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Brauer KM, Werth D, von Schwarzenberg K, Bringmann A, Kanz L, Grünebach F, Brossart P. BCR-ABL Activity Is Critical for the Immunogenicity of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Cells. Cancer Res 2007; 67:5489-97. [PMID: 17545631 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-07-0302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder caused by excessive granulopoiesis due to the formation of the constitutively active tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL. An effective drug against CML is imatinib mesylate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor acting on Abl kinases, c-KIT, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor. Recently, a study revealed that patients treated with imatinib showed impaired CTL responses compared with patients treated with IFN-alpha, which might be due to a treatment-induced reduction in immunogenicity of CML cells or immunosuppressive effects. In our study, we found that inhibition of BCR-ABL leads to a down-regulation of immunogenic antigens on the CML cells in response to imatinib treatment, which results in the inhibition of CML-directed immune responses. By treating CML cells with imatinib, we could show that the resulting inhibition of BCR-ABL leads to a decreased expression of tumor antigens, including survivin, adipophilin, hTERT, WT-1, Bcl-x(L), and Bcl-2 in correlation to a decreased development of CML-specific CTLs. In contrast, this reduction in immunogenicity was not observed when a CML cell line resistant to the inhibitory effects of imatinib was used, but could be confirmed by transfection with specific small interfering RNA against BCR-ABL or imatinib treatment of primary CML cells.
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MESH Headings
- Antigens, Neoplasm/biosynthesis
- Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology
- Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology
- Benzamides
- Dendritic Cells/immunology
- Down-Regulation
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/antagonists & inhibitors
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/immunology
- Humans
- Imatinib Mesylate
- K562 Cells
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/immunology
- Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects
- Piperazines/pharmacology
- Pyrimidines/pharmacology
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/drug effects
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina M Brauer
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, Immunology, Rheumatology, and Pulmonology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Grünebach F, Mirakaj V, Mirakaj V, Müller MR, Brümmendorf T, Brossart P. BCR-ABL Is Not an Immunodominant Antigen in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. Cancer Res 2006; 66:5892-900. [PMID: 16740729 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-05-2868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, we analyzed the involvement of the BCR-ABL protein in the induction of antigen-specific CTL in order to develop an immunotherapeutic approach in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). To accomplish this, we generated dendritic cells (DC) in vitro and electroporated them with various sources of RNA harboring the chimeric bcr-abl transcript. These genetically engineered DCs were used as antigen-presenting cells for the induction of CTLs. By applying this approach, we found that the CTLs induced by DCs transfected with RNA extracted from bcr-abl-positive K-562 cells or CML blasts lysed DCs transfected with the corresponding RNA, but failed to recognize epitopes derived from the chimeric BCR-ABL fusion protein in (51)Cr-release assays. In contrast, they were able to lyse autologous DCs electroporated with RNA isolated from patients with acute myeloid leukemia, indicating that antigens shared among these malignant cells are involved and recognized by these CTLs. In patients with CML in complete cytogenetic remission during IFN-alpha treatment, we detected some reactivity of CD8(+) T cells against BCR-ABL in IFN-gamma ELISPOT assays, which was weaker as compared with proteinase 3 (PR3)- or prame-directed responses, suggesting that the BCR-ABL protein is less immunogenic as compared with other CML-derived antigens.
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MESH Headings
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/physiology
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- Dendritic Cells/immunology
- Dendritic Cells/physiology
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/genetics
- Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/immunology
- Humans
- Immunodominant Epitopes/genetics
- Immunodominant Epitopes/immunology
- Interferon-gamma/metabolism
- K562 Cells
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/immunology
- RNA, Neoplasm/genetics
- RNA, Neoplasm/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- Transfection
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Grünebach
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, Immunology, and Rheumatology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Wu CJ, Biernacki M, Kutok JL, Rogers S, Chen L, Yang XF, Soiffer RJ, Ritz J. Graft-versus-leukemia target antigens in chronic myelogenous leukemia are expressed on myeloid progenitor cells. Clin Cancer Res 2005; 11:4504-11. [PMID: 15958636 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-05-0036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) reliably induces durable remission in 75% to 80% of patients with relapsed chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. We previously reported the identification of a high titer-specific immunoglobulin G response against two novel leukemia-associated antigens, CML28 and CML66, which correlated with immune-induced remission. The present studies characterize expression of CML28 and CML66 in primary hematopoietic tissues. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Specific monoclonal antibodies to CML28 and CML66 were developed and used to detect antigen expression in leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia tissue on Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Expression patterns were confirmed by antigen-specific real-time PCR. RESULTS Both CML28 and CML66 were highly expressed in leukemic blasts from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia and CML blast crisis but barely detectable in normal bone marrow, normal peripheral blood, or leukemic cells from patients with stable-phase CML. In contrast, purified CD34+ progenitors from normal individuals and patients with stable-phase CML expressed high levels of CML28 and CML66 transcript and protein. Immunohistochemical staining for CML66 confirmed rare staining of myeloid precursors in normal marrow and diffuse staining of myeloblastic cells in acute myelogenous leukemia and blast crisis CML marrows. CONCLUSIONS The expression patterns of CML28 and CML66 are strikingly similar and suggest that antigen expression may play a role in shaping the post-DLI antibody repertoire. The CD34+ restricted pattern of expression of CML28 and CML66 is particularly relevant in light of the notion that DLI likely exerts its curative effect by targeting antigens present in self-renewing malignant progenitor populations in CML.
