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Wang P, Chen L, Mora-Cartin R, McIntosh CM, Sattar H, Chong AS, Alegre ML. Low-affinity CD8 + T cells provide interclonal help to high-affinity CD8 + T cells to augment alloimmunity. Am J Transplant 2024; 24:933-943. [PMID: 38228228 PMCID: PMC11144556 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajt.2024.01.008] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Following solid organ transplantation, small precursor populations of polyclonal CD8+ T cells specific for any graft-expressed antigen preferentially expand their high-affinity clones. This phenomenon, termed "avidity maturation," results in a larger population of CD8+ T cells with increased sensitivity to alloantigen, posing a greater risk for graft rejection. Using a mouse model of minor-mismatched skin transplantation, coupled with the tracking of 2 skin graft-reactive CD8+ T cell receptor-transgenic tracer populations with high and low affinity for the same peptide-major histocompatibility complex, we explored the conventional paradigm that CD8+ T cell avidity maturation occurs through T cell receptor affinity-based competition for cognate antigen. Our data revealed "interclonal CD8-CD8 help," whereby lower/intermediate affinity clones help drive the preferential expansion of their higher affinity counterparts in an interleukin-2/CD25-dependent manner. Consequently, the CD8-helped high-affinity clones exhibit greater expansion and develop augmented effector functions in the presence of their low-affinity counterparts, correlating with more severe graft damage. Finally, interclonal CD8-CD8 help was suppressed by costimulation blockade treatment. Thus, high-affinity CD8+ T cells can leverage help from low-affinity CD8+ T cells of identical specificity to promote graft rejection. Suppressing provision of interclonal CD8-CD8 help may be important to improve transplant outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Wang
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Luqiu Chen
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Ricardo Mora-Cartin
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Christine M McIntosh
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Husain Sattar
- Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Anita S Chong
- Department of Surgery, Section of Transplantation, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Maria-Luisa Alegre
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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2
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Sugiyarto G, Lau D, Hill SL, Arcia-Anaya D, Boulanger DSM, Parkes EE, James E, Elliott T. Reactivation of low avidity tumor-specific CD8 + T cells associates with immunotherapeutic efficacy of anti-PD-1. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e007114. [PMID: 37586767 PMCID: PMC10432680 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-007114] [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] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND CD8+ T cells are a highly diverse population of cells with distinct phenotypic functions that can influence immunotherapy outcomes. Further insights on the roles of CD8+ specificities and TCR avidity of naturally arising tumor-specific T cells, where both high and low avidity T cells recognizing the same peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) coexist in the same tumor, are crucial for understanding T cell exhaustion and resistance to PD-1 immunotherapy. METHODS CT26 models were treated with anti-PD-1 on days 3, 6 and 9 following subcutaneous tumor implantation generating variable responses during early tumor development. Tetramer staining was performed to determine the frequency and avidity of CD8+ T cells targeting the tumor-specific epitope GSW11 and confirmed with tetramer competition assays. Functional characterization of high and low avidity GSW11-specific CD8+ T cells was conducted using flow cytometry and bulk RNA-seq. In vitro cytotoxicity assays and in vivo adoptive transfer experiments were performed to determine the cytotoxicity of high and low avidity populations. RESULTS Treatment success with anti-PD-1 was associated with the preferential expansion of low avidity (Tetlo) GSW11-specific CD8+ T cells with Vβ TCR expressing clonotypes. High avidity T cells (Tethi), if present, were only found in progressing PD-1 refractory tumors. Tetlo demonstrated precursor exhausted or progenitor T cell phenotypes marked by higher expression of Tcf-1 and T-bet, and lower expression of the exhaustion markers CD39, PD-1 and Eomes compared with Tethi, whereas Tethi cells were terminally exhausted. Transcriptomics analyses showed pathways related to TCR signaling, cytotoxicity and oxidative phosphorylation were significantly enriched in Tetlo found in both regressing and progressing tumors compared with Tethi, whereas genes related to DNA damage, apoptosis and autophagy were downregulated. In vitro studies showed that Tetlo exhibits higher cytotoxicity than Tethi. Adoptive transfer of Tetlo showed more effective tumor control than Tethi, and curative responses were achieved when Tetlo was combined with two doses of anti-PD-1. CONCLUSIONS Targeting subdominant T cell responses with lower avidity against pMHC affinity neoepitopes showed potential for improving PD-1 immunotherapy. Future interventions may consider expanding low avidity populations via vaccination or adoptive transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gessa Sugiyarto
- Centre for Cancer Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Doreen Lau
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Samuel Luke Hill
- Centre for Cancer Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - David Arcia-Anaya
