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Zuo B, Zhang Y, Zhao K, Wu L, Qi H, Yang R, Gao X, Geng M, Wu Y, Jing R, Zhou Q, Seow Y, Yin H. Universal immunotherapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma with exosome vaccines that engage adaptive and innate immune responses. J Hematol Oncol 2022; 15:46. [PMID: 35488312 PMCID: PMC9052531 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-022-01266-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Personalized immunotherapy utilizing cancer vaccines tailored to the tumors of individual patients holds promise for tumors with high genetic heterogeneity, potentially enabling eradication of the tumor in its entirety. Methods Here, we demonstrate a general strategy for biological nanovaccines that trigger tailored tumor-specific immune responses for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dendritic cell (DC)-derived exosomes (DEX) are painted with a HCC-targeting peptide (P47-P), an α-fetoprotein epitope (AFP212-A2) and a functional domain of high mobility group nucleosome-binding protein 1 (N1ND-N), an immunoadjuvant for DC recruitment and activation, via an exosomal anchor peptide to form a “trigger” DEX vaccine (DEXP&A2&N). Results DEXP&A2&N specifically promoted recruitment, accumulation and activation of DCs in mice with orthotopic HCC tumor, resulting in enhanced cross-presentation of tumor neoantigens and de novo T cell response. DEXP&A2&N elicited significant tumor retardation and tumor-specific immune responses in HCC mice with large tumor burdens. Importantly, tumor eradication was achieved in orthotopic HCC mice when antigenic AFP peptide was replaced with the full-length AFP (A) to form DEXP&A&N. Supplementation of Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand greatly augmented the antitumor immunity of DEXP&A&N by increasing immunological memory against tumor re-challenge in orthotopic HCC mice. Depletion of T cells, cross-presenting DCs and other innate immune cells abrogated the functionality of DEXP&A&N. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the capacity of universal DEX vaccines to induce tumor-specific immune responses by triggering an immune response tailored to the tumors of each individual, thus presenting a generalizable approach for personalized immunotherapy of HCC, by extension of other tumors, without the need to identify tumor antigens. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13045-022-01266-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingfeng Zuo
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Kangjie Zhao
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Li Wu
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Han Qi
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Rong Yang
- Department of Nanomedicine and Biopharmaceuticals, National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xianjun Gao
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Mengyuan Geng
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Yingjie Wu
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Renwei Jing
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Qibing Zhou
- Department of Nanomedicine and Biopharmaceuticals, National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei Province, China
| | - Yiqi Seow
- Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging, 31 Biopolis Way, Singapore, 138669, Singapore.,Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 61 Biopolis Way, Singapore, 138668, Singapore
| | - HaiFang Yin
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics and Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education) and School of Medical Technology and School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China.
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2
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Akazawa Y, Saito Y, Yoshikawa T, Saito K, Nosaka K, Shimomura M, Mizuno S, Nakamoto Y, Nakatsura T. Efficacy of immunotherapy targeting the neoantigen derived from epidermal growth factor receptor T790M/C797S mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:2736-2746. [PMID: 32391625 PMCID: PMC7419036 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer‐related deaths worldwide. Epidermal growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR‐TKI) often have good clinical activity against non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating EGFR mutations. Osimertinib, which is a third‐generation EGFR‐TKI, has a clinical effect even on NSCLC harboring the threonine to methionine change at codon 790 of EGFR (EGFR T790M) mutation that causes TKI resistance. However, most NSCLC patients develop acquired resistance to osimertinib within approximately 1 year, and 40% of these patients have the EGFR T790M and cysteine to serine change at codon 797 (C797S) mutations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of novel treatment strategies for NSCLC patients with the EGFR T790M/C797S mutation. In this study, we identified the EGFR T790M/C797S mutation‐derived peptide (790‐799) (MQLMPFGSLL) that binds the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐A*02:01, and successfully established EGFR T790M/C797S‐peptide‐specific CTL clones from human PBMC of HLA‐A2 healthy donors. One established CTL clone demonstrated adequate cytotoxicity against T2 cells pulsed with the EGFR T790M/C797S peptide. This CTL clone also had high reactivity against cancer cells that expressed an endogenous EGFR T790M/C797S peptide using an interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. In addition, we demonstrated using a mouse model that EGFR T790M/C797S peptide‐specific CTL were induced by EGFR T790M/C797S peptide vaccine in vivo. These findings suggest that an immunotherapy targeting a neoantigen derived from EGFR T790M/C797S mutation could be a useful novel therapeutic strategy for NSCLC patients with EGFR‐TKI resistance, especially those resistant to osimertinib.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Akazawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Yuki Saito
