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Sharma G, Round J, Teng F, Ali Z, May C, Yung E, Holt RA. A synthetic cytotoxic T cell platform for rapidly prototyping TCR function. NPJ Precis Oncol 2024; 8:182. [PMID: 39160299 PMCID: PMC11333705 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-024-00669-9] [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: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Current tools for functionally profiling T cell receptors with respect to cytotoxic potency and cross-reactivity are hampered by difficulties in establishing model systems to test these proteins in the contexts of different HLA alleles and against broad arrays of potential antigens. We have implemented a granzyme-activatable sensor of T cell cytotoxicity in a universal prototyping platform which enables facile recombinant expression of any combination of TCR-, peptide-, and class I MHC-coding sequences and direct assessment of resultant responses. This system consists of an engineered cell platform based on the immortalized natural killer cell line, YT-Indy, and the MHC-null antigen-presenting cell line, K562. These cells were engineered to furnish the YT-Indy/K562 pair with appropriate protein domains required for recombinant TCR expression and function in a non-T cell chassis, integrate a fluorescence-based target-centric early detection reporter of cytotoxic function, and deploy a set of protective genetic interventions designed to preserve antigen-presenting cells for subsequent capture and downstream characterization. Our data show successful reconstitution of the surface TCR complex in the YT-Indy cell line at biologically relevant levels. We also demonstrate successful induction and highly sensitive detection of antigen-specific response in multiple distinct model TCRs. Additionally, we monitored destruction of targets in co-culture and found that our survival-optimized system allowed for complete preservation after 24 h exposure to cytotoxic effectors. With this bioplatform, we anticipate investigators will be empowered to rapidly express and characterize T cell receptor responses, generate knowledge regarding the patterns of T cell receptor recognition, and optimize therapeutic T cell receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Govinda Sharma
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - James Round
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Fei Teng
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Zahra Ali
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Chris May
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Eric Yung
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Robert A Holt
- Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
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2
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Dravid AA, Singh A, García AJ. Biomaterial-Based Therapeutic Delivery of Immune Cells. Adv Healthc Mater 2024:e2400586. [PMID: 38813869 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202400586] [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: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Immune cell therapy (ICT) is a transformative approach used to treat a wide range of diseases including type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, disorders of the hematopoietic system, and certain forms of cancers. Despite excellent clinical successes, the scope of adoptively transferred immune cells is limited because of toxicities like cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity in patients. Furthermore, reports suggest that such treatment can impact major organ systems including cardiac, renal, pulmonary, and hepatic systems in the long term. Additionally, adoptively transferred immune cells cannot achieve significant penetration into solid tissues, thus limiting their therapeutic potential. Recent studies suggest that biomaterial-assisted delivery of immune cells can address these challenges by reducing toxicity, improving localization, and maintaining desired phenotypes to eventually regain tissue function. In this review, recent efforts in the field of biomaterial-based immune cell delivery for the treatment of diseases, their pros and cons, and where these approaches stand in terms of clinical treatment are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ameya A Dravid
- Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Ankur Singh
- Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Andrés J García
- Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
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3
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Watson RA, Ye W, Taylor CA, Jungkurth E, Cooper R, Tong O, James T, Shine B, Hofer M, Jenkins D, Pell R, Ieremia E, Jones S, Maldonado-Perez D, Roberts ISD, Coupe N, Middleton MR, Payne MJ, Fairfax BP. Severe acute myositis and myocarditis on initiation of 6-weekly pembrolizumab post-COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. J Immunother Cancer 2024; 12:e008151. [PMID: 38663935 PMCID: PMC11043765 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008151] [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] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
We describe three cases of critical acute myositis with myocarditis occurring within 22 days of each other at a single institution, all within 1 month of receiving the initial cycle of the anti-PD-1 drug pembrolizumab. Analysis of T cell receptor repertoires from peripheral blood and tissues revealed a high degree of clonal expansion and public clones between cases, with several T cell clones expanded within the skeletal muscle putatively recognizing viral epitopes. All patients had recently received a COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine prior to treatment and were positive for SARS-CoV2 Spike antibody. In conclusion, we report a series of unusually severe myositis and myocarditis following PD-1 blockade and the COVID-19 mRNA vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Watson
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Weiyu Ye
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Chelsea A Taylor
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Elsita Jungkurth
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rosalin Cooper
