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Budczies J, Kazdal D, Menzel M, Beck S, Kluck K, Altbürger C, Schwab C, Allgäuer M, Ahadova A, Kloor M, Schirmacher P, Peters S, Krämer A, Christopoulos P, Stenzinger A. Tumour mutational burden: clinical utility, challenges and emerging improvements. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2024; 21:725-742. [PMID: 39192001 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-024-00932-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Tumour mutational burden (TMB), defined as the total number of somatic non-synonymous mutations present within the cancer genome, varies across and within cancer types. A first wave of retrospective and prospective research identified TMB as a predictive biomarker of response to immune-checkpoint inhibitors and culminated in the disease-agnostic approval of pembrolizumab for patients with TMB-high tumours based on data from the Keynote-158 trial. Although the applicability of outcomes from this trial to all cancer types and the optimal thresholds for TMB are yet to be ascertained, research into TMB is advancing along three principal avenues: enhancement of TMB assessments through rigorous quality control measures within the laboratory process, including the mitigation of confounding factors such as limited panel scope and low tumour purity; refinement of the traditional TMB framework through the incorporation of innovative concepts such as clonal, persistent or HLA-corrected TMB, tumour neoantigen load and mutational signatures; and integration of TMB with established and emerging biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression, microsatellite instability, immune gene expression profiles and the tumour immune contexture. Given its pivotal functions in both the pathogenesis of cancer and the ability of the immune system to recognize tumours, a profound comprehension of the foundational principles and the continued evolution of TMB are of paramount relevance for the field of oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Budczies
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Translational Lung Research Center (TLRC) Heidelberg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Daniel Kazdal
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center (TLRC) Heidelberg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Menzel
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Susanne Beck
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Klaus Kluck
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christian Altbürger
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Constantin Schwab
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Allgäuer
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Aysel Ahadova
- Department of Applied Tumour Biology, Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumour Biology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Matthias Kloor
- Department of Applied Tumour Biology, Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumour Biology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Schirmacher
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Solange Peters
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne University, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alwin Krämer
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Hematology/Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine V, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Petros Christopoulos
- Translational Lung Research Center (TLRC) Heidelberg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, Thoraxklinik and National Center for Tumour Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Albrecht Stenzinger
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Translational Lung Research Center (TLRC) Heidelberg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Center for Personalized Medicine (ZPM), Heidelberg, Germany.
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2
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Cieri N, Hookeri N, Stromhaug K, Li L, Keating J, Díaz-Fernández P, Gómez-García de Soria V, Stevens J, Kfuri-Rubens R, Shao Y, Kooshesh KA, Powell K, Ji H, Hernandez GM, Abelin J, Klaeger S, Forman C, Clauser KR, Sarkizova S, Braun DA, Penter L, Kim HT, Lane WJ, Oliveira G, Kean LS, Li S, Livak KJ, Carr SA, Keskin DB, Muñoz-Calleja C, Ho VT, Ritz J, Soiffer RJ, Neuberg D, Stewart C, Getz G, Wu CJ. Systematic identification of minor histocompatibility antigens predicts outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Nat Biotechnol 2024:10.1038/s41587-024-02348-3. [PMID: 39169264 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-024-02348-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
T cell alloreactivity against minor histocompatibility antigens (mHAgs)-polymorphic peptides resulting from donor-recipient (D-R) disparity at sites of genetic polymorphisms-is at the core of the therapeutic effect of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Despite the crucial role of mHAgs in graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) reactions, it remains challenging to consistently link patient-specific mHAg repertoires to clinical outcomes. Here we devise an analytic framework to systematically identify mHAgs, including their detection on HLA class I ligandomes and functional verification of their immunogenicity. The method relies on the integration of polymorphism detection by whole-exome sequencing of germline DNA from D-R pairs with organ-specific transcriptional- and proteome-level expression. Application of this pipeline to 220 HLA-matched allo-HCT D-R pairs demonstrated that total and organ-specific mHAg load could independently predict the occurrence of acute GvHD and chronic pulmonary GvHD, respectively, and defined promising GvL targets, confirmed in a validation cohort of 58 D-R pairs, for the prevention or treatment of post-transplant disease recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Cieri
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nidhi Hookeri
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kari Stromhaug
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Liang Li
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Julia Keating
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paula Díaz-Fernández
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IIS-IP), Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain
| | - Valle Gómez-García de Soria
- Department of Hematology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IIS-IP), Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jonathan Stevens
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Raphael Kfuri-Rubens
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yiren Shao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Kaila Powell
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Helen Ji
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gabrielle M Hernandez
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer Abelin
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Susan Klaeger
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Proteomic and Genomic Technologies, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Cleo Forman