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Keigo Saito
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Kazuto Nosaka
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Shoichi Mizuno
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Yasunari Nakamoto
- Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan
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3
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Brassart-Pasco S, Brézillon S, Brassart B, Ramont L, Oudart JB, Monboisse JC. Tumor Microenvironment: Extracellular Matrix Alterations Influence Tumor Progression. Front Oncol 2020; 10:397. [PMID: 32351878 PMCID: PMC7174611 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of various cell types embedded in an altered extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM not only serves as a support for tumor cell but also regulates cell-cell or cell-matrix cross-talks. Alterations in ECM may be induced by hypoxia and acidosis, by oxygen free radicals generated by infiltrating inflammatory cells or by tumor- or stromal cell-secreted proteases. A poorer diagnosis for patients is often associated with ECM alterations. Tumor ECM proteome, also named cancer matrisome, is strongly altered, and different ECM protein signatures may be defined to serve as prognostic biomarkers. Collagen network reorganization facilitates tumor cell invasion. Proteoglycan expression and location are modified in the TME and affect cell invasion and metastatic dissemination. ECM macromolecule degradation by proteases may induce the release of angiogenic growth factors but also the release of proteoglycan-derived or ECM protein fragments, named matrikines or matricryptins. This review will focus on current knowledge and new insights in ECM alterations, degradation, and reticulation through cross-linking enzymes and on the role of ECM fragments in the control of cancer progression and their potential use as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie Brassart-Pasco
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
| | - Stéphane Brézillon
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
| | - Bertrand Brassart
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
| | - Laurent Ramont
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
- CHU Reims, Service Biochimie-Pharmacologie-Toxicologie, Reims, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Oudart
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
- CHU Reims, Service Biochimie-Pharmacologie-Toxicologie, Reims, France
| | - Jean Claude Monboisse
- Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, SFR CAP-Santé (FED 4231), Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Reims, France
- CNRS UMR 7369, Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire - MEDyC, Reims, France
- CHU Reims, Service Biochimie-Pharmacologie-Toxicologie, Reims, France
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Plasmodium parasite as an effective hepatocellular carcinoma antigen glypican-3 delivery vector. Oncotarget 2018; 8:24785-24796. [PMID: 28445973 PMCID: PMC5421888 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.15806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We have previously demonstrated that malaria parasite infection has an anti-tumor effect in a mouse model. This research aimed to investigate the possibility of using Plasmodium parasite as a novel vaccine vector for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) immunotherapy. We constructed a Plasmodium yoelii 17XNL strain (P.y) expressing murine glypican-3 (GPC3) protein (P.y-GPC3), and examined its therapeutic potency in a murine Hepa1-6-induced hepatoma model that highly expressed GPC3 protein. The prerequisites for invoking a CD8+ T cell response were assessed after P.y-based immunization, which included obviously increased concentrations of T helper cell type 1 (Th1)-associated cytokines, such as IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α, in serum and preferential expansion of the CD8α+ dendritic cell (DC) subset with higher expression of CD80 and CD86 molecules. Compared with uninfected and wild-type P.y-infected mice, a significant GPC3-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response was detected in P.y-GPC3 vaccinated mice. Furthermore, P.y-GPC3-based vaccination dramatically inhibited Hepa1-6-induced tumor growth in the implanted HCC and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. We concluded that a Plasmodium-based vector is highly efficient in inducing tumor antigen-specific T cell-mediated immunity and protection against tumor cells. More broadly, this strategy supported our hypothesis that Plasmodium parasites, as novel therapeutic antigen vectors, may be applicable to tumor immunotherapy for patients with HCC.