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Orion Tong
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim James
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Brian Shine
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Monika Hofer
- Department of Neuro Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Damian Jenkins
- Department of Clinical Neurology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Robert Pell
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Eleni Ieremia
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Stephanie Jones
- Oxford Centre for Histopathological Research, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - David Maldonado-Perez
- Oxford Centre for Histopathological Research, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Ian S D Roberts
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Nicholas Coupe
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Mark R Middleton
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Miranda J Payne
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Benjamin P Fairfax
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Cancer and Haematology Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
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4
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Moravec Z, Zhao Y, Voogd R, Cook DR, Kinrot S, Capra B, Yang H, Raud B, Ou J, Xuan J, Wei T, Ren L, Hu D, Wang J, Haanen JBAG, Schumacher TN, Chen X, Porter E, Scheper W. Discovery of tumor-reactive T cell receptors by massively parallel library synthesis and screening. Nat Biotechnol 2024:10.1038/s41587-024-02210-6. [PMID: 38653798 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-024-02210-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
T cell receptor (TCR) gene therapy is a potent form of cellular immunotherapy in which patient T cells are genetically engineered to express TCRs with defined tumor reactivity. However, the isolation of therapeutic TCRs is complicated by both the general scarcity of tumor-specific T cells among patient T cell repertoires and the patient-specific nature of T cell epitopes expressed on tumors. Here we describe a high-throughput, personalized TCR discovery pipeline that enables the assembly of complex synthetic TCR libraries in a one-pot reaction, followed by pooled expression in reporter T cells and functional genetic screening against patient-derived tumor or antigen-presenting cells. We applied the method to screen thousands of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)-derived TCRs from multiple patients and identified dozens of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell-derived TCRs with potent tumor reactivity, including TCRs that recognized patient-specific neoantigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziva Moravec
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yue Zhao
- RootPath, Inc. (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Rhianne Voogd
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Haiyan Yang
- RootPath, Inc. (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Brenda Raud
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jiayu Ou
- RootPath, Inc. (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiekun Xuan
- RootPath, Inc. (US), Watertown, MA, USA
- RootPath, Inc. (Hangzhou), Hangzhou, China
| | - Teng Wei
- Cytotherapy Laboratory, People's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Lili Ren
- Cytotherapy Laboratory, People's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Dandan Hu
- Department of Liver Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Pathology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - John B A G Haanen
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ton N Schumacher
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Xi Chen
- RootPath, Inc. (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China.
- RootPath, Inc. (US), Watertown, MA, USA.
- RootPath, Inc. (Hangzhou), Hangzhou, China.
| | - Ely Porter
- RootPath, Inc. (US), Watertown, MA, USA.
| | - Wouter Scheper
- Department of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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5
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Chen X, Zhong S, Zhan Y, Zhang X. CRISPR-Cas9 applications in T cells and adoptive T cell therapies. Cell Mol Biol Lett 2024; 29:52. [PMID: 38609863 PMCID: PMC11010303 DOI: 10.1186/s11658-024-00561-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
T cell immunity is central to contemporary cancer and autoimmune therapies, encompassing immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive T cell therapies. Their diverse characteristics can be reprogrammed by different immune challenges dependent on antigen stimulation levels, metabolic conditions, and the degree of inflammation. T cell-based therapeutic strategies are gaining widespread adoption in oncology and treating inflammatory conditions. Emerging researches reveal that clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) genome editing has enabled T cells to be more adaptable to specific microenvironments, opening the door to advanced T cell therapies in preclinical and clinical trials. CRISPR-Cas9 can edit both primary T cells and engineered T cells, including CAR-T and TCR-T, in vivo and in vitro to regulate T cell differentiation and activation states. This review first provides a comprehensive summary of the role of CRISPR-Cas9 in T cells and its applications in preclinical and clinical studies for T cell-based therapies. We also explore the application of CRISPR screen high-throughput technology in editing T cells and anticipate the current limitations of CRISPR-Cas9, including off-target effects and delivery challenges, and envisioned improvements in related technologies for disease screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoying Chen
- Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Institute of Zhengzhou University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450003, China
| | - Shuhan Zhong
- Department of Hematology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou, 310003, China
| | - Yonghao Zhan
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
| | - Xuepei Zhang
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450003, China.
