdos G, Kenniston TW, Carey CD, Joachim SM, Conter LJ, Weisel NM, Okba NMA, Haagmans BL, Percivalle E, Cassaniti I, Baldanti F, Korkmaz E, Shlomchik MJ, Falo LD, Gambotto A. A single subcutaneous or intranasal immunization with adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induces robust humoral and cellular immune responses in mice. Eur J Immunol 2021; 51:1774-1784. [PMID: 33772778 PMCID: PMC8250272 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202149167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Optimal vaccines are needed for sustained suppression of SARS-CoV-2 and other novel coronaviruses. Here, we developed a recombinant type 5 adenovirus vector encoding the gene for the SARS-CoV-2 S1 subunit antigen (Ad5.SARS-CoV-2-S1) for COVID-19 immunization and evaluated its immunogenicity in mice. A single immunization with Ad5.SARS-CoV-2-S1 via S.C. injection or I.N delivery induced robust antibody and cellular immune responses. Vaccination elicited significant S1-specific IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a endpoint titers as early as 2 weeks, and the induced antibodies were long lasting. I.N. and S.C. administration of Ad5.SARS-CoV-2-S1 produced S1-specific GC B cells in cervical and axillary LNs, respectively. Moreover, I.N. and S.C. immunization evoked significantly greater antigen-specific T-cell responses compared to unimmunized control groups with indications that S.C. injection was more effective than I.N. delivery in eliciting cellular immune responses. Mice vaccinated by either route demonstrated significantly increased virus-specific neutralization antibodies on weeks 8 and 12 compared to control groups, as well as BM antibody forming cells (AFC), indicative of long-term immunity. Thus, this Ad5-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate showed promising immunogenicity following delivery to mice by S.C. and I.N. routes of administration, supporting the further development of Ad-based vaccines against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases for sustainable global immunization programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Kim
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Florian J. Weisel
- Department of ImmunologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Stephen C. Balmert
- Department of DermatologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Muhammad S. Khan
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
- Department of Infectious Diseases and MicrobiologyUniversity of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public HealthPittsburghPAUSA
| | - Shaohua Huang
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Geza Erdos
- Department of DermatologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Thomas W. Kenniston
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Cara Donahue Carey
- Department of DermatologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Stephen M. Joachim
- Department of ImmunologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Laura J. Conter
- Department of ImmunologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Nadine M. Weisel
- Department of ImmunologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Nisreen M. A. Okba
- Department of ViroscienceErasmus Medical Center RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Bart L. Haagmans
- Department of ViroscienceErasmus Medical Center RotterdamRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Elena Percivalle
- Molecular Virology UnitMicrobiology and Virology DepartmentIRCCS Policlinico San MatteoPaviaItaly
| | - Irene Cassaniti
- Molecular Virology UnitMicrobiology and Virology DepartmentIRCCS Policlinico San MatteoPaviaItaly
| | - Fausto Baldanti
- Molecular Virology UnitMicrobiology and Virology DepartmentIRCCS Policlinico San MatteoPaviaItaly
- Department of ClinicalSurgicalDiagnostic and Pediatric SciencesUniversity of PaviaPaviaItaly
| | - Emrullah Korkmaz
- Department of DermatologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
- Department of BioengineeringUniversity of Pittsburgh Swanson School of EngineeringPittsburghPAUSA
| | - Mark J. Shlomchik
- Department of ImmunologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
| | - Louis D. Falo
- Department of DermatologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
- Department of BioengineeringUniversity of Pittsburgh Swanson School of EngineeringPittsburghPAUSA
- Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPAUSA
- The McGowan Institute for Regenerative MedicineUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPAUSA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer CenterPittsburghPAUSA
| | - Andrea Gambotto
- Department of SurgeryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
- Department of Infectious Diseases and MicrobiologyUniversity of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public HealthPittsburghPAUSA
- UPMC Hillman Cancer CenterPittsburghPAUSA
- Department of MedicineDivision of Infectious DiseaseUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics University of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPAUSA
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10
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Bisgin A, Sanlioglu AD, Eksi YE, Griffith TS, Sanlioglu S. Current Update on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccine Development with a Special Emphasis on Gene Therapy Viral Vector Design and Construction for Vaccination. Hum Gene Ther 2021; 32:541-562. [PMID: 33858231 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2021.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly emerging infectious disease (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-coronavirus 2 (CoV-2). To combat the devastating spread of SARS-CoV-2, extraordinary efforts from numerous laboratories have focused on the development of effective and safe vaccines. Traditional live-attenuated or inactivated viral vaccines are not recommended for immunocompromised patients as the attenuated virus can still cause disease via phenotypic or genotypic reversion. Subunit vaccines require repeated dosing and adjuvant use to be effective, and DNA vaccines exhibit lower immune responses. mRNA vaccines can be highly unstable under physiological conditions. On the contrary, naturally antigenic viral vectors with well-characterized structure and safety profile serve as among the most effective gene carriers to provoke immune response via heterologous gene transfer. Viral vector-based vaccines induce both an effective cellular immune response and a humoral immune response owing to their natural adjuvant properties via transduction of immune cells. Consequently, viral vectored vaccines carrying the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have recently been generated and successfully used to activate cytotoxic T cells and develop a neutralizing antibody response. Recent progress in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, with an emphasis on gene therapy viral vector-based vaccine development, is discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atil Bisgin
- The Department of Gene and Cell Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
| | - Ahter D Sanlioglu
- The Department of Gene and Cell Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Yunus Emre Eksi
- The Department of Gene and Cell Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Thomas S Griffith
- The Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Salih Sanlioglu
- The Department of Gene and Cell Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
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11
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Erdos G, Balmert SC, Carey CD, Falo GD, Patel NA, Zhang J, Gambotto A, Korkmaz E, Falo LD. Improved Cutaneous Genetic Immunization by Microneedle Array Delivery of an Adjuvanted Adenovirus Vaccine. J Invest Dermatol 2020; 140:2528-2531.e2. [PMID: 32330464 PMCID: PMC7172852 DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2020.03.966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Geza Erdos
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Stephen C Balmert
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cara Donahue Carey
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Gabriel D Falo
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Nikita A Patel
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jiying Zhang
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Andrea Gambotto
- Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Emrullah Korkmaz
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Louis D Falo
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
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12
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Cai L, Caraballo Galva LD, Peng Y, Luo X, Zhu W, Yao Y, Ji Y, He Y. Preclinical Studies of the Off-Target Reactivity of AFP 158-Specific TCR Engineered T Cells. Front Immunol 2020; 11:607. [PMID: 32395117 PMCID: PMC7196607 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Autologous T cells engineered with T receptor genes (TCR) are being studied to treat cancers. We have recently identified a panel of mouse TCRs specific for the HLA-A0201/alpha fetoprotein epitope (AFP158) complex and have shown that human T cells engineered with these TCR genes (TCR-Ts) can eradicate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenografts in NSG mice. However, due to TCR’s promiscuity, their off-target cross-reactivity must be studied prior to conducting clinical trials. In this study, we conducted in vitro X-scan assay and in silico analysis to determine the off-target cross-reactivity of 3 AFP158-specific TCR-Ts. We found that the 3 AFP158-specific TCR-Ts could be cross-activated by ENPP1436 peptide and that the TCR3-Ts could also be activated by another off-target peptide, RCL1215. However, compared to AFP158, it requires 250 times more ENPP1436 and 10,000 times more RCL1215 peptides to achieve the same level of activation. The EC50 of ENPP1436 peptide for activating TCR-Ts is approximately 17–33 times higher than AFP158. Importantly, the ENPP1+ tumor cells did not activate TCR1-Ts and TCR2-Ts, and only weakly activated TCR3-Ts. The IFNγ produced by TCR3-Ts after ENPP1+ cell stimulation was >22x lower than that after HepG2 cells. And, all TCR-Ts did not kill ENPP1 + tumor cells. Furthermore, ectopic over-expression of ENPP1 protein in HLA-A2+ tumor cells did not activate TCR-Ts. In silico analysis showed that the ENPP1436 peptide affinity for HLA-A0201 was ranked 40 times lower than AFP158 and the chance of ENPP1436 peptide being processed and presented by HLA-A0201 was 100 times less likely than AFP158. In contrast, the two off-targets (Titin and MAGE-A3) that did cause severe toxicity in previous trials have the same or higher MHC-binding affinity and the same or higher chance of being processed and presented. In conclusion, our data shows that TCR-Ts can be activated by off-target ENPP1436 peptide. But, compared to target AFP158, it requires at least 250 times more ENPP1436 to achieve the same level of activation. Importantly, ENPP1436 peptide in human cells is not processed and presented to a sufficient level to activate the AFP158-specific TCR-Ts. Thus, these TCR-Ts, especially the TCR1-Ts and TCR2-Ts, will unlikely cause significant off-target toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lun Cai