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MESH Headings
- Antibody Specificity
- Antigens, Neoplasm/genetics
- Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology
- Antigens, Neoplasm/metabolism
- Antigens, Surface/genetics
- Antigens, Surface/immunology
- Antigens, Surface/metabolism
- Blotting, Western
- Bone Marrow/metabolism
- Bone Marrow/pathology
- Exoribonucleases
- Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Graft vs Leukemia Effect/immunology
- Humans
- Immunohistochemistry
- K562 Cells
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/pathology
- Myeloid Progenitor Cells/metabolism
- Myeloid Progenitor Cells/pathology
- RNA-Binding Proteins
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine J Wu
- Division of Hematologic Malignancies, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
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Fujiwara H, Melenhorst JJ, El Ouriaghli F, Kajigaya S, Grube M, Sconocchia G, Rezvani K, Price DA, Hensel NF, Douek DC, Barrett AJ. In vitro induction of myeloid leukemia-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells by CD40 ligand-activated B cells gene modified to express primary granule proteins. Clin Cancer Res 2005; 11:4495-503. [PMID: 15958635 PMCID: PMC2366103 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-04-2363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The primary granule proteins (PGP) of myeloid cells are a source of multiple antigens with immunotherapeutic potential for myeloid leukemias. Therefore, we developed a method to induce T-cell responses to PGP protein sequences. We found that gene-transfected antigen-presenting cells efficiently expand functionally competent PGP-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells. The system was optimized using T-cell responses to autologous CD40-activated B cells (CD40-B) transfected with a cytomegalovirus pp65-encoding expression vector. To generate leukemia-specific T cells, expression vectors encoding the PGP proteinase 3 (PR3), human neutrophil elastase, and cathepsin-G were transfected into CD40-B cells to stimulate post-allogeneic stem cell transplantation T cells from five patients with myeloid and three with lymphoid leukemias. T-cell responses to PGP proteinase 3 and human neutrophil elastase were observed in CD8+ and CD4+ T cells only in patients with myeloid leukemias. T-cell responses against cathepsin-G occurred in both myeloid and lymphoblastic leukemias. T cells from a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and from a posttransplant CML patient, expanded against PGP, produced IFN-gamma or were cytotoxic to the patient's CML cells, demonstrating specific antileukemic efficacy. This study emphasizes the clinical potential of PGP for expansion and adoptive transfer of polyclonal leukemia antigen-specific T cells to treat leukemia.
