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Sheikhlary S, Lopez DH, Moghimi S, Sun B. Recent Findings on Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines: An Updated Review. Biomolecules 2024; 14:503. [PMID: 38672519 PMCID: PMC11048403 DOI: 10.3390/biom14040503] [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: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer remains one of the global leading causes of death and various vaccines have been developed over the years against it, including cell-based, nucleic acid-based, and viral-based cancer vaccines. Although many vaccines have been effective in in vivo and clinical studies and some have been FDA-approved, there are major limitations to overcome: (1) developing one universal vaccine for a specific cancer is difficult, as tumors with different antigens are different for different individuals, (2) the tumor antigens may be similar to the body's own antigens, and (3) there is the possibility of cancer recurrence. Therefore, developing personalized cancer vaccines with the ability to distinguish between the tumor and the body's antigens is indispensable. This paper provides a comprehensive review of different types of cancer vaccines and highlights important factors necessary for developing efficient cancer vaccines. Moreover, the application of other technologies in cancer therapy is discussed. Finally, several insights and conclusions are presented, such as the possibility of using cold plasma and cancer stem cells in developing future cancer vaccines, to tackle the major limitations in the cancer vaccine developmental process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sheikhlary
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - David Humberto Lopez
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (D.H.L.); (S.M.)
| | - Sophia Moghimi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (D.H.L.); (S.M.)
| | - Bo Sun
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (D.H.L.); (S.M.)
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2
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Zhou S, Song Y, Luo Y, Quinn B, Jiao Y, Long MD, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. Identification of Enhanced Vaccine Mimotopes for the p15E Murine Cancer Antigen. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:958-969. [PMID: 38506662 PMCID: PMC10986479 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Mimotopes of short CD8+ T-cell epitopes generally comprise one or more mutated residues, and can increase the immunogenicity and function of peptide cancer vaccines. We recently developed a two-step approach to generate enhanced mimotopes using positional peptide microlibraries and herein applied this strategy to the broadly used H-2Kb-restricted murine leukemia p15E tumor rejection epitope. The wild-type p15E epitope (sequence: KSPWFTTL) was poorly immunogenic in mice, even when combined with a potent peptide nanoparticle vaccine system and did not delay p15E-expressing MC38 tumor growth. Following positional microlibrary functional screening of over 150 mimotope candidates, two were identified, both with mutations at residue 3 (p15E-P3C; "3C," and p15E-P3M; "3M") that better induced p15E-specific CD8+ T cells and led to tumor rejection. Although 3M was more immunogenic, 3C effectively delayed tumor growth in a therapeutic setting relative to the wild-type p15E. As 3C had less H-2Kb affinity relative to both p15E and 3M, 15 additional mimotope candidates (all that incorporated the 3C mutation) were assessed that maintained or improved predicted MHC-I affinity. Valine substitution at position 2 (3C2V, sequence: KVCWFTTL) led to improved p15E-specific immunogenicity, tumor rejection, and subsequent long-term antitumor immunity. 3C, 3M, and 3C2V mimotopes were more effective than p15E in controlling MC38 and B16-F10 tumors. T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing revealed unique TCR transcripts for mimotopes, but there were no major differences in clonality. These results provide new p15E mimotopes for further vaccine use and illustrate considerations for MHC-I affinity, immunogenicity, and functional efficacy in mimotope design. SIGNIFICANCE The MHC-I-restricted p15E tumor rejection epitope is expressed in multiple murine cancer lines and is used as a marker of antitumor cellular immunity, but has seen limited success as a vaccine immunogen. An in vivo screening approach based on a positional peptide microlibraries is used to identify enhanced p15E mimotopes bearing amino acid mutations that induce significantly improved functional immunogenicity relative to vaccination with the wild-type epitope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiqi Zhou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Yiting Song
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Yuan Luo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Breandan Quinn
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Yang Jiao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Mark D. Long
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Scott I. Abrams
- Department of Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York
| | - Jonathan F. Lovell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
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3
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Sun L, Morikawa K, Sogo Y, Sugiura Y. MHY1485 potentiates immunogenic cell death induction and anti-cancer immunity following irradiation. JOURNAL OF RADIATION RESEARCH 2024; 65:205-214. [PMID: 38330507 PMCID: PMC10959436 DOI: 10.1093/jrr/rrad107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Recent in vitro experiments showed that combined treatment with MHY1485, a low-molecular-weight compound, and X-ray irradiation significantly increased apoptosis and senescence in tumor cells, which was associated with oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and p21 stabilization, compared to radiation treatment alone. However, evidence for MHY1485 treatment-mediated suppression of tumor growth in animals is still lacking. Furthermore, it has been shown that ER stress enhances immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, as it can exert a favorable influence on the anti-cancer immune system. In the present study, we examined whether co-treatment of MHY1485 and X-ray irradiation induces ICD and in vivo tumor growth suppression using the CT26 and Lewis lung carcinoma murine tumor cell lines. We found that MHY1485 + X-ray treatment promotes ICD more effectively than X-ray treatment alone. MHY1485 suppresses tumor growth in vivo under co-treatment with X-rays and increases INF-γ, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-2 and interleukin-12 levels in the spleen as well as the presence of CD8+ cells in the tumor. The results suggest that MHY1485 treatment leads to the conversion of irradiated tumors into effective vaccines. Thus, MHY1485 is a promising lead compound for use in combination with radiotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lue Sun
- Health and Medical Research Institute, Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Kumi Morikawa
- Health and Medical Research Institute, Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Yu Sogo
- Health and Medical Research Institute, Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
| | - Yuki Sugiura
- Health and Medical Research Institute, Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 2217-14, Hayashi-cho, Takamatsu, Kagawa 761-0895, Japan
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4
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Russo S, Feola S, Feodoroff M, Chiaro J, Antignani G, Fusciello M, D’Alessio F, Hamdan F, Pellinen T, Mölsä R, Tripodi L, Pastore L, Grönholm M, Cerullo V. Low-dose decitabine enhances the efficacy of viral cancer vaccines for immunotherapy. MOLECULAR THERAPY. ONCOLOGY 2024; 32:200766. [PMID: 38596301 PMCID: PMC10869747 DOI: 10.1016/j.omton.2024.200766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy requires a specific antitumor CD8+ T cell-driven immune response; however, upon genetic and epigenetic alterations of the antigen processing and presenting components, cancer cells escape the CD8+ T cell recognition. As a result, poorly immunogenic tumors are refractory to conventional immunotherapy. In this context, the use of viral cancer vaccines in combination with hypomethylating agents represents a promising strategy to prevent cancer from escaping immune system recognition. In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity of melanoma (B16-expressing ovalbumin) and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (4T1) cell lines to FDA-approved low-dose decitabine in combination with PeptiCRAd, an adenoviral anticancer vaccine. The two models showed different sensitivity to decitabine in vitro and in vivo when combined with PeptiCRAd. In particular, mice bearing syngeneic 4T1 cancer showed higher tumor growth control when receiving the combinatorial treatment compared to single controls in association with a higher expression of MHC class I on cancer cells and reduction in Tregs within the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, remodeling of the CD8+ T cell infiltration and cytotoxic activity toward cancer cells confirmed the effect of decitabine in enhancing anticancer vaccines in immunotherapy regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore Russo
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sara Feola
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michaela Feodoroff
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jacopo Chiaro
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Gabriella Antignani
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Manlio Fusciello
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Federica D’Alessio
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University, 24 Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Firas Hamdan
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Teijo Pellinen
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Riikka Mölsä
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lorella Tripodi
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University, 24 Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore s.c.a.r.l, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Lucio Pastore
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University, 24 Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
- CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate Franco Salvatore s.c.a.r.l, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Mikaela Grönholm
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vincenzo Cerullo
- Drug Research Program (DRP), ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVT), Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 33, 00710 Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Program (TRIMM), Faculty of Medicine Helsinki University, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship (iCAN), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University, 24 Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
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5
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Meng J, Tan JYT, Joseph CR, Ye J, Lim JCT, Goh D, Xue Y, Lim X, Koh VCY, Wee F, Tay TKY, Chan JY, Ng CCY, Iqbal J, Lau MC, Lim HE, Toh HC, Teh BT, Dent RA, Tan PH, Yeong JPS. The Prognostic Value of CD39 as a Marker of Tumor-Specific T Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Asian Women. J Transl Med 2024; 104:100303. [PMID: 38103870 DOI: 10.1016/j.labinv.2023.100303] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poor prognosis with limited therapeutic options available for affected patients. Efforts are ongoing to identify surrogate markers for tumor-specific CD8+ T cells that can predict the response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies, such as programmed cell death protein 1 or programmed cell death ligand-1 blockade. We have previously identified tumor-specific CD39+CD8+ T cells in non-small cell lung cancer that might help predict patient responses to programmed cell death protein 1 or programmed cell death ligand-1 blockade. Based on this finding, we conducted a comparative interrogation of TNBC in an Asian cohort to evaluate the potential of CD39 as a surrogate marker of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells. Using ICI-treated TNBC mouse models (n = 24), flow cytometric analyses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes revealed that >99% of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells also expressed CD39. To investigate the relationship between CD39+CD8+ T-cell density and CD39 expression with disease prognosis, we performed multiplex immunohistochemistry staining on treatment-naive human TNBC tissues (n = 315). We saw that the proportion of CD39+CD8+ T cells in human TNBC tumors correlated with improved overall survival, as did the densities of other CD39+ immune cell infiltrates, such as CD39+CD68+ macrophages. Finally, increased CD39 expression on CD8+ T cells was also found to predict the response to ICI therapy (pembrolizumab) in a separate cohort of 11 TNBC patients. These findings support the potential of CD39+CD8+ T-cell density as a prognostic factor in Asian TNBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Meng
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Jing Ying Tira Tan
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Craig Ryan Joseph
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Jiangfeng Ye
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Jeffrey Chun Tatt Lim
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Denise Goh
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Yuezhen Xue
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Xinru Lim