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Leidy D Caraballo Galva
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States.,The Graduate School, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Yibing Peng
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Xiaobing Luo
- Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Wei Zhu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Yihong Yao
- Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Yun Ji
- Cellular Biomedicine Group (CBMG), Gaithersburg, MD, United States
| | - Yukai He
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States.,The Graduate School, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States.,Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
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13
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Balmert SC, Carey CD, Falo GD, Sethi SK, Erdos G, Korkmaz E, Falo LD. Dissolving undercut microneedle arrays for multicomponent cutaneous vaccination. J Control Release 2020; 317:336-346. [PMID: 31756393 PMCID: PMC8237702 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.11.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The skin is an attractive tissue target for vaccination, as it is readily accessible and contains a dense population of antigen-presenting and immune-accessory cells. Microneedle arrays (MNAs) are emerging as an effective tool for in situ engineering of the cutaneous microenvironment to enable diverse immunization strategies. Here, we present novel dissolving undercut MNAs and demonstrate their application for effective multicomponent cutaneous vaccination. The MNAs are composed of micron-scale needles featuring pyramidal heads supported by undercut stem regions with filleted bases to ensure successful skin penetration and retention during application. Prior efforts to fabricate dissolving undercut microstructures were limited and required complex and lengthy processing and assembly steps. In the current study, we strategically combine three-dimensional (3D) laser lithography, an emerging micro-additive manufacturing method with unique geometric capabilities and nanoscale resolution, and micromolding with favorable materials. This approach enables reproducible production of dissolving MNAs with undercut microneedles that can be tip-loaded with multiple biocargos, such as antigen (ovalbumin) and adjuvant (Poly(I:C)). The resulting MNAs fulfill the geometric (sharp tips and smooth edges) and mechanical-strength requirements for failure-free penetration of human and murine skin to simultaneously deliver multicomponent (antigen plus adjuvant) vaccines to the same cutaneous microenvironment. Cutaneous vaccination of mice using these MNAs induces more potent antigen-specific cellular and humoral immune responses than those elicited by traditional intramuscular injection. Together, the unique geometric features of these undercut MNAs and the associated manufacturing strategy, which is compatible with diverse drugs and biologics, could enable a broad range of non-cutaneous and cutaneous drug delivery applications, including multicomponent vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen C Balmert
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Cara Donahue Carey
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Gabriel D Falo
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Shiv K Sethi
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Geza Erdos
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Emrullah Korkmaz
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
| | - Louis D Falo
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States; Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, United States; McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States.
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14
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Sigal D, Przedborski M, Sivaloganathan D, Kohandel M. Mathematical modelling of cancer stem cell-targeted immunotherapy. Math Biosci 2019; 318:108269. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2019.108269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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15
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Khanna M, Manocha N, Himanshi, Joshi G, Saxena L, Saini S. Role of retroviral vector-based interventions in combating virus infections. Future Virol 2019. [DOI: 10.2217/fvl-2018-0151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The deployment of viruses as vaccine-vectors has witnessed recent developments owing to a better understanding of viral genomes and mechanism of interaction with the immune system. Vaccine delivery by viral vectors offers various advantages over traditional approaches. Viral vector vaccines are one of the best candidates for activating the cellular arm of the immune system, coupled with the induction of significant humoral responses. Hence, there is a broad scope for the development of effective vaccines against many diseases using viruses as vectors. Further studies are required before an ideal vaccine-vector is developed and licensed for use in humans. In this article, we have outlined the use of retroviral vectors in developing vaccines against various viral diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhu Khanna
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
| | - Nilanshu Manocha
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
| | - Himanshi
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
| | - Garima Joshi
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
| | - Latika Saxena
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
| | - Sanjesh Saini
- Virology Unit, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India
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16
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Liu Z, Lu Z, Jing R, Zuo B, Gao X, Han G, Qi H, Wu L, Liu Y, Yin H. Alarmin augments the antitumor immunity of lentiviral vaccine in ectopic, orthotopic and autochthonous hepatocellular carcinoma mice. Theranostics 2019; 9:4006-4018. [PMID: 31281528 PMCID: PMC6592173 DOI: 10.7150/thno.32720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
It is a daunting therapeutic challenge to completely eradicate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from patients. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) -based vaccines appear promising, however the efficacy needs to be improved. Methods: Here, we explore if fusing high-mobility group nucleosome binding protein 1 (HMGN1), a potent immunoadjuvant, to AFP (lenti-HA) can augment the antitumor immunity of AFP-expressing lentiviral vector (lenti-AFP), a vehicle extensively employed for genetic immunization with high transduction efficacy and good safety profiles. The antitumor immunity of Lenti-HA was systemically assessed in ectopic, orthotopic and autochthonous HCC models. Results: Lenti-HA elicited strong anti-HCC effects in mice and amplified the antitumor immunity of lenti-AFP by reducing effective dose 6-fold. Importantly, lenti-HA induced a robust antitumor immune response with prolonged survival rate and improved the immune and tumor microenvironment in mice with carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC. Lenti-HA localized primarily to lymphoid organs with no preference for specific immune cell types. Activated dendritic cells (DCs), particularly CD103+CD11b- DCs, were also actively recruited to lymph nodes in lenti-HA-treated HCC mice. Moreover, lenti-HA-transduced human DCs elicited stronger immune response than lenti-AFP against HCC cells in vitro. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that HMGN1 augments the antitumor immunity of AFP-expressing lentiviral vaccines in HCC mice and human cells in vitro and thus provides a new therapeutic strategy for HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhili Liu
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
- School of Medical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University, Guangdong Road, Tianjin, 300203, China
| | - Zhen Lu
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Renwei Jing
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Bingfeng Zuo
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Xianjun Gao
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Gang Han
- School of Medical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University, Guangdong Road, Tianjin, 300203, China
| | - Han Qi
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Li Wu
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Yunde Liu
- School of Medical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University, Guangdong Road, Tianjin, 300203, China
| | - Haifang Yin
- Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
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17
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Pender A, Jones RL, Pollack S. Optimising Cancer Vaccine Design in Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2018; 11:E1. [PMID: 30577459 PMCID: PMC6356514 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 12/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapeutics are increasingly recognized as a key tool in the armamentarium against malignancy. The success of immune checkpoint-targeting drugs and adoptive cell therapy has refocused attention on the potential anti-cancer effect of eliciting a tumour-specific immunological response. Sarcomas are a rare and diverse group of tumours with a limited prognosis in advanced disease despite systemic therapeutics. Various vaccine strategies including peptide vaccines against cancer testis antigens, dendritic cell vaccines, and viral vectors have been trialled in sarcoma with growing evidence of efficacy. Here, we review the principles of successful vaccine development and how these have been applied thus far to the treatment of sarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Pender
- Sarcoma Unit, Department of Medicine, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London SW3 6JJ, UK.
| | - Robin L Jones
- Sarcoma Unit, Department of Medicine, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London SW3 6JJ, UK.
- Division of Clinical Studies, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW3 6JB, UK.