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Denise S M Boulanger
- Centre for Cancer Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Eileen E Parkes
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Edward James
- Centre for Cancer Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Tim Elliott
- Centre for Cancer Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Centre for Immuno-Oncology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Prompetchara E, Ketloy C, Alameh MG, Tharakhet K, Kaewpang P, Yostrerat N, Pitakpolrat P, Buranapraditkun S, Manopwisedjaroen S, Thitithanyanont A, Jongkaewwattana A, Hunsawong T, Im-Erbsin R, Reed M, Wijagkanalan W, Patarakul K, Techawiwattanaboon T, Palaga T, Lam K, Heyes J, Weissman D, Ruxrungtham K. Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine encoding secreted non-stabilized spike in female mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2309. [PMID: 37085495 PMCID: PMC10120480 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37795-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Establishment of an mRNA vaccine platform in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is important to enhance vaccine accessibility and ensure future pandemic preparedness. Here, we describe the preclinical studies of "ChulaCov19", a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA encoding prefusion-unstabilized ectodomain spike protein encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNP). In female BALB/c mice, ChulaCov19 at 0.2, 1, 10, and 30 μg elicits robust neutralizing antibody (NAb) and T cell responses in a dose-dependent relationship. The geometric mean titers (GMTs) of NAb against wild-type (WT, Wuhan-Hu1) virus are 1,280, 11,762, 54,047, and 62,084, respectively. Higher doses induce better cross-NAb against Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (BA.1 and BA.4/5) variants. This elicited immunogenicity is significantly higher than those induced by homologous CoronaVac or AZD1222 vaccination. In a heterologous prime-boost study, ChulaCov19 booster dose generates a 7-fold increase of NAb against Wuhan-Hu1 WT virus and also significantly increases NAb response against Omicron (BA.1 and BA.4/5) when compared to homologous CoronaVac or AZD1222 vaccination. Challenge studies show that ChulaCov19 protects human-ACE-2-expressing female mice from COVID-19 symptoms, prevents viremia and significantly reduces tissue viral load. Moreover, anamnestic NAb response is undetectable in challenge animals. ChulaCov19 is therefore a promising mRNA vaccine candidate either as a primary or boost vaccination and has entered clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eakachai Prompetchara
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Integrated Frontier Biotechnology for Emerging Disease, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Chutitorn Ketloy
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
- Integrated Frontier Biotechnology for Emerging Disease, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
| | - Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kittipan Tharakhet
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Papatsara Kaewpang
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Nongnaphat Yostrerat
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Patrawadee Pitakpolrat
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Supranee Buranapraditkun
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Thai Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Immunology (TPGHAI) Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | | | - Arunee Thitithanyanont
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Anan Jongkaewwattana
- Virology and Cell Technology Research Team, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Taweewan Hunsawong
- Department of Virology, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Rawiwan Im-Erbsin
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, USAMD-AFRIMS, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Matthew Reed
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, USAMD-AFRIMS, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | | | - Kanitha Patarakul
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Integrated Frontier Biotechnology for Emerging Disease, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Teerasit Techawiwattanaboon
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Tanapat Palaga
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Kieu Lam
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC, V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - James Heyes
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC, V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Drew Weissman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kiat Ruxrungtham
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development (Chula VRC), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Integrated Frontier Biotechnology for Emerging Disease, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Department of Medicine, and School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
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Füchsl F, Krackhardt AM. Paving the Way to Solid Tumors: Challenges and Strategies for Adoptively Transferred Transgenic T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:4192. [PMID: 36077730 PMCID: PMC9454442 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14174192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
