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Knezevic L, Wachsmann TLA, Francis O, Dockree T, Bridgeman JS, Wouters A, de Wet B, Cole DK, Clement M, McLaren JE, Gostick E, Ladell K, Llewellyn-Lacey S, Price DA, van den Berg HA, Tabi Z, Sessions RB, Heemskerk MHM, Wooldridge L. High-affinity CD8 variants enhance the sensitivity of pMHCI antigen recognition via low-affinity TCRs. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104981. [PMID: 37390984 PMCID: PMC10432799 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T cell-mediated recognition of peptide-major histocompatibility complex class I (pMHCI) molecules involves cooperative binding of the T cell receptor (TCR), which confers antigen specificity, and the CD8 coreceptor, which stabilizes the TCR/pMHCI complex. Earlier work has shown that the sensitivity of antigen recognition can be regulated in vitro by altering the strength of the pMHCI/CD8 interaction. Here, we characterized two CD8 variants with moderately enhanced affinities for pMHCI, aiming to boost antigen sensitivity without inducing non-specific activation. Expression of these CD8 variants in model systems preferentially enhanced pMHCI antigen recognition in the context of low-affinity TCRs. A similar effect was observed using primary CD4+ T cells transduced with cancer-targeting TCRs. The introduction of high-affinity CD8 variants also enhanced the functional sensitivity of primary CD8+ T cells expressing cancer-targeting TCRs, but comparable results were obtained using exogenous wild-type CD8. Specificity was retained in every case, with no evidence of reactivity in the absence of cognate antigen. Collectively, these findings highlight a generically applicable mechanism to enhance the sensitivity of low-affinity pMHCI antigen recognition, which could augment the therapeutic efficacy of clinically relevant TCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Knezevic
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Department of Haematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Tassilo L A Wachsmann
- Department of Haematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ore Francis
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Tamsin Dockree
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Anne Wouters
- Department of Haematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - David K Cole
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK; Immunocore, Abingdon, UK
| | - Mathew Clement
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK; Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - James E McLaren
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - Emma Gostick
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - Kristin Ladell
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - Sian Llewellyn-Lacey
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - David A Price
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK; Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Zsuzsanna Tabi
- Division of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff University School of Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Mirjam H M Heemskerk
- Department of Haematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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CD8 coreceptor-mediated focusing can reorder the agonist hierarchy of peptide ligands recognized via the T cell receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2019639118. [PMID: 34272276 PMCID: PMC8307375 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019639118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CD8+ T cells are inherently cross-reactive and recognize numerous peptide antigens in the context of a given major histocompatibility complex class I (MHCI) molecule via the clonotypically expressed T cell receptor (TCR). The lineally expressed coreceptor CD8 interacts coordinately with MHCI at a distinct and largely invariant site to slow the TCR/peptide-MHCI (pMHCI) dissociation rate and enhance antigen sensitivity. However, this biological effect is not necessarily uniform, and theoretical models suggest that antigen sensitivity can be modulated in a differential manner by CD8. We used two intrinsically controlled systems to determine how the relationship between the TCR/pMHCI interaction and the pMHCI/CD8 interaction affects the functional sensitivity of antigen recognition. Our data show that modulation of the pMHCI/CD8 interaction can reorder the agonist hierarchy of peptide ligands across a spectrum of affinities for the TCR.
