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de Queiroz NMGP, Marinho FV, de Araujo ACVSC, Fahel JS, Oliveira SC. MyD88-dependent BCG immunotherapy reduces tumor and regulates tumor microenvironment in bladder cancer murine model. Sci Rep 2021; 11:15648. [PMID: 34341449 PMCID: PMC8329301 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95157-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the only FDA approved first line therapy for patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. The purpose of this study is to better understand the role of innate immune pathways involved in BCG immunotherapy against murine bladder tumor. We first characterized the immunological profile induced by the MB49 mouse urothelial carcinoma cell line. MB49 cells were not able to activate an inflammatory response (TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL-10 or IFN-β) after the stimulus with different agonists or BCG infection, unlike macrophages. Although MB49 cells are not able to induce an efficient immune response, BCG treatment could activate other cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). We evaluated BCG intratumoral treatment in animals deficient for different innate immune molecules (STING-/-, cGAS-/-, TLR2-/-, TLR3-/-, TLR4-/-, TLR7-/-, TLR9-/-, TLR3/7/9-/-, MyD88-/-, IL-1R-/-, Caspase1/11-/-, Gasdermin-D-/- and IFNAR-/-) using the MB49 subcutaneous mouse model. Only MyD88-/- partially responded to BCG treatment compared to wild type (WT) mice, suggesting a role played by this adaptor molecule. Additionally, BCG intratumoral treatment regulates cellular infiltrate in TME with an increase of inflammatory macrophages, neutrophils and CD8+ T lymphocytes, suggesting an immune response activation that favors tumor remission in WT mice but not in MyD88-/-. The experiments using MB49 cells infected with BCG and co-cultured with macrophages also demonstrated that MyD88 is essential for an efficient immune response. Our data suggests that BCG immunotherapy depends partially on the MyD88-related innate immune pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M G P de Queiroz
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Fabio V Marinho
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina V S C de Araujo
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Julia S Fahel
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Sergio C Oliveira
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. .,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), CNPq MCT, Salvador, BA, 31270-901, Brazil.
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Duarte C MA, Carballo O JM, De Gouveia YM, García A, Ruiz D, Gledhill T, González-Marcano E, Convit AF. Toxicity evaluation of ConvitVax breast cancer immunotherapy. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12669. [PMID: 34135375 PMCID: PMC8209199 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91995-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
ConvitVax is a personalized vaccine for the treatment of breast cancer, composed of autologous tumor cells, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and low concentrations of formalin. Previous pre-clinical studies show that this therapy induces a potent activation of the immune system and achieves an effective response against tumor cells, reducing the size of the tumor and decreasing the percentage of immunosuppressive cells. In the present study, we evaluate the toxicity of ConvitVax in healthy BALB/c mice to determine potential adverse effects related to the vaccine and each of its components. We used standard guidelines for pain, discomfort and distress recognition, continuously evaluated the site of the injection, and completed blood and urine clinical tests. Endpoint necropsy was performed, measuring the weight of organs and processing liver, kidney, thymus and lung for histological examination. Results show that the vaccine in its therapeutic dose, at 3 times its therapeutic concentration, and its individual components did not cause death or behavioral or biological changes, including any abnormalities in whole-body or organ weights, and tissue damage. These results support the safety of ConvitVax with minimal to no side-effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- María A Duarte C
- Unidad Experimental de Inmunoterapia, Fundación Jacinto Convit, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | | | - Angie García
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Diana Ruiz
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Teresa Gledhill
- Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital José María Vargas, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | - Ana F Convit
- Unidad Experimental de Inmunoterapia, Fundación Jacinto Convit, Caracas, Venezuela.
- Jacinto Convit World Organization, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA.