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5
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Ricard-Blum S, Vallet SD. Fragments generated upon extracellular matrix remodeling: Biological regulators and potential drugs. Matrix Biol 2017; 75-76:170-189. [PMID: 29133183 DOI: 10.1016/j.matbio.2017.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Revised: 11/05/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) by several protease families releases a number of bioactive fragments, which regulate numerous biological processes such as autophagy, angiogenesis, adipogenesis, fibrosis, tumor growth, metastasis and wound healing. We review here the proteases which generate bioactive ECM fragments, their ECM substrates, the major bioactive ECM fragments, together with their biological properties and their receptors. The translation of ECM fragments into drugs is challenging and would take advantage of an integrative approach to optimize the design of pre-clinical and clinical studies. This could be done by building the contextualized interaction network of the ECM fragment repertoire including their parent proteins, remodeling proteinases, and their receptors, and by using mathematical disease models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie Ricard-Blum
- Univ Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSA Lyon, CPE, Institute of Molecular and Supramolecular Chemistry and Biochemistry, UMR 5246, F-69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France.
| | - Sylvain D Vallet
- Univ Lyon, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSA Lyon, CPE, Institute of Molecular and Supramolecular Chemistry and Biochemistry, UMR 5246, F-69622 Villeurbanne cedex, France.
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6
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Wu Q, Pi L, Le Trinh T, Zuo C, Xia M, Jiao Y, Hou Z, Jo S, Puszyk W, Pham K, Nelson DR, Robertson K, Ostrov D, Rameshwar P, Xia CQ, Liu C. A Novel Vaccine Targeting Glypican-3 as a Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Mol Ther 2017; 25:2299-2308. [PMID: 28865999 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high morbidity and mortality rate worldwide, with limited treatment options. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein that is overexpressed in most HCC tissues but not in normal tissues. GPC3-targeting antibody therapy shows limited response in a clinical trial due to the lack of a tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. Here, in C57/B6 mice, we demonstrated that intravenous infusion of GPC3-coupled lymphocytes (LC/GPC3+) elicited robust GPC3-specific antibody and CTL responses, which effectively restricted proliferation and lysed cultured-HCC cells. Treatment with LC/GPC3+ induced durable tumor regression in HCC-bearing C57/B6 mice. Administration of LC/GPC3+ induced elevated levels of the cytotoxic T cell bioactive factors tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), granzyme B, and perforin, and substantially increased the number of infiltrating CD8+ T cells in tumor tissues. Moreover, immune responses elicited by LC/GPC3+ selectively suppressed GPC3+ tumors, but didn't affect the GPC3- tumors in BALB/c mice. Our findings provide the first preclinical evidence that intravenous infusion of the LC/GPC3+ complex can induce a strong anti-HCC effect through regulating systemic and local immune responses. These results indicate that the LC/GPC3+ complex could be developed as precision therapeutics for HCC patients in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qunfeng Wu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Liya Pi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Thu Le Trinh
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; Department of Immunology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Chaohui Zuo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Gastroduodenal and Pancreatic Surgery, Translational Medicine Research Center of Liver Cancer, Hunan Province Cancer Hospital and Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410013, P.R. China
| | - Man Xia
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Laboratory of Digestive Oncology, Hunan Province Cancer Institute, Changsha, Hunan Province 410013, P.R. China
| | - Yu Jiao
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Zhouhua Hou
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410008, P.R. China
| | - Sung Jo
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - William Puszyk
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Kien Pham
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - David R Nelson
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Keith Robertson
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 85259, USA
| | - David Ostrov
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Pranela Rameshwar
- Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
| | - Chang Qing Xia
- Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
| | - Chen Liu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