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Valerie Cui Yun Koh
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Felicia Wee
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Timothy Kwang Yong Tay
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | | | | | - Jabed Iqbal
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Mai Chan Lau
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Hsuen Elaine Lim
- National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Han Chong Toh
- National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Bin Tean Teh
- National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Rebecca Alexandra Dent
- Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Puay Hoon Tan
- KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Luma Women's Imaging Centre/Medical Centre, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Joe Poh Sheng Yeong
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
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6
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Ferrari V, Lo Cascio A, Melacarne A, Tanasković N, Mozzarelli AM, Tiraboschi L, Lizier M, Salvi M, Braga D, Algieri F, Penna G, Rescigno M. Sensitizing cancer cells to immune checkpoint inhibitors by microbiota-mediated upregulation of HLA class I. Cancer Cell 2023; 41:1717-1730.e4. [PMID: 37738976 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Recent data have shown that gut microbiota has a major impact on the clinical response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the context of solid tumors. ICI-based therapy acts by unlocking cognate cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector responses, and increased sensitivity to ICIs is due to an enhancement of patients' tumor antigen (TA)-specific CTL responses. Cancer clearance by TA-specific CTL requires expression of relevant TAs on cancer cells' HLA class I molecules, and reduced HLA class I expression is a common mechanism used by cancer cells to evade the immune system. Here, we show that metabolites released by bacteria, in particular, phytosphingosine, can upregulate HLA class I expression on cancer cells, sensitizing them to TA-specific CTL lysis in vitro and in vivo, in combination with immunotherapy. This effect is mediated by postbiotic-induced upregulation of NLRC5 in response to upstream MYD88-NF-κB activation, thus significantly controlling tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonino Lo Cascio
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessia Melacarne
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro M Mozzarelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Tiraboschi
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Michela Lizier
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Marta Salvi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Braga
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Giuseppe Penna
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy; Postbiotica S.r.l, Milan 20123, Italy
| | - Maria Rescigno
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
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7
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Lei J, Zhou Z, Fang J, Sun Z, He M, He B, Chen Q, Paek C, Chen P, Zhou J, Wang H, Tang M, Yin L, Chen Y. Aspirin induces immunogenic cell death and enhances cancer immunotherapy in colorectal cancer. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 121:110350. [PMID: 37290325 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The use of aspirin is associated with reduced incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we reported that colon cancer cells treated with aspirin showed the hallmarks of immunogenic cell death (ICD), including surface expression of calreticulin (CRT) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). Mechanistically, aspirin induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in colon cancer cells. In addition, aspirin decreased the expression of the glucose transporters, GLUT3, and reduced the key enzyme of glycolysis, including HK2, PFKM, PKM2 and LDHA. The changes of tumor glycolysis after aspirin treatment were associated with c-MYC downregulation. Moreover, aspirin potentiated the antitumor efficacy of anti-PD-1 antibody and anti-CTLA-4 antibody in CT26 tumors. However, this antitumor activity of aspirin in combination with anti-PD-1 antibody was abolished by the depletion of CD8+ T cells. Vaccination with tumor antigens is one of the strategies for activating T-cell response against tumors. Here, we demonstrated that aspirin-treated tumor cells in combination with tumor antigens (AH1 peptide) or protective substituted peptide (A5 peptide) could be served as a potent vaccine to eradicate tumors. Overall, our data indicated that aspirin can be used as an inducer of ICD for CRC therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Zihao Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Jialing Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Zaiqiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Mengting He
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Boxiao He
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Qian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Chonil Paek
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Peng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Jin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Hongjian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Mingliang Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China
| | - Lei Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China.
| | - Yongshun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Department of Clinical Oncology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, China.
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8
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Belmonte M, Ganeshan H, Huang J, Belmonte A, Inoue S, Velasco R, Acheampong N, Ofori EA, Akyea-Mensah K, Frimpong A, Ennuson NA, Frempong AF, Kyei-Baafour E, Amoah LE, Edgel K, Peters B, Villasante E, Kusi KA, Sedegah M. Immunodominant T cell peptides from four candidate malarial antigens as biomarkers of protective immunity against malaria. Vaccine 2023; 41:1265-1273. [PMID: 36642628 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
A malaria vaccine with high efficacy and capable of inducing sterile immunity against malaria within genetically diverse populations is urgently needed to complement ongoing disease control and elimination efforts. Parasite-specific IFN-γ and granzyme B-secreting CD8 + T cells have been identified as key mediators of protection and the rapid identification of malaria antigen targets that elicit these responses will fast-track the development of simpler, cost-effective interventions. This study extends our previous work which used peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from adults with life-long exposure to malaria parasites to identify immunodominant antigen-specific peptide pools composed of overlapping 15mer sequences spanning full length proteins of four malarial antigens. Our current study aimed to identify CD8 + T cell epitopes within these previously identified positive peptide pools. Cryopreserved PBMCs from 109 HLA-typed subjects were stimulated with predicted 9-11mer CD8 + T cell epitopes from P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP), apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1), thrombospondin related anonymous protein (TRAP) and cell traversal for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS) in FluoroSpot assays. A total of 135 epitopes out of 297 tested peptides from the four antigens were experimentally identified as positive for IFN-γ and/or granzyme B production in 65 of the 109 subjects. Forty-three of 135 epitopes (32 %) were promiscuous for HLA binding, with 31 of these promiscuous epitopes (72 %) being presented by HLA alleles that fall within at least two different HLA supertypes. Furthermore, about 52 % of identified epitopes were conserved when the respective sequences were aligned with those from 16 highly diverse P. falciparum parasite strains. In summary, we have identified a number of conserved epitopes, immune responses to which could be effective against multiple P. falciparum parasite strains in genetically diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Belmonte
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Harini Ganeshan
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jun Huang
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Arnel Belmonte
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; GDIT, MD 20817, USA
| | - Sandra Inoue
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; GDIT, MD 20817, USA
| | - Rachel Velasco
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; GDIT, MD 20817, USA
| | - Neda Acheampong
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA; GDIT, MD 20817, USA
| | - Ebenezer Addo Ofori
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Kwadwo Akyea-Mensah
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Augustina Frimpong
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Nana Aba Ennuson
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Abena Fremaah Frempong
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Eric Kyei-Baafour
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Linda Eva Amoah
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
| | - Kimberly Edgel
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA
| | - Bjoern Peters
- La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
| | - Martha Sedegah
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, MD, USA
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9
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Repáraz D, Ruiz M, Silva L, Aparicio B, Egea J, Guruceaga E, Ajona D, Senent Y, Conde E, Navarro F, Barace S, Alignani D, Hervás-Stubbs S, Lasarte JJ, Llopiz D, Sarobe P. Gemcitabine-mediated depletion of immunosuppressive dendritic cells enhances the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination. Front Immunol 2022; 13:991311. [PMID: 36300124 PMCID: PMC9589451 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.991311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccination using optimized strategies may increase response rates to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in some tumors. To enhance vaccine potency and improve thus responses to ICI, we analyzed the gene expression profile of an immunosuppressive dendritic cell (DC) population induced during vaccination, with the goal of identifying druggable inhibitory mechanisms. RNAseq studies revealed targetable genes, but their inhibition did not result in improved vaccines. However, we proved that immunosuppressive DC had a monocytic origin. Thus, monocyte depletion by gemcitabine administration reduced the generation of these DC and increased vaccine-induced immunity, which rejected about 20% of LLC-OVA and B16-OVA tumors, which are non-responders to anti-PD-1. This improved efficacy was associated with higher tumor T-cell infiltration and overexpression of PD-1/PD-L1. Therefore, the combination of vaccine + gemcitabine with anti-PD-1 was superior to anti-PD-1 monotherapy in both models. B16-OVA tumors benefited from a synergistic effect, reaching 75% of tumor rejection, but higher levels of exhausted T-cells in LLC-OVA tumors co-expressing PD-1, LAG3 and TIM3 precluded similar levels of efficacy. Our results indicate that gemcitabine is a suitable combination therapy with vaccines aimed at enhancing PD-1 therapies by targeting vaccine-induced immunosuppressive DC.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Repáraz
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Marta Ruiz
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Leyre Silva
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Belén Aparicio
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Josune Egea
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Elizabeth Guruceaga
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Daniel Ajona
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, School of Sciences, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Yaiza Senent
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, School of Sciences, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Enrique Conde
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Flor Navarro
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Sergio Barace
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Diego Alignani
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Sandra Hervás-Stubbs
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Juan José Lasarte
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Diana Llopiz
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Pablo Sarobe
- Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Pamplona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Pablo Sarobe,
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10
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Grace BE, Backlund CM, Morgan DM, Kang BH, Singh NK, Huisman BD, Rappazzo CG, Moynihan KD, Maiorino L, Dobson CS, Kyung T, Gordon KS, Holec PV, Mbah OCT, Garafola D, Wu S, Love JC, Wittrup KD, Irvine DJ, Birnbaum ME. Identification of Highly Cross-Reactive Mimotopes for a Public T Cell Response in Murine Melanoma. Front Immunol 2022; 13:886683. [PMID: 35812387 PMCID: PMC9260506 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.886683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
