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Duong MT, Collinson-Pautz MR, Morschl E, Lu A, Szymanski SP, Zhang M, Brandt ME, Chang WC, Sharp KL, Toler SM, Slawin KM, Foster AE, Spencer DM, Bayle JH. Two-Dimensional Regulation of CAR-T Cell Therapy with Orthogonal Switches. MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS 2018; 12:124-137. [PMID: 30740516 PMCID: PMC6357218 DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2018.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Use of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) as the basis of targeted adoptive T cell therapies has enabled dramatic efficacy against multiple hematopoietic malignancies, but potency against bulky and solid tumors has lagged, potentially due to insufficient CAR-T cell expansion and persistence. To improve CAR-T cell efficacy, we utilized a potent activation switch based on rimiducid-inducible MyD88 and CD40 (iMC)-signaling elements. To offset potential toxicity risks by this enhanced CAR, an orthogonally regulated, rapamycin-induced, caspase-9-based safety switch (iRC9) was developed to allow in vivo elimination of CAR-T cells. iMC costimulation induced by systemic rimiducid administration enhanced CAR-T cell proliferation, cytokine secretion, and antitumor efficacy in both in vitro assays and xenograft tumor models. Conversely, rapamycin-mediated iRC9 dimerization rapidly induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent fashion as an approach to mitigate therapy-related toxicity. This novel, regulatable dual-switch system may promote greater CAR-T cell expansion and prolonged persistence in a drug-dependent manner while providing a safety switch to mitigate toxicity concerns.
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Affiliation(s)
- MyLinh T Duong
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | - Eva Morschl
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - An Lu
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Slawomir P Szymanski
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ming Zhang
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mary E Brandt
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Wei-Chun Chang
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Kelly L Sharp
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Steven M Toler
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Kevin M Slawin
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Aaron E Foster
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - David M Spencer
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - J Henri Bayle
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, 2130 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Genetic Adjuvantation of a Cell-Based Therapeutic Vaccine for Amelioration of Chagasic Cardiomyopathy. Infect Immun 2017; 85:IAI.00127-17. [PMID: 28674032 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00127-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease, caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a leading cause of heart disease ("chagasic cardiomyopathy") in Latin America, disproportionately affecting people in resource-poor areas. The efficacy of currently approved pharmaceutical treatments is limited mainly to acute infection, and there are no effective treatments for the chronic phase of the disease. Preclinical models of Chagas disease have demonstrated that antigen-specific CD8+ gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-positive T-cell responses are essential for reducing parasite burdens, increasing survival, and decreasing cardiac pathology in both the acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease. In the present study, we developed a genetically adjuvanted, dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic for acute Chagas disease in an attempt to delay or prevent the cardiac complications that eventually result from chronic T. cruzi infection. Dendritic cells transduced with the adjuvant, an adenoviral vector encoding a dominant negative isoform of Src homology region 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) along with the T. cruzi Tc24 antigen and trans-sialidase antigen 1 (TSA1), induced significant numbers of antigen-specific CD8+ IFN-γ-positive cells following injection into BALB/c mice. A vaccine platform transduced with the adenoviral vector and loaded in tandem with the recombinant protein reduced parasite burdens by 76% to >99% in comparison to a variety of different controls and significantly reduced cardiac pathology in a BALB/c mouse model of live Chagas disease. Although no statistical differences in overall survival rates among cohorts were observed, the data suggest that immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of acute Chagas disease are feasible and that this approach may warrant further study.