T cells are important players in the antitumor immune response. Over the past few years, the adoptive transfer of genetically modified, autologous T cells-specifically redirected toward the tumor by expressing either a T cell receptor (TCR) or a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-has been adopted for use in the clinic. At the moment, the therapeutic application of CD19- and, increasingly, BCMA-targeting-engineered CAR-T cells have been approved and have yielded partly impressive results in hematologic malignancies. However, employing transgenic T cells for the treatment of solid tumors remains more troublesome, and numerous hurdles within the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) need to be overcome to achieve tumor control. In this review, we focused on the challenges that these therapies must face on three different levels: infiltrating the tumor, exerting efficient antitumor activity, and overcoming T cell exhaustion and dysfunction. We aimed to discuss different options to pave the way for potent transgenic T cell-mediated tumor rejection by engineering either the TME or the transgenic T cell itself, which responds to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Füchsl
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin III, School of Medicine, Technische Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Angela M. Krackhardt
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin III, School of Medicine, Technische Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium of Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Center for Translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM), School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
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5
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Lokhov PG, Lichtenberg S, Balashova EE. Changing Landscape of Cancer Vaccines-Novel Proteomics Platform for New Antigen Compositions. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084401. [PMID: 35457221 PMCID: PMC9029553 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The creation of cancer vaccines is a constant priority for research and biotechnology. Therefore, the emergence of any new technology in this field is a significant event, especially because previous technologies have not yielded results. Recently, the development of a cancer vaccine has been complemented by a new proteomics technology platform that allows the creation of antigen compositions known as antigenic essences. Antigenic essence comprises a target fraction of cellular antigens, the composition of which is precisely controlled by peptide mass spectrometry and compared to the proteomic footprint of the target cells to ensure similarity. This proteomics platform offers potential for a massive upgrade of conventional cellular cancer vaccines. Antigenic essences have the same mechanism of action, but without the disadvantages, and with notable advantages such as precise targeting of the immune response, safety, controlled composition, improved immunogenicity, addressed MHC restriction, and extended range of vaccination doses. The present paper calls attention to this novel platform, stimulates discussion of the role of antigenic essence in vaccine development, and consolidates academic science with biotech capabilities. A brief description of the platform, list of cellular cancer vaccines suitable for the upgrade, main recommendations, limitations, and legal and ethical aspects of vaccine upgrade are reported here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr G. Lokhov
- Biobohemia, Inc., 1 Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (S.L.); (E.E.B.)
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 10 Building 8, Pogodinskaya Street, 119121 Moscow, Russia
- Correspondence:
| | - Steven Lichtenberg
- Biobohemia, Inc., 1 Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (S.L.); (E.E.B.)
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 10 Building 8, Pogodinskaya Street, 119121 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena E. Balashova
- Biobohemia, Inc., 1 Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; (S.L.); (E.E.B.)
- Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, 10 Building 8, Pogodinskaya Street, 119121 Moscow, Russia
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6
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Adoptive Cellular Therapy for Multiple Myeloma Using CAR- and TCR-Transgenic T Cells: Response and Resistance. Cells 2022; 11:cells11030410. [PMID: 35159220 PMCID: PMC8834324 DOI: 10.3390/cells11030410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the substantial improvement of therapeutic approaches, multiple myeloma (MM) remains mostly incurable. However, immunotherapeutic and especially T cell-based approaches pioneered the therapeutic landscape for relapsed and refractory disease recently. Targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) on myeloma cells has been demonstrated to be highly effective not only by antibody-derived constructs but also by adoptive cellular therapies. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-transgenic T cells lead to deep, albeit mostly not durable responses with manageable side-effects in intensively pretreated patients. The spectrum of adoptive T cell-transfer covers synthetic CARs with diverse specificities as well as currently less well-established T cell receptor (TCR)-based personalized strategies. In this review, we want to focus on treatment characteristics including efficacy and safety of CAR- and TCR-transgenic T cells in MM as well as the future potential these novel therapies may have. ACT with transgenic T cells has only entered clinical trials and various engineering strategies for optimization of T cell responses are necessary to overcome therapy resistance mechanisms. We want to outline the current success in engineering CAR- and TCR-T cells, but also discuss challenges including resistance mechanisms of MM for evading T cell therapy and point out possible novel strategies.