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MESH Headings
- Antigen-Presenting Cells/immunology
- Antigen-Presenting Cells/metabolism
- Antigen-Presenting Cells/pathology
- B-Lymphocytes/immunology
- B-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- B-Lymphocytes/pathology
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/pathology
- CD40 Antigens/genetics
- CD40 Antigens/immunology
- CD40 Antigens/metabolism
- CD40 Ligand/genetics
- CD40 Ligand/immunology
- CD40 Ligand/metabolism
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/pathology
- Cathepsin G
- Cathepsins/genetics
- Cathepsins/metabolism
- Cells, Cultured
- Gene Expression
- HL-60 Cells
- Humans
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Interferon-gamma/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/immunology
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/pathology
- Leukemia, Myeloid/genetics
- Leukemia, Myeloid/immunology
- Leukemia, Myeloid/pathology
- Leukocyte Elastase/genetics
- Leukocyte Elastase/metabolism
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Myeloblastin
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Serine Endopeptidases/genetics
- Serine Endopeptidases/metabolism
- Transfection
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Fujiwara
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - J. Joseph Melenhorst
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Frank El Ouriaghli
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Sachiko Kajigaya
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Matthias Grube
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Giuseppe Sconocchia
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Katayoun Rezvani
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - David A. Price
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Nancy F. Hensel
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
| | - Daniel C. Douek
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - A. John Barrett
- Stem Cell Allotransplant Section, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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Wu CH, Gordon J, Rastegar M, Ogretmen B, Safa AR. Proteinase-3, a serine protease which mediates doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in the HL-60 leukemia cell line, is downregulated in its doxorubicin-resistant variant. Oncogene 2002; 21:5160-74. [PMID: 12140766 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1205639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2002] [Revised: 04/19/2002] [Accepted: 04/24/2002] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We report here that expression of proteinase 3 (PR3), a serine protease, is down-regulated in the HL60/ADR multidrug resistant variant of the human myelogenous leukemia cell line HL-60, and that down-regulation of PR3 is associated with doxorubicin (DOX) resistance in these cells. To determine whether PR3 is involved in DOX-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells, and whether its loss causes resistance to DOX, we inhibited PR3 expression by an anti-sense PR3 oligodeoxynucleotide and showed that inhibition of PR3 expression results in a significant reduction in DOX-induced DNA fragmentation and increased resistance to DOX-induced apoptosis. Our results revealed that PR3-mediated DOX-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells is independent of the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (deltapsi(m)) and activation of the caspase-8 and -9 pathways. Moreover, while PR3 is involved in the cleavage of caspase-3, PR3-mediated DOX-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis were not prevented by a specific inhibitor of caspase-3. These data suggest that activation of caspase-3 alone is not sufficient to trigger PR3-mediated DOX-induced apoptosis. Treatment with an anti-PR3 oligomer significantly decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in cells treated with low concentrations of DOX, revealing a role for PR3 in enhancing production of DOX-induced ROS. Moreover, DOX-induced apoptosis at 0.001-0.01 microM was only inhibited in HL-60 cells pre-treated with the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine in the absence of anti-PR3, revealing that DOX-induced apoptosis in these cells is PR3- and ROS-dependent. Our results show that PR3 is involved in DOX-induced ROS-dependent apoptosis and that its loss is associated with resistance to DOX in HL-60 cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Huang Wu
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University, 1044 West Walnut R4-119, Indianapolis, Indiana, IN 46202, USA
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Abstract
Hematologic malignancies such as acute and chronic myeloid leukemia are characterized by the malignant transformation of immature CD34+ progenitor cells. Transformation is associated with elevated expression of the Wilm's tumor gene encoded transcription factor (WT1). Here we demonstrate that WT1 can serve as a target for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) with exquisite specificity for leukemic progenitor cells. HLA-A0201– restricted CTL specific for WT1 kill leukemia cell lines and inhibit colony formation by transformed CD34+ progenitor cells isolated from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), whereas colony formation by normal CD34+ progenitor cells is unaffected. Thus, the tissue-specific transcription factor WT1 is an ideal target for CTL-mediated purging of leukemic progenitor cells in vitro and for antigen-specific therapy of leukemia and other WT1-expressing malignancies in vivo.
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HLA class I-restricted lysis of leukemia cells by a CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clone specific for WT1 peptide. Blood 2000. [DOI: 10.1182/blood.v95.1.286.001k48_286_293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Wilms tumor (WT1) gene has been reported to be preferentially expressed in acute leukemia cells, regardless of leukemia subtype and chronic myelogenous leukemia cells in blast crisis, but not in normal cells. This finding suggests strongly that WT1 protein is a potential target of immunotherapy for human leukemia. In this study, we established a CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) clone directed against a WT1-derived peptide and examined its immunologic actions on leukemia cells. A CD8+ CTL clone, designated TAK-1, which lysed autologous cells loaded with a WT1-derived 9-mer peptide consisting of the HLA-A24 (HLA-A*2402)-binding motifs was established by stimulating CD8+ T lymphocytes from a healthy individual repeatedly with WT1 peptide-pulsed autologous dendritic cells. TAK-1 was cytotoxic to HLA-A24–positive leukemia cells expressing WT1, but not to HLA-A24–positive lymphoma cells that did not express WT1, HLA-A24–negative leukemia cells, or HLA-A24–positive normal cells. Treating leukemia cells with an antisense oligonucleotide complementary to the WT1 gene resulted in reduced TAK-1-mediated cytotoxicity, suggesting that target antigen of TAK-1 on leukemia cells is the naturally processed WT1 peptide in the context of HLA-A24. TAK-1 did not inhibit colony formation by normal bone marrow cells of HLA-A24–positive individuals. Because WT1 is overexpressed ubiquitously in various types of leukemia cells, but not in normal cells, immunotherapy using WT1 peptide-specific CTL clones should be an efficacious treatment for human leukemia. (Blood. 2000;95:286-293)
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