| | - Seth Pollack
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
- Division of Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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18
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Schultheis K, Smith TRF, Kiosses WB, Kraynyak KA, Wong A, Oh J, Broderick KE. Delineating the Cellular Mechanisms Associated with Skin Electroporation. Hum Gene Ther Methods 2018; 29:177-188. [PMID: 29953259 DOI: 10.1089/hgtb.2017.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The immune responses elicited following delivery of DNA vaccines to the skin has previously been shown to be significantly enhanced by the addition of electroporation (EP) to the treatment protocol. Principally, EP increases the transfection of plasmid DNA (pDNA) into the resident skin cells. In addition to increasing the levels of in vivo transfection, the physical insult induced by EP is associated with activation of innate pathways which are believed to mediate an adjuvant effect, further enhancing DNA vaccine responses. We investigated the possible mechanisms associated with this adjuvant effect, primarily focusing on the cell death pathways associated with the skin EP procedure independent of pDNA delivery. Using the minimally invasive CELLECTRA®-3P intradermal electroporation device that penetrates the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin, we have investigated apoptotic and necrotic cell death in relation to the vicinity of the electrode needles and electric field generated. Employing the well-established terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labeling assay, we detected apoptosis beginning as early as one hour after EP and peaking at the 4 h time point. The majority of the apoptotic events were detected in the epidermal region directly adjacent to the electrode needle. Using a novel propidium iodide in vivo necrotic cell death assay, we detected necrotic events concentrated in the epidermal region adjacent to the electrode. Furthermore, we detected upregulation of calreticulin expression on skin cells after EP, thus labeling these cells for uptake by dendritic cells and macrophages. These results allow us to delineate the cell death mechanisms occurring in the skin following intradermal EP independently of pDNA delivery. We believe these events contribute to the adjuvant effect observed following electroporation at the skin treatment site.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - William B Kiosses
- 2 The Scripps Research Institute , Core Microscopy Facility, La Jolla, California
| | | | - Amelia Wong
- 1 Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
| | - Janet Oh
- 1 Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
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19
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Zhu W, Peng Y, Wang L, Hong Y, Jiang X, Li Q, Liu H, Huang L, Wu J, Celis E, Merchen T, Kruse E, He Y. Identification of α-fetoprotein-specific T-cell receptors for hepatocellular carcinoma immunotherapy. Hepatology 2018; 68:574-589. [PMID: 29443377 PMCID: PMC7368991 DOI: 10.1002/hep.29844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major form of liver cancer for which there is no effective therapy. Genetic modification with T-cell receptors (TCRs) specific for HCC-associated antigens, such as α-fetoprotein (AFP), can potentially redirect human T cells to specifically recognize and kill HCC tumor cells to achieve antitumor effects. In this study, using lentivector and peptide immunization, we identified a population of cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8) T cells in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 transgenic AAD mice that recognized AFP158 epitope on human HCC cells. Adoptive transfer of the AFP158 -specific mouse CD8 T cells eradicated HepG2 tumor xenografts as large as 2 cm in diameter in immunocompromised nonobese diabetic severe combined immunodeficient gamma knockout (NSG) mice. We then established T-cell hybridoma clones from the AFP158 -specific mouse CD8 T cells and identified three sets of paired TCR genes out of five hybridomas. Expression of the murine TCR genes redirected primary human T cells to bind HLA-A2/AFP158 tetramer. TCR gene-engineered human T (TCR-T) cells also specifically recognized HLA-A2+ AFP+ HepG2 HCC tumor cells and produced effector cytokines. Importantly, the TCR-T cells could specifically kill HLA-A2+ AFP+ HepG2 tumor cells without significant toxicity to normal primary hepatocytes in vitro. Adoptive transfer of the AFP-specific TCR-T cells could eradicate HepG2 tumors in NSG mice. CONCLUSION We have identified AFP-specific murine TCR genes that can redirect human T cells to specifically recognize and kill HCC tumor cells, and those AFP158 -specific TCRs have a great potential to engineer a patient's autologous T cells to treat HCC tumors. (Hepatology 2018).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Yibing Peng
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Lan Wang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Yuan Hong
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Xiaotao Jiang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Qi Li
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Heping Liu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Lei Huang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Juan Wu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Esteban Celis
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Todd Merchen
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA.,Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Edward Kruse
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA.,Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Yukai He
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA.,Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
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20
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Rossowska J, Anger N, Szczygieł A, Mierzejewska J, Pajtasz-Piasecka E. Reprogramming the murine colon cancer microenvironment using lentivectors encoding shRNA against IL-10 as a component of a potent DC-based chemoimmunotherapy. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2018; 37:126. [PMID: 29954431 PMCID: PMC6025815 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-018-0799-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Background The excessive amounts of immunosuppressive factors present in a tumor microenvironment (TME) reduce the effectiveness of cancer vaccines. The main objective of our research was to improve the effectiveness of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy composed of cyclophosphamide (CY) and DCs by application of lentivectors encoding shRNA specific to IL-10 (shIL10 LVs) in murine colon carcinoma MC38 model. Methods The efficacy of shIL10 LVs in silencing of IL-10 expression was measured both in vitro and in vivo using Real-Time PCR and ELISA assays. In addition, the influence of intratumorally inoculated lentivectors on MC38 tumor microenvironment was examined using flow cytometry method. The effect of applied therapeutic schemes was determined by measurement of tumor growth inhibition and activation state of local and systemic immune response. Results We observed that intratumorally inoculated shIL10 LVs transduced tumor and TME-infiltrating cells and reduced the secretion of IL-10. Application of shIL10 LVs for three consecutive weeks initiated tumor growth inhibition, whereas treatment with shIL10 LVs and BMDC/TAg did not enhance the antitumor effect. However, when pretreatment with CY was introduced to the proposed scheme, we noticed high MC38 tumor growth inhibition accompanied by reduction of MDSCs and Tregs in TME, as well as activation of potent local and systemic Th1-type antitumor response. Conclusions The obtained data shows that remodeling of TME by shIL10 LVs and CY enhances DC activity and supports them during regeneration and actuation of a potent antitumor response. Therefore, therapeutic strategies aimed at local IL-10 elimination using lentiviral vectors should be further investigated in context of combined chemoimmunotherapies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-018-0799-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Rossowska
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Natalia Anger
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Szczygieł
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jagoda Mierzejewska
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Pajtasz-Piasecka
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. R. Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland
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21
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Pollack SM. The potential of the CMB305 vaccine regimen to target NY-ESO-1 and improve outcomes for synovial sarcoma and myxoid/round cell liposarcoma patients. Expert Rev Vaccines 2018; 17:107-114. [PMID: 29280411 PMCID: PMC6521962 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2018.1419068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Synovial Sarcoma (SS) and Myxoid Round Cell Liposarcoma (MRCL) are devastating sarcoma subtypes with few treatment options and poor outcomes in the advanced setting. However, both these diseases may be ideal for novel immunotherapies targeting the cancer-testis antigen, NY-ESO-1. AREAS COVERED In this review, we discuss the novel NY-ESO-1 targeted vaccine regimen, CMB305. This regimen uses a unique integration-deficient, dendritic-cell targeting lentiviral vector from the ZVex® platform, LV305, in order to prime NY-ESO-1 specific T cells. LV305 has single agent activity, and, in one case, caused a durable partial response in a refractory SS patient. CMB305 also includes a boost from a NY-ESO-1 protein vaccine given along with a potent toll-like-4 receptor agonist, glycopyranosyl lipid A. CMB305 induces NY-ESO-1 specific T cell responses in both SS and MRC patients and these patients had excellent overall survival (OS) outcomes in the initial phase I study. EXPERT COMMENTARY CMB305 is a therapeutic vaccine regimen targeting NY-ESO-1 based on the lentiviral vaccine vector, LV305. Phase I studies have proven this vaccine is active immunologically. Data suggesting this vaccine may improve OS for SS and MRCL patients is exciting but early, and on-going work is testing the impact of CMB305 on patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth M Pollack
- a Clinical Research Division , Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center , Seattle , WA , USA
- b Department of Medicine , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
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22
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Wu S, Zhu W, Peng Y, Wang L, Hong Y, Huang L, Dong D, Xie J, Merchen T, Kruse E, Guo ZS, Bartlett D, Fu N, He Y. The Antitumor Effects of Vaccine-Activated CD8 + T Cells Associate with Weak TCR Signaling and Induction of Stem-Like Memory T Cells. Cancer Immunol Res 2017; 5:908-919. [PMID: 28851693 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-17-0016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
To understand why vaccine-activated tumor-specific T cells often fail to generate antitumor effects, we studied two α-fetoprotein-specific CD8+ T cells (Tet499 and Tet212) that had different antitumor effects. We found that Tet499 required high antigen doses for reactivation, but could survive persistent antigen stimulation and maintain their effector functions. In contrast, Tet212 had a low threshold of reactivation, but underwent exhaustion and apoptosis in the presence of persistent antigen. In vivo, Tet499 cells expanded more than Tet212 upon reencountering antigen and generated stronger antitumor effects. The different antigen responsiveness and antitumor effects of Tet212 and Tet499 cells correlated with their activation and differentiation states. Compared with Tet212, the population of Tet499 cells was less activated and contained more stem-like memory T cells (Tscm) that could undergo expansion in vivo The TCR signaling strength on Tet499 was weaker than Tet212, correlating with more severe Tet499 TCR downregulation. Weak TCR signaling may halt T-cell differentiation at the Tscm stage during immune priming and also explains why Tet499 reactivation requires a high antigen dose. Weak TCR signaling of Tet499 cells in the effector stage will also protect them from exhaustion and apoptosis when they reencounter persistent antigen in tumor lesion, which generates antitumor effects. Further investigation of TCR downregulation and manipulation of TCR signaling strength may help design cancer vaccines to elicit a mix of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells, including Tscm, capable of surviving antigen restimulation to generate antitumor effects. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(10); 908-19. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sha Wu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.,Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.,Division of Laboratory Medicine of Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yibing Peng
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Lan Wang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Yuan Hong