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6
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Kristensen NP, Dionisio E, Bentzen AK, Tamhane T, Kemming JS, Nos G, Voss LF, Hansen UK, Lauer GM, Hadrup SR. Simultaneous analysis of pMHC binding and reactivity unveils virus-specific CD8 T cell immunity to a concise epitope set. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadm8951. [PMID: 38608022 PMCID: PMC11014448 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
CD8 T cells provide immunity to virus infection through recognition of epitopes presented by peptide major histocompatibility complexes (pMHCs). To establish a concise panel of widely recognized T cell epitopes from common viruses, we combined analysis of TCR down-regulation upon stimulation with epitope-specific enumeration based on barcode-labeled pMHC multimers. We assess CD8 T cell binding and reactivity for 929 previously reported epitopes in the context of 1 of 25 HLA alleles representing 29 viruses. The prevalence and magnitude of CD8 T cell responses were evaluated in 48 donors and reported along with 137 frequently recognized virus epitopes, many of which were underrepresented in the public domain. Eighty-four percent of epitope-specific CD8 T cell populations demonstrated reactivity to peptide stimulation, which was associated with effector and long-term memory phenotypes. Conversely, nonreactive T cell populations were associated primarily with naive phenotypes. Our analysis provides a reference map of epitopes for characterizing CD8 T cell responses toward common human virus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaj Pagh Kristensen
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Edoardo Dionisio
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Amalie Kai Bentzen
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Tripti Tamhane
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Janine Sophie Kemming
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Grigorii Nos
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lasse Frank Voss
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ulla Kring Hansen
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Georg Michael Lauer
- Liver Center and Gastrointestinal Division, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Sine Reker Hadrup
- Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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7
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Shao W, Yao Y, Yang L, Li X, Ge T, Zheng Y, Zhu Q, Ge S, Gu X, Jia R, Song X, Zhuang A. Novel insights into TCR-T cell therapy in solid neoplasms: optimizing adoptive immunotherapy. Exp Hematol Oncol 2024; 13:37. [PMID: 38570883 PMCID: PMC10988985 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-024-00504-8] [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: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Adoptive immunotherapy in the T cell landscape exhibits efficacy in cancer treatment. Over the past few decades, genetically modified T cells, particularly chimeric antigen receptor T cells, have enabled remarkable strides in the treatment of hematological malignancies. Besides, extensive exploration of multiple antigens for the treatment of solid tumors has led to clinical interest in the potential of T cells expressing the engineered T cell receptor (TCR). TCR-T cells possess the capacity to recognize intracellular antigen families and maintain the intrinsic properties of TCRs in terms of affinity to target epitopes and signal transduction. Recent research has provided critical insight into their capability and therapeutic targets for multiple refractory solid tumors, but also exposes some challenges for durable efficacy. In this review, we describe the screening and identification of available tumor antigens, and the acquisition and optimization of TCRs for TCR-T cell therapy. Furthermore, we summarize the complete flow from laboratory to clinical applications of TCR-T cells. Last, we emerge future prospects for improving therapeutic efficacy in cancer world with combination therapies or TCR-T derived products. In conclusion, this review depicts our current understanding of TCR-T cell therapy in solid neoplasms, and provides new perspectives for expanding its clinical applications and improving therapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weihuan Shao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Yiran Yao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Ludi Yang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoran Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Tongxin Ge
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Yue Zheng
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiuyi Zhu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Shengfang Ge
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiang Gu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China
| | - Renbing Jia
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xin Song
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ai Zhuang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, 200011, People's Republic of China.
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8
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Li Y, Zhao W, Shen Y, Xu Y, Chen S, Pan L. T Cell Receptor-Directed Bispecific T Cell Engager Targeting MHC-Linked NY-ESO-1 for Tumor Immunotherapy. Biomedicines 2024; 12:776. [PMID: 38672132 PMCID: PMC11048172 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12040776] [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: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibody-based bispecific T cell engagers (TCEs) that redirect T cells to kill tumor cells have shown a promising therapeutic effect on hematologic malignancies. However, tumor-specific targeting is still a challenge for TCEs, impeding the development of TCEs for solid tumor therapy. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presents almost all intracellular peptides (including tumor-specific peptides) on the cell surface to be scanned by the TCR on T cells. With the premise of choosing optimal peptides, the final complex peptide-MHC could be the tumor-specific target for TCEs. Here, a novel TCR-directed format of a TCE targeting peptide-MHC was designed named IgG-T-TCE, which was modified from the IgG backbone and prepared in a mammalian cell expression system. The recombinant IgG-T-TCE-NY targeting NY-ESO-1157-165/HLA-A*02:01 could be generated in HEK293 cells with a glycosylated TCR and showed potency in T cell activation and redirecting T cells to specifically kill target tumor cells. We also found that the in vitro activity of IgG-T-TCE-NY could be leveraged by various anti-CD3 antibodies and Fc silencing. The IgG-T-TCE-NY efficiently inhibited tumor growth in a tumor-PBMC co-engrafted mouse model without any obvious toxicities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Li
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
| | - Wenbin Zhao
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
- Zhejiang University Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Engineering Research Center of Innovative Anticancer Drugs, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Ying Shen
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
- Zhejiang University Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Engineering Research Center of Innovative Anticancer Drugs, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yingchun Xu
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
| | - Shuqing Chen
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
| | - Liqiang Pan
- Institute of Drug Metabolism and Pharmaceutical Analysis, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.L.); (W.Z.); (Y.S.); (Y.X.)