While immune checkpoint blockade results in durable responses for some patients, many others have not experienced such benefits. These treatments rely upon reinvigorating specific T cell-antigen interactions. However, it is often unknown what antigens are being recognized by T cells or how to potently induce antigen-specific responses in a broadly applicable manner. Here, we characterized the CD8+ T cell response to a murine model of melanoma following combination immunotherapy to determine the basis of tumor recognition. Sequencing of tumor-infiltrating T cells revealed a repertoire of highly homologous TCR sequences that were particularly expanded in treated mice and which recognized an antigen from an endogenous retrovirus. While vaccination against this peptide failed to raise a protective T cell response in vivo, engineered antigen mimotopes induced a significant expansion of CD8+ T cells cross-reactive to the original antigen. Vaccination with mimotopes resulted in killing of antigen-loaded cells in vivo yet showed modest survival benefit in a prophylactic vaccine paradigm. Together, this work demonstrates the identification of a dominant tumor-associated antigen and generation of mimotopes which can induce robust functional T cell responses that are cross-reactive to the endogenous antigen across multiple individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth E. Grace
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Coralie M. Backlund
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Duncan M. Morgan
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Byong H. Kang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Nishant K. Singh
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Brooke D. Huisman
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - C. Garrett Rappazzo
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Kelly D. Moynihan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Laura Maiorino
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Connor S. Dobson
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Taeyoon Kyung
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Khloe S. Gordon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Patrick V. Holec
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Daniel Garafola
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shengwei Wu
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - J. Christopher Love
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - K. Dane Wittrup
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Darrell J. Irvine
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Michael E. Birnbaum
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Michael E. Birnbaum,
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11
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Feola S, Chiaro J, Martins B, Russo S, Fusciello M, Ylösmäki E, Bonini C, Ruggiero E, Hamdan F, Feodoroff M, Antignani G, Viitala T, Pesonen S, Grönholm M, Branca RMM, Lehtiö J, Cerullo V. A novel immunopeptidomic-based pipeline for the generation of personalized oncolytic cancer vaccines. eLife 2022; 11:71156. [PMID: 35314027 PMCID: PMC8989416 DOI: 10.7554/elife.71156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Besides the isolation and identification of major histocompatibility complex I-restricted peptides from the surface of cancer cells, one of the challenges is eliciting an effective antitumor CD8+ T-cell-mediated response as part of therapeutic cancer vaccine. Therefore, the establishment of a solid pipeline for the downstream selection of clinically relevant peptides and the subsequent creation of therapeutic cancer vaccines are of utmost importance. Indeed, the use of peptides for eliciting specific antitumor adaptive immunity is hindered by two main limitations: the efficient selection of the most optimal candidate peptides and the use of a highly immunogenic platform to combine with the peptides to induce effective tumor-specific adaptive immune responses. Here, we describe for the first time a streamlined pipeline for the generation of personalized cancer vaccines starting from the isolation and selection of the most immunogenic peptide candidates expressed on the tumor cells and ending in the generation of efficient therapeutic oncolytic cancer vaccines. This immunopeptidomics-based pipeline was carefully validated in a murine colon tumor model CT26. Specifically, we used state-of-the-art immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometric methodologies to isolate >8000 peptide targets from the CT26 tumor cell line. The selection of the target candidates was then based on two separate approaches: RNAseq analysis and HEX software. The latter is a tool previously developed by Jacopo, 2020, able to identify tumor antigens similar to pathogen antigens in order to exploit molecular mimicry and tumor pathogen cross-reactive T cells in cancer vaccine development. The generated list of candidates (26 in total) was further tested in a functional characterization assay using interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), reducing the number of candidates to six. These peptides were then tested in our previously described oncolytic cancer vaccine platform PeptiCRAd, a vaccine platform that combines an immunogenic oncolytic adenovirus (OAd) coated with tumor antigen peptides. In our work, PeptiCRAd was successfully used for the treatment of mice bearing CT26, controlling the primary malignant lesion and most importantly a secondary, nontreated, cancer lesion. These results confirmed the feasibility of applying the described pipeline for the selection of peptide candidates and generation of therapeutic oncolytic cancer vaccine, filling a gap in the field of cancer immunotherapy, and paving the way to translate our pipeline into human therapeutic approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Feola
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jacopo Chiaro
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Beatriz Martins
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Salvatore Russo
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Manlio Fusciello
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Erkko Ylösmäki
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Chiara Bonini
- Experimental Hematology Unit, University Vita e Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Eliana Ruggiero
- Experimental Hematology Unit, University Vita e Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Firas Hamdan
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michaela Feodoroff
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Gabriella Antignani
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tapani Viitala
- Pharmaceutical Biophysics Research Group, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Mikaela Grönholm
- Drug Research Program (DRP) ImmunoViroTherapy Lab, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Rui M M Branca
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, stockholm, Sweden
| | - Janne Lehtiö
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vincenzo Cerullo
- ImmunoVirothearpy Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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12
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Codrici E, Popescu ID, Tanase C, Enciu AM. Friends with Benefits: Chemokines, Glioblastoma-Associated Microglia/Macrophages, and Tumor Microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052509. [PMID: 35269652 PMCID: PMC8910233 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioma is the most common primary intracranial tumor and has the greatest prevalence of all brain tumors. Treatment resistance and tumor recurrence in GBM are mostly explained by considerable alterations within the tumor microenvironment, as well as extraordinary cellular and molecular heterogeneity. Soluble factors, extracellular matrix components, tissue-resident cell types, resident or newly recruited immune cells together make up the GBM microenvironment. Regardless of many immune cells, a profound state of tumor immunosuppression is supported and developed, posing a considerable hurdle to cancer cells' immune-mediated destruction. Several studies have suggested that various GBM subtypes present different modifications in their microenvironment, although the importance of the microenvironment in treatment response has yet to be determined. Understanding the microenvironment and how it changes after therapies is critical because it can influence the remaining invasive GSCs and lead to recurrence. This review article sheds light on the various components of the GBM microenvironment and their roles in tumoral development, as well as immune-related biological processes that support the interconnection/interrelationship between different cell types. Also, we summarize the current understanding of the modulation of soluble factors and highlight the dysregulated inflammatory chemokine/specific receptors cascades/networks and their significance in tumorigenesis, cancer-related inflammation, and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Codrici
- Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania;
- Correspondence: (E.C.); (I.-D.P.); (A.-M.E.)
| | - Ionela-Daniela Popescu
- Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania;
- Correspondence: (E.C.); (I.-D.P.); (A.-M.E.)
| | - Cristiana Tanase
- Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Titu Maiorescu University, 031593 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Ana-Maria Enciu
- Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, Romania;
- Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- Correspondence: (E.C.); (I.-D.P.); (A.-M.E.)
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13
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He X, Zhou S, Quinn B, Jahagirdar D, Ortega J, Long MD, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. An In Vivo Screen to Identify Short Peptide Mimotopes with Enhanced Antitumor Immunogenicity. Cancer Immunol Res 2022; 10:314-326. [PMID: 34992135 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-21-0332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tumor-associated self-antigens are potential cancer vaccine targets but suffer from limited immunogenicity. There are examples of mutated, short self-peptides inducing epitope-specific CD8⁺ T cells more efficiently than the wild-type epitope, but current approaches cannot yet reliably identify such epitopes, which are referred to as enhanced mimotopes ("e-mimotopes"). Here, we present a generalized strategy to develop e-mimotopes, using the tyrosinase-related protein 2 (Trp2) peptide Trp2180-188, which is a murine major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) epitope, as a test case. Using a vaccine adjuvant that induces peptide particle formation and strong cellular responses with nanogram antigen doses, a two-step method systematically identified e-mimotope candidates with murine immunization. First, position-scanning peptide micro libraries were generated in which each position of the wild-type epitope sequence was randomized. Randomization of only one specific residue of the Trp2 epitope increased antitumor immunogenicity. Second, all 20 amino acids were individually substituted and tested at that position, enabling the identification of two e-mimotopes with single amino-acid mutations. Despite similar MHC-I affinity compared to the wild-type epitope, e-mimotope immunization elicited improved Trp2-specific cytotoxic T-cell phenotypes and improved T-cell receptor affinity for both the e-mimotopes and the native epitope, resulting in better outcomes in multiple prophylactic and therapeutic tumor models. The screening method was also applied to other targets with other murine MHC-I restriction elements, including epitopes within glycoprotein 70 and Wilms' Tumor Gene 1, to identify additional e-mimotopes with enhanced potency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | - Shiqi Zhou
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | - Breandan Quinn
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
| | | | | | - Mark D Long
- Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
| | | | - Jonathan F Lovell
- Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
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14
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He X, Zhou S, Quinn B, Huang W, Jahagirdar D, Vega M, Ortega J, Long MD, Ito F, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. Position-Scanning Peptide Libraries as Particle Immunogens for Improving CD8 + T-Cell Responses. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:e2103023. [PMID: 34716694 PMCID: PMC8693074 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Short peptides reflecting major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (MHC-I) epitopes frequently lack sufficient immunogenicity to induce robust antigen (Ag)-specific CD8+ T cell responses. In the current work, it is demonstrated that position-scanning peptide libraries themselves can serve as improved immunogens, inducing Ag-specific CD8+ T cells with greater frequency and function than the wild-type epitope. The approach involves displaying the entire position-scanning library onto immunogenic nanoliposomes. Each library contains the MHC-I epitope with a single randomized position. When a recently identified MHC-I epitope in the glycoprotein gp70 envelope protein of murine leukemia virus (MuLV) is assessed, only one of the eight positional libraries tested, randomized at amino acid position 5 (Pos5), shows enhanced induction of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells. A second MHC-I epitope from gp70 is assessed in the same manner and shows, in contrast, multiple positional libraries (Pos1, Pos3, Pos5, and Pos8) as well as the library mixture give rise to enhanced CD8+ T cell responses. The library mixture Pos1-3-5-8 induces a more diverse epitope-specific T-cell repertoire with superior antitumor efficacy compared to an established single mutation mimotope (AH1-A5). These data show that positional peptide libraries can serve as immunogens for improving CD8+ T-cell responses against endogenously expressed MHC-I epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Shiqi Zhou