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karl R Clauser
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Siranush Sarkizova
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David A Braun
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Livius Penter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Tumorimmunology, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Haesook T Kim
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William J Lane
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Giacomo Oliveira
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Leslie S Kean
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division Hematology/Oncology, Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shuqiang Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kenneth J Livak
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven A Carr
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Derin B Keskin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Translational Immunogenomics Lab, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Computer Science, Metropolitan College, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Section for Bioinformatics, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Cecilia Muñoz-Calleja
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IIS-IP), Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vincent T Ho
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jerome Ritz
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert J Soiffer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Donna Neuberg
- Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Chip Stewart
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gad Getz
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Catherine J Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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3
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Machaca V, Goyzueta V, Cruz MG, Sejje E, Pilco LM, López J, Túpac Y. Transformers meets neoantigen detection: a systematic literature review. J Integr Bioinform 2024; 21:jib-2023-0043. [PMID: 38960869 PMCID: PMC11377031 DOI: 10.1515/jib-2023-0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunology offers a new alternative to traditional cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. One notable alternative is the development of personalized vaccines based on cancer neoantigens. Moreover, Transformers are considered a revolutionary development in artificial intelligence with a significant impact on natural language processing (NLP) tasks and have been utilized in proteomics studies in recent years. In this context, we conducted a systematic literature review to investigate how Transformers are applied in each stage of the neoantigen detection process. Additionally, we mapped current pipelines and examined the results of clinical trials involving cancer vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Erika Sejje
- Universidad Nacional de San Agustín, Arequipa, Perú
| | | | | | - Yván Túpac
- 187038 Universidad Católica San Pablo , Arequipa, Perú
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4
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Huayamares SG, Loughrey D, Kim H, Dahlman JE, Sorscher EJ. Nucleic acid-based drugs for patients with solid tumours. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2024; 21:407-427. [PMID: 38589512 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-024-00883-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
The treatment of patients with advanced-stage solid tumours typically involves a multimodality approach (including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and/or immunotherapy), which is often ultimately ineffective. Nucleic acid-based drugs, either as monotherapies or in combination with standard-of-care therapies, are rapidly emerging as novel treatments capable of generating responses in otherwise refractory tumours. These therapies include those using viral vectors (also referred to as gene therapies), several of which have now been approved by regulatory agencies, and nanoparticles containing mRNAs and a range of other nucleotides. In this Review, we describe the development and clinical activity of viral and non-viral nucleic acid-based treatments, including their mechanisms of action, tolerability and available efficacy data from patients with solid tumours. We also describe the effects of the tumour microenvironment on drug delivery for both systemically administered and locally administered agents. Finally, we discuss important trends resulting from ongoing clinical trials and preclinical testing, and manufacturing and/or stability considerations that are expected to underpin the next generation of nucleic acid agents for patients with solid tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian G Huayamares
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - David Loughrey
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Hyejin Kim
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - James E Dahlman
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Eric J Sorscher
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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5
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Wu Y, Yu S, de Lázaro I. Advances in lipid nanoparticle mRNA therapeutics beyond COVID-19 vaccines. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:6820-6836. [PMID: 38502114 DOI: 10.1039/d4nr00019f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
The remarkable success of two lipid nanoparticle-mRNA vaccines against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has placed the therapeutic and prophylactic potential of messenger RNA (mRNA) in the spotlight. It has also drawn attention to the indispensable role of lipid nanoparticles in enabling the effects of this nucleic acid. To date, lipid nanoparticles are the most clinically advanced non-viral platforms for mRNA delivery. This is thanks to their favorable safety profile and efficiency in protecting the nucleic acid from degradation and allowing its cellular uptake and cytoplasmic release upon endosomal escape. Moreover, the development of lipid nanoparticle-mRNA therapeutics was already a very active area of research even before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has likely only begun to bear its fruits. In this Review, we first discuss key aspects of the development of lipid nanoparticles as mRNA carriers. We then highlight promising preclinical and clinical studies involving lipid nanoparticle-mRNA formulations against infectious diseases and cancer, and to enable protein replacement or supplementation and genome editing. Finally, we elaborate on the challenges in advancing lipid nanoparticle-mRNA technology to widespread therapeutic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeung Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, USA.
| | - Sinuo Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, USA.
| | - Irene de Lázaro
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, USA.