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9
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Jeffreys N, Brockman JM, Zhai Y, Ingber DE, Mooney DJ. Mechanical forces amplify TCR mechanotransduction in T cell activation and function. APPLIED PHYSICS REVIEWS 2024; 11:011304. [PMID: 38434676 PMCID: PMC10848667 DOI: 10.1063/5.0166848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Adoptive T cell immunotherapies, including engineered T cell receptor (eTCR) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapies, have shown efficacy in treating a subset of hematologic malignancies, exhibit promise in solid tumors, and have many other potential applications, such as in fibrosis, autoimmunity, and regenerative medicine. While immunoengineering has focused on designing biomaterials to present biochemical cues to manipulate T cells ex vivo and in vivo, mechanical cues that regulate their biology have been largely underappreciated. This review highlights the contributions of mechanical force to several receptor-ligand interactions critical to T cell function, with central focus on the TCR-peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex (pMHC). We then emphasize the role of mechanical forces in (i) allosteric strengthening of the TCR-pMHC interaction in amplifying ligand discrimination during T cell antigen recognition prior to activation and (ii) T cell interactions with the extracellular matrix. We then describe approaches to design eTCRs, CARs, and biomaterials to exploit TCR mechanosensitivity in order to potentiate T cell manufacturing and function in adoptive T cell immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yunhao Zhai
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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10
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Cetin M, Pinamonti V, Schmid T, Boschert T, Mellado Fuentes A, Kromer K, Lerner T, Zhang J, Herzig Y, Ehlert C, Hernandez-Hernandez M, Samaras G, Torres CM, Fisch L, Dragan V, Kouwenhoven A, Van Schoubroeck B, Wils H, Van Hove C, Platten M, Green EW, Stevenaert F, Felix NJ, Lindner JM. T-FINDER: A highly sensitive, pan-HLA platform for functional T cell receptor and ligand discovery. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk3060. [PMID: 38306432 PMCID: PMC10836725 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk3060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Effective, unbiased, high-throughput methods to functionally identify both class II and class I HLA-presented T cell epitopes and their cognate T cell receptors (TCRs) are essential for and prerequisite to diagnostic and therapeutic applications, yet remain underdeveloped. Here, we present T-FINDER [T cell Functional Identification and (Neo)-antigen Discovery of Epitopes and Receptors], a system to rapidly deconvolute CD4 and CD8 TCRs and targets physiologically processed and presented by an individual's unmanipulated, complete human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype. Combining a highly sensitive TCR signaling reporter with an antigen processing system to overcome previously undescribed limitations to target expression, T-FINDER both robustly identifies unknown peptide:HLA ligands from antigen libraries and rapidly screens and functionally validates the specificity of large TCR libraries against known or predicted targets. To demonstrate its capabilities, we apply the platform to multiple TCR-based applications, including diffuse midline glioma, celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, providing unique biological insights and showcasing T-FINDER's potency and versatility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miray Cetin
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Veronica Pinamonti
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Theresa Schmid
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tamara Boschert
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- DKTK CCU Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Helmoltz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Kristina Kromer
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Taga Lerner
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jing Zhang
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yonatan Herzig
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christopher Ehlert
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS gGmbH), 69118 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Georgios Samaras
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Laura Fisch
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Valeriia Dragan
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | - Hans Wils
- Janssen Research and Development, Beerse, Belgium
| | | | - Michael Platten
- DKTK CCU Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Helmoltz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, MCTN Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Edward W. Green
- DKTK CCU Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, MCTN Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | | | - John M. Lindner
- BioMed X GmbH, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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11
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Kizerwetter M, Pietz K, Tomasovic LM, Spangler JB. Empowering gene delivery with protein engineering platforms. Gene Ther 2023; 30:775-782. [PMID: 36529795 PMCID: PMC10277311 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-022-00379-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The repertoire of therapeutic proteins has been substantially augmented by molecular engineering approaches, which have seen remarkable advancement in recent years. In particular, advances in directed evolution technologies have empowered the development of custom-designed proteins with novel and disease-relevant functions. Whereas engineered proteins have typically been administered through systemic injection of the purified molecule, exciting progress in gene delivery affords the opportunity to elicit sustained production of the engineered proteins by targeted cells in the host organism. Combining developments at the leading edge of protein engineering and gene delivery has catapulted a new wave of molecular and cellular therapy approaches, which harbor great promise for personalized and precision medicine. This mini-review outlines currently used display platforms for protein evolution and describes recent examples of how the resulting engineered proteins have been incorporated into DNA- and cell-based therapeutic platforms, both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, the strategies detailed herein provide a framework for synthesizing molecular engineering workflows with gene therapy systems for a breadth of applications in research and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Kizerwetter