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7
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Adaptive Immune Responses, Immune Escape and Immune-Mediated Pathogenesis during HDV Infection. Viruses 2022; 14:v14020198. [PMID: 35215790 PMCID: PMC8880046 DOI: 10.3390/v14020198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is the smallest known human virus, yet it causes great harm to patients co-infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). As a satellite virus of HBV, HDV requires the surface antigen of HBV (HBsAg) for sufficient viral packaging and spread. The special circumstance of co-infection, albeit only one partner depends on the other, raises many virological, immunological, and pathophysiological questions. In the last years, breakthroughs were made in understanding the adaptive immune response, in particular, virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, in self-limited versus persistent HBV/HDV co-infection. Indeed, the mechanisms of CD8+ T cell failure in persistent HBV/HDV co-infection include viral escape and T cell exhaustion, and mimic those in other persistent human viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and HBV mono-infection. However, compared to these larger viruses, the small HDV has perfectly adapted to evade recognition by CD8+ T cells restricted by common human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles. Furthermore, accelerated progression towards liver cirrhosis in persistent HBV/HDV co-infection was attributed to an increased immune-mediated pathology, either caused by innate pathways initiated by the interferon (IFN) system or triggered by misguided and dysfunctional T cells. These new insights into HDV-specific adaptive immunity will be discussed in this review and put into context with known well-described aspects in HBV, HCV, and HIV infections.
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8
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Schreiber S, Honz M, Mamozai W, Kurktschiev P, Schiemann M, Witter K, Moore E, Zielinski C, Sette A, Protzer U, Wisskirchen K. Characterization of a library of 20 HBV-specific MHC class II-restricted T cell receptors. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2021; 23:476-489. [PMID: 34853796 PMCID: PMC8605085 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
CD4+ T cells play an important role in the immune response against cancer and infectious diseases. However, mechanistic details of their helper function in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in particular, or their advantage for adoptive T cell therapy remain poorly understood as experimental and therapeutic tools are missing. Therefore, we identified, cloned, and characterized a comprehensive library of 20 MHC class II-restricted HBV-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) from donors with acute or resolved HBV infection. The TCRs were restricted by nine different MHC II molecules and specific for eight different epitopes derived from intracellularly processed HBV envelope, core, and polymerase proteins. Retroviral transduction resulted in a robust expression of all TCRs on primary T cells. A high functional avidity was measured for all TCRs specific for epitopes S17, S21, S36, and P774 (half-maximal effective concentration [EC50] <10 nM), or C61 and preS9 (EC50 <100 nM). Eight TCRs recognized peptide variants of HBV genotypes A to D. Both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells transduced with the MHC II-restricted TCRs were polyfunctional, producing interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-2, and granzyme B (GrzB), and killed peptide-loaded target cells. Our set of MHC class II-restricted TCRs represents an important tool for elucidating CD4+ T cell help in viral infection with potential benefit for T cell therapy.
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9
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Ma Y, Ou J, Lin T, Chen L, Chen J, Wang M. Next Generation Sequencing-Based Identification of T-Cell Receptors for Immunotherapy Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Hepatol Commun 2021; 5:1106-1119. [PMID: 34141993 PMCID: PMC8183181 DOI: 10.1002/hep4.1697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health concern, and HBV proteins may be ideal targets for T cell-based immunotherapy for HCC. There is a need for fast and efficient identification of HBV-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) for the development of TCR-transduced T (TCR-T) cell-based immunotherapy. Two widely employed TCR identification approaches, T cell clonal expansion and single-cell sequencing, involve a TCR singularization process for the direct identification of Vα and Vβ pairs of TCR chains. Clonal expansion of T cells is well known to have tedious time and effort requirements due to the use of T cell cultures, whereas single-cell sequencing is limited by the requirements of cell sorting and the preparation of a single-cell immune-transcriptome library as well as the massive cost of the whole procedure. Here, we present a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based HBV-specific TCR identification that does not require the TCR singularization process. Conclusion: Two pairing strategies, ranking-based strategy and α-β chain mixture-based strategy, have proved to be useful for NGS-based TCR identification, particularly for polyclonal T cells purified by a peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) multimer-based approach. Functional evaluation confirmed the specificity and avidity of two identified HBV-specific TCRs, which may potentially be used to produce TCR-T cells to treat patients with HBV-related HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yipeng Ma
- Department of Research and DevelopmentShenzhen Institute for Innovation and Translational MedicineShenzhen International Biological Valley-Life Science Industrial ParkShenzhenChina
| | - Jiayu Ou
- Department of Research and DevelopmentShenzhen Institute for Innovation and Translational MedicineShenzhen International Biological Valley-Life Science Industrial ParkShenzhenChina