- Cardiovascular Research Center, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, USA
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, USA
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6
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Arulraj T, Wang H, Ippolito A, Zhang S, Fertig EJ, Popel AS. Leveraging multi-omics data to empower quantitative systems pharmacology in immuno-oncology. Brief Bioinform 2024; 25:bbae131. [PMID: 38557676 PMCID: PMC10982948 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbae131] [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: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the intricate interactions of cancer cells with the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a pre-requisite for the optimization of immunotherapy. Mechanistic models such as quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) provide insights into the TME dynamics and predict the efficacy of immunotherapy in virtual patient populations/digital twins but require vast amounts of multimodal data for parameterization. Large-scale datasets characterizing the TME are available due to recent advances in bioinformatics for multi-omics data. Here, we discuss the perspectives of leveraging omics-derived bioinformatics estimates to inform QSP models and circumvent the challenges of model calibration and validation in immuno-oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theinmozhi Arulraj
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Hanwen Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Alberto Ippolito
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shuming Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Elana J Fertig
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Aleksander S Popel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Oncology, and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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7
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Sverchkova A, Burkholz S, Rubsamen R, Stratford R, Clancy T. Integrative HLA typing of tumor and adjacent normal tissue can reveal insights into the tumor immune response. BMC Med Genomics 2024; 17:37. [PMID: 38281021 PMCID: PMC10821267 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-024-01808-8] [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: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The HLA complex is the most polymorphic region of the human genome, and its improved characterization can help us understand the genetics of human disease as well as the interplay between cancer and the immune system. The main function of HLA genes is to recognize "non-self" antigens and to present them on the cell surface to T cells, which instigate an immune response toward infected or transformed cells. While sequence variation in the antigen-binding groove of HLA may modulate the repertoire of immunogenic antigens presented to T cells, alterations in HLA expression can significantly influence the immune response to pathogens and cancer. METHODS RNA sequencing was used here to accurately genotype the HLA region and quantify and compare the level of allele-specific HLA expression in tumors and patient-matched adjacent normal tissue. The computational approach utilized in the study types classical and non-classical Class I and Class II HLA alleles from RNA-seq while simultaneously quantifying allele-specific or personalized HLA expression. The strategy also uses RNA-seq data to infer immune cell infiltration into tumors and the corresponding immune cell composition of matched normal tissue, to reveal potential insights related to T cell and NK cell interactions with tumor HLA alleles. RESULTS The genotyping method outperforms existing RNA-seq-based HLA typing tools for Class II HLA genotyping. Further, we demonstrate its potential for studying tumor-immune interactions by applying the method to tumor samples from two different subtypes of breast cancer and their matched normal breast tissue controls. CONCLUSIONS The integrative RNA-seq-based HLA typing approach described in the study, coupled with HLA expression analysis, neoantigen prediction and immune cell infiltration, may help increase our understanding of the interplay between a patient's tumor and immune system; and provide further insights into the immune mechanisms that determine a positive or negative outcome following treatment with immunotherapy such as checkpoint blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelina Sverchkova
- NEC OncoImmunity, Oslo Cancer Cluster, Innovation Park, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Scott Burkholz
- Flow Pharma, Inc, Warrensville Heights, Galaxy Parkway, OH, 4829, USA
| | - Reid Rubsamen
- Flow Pharma, Inc, Warrensville Heights, Galaxy Parkway, OH, 4829, USA
- University Hospitals, Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Richard Stratford
- NEC OncoImmunity, Oslo Cancer Cluster, Innovation Park, Oslo, Norway
| | - Trevor Clancy
- NEC OncoImmunity, Oslo Cancer Cluster, Innovation Park, Oslo, Norway.