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Godoy-Calderón MJ, González-Marcano E, Carballo J, Convit AF. Evaluation of a ConvitVax/anti-PD-1 combined immunotherapy for breast cancer treatment. Oncotarget 2019; 10:6546-6560. [PMID: 31762937 PMCID: PMC6859918 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.27283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer therapies using checkpoints alone have not been highly effective. Based on previous experiences using the ConvitVax, an autologous tumor cells/bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)/formalin-based vaccine, in breast cancer and the potential success of combined therapies, we sought to ascertain whether the ConvitVax combined with anti-PD-1 enhances the antitumor effect in a 4T1 breast cancer model. Animals received four weekly injections of either PBS (G1), ConvitVax (200 μg cell homogenate, 0.0625 mg BCG, 0.02% formalin) (G2), 50 μg anti-PD-1 (G3), or ConvitVax plus anti-PD-1 (200 μg cell homogenate, 0.0625 mg BCG, 0.02% formalin, 50 μg anti-PD-1) (G4). Five weeks post tumor induction all mice were euthanized, tumors extracted and evaluated pathologically and by immunohistochemistry. The combination group (G4) showed 10% more tumor necrosis, greater infiltration of PD-1+ cells and lower infiltration of TAMs, evidencing that the combination of ConvitVax and anti-PD-1 can improve the antitumor effect of the vaccine. Using a higher anti-PD-1 dose and administering each treatment at different times could further potentiate the effect of our therapy. Given the vaccine’s low cost and simple preparation, its use in combination with checkpoints or other target-specific compounds may lead to a highly effective personalized breast cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- María José Godoy-Calderón
- Unidad Experimental de Inmunoterapia, Fundación Jacinto Convit, Caracas, Venezuela.,Jacinto Convit World Organization, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Eglys González-Marcano
- Unidad Experimental de Inmunoterapia, Fundación Jacinto Convit, Caracas, Venezuela.,Jacinto Convit World Organization, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | | | - Ana Federica Convit
- Unidad Experimental de Inmunoterapia, Fundación Jacinto Convit, Caracas, Venezuela.,Jacinto Convit World Organization, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
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Allahverdiyev A, Tari G, Bagirova M, Abamor ES. Current Approaches in Development of Immunotherapeutic Vaccines for Breast Cancer. J Breast Cancer 2018; 21:343-353. [PMID: 30607155 PMCID: PMC6310717 DOI: 10.4048/jbc.2018.21.e47] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. In developed as well as developing countries, breast cancer is the most common cancer found among women. Currently, treatment of breast cancer consists mainly of surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiotherapy. In recent years, because of increased understanding of the therapeutic potential of immunotherapy in cancer prevention, cancer vaccines have gained importance. Here, we review various immunotherapeutic breast cancer vaccines including peptide-based vaccines, whole tumor cell vaccines, gene-based vaccines, and dendritic cell vaccines. We also discuss novel nanotechnology-based approaches to improving breast cancer vaccine efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adil Allahverdiyev
- Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gamze Tari
- Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Melahat Bagirova
- Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Emrah Sefik Abamor
- Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Weir C, Oksa A, Millar J, Alexander M, Kynoch N, Walton-Weitz Z, Mackenzie-Wood P, Tam F, Richards H, Naylor R, Cheng K, Bennett P, Petrovsky N, Allavena R. The Safety of an Adjuvanted Autologous Cancer Vaccine Platform in Canine Cancer Patients. Vet Sci 2018; 5:vetsci5040087. [PMID: 30322015 PMCID: PMC6313922 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci5040087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Canine cancer rates are similar to humans, though the therapeutic options might be limited. Inducing a patient’s own immune system to have an anti-tumor response is an attractive approach to cancer therapy. In this safety study, autologous tumor vaccines produced specifically for each canine patient were combined with Advax™, a novel non-inflammatory immunomodulator and vaccine adjuvant and were tested for safety in a diverse range of patient presentations alone or in combination with other treatments. Canine patients had their tumor biopsied, debulked or resected and the tumor antigens were processed into an autologous vaccine formulated with Advax™ adjuvant with or without rhizavidin as an additional immune stimulant. Patients treated early in the trial received two intramuscular (IM) doses, 2 weeks apart. As the study progressed and no issues of safety were observed, the protocol was changed to weekly vaccinations for 4 weeks followed by monthly booster shots. Over the 150 I.M injections delivered to date, the vaccine was found to be very safe and no significant adverse reactions were observed. These results justify ongoing development and future controlled studies of this autologous vaccine approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Weir
- Northern Blood Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Royal North Shore Hospital and the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2065, Australia.
| | - Annika Oksa
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD 4343 Australia.
| | | | | | - Nicola Kynoch
- Willougby Veterinary Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2068, Australia.
| | | | | | - Felicia Tam
- Castle Hill Veterinary Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2154, Australia.
| | - Hope Richards
- Willougby Veterinary Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2068, Australia.
| | - Richard Naylor
- Castle Hill Veterinary Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2154, Australia.
| | - Katrina Cheng
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Peter Bennett
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Nikolai Petrovsky
- Flinders University Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia.
- Vaxine Pty Ltd., Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia.
| | - Rachel Allavena
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD 4343 Australia.
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