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Lei Huang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Dayong Dong
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Junping Xie
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Todd Merchen
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.,Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Edward Kruse
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.,Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Zong Sheng Guo
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David Bartlett
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ning Fu
- Division of Laboratory Medicine of Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Yukai He
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia. .,Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
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23
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Rossowska J, Anger N, Szczygieł A, Mierzejewska J, Pajtasz-Piasecka E. Intratumoral Lentivector-Mediated TGF-β1 Gene Downregulation As a Potent Strategy for Enhancing the Antitumor Effect of Therapy Composed of Cyclophosphamide and Dendritic Cells. Front Immunol 2017; 8:713. [PMID: 28713366 PMCID: PMC5492852 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with tumor antigens can induce specific cellular immune response that recognizes a high spectrum of tumor antigens. However, the ability of cancer cells to produce immunosuppressive factors drastically decreases the antitumor activity of DCs. The main purpose of the study was to improve the effectiveness of DC-based immunotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy composed of cyclophosphamide (CY) and DCs by application of lentivectors (LVs)-encoding short hairpin RNA specific for TGF-β1 (shTGFβ1 LVs). We observed that s.c. inoculation of both MC38 cells with silenced expression of TGF-β1 (MC38/shTGF-β1) and direct intratumoral application of shTGFβ1 LVs contributed to reduction of suppressor activity of myeloid cells and Tregs in tumor. Contrary to expectations, in mice bearing wild tumor, the application of shTGFβ1 LVs prior to vaccination with bone marrow-derived DC stimulated with tumor antigens (BMDC/TAg) did not influence myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) infiltration into tumor. As a result, we observed only minor MC38 tumor growth inhibition (TGI) accompanied by systemic antitumor response activation comparable to that obtained for negative control (shN). However, when the proposed scheme was complemented by pretreatment with a low dose of CY, we noticed high MC38 TGI together with decreased number of MDSCs in tumor and induction of Th1-type response. Moreover, in both schemes of treatment, LVs (shTGFβ1 as well as shN) induced high influx of CTLs into tumor associated probably with the viral antigen introduction into tumor microenvironment. Concluding, the application of shTGFβ1 LVs alone or in combination with DC-based vaccines is not sufficient for long-lasting elimination of suppression in tumor. However, simultaneous reduction of TGF-β1 in tumor microenvironment and its remodeling by pretreatment with a low dose of CY facilitates the settlement of peritumorally inoculated DCs and supports them in restoration and activation of a potent antitumor response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Rossowska
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Natalia Anger
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Szczygieł
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jagoda Mierzejewska
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Pajtasz-Piasecka
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
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24
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Fabian KPL, Chi-Sabins N, Taylor JL, Fecek R, Weinstein A, Storkus WJ. Therapeutic efficacy of combined vaccination against tumor pericyte-associated antigens DLK1 and DLK2 in mice. Oncoimmunology 2017; 6:e1290035. [PMID: 28405524 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1290035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Revised: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
When compared with vascular cells in normal tissues, pericytes and vascular endothelial cells (VEC) in tumor blood vessels exhibit altered morphology and epigenetic programming that leads to the expression of unique antigens that allow for differential recognition by CD8+ T cells. We have previously shown that the Notch antagonist delta-like homolog 1 (DLK1) is a tumor pericyte-associated antigen expressed in setting of melanoma and a range of carcinomas. In this report, we show that therapeutic vaccination against DLK1 in murine models results in slowed tumor growth, but also to the compensatory expression of the DLK1 homolog, DLK2, by tumor-associated pericytes. Vaccines targeting both DLK1 and DLK2 resulted in superior antitumor benefits in association with improved activation and recruitment of antigen-specific Type 1 CD8+ T cells, reduced presence of myeloid-derived suppressive cells, T regulatory cell and tumor vascular normalization. The antitumor efficacy of vaccines coordinately targeting DLK1 and DLK2 was further improved by inclusion of PD-L1 blockade, thus defining a combination immunotherapy theoretically suitable for the treatment of a broad range of solid (vascularized) cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kellsye Paula L Fabian
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nina Chi-Sabins
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer L Taylor
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ronald Fecek
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Aliyah Weinstein
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Walter J Storkus
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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25
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Hotblack A, Seshadri S, Zhang L, Hamrang-Yousefi S, Chakraverty R, Escors D, Bennett CL. Dendritic Cells Cross-Present Immunogenic Lentivector-Encoded Antigen from Transduced Cells to Prime Functional T Cell Immunity. Mol Ther 2017; 25:504-511. [PMID: 28153097 PMCID: PMC5368353 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2016] [Revised: 11/10/2016] [Accepted: 11/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant lentiviral vectors (LVs) are highly effective vaccination vehicles that elicit protective T cell immunity in disease models. Dendritic cells (DCs) acquire antigen at sites of vaccination and migrate to draining lymph nodes, where they prime vaccine-specific T cells. The potency with which LVs activate CD8+ T cell immunity has been attributed to the transduction of DCs at the immunization site and durable presentation of LV-encoded antigens. However, it is not known how LV-encoded antigens continue to be presented to T cells once directly transduced DCs have turned over. Here, we report that LV-encoded antigen is efficiently cross-presented by DCs in vitro. We have further exploited the temporal depletion of DCs in the murine CD11c.DTR (diphtheria toxin receptor) model to demonstrate that repopulating DCs that were absent at the time of immunization cross-present LV-encoded antigen to T cells in vivo. Indirect presentation of antigen from transduced cells by DCs is sufficient to prime functional effector T cells that control tumor growth. These data suggest that DCs cross-present immunogenic antigen from LV-transduced cells, thereby facilitating prolonged activation of T cells in the absence of circulating LV particles. These are findings that may impact on the future design of LV vaccination strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair Hotblack
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK
| | - Sara Seshadri
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK; Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Lei Zhang
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK; Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Sahar Hamrang-Yousefi
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK; Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Ronjon Chakraverty
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK; Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - David Escors
- Immunomodulation Group, Navarrabiomed-Fundaçion Miguel Servet, Calle de Irunlarrea 3, 31008 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Clare L Bennett
- Institute for Immunity and Transplantation, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK; Cancer Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6DD, UK.
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26
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Albershardt TC, Campbell DJ, Parsons AJ, Slough MM, Ter Meulen J, Berglund P. LV305, a dendritic cell-targeting integration-deficient ZVex(TM)-based lentiviral vector encoding NY-ESO-1, induces potent anti-tumor immune response. MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS 2016; 3:16010. [PMID: 27626061 PMCID: PMC5008268 DOI: 10.1038/mto.2016.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2016] [Revised: 02/06/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
We have engineered an integration-deficient lentiviral vector, LV305, to deliver the tumor antigen NY-ESO-1 to human dendritic cells in vivo through pseudotyping with a modified Sindbis virus envelop protein. Mice immunized once with LV305 developed strong, dose-dependent, multifunctional, and cytotoxic NY-ESO-1-specific cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8) T cells within 14 days post-immunization and could be boosted with LV305 at least twice to recall peak-level CD8 T-cell responses. Immunization with LV305 protected mice against tumor growth in an NY-ESO-1-expressing CT26 lung metastasis model, with the protective effect abrogated upon depletion of CD8 T cells. Adoptive transfer of CD8 T cells, alone or together with CD4 T cells or natural killer cells, from LV305-immunized donor mice to tumor-bearing recipient mice conferred significant protection against metastatic tumor growth. Biodistribution of injected LV305 in mice was limited to the site of injection and the draining lymph node, and injected LV305 exhibited minimal excretion. Mice injected with LV305 developed little to no adverse effects, as evaluated by toxicology studies adherent to good laboratory practices. Taken together, these data support the development of LV305 as a clinical candidate for treatment against tumors expressing NY-ESO-1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jan Ter Meulen
- In Vivo Biology, Immune Design , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Peter Berglund
- In Vivo Biology, Immune Design , Seattle, Washington, USA
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27
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Tung FY, Tung JK, Pallikkuth S, Pahwa S, Fischl MA. A therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine enhances anti-HIV-1 immune responses in patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy. Vaccine 2016; 34:2225-32. [PMID: 27002500 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Revised: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV-1 specific cellular immunity plays an important role in controlling viral replication. In this first-in-human therapeutic vaccination study, a replication-defective HIV-1 vaccine (HIVAX) was tested in HIV-1 infected participants undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to enhance anti-HIV immunity (Clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT01428596). METHODS A010 was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and the immunogenicity of a replication defective HIV-1 vaccine (HIVAX) given as a subcutaneous injection to HIV-1 infected participants who were receiving HAART with HIV-1 viral load <50 copies/ml and CD4 cell count >500 cells/mm(3). HIV-1 specific immune responses were monitored by INF-γ enzyme linked immunospot (Elispot) and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) assay after vaccination. Following the randomized placebo-controlled vaccination phase, subjects who received HIVAX vaccine and who met eligibility underwent a 12-week analytical antiretroviral treatment interruption (ATI). Viral load was monitored throughout the study. RESULTS HIVAX was well tolerated in trial participants. Transient grade 1 to 2 (mild to moderate) injection site reactions occurred in 8 of 10 vaccinated participants. HIVAX was immunogenic in all vaccinated participants. The functionality of T cells was significantly enhanced after vaccination. Median viral load (3.45 log10 copies/ml, range of 96-12,830 copies/ml) at the end of the 12-week treatment interruption in HIVAX vaccinated group was significantly lower than the pre-treatment levels. Three vaccinated participants extended ATI for up to 2 years with stable CD4 cells and low viral loads. CONCLUSIONS HIVAX vaccine is generally safe, elicits strong anti-HIV-1 immune responses, and may play an important role in controlling viral load during treatment interruption in HIV-1 infected participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Y Tung
- GeneCure Biotechnologies, Peachtree Corners, GA, USA.