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Collinson-Pautz MR, Slawin KM, Levitt JM, Spencer DM. MyD88/CD40 Genetic Adjuvant Function in Cutaneous Atypical Antigen-Presenting Cells Contributes to DNA Vaccine Immunogenicity. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164547. [PMID: 27741278 PMCID: PMC5065236 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic DNA-based vaccines aim to prime an adaptive host immune response against tumor-associated antigens, eliminating cancer cells primarily through CD8+ cytotoxic T cell-mediated destruction. To be optimally effective, immunological adjuvants are required for the activation of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells responses by DNA vaccination. Here, we describe enhanced anti-tumor efficacy of an in vivo electroporation-delivered DNA vaccine by inclusion of a genetically encoded chimeric MyD88/CD40 (MC) adjuvant, which integrates both innate and adaptive immune signaling pathways. When incorporated into a DNA vaccine, signaling by the MC adjuvant increased antigen-specific CD8+ T cells and promoted elimination of pre-established tumors. Interestingly, MC-enhanced vaccine efficacy did not require direct-expression of either antigen or adjuvant by local antigen-presenting cells, but rather our data supports a key role for MC function in "atypical" antigen-presenting cells of skin. In particular, MC adjuvant-modified keratinocytes increased inflammatory cytokine secretion, upregulated surface MHC class I, and were able to increase in vitro and in vivo priming of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, in the absence of critical CD8α+/CD103+ cross-priming dendritic cells, MC was still able to promote immune priming in vivo, albeit at a reduced level. Altogether, our data support a mechanism by which MC signaling activates an inflammatory phenotype in atypical antigen-presenting cells within the cutaneous vaccination site, leading to an enhanced CD8+ T cell response against DNA vaccine-encoded antigens, through both CD8α+/CD103+ dendritic cell-dependent and independent pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R. Collinson-Pautz
- Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Kevin M. Slawin
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - Jonathan M. Levitt
- Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
| | - David M. Spencer
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America
- Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Houston, TX, United States of America
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Engineered Human Ferritin Nanoparticles for Direct Delivery of Tumor Antigens to Lymph Node and Cancer Immunotherapy. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35182. [PMID: 27725782 PMCID: PMC5057094 DOI: 10.1038/srep35182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient delivery of tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) to lymph nodes (LNs) is essential to eliciting robust immune response for cancer immunotherapy but still remains unsolved. Herein, we evaluated the direct LN-targeting performance of four different protein nanoparticles with different size, shape, and origin [Escherichia coli DNA binding protein (DPS), Thermoplasma acidophilum proteasome (PTS), hepatitis B virus capsid (HBVC), and human ferritin heavy chain (hFTN)] in live mice, using an optical fluorescence imaging system. Based on the imaging results, hFTN that shows rapid LN targeting and prolonged retention in LNs was chosen as a carrier of the model TSA [red fluorescence protein (RFP)], and the flexible surface architecture of hFTN was engineered to densely present RFPs on the hFTN surface through genetic modification of subunit protein of hFTN. The RFP-modified hFTN rapidly targeted LNs, sufficiently exposed RFPs to LN immune cells during prolonged period of retention in LNs, induced strong RFP-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cell response, and notably inhibited RFP-expressing melanoma tumor growth in live mice. This suggests that the strategy using protein nanoparticles as both TSA-carrying scaffold and anti-cancer vaccine holds promise for clinically effective immunotherapy of cancer.
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Kemnade JO, Seethammagari M, Collinson-Pautz M, Kaur H, Spencer DM, McCormick AA. Tobacco mosaic virus efficiently targets DC uptake, activation and antigen-specific T cell responses in vivo. Vaccine 2014; 32:4228-33. [PMID: 24923637 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2013] [Revised: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, dendritic cells (DCs) have been utilized to activate immune responses capable of eliminating cancer cells. Currently, ex vivo DC priming has been the mainstay of DC cancer immunotherapies. However, cell-based treatment modalities are inherently flawed due to a lack of standardization, specialized facilities and personnel, and cost. Therefore, direct modes of DC manipulation, circumventing the need for ex vivo culture, must be investigated. To facilitate the development of next-generation, in vivo targeted DC vaccines, we characterized the DC interaction and activation potential of the Tobacco Mosaic virus (TMV), a plant virus that enjoys a relative ease of production and the ability to deliver protein payloads via surface conjugation. In this study we show that TMV is readily taken up by mouse bone marrow-derived DCs, in vitro. Footpad injection of fluorophore-labeled TMV reveals preferential uptake by draining lymph node resident DCs in vivo. Uptake leads to activation, as measured by the upregulation of key DC surface markers. When peptide antigen-conjugated TMV is injected into the footpad of mice, DC-mediated uptake and activation leads to robust antigen-specific CD8(+) T cell responses, as measured by antigen-specific tetramer analysis. Remarkably, TMV priming induced a greater magnitude T cell response than Adenovirus (Ad) priming. Finally, TMV is capable of boosting either Ad-induced or TMV-induced antigen-specific T cell responses, demonstrating that TMV, uniquely, does not induce neutralizing self-immunity. Overall, this study elucidates the in vivo DC delivery and activation properties of TMV and indicates its potential as a vaccine vector in stand alone or prime-boost strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Hardeep Kaur
- Touro University California, Vallejo, CA, United States.
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