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8
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Lin Z, Zou S, Wen K. The crosstalk of CD8+ T cells and ferroptosis in cancer. Front Immunol 2024; 14:1255443. [PMID: 38288118 PMCID: PMC10822999 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1255443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent, novel form of programmed cell death characterized by lipid peroxidation and glutathione depletion and is widespread in a variety of diseases. CD8+ T cells are the most important effector cells of cytotoxic T cells, capable of specifically recognizing and killing cancer cells. Traditionally, CD8+ T cells are thought to induce cancer cell death mainly through perforin and granzyme, and Fas-L/Fas binding. In recent years, CD8+ T cell-derived IFN-γ was found to promote cancer cell ferroptosis by multiple mechanisms, including upregulation of IRF1 and IRF8, and downregulation of the system XC-, while cancer cells ferroptosis was shown to enhance the anti-tumor effects of CD8+ T cell by heating the tumor immune microenvironment through the exposure and release of tumor-associated specific antigens, which results in a positive feedback pathway. Unfortunately, the intra-tumoral CD8+ T cells are more sensitive to ferroptosis than cancer cells, which limits the application of ferroptosis inducers in cancer. In addition, CD8+ T cells are susceptible to being regulated by other immune cell ferroptosis in the TME, such as tumor-associated macrophages, dendritic cells, Treg, and bone marrow-derived immunosuppressive cells. Together, these factors build a complex network of CD8+ T cells and ferroptosis in cancer. Therefore, we aim to integrate relevant studies to reveal the potential mechanisms of crosstalk between CD8+ T cells and ferroptosis, and to summarize preclinical models in cancer therapy to find new therapeutic strategies in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengjun Lin
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
- The First People's Hospital of Zunyi, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Songzhu Zou
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
| | - Kunming Wen
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
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9
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Ricker CA, Meli K, Van Allen EM. Historical perspective and future directions: computational science in immuno-oncology. J Immunother Cancer 2024; 12:e008306. [PMID: 38191244 PMCID: PMC10826578 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Immuno-oncology holds promise for transforming patient care having achieved durable clinical response rates across a variety of advanced and metastatic cancers. Despite these achievements, only a minority of patients respond to immunotherapy, underscoring the importance of elucidating molecular mechanisms responsible for response and resistance to inform the development and selection of treatments. Breakthroughs in molecular sequencing technologies have led to the generation of an immense amount of genomic and transcriptomic sequencing data that can be mined to uncover complex tumor-immune interactions using computational tools. In this review, we discuss existing and emerging computational methods that contextualize the composition and functional state of the tumor microenvironment, infer the reactivity and clonal dynamics from reconstructed immune cell receptor repertoires, and predict the antigenic landscape for immune cell recognition. We further describe the advantage of multi-omics analyses for capturing multidimensional relationships and artificial intelligence techniques for integrating omics data with histopathological and radiological images to encapsulate patterns of treatment response and tumor-immune biology. Finally, we discuss key challenges impeding their widespread use and clinical application and conclude with future perspectives. We are hopeful that this review will both serve as a guide for prospective researchers seeking to use existing tools for scientific discoveries and inspire the optimization or development of novel tools to enhance precision, ultimately expediting advancements in immunotherapy that improve patient survival and quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cora A Ricker
- Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kevin Meli
- Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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10
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Li X, You J, Hong L, Liu W, Guo P, Hao X. Neoantigen cancer vaccines: a new star on the horizon. Cancer Biol Med 2023; 21:j.issn.2095-3941.2023.0395. [PMID: 38164734 PMCID: PMC11033713 DOI: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2023.0395] [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: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy represents a promising strategy for cancer treatment that utilizes immune cells or drugs to activate the patient's own immune system and eliminate cancer cells. One of the most exciting advances within this field is the targeting of neoantigens, which are peptides derived from non-synonymous somatic mutations that are found exclusively within cancer cells and absent in normal cells. Although neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccines have not received approval for standard cancer treatment, early clinical trials have yielded encouraging outcomes as standalone monotherapy or when combined with checkpoint inhibitors. Progress made in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics have greatly facilitated the precise and efficient identification of neoantigens. Consequently, personalized neoantigen-based vaccines tailored to each patient have been developed that are capable of eliciting a robust and long-lasting immune response which effectively eliminates tumors and prevents recurrences. This review provides a concise overview consolidating the latest clinical advances in neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccines, and also discusses challenges and future perspectives for this innovative approach, particularly emphasizing the potential of neoantigen-based therapeutic vaccines to enhance clinical efficacy against advanced solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoling Li
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300090, China
| | - Jian You
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- Department of Thoracic Oncology Surgery, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