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Zhou F, Shang W, Yu X, Tian J. Glypican-3: A promising biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment. Med Res Rev 2017. [PMID: 28621802 DOI: 10.1002/med.21455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type. Therefore, molecular targets are urgently required for the early detection of HCC and the development of novel therapeutic approaches. Glypican-3 (GPC3), an oncofetal proteoglycan anchored to the cell membrane, is normally detected in the fetal liver but not in the healthy adult liver. However, in HCC patients, GPC3 is overexpressed at both the gene and protein levels, and its expression predicts a poor prognosis. Mechanistic studies have revealed that GPC3 functions in HCC progression by binding to molecules such as Wnt signaling proteins and growth factors. Moreover, GPC3 has been used as a target for molecular imaging and therapeutic intervention in HCC. To date, GPC3-targeted magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and near-infrared imaging have been investigated for early HCC detection, and various immunotherapeutic protocols targeting GPC3 have been developed, including the use of humanized anti-GPC3 cytotoxic antibodies, treatment with peptide/DNA vaccines, immunotoxin therapies, and genetic therapies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the structure, function, and biology of GPC3 with a focus on its clinical potential as a diagnostic molecule and a therapeutic target in HCC immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fubo Zhou
- Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Wenting Shang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Xiaoling Yu
- Department of Interventional Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Jie Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
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Hu P, Wei Z, Li R, Wu D, Meng Z. Prediction and preliminary screening of HLA-A*0201-restricted epitope peptides of human GPC3. Int J Immunogenet 2016; 43:166-70. [PMID: 27102087 DOI: 10.1111/iji.12260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In response to the limited therapeutic option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), immunotherapy as a promising approach points out a new direction to the cure of tumours through specific recognition and elimination of tumour cells by the immunity-enhanced autologous immunocytes of patients. Few effective tumour antigens, however, are alternative in addition to alpha fetoprotein or tumour cell lysates. Recent studies have demonstrated that glypican-3 (GPC3) is not only a promising diagnostic marker, but also ideal therapeutic target to HCC. In this study, potential HLA-A*0201 GPC3 peptides were screened with three epitope prediction software, the binding affinity of 13 predicted epitopes with high scores was determined by T2 cells binding assay and four optimal epitopes were identified. This is the first study in which the optimal HLA-A*0201 GPC3 epitopes were screened from a large number of candidates predicted by three software. The optimized HLA-A*0201 GPC3 peptides will provide new epitope candidates for HCC immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,Institute of Biomedical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Z Wei
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - R Li
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - D Wu
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Z Meng
- Institute of Biomedical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.,Department of Infectious Diseases, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
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9
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Fujinami N, Yoshikawa T, Sawada Y, Shimomura M, Iwama T, Sugai S, Kitano S, Uemura Y, Nakatsura T. Enhancement of antitumor effect by peptide vaccine therapy in combination with anti-CD4 antibody: Study in a murine model. Biochem Biophys Rep 2016; 5:482-491. [PMID: 28955856 PMCID: PMC5600353 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2016.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose The clinical efficacy of cancer peptide vaccine therapy is insufficient. To enhance the anti-tumor effect of peptide vaccine therapy, we combined this therapy with an anti-CD4 mAb (GK1.5), which is known to deplete CD4+ cells, including regulatory T cells (Tregs). Methods To determine the treatment schedule, the number of lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of mice was traced by flow cytometry after administration of anti-CD4 mAb. The ovalbumin (OVA)257–264 peptide vaccine was injected intradermally and anti-CD4 mAb was administered intraperitoneally into C57BL/6 mice at different schedules. We evaluated the enhancement of OVA peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) induction in the combination therapy using the ELISPOT assay, CD107a assay, and cytokine assay. We then examined the in vivo metastasis inhibitory effect by OVA peptide vaccine therapy in combination with anti-CD4 mAb against OVA-expressing thymoma (EG7) in a murine liver metastatic model. Results We showed that peptide-specific CTL induction was enhanced by the peptide vaccine in combination with anti-CD4 mAb and that the optimized treatment schedule had the strongest induction effect of peptide-specific CTLs using an IFN-γ ELISPOT assay. We also confirmed that the CD107a+ cells secreted perforin and granzyme B and the amount of IL-2 and TNF produced by these CTLs increased when the peptide vaccine was combined with anti-CD4 mAb. Furthermore, metastasis was inhibited by peptide vaccines in combination with anti-CD4 mAb compared to peptide vaccine alone in a murine liver metastatic model. Conclusion The use of anti-CD4 mAb in combination with the OVA peptide vaccine therapy increased the number of peptide-specific CTLs and showed a higher therapeutic effect against OVA-expressing tumors. The combination with anti-CD4 mAb may provide a new cancer vaccine strategy. Peptide-specific CTL induction and function were enhanced by depletion of CD4+ cells. Anti-tumor effect by the peptide vaccine was enhanced by the depletion of CD4+ cells. Metastasis was inhibited by vaccine with depletion of CD4+ cells in a murine model. Combination with the depletion of CD4+ cells could be a new cancer vaccine strategy.