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Breandan Quinn
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Wei‐Chiao Huang
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Dushyant Jahagirdar
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyMcGill University MontrealQuebecH3A1Y2Canada
| | - Michael Vega
- Division of Research and Innovation PartnershipsNorthern Illinois UniversityDeKalbIL60115USA
| | - Joaquin Ortega
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyMcGill University MontrealQuebecH3A1Y2Canada
| | - Mark D. Long
- Department of Cancer Genetics and GenomicsRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (RPCCC)BuffaloNY14263USA
| | - Fumito Ito
- Department of ImmunologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
- Center for ImmunotherapyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
- Department of Surgical OncologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
| | - Scott I. Abrams
- Department of ImmunologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
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15
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Ofori EA, Tetteh JKA, Frimpong A, Ganeshan H, Belmonte M, Peters B, Villasante E, Sedegah M, Ofori MF, Kusi KA. Comparison of the impact of allelic polymorphisms in PfAMA1 on the induction of T Cell responses in high and low malaria endemic communities in Ghana. Malar J 2021; 20:367. [PMID: 34507582 PMCID: PMC8431259 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-021-03900-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Malaria eradication requires a combined effort involving all available control tools, and these efforts would be complemented by an effective vaccine. The antigen targets of immune responses may show polymorphisms that can undermine their recognition by immune effectors and hence render vaccines based on antigens from a single parasite variant ineffective against other variants. This study compared the influence of allelic polymorphisms in Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (PfAMA1) peptide sequences from three strains of P. falciparum (3D7, 7G8 and FVO) on their function as immunodominant targets of T cell responses in high and low malaria transmission communities in Ghana. METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 10 subjects from a high transmission area (Obom) and 10 subjects from a low transmission area (Legon) were tested against 15 predicted CD8 + T cell minimal epitopes within the PfAMA1 antigen of multiple parasite strains using IFN-γ ELISpot assay. The peptides were also tested in similar assays against CD8 + enriched PBMC fractions from the same subjects in an effort to characterize the responding T cell subsets. RESULTS In assays using unfractionated PBMCs, two subjects from the high transmission area, Obom, responded positively to four (26.7%) of the 15 tested peptides. None of the Legon subject PBMCs yielded positive peptide responses using unfractionated PBMCs. In assays with CD8 + enriched PBMCs, three subjects from Obom made positive recall responses to six (40%) of the 15 tested peptides, while only one subject from Legon made a positive recall response to a single peptide. Overall, 5 of the 20 study subjects who had positive peptide-specific IFN-γ recall responses were from the high transmission area, Obom. Furthermore, while subjects from Obom responded to peptides in PfAMA1 from multiple parasite strains, one subject from Legon responded to a peptide from 3D7 strain only. CONCLUSIONS The current data demonstrate the possibility of a real effect of PfAMA1 polymorphisms on the induction of T cell responses in malaria exposed subjects, and this effect may be more pronounced in communities with higher parasite exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ebenezer A Ofori
- West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.,Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - John K A Tetteh
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Augustina Frimpong
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Harini Ganeshan
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, USA.,Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Maria Belmonte
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, USA.,Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Bjoern Peters
- La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Eileen Villasante
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, USA
| | - Martha Sedegah
- Malaria Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, USA
| | - Michael F Ofori
- West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.,Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Kwadwo A Kusi
- West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. .,Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
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16
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Ylösmäki E, Fusciello M, Martins B, Feola S, Hamdan F, Chiaro J, Ylösmäki L, Vaughan MJ, Viitala T, Kulkarni PS, Cerullo V. Novel personalized cancer vaccine platform based on Bacillus Calmette-Guèrin. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:jitc-2021-002707. [PMID: 34266884 PMCID: PMC8286790 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Intratumoral BCG therapy, one of the earliest immunotherapies, can lead to infiltration of immune cells into a treated tumor. However, an increase in the number of BCG-induced tumor-specific T cells in the tumor microenvironment could lead to enhanced therapeutic effects. Methods Here, we have developed a novel cancer vaccine platform based on BCG that can broaden BCG-induced immune responses to include tumor antigens. By physically attaching tumor-specific peptides onto the mycobacterial outer membrane, we were able to induce strong systemic and intratumoral T cell-specific immune responses toward the attached tumor antigens. These therapeutic peptides can be efficiently attached to the mycobacterial outer membrane using a poly-lysine sequence N-terminally fused to the tumor-specific peptides. Results Using two mouse models of melanoma and a mouse model of colorectal cancer, we observed that the antitumor immune responses of BCG could be improved by coating the BCG with tumor-specific peptides. In addition, by combining this novel cancer vaccine platform with anti-programmed death 1 (anti-PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy, the number of responders to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy was markedly increased. Conclusions This study shows that intratumoral BCG immunotherapy can be improved by coating the bacteria with modified tumor-specific peptides. In addition, this improved BCG immunotherapy can be combined with ICI therapy to obtain enhanced tumor growth control. These results warrant clinical testing of this novel cancer vaccine platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erkko Ylösmäki
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Manlio Fusciello
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Beatriz Martins
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sara Feola
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Firas Hamdan
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jacopo Chiaro
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leena Ylösmäki
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Valo Therapeutics Oy, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Tapani Viitala
- Pharmaceutical Biophysics Research Group, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Vincenzo Cerullo
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland .,TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University 24 Federico II, Naples, Italy
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17
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Fidanza M, Gupta P, Sayana A, Shanker V, Pahlke SM, Vu B, Krantz F, Azameera A, Wong N, Anne N, Xia Y, Rong J, Anne A, Skirboll S, Lim M, Wong AJ. Enhancing proteasomal processing improves survival for a peptide vaccine used to treat glioblastoma. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:13/598/eaax4100. [PMID: 34135109 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aax4100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Despite its essential role in antigen presentation, enhancing proteasomal processing is an unexploited strategy for improving vaccines. pepVIII, an anticancer vaccine targeting EGFRvIII, has been tested in several trials for glioblastoma. We examined 20 peptides in silico and experimentally, which showed that a tyrosine substitution (Y6-pepVIII) maximizes proteasome cleavage and survival in a subcutaneous tumor model in mice. In an intracranial glioma model, Y6-pepVIII showed a 62 and 31% improvement in median survival compared to control animals and pepVIII-vaccinated mice. Y6-pepVIII vaccination altered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subsets and expression of PD-1 on intratumoral T cells. Combination with anti-PD-1 therapy cured 45% of the Y6-pepVIII-vaccinated mice but was ineffective for pepVIII-treated mice. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of proteasome-digested pepVIII and Y6-pepVIII revealed that most fragments were similar but more abundant in Y6-pepVIII digests and 77% resulted from proteasome-catalyzed peptide splicing (PCPS). We identified 10 peptides that bound human and murine MHC class I. Nine were PCPS products and only one peptide was colinear with EGFRvIII, indicating that PCPS fragments may be a component of MHC class I recognition. Despite not being colinear with EGFRvIII, two of three PCPS products tested were capable of increasing survival when administered independently as vaccines. We hypothesize that the immune response to a vaccine represents the collective contribution from multiple PCPS and linear products. Our work suggests a strategy to increase proteasomal processing of a vaccine that results in an augmented immune response and enhanced survival in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Fidanza
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Puja Gupta
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Anin Sayana
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Varun Shanker
- Department of Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Svenja-Maria Pahlke
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Brandon Vu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Fanny Krantz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Aruna Azameera
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Nicollette Wong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Navya Anne
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Yuanxuan Xia
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jiming Rong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Avani Anne
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Stephen Skirboll
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Michael Lim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Albert J Wong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. .,Cancer Biology Program, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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18
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Structures suggest an approach for converting weak self-peptide tumor antigens into superagonists for CD8 T cells in cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100588118. [PMID: 34074778 PMCID: PMC8201969 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100588118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor vaccines using modified self-antigens that structurally enhance T cell receptor–peptide–major histocompatibility complex interactions greatly improve a T cell protective response against the tumor’s unmodified self-antigen. X-ray crystal structures of these interactions explain how the native and modified peptides can interact with the same T cell receptor, but with different affinities and abilities to drive T cell proliferation and differentiation. Tumors frequently express unmutated self-tumor–associated antigens (self-TAAs). However, trial results using self-TAAs as vaccine targets against cancer are mixed, often attributed to deletion of T cells with high-affinity receptors (TCRs) for self-TAAs during T cell development. Mutating these weak self-TAAs to produce higher affinity, effective vaccines is challenging, since the mutations may not benefit all members of the broad self-TAA–specific T cell repertoire. We previously identified a common weak murine self-TAA that we converted to a highly effective antitumor vaccine by a single amino acid substitution. In this case the modified and natural self-TAAs still raised very similar sets of CD8 T cells. Our structural studies herein show that the modification of the self-TAA resulted in a subtle change in the major histocompatibility complex I–TAA structure. This amino acid substitution allowed a dramatic conformational change in the peptide during subsequent TCR engagement, creating a large increase in TCR affinity and accounting for the efficacy of the modified self-TAA as a vaccine. These results show that carefully selected, well-characterized modifications to a poorly immunogenic self-TAA can rescue the immune response of the large repertoire of weakly responding natural self-TAA–specific CD8 T cells, driving them to proliferate and differentiate into functional effectors. Subsequently, the unmodified self-TAA on the tumor cells, while unable to drive this response, is nevertheless a sufficient target for the CD8 cytotoxic effectors. Our results suggest a pathway for more efficiently identifying variants of common self-TAAs, which could be useful in vaccine development, complementing other current nonantigen-specific immunotherapies.