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kevin Pietz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Luke M Tomasovic
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jamie B Spangler
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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12
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Funk MA, Leitner J, Gerner MC, Hammerler JM, Salzer B, Lehner M, Battin C, Gumpelmair S, Stiasny K, Grabmeier-Pfistershammer K, Steinberger P. Interrogating ligand-receptor interactions using highly sensitive cellular biosensors. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7804. [PMID: 38016944 PMCID: PMC10684770 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43589-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Interactions of membrane-resident proteins are important targets for therapeutic interventions but most methods to study them are either costly, laborious or fail to reflect the physiologic interaction of membrane resident proteins in trans. Here we describe highly sensitive cellular biosensors as a tool to study receptor-ligand pairs. They consist of fluorescent reporter cells that express chimeric receptors harboring ectodomains of cell surface molecules and intracellular signaling domains. We show that a broad range of molecules can be integrated into this platform and we demonstrate its applicability to highly relevant research areas, including the characterization of immune checkpoints and the probing of cells for the presence of receptors or ligands. The platform is suitable to evaluate the interactions of viral proteins with host receptors and to test for neutralization capability of drugs or biological samples. Our results indicate that cellular biosensors have broad utility as a tool to study protein-interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian A Funk
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Judith Leitner
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Marlene C Gerner
- Division of Biomedical Science, University of Applied Sciences FH Campus Wien, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jasmin M Hammerler
- Division of Biomedical Science, University of Applied Sciences FH Campus Wien, Vienna, Austria
| | - Benjamin Salzer
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Lehner
- St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, Vienna, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claire Battin
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Simon Gumpelmair
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karin Stiasny
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Peter Steinberger
- Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Division for Immune Receptors and T cell activation, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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13
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Giordano Attianese GMP, Ash S, Irving M. Coengineering specificity, safety, and function into T cells for cancer immunotherapy. Immunol Rev 2023; 320:166-198. [PMID: 37548063 DOI: 10.1111/imr.13252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Adoptive T-cell transfer (ACT) therapies, including of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and T cells gene-modified to express either a T cell receptor (TCR) or a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), have demonstrated clinical efficacy for a proportion of patients and cancer-types. The field of ACT has been driven forward by the clinical success of CD19-CAR therapy against various advanced B-cell malignancies, including curative responses for some leukemia patients. However, relapse remains problematic, in particular for lymphoma. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, relative limited efficacy has been demonstrated for ACT of non-hematological solid tumors. Indeed, in addition to pre-infusion challenges including lymphocyte collection and manufacturing, ACT failure can be attributed to several biological processes post-transfer including, (i) inefficient tumor trafficking, infiltration, expansion and retention, (ii) chronic antigen exposure coupled with insufficient costimulation resulting in T-cell exhaustion, (iii) a range of barriers in the tumor microenvironment (TME) mediated by both tumor cells and suppressive immune infiltrate, (iv) tumor antigen heterogeneity and loss, or down-regulation of antigen presentation machinery, (v) gain of tumor intrinsic mechanisms of resistance such as to apoptosis, and (vi) various forms of toxicity and other adverse events in patients. Affinity-optimized TCRs can improve T-cell function and innovative CAR designs as well as gene-modification strategies can be used to coengineer specificity, safety, and function into T cells. Coengineering strategies can be designed not only to directly support the transferred T cells, but also to block suppressive barriers in the TME and harness endogenous innate and adaptive immunity. Here, we review a selection of the remarkable T-cell coengineering strategies, including of tools, receptors, and gene-cargo, that have been developed in recent years to augment tumor control by ACT, more and more of which are advancing to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Maria Paola Giordano Attianese
- Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Ash
- Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Melita Irving
- Department of Oncology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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14
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Bieberich F, Reddy ST. The Unexpected Benefit of TCR Cross-Reactivity in Cancer Immunotherapy. Cancer Res 2023; 83:3168-3169. [PMID: 37668515 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-23-2594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability of T-cell receptors (TCR) to recognize tumor-associated antigens (TAA) is a key driver of adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) T cells, which can be a highly effective cancer immunotherapy. While it is common knowledge that TCRs are cross-reactive and can bind multiple different peptide antigens, this is typically considered an unattractive feature and limitation for TCR-based therapies. In a recent publication in Cell, Dolton and colleagues discover that certain TCRs, isolated from TILs used for successful treatment of melanoma, possess beneficial cross-reactivity by recognizing multiple TAA. Moreover, they elucidate the cumulative value of TCR cross-reactivity on cancer cell eradication and its prospective advantages for targeted cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Bieberich
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sai T Reddy
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
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15