| | - Jack K Tung
- GeneCure Biotechnologies, Peachtree Corners, GA, USA
| | | | - Savita Pahwa
- University of Miami, School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
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28
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Dai S, Zhuo M, Song L, Chen X, Yu Y, Zang G, Tang Z. Lentiviral vector encoding ubiquitinated hepatitis B core antigen induces potent cellular immune responses and therapeutic immunity in HBV transgenic mice. Immunobiology 2016; 221:813-21. [PMID: 26874581 DOI: 10.1016/j.imbio.2016.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2015] [Revised: 01/30/2016] [Accepted: 01/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Predominant T helper cell type 1 (Th1) immune responses accompanied by boosted HBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity are essential for the clearance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Ubiquitin (Ub) serves as a signal for the target protein to be recognized and degraded through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Ubiquitinated hepatitis B core antigen (Ub-HBcAg) has been proved to be efficiently degraded into the peptides, which can be presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I resulting in stimulating cell-mediated responses. In the present study, lentiviral vectors encoding Ub-HBcAg (LV-Ub-HBcAg) were designed and constructed as a therapeutic vaccine for immunotherapy. HBcAg-specific cellular immune responses and anti-viral effects induced by LV-Ub-HBcAg were evaluated in HBV transgenic mice. We demonstrated that immunization with LV-Ub-HBcAg promoted the secretion of cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), generated remarkably high percentages of IFN-γ-secreting CD8(+) T cells and CD4(+) T cells, and enhanced HBcAg-specific CTL activity in HBV transgenic mice. More importantly, vaccination with LV-Ub-HBcAg could efficiently decreased the levels of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), HBV DNA and the expression of HBsAg and HBcAg in liver tissues of HBV transgenic mice. In addition, LV-Ub-HBcAg could upregulate the expression of T cell-specific T-box transcription factor (T-bet) and downregulate the expression of GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA-3) in spleen T lymphocytes. The therapeutic vaccine LV-Ub-HBcAg could break immune tolerance, and induce potent HBcAg specific cellular immune responses and therapeutic effects in HBV transgenic mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenglan Dai
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China
| | - Meng Zhuo
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China
| | - Linlin Song
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China
| | - Xiaohua Chen
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China
| | - Yongsheng Yu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China
| | - Guoqing Zang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China.
| | - Zhenghao Tang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233,China.
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29
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Abstract
Basic science advances in cancer immunotherapy have resulted in various treatments that have recently shown success in the clinic. Many of these therapies require the insertion of genes into cells to directly kill them or to redirect the host's cells to induce potent immune responses. Other analogous therapies work by modifying effector cells for improved targeting and enhanced killing of tumor cells. Initial studies done using γ-retroviruses were promising, but safety concerns centered on the potential for insertional mutagenesis have highlighted the desire to develop other options for gene delivery. Lentiviral vectors (LVs) have been identified as potentially more effective and safer alternative delivery vehicles. LVs are now in use in clinical trials for many different types of inherited and acquired disorders, including cancer. This review will discuss current knowledge of LVs and the applications of this viral vector-based delivery vehicle to cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Aa Oldham
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 27 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S, Canada
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30
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Dai S, Zhuo M, Song L, Chen X, Yu Y, Tang Z, Zang G. Dendritic cell-based vaccination with lentiviral vectors encoding ubiquitinated hepatitis B core antigen enhances hepatitis B virus-specific immune responses in vivo. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2015; 47:870-9. [PMID: 26373843 DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmv093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The activity of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) plays a predominant role in the clearance of HBV. Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells and play an important role in the initiation of immune responses. We previously verified that lentiviral vector encoding ubiquitinated hepatitis B core antigen (LV-Ub-HBcAg) effectively transduced DCs to induce maturation, and the mature DCs efficiently induced T cell polarization to Th1 and generated HBcAg-specific CTLs ex vivo. In this study, HBV-specific immune responses of LV-Ub-HBcAg in BALB/c mice (H-2Kd) were evaluated. It was shown that direct injection of LV-Ub-HBcAg increased the production of cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ, elicited strong antibody responses, and remarkably generated a high percentage of IFN-γ+CD8+ T cells with HBV-specific CTL responses in BALB/c mice. In addition, direct injection of LV-Ub-HBcAg induced potent anti-HBV immune responses, similar to those elicited by in vitro-transduced DCs. In conclusion, the DC-based therapeutic vaccine LV-Ub-HBcAg elicited specific antibody immune responses and induced robust specific CTL activity in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenglan Dai
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Meng Zhuo
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Linlin Song
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Xiaohua Chen
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Yongsheng Yu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Zhenghao Tang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Guoqing Zang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
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31
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Clausen BE, Stoitzner P. Functional Specialization of Skin Dendritic Cell Subsets in Regulating T Cell Responses. Front Immunol 2015; 6:534. [PMID: 26557117 PMCID: PMC4617171 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Dendritic cells (DC) are a heterogeneous family of professional antigen-presenting cells classically recognized as most potent inducers of adaptive immune responses. In this respect, Langerhans cells have long been considered to be prototypic immunogenic DC in the skin. More recently this view has considerably changed. The generation of in vivo cell ablation and lineage tracing models revealed the complexity of the skin DC network and, in particular, established the existence of a number of phenotypically distinct Langerin+ and negative DC populations in the dermis. Moreover, by now we appreciate that DC also exert important regulatory functions and are required for the maintenance of tolerance toward harmless foreign and self-antigens. This review summarizes our current understanding of the skin-resident DC system in the mouse and discusses emerging concepts on the functional specialization of the different skin DC subsets in regulating T cell responses. Special consideration is given to antigen cross-presentation as well as immune reactions toward contact sensitizers, cutaneous pathogens, and tumors. These studies form the basis for the manipulation of the human counterparts of the murine DC subsets to promote immunity or tolerance for the treatment of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn E Clausen
- Institute for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz , Mainz , Germany
| | - Patrizia Stoitzner
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Division of Experimental Dermatology, Medical University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck , Austria
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32
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He Y, Hong Y, Mizejewski GJ. Engineering α-fetoprotein-based gene vaccines to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma: review and future prospects. Immunotherapy 2015; 6:725-36. [PMID: 25041030 DOI: 10.2217/imt.14.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation of a patient's immune system offers an attractive approach to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the antitumor efficacy of current HCC vaccines was weak owing to insufficient immune activation of targeting self/tumor antigens. We recently found that epitope-optimized α-fetoprotein effectively activated CD8 T cells and generated potent antitumor effects in the carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC mouse model. We predict that the same antigen engineering approach of epitope-optimization will enable us to develop effective human vaccines to prevent HCC recurrence after liver resection. The engineered human HCC vaccines may also allow us to identify high-affinity T-cell receptors and antibodies that can be used to reprogram T cells to treat HCC tumors via adoptive transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukai He
- Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Cancer Immunology, Inflammation & Tolerance Program, Augusta, GA 30907, USA
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Abstract
In the 40 years since their discovery, dendritic cells (DCs) have been recognized as central players in immune regulation. DCs sense microbial stimuli through pathogen-recognition receptors (PRRs) and decode, integrate, and present information derived from such stimuli to T cells, thus stimulating immune responses. DCs can also regulate the quality of immune responses. Several functionally specialized subsets of DCs exist, but DCs also display functional plasticity in response to diverse stimuli. In addition to sensing pathogens via PRRs, emerging evidence suggests that DCs can also sense stress signals, such as amino acid starvation, through ancient stress and nutrient sensing pathways, to stimulate adaptive immunity. Here, I discuss these exciting advances in the context of a historic perspective on the discovery of DCs and their role in immune regulation. I conclude with a discussion of emerging areas in DC biology in the systems immunology era and suggest that the impact of DCs on immunity can be usefully contextualized in a hierarchy-of-organization model in which DCs, their receptors and signaling networks, cell-cell interactions, tissue microenvironment, and the host macroenvironment represent different levels of the hierarchy. Immunity or tolerance can then be represented as a complex function of each of these hierarchies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bali Pulendran
- Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329;