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19
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He X, Zhou S, Huang WC, Seffouh A, Mabrouk MT, Morgan MT, Ortega J, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. A Potent Cancer Vaccine Adjuvant System for Particleization of Short, Synthetic CD8 + T Cell Epitopes. ACS NANO 2021; 15:4357-4371. [PMID: 33606514 PMCID: PMC10184788 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c07680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Short major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (MHC-I)-restricted peptides contain the minimal biochemical information to induce antigen (Ag)-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses but are generally ineffective in doing so. To address this, we developed a cobalt-porphyrin (CoPoP) liposome vaccine adjuvant system that induces rapid particleization of conventional, short synthetic MHC-I epitopes, leading to strong cellular immune responses at nanogram dosing. Along with CoPoP (to induce particle formation of peptides), synthetic monophosphoryl lipid A (PHAD) and QS-21 immunostimulatory molecules were included in the liposome bilayer to generate the "CPQ" adjuvant system. In mice, immunization with a short MHC-I-restricted peptide, derived from glycoprotein 70 (gp70), admixed with CPQ safely generated functional, Ag-specific CD8+ T cells, resulting in the rejection of multiple tumor cell lines, with durable immunity. When cobalt was omitted, the otherwise identical peptide and adjuvant components did not result in peptide binding and were incapable of inducing immune responses, demonstrating the importance of stable particle formation. Immunization with the liposomal vaccine was well-tolerated and could control local and metastatic disease in a therapeutic setting. Mechanistic studies showed that particle-based peptides were better taken up by antigen-presenting cells, where they were putatively released within endosomes and phagosomes for display on MHC-I surfaces. On the basis of the potency of the approach, the platform was demonstrated as a tool for in vivo epitope screening of peptide microlibraries comprising a hundred peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- Department of Biomedical Engineering. University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Shiqi Zhou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering. University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Wei-Chiao Huang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering. University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Amal Seffouh
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University Montreal, Quebec H3A0C7, Canada
| | - Moustafa T. Mabrouk
- Department of Biomedical Engineering. University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | | | - Joaquin Ortega
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University Montreal, Quebec H3A0C7, Canada
| | - Scott I. Abrams
- Department of Immunology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
- ,
| | - Jonathan F. Lovell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering. University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
- ,
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20
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Decipher the Glioblastoma Microenvironment: The First Milestone for New Groundbreaking Therapeutic Strategies. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12030445. [PMID: 33804731 PMCID: PMC8003887 DOI: 10.3390/genes12030445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumour in adults. Despite the combination of novel therapeutical approaches, it remains a deadly malignancy with an abysmal prognosis. GBM is a polymorphic tumour from both molecular and histological points of view. It consists of different malignant cells and various stromal cells, contributing to tumour initiation, progression, and treatment response. GBM’s microenvironment is multifaceted and is made up of soluble factors, extracellular matrix components, tissue-resident cell types (e.g., neurons, astrocytes, endothelial cells, pericytes, and fibroblasts) together with resident (e.g., microglia) or recruited (e.g., bone marrow-derived macrophages) immune cells. These latter constitute the so-called immune microenvironment, accounting for a substantial GBM’s tumour volume. Despite the abundance of immune cells, an intense state of tumour immunosuppression is promoted and developed; this represents the significant challenge for cancer cells’ immune-mediated destruction. Though literature data suggest that distinct GBM’s subtypes harbour differences in their microenvironment, its role in treatment response remains obscure. However, an in-depth investigation of GBM’s microenvironment may lead to novel therapeutic opportunities to improve patients’ outcomes. This review will elucidate the GBM’s microenvironment composition, highlighting the current state of the art in immunotherapy approaches. We will focus on novel strategies of active and passive immunotherapies, including vaccination, gene therapy, checkpoint blockade, and adoptive T-cell therapies.
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21
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Aaes TL, Vandenabeele P. The intrinsic immunogenic properties of cancer cell lines, immunogenic cell death, and how these influence host antitumor immune responses. Cell Death Differ 2021; 28:843-860. [PMID: 33214663 PMCID: PMC7937679 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-020-00658-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern cancer therapies often involve the combination of tumor-directed cytotoxic strategies and generation of a host antitumor immune response. The latter is unleashed by immunotherapies that activate the immune system generating a more immunostimulatory tumor microenvironment and a stronger tumor antigen-specific immune response. Studying the interaction between antitumor cytotoxic therapies, dying cancer cells, and the innate and adaptive immune system requires appropriate experimental tumor models in mice. In this review, we discuss the immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive properties of cancer cell lines commonly used in immunogenic cell death (ICD) studies being apoptosis or necroptosis. We will especially focus on the antigenic component of immunogenicity. While in several cancer cell lines the epitopes of endogenously expressed tumor antigens are known, these intrinsic epitopes are rarely determined in experimental apoptotic or necroptotic ICD settings. Instead by far the most ICD research studies investigate the antigenic response against exogenously expressed model antigens such as ovalbumin or retroviral epitopes (e.g., AH1). In this review, we will argue that the immune response against endogenous tumor antigens and the immunopeptidome profile of cancer cell lines affect the eventual biological readouts in the typical prophylactic tumor vaccination type of experiments used in ICD research, and we will propose additional methods involving immunopeptidome profiling, major histocompatibility complex molecule expression, and identification of tumor-infiltrating immune cells to document intrinsic immunogenicity following different cell death modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Løve Aaes
- grid.11486.3a0000000104788040Unit for Cell Clearance in Health and Disease, VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent, Belgium ,grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Peter Vandenabeele
- grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium ,grid.11486.3a0000000104788040Unit of Molecular Signaling and Cell Death, VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent, Belgium
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22
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Hoffmann MM, Slansky JE. T-cell receptor affinity in the age of cancer immunotherapy. Mol Carcinog 2020; 59:862-870. [PMID: 32386086 DOI: 10.1002/mc.23212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The strength of the interaction between T-cell receptors (TCRs) and their ligands, peptide/major histocompatibility complex complexes (pMHCs), is one of the most frequently discussed and investigated features of T cells in immuno-oncology today. Although there are many molecules on the surface of T cells that interact with ligands on other cells, the TCR/pMHC is the only receptor-ligand pair that offers antigen specificity and dictates the functional response of the T cell. The strength of the TCR/pMHC interaction, along with the environment in which this interaction takes place, is key to how the T cell will respond. The TCR repertoire of T cells that interact with tumor-associated antigens is vast, although typically of low affinity. Here, we focus on the low-affinity interactions between TCRs from CD8+ T cells and different models used in immuno-oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele M Hoffmann
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
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23
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Naciute M, Niemi V, Kemp RA, Hook S. Lipid-encapsulated oral therapeutic peptide vaccines reduce tumour growth in an orthotopic mouse model of colorectal cancer. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2020; 152:183-192. [PMID: 32380167 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2020.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop an oral vaccine that could be used to treat colorectal cancer. Oral vaccines are technically challenging to develop due to the harsh gastric environment but have numerous benefits including high patient acceptability and the potential to stimulate local mucosal immune responses. Therapeutic vaccines are being investigated as options to treat cancer and the generation of local mucosal immunity may be of benefit in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. Novel oral vaccines consisting of a long tumour peptide and the TLR2 (Toll-like receptor 2) ligand Pam2Cys, formulated in either liposomes or W/O/W double emulsions, were developed. Oral dosing with the emulsion vaccine increased the numbers of activated T cells, B cells and CD11c+F4/80+CD11b+ cells compared to mice that received control vaccines. In an orthotopic mouse model of colorectal cancer these immunological changes were associated with a seven-fold reduction in tumour size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milda Naciute
- School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Virginia Niemi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Roslyn A Kemp
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Sarah Hook
- School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.
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24
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Yu H, Ye C, Li J, Pan C, Lin W, Chen H, Zhou Z, Ye Y. An altered HLA-A0201-restricted MUC1 epitope that could induce more efficient anti-tumor effects against gastric cancer. Exp Cell Res 2020; 390:111953. [PMID: 32156601 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2020.111953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
MUC1 is a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) overexpressed in many tumor types, which makes it an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. However, this marker is a non-mutated antigen without high immunogenicity. In this study, we designed several new altered peptides by replacing amino acids in their sequences, which were derived from a low-affinity MUC1 peptide, thus bypassing immune tolerance. Compared to the wild-type (WT) peptide, the altered MUC1 peptides (MUC11081-1089L2, MUC11156-1164L2, MUC11068-1076Y1) showed higher affinity to the HLA-A0201 molecule and stronger immunogenicity. Furthermore, these altered peptides resulted in the generation of more cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that could cross-recognize gastric cancer cells expressing WT MUC1 peptides, in an HLA-A0201-restricted manner. In addition, M1.1 (MUC1950-958), a promising antitumor peptide that has been tested in multiple tumors, was not able to induce stronger antitumor responses. Collectively, our results demonstrated that altered peptides from MUC1, as potential HLA-A0201-restricted CTL epitopes, could serve as peptide vaccines or constitute components of peptide-loaded dendritic cell vaccines for gastric cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huahui Yu
- The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350122, China
| | - Chunmei Ye
- The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350122, China
| | - Jieyu Li
- Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian Province, China
| | - Chunli Pan
- The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350122, China
| | - Wansong Lin
- Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian Province, China
| | - Huijing Chen
- Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian Province, China
| | - Zhifeng Zhou
- Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian Province, China
| | - Yunbin Ye
- The School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350122, China; Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital & Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China; Fujian Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, 350014, Fujian Province, China.
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Abstract
T cells recognize and respond to self antigens in both cancer and autoimmunity. One strategy to influence this response is to incorporate amino acid substitutions into these T cell-specific epitopes. This strategy is being reconsidered now with the goal of increasing time to regression with checkpoint blockade therapies in cancer and antigen-specific immunotherapies in autoimmunity. We discuss how these amino acid substitutions change the interactions with the MHC class I or II molecule and the responding T cell repertoire. Amino acid substitutions in epitopes that are the most effective in therapies bind more strongly to T cell receptor and/or MHC molecules and cross-react with the same repertoire of T cells as the natural antigen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill E Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12800 E. 19thAvenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
| | - Maki Nakayama
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 12800 E. 19thAvenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 1775 Aurora Court, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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26
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Aaes TL, Verschuere H, Kaczmarek A, Heyndrickx L, Wiernicki B, Delrue I, De Craene B, Taminau J, Delvaeye T, Bertrand MJM, Declercq W, Berx G, Krysko DV, Adjemian S, Vandenabeele P. Immunodominant AH1 Antigen-Deficient Necroptotic, but Not Apoptotic, Murine Cancer Cells Induce Antitumor Protection. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 204:775-787. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Probst P, Stringhini M, Ritz D, Fugmann T, Neri D. Antibody-based Delivery of TNF to the Tumor Neovasculature Potentiates the Therapeutic Activity of a Peptide Anticancer Vaccine. Clin Cancer Res 2018; 25:698-709. [PMID: 30327303 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-18-1728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE There is a growing interest in the use of tumor antigens for therapeutic vaccination strategies. Unfortunately, in most cases, the use of peptide vaccines in patients does not mediate shrinkage of solid tumor masses.Experimental Design: Here, we studied the opportunity to boost peptide vaccination with F8-TNF, an antibody fusion protein that selectively delivers TNF to the tumor extracellular matrix. AH1, a model antigen to investigate CD8+ T-cell immunity in BALB/c mice, was used as vaccine. RESULTS Peptide antigens alone exhibited only a modest tumor growth inhibition. However, anticancer activity could be substantially increased by combination with F8-TNF. Analysis of T cells in tumors and in draining lymph nodes revealed a dramatic expansion of AH1-specific CD8+ T cells, which were strongly positive for PD-1, LAG-3, and TIM-3. The synergistic anticancer activity, observed in the combined use of peptide vaccination and F8-TNF, was largely due to the ability of the fusion protein to induce a rapid hemorrhagic necrosis in the tumor mass, thus leaving few residual tumor cells. While the cell surface phenotype of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells did not substantially change upon treatment, the proportion of AH1-specific T cells was strongly increased in the combination therapy group, reaching more than 50% of the CD8+ T cells within the tumor mass. CONCLUSIONS Because both peptide vaccination strategies and tumor-homing TNF fusion proteins are currently being studied in clinical trials, our study provides a rationale for the combination of these 2 regimens for the treatment of patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Probst
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marco Stringhini
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Dario Neri
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Zürich, Switzerland.
