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Ramos da Silva J, Ramos Moreno AC, Silva Sales N, de Oliveira Silva M, Aps LRMM, Porchia BFMM, Bitencourt Rodrigues K, Cestari Moreno N, Venceslau-Carvalho AA, Menck CFM, de Oliveira Diniz M, de Souza Ferreira LC. A therapeutic DNA vaccine and gemcitabine act synergistically to eradicate HPV-associated tumors in a preclinical model. Oncoimmunology 2021; 10:1949896. [PMID: 34367730 PMCID: PMC8312617 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2021.1949896] [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] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although active immunotherapies are effective strategies to induce activation of CD8+ T cells, advanced stage tumors require further improvements for efficient control. Concerning the burden of cancer-related to Human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly the high incidence and mortality of cervical cancer, our group developed an approach based on a DNA vaccine targeting the HPV-16 E7 oncoprotein (pgDE7h). This immunotherapy is capable of inducing an antitumour CD8+ T cell response but show only partial control of tumors in more advanced growth stages. Here, we combined a chemotherapeutic agent (gemcitabine- Gem) with pgDE7h to overcome immunosuppression and improve antitumour responses in a preclinical mouse tumor model. Our results demonstrated that administration of Gem had synergistic antitumor effects when combined with pgDE7h leading to eradication of both early-stages and established tumors. Overall, the antiproliferative effects of Gem observed in vitro and in vivo provided an optimal window for immunotherapy. In addition, the enhanced antitumour responses induced by the combined therapeutic regimen included enhanced frequencies of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), E7-specific IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells, and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and, concomitantly, less pronounced accumulation of immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs). These findings demonstrated that the combination of Gem and an active immunotherapy strategy show increased effectiveness, leading to a reduced need for multiple drug doses and, therefore, decreased deleterious side effects avoiding resistance and tumor relapses. Altogether, our results provide evidence for a new and feasible chemoimmunotherapeutic strategy that supports future clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamile Ramos da Silva
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina Ramos Moreno
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natiely Silva Sales
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariângela de Oliveira Silva
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luana R M M Aps
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Bruna F M M Porchia
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Laboratory of Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Karine Bitencourt Rodrigues
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natália Cestari Moreno
- DNA Repair Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Mitochondrial Genetics Lab. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Carlos Frederico M Menck
- DNA Repair Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariana de Oliveira Diniz
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, 5 University St, Bloomsbury, London, UK
| | - Luís Carlos de Souza Ferreira
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Pourakbari R, Hajizadeh F, Parhizkar F, Aghebati-Maleki A, Mansouri S, Aghebati-Maleki L. Co-stimulatory agonists: An insight into the immunotherapy of cancer. EXCLI JOURNAL 2021; 20:1055-1085. [PMID: 34267616 PMCID: PMC8278219 DOI: 10.17179/excli2021-3522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint pathways consist of stimulatory pathways, which can function like a strong impulse to promote T helper cells or killer CD8+ cells activation and proliferation. On the other hand, inhibitory pathways keep self-tolerance of the immune response. Increasing immunological activity by stimulating and blocking these signaling pathways are recognized as immune checkpoint therapies. Providing the best responses of CD8+ T cell needs the activation of T cell receptor along with the co-stimulation that is generated via stimulatory checkpoint pathways ligation including Inducible Co-Stimulator (ICOS), CD40, 4-1BB, GITR, and OX40. In cancer, programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1), Programmed cell death ligand-1(PD-L1) and Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4) are the most known inhibitory checkpoint pathways, which can hinder the immune responses which have specifically anti-tumor characteristics and attenuate T cell activation and also cytokine production. The use of antagonistic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that block CTLA-4 or PD-1 activation is used in a variety of malignancies. It has been reported that they can lead to an increase in T cells and thereby strengthen anti-tumor immunity. Agonists of stimulatory checkpoint pathways can induce strong immunologic responses in metastatic patients; however, for achieving long-lasting benefits for the wide range of patients, efficient combinatorial therapies are required. In the present review, we focus on the preclinical and basic research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which immune checkpoint inhibitor blockade or other approaches with co-stimulatory agonists work together to improve T-cell antitumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramin Pourakbari
- Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.,Student's Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.,Department of Immunology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Farnaz Hajizadeh
- Department of Immunology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.,Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Forough Parhizkar
- Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.,Department of Immunology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ali Aghebati-Maleki
- Student's Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Sanaz Mansouri
- Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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Ji S, Lee J, Lee ES, Kim DH, Sin JI. B16 melanoma control by anti-PD-L1 requires CD8+ T cells and NK cells: application of anti-PD-L1 Abs and Trp2 peptide vaccines. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021; 17:1910-1922. [PMID: 33522416 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1866951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy has been beneficial in treating patients with certain cancers. Here, we tested whether anti-PD-L1 therapy is effective for controlling different types of tumors using animal models of TC-1, MC38 and B16. We found that, despite PD-L1 expression, anti-PD-L1 therapy showed little and some antitumor activity in the TC-1 and MC38 models. However, anti-PD-L1 therapy exhibited a more dramatic antitumor effect in the B16 model. This difference in antitumor responses was likely associated with the CD8 + T cell infiltration status of tumor tissues. In the B16 model, CD8 + T cells and to a lesser degree NK cells were found to be responsible for the antitumor response of anti-PD-L1 therapy, as determined by immune cell subset depletion. In particular, CD8 + T cells from B16-bearing mice produced an IFN-γ in response to B16 cells and citrate phosphate buffer-treated B16 cell peptide elutes but not to an immunodominant class I epitope, Trp2180-188, suggesting that CD8 + T cells that recognize neoantigens were induced in B16 tumor-bearing mice and then reactivated by anti-PD-L1 for tumor control. When B16 tumor-bearing mice were treated with anti-PD-L1 in combination with Trp2180-188 peptide vaccines, they displayed significantly more tumor control than either single therapy. Taken together, these studies show that B16 melanomas are more effectively controlled through reactivation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by anti-PD-L1 therapy. Moreover, combined therapy using anti-PD-L1 and Trp2 peptide vaccines is more beneficial for controlling B16 melanomas through reactivation of neoantigen-specific CD8 + T cells and induction of Trp2-specific CD8 + T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunhee Ji
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea
| | - Jaeyeon Lee
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.,Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in BIT Medical Convergence, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea
| | - Eung Suk Lee
- Scripps Korea Antibody Institute, Chuncheon, Korea
| | - Dae Hee Kim
- Scripps Korea Antibody Institute, Chuncheon, Korea
| | - Jeong-Im Sin
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.,Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in BIT Medical Convergence, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea
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Geng F, Bao X, Dong L, Guo QQ, Guo J, Xie Y, Zhou Y, Yu B, Wu H, Wu JX, Zhang HH, Yu XH, Kong W. Doxorubicin pretreatment enhances FAPα/survivin co-targeting DNA vaccine anti-tumor activity primarily through decreasing peripheral MDSCs in the 4T1 murine breast cancer model. Oncoimmunology 2020; 9:1747350. [PMID: 32363118 PMCID: PMC7185204 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2020.1747350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) provides necessary nutrition for tumor growth and recruits immunosuppressive factors including regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) to inhibit the anti-tumor immune response induced by immunotherapy. As a main TME component, cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can restrain T cell infiltration and activity through extracellular matrix remodeling. Vaccines targeting fibroblast-activating protein α (FAPα), which is mainly expressed on the CAF surface, can eliminate CAFs in tumors and regulate the TME, enhancing the potency of T cell-mediated anti-tumor effects. However, the anti-tumor effects were not fully realized as the tumor induces a large number of peripheral MDSCs during its growth, rendering the body of mice in an immunosuppressive state and preventing the vaccine from inducing effective anti-tumor immune responses. Here, we developed a dual-targeted DNA vaccine OsFS, targeting tumor matrix antigen FAPα and tumor cell antigen survivin simultaneously, exhibited enhanced antineoplastic effects in an established breast cancer model. Moreover, doxorubicin (Dox) pretreatment to remove the peripheral MDSCs induced to regulate the peripheral immune environment could further facilitate the anti-tumor activity of the vaccine. These results indicated that combination treatment of the tumor cells and the TME dual-targeting vaccine plus Dox could effectively realize the anti-tumor activity of the vaccine by decreasing immunosuppressive factors and inducing more tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which may offer important guidance for clinical research regarding the combination of the DNA vaccine with low-dose Dox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Geng
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Xin Bao
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Ling Dong
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Qian-Qian Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Jie Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Yu Xie
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Yi Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Bin Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Hui Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Jia-Xin Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Hai-Hong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Xiang-Hui Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
| | - Wei Kong
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China
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Myeloid-driven mechanisms as barriers to antitumor CD8 + T cell activity. Mol Immunol 2019; 118:165-173. [PMID: 31884388 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2019.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The adaptive immune system is essential for host defense against pathogenic challenges, and a major constituent is the CD8+ cytotoxic T cell. Ordinarily, CD8+ T cells are endowed with a unique ability to specifically recognize and destroy their targets. However, in cases where disease emerges, especially in cancer, the efficacy of the CD8+ T cell response is frequently counterbalanced in a 'tug-of-war' by networks of tumor-driven mechanisms of immune suppression. As a result, antitumor CD8+ T cell activity is hampered, which contributes to clinical manifestations of disease. It is now well-recognized that prominent elements of that network include myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and macrophages which assume tumor-supportive phenotypes. Both myeloid populations are thought to arise as consequences of chronic inflammatory cues produced during the neoplastic process. Numerous preclinical studies have now shown that inhibiting the production, trafficking and/or function of these immune suppressive myeloid populations restore antitumor CD8+ T cell responses during both immune surveillance or in response to immune-targeted interventions. Correlative studies in cancer patients support these preclinical findings and, thus, have laid the foundation for ongoing clinical trials in patients receiving novel agents that target such myeloid elements alone or in combination with immunotherapy to potentially improve cancer patient outcomes. Accordingly, this review focuses on how and why it is important to study the myeloid-T cell interplay as an innovative strategy to boost or reinvigorate the CD8+ T cell response as a critical weapon in the battle against malignancy.
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