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Freitas R, Peixoto A, Ferreira E, Miranda A, Santos LL, Ferreira JA. Immunomodulatory glycomedicine: Introducing next generation cancer glycovaccines. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 65:108144. [PMID: 37028466 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023]
Abstract
Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide due to the lack of safer and more effective therapies. Cancer vaccines developed from neoantigens are an emerging strategy to promote protective and therapeutic anti-cancer immune responses. Advances in glycomics and glycoproteomics have unveiled several cancer-specific glycosignatures, holding tremendous potential to foster effective cancer glycovaccines. However, the immunosuppressive nature of tumours poses a major obstacle to vaccine-based immunotherapy. Chemical modification of tumour associated glycans, conjugation with immunogenic carriers and administration in combination with potent immune adjuvants constitute emerging strategies to address this bottleneck. Moreover, novel vaccine vehicles have been optimized to enhance immune responses against otherwise poorly immunogenic cancer epitopes. Nanovehicles have shown increased affinity for antigen presenting cells (APCs) in lymph nodes and tumours, while reducing treatment toxicity. Designs exploiting glycans recognized by APCs have further enhanced the delivery of antigenic payloads, improving glycovaccine's capacity to elicit innate and acquired immune responses. These solutions show potential to reduce tumour burden, while generating immunological memory. Building on this rationale, we provide a comprehensive overview on emerging cancer glycovaccines, emphasizing the potential of nanotechnology in this context. A roadmap towards clinical implementation is also delivered foreseeing advances in glycan-based immunomodulatory cancer medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Freitas
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute - University of Porto (ICBAS), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Andreia Peixoto
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
| | - Eduardo Ferreira
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
| | - Andreia Miranda
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute - University of Porto (ICBAS), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Lúcio Lara Santos
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute - University of Porto (ICBAS), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; Health School of University Fernando Pessoa, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal; GlycoMatters Biotech, 4500-162 Espinho, Portugal; Department of Surgical Oncology, Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
| | - José Alexandre Ferreira
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, IPO Porto Research Center (CI-IPOP), RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute (IPO Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal; GlycoMatters Biotech, 4500-162 Espinho, Portugal.
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Conjugation Mechanism for Pneumococcal Glycoconjugate Vaccines: Classic and Emerging Methods. BIOENGINEERING (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:bioengineering9120774. [PMID: 36550980 PMCID: PMC9774679 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9120774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Licensed glycoconjugate vaccines are generally prepared using native or sized polysaccharides coupled to a carrier protein through random linkages along the polysaccharide chain. These polysaccharides must be chemically modified before covalent linking to a carrier protein in order to obtain a more defined polysaccharide structure that leads to a more rational design and safer vaccines. There are classic and new methods for site-selective glycopolysaccharide conjugation, either chemical or enzymatic modification of the polysaccharide length or of specific amino acid residues of the protein carrier. Here, we discuss the state of the art and the advancement of conjugation of S. pneumoniae glycoconjugate vaccines based on pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides to improve existing vaccines.
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A roadmap for translational cancer glycoimmunology at single cell resolution. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2022; 41:143. [PMID: 35428302 PMCID: PMC9013178 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-022-02335-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells can evade immune responses by exploiting inhibitory immune checkpoints. Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies based on anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies have been extensively explored over the recent years to unleash otherwise compromised anti-cancer immune responses. However, it is also well established that immune suppression is a multifactorial process involving an intricate crosstalk between cancer cells and the immune systems. The cancer glycome is emerging as a relevant source of immune checkpoints governing immunosuppressive behaviour in immune cells, paving an avenue for novel immunotherapeutic options. This review addresses the current state-of-the-art concerning the role played by glycans controlling innate and adaptive immune responses, while shedding light on available experimental models for glycoimmunology. We also emphasize the tremendous progress observed in the development of humanized models for immunology, the paramount contribution of advances in high-throughput single-cell analysis in this context, and the importance of including predictive machine learning algorithms in translational research. This may constitute an important roadmap for glycoimmunology, supporting careful adoption of models foreseeing clinical translation of fundamental glycobiology knowledge towards next generation immunotherapies.
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Kay EJ, Mauri M, Willcocks SJ, Scott TA, Cuccui J, Wren BW. Engineering a suite of E. coli strains for enhanced expression of bacterial polysaccharides and glycoconjugate vaccines. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:66. [PMID: 35449016 PMCID: PMC9026721 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01792-7] [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: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glycoengineering, in the biotechnology workhorse bacterium, Escherichia coli, is a rapidly evolving field, particularly for the production of glycoconjugate vaccine candidates (bioconjugation). Efficient production of glycoconjugates requires the coordinated expression within the bacterial cell of three components: a carrier protein, a glycan antigen and a coupling enzyme, in a timely fashion. Thus, the choice of a suitable E. coli host cell is of paramount importance. Microbial chassis engineering has long been used to improve yields of chemicals and biopolymers, but its application to vaccine production is sparse. RESULTS In this study we have engineered a family of 11 E. coli strains by the removal and/or addition of components rationally selected for enhanced expression of Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharides with the scope of increasing yield of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Importantly, all strains express a detoxified version of endotoxin, a concerning contaminant of therapeutics produced in bacterial cells. The genomic background of each strain was altered using CRISPR in an iterative fashion to generate strains without antibiotic markers or scar sequences. CONCLUSIONS Amongst the 11 modified strains generated in this study, E. coli Falcon, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk all showed increased production of S. pneumoniae serotype 4 capsule. Eagle (a strain without enterobacterial common antigen, containing a GalNAc epimerase and PglB expressed from the chromosome) and Sparrowhawk (a strain without enterobacterial common antigen, O-antigen ligase and chain length determinant, containing a GalNAc epimerase and chain length regulators from Streptococcus pneumoniae) respectively produced an AcrA-SP4 conjugate with 4 × and 14 × more glycan than that produced in the base strain, W3110. Beyond their application to the production of pneumococcal vaccine candidates, the bank of 11 new strains will be an invaluable resource for the glycoengineering community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Kay
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Marta Mauri
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Sam J Willcocks
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Timothy A Scott
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Jon Cuccui
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
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Pandey A, Gupta VK. Special Issue 'Microbial glycobiotechnology'. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:54. [PMID: 35392921 PMCID: PMC8991797 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01784-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ashok Pandey
- grid.417638.f0000 0001 2194 5503Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute for Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), Lucknow, 226001 India ,Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow, 226029 Uttar Pradesh India ,grid.444415.40000 0004 1759 0860Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, 248007 Uttarkhand India
| | - Vijai Kumar Gupta
- grid.426884.40000 0001 0170 6644Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, SRUC, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG UK ,grid.426884.40000 0001 0170 6644Center for Safe and Improved Food, SRUC, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG UK
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