| | - Tong Lin
- Department of Research and DevelopmentShenzhen Institute for Innovation and Translational MedicineShenzhen International Biological Valley-Life Science Industrial ParkShenzhenChina
| | - Lei Chen
- Department of Research and DevelopmentShenzhen Institute for Innovation and Translational MedicineShenzhen International Biological Valley-Life Science Industrial ParkShenzhenChina
| | - Junhui Chen
- Intervention and Cell Therapy CenterPeking University Shenzhen HospitalShenzhenChina
| | - Mingjun Wang
- Department of Research and DevelopmentShenzhen Institute for Innovation and Translational MedicineShenzhen International Biological Valley-Life Science Industrial ParkShenzhenChina
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10
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Gilfillan CB, Hebeisen M, Rufer N, Speiser DE. Constant regulation for stable CD8 T-cell functional avidity and its possible implications for cancer immunotherapy. Eur J Immunol 2021; 51:1348-1360. [PMID: 33704770 PMCID: PMC8252569 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202049016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The functional avidity (FA) of cytotoxic CD8 T cells impacts strongly on their functional capabilities and correlates with protection from infection and cancer. FA depends on TCR affinity, downstream signaling strength, and TCR affinity-independent parameters of the immune synapse, such as costimulatory and inhibitory receptors. The functional impact of coreceptors on FA remains to be fully elucidated. Despite its importance, FA is infrequently assessed and incompletely understood. There is currently no consensus as to whether FA can be enhanced by optimized vaccine dose or boosting schedule. Recent findings suggest that FA is remarkably stable in vivo, possibly due to continued signaling modulation of critical receptors in the immune synapse. In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge and hypothesize that in vivo, codominant T cells constantly "equalize" their FA for similar function. We present a new model of constant FA regulation, and discuss practical implications for T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie B Gilfillan
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michael Hebeisen
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Rufer
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel E Speiser
- Department of Oncology, University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- Pirooz Zareie
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Carine Farenc
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Nicole L La Gruta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
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12
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Müller TR, Schuler C, Hammel M, Köhler A, Jutz S, Leitner J, Schober K, Busch DH, Steinberger P. A T-cell reporter platform for high-throughput and reliable investigation of TCR function and biology. Clin Transl Immunology 2020; 9:e1216. [PMID: 33251011 PMCID: PMC7681835 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Transgenic re‐expression enables unbiased investigation of T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐intrinsic characteristics detached from its original cellular context. Recent advancements in TCR repertoire sequencing and development of protocols for direct cloning of full TCRαβ constructs now facilitate large‐scale transgenic TCR re‐expression. Together, this offers unprecedented opportunities for the screening of TCRs for basic research as well as clinical use. However, the functional characterisation of re‐expressed TCRs is still a complicated and laborious matter. Here, we propose a Jurkat‐based triple parameter TCR signalling reporter endogenous TCR knockout cellular platform (TPRKO) that offers an unbiased, easy read‐out of TCR functionality and facilitates high‐throughput screening approaches. Methods As a proof‐of‐concept, we transgenically re‐expressed 59 human cytomegalovirus‐specific TCRs and systematically investigated and compared TCR function in TPRKO cells versus primary human T cells. Results We demonstrate that the TPRKO cell line facilitates antigen‐HLA specificity screening via sensitive peptide‐MHC‐multimer staining, which was highly comparable to primary T cells. Also, TCR functional avidity in TPRKO cells was strongly correlating to primary T cells, especially in the absence of CD8αβ co‐receptor. Conclusion Overall, our data show that the TPRKO cell lines can serve as a surrogate of primary human T cells for standardised and high‐throughput investigation of TCR biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Müller
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) Munich Germany
| | - Corinna Schuler
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany
| | - Monika Hammel
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany
| | - Amelie Köhler
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany
| | - Sabrina Jutz
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology Institute of Immunology Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Judith Leitner
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology Institute of Immunology Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Kilian Schober
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany
| | - Dirk H Busch
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Technical University of Munich (TUM) Munich Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) Munich Germany.,Focus Group 'Clinical Cell Processing and Purification' Institute for Advanced Study TUM Munich Germany
| | - Peter Steinberger
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology Institute of Immunology Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria
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13