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Gorvel L, Ben Amara A, Ka MB, Textoris J, Gorvel JP, Mege JL. Myeloid decidual dendritic cells and immunoregulation of pregnancy: defective responsiveness to Coxiella burnetii and Brucella abortus. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2014; 4:179. [PMID: 25566514 PMCID: PMC4275036 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2014] [Accepted: 12/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) are a component of the placental immune system, but their role in pregnancy is still poorly understood. Decidual DCs (dDCs) were selected from at-term pregnancy on the basis of CD14 and CD11c expression. A phenotypic analysis revealed that dDCs are characterized by the expression of monocyte-derived DC (moDCs) markers and specific markers such as HLA-G and its ligand ILT4. As demonstrated by whole-genome microarray, dDCs expressed a specific gene program markedly distinct from that of moDCs; it included estrogen- and progesterone-regulated genes and genes encoding immunoregulatory cytokines, which is consistent with the context of foeto-maternal tolerance. A functional analysis of dDCs showed that they were unable to mature in response to bacterial ligands such as lipopolysaccharide or peptidoglycan, as assessed by the expression of HLA-DR, CD80, CD83, and CD86. When dDCs were incubated with bacteria known for their placenta tropism, Coxiella burnetii and Brucella abortus, they were also unable to mature and to produce inflammatory cytokines. It is likely that the defective maturation of dDCs and their inability to produce inflammatory cytokines is related to the spontaneous release of IL-10 by these cells. Taken together, these results suggest that dDCs exhibit an immunoregulatory program, which may favor the pathogenicity of C. burnetii or B. abortus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Gorvel
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Amira Ben Amara
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Mignane B Ka
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Julien Textoris
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Pierre Gorvel
- UM2, INSERM U1104, CNRS, UMR7280, Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Louis Mege
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
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DNA vaccination strategy targets epidermal dendritic cells, initiating their migration and induction of a host immune response. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2014; 1:14054. [PMID: 26052522 PMCID: PMC4448738 DOI: 10.1038/mtm.2014.54] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2014] [Revised: 10/10/2014] [Accepted: 10/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The immunocompetence and clinical accessibility of dermal tissue offers an appropriate and attractive target for vaccination. We previously demonstrated that pDNA injection into the skin in combination with surface electroporation (SEP), results in rapid and robust expression of the encoded antigen in the epidermis. Here, we demonstrate that intradermally EP-enhanced pDNA vaccination results in the rapid induction of a host humoral immune response. In the dermally relevant guinea pig model, we used high-resolution laser scanning confocal microscopy to observe direct dendritic cell (DC) transfections in the epidermis, to determine the migration kinetics of these cells from the epidermal layer into the dermis, and to follow them sequentially to the immediate draining lymph nodes. Furthermore, we delineate the relationship between the migration of directly transfected epidermal DCs and the generation of the host immune response. In summary, these data indicate that direct presentation of antigen to the immune system by DCs through SEP-based in vivo transfection in the epidermis, is related to the generation of a humoral immune response.
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36
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Xu Y, Yang E, Wang J, Li R, Li G, Liu G, Song N, Huang Q, Kong C, Wang H. Prime-boost bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination with lentivirus-vectored and DNA-based vaccines expressing antigens Ag85B and Rv3425 improves protective efficacy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice. Immunology 2014; 143:277-86. [PMID: 24773322 DOI: 10.1111/imm.12308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Revised: 04/21/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
To prevent the global spread of tuberculosis (TB), more effective vaccines and vaccination strategies are urgently needed. As a result of the success of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in protecting children against miliary and meningeal TB, the majority of individuals will have been vaccinated with BCG; hence, boosting BCG-primed immunity will probably be a key component of future vaccine strategies. In this study, we compared the ability of DNA-, protein- and lentiviral vector-based vaccines that express the antigens Ag85B and Rv3425 to boost the effects of BCG in the context of immunity and protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in C57BL/6 mice. Our results demonstrated that prime-boost BCG vaccination with a lentiviral vector expressing the antigens Ag85B and Rv3425 significantly enhanced immune responses, including T helper type 1 and CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, compared with DNA- and protein-based vaccines. However, lentivirus-vectored and DNA-based vaccines greatly improved the protective efficacy of BCG against M. tuberculosis, as indicated by a lack of weight loss and significantly reduced bacterial loads and histological damage in the lung. Our study suggests that the use of lentiviral or DNA vaccines containing the antigens Ag85B and Rv3425 to boost BCG is a good choice for the rational design of an efficient vaccination strategy against TB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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37
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Macdonald DC, Hotblack A, Akbar S, Britton G, Collins MK, Rosenberg WC. 4-1BB ligand activates bystander dendritic cells to enhance immunization in trans. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2014; 193:5056-64. [PMID: 25305314 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1301723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Expression of the costimulatory receptor 4-1BB is induced by TCR recognition of Ag, whereas 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL) is highly expressed on activated APC. 4-1BB signaling is particularly important for survival of activated and memory CD8(+) T cells. We wished to test whether coexpression of Ag and 4-1BBL by dendritic cells (DC) would be an effective vaccine strategy. Therefore, we constructed lentiviral vectors (LV) coexpressing 4-1BBL and influenza nucleoprotein (NP). Following s.c. immunization of mice, which targets DC, we found superior CD8(+) T cell responses against NP and protection from influenza when 4-1BBL was expressed. However, functionally superior CD8(+) T cell responses were obtained when two LV were coinjected: one expressing 4-1BBL and the other expressing NP. This surprising result suggested that 4-1BBL is more effective when expressed in trans, acting on adjacent DC. Therefore, we investigated the effect of LV expression of 4-1BBL in mouse DC cultures and observed induced maturation of bystander, untransduced cells. Maturation was blocked by anti-4-1BBL Ab, required cell-cell contact, and did not require the cytoplasmic signaling domain of 4-1BBL. Greater maturation of untransduced cells could be explained by LV expression of 4-1BBL, causing downregulation of 4-1BB. These data suggest that coexpression of 4-1BBL and Ag by vaccine vectors that target DC may not be an optimal strategy. However, 4-1BBL LV immunization activates significant numbers of bystander DC in the draining lymph nodes. Therefore, transactivation by 4-1BBL/4-1BB interaction following DC-DC contact may play a role in the immune response to infection or vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas C Macdonald
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Alastair Hotblack
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Saniath Akbar
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Gary Britton
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Mary K Collins
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertsfordshire EN6 3QG, United Kingdom; and
| | - William C Rosenberg
- Division of Medicine, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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Wang CJ, Qu CQ, Zhang J, Fu PC, Guo SG, Tang RH. Lingo-1 inhibited by RNA interference promotes functional recovery of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2014; 297:2356-63. [PMID: 25045138 DOI: 10.1002/ar.22988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2014] [Accepted: 05/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Lingo-1 is a negative regulator of myelination. Repairment of demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS)/experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), requires activation of the myelination program. In this study, we observed the effect of RNA interference on Lingo-1 expression, and the impact of Lingo-1 suppression on functional recovery and myelination/remyelination in EAE mice. Lentiviral vectors encoding Lingo-1 short hairpin RNA (LV/Lingo-1-shRNA) were constructed to inhibit Lingo-1 expression. LV/Lingo-1-shRNA of different titers were transferred into myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-induced EAE mice by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection. Meanwhile, lentiviral vectors carrying nonsense gene sequence (LVCON053) were used as negative control. The Lingo-1 expression was detected and locomotor function was evaluated at different time points (on days 1,3,7,14,21, and 30 after ICV injection). Myelination was investigated by luxol fast blue (LFB) staining.LV/Lingo-1-shRNA administration via ICV injection could efficiently down-regulate the Lingo-1 mRNA and protein expression in EAE mice on days 7,14,21, and 30 (P < 0.01), especially in the 5 × 10(8) TU/mL and 5 × 10(9) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA groups. The locomotor function score in the LV/Lingo-1-shRNA treated groups were significantly lower than the untreated or LVCON053 group from day 7 on. The 5 × 10(8) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA group achieved the best functional improvement (0.87 ± 0.11 vs. 3.05 ± 0.13, P < 0.001). Enhanced myelination/remyelination was observed in the 5 × 10(7) , 5 × 10(8) , 5 × 10(9) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA groups by LFB staining (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, and P < 0.05).The data showed that administering LV/Lingo-1-shRNA by ICV injection could efficiently knockdown Lingo-1 expression in vivo, improve functional recovery and enhance myelination/remyelination. Antagonism of Lingo-1 by RNA interference is, therefore, a promising approach for the treatment of demyelinating diseases, such as MS/EAE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Juan Wang
- Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