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28
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- University at Buffalo; State University of New York; Buffalo NY 14260 USA
| | - Scott I. Abrams
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; Department of Immunology; Buffalo NY 14263 USA
| | - Jonathan F. Lovell
- University at Buffalo; State University of New York; Buffalo NY 14260 USA
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29
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Goodwin TJ, Huang L. Investigation of phosphorylated adjuvants co-encapsulated with a model cancer peptide antigen for the treatment of colorectal cancer and liver metastasis. Vaccine 2017; 35:2550-2557. [PMID: 28385609 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The lipid calcium phosphate nanoparticle is a versatile platform capable of encapsulating a wide range of phosphorylated molecules from single nucleotides to pDNA. The use of this platform has shown great success as an immunotherapeutic vaccine carrier, capable of delivering co-encapsulated phosphorylated adjuvants and peptides. Three potent vaccine formulations were investigated for anti-cancer efficacy. The phosphorylated adjuvants, CpG, 2'3'cGAMP, and 5'pppdsRNA were co-encapsulated with a model phosphorylated tumor specific peptide antigen (p-AH1-A5). The anti-cancer efficacy of these adjuvants was assessed using an orthotopic colorectal liver metastasis model based on highly aggressive and metastatic CT-26 FL3 cells implanted into the cecum wall. The results clearly indicate that the RIG-1 ligand, 5'pppdsRNA, co-encapsulated with the p-AH1-A5 peptide antigen greatly reduced the growth rate of the primary colon cancer as well as arrested the establishment of liver metastasis in comparison to the other adjuvant formulations and unvaccinated controls. Further evaluation of the immune cell populations within the primary tumor confirms the ability of the 5'pppdsRNA adjuvant to boost the adaptive CD8+ T-cell population, while not inciting increased populations of immune suppressive cell types such as T-regulatory cells or myeloid derived suppressor cells. Furthermore, to our knowledge this is the first study to investigate the anti-cancer efficacy of a specific RIG-1 receptor ligand, 5'pppdsRNA, alongside more established TLR 9 (CpG) and STING (2'3'cGAMP) adjuvants in a cancer vaccine. The 5'pppdsRNA vaccine formulation can be a potent immunotherapy, especially when combined with agents that remodel the immune suppressive microenvironment of the tumor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler J Goodwin
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Leaf Huang
- Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
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30
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Highton AJ, Girardin A, Bell GM, Hook SM, Kemp RA. Chitosan gel vaccine protects against tumour growth in an intracaecal mouse model of cancer by modulating systemic immune responses. BMC Immunol 2016; 17:39. [PMID: 27756214 PMCID: PMC5069793 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-016-0178-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Vaccination generating a robust memory population of CD8+ T cells may provide protection against cancer. However, immune therapies for cancer are influenced by the local tumour immune microenvironment. An infiltrate of T cells into tumours of people with colorectal cancer has proven to be a significant indicator of good prognosis. Methods We used an intracaecal mouse model of cancer to determine whether a protective immune response against a mucosal gut tumour could be generated using a systemic intervention. We investigated the generation of murine memory CD8+ T cells using a sustained antigen release vaccine vehicle (chitosan gel; Gel + OVA) containing the model antigen ovalbumin, chitosan gel alone (Gel) or conventional dendritic cell vaccination (DC + OVA) using the same protein antigen. Results Following vaccination with Gel + OVA, CD8+ T cell memory populations specific for ovalbumin protein were detected. Only vaccination with Gel + OVA gave decreased tumour burden compared to unvaccinated or DC + OVA-vaccinated mice in the intracaecal cancer challenge model. Conclusion These results indicate that subcutaneous vaccination with Gel + OVA generates a population of functional CD8+ memory T cells in lymphoid tissue able to protect against intracaecal tumour challenge. Vaccination with chitosan gel may be valuable in anti-cancer treatment at both peripheral and mucosal sites. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12865-016-0178-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Highton
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Adam Girardin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Georgia M Bell
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Sarah M Hook
- School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Roslyn A Kemp
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
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31
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Waugh KA, Leach SM, Moore BL, Bruno TC, Buhrman JD, Slansky JE. Molecular Profile of Tumor-Specific CD8+ T Cell Hypofunction in a Transplantable Murine Cancer Model. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2016; 197:1477-88. [PMID: 27371726 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms of self-tolerance often result in CD8(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) with a hypofunctional phenotype incapable of tumor clearance. Using a transplantable colon carcinoma model, we found that CD8(+) T cells became tolerized in <24 h in an established tumor environment. To define the collective impact of pathways suppressing TIL function, we compared genome-wide mRNA expression of tumor-specific CD8(+) T cells from the tumor and periphery. Notably, gene expression induced during TIL hypofunction more closely resembled self-tolerance than viral exhaustion. Differential gene expression was refined to identify a core set of genes that defined hypofunctional TIL; these data comprise the first molecular profile of tumor-specific TIL that are naturally responding and represent a polyclonal repertoire. The molecular profile of TIL was further dissected to determine the extent of overlap and distinction between pathways that collectively restrict T cell functions. As suggested by the molecular profile of TIL, protein expression of inhibitory receptor LAG-3 was differentially regulated throughout prolonged late-G1/early-S phase of the cell cycle. Our data may accelerate efficient identification of combination therapies to boost anti-tumor function of TIL specifically against tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sonia M Leach
- Center for Genes, Environment and Health, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206
| | - Brandon L Moore
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045; and
| | - Tullia C Bruno
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045; and
| | | | - Jill E Slansky
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045; and
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32
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Servín-Blanco R, Zamora-Alvarado R, Gevorkian G, Manoutcharian K. Antigenic variability: Obstacles on the road to vaccines against traditionally difficult targets. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2016; 12:2640-2648. [PMID: 27295540 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2016.1191718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the impressive impact of vaccines on public health, the success of vaccines targeting many important pathogens and cancers has to date been limited. The burden of infectious diseases today is mainly caused by antigenically variable pathogens (AVPs), which escape immune responses induced by prior infection or vaccination through changes in molecular structures recognized by antibodies or T cells. Extensive genetic and antigenic variability is the major obstacle for the development of new or improved vaccines against "difficult" targets. Alternative, qualitatively new approaches leading to the generation of disease- and patient-specific vaccine immunogens that incorporate complex permanently changing epitope landscapes of intended targets accompanied by appropriate immunomodulators are urgently needed. In this review, we highlight some of the most critical common issues related to the development of vaccines against many pathogens and cancers that escape protective immune responses owing to antigenic variation, and discuss recent efforts to overcome the obstacles by applying alternative approaches for the rational design of new types of immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Servín-Blanco
- a Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), AP 70228, Cuidad Universitaria , México DF , México
| | - R Zamora-Alvarado
- a Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), AP 70228, Cuidad Universitaria , México DF , México
| | - G Gevorkian
- a Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), AP 70228, Cuidad Universitaria , México DF , México
| | - K Manoutcharian
- a Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), AP 70228, Cuidad Universitaria , México DF , México
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33
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Ebert PJR, Cheung J, Yang Y, McNamara E, Hong R, Moskalenko M, Gould SE, Maecker H, Irving BA, Kim JM, Belvin M, Mellman I. MAP Kinase Inhibition Promotes T Cell and Anti-tumor Activity in Combination with PD-L1 Checkpoint Blockade. Immunity 2016; 44:609-621. [PMID: 26944201 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2016.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 520] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Revised: 01/26/2016] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Targeted inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) can induce regression of tumors bearing activating mutations in the Ras pathway but rarely leads to tumor eradication. Although combining MEK inhibition with T-cell-directed immunotherapy might lead to more durable efficacy, T cell responses are themselves at least partially dependent on MEK activity. We show here that MEK inhibition did profoundly block naive CD8(+) T cell priming in tumor-bearing mice, but actually increased the number of effector-phenotype antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells within the tumor. MEK inhibition protected tumor-infiltrating CD8(+) T cells from death driven by chronic TCR stimulation while sparing cytotoxic activity. Combining MEK inhibition with anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) resulted in synergistic and durable tumor regression even where either agent alone was only modestly effective. Thus, despite the central importance of the MAP kinase pathway in some aspects of T cell function, MEK-targeted agents can be compatible with T-cell-dependent immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeanne Cheung
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Yagai Yang
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Erin McNamara
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Rebecca Hong
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | | | | | | | - Bryan A Irving
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jeong M Kim
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Marcia Belvin
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Ira Mellman
- Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
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34
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Identification of peptide-specific TCR genes by in vitro peptide stimulation and CDR3 length polymorphism analysis. Cancer Lett 2015; 363:83-91. [PMID: 25890221 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2015.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2014] [Revised: 03/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Identification of TCR genes specific for tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) is necessary for TCR gene modification of T cells, which is applied in anti-tumor adoptive T cell therapy (ACT). The usual identification methods are based on isolating single peptide-responding T cells and cloning the TCR gene by in vitro expansion or by single-cell RT-PCR. However, the long and exacting in vitro culture period and demanding operational requirements restrict the application of these methods. Immunoscope is an effective tool that profiles a repertoire of TCRs and identifies significantly expanded clones through CDR3 length analysis. In this study, a survivin-derived mutant peptide optimized for HLA-A2 binding was selected to load DCs and activate T cells. The monoclonal expansion of TCRA and TCRB genes was separately identified by Immunoscope analysis and following sequence identification, the properly paired TCR genes were transferred into T cells. Peptide recognition and cytotoxicity assays indicated that TCR-modified PBMCs could respond to both the mutant and wild type peptides and lyse target cells. These results show that combining Immunoscope with in vitro peptide stimulation provides an alternative and superior method for identifying specific TCR genes, which represents a significant advance for the application of TCR gene-modified T cells.