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Rana J, Biswas M. Regulatory T cell therapy: Current and future design perspectives. Cell Immunol 2020; 356:104193. [PMID: 32823038 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2020.104193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain immune equilibrium by suppressing immune responses through various multistep contact dependent and independent mechanisms. Cellular therapy using polyclonal Tregs in transplantation and autoimmune diseases has shown promise in preclinical models and clinical trials. Although novel approaches have been developed to improve specificity and efficacy of antigen specific Treg based therapies, widespread application is currently restricted. To date, design-based approaches to improve the potency and persistence of engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) Tregs are limited. Here, we describe currently available Treg based therapies, their advantages and limitations for implementation in clinical studies. We also examine various strategies for improving CAR T cell design that can potentially be applied to CAR Tregs, such as identifying co-stimulatory signalling domains that enhance suppressive ability, determining optimal scFv affinity/avidity, and co-expression of accessory molecules. Finally, we discuss the importance of tailoring CAR Treg design to suit the individual disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyoti Rana
- Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Moanaro Biswas
- Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
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14
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Crofts KF, Holbrook BC, Soto-Pantoja DR, Ornelles DA, Alexander-Miller MA. TCR Dependent Metabolic Programming Regulates Autocrine IL-4 Production Resulting in Self-Tuning of the CD8 + T Cell Activation Setpoint. Front Immunol 2020; 11:540. [PMID: 32300344 PMCID: PMC7145404 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00540] [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: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of T cells to sense and respond to environmental cues by altering their functional capabilities is critical for a safe and optimally protective immune response. One of the important properties that contributes to this goal is the activation set-point of the T cell. Here we report a new pathway through which TCR transgenic OT-I CD8+ T cells can self-tune their activation threshold. We find that in the presence of a strong TCR engagement event there is a shift in the metabolic programming of the cell where both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation are significantly increased. This diverges from the switch to a predominantly glycolytic profile that would be predicted following naïve T cell activation. Our data suggest this altered metabolic program results in the production of autocrine IL-4. Both metabolic pathways are required for this cytokine to be made. IL-4 signaling in the activated OT-I CD8+ T cell results in modulation of the sensitivity of the cell, establishing a higher activation setpoint that is maintained over time. Together these data demonstrate a novel mechanism for the regulation of IL-4 production in CD8+ T cells. Further, they reveal a new pathway for the self-tuning of peptide sensitivity. Finally, these studies uncover an unexpected role for oxidative phosphorylation in regulating differentiation in these cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kali F Crofts
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Beth C Holbrook
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - David R Soto-Pantoja
- Department of Cancer Biology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States.,Department of Surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - David A Ornelles
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Martha A Alexander-Miller
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
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15
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He Q, Jiang X, Zhou X, Weng J. Targeting cancers through TCR-peptide/MHC interactions. J Hematol Oncol 2019; 12:139. [PMID: 31852498 PMCID: PMC6921533 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-019-0812-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive T cell therapy has achieved dramatic success in a clinic, and the Food and Drug Administration approved two chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T cell (CAR-T) therapies that target hematological cancers in 2018. A significant issue faced by CAR-T therapies is the lack of tumor-specific biomarkers on the surfaces of solid tumor cells, which hampers the application of CAR-T therapies to solid tumors. Intracellular tumor-related antigens can be presented as peptides in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the cell surface, which interact with the T cell receptors (TCR) on antigen-specific T cells to stimulate an anti-tumor response. Multiple immunotherapy strategies have been developed to eradicate tumor cells through targeting the TCR-peptide/MHC interactions. Here, we summarize the current status of TCR-based immunotherapy strategies, with particular focus on the TCR structure, activated signaling pathways, the effects and toxicity associated with TCR-based therapies in clinical trials, preclinical studies examining immune-mobilizing monoclonal TCRs against cancer (ImmTACs), and TCR-fusion molecules. We propose several TCR-based therapeutic strategies to achieve optimal clinical responses without the induction of autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua He
- Department of Center Laboratory, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 621 Gangwan Rd, Huangpu Qu, Guangzhou, 510700, China
| | - Xianhan Jiang
- Department of General Surgery, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510700, China
| | - Xinke Zhou
- Department of Center Laboratory, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 621 Gangwan Rd, Huangpu Qu, Guangzhou, 510700, China. .,Department of General Surgery, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510700, China.