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Umene K, Nagamune T, Kawahara M. Phenotypic screening of signaling motifs that efficiently induce cell proliferation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15639. [PMID: 37730760 PMCID: PMC10511696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42378-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Since cell proliferation is one of the fundamental cell fates, artificial control of cell proliferation based on a receptor-engineering approach is increasingly important in therapeutic and industrial applications. Since the signal transduction properties of cytokine receptors are greatly influenced by the amino acid sequence of tyrosine motifs, here we develop a phenotypic screening approach that can directly select cell proliferation-inducing tyrosine motifs from a synthetic library. In the tyrosine motif library, amino acid sequences around the tyrosine are randomized to attain diverse binding patterns of signaling molecules. Theoretically, engineered receptors with distinct tyrosine motifs would activate signaling molecules in diverse patterns. Thus, we investigated whether tyrosine motif sequences capable of inducing cell proliferation could be selected from the cellular library expressing the motif-engineered receptors. Consequently, the selected motifs induced similar levels of cell proliferation compared to the cytoplasmic signaling domain of a native receptor. The motif-screening system was applicable to cells that may differentiate or proliferate depending on cytokine signals. To our best knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating phenotypic screening of tyrosine motifs in living cells. Our approach would open up new possibilities in the field of artificial control of cell fate based on signal transduction engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirato Umene
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Teruyuki Nagamune
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Masahiro Kawahara
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
- Laboratory of Cell Vaccine, Microbial Research Center for Health and Medicine (MRCHM), National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN), 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka, 567-0085, Japan.
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16
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Rappazzo CG, Fernández-Quintero ML, Mayer A, Wu NC, Greiff V, Guthmiller JJ. Defining and Studying B Cell Receptor and TCR Interactions. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 211:311-322. [PMID: 37459189 PMCID: PMC10495106 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
BCRs (Abs) and TCRs (or adaptive immune receptors [AIRs]) are the means by which the adaptive immune system recognizes foreign and self-antigens, playing an integral part in host defense, as well as the emergence of autoimmunity. Importantly, the interaction between AIRs and their cognate Ags defies a simple key-in-lock paradigm and is instead a complex many-to-many mapping between an individual's massively diverse AIR repertoire, and a similarly diverse antigenic space. Understanding how adaptive immunity balances specificity with epitopic coverage is a key challenge for the field, and terms such as broad specificity, cross-reactivity, and polyreactivity remain ill-defined and are used inconsistently. In this Immunology Notes and Resources article, a group of experimental, structural, and computational immunologists define commonly used terms associated with AIR binding, describe methodologies to study these binding modes, as well as highlight the implications of these different binding modes for therapeutic design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andreas Mayer
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nicholas C. Wu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jenna J. Guthmiller
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045
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17
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Fonseca AF, Antunes DA. CrossDome: an interactive R package to predict cross-reactivity risk using immunopeptidomics databases. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1142573. [PMID: 37377956 PMCID: PMC10291144 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1142573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
T-cell-based immunotherapies hold tremendous potential in the fight against cancer, thanks to their capacity to specifically targeting diseased cells. Nevertheless, this potential has been tempered with safety concerns regarding the possible recognition of unknown off-targets displayed by healthy cells. In a notorious example, engineered T-cells specific to MAGEA3 (EVDPIGHLY) also recognized a TITIN-derived peptide (ESDPIVAQY) expressed by cardiac cells, inducing lethal damage in melanoma patients. Such off-target toxicity has been related to T-cell cross-reactivity induced by molecular mimicry. In this context, there is growing interest in developing the means to avoid off-target toxicity, and to provide safer immunotherapy products. To this end, we present CrossDome, a multi-omics suite to predict the off-target toxicity risk of T-cell-based immunotherapies. Our suite provides two alternative protocols, i) a peptide-centered prediction, or ii) a TCR-centered prediction. As proof-of-principle, we evaluate our approach using 16 well-known cross-reactivity cases involving cancer-associated antigens. With CrossDome, the TITIN-derived peptide was predicted at the 99+ percentile rank among 36,000 scored candidates (p-value < 0.001). In addition, off-targets for all the 16 known cases were predicted within the top ranges of relatedness score on a Monte Carlo simulation with over 5 million putative peptide pairs, allowing us to determine a cut-off p-value for off-target toxicity risk. We also implemented a penalty system based on TCR hotspots, named contact map (CM). This TCR-centered approach improved upon the peptide-centered prediction on the MAGEA3-TITIN screening (e.g., from 27th to 6th, out of 36,000 ranked peptides). Next, we used an extended dataset of experimentally-determined cross-reactive peptides to evaluate alternative CrossDome protocols. The level of enrichment of validated cases among top 50 best-scored peptides was 63% for the peptide-centered protocol, and up to 82% for the TCR-centered protocol. Finally, we performed functional characterization of top ranking candidates, by integrating expression data, HLA binding, and immunogenicity predictions. CrossDome was designed as an R package for easy integration with antigen discovery pipelines, and an interactive web interface for users without coding experience. CrossDome is under active development, and it is available at https://github.com/AntunesLab/crossdome.