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Hong Y, Peng Y, Guo ZS, Guevara-Patino J, Pang J, Butterfield LH, Mivechi N, Munn DH, Bartlett DL, He Y. Epitope-optimized alpha-fetoprotein genetic vaccines prevent carcinogen-induced murine autochthonous hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology 2014; 59:1448-58. [PMID: 24122861 PMCID: PMC4151349 DOI: 10.1002/hep.26893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Revised: 09/25/2013] [Accepted: 10/06/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Immunization with effective cancer vaccines can offer a much needed adjuvant therapy to fill the treatment gap after liver resection to prevent relapse of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, current HCC cancer vaccines are mostly based on native shared-self/tumor antigens that are only able to induce weak immune responses. In this study we investigated whether the HCC-associated self/tumor antigen of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) could be engineered to create an effective vaccine to break immune tolerance and potently activate CD8 T cells to prevent clinically relevant carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC in mice. We found that the approach of computer-guided methodical epitope-optimization created a highly immunogenic AFP and that immunization with lentivector expressing the epitope-optimized AFP, but not wild-type AFP, potently activated CD8 T cells. Critically, the activated CD8 T cells not only cross-recognized short synthetic wild-type AFP peptides, but also recognized and killed tumor cells expressing wild-type AFP protein. Immunization with lentivector expressing optimized AFP, but not native AFP, completely protected mice from tumor challenge and reduced the incidence of carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC. In addition, prime-boost immunization with the optimized AFP significantly increased the frequency of AFP-specific memory CD8 T cells in the liver that were highly effective against emerging HCC tumor cells, further enhancing the tumor prevention of carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC. CONCLUSIONS Epitope-optimization is required to break immune tolerance and potently activate AFP-specific CD8 T cells, generating effective antitumor effect to prevent clinically relevant carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC in mice. Our study provides a practical roadmap to develop effective human HCC vaccines that may result in an improved outcome compared to the current HCC vaccines based on wild-type AFP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Hong
- Cancer Immunology, Inflammation, and Tolerance Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA
| | - Yibing Peng
- Cancer Immunology, Inflammation, and Tolerance Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA
| | - Z. Sheng Guo
- Department of Surgery and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jose Guevara-Patino
- Depart of Surgery, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University, Maywood, IL
| | - Junfeng Pang
- Department of Radiology and Molecular Chaperone Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA
| | - Lisa H. Butterfield
- Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Nahid Mivechi
- Department of Radiology and Molecular Chaperone Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA
| | - David H Munn
- Cancer Immunology, Inflammation, and Tolerance Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA,Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA
| | - David L Bartlett
- Department of Surgery and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Yukai He
- Cancer Immunology, Inflammation, and Tolerance Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA,Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA
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40
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Chopin M, Nutt SL. Establishing and maintaining the Langerhans cell network. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2014; 41:23-9. [PMID: 24513231 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Revised: 01/30/2014] [Accepted: 02/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Langerhans cells (LCs) are the unique antigen-presenting cell of the epidermis. LCs have long been depicted in textbooks as the archetypical dendritic cell that alerts the immune system upon pathogen induced skin barrier breakage, however recent findings argue instead for a more tolerogenic function. While the LCs that populate the epidermis in steady-state arise from progenitors that seed the skin during embryogenesis, it is now apparent that a second pathway generating LCs from a bone marrow derived progenitor is active in inflammatory settings. This review emphasizes the determinants underpinning the establishment of the LC network in steady-state and under inflammatory conditions, as well as the transcriptional machinery governing their differentiation. The dual origin of LCs raises important questions about the functional differences between these subsets in balancing the epidermal immune response between immunity and tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaël Chopin
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
| | - Stephen L Nutt
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
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Macdonald DC, Singh H, Whelan MA, Escors D, Arce F, Bottoms SE, Barclay WS, Maini M, Collins MK, Rosenberg WMC. Harnessing alveolar macrophages for sustained mucosal T-cell recall confers long-term protection to mice against lethal influenza challenge without clinical disease. Mucosal Immunol 2014; 7:89-100. [PMID: 23715172 DOI: 10.1038/mi.2013.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2012] [Accepted: 04/01/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Vaccines that induce T cells, which recognize conserved viral proteins, could confer universal protection against seasonal and pandemic influenza strains. An effective vaccine should generate sufficient mucosal T cells to ensure rapid viral control before clinical disease. However, T cells may also cause lung injury in influenza, so this approach carries inherent risks. Here we describe intranasal immunization of mice with a lentiviral vector expressing influenza nucleoprotein (NP), together with an NFκB activator, which transduces over 75% of alveolar macrophages (AM). This strategy recalls and expands NP-specific CD8+ T cells in the lung and airway of mice that have been immunized subcutaneously, or previously exposed to influenza. Granzyme B-high, lung-resident T-cell populations persist for at least 4 months and can control a lethal influenza challenge without harmful cytokine responses, weight loss, or lung injury. These data demonstrate that AM can be harnessed as effective antigen-presenting cells for influenza vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Macdonald
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
| | - H Singh
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
| | - M A Whelan
- Division of Medicine, University College London, London, UK
| | - D Escors
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
| | - F Arce
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
| | - S E Bottoms
- Division of Medicine, University College London, London, UK
| | - W S Barclay
- Division of Virology, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, London, UK
| | - M Maini
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
| | - M K Collins
- Division of Infection and Immunity and MRC Centre for Medical Molecular Virology, University College London, London, UK
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43
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Bediz B, Korkmaz E, Khilwani R, Donahue C, Erdos G, Falo LD, Ozdoganlar OB. Dissolvable microneedle arrays for intradermal delivery of biologics: fabrication and application. Pharm Res 2014; 31:117-35. [PMID: 23904139 PMCID: PMC3898465 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-013-1137-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Accepted: 06/24/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Design and evaluate a new micro-machining based approach for fabricating dissolvable microneedle arrays (MNAs) with diverse geometries and from different materials for dry delivery to skin microenvironments. The aims are to describe the new fabrication method, to evaluate geometric and material capability as well as reproducibility of the method, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of fabricated MNAs in delivering bioactive molecules. METHODS Precise master molds were created using micromilling. Micromolding was used to create elastomer production molds from master molds. The dissolvable MNAs were then fabricated using the spin-casting method. Fabricated MNAs with different geometries were evaluated for reproducibility. MNAs from different materials were fabricated to show material capability. MNAs with embedded bioactive components were tested for functionality on human and mice skin. RESULTS MNAs with different geometries and from carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and maltodextrin were created reproducibly using our method. MNAs successfully pierce the skin, precisely deliver their bioactive cargo to skin and induce specific immunity in mice. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that the new fabrication approach enables creating dissolvable MNAs with diverse geometries and from different materials reproducibly. We also demonstrated the application of MNAs for precise and specific delivery of biomolecules to skin microenvironments in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bekir Bediz
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Emrullah Korkmaz
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Rakesh Khilwani
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Cara Donahue
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Geza Erdos
- Department of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Louis D. Falo
- Department of Dermatology; Department of Bioengineering, Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute, The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - O. Burak Ozdoganlar
- Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15213, USA
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Abstract
The oral cavity contains distinct mucosal surfaces, each with its own unique distribution of dendritic cell (DC) subsets. In addition to tissue-specific properties, such organization might confer differential immune outcomes guided by tissue-resident DCs, which translate in the lymph node into an overall immune response. This process is further complicated by continual exposure and colonization of the oral cavity with enormous numbers of diverse microbes, some of which might induce destructive immunity. As a central cell type constantly monitoring changes in oral microbiota and orchestrating T-cell function, oral DCs are of major importance in deciding whether to induce immunity or tolerance. In this review, an overview of the phenotype and distribution of DCs in the oral mucosa is provided. In addition, the role of the various oral DC subsets in inducing immunity vs. tolerance, as well as their involvement in several oral pathologies is discussed.