| | - Jinsheng Weng
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1414 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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16
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Impact of epitope density on CD8+ T cell development and function. Mol Immunol 2019; 113:120-125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2019.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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17
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Billeskov R, Beikzadeh B, Berzofsky JA. The effect of antigen dose on T cell-targeting vaccine outcome. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2018; 15:407-411. [PMID: 30277831 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2018.1527496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
During the past 3-4 decades, an increasing amount of evidence has pointed to the complex role of the antigen dose or T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation strength on the subsequent type, duration and "flavor" or quality of the response. Antigen dose was initially shown to impact Th1/Th2 bias, and later also shown to differentially affect development and induction of Tregs, Th17, T-follicular helper (Tfh), cells, and others. In recent years the quality of both CD4/8 T cells during infections, cancer and/or autoimmunity has turned out to be critical for subsequent disease outcome. Importantly, different vaccination strategies also lead to different types of T cell responses, and the role of the antigen dose is emerging as an important factor as well as a tool for investigators to utilize in fine-tuning vaccine efficacy. This commentary will highlight essential background of how antigen dose can impact and affect the quality of T cell responses, and discuss how this translates in different vaccine settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolf Billeskov
- a Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research , National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , MD , USA.,c Department of Infectious Disease Immunology , Statens Serum Institut , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Babak Beikzadeh
- b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine , University of Tehran , Tehran , Iran.,c Department of Infectious Disease Immunology , Statens Serum Institut , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Jay A Berzofsky
- a Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research , National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , MD , USA
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18
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Chen Z. Parainfluenza virus 5-vectored vaccines against human and animal infectious diseases. Rev Med Virol 2018; 28. [PMID: 29316047 PMCID: PMC7169218 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.1965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), known as canine parainfluenza virus in the veterinary field, is a negative‐sense, nonsegmented, single‐stranded RNA virus belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family. Parainfluenza virus 5 is an excellent viral vector and has been used as a live vaccine for kennel cough for many years in dogs without any safety concern. It can grow to high titers in many cell types, and its genome is stable even in the presence of foreign gene insertions. So far, PIV5 has been used to develop vaccines against influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, rabies virus, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, demonstrating its ability to elicit robust and protective immune responses in preclinical animal models. Parainfluenza virus 5–based vaccines can be administered intranasally, intramuscularly, or orally. Interestingly, prior exposure of PIV5 does not prevent a PIV5‐vectored vaccine from generating robust immunity, indicating that the vector can be used more than once. Here, these encouraging results are reviewed together along with discussion of the desirable advantages of the PIV5 vaccine vector to aid future vaccine design and to accelerate progression of PIV5‐based vaccines into clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhai Chen
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, JS, China
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19
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Wisskirchen K, Metzger K, Schreiber S, Asen T, Weigand L, Dargel C, Witter K, Kieback E, Sprinzl MF, Uckert W, Schiemann M, Busch DH, Krackhardt AM, Protzer U. Isolation and functional characterization of hepatitis B virus-specific T-cell receptors as new tools for experimental and clinical use. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182936. [PMID: 28792537 PMCID: PMC5549754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
T-cell therapy of chronic hepatitis B is a novel approach to restore antiviral T-cell immunity and cure the infection. We aimed at identifying T-cell receptors (TCR) with high functional avidity that have the potential to be used for adoptive T-cell therapy. To this end, we cloned HLA-A*02-restricted, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cells from patients with acute or resolved HBV infection. We isolated 11 envelope- or core-specific TCRs and evaluated them in comprehensive functional analyses. T cells were genetically modified by retroviral transduction to express HBV-specific TCRs. CD8+ as well as CD4+ T cells became effector T cells recognizing even picomolar concentrations of cognate peptide. TCR-transduced T cells were polyfunctional, secreting the cytokines interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-2, and effectively killed hepatoma cells replicating HBV. Notably, our collection of HBV-specific TCRs recognized peptides derived from HBV genotypes A, B, C and D presented on different HLA-A*02 subtypes common in areas with high HBV prevalence. When co-cultured with HBV-infected cells, TCR-transduced T cells rapidly reduced viral markers within two days. Our unique set of HBV-specific TCRs with different affinities represents an interesting tool for elucidating mechanisms of TCR-MHC interaction and dissecting specific anti-HBV mechanisms exerted by T cells. TCRs with high functional avidity might be suited to redirect T cells for adoptive T-cell therapy of chronic hepatitis B and HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Wisskirchen