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18
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Deering RP, Blumenberg L, Li L, Dhanik A, Jeong S, Pourpe S, Song H, Boucher L, Ragunathan S, Li Y, Zhong M, Kuhnert J, Adler C, Hawkins P, Gupta NT, Moore M, Ni M, Hansen J, Wei Y, Thurston G. Rapid TCR:Epitope Ranker (RAPTER): a primary human T cell reactivity screening assay pairing epitope and TCR at single cell resolution. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8452. [PMID: 37231180 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35710-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying epitopes that T cells respond to is critical for understanding T cell-mediated immunity. Traditional multimer and other single cell assays often require large blood volumes and/or expensive HLA-specific reagents and provide limited phenotypic and functional information. Here, we present the Rapid TCR:Epitope Ranker (RAPTER) assay, a single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-SEQ) method that uses primary human T cells and antigen presenting cells (APCs) to assess functional T cell reactivity. Using hash-tag oligonucleotide (HTO) coding and T cell activation-induced markers (AIM), RAPTER defines paired epitope specificity and TCR sequence and can include RNA- and protein-level T cell phenotype information. We demonstrate that RAPTER identified specific reactivities to viral and tumor antigens at sensitivities as low as 0.15% of total CD8+ T cells, and deconvoluted low-frequency circulating HPV16-specific T cell clones from a cervical cancer patient. The specificities of TCRs identified by RAPTER for MART1, EBV, and influenza epitopes were functionally confirmed in vitro. In summary, RAPTER identifies low-frequency T cell reactivities using primary cells from low blood volumes, and the resulting paired TCR:ligand information can directly enable immunogenic antigen selection from limited patient samples for vaccine epitope inclusion, antigen-specific TCR tracking, and TCR cloning for further therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel P Deering
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA.
| | - Lili Blumenberg
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Lianjie Li
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Ankur Dhanik
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Se Jeong
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Stephane Pourpe
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Hang Song
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Lauren Boucher
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Shoba Ragunathan
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Yanxia Li
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Maggie Zhong
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Jessica Kuhnert
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Christina Adler
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Peter Hawkins
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Namita T Gupta
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Michael Moore
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Min Ni
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Johanna Hansen
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Yi Wei
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Gavin Thurston
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 777 Old Saw Mill River Road, Tarrytown, NY, USA
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19
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Fahad AS, Chung CY, López Acevedo SN, Boyle N, Madan B, Gutiérrez-González MF, Matus-Nicodemos R, Laflin AD, Ladi RR, Zhou J, Wolfe J, Llewellyn-Lacey S, Koup RA, Douek DC, Balfour HH, Price DA, DeKosky BJ. Cell activation-based screening of natively paired human T cell receptor repertoires. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8011. [PMID: 37198258 PMCID: PMC10192375 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31858-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive immune therapies based on the transfer of antigen-specific T cells have been used successfully to treat various cancers and viral infections, but improved techniques are needed to identify optimally protective human T cell receptors (TCRs). Here we present a high-throughput approach to the identification of natively paired human TCRα and TCRβ (TCRα:β) genes encoding heterodimeric TCRs that recognize specific peptide antigens bound to major histocompatibility complex molecules (pMHCs). We first captured and cloned TCRα:β genes from individual cells, ensuring fidelity using a suppression PCR. We then screened TCRα:β libraries expressed in an immortalized cell line using peptide-pulsed antigen-presenting cells and sequenced activated clones to identify the cognate TCRs. Our results validated an experimental pipeline that allows large-scale repertoire datasets to be annotated with functional specificity information, facilitating the discovery of therapeutically relevant TCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed S Fahad
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Cheng Yu Chung
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Sheila N López Acevedo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Nicoleen Boyle
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Bharat Madan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | | | - Rodrigo Matus-Nicodemos
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Amy D Laflin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Rukmini R Ladi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - John Zhou
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Jacy Wolfe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA
| | - Sian Llewellyn-Lacey
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Richard A Koup
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel C Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Henry H Balfour
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - David A Price