| | - Liping Hong
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300090, China
| | - Weijiang Liu
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300090, China
| | - Peng Guo
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300090, China
| | - Xishan Hao
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300090, China
- Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
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11
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Shah RK, Cygan E, Kozlik T, Colina A, Zamora AE. Utilizing immunogenomic approaches to prioritize targetable neoantigens for personalized cancer immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1301100. [PMID: 38149253 PMCID: PMC10749952 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1301100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Advancements in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics algorithms have expanded our ability to identify tumor-specific somatic mutation-derived antigens (neoantigens). While recent studies have shown neoantigens to be compelling targets for cancer immunotherapy due to their foreign nature and high immunogenicity, the need for increasingly accurate and cost-effective approaches to rapidly identify neoantigens remains a challenging task, but essential for successful cancer immunotherapy. Currently, gene expression analysis and algorithms for variant calling can be used to generate lists of mutational profiles across patients, but more care is needed to curate these lists and prioritize the candidate neoantigens most capable of inducing an immune response. A growing amount of evidence suggests that only a handful of somatic mutations predicted by mutational profiling approaches act as immunogenic neoantigens. Hence, unbiased screening of all candidate neoantigens predicted by Whole Genome Sequencing/Whole Exome Sequencing may be necessary to more comprehensively access the full spectrum of immunogenic neoepitopes. Once putative cancer neoantigens are identified, one of the largest bottlenecks in translating these neoantigens into actionable targets for cell-based therapies is identifying the cognate T cell receptors (TCRs) capable of recognizing these neoantigens. While many TCR-directed screening and validation assays have utilized bulk samples in the past, there has been a recent surge in the number of single-cell assays that provide a more granular understanding of the factors governing TCR-pMHC interactions. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of existing strategies to identify candidate neoantigens using genomics-based approaches and methods for assessing neoantigen immunogenicity. Additionally, applications, prospects, and limitations of some of the current single-cell technologies will be discussed. Finally, we will briefly summarize some of the recent models that have been used to predict TCR antigen specificity and analyze the TCR receptor repertoire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi K. Shah
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Erin Cygan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Tanya Kozlik
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Alfredo Colina
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Anthony E. Zamora
- Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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12
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Zhu Y, Li X, Chen T, Wang J, Zhou Y, Mu X, Du Y, Wang J, Tang J, Liu J. Personalised neoantigen-based therapy in colorectal cancer. Clin Transl Med 2023; 13:e1461. [PMID: 37921274 PMCID: PMC10623652 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become one of the most common tumours with high morbidity, mortality and distinctive evolution mechanism. The neoantigens arising from the somatic mutations have become considerable treatment targets in the management of CRC. As cancer-specific aberrant peptides, neoantigens can trigger the robust host immune response and exert anti-tumour effects while minimising the emergence of adverse events commonly associated with alternative therapeutic regimens. In this review, we summarised the mechanism, generation, identification and prognostic significance of neoantigens, as well as therapeutic strategies challenges of neoantigen-based therapy in CRC. The evidence suggests that the establishment of personalised neoantigen-based therapy holds great promise as an effective treatment approach for patients with CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya‐Juan Zhu
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Xiong Li
- Department of GastroenterologyThe Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Ting‐Ting Chen
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou UniversityLanzhouChina
| | - Jia‐Xiang Wang
- Department of Renal Cancer and MelanomaPeking University Cancer Hospital & InstituteBeijingChina
| | - Yi‐Xin Zhou
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Xiao‐Li Mu
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Yang Du
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Jia‐Ling Wang
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Jie Tang
- Clinical Trial CenterWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Ji‐Yan Liu
- Department of Biotherapy and Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of BiotherapyWest China HospitalSichuan UniversityChengduChina
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13
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Godazandeh K, Van Olmen L, Van Oudenhove L, Lefever S, Bogaert C, Fant B. Methods behind neoantigen prediction for personalized anticancer vaccines. Methods Cell Biol 2023; 183:161-186. [PMID: 38548411 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2023.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Next to conventional cancer therapies, immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors have broadened the cancer treatment landscape over the past decades. Recent advances in next generation sequencing and bioinformatics technologies have made it possible to identify a patient's own immunogenic neoantigens. These cancer neoantigens serve as important targets for personalized immunotherapy which has the benefit of being more active and effective in targeting cancer cells. This paper is a step-by-step guide discussing the different analyses and challenges encountered during in-silico neoantigen prediction. The protocol describes all the tools and steps required for the identification of immunogenic neoantigens.