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35
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Peptide Dose and/or Structure in Vaccines as a Determinant of T Cell Responses. Vaccines (Basel) 2014; 2:537-48. [PMID: 26344744 PMCID: PMC4494221 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines2030537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
While T cells recognise the complex of peptide and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) at the cell surface, changes in the dose and/or structure of the peptide component can have profound effects on T cell activation and function. In addition, the repertoire of T cells capable of responding to any given peptide is variable, but broader than a single clone. Consequently, peptide parameters that affect the interaction between T cells and peptide/MHC have been shown to select particular T cell clones for expansion and this impacts on clearance of disease. T cells with high functional avidity are selected on low doses of peptide, while low avidity T cells are favoured in high peptide concentrations. Altering the structure of the peptide ligand can also influence the selection and function of peptide-specific T cell clones. In this review, we will explore the evidence that the choice of peptide dose or the structure of the peptide are critical parameters in an effective vaccine designed to activate T cells.
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36
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Castle JC, Loewer M, Boegel S, de Graaf J, Bender C, Tadmor AD, Boisguerin V, Bukur T, Sorn P, Paret C, Diken M, Kreiter S, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. Immunomic, genomic and transcriptomic characterization of CT26 colorectal carcinoma. BMC Genomics 2014; 15:190. [PMID: 24621249 PMCID: PMC4007559 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 257] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Tumor models are critical for our understanding of cancer and the development of cancer therapeutics. Here, we present an integrated map of the genome, transcriptome and immunome of an epithelial mouse tumor, the CT26 colon carcinoma cell line. Results We found that Kras is homozygously mutated at p.G12D, Apc and Tp53 are not mutated, and Cdkn2a is homozygously deleted. Proliferation and stem-cell markers, including Top2a, Birc5 (Survivin), Cldn6 and Mki67, are highly expressed while differentiation and top-crypt markers Muc2, Ms4a8a (MS4A8B) and Epcam are not. Myc, Trp53 (tp53), Mdm2, Hif1a, and Nras are highly expressed while Egfr and Flt1 are not. MHC class I but not MHC class II is expressed. Several known cancer-testis antigens are expressed, including Atad2, Cep55, and Pbk. The highest expressed gene is a mutated form of the mouse tumor antigen gp70. Of the 1,688 non-synonymous point variations, 154 are both in expressed genes and in peptides predicted to bind MHC and thus potential targets for immunotherapy development. Based on its molecular signature, we predicted that CT26 is refractory to anti-EGFR mAbs and sensitive to MEK and MET inhibitors, as have been previously reported. Conclusions CT26 cells share molecular features with aggressive, undifferentiated, refractory human colorectal carcinoma cells. As CT26 is one of the most extensively used syngeneic mouse tumor models, our data provide a map for the rationale design of mode-of-action studies for pre-clinical evaluation of targeted- and immunotherapies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-190) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Castle
- TRON gGmbH - Translational Oncology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Medical Center gGmbH, Langenbeckstr, 1, Building 708, 55131 Mainz, Germany.
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Guo C, Manjili MH, Subjeck JR, Sarkar D, Fisher PB, Wang XY. Therapeutic cancer vaccines: past, present, and future. Adv Cancer Res 2014; 119:421-75. [PMID: 23870514 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-407190-2.00007-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 361] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic vaccines represent a viable option for active immunotherapy of cancers that aim to treat late stage disease by using a patient's own immune system. The promising results from clinical trials recently led to the approval of the first therapeutic cancer vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This major breakthrough not only provides a new treatment modality for cancer management but also paves the way for rationally designing and optimizing future vaccines with improved anticancer efficacy. Numerous vaccine strategies are currently being evaluated both preclinically and clinically. This review discusses therapeutic cancer vaccines from diverse platforms or targets as well as the preclinical and clinical studies employing these therapeutic vaccines. We also consider tumor-induced immune suppression that hinders the potency of therapeutic vaccines, and potential strategies to counteract these mechanisms for generating more robust and durable antitumor immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunqing Guo
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, USA
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38
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Buhrman JD, Jordan KR, Munson DJ, Moore BL, Kappler JW, Slansky JE. Improving antigenic peptide vaccines for cancer immunotherapy using a dominant tumor-specific T cell receptor. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:33213-25. [PMID: 24106273 PMCID: PMC3829168 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.509554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines that incorporate peptide mimics of tumor antigens, or mimotope vaccines, are commonly used in cancer immunotherapy and function by eliciting increased numbers of T cells that cross-react with the native tumor antigen. Unfortunately, they often elicit T cells that do not cross-react with or that have low affinity for the tumor antigen. Using a high affinity tumor-specific T cell clone, we identified a panel of mimotope vaccines for the dominant peptide antigen from a mouse colon tumor that elicits a range of tumor protection following vaccination. The TCR from this high affinity T cell clone was rarely identified in ex vivo evaluation of tumor-specific T cells elicited by mimotope vaccination. Conversely, a low affinity clone found in the tumor and following immunization was frequently identified. Using peptide libraries, we determined if this frequently identified TCR improved the discovery of efficacious mimotopes. We demonstrated that the representative TCR identified more protective mimotopes than the high affinity TCR. These results suggest that targeting a dominant fraction of tumor-specific T cells generates potent immunity and that consideration of the available T cell repertoire is necessary for targeted T cell therapy. These results have important implications when optimizing mimotope vaccines for cancer immunotherapy.
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Buhrman JD, Slansky JE. Improving T cell responses to modified peptides in tumor vaccines. Immunol Res 2013; 55:34-47. [PMID: 22936035 DOI: 10.1007/s12026-012-8348-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Immune recognition and elimination of cancerous cells is the primary goal of cancer immunotherapy. However, obstacles including immune tolerance and tumor-induced immunosuppression often limit beneficial immune responses. Vaccination is one proposed intervention that may help to overcome these issues and is an active area of study in cancer immunotherapy. Immunizing with tumor antigenic peptides is a promising, straight-forward vaccine strategy hypothesized to boost preexisting antitumor immunity. However, tumor antigens are often weak T cell agonists, attributable to several mechanisms, including immune self-tolerance and poor immunogenicity of self-derived tumor peptides. One strategy for overcoming these mechanisms is vaccination with mimotopes, or peptide mimics of tumor antigens, which alter the antigen presentation and/or T cell activation to increase the expansion of tumor-specific T cells. Evaluation of mimotope vaccine strategies has revealed that even subtle alterations in peptide sequence can dramatically alter antigen presentation and T cell receptor recognition. Most of this research has been performed using T cell clones, which may not be accurate representations of the naturally occurring antitumor response. The relationship between clones generated after mimotope vaccination and the polyclonal T cell repertoire is unclear. Our work with mimotopes in a mouse model of colon carcinoma has revealed important insights into these issues. We propose that the identification of mimotopes based on stimulation of the naturally responding T cell repertoire will dramatically improve the efficacy of mimotope vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D Buhrman
- Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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Shen H, Shao HW, Chen XH, Wu FL, Wang H, Huang ZL, Shen J, Wang T, Zhang WF, Huang SL. Identification of a novel HLA-A2-restricted mutated Survivin epitope and induction of specific anti-HCC CTLs that could effectively cross-recognize wild-type Survivin antigen. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2013; 62:393-403. [PMID: 22926105 PMCID: PMC11028461 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-012-1323-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 07/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Peptide vaccine based on tumor-associated antigen (TAA), which usually belongs to self-antigen with poor immunogenicity, has been considered as an attractive option for treatment of malignant tumors. The ideal TAA epitopes should have stable affinity to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules and elicit strong anti-tumor immune response. Although point-mutation technology of TAA peptide may increase the binding capability to MHC molecules, some previous studies have revealed that part of the variant peptides results in lymphocyte not to effectively cross-recognize and kill the target tumor expressed wild-type TAA. Here, we designed a novel HLA-A2-restricted mutated TAA Survivin epitope nonapeptide Sur79L2 (KLSSGCAFL) that showed higher binding ability compared to wild-type peptide Sur79 (KHSSGCAFL) in T2-binding assays. To investigate whether Sur79L2 can induce Survivin-specific anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) response, we stimulated tumor-associated lymphocytes from a HCC patient with Sur79L2 in vitro. IFN-γ release and cytotoxicity assays showed Sur79L2 could effectively cross-recognize and lysis T2 cell plus peptide Sur79 and HCC cell lines (expression of wild-type Survivin antigen) in an HLA-A2-restricted manner. In contrast, peptide Sur95 (ELTLGEFLKL) that has been reported as a very promising anti-tumor epitope in a variety of tumors except HCC were not able to generate detectable cytotoxic immune responses against HCC in this study. Our results suggest that point-mutated peptide Sur79L2 is a new HLA-A2-restricted CTL epitope and may be useful for the immunotherapy for patients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Shen
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Southern Medical University, 1838 North Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou, 510515 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Hong-Wei Shao
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Bio-Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Hua Chen
- Department of Oncology, Guangzhou Panyu Central Hospital, 8 Fuyu Road East, Panyu District, Guangzhou, 511400 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Feng-Lin Wu
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Bio-Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Hui Wang
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Bio-Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhao-Liang Huang
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Juan Shen
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Teng Wang
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Wen-Feng Zhang
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Bio-Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Shu-Lin Huang
- School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Bio-Pharmaceutical, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, 28 E. Rd outside the City of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