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
- Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Brandon J DeKosky
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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20
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Westphal T, Mader M, Karsten H, Cords L, Knapp M, Schulte S, Hermanussen L, Peine S, Ditt V, Grifoni A, Addo MM, Huber S, Sette A, Lütgehetmann M, Pischke S, Kwok WW, Sidney J, Schulze zur Wiesch J. Evidence for broad cross-reactivity of the SARS-CoV-2 NSP12-directed CD4 + T-cell response with pre-primed responses directed against common cold coronaviruses. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1182504. [PMID: 37215095 PMCID: PMC10196118 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1182504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The nonstructural protein 12 (NSP12) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a high sequence identity with common cold coronaviruses (CCC). Methods Here, we comprehensively assessed the breadth and specificity of the NSP12-specific T-cell response after in vitro T-cell expansion with 185 overlapping 15-mer peptides covering the entire SARS-CoV-2 NSP12 at single-peptide resolution in a cohort of 27 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Samples of nine uninfected seronegative individuals, as well as five pre-pandemic controls, were also examined to assess potential cross-reactivity with CCCs. Results Surprisingly, there was a comparable breadth of individual NSP12 peptide-specific CD4+ T-cell responses between COVID-19 patients (mean: 12.82 responses; range: 0-25) and seronegative controls including pre-pandemic samples (mean: 12.71 responses; range: 0-21). However, the NSP12-specific T-cell responses detected in acute COVID-19 patients were on average of a higher magnitude. The most frequently detected CD4+ T-cell peptide specificities in COVID-19 patients were aa236-250 (37%) and aa246-260 (44%), whereas the peptide specificities aa686-700 (50%) and aa741-755 (36%), were the most frequently detected in seronegative controls. In CCC-specific peptide-expanded T-cell cultures of seronegative individuals, the corresponding SARS-CoV-2 NSP12 peptide specificities also elicited responses in vitro. However, the NSP12 peptide-specific CD4+ T-cell response repertoire only partially overlapped in patients analyzed longitudinally before and after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Discussion The results of the current study indicate the presence of pre-primed, cross-reactive CCC-specific T-cell responses targeting conserved regions of SARS-CoV-2, but they also underline the complexity of the analysis and the limited understanding of the role of the SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell response and cross-reactivity with the CCCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Westphal
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maria Mader
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hendrik Karsten
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Leon Cords
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maximilian Knapp
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sophia Schulte
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lennart Hermanussen
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sven Peine
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Ditt
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alba Grifoni
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Marylyn Martina Addo
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany
- Department for Clinical Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Infection Research and Vaccine Development, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Samuel Huber
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alessandro Sette
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Marc Lütgehetmann
- German Center for Infection Research Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sven Pischke
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany
| | - William W. Kwok
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - John Sidney
- Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Julian Schulze zur Wiesch
- Infectious Diseases Unit I, Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany
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Moulana A, Dupic T, Phillips AM, Desai MM. Genotype-phenotype landscapes for immune-pathogen coevolution. Trends Immunol 2023; 44:384-396. [PMID: 37024340 PMCID: PMC10147585 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2023.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Our immune systems constantly coevolve with the pathogens that challenge them, as pathogens adapt to evade our defense responses, with our immune repertoires shifting in turn. These coevolutionary dynamics take place across a vast and high-dimensional landscape of potential pathogen and immune receptor sequence variants. Mapping the relationship between these genotypes and the phenotypes that determine immune-pathogen interactions is crucial for understanding, predicting, and controlling disease. Here, we review recent developments applying high-throughput methods to create large libraries of immune receptor and pathogen protein sequence variants and measure relevant phenotypes. We describe several approaches that probe different regions of the high-dimensional sequence space and comment on how combinations of these methods may offer novel insight into immune-pathogen coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alief Moulana
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Thomas Dupic
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Angela M Phillips
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Michael M Desai
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Quantitative Biology Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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