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Key Words
- 7-AAD, 7-amino-actinomycin D
- Anti-CD4 antibody
- CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte
- Cancer
- DC, dendritic cell
- ELISPOT assay, enzyme-linked immunospot assay
- FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate
- FOXP3, forkhead box P3
- GPC3, glypican-3
- HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma
- IFN-γ, interferon-γ
- IL-2, interleukine-2
- Immunotherapy
- MHC, major histocompatibility complex
- Murine liver metastatic model
- OVA, ovalbumin
- PD-1, programmed death-1
- PE, phycoerythrin
- Peptide vaccine
- QOL, quality of life
- TGF-β, transforming growth factor-βl
- TNF, tumor necrosis factor
- Treg, regulatory T cell
- mAb, monoclonal antibody
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Affiliation(s)
- Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shiori Sugai
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Shigehisa Kitano
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Department of Experimental Therapeutics, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tsukiji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasushi Uemura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.,Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
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Iwama T, Uchida T, Sawada Y, Tsuchiya N, Sugai S, Fujinami N, Shimomura M, Yoshikawa T, Zhang R, Uemura Y, Nakatsura T. Vaccination with liposome-coupled glypican-3-derived epitope peptide stimulates cytotoxic T lymphocytes and inhibits GPC3-expressing tumor growth in mice. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2015; 469:138-143. [PMID: 26616051 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.11.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Because therapeutic manipulation of immunity can induce tumor regression, anti-cancer immunotherapy is considered a promising treatment modality. We previously reported that glypican-3 (GPC3), an oncofetal antigen overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is a useful target for cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated cancer immunotherapy, and we have performed clinical trials using the GPC3-derived peptide vaccine. Although vaccine-induced GPC3-peptide-specific CTLs were often tumor reactive in vitro and were correlated with overall survival, no complete response was observed. In the current study, we synthesized liposome-coupled GPC3-derived CTL epitope peptide (pGPC3-lipsome) and investigated its antitumor potential. Vaccination with pGPC3-liposome induced peptide-specific CTLs at a lower dose than conventional vaccine emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. Coupling of pGPC3 to liposomes was essential for effective priming of GPC3-specific CTLs. In addition, immunization with pGPC3-liposome inhibited GPC3-expressing tumor growth. Thus, vaccination with tumor-associated antigen-derived epitope peptides coupled to the surfaces of liposomes may be a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Uchida
- Department of Microbiology, Saitama Medical University, Iruma-gun, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Nobuhiro Tsuchiya
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Shiori Sugai
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Norihiro Fujinami
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Rong Zhang
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yasushi Uemura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Japan.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a multi-factorial, multi-step and complex process. Early diagnosis and effective treatments are of utmost importance. This review summarized the recent studies of oncofetal glypican-3 (GPC-3), a membrane-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycan, in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC. DATA SOURCES English-language reports published from June 2001 to September 2014 were searched from MEDLINE. The key words searched included: GPC-3, biomarker, target and HCC. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were extracted, and the effect of GPC-3 targeted therapy on HCC was also evaluated. RESULTS GPC-3 plays a crucial role in HCC cell proliferation and metastasis. It mediates oncogenesis involving signaling pathways during hepatocyte malignant transformation. GPC-3 expression is increased in atypical hyperplasia and cancerous tissues. GPC-3 levels in HCC patients are related to HBV infection, TNM stage, periportal cancerous embolus, and extrahepatic metastasis. The diagnostic accuracy of the combination of serum GPC-3 and alpha-fetoprotein in HCC is up to 94.3%. Down-regulation of GPC-3 with specific siRNA or anti-GPC-3 antibody alters cell migration, metastasis and invasion behaviors. The nude mice xenograft tumor growth is inhibited by silencing GPC-3 gene transcription. CONCLUSION Oncofetal GPC-3 is a highly specific biomarker for the diagnosis of HCC and a promising target molecule for HCC gene therapy.