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14
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Ohta S, Misawa A, Kyi-Tha-Thu C, Matsumoto N, Hirose Y, Kawakami Y. Melanoma antigens recognized by T cells and their use for immunotherapy. Exp Dermatol 2023; 32:297-305. [PMID: 36607252 DOI: 10.1111/exd.14741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Melanoma has been a prototype for cancer immunology research, and the mechanisms of anti-tumor T-cell responses have been extensively investigated in patients treated with various immunotherapies. Individual differences in cancer-immune status are defined mainly by cancer cell characteristics such as DNA mutations generating immunogenic neo-antigens, and oncogene activation causing immunosuppression, but also by patients' genetic backgrounds such as HLA types and genetic polymorphisms of immune related molecules, and environmental and lifestyle factors such as UV rays, smoking, gut microbiota and concomitant medications; these factors have an influence on the efficacy of immunotherapy. Recent comparative studies on responders and non-responders in immune-checkpoint inhibitor therapy using various new technologies including multi-omics analyses on genomic DNA, mRNA, metabolites and microbiota and single cell analyses of various immune cells have led to the advance of human tumor immunology and the development of new immunotherapy. Based on the new findings from these investigations, personalized cancer immunotherapies along with appropriate biomarkers and therapeutic targets are being developed for patients with melanoma. Here, we will discuss one of the essential subjects in tumor immunology: identification of immunogenic tumor antigens and their effective use in various immunotherapies including cancer vaccines and adoptive T-cell therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeki Ohta
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
- Division of Cellular Signaling, Institute for Advanced Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Aya Misawa
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
| | - Chaw Kyi-Tha-Thu
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
| | - Naomi Matsumoto
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yoshie Hirose
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yutaka Kawakami
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan
- Division of Cellular Signaling, Institute for Advanced Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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15
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Tripodi L, Sasso E, Feola S, Coluccino L, Vitale M, Leoni G, Szomolay B, Pastore L, Cerullo V. Systems Biology Approaches for the Improvement of Oncolytic Virus-Based Immunotherapies. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:1297. [PMID: 36831638 PMCID: PMC9954314 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic virus (OV)-based immunotherapy is mainly dependent on establishing an efficient cell-mediated antitumor immunity. OV-mediated antitumor immunity elicits a renewed antitumor reactivity, stimulating a T-cell response against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and recruiting natural killer cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite the fact that OVs are unspecific cancer vaccine platforms, to further enhance antitumor immunity, it is crucial to identify the potentially immunogenic T-cell restricted TAAs, the main key orchestrators in evoking a specific and durable cytotoxic T-cell response. Today, innovative approaches derived from systems biology are exploited to improve target discovery in several types of cancer and to identify the MHC-I and II restricted peptide repertoire recognized by T-cells. Using specific computation pipelines, it is possible to select the best tumor peptide candidates that can be efficiently vectorized and delivered by numerous OV-based platforms, in order to reinforce anticancer immune responses. Beyond the identification of TAAs, system biology can also support the engineering of OVs with improved oncotropism to reduce toxicity and maintain a sufficient portion of the wild-type virus virulence. Finally, these technologies can also pave the way towards a more rational design of armed OVs where a transgene of interest can be delivered to TME to develop an intratumoral gene therapy to enhance specific immune stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorella Tripodi
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Emanuele Sasso
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Sara Feola
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM), University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ludovica Coluccino
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Vitale
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Guido Leoni
- Nouscom Srl, via Castel Romano 100, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Szomolay
- Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4YS, UK
| | - Lucio Pastore
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Cerullo
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM), University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
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16