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Hillerdal V, Boura VF, Björkelund H, Andersson K, Essand M. Avidity characterization of genetically engineered T-cells with novel and established approaches. BMC Immunol 2016; 17:23. [PMID: 27411667 PMCID: PMC4944473 DOI: 10.1186/s12865-016-0162-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Adoptive transfer of genetically engineered autologous T-cells is becoming a successful therapy for cancer. The avidity of the engineered T-cells is of crucial importance for therapy success. We have in the past cloned a T-cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes an HLA-A2 (MHC class I)-restricted peptide from the prostate and breast cancer- associated antigen TARP. Herein we perform a side-by-side comparison of the TARP-specific TCR (TARP-TCR) with a newly cloned TCR specific for an HLA-A2-restricted peptide from the cytomegalovirus (CMV) pp65 antigen. Results Both CD8+ T-cells and CD4+ T-cells transduced with the HLA-A2-restricted TARP-TCR could readily be detected by multimer analysis, indicating that the binding is rather strong, since binding occured also without the CD8 co-receptor of HLA-A2. Not surprisingly, the TARP-TCR, which is directed against a self-antigen, had weaker binding to the HLA-A2/peptide complex than the CMV pp65-specific TCR (pp65-TCR), which is directed against a viral epitope. Higher peptide concentrations were needed to achieve efficient cytokine release and killing of target cells when the TARP-TCR was used. We further introduce the LigandTracer technology to study cell-cell interactions in real time by evaluating the interaction between TCR-engineered T-cells and peptide-pulsed cancer cells. We were able to successfully detect TCR-engineered T-cell binding kinetics to the target cells. We also used the xCELLigence technology to analyzed cell growth of target cells to assess the killing potency of the TCR-engineered T-cells. T-cells transduced with the pp65 - TCR exhibited more pronounced cytotoxicity, being able to kill their targets at both lower effector to target ratios and lower peptide concentrations. Conclusion The combination of binding assay with functional assays yields data suggesting that TARP-TCR-engineered T-cells bind to their target, but need more antigen stimulation compared to the pp65-TCR to achieve full effector response. Nonetheless, we believe that the TARP-TCR is an attractive candidate for immunotherapy development for prostate and/or breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Hillerdal
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vanessa F Boura
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hanna Björkelund
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Ridgeview Instruments AB, Vänge, Sweden
| | - Karl Andersson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Ridgeview Instruments AB, Vänge, Sweden
| | - Magnus Essand
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. .,Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Holtappels R, Podlech J, Lemmermann NAW, Schmitt E, Reddehase MJ. Non-cognate bystander cytolysis by clonal epitope-specific CTL lines through CD28-CD80 interaction inhibits antibody production: A potential caveat to CD8 T-cell immunotherapy. Cell Immunol 2016; 308:44-56. [PMID: 26717854 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2015.12.004] [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: 10/16/2015] [Revised: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Adoptive transfer of virus epitope-specific CD8 T cells is an immunotherapy option to control cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and prevent CMV organ disease in immunocompromised solid organ transplantation (SOT) and hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients. The therapy aims at an early, selective recognition and cytolysis of infected cells for preventing viral spread in tissues with no adverse immunopathogenic side-effects by attack of uninfected bystander cells. Here we describe that virus epitope-specific, cloned T-cell lines lyse target cells that present the cognate antigenic peptide to the TCR, but simultaneously have the potential to lyse uninfected cells expressing the CD28 ligand CD80 (B7-1). While TCR-mediated cytolysis requires co-receptor CD8 and depends on perforin, the TCR-independent and viral epitope-independent cytolysis through CD28-CD80 signaling does not require CD8 on the effector cells and is perforin-independent. Importantly, this non-cognate cytolysis pathway leads to bystander cytolysis of CD80-expressing B-cell blasts and thereby inhibits pan-specific antibody production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela Holtappels
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Jürgen Podlech
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Niels A W Lemmermann
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Edgar Schmitt
- Institute for Immunology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Matthias J Reddehase
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany.
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Szomolay B, van den Berg HA. Modulation of T-cell receptor functional sensitivity via the opposing actions of protein tyrosine kinases and phosphatases: a mathematical model. Integr Biol (Camb) 2014; 6:1183-95. [PMID: 25310311 DOI: 10.1039/c4ib00190g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Combining receptor kinetics and stochastic modelling of receptor activation, we show that a T-cell can specifically augment its functional sensitivity to one particular peptide ligand while simultaneously decreasing its sensitivity to other ligands, by coordinating the expression levels of the co-receptor CD8 and the relative activities of kinases and phosphatases in the vicinity of the T-cell receptor (TCR). We propose that this focusable degeneracy of epitope recognition allows a TCR to have a wide range of potential ligands but be specifically sensitive to only one or a few of these at any one time, which resolves the paradox of how a relatively small number of clones (∼10(6)) can maintain the potential to respond to a vast space of ligands (∼20(9)) whilst avoiding auto-immunity. We validate the model against experimental data and predict shifts in functional sensitivity following a shift in the kinase/phosphatase balance (which could in principle be induced by experimental means). Moreover, we propose that in vivo, the T-cell gauges ligand quality by monitoring changes in TCR triggering rate concomitant with shifts in this balance, for instance as the immunological synapse matures.
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