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12
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He Y, Hong Y, Mizejewski GJ. Engineering α-fetoprotein-based gene vaccines to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma: review and future prospects. Immunotherapy 2015; 6:725-36. [PMID: 25041030 DOI: 10.2217/imt.14.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation of a patient's immune system offers an attractive approach to prevent and treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the antitumor efficacy of current HCC vaccines was weak owing to insufficient immune activation of targeting self/tumor antigens. We recently found that epitope-optimized α-fetoprotein effectively activated CD8 T cells and generated potent antitumor effects in the carcinogen-induced autochthonous HCC mouse model. We predict that the same antigen engineering approach of epitope-optimization will enable us to develop effective human vaccines to prevent HCC recurrence after liver resection. The engineered human HCC vaccines may also allow us to identify high-affinity T-cell receptors and antibodies that can be used to reprogram T cells to treat HCC tumors via adoptive transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukai He
- Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Cancer Immunology, Inflammation & Tolerance Program, Augusta, GA 30907, USA
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13
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Sawada Y, Yoshikawa T, Shimomura M, Iwama T, Endo I, Nakatsura T. Programmed death-1 blockade enhances the antitumor effects of peptide vaccine-induced peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Int J Oncol 2014; 46:28-36. [PMID: 25354479 PMCID: PMC4238729 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel treatment modalities are required urgently in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A vaccine that induces cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) is an ideal strategy for cancer, and glypican-3 (GPC3) is a potential option for HCC. Blocking the programmed death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 pathway is a rational strategy to overcome tumor escape and tolerance toward CTLs. In the present study, we investigated whether anti-PD-1 blocking antibodies (αPD-1 Ab) enhanced the number of vaccine-induced peptide-specific CTLs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) following the administration of GPC3 peptide vaccine to both patients and in a mouse model. The inhibitory receptor PD-1 was highly expressed in ex vivo GPC3-specific CTLs isolated from the PBMCs of vaccinated HCC patients. In vitro, interferon-γ induced PD-L1 expression in liver cancer cell lines. In addition, PD-1 blockade increased the number of GPC3-specific CTLs, which degranulate against liver cancer cell lines. In vivo experiments using tumor-bearing mouse models showed that the combination therapy of peptide vaccine and αPD-1 Ab suppressed tumor growth synergistically. PD-1 blockade increased the number of peptide-specific tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs) and decreased the expression of inhibitory receptors on TILs. This study demonstrated that PD-1/PD-L1 blockade augmented the antitumor effects of a peptide vaccine by increasing the immune response of vaccine-induced CTLs, and provided a foundation for the clinical development of a combination therapy using a GPC3 peptide vaccine and αPD-1 Ab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Sawada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Iwama
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
| | - Itaru Endo
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan
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14
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Tada Y, Yoshikawa T, Shimomura M, Sawada Y, Sakai M, Shirakawa H, Nobuoka D, Nakatsura T. Analysis of cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma who showed a clinical response to vaccination with a glypican‑3‑derived peptide. Int J Oncol 2013; 43:1019-26. [PMID: 23903757 PMCID: PMC3829797 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2013.2044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3), which is a carcinoembryonic antigen, is overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previously, we performed a phase I clinical trial of GPC3-derived peptide vaccination in patients with advanced HCC, and reported that GPC3 peptide vaccination is safe and has clinical efficacy. Moreover, we proposed that a peptide-specific CTL response is a predictive marker of overall survival in patients with HCC who receive peptide vaccination. In this study, we established GPC3-derived peptide-specific CTL clones from the PBMCs of an HLA-A
*
02:07-positive patient with HCC who was vaccinated with an HLA-A2-restricted GPC3 peptide vaccine and showed a clinical response in the phase I clinical trial. Established CTL clones were analyzed using the IFN-γ ELISPOT assay and a cytotoxicity assay. GPC3 peptide-specific CTL clones were established successfully from the PBMCs of the patient. One CTL clone showed cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines that expressed endogenously the GPC3 peptide. The results suggest that CTLs have high avidity, and that natural antigen-specific killing activity against tumor cells can be induced in a patient with HCC who shows a clinical response to vaccination with the GPC3
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peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka Tada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba 277‑8577, Japan
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