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Sun H, Zhang Y, Wang G, Yang W, Xu Y. mRNA-Based Therapeutics in Cancer Treatment. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15020622. [PMID: 36839944 PMCID: PMC9964383 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past two decades, significant technological innovations have led to messenger RNA (mRNA) becoming a promising option for developing prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, protein replacement therapies, and genome engineering. The success of the two COVID-19 mRNA vaccines has sparked new enthusiasm for other medical applications, particularly in cancer treatment. In vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNAs are structurally designed to resemble naturally occurring mature mRNA. Delivery of IVT mRNA via delivery platforms such as lipid nanoparticles allows host cells to produce many copies of encoded proteins, which can serve as antigens to stimulate immune responses or as additional beneficial proteins for supplements. mRNA-based cancer therapeutics include mRNA cancer vaccines, mRNA encoding cytokines, chimeric antigen receptors, tumor suppressors, and other combination therapies. To better understand the current development and research status of mRNA therapies for cancer treatment, this review focused on the molecular design, delivery systems, and clinical indications of mRNA therapies in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Ge Wang
- Department of Oral Maxillofacial & Head and Neck Oncology, National Center of Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Disease, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China
| | - Wen Yang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yingjie Xu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
- Correspondence:
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17
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Neoantigens: promising targets for cancer therapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8:9. [PMID: 36604431 PMCID: PMC9816309 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-01270-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 205] [Impact Index Per Article: 205.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in neoantigen research have accelerated the development and regulatory approval of tumor immunotherapies, including cancer vaccines, adoptive cell therapy and antibody-based therapies, especially for solid tumors. Neoantigens are newly formed antigens generated by tumor cells as a result of various tumor-specific alterations, such as genomic mutation, dysregulated RNA splicing, disordered post-translational modification, and integrated viral open reading frames. Neoantigens are recognized as non-self and trigger an immune response that is not subject to central and peripheral tolerance. The quick identification and prediction of tumor-specific neoantigens have been made possible by the advanced development of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic technologies. Compared to tumor-associated antigens, the highly immunogenic and tumor-specific neoantigens provide emerging targets for personalized cancer immunotherapies, and serve as prospective predictors for tumor survival prognosis and immune checkpoint blockade responses. The development of cancer therapies will be aided by understanding the mechanism underlying neoantigen-induced anti-tumor immune response and by streamlining the process of neoantigen-based immunotherapies. This review provides an overview on the identification and characterization of neoantigens and outlines the clinical applications of prospective immunotherapeutic strategies based on neoantigens. We also explore their current status, inherent challenges, and clinical translation potential.
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18
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The Function of DNA and RNA Nanovaccines in the Treatment of Cancer. Cancer Nanotechnol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-17831-3_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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19
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Alonso-Miguel D, Fiering S, Arias-Pulido H. Proactive Immunotherapeutic Approaches against Inflammatory Breast Cancer May Improve Patient Outcomes. Cells 2022; 11:2850. [PMID: 36139425 PMCID: PMC9497132 DOI: 10.3390/cells11182850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is highly metastatic at the onset of the disease with no IBC-specific treatments, resulting in dismal patient survival. IBC treatment is a clear unmet clinical need. This commentary highlights findings from a recent seminal approach in which pembrolizumab, a checkpoint inhibitor against programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), was provided to a triple-negative IBC patient as a neoadjuvant immune therapy combined with anthracycline-taxane-based chemotherapy. We highlight the findings of the case report and offer a perspective on taking a proactive approach to deploy approved immune checkpoint inhibitors. On the basis of our recently published research study, we propose in situ vaccination with direct injection of immunostimulatory agents into the tumor as an option to improve outcomes safely, effectively, and economically for IBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Alonso-Miguel
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Medicine School, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Steven Fiering
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Dartmouth Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Dartmouth Hitchcock Health, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Hugo Arias-Pulido
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Dartmouth Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Dartmouth Hitchcock Health, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
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