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Tareen SU, Nicolai CJ, Campbell DJ, Flynn PA, Slough MM, Vin CD, Kelley-Clarke B, Odegard JM, Robbins SH. A Rev-Independent gag/pol Eliminates Detectable psi-gag Recombination in Lentiviral Vectors. Biores Open Access 2013; 2:421-30. [PMID: 24380052 PMCID: PMC3869434 DOI: 10.1089/biores.2013.0037] [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] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Lentiviral vectors (LVs) are being developed for clinical use in humans for applications including gene therapy and immunotherapy. A safety concern for use of LVs in humans is the generation of replication-competent lentivirus (RCL), which may arise due to recombination between the split genomes of third-generation LVs. Although no RCL has been detected to date, design optimizations that minimize recombination events between split genome vectors would provide an added safety benefit that may further reduce the risk of RCL formation. Here we describe design elements introduced to the gag/pol plasmid with the intention of eliminating psi-gag recombination between the vector genome and gag/pol. These design changes, consisting of codon optimization of the gag/pol sequence and the deletion of the Rev-responsive element, abrogate the requirement for Rev in expression of Gag protein, thus the resulting gag/pol construct being Rev independent (RI gag/pol). We show that generating vector using the RI gag/pol construct has no effect on particle production or transduction titers. The RI and wild-type gag/pol vectors function equivalently as antigen-specific immunotherapy, potently inducing antigen-specific CD8 T cells that protect against challenge with vaccinia virus. Most importantly, the designed RI gag/pol eliminated detectable psi-gag recombination. Interestingly, we detected recombination between the vector genome and gag/pol from regions without sequence homology. Our findings imply that although unpredictable recombination events may still occur, the RI gag/pol design is sufficient to prevent psi-gag recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Scott H Robbins
- Immune Design Corporation , Seattle, Washington. ; TRIA Bioscience Corporation , Seattle, Washington
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Enhanced responses to tumor immunization following total body irradiation are time-dependent. PLoS One 2013; 8:e82496. [PMID: 24349298 PMCID: PMC3861406 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of successful cancer vaccines is contingent on the ability to induce effective and persistent anti-tumor immunity against self-antigens that do not typically elicit immune responses. In this study, we examine the effects of a non-myeloablative dose of total body irradiation on the ability of tumor-naïve mice to respond to DNA vaccines against melanoma. We demonstrate that irradiation followed by lymphocyte infusion results in a dramatic increase in responsiveness to tumor vaccination, with augmentation of T cell responses to tumor antigens and tumor eradication. In irradiated mice, infused CD8+ T cells expand in an environment that is relatively depleted in regulatory T cells, and this correlates with improved CD8+ T cell functionality. We also observe an increase in the frequency of dendritic cells displaying an activated phenotype within lymphoid organs in the first 24 hours after irradiation. Intriguingly, both the relative decrease in regulatory T cells and increase in activated dendritic cells correspond with a brief window of augmented responsiveness to immunization. After this 24 hour window, the numbers of dendritic cells decline, as does the ability of mice to respond to immunizations. When immunizations are initiated within the period of augmented dendritic cell activation, mice develop anti-tumor responses that show increased durability as well as magnitude, and this approach leads to improved survival in experiments with mice bearing established tumors as well as in a spontaneous melanoma model. We conclude that irradiation can produce potent immune adjuvant effects independent of its ability to induce tumor ablation, and that the timing of immunization and lymphocyte infusion in the irradiated host are crucial for generating optimal anti-tumor immunity. Clinical strategies using these approaches must therefore optimize such parameters, as the correct timing of infusion and vaccination may mean the difference between an ineffective treatment and successful tumor eradication.
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Abstract
The success of immunotherapy against infectious diseases has shown us the powerful potential that such a treatment offers, and substantial work has been done to apply this strategy in the fight against cancer. Cancer is however a fiercer opponent than pathogen-caused diseases due to natural tolerance towards tumour associated antigens and tumour-induced immunosuppression. Recent gene therapy clinical trials with viral vectors have shown clinical efficacy in the correction of genetic diseases, HIV and cancer. The first successful gene therapy clinical trials were carried out with onco(γ-)retroviral vectors but oncogenesis by insertional mutagenesis appeared as a serious complication. Lentiviral vectors have emerged as a potentially safer strategy, and recently the first clinical trial of patients with advanced leukemia using lentiviral vectors has proven successful. Additionally, therapeutic lentivectors have shown clinical efficacy for the treatment of HIV, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, and β-thalassaemia. This review aims at describing lentivectors and how they can be utilized to boost anti-tumour immune responses by manipulating the effector immune cells.
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DLK1: a novel target for immunotherapeutic remodeling of the tumor blood vasculature. Mol Ther 2013; 21:1958-68. [PMID: 23896726 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2013.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 05/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor blood vessels are frequently inefficient in their design and function, leading to high interstitial fluid pressure, hypoxia, and acidosis in the tumor microenvironment (TME), rendering tumors refractory to the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents and immune effector cells. Here we identified the NOTCH antagonist delta-like 1 homologue (DLK1) as a vascular pericyte-associated antigen expressed in renal cell carcinomas (RCC), but not in normal kidney tissues in mice and humans. Vaccination of mice bearing established RCC against DLK1 led to immune-mediated elimination of DLK1(+) pericytes and to blood vessel normalization (i.e., decreased vascular permeability and intratumoral hypoxia) in the TME, in association with tumor growth suppression. After therapeutic vaccination, tumors displayed increased prevalence of activated VCAM1(+)CD31(+) vascular endothelial cells (VECs) and CXCL10, a type-1 T cell recruiting chemokine, in concert with increased levels of type-1 CD8(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). Vaccination against DLK1 also yielded (i) dramatic reductions in Jarid1B(+), CD133(+), and CD44(+) (hypoxia-responsive) stromal cell populations, (ii) enhanced tumor cell apoptosis, and (iii) increased NOTCH signaling in the TME. Coadministration of a γ-secretase inhibitor (N-[N-(3,5-Difluorophenacetyl-l-alanyl)]-(S)-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT)) that interferes with canonical NOTCH signaling resulted in the partial loss of therapeutic benefits associated with lentivirus encoding full-length murine (lvDLK1)-based vaccination.
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Xiao H, Peng Y, Hong Y, Huang L, Guo ZS, Bartlett DL, Fu N, Munn DH, Mellor A, He Y. Local administration of TLR ligands rescues the function of tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells and enhances the antitumor effect of lentivector immunization. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2013; 190:5866-73. [PMID: 23610140 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1203470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Cancer vaccines, to date, have shown limited effect to control the growth of established tumors due largely to effector failure of the antitumor immune responses. Tumor lesion is characterized as chronic indolent inflammation in which the effector function of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is severely impaired. In this study, we investigated whether the effector function of CD8 TILs could be rescued by converting the chronic inflammation milieu to acute inflammation within tumors. We found that injection of TLR3/9 ligands (polyI:C/CpG) into a tumor during the effector phase of lentivector (lv) immunization effectively rescued the function of lv-activated CD8 TILs and decreased the percentage of T regulatory within the tumor, resulting in a marked improvement in the antitumor efficacy of lv immunization. Mechanistically, rescue of the effector function of CD8 TILs by TLR3/9 ligands is most likely dependent on production, within a tumor, of type-1 IFN that can mature and activate tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells. The effector function of CD8 TILs could not be rescued in mice lacking intact type I IFN signaling. These findings have important implications for tumor immunotherapy, suggesting that type I IFN-mediated activation of tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells within a tumor will most likely restore/enhance the effector function of CD8 TILs and thus improve the antitumor efficacy of current cancer vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Xiao
- Immunology/Immunotherapy Program, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
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Igyártó BZ, Kaplan DH. Antigen presentation by Langerhans cells. Curr Opin Immunol 2012; 25:115-9. [PMID: 23246038 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2012.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2012] [Revised: 11/12/2012] [Accepted: 11/18/2012] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Langerhans cells and other skin-resident dendritic cells (DC) are required for the development of cutaneous adaptive immune responses. In vivo experiments using mice with selective DC-subset deficiencies and ex vivo experiments using isolated DC suggests that each subset makes a unique contribution to the adaptive response. This review focuses on the functional outcome of antigen presentation by Langerhans cells. Special attention is given to their ability to promote CD4 T cell differentiation in a variety of inflammatory contexts and whether this subset has the capacity to cross-prime CD8 T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Botond Z Igyártó
- Department of Dermatology, Center for Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
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