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Buhrman JD, Jordan KR, U'ren L, Sprague J, Kemmler CB, Slansky JE. Augmenting antitumor T-cell responses to mimotope vaccination by boosting with native tumor antigens. Cancer Res 2012; 73:74-85. [PMID: 23161490 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-12-1005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Vaccination with antigens expressed by tumors is one strategy for stimulating enhanced T-cell responses against tumors. However, these peptide vaccines rarely result in efficient expansion of tumor-specific T cells or responses that protect against tumor growth. Mimotopes, or peptide mimics of tumor antigens, elicit increased numbers of T cells that crossreact with the native tumor antigen, resulting in potent antitumor responses. Unfortunately, mimotopes may also elicit cells that do not crossreact or have low affinity for tumor antigen. We previously showed that one such mimotope of the dominant MHC class I tumor antigen of a mouse colon carcinoma cell line stimulates a tumor-specific T-cell clone and elicits antigen-specific cells in vivo, yet protects poorly against tumor growth. We hypothesized that boosting the mimotope vaccine with the native tumor antigen would focus the T-cell response elicited by the mimotope toward high affinity, tumor-specific T cells. We show that priming T cells with the mimotope, followed by a native tumor-antigen boost, improves tumor immunity compared with T cells elicited by the same prime with a mimotope boost. Our data suggest that the improved tumor immunity results from the expansion of mimotope-elicited tumor-specific T cells that have increased avidity for the tumor antigen. The enhanced T cells are phenotypically distinct and enriched for T-cell receptors previously correlated with improved antitumor immunity. These results suggest that incorporation of native antigen into clinical mimotope vaccine regimens may improve the efficacy of antitumor T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D Buhrman
- Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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Jordan KR, Buhrman JD, Sprague J, Moore BL, Gao D, Kappler JW, Slansky JE. TCR hypervariable regions expressed by T cells that respond to effective tumor vaccines. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2012; 61:1627-38. [PMID: 22350070 PMCID: PMC3410973 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-012-1217-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2011] [Accepted: 01/30/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A major goal of immunotherapy for cancer is the activation of T cell responses against tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). One important strategy for improving antitumor immunity is vaccination with peptide variants of TAAs. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the expansion of T cells that respond to the native tumor antigen is an important step in developing effective peptide-variant vaccines. Using an immunogenic mouse colon cancer model, we compare the binding properties and the TCR genes expressed by T cells elicited by peptide variants that elicit variable antitumor immunity directly ex vivo. The steady-state affinity of the natural tumor antigen for the T cells responding to effective peptide vaccines was higher relative to ineffective peptides, consistent with their improved function. Ex vivo analysis showed that T cells responding to the effective peptides expressed a CDR3β motif, which was also shared by T cells responding to the natural antigen and not those responding to the less effective peptide vaccines. Importantly, these data demonstrate that peptide vaccines can expand T cells that naturally respond to tumor antigens, resulting in more effective antitumor immunity. Future immunotherapies may require similar stringent analysis of the responding T cells to select optimal peptides as vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly R Jordan
- Integrated Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, 1400 Jackson Street, Room K511, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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Qian K, Gu W, Yuan P, Liu F, Wang Y, Monteiro M, Yu C. Enrichment and detection of peptides from biological systems using designed periodic mesoporous organosilica microspheres. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2012; 8:231-236. [PMID: 22135224 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201101770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2011] [Revised: 09/26/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Periodic mesoporous organosilica microspheres (PMOMs) are designed with integrated structural features, including a cubic mesostructure, hydrophobic wall composition, a uniform pore size of ≈3 nm, and a spherical morphology in micrometers, all advantageous for size-selective and highly efficient enrichment of peptides from mixtures. Consequently, PMOMs can be used to capture peptides in a range of complex biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Qian
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia Fax: (+)61-7-33463973
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Song Z, Guo C, Li Y, Tan B, Fan L, Xiao J. Enhanced antitumor effects of a dendritic cell vaccine transfected with gastric cancer cell total RNA carrying the 4-1BBL gene in vitro. Exp Ther Med 2011; 3:319-323. [PMID: 22969889 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2011.394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2011] [Accepted: 11/17/2011] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
T cell-mediated antitumor immunity is a cellular immune response that requires two signals. The dendritic cell (DC) has been considered as the most efficient antigen-presenting cell (APC). It plays essential roles in the induction, regulation and maintenance of antitumor immunity in humans. The 4-1BB/4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL) pathway plays crucial roles in immune response, tumor immunity and autoimmune diseases through transduction of T cell co-stimulatory signals. The aim of this study was to generate the preparation protocol for a DC vaccine transfected with gastric cancer cell total ribonucleic acid (RNA) carrying the 4-1 BBL gene in vitro and to investigate its antitumor effects in murine forestomach carcinoma (MFC). The vaccine was prepared by transfecting MFC total RNAs carrying the 4-1BBL gene into the DCs that were isolated from 615 mouse bones. The T cell proliferation rate in the MFC/4-1BBL/DC group was higher than that in the DC group. The tumor cell kill rate in the MFC/4-1BBL/DC group was higher than that in the DC group. ELISA analysis showed that IL-12 and IFN-γ in the MFC/4-1BBL/DC group were more highly expressed compared to the other group. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the DC vaccine transfected with gastric cancer cell total RNA carrying the 4-1BBL gene has a stronger ability to kill gastric cancer cells through promoting T cell proliferation and enhancing the ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to kill gastric carcinoma cells and to secrete IL-12 and IFN-γ. Our results provide an effective therapeutic strategy for treating gastric cancer using a DC vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenchuan Song
- Department of Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050011, P.R. China
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Kemmler CB, Clambey ET, Kedl RM, Slansky JE. Elevated tumor-associated antigen expression suppresses variant peptide vaccine responses. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2011; 187:4431-9. [PMID: 21940675 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1101555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Variant peptide vaccines are used clinically to expand T cells that cross-react with tumor-associated Ags (TAA). To investigate the effects of elevated endogenous TAA expression on variant peptide-induced responses, we used the GP70 TAA model. Although young BALB/c mice display T cell tolerance to the TAA GP70(423-431) (AH1), expression of GP70 and suppression of AH1-specific responses increases with age. We hypothesized that as TAA expression increases, the AH1 cross-reactivity of variant peptide-elicited T cell responses diminishes. Controlling for immunosenescence, we showed that elevated GP70 expression suppressed AH1 cross-reactive responses elicited by two AH1 peptide variants. A variant that elicited almost exclusively AH1 cross-reactive T cells in young mice elicited few or no T cells in aging mice with Ab-detectable GP70 expression. In contrast, a variant that elicited a less AH1 cross-reactive T cell response in young mice successfully expanded AH1 cross-reactive T cells in all aging mice tested. However, these T cells bound the AH1/MHC complex with a relatively short half-life and responded poorly to ex vivo stimulation with the AH1 peptide. Variant peptide vaccine responses were also suppressed when AH1 peptide is administered tolerogenically to young mice before vaccination. Analyses of variant-specific precursor T cells from naive mice with Ab-detectable GP70 expression determined that these T cells expressed PD-1 and had downregulated IL-7Rα expression, suggesting they were anergic or undergoing deletion. Although variant peptide vaccines were less effective as TAA expression increases, data presented in this article also suggest that complementary immunotherapies may induce the expansion of T cells with functional TAA recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles B Kemmler
- Integrated Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver and National Jewish Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA
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Translating tumor antigens into cancer vaccines. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI 2010; 18:23-34. [PMID: 21048000 DOI: 10.1128/cvi.00286-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Vaccines represent a strategic successful tool used to prevent or contain diseases with high morbidity and/or mortality. However, while vaccines have proven to be effective in combating pathogenic microorganisms, based on the immune recognition of these foreign antigens, vaccines aimed at inducing effective antitumor activity are still unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the two licensed cancer-preventive vaccines targeting tumor-associated viral agents (anti-HBV [hepatitis B virus], to prevent HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma, and anti-HPV [human papillomavirus], to prevent HPV-associated cervical carcinoma), along with the recent FDA approval of sipuleucel-T (for the therapeutic treatment of prostate cancer), represents a significant advancement in the field of cancer vaccines and a boost for new studies in the field. Specific active immunotherapies based on anticancer vaccines represent, indeed, a field in continuous evolution and expansion. Significant improvements may result from the selection of the appropriate tumor-specific target antigen (to overcome the peripheral immune tolerance) and/or the development of immunization strategies effective at inducing a protective immune response. This review aims to describe the vast spectrum of tumor antigens and strategies to develop cancer vaccines.
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Abstract
Recent research on T cell-antigen interactions suggests that tighter binding is not always better at eliciting an effective immune response.
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Hansen TH, Connolly JM, Gould KG, Fremont DH. Basic and translational applications of engineered MHC class I proteins. Trends Immunol 2010; 31:363-9. [PMID: 20832361 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2010.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2010] [Revised: 06/28/2010] [Accepted: 07/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules can be engineered as single chain trimers (SCTs) that sequentially incorporate all three subunits of the fully assembled proteins, namely peptide, β2 microglobulin, and heavy chain. SCTs have been made with many different MHC-peptide complexes and are used as novel diagnostic and therapeutic reagents, as well as probes for diverse biological questions. Here, we review the recent and diverse applications of SCTs. These applications include new approaches to enumerate disease-related T cells, DNA vaccines, eliciting responses to pre-assembled MHC-peptide complexes, and unique probes of lymphocyte development and activation. Future applications of SCTs will be driven by their further engineering and the ever-expanding identification of disease-related peptides using chemical, genetic and computational approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted H Hansen
- Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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