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich partner site, Munich, Germany
- * E-mail: (UP); (KW)
| | - Kai Metzger
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Sophia Schreiber
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Theresa Asen
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Luise Weigand
- III. Medical Department, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Christina Dargel
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Klaus Witter
- Laboratory for Immunogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics, Klinikum der Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Elisa Kieback
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt-University Berlin, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin F. Sprinzl
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Uckert
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt-University Berlin, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias Schiemann
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Dirk H. Busch
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich partner site, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Focus Groups “Viral Hepatitis” and “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Angela M. Krackhardt
- III. Medical Department, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Ulrike Protzer
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität München / Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Munich partner site, Munich, Germany
- Focus Groups “Viral Hepatitis” and “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- * E-mail: (UP); (KW)
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20
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Expansion and retention of pulmonary CD4 + T cells after prime boost vaccination correlates with improved longevity and strength of immunity against tularemia. Vaccine 2017; 35:2575-2581. [PMID: 28372827 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis strain SchuS4 (Ftt) is a highly virulent intracellular bacterium. Inhalation of 10 or fewer organisms results in an acute and potentially lethal disease called pneumonic tularemia. Ftt infections occur naturally in the U.S. and Ftt was developed as a bioweapon. Thus, there is a need for vaccines that protect against this deadly pathogen. Although a live vaccine strain of Francisella tularensis (LVS) exists, LVS fails to generate long-lived protective immunity against modest challenge doses of Ftt. We recently identified an important role for high avidity CD4+ T cells in short-term protection and hypothesized that expanding this pool of cells would improve overall vaccine efficacy with regard to longevity and challenge dose. In support of our hypothesis, application of a prime/boost vaccination strategy increased the pool of high avidity CD4+ T cells which correlated with improved survival following challenge with either increased doses of virulent Ftt or at late time points after vaccination. In summary, we demonstrate that both epitope selection and vaccination strategies that expand antigen-specific T cells correlate with superior immunity to Ftt as measured by survival.
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21
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Billeskov R, Wang Y, Solaymani-Mohammadi S, Frey B, Kulkarni S, Andersen P, Agger EM, Sui Y, Berzofsky JA. Low Antigen Dose in Adjuvant-Based Vaccination Selectively Induces CD4 T Cells with Enhanced Functional Avidity and Protective Efficacy. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2017; 198:3494-3506. [PMID: 28348274 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
T cells with high functional avidity can sense and respond to low levels of cognate Ag, a characteristic that is associated with more potent responses against tumors and many infections, including HIV. Although an important determinant of T cell efficacy, it has proven difficult to selectively induce T cells of high functional avidity through vaccination. Attempts to induce high-avidity T cells by low-dose in vivo vaccination failed because this strategy simply gave no response. Instead, selective induction of high-avidity T cells has required in vitro culturing of specific T cells with low Ag concentrations. In this study, we combined low vaccine Ag doses with a novel potent cationic liposomal adjuvant, cationic adjuvant formulation 09, consisting of dimethyldioctadecylammonium liposomes incorporating two immunomodulators (monomycolyl glycerol analog and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid) that efficiently induces CD4 Th cells, as well as cross-primes CD8 CTL responses. We show that vaccination with low Ag dose selectively primes CD4 T cells of higher functional avidity, whereas CD8 T cell functional avidity was unrelated to vaccine dose in mice. Importantly, CD4 T cells of higher functional avidity induced by low-dose vaccinations showed higher cytokine release per cell and lower inhibitory receptor expression (PD-1, CTLA-4, and the apoptosis-inducing Fas death receptor) compared with their lower-avidity CD4 counterparts. Notably, increased functional CD4 T cell avidity improved antiviral efficacy of CD8 T cells. These data suggest that potent adjuvants, such as cationic adjuvant formulation 09, render low-dose vaccination a feasible and promising approach for generating high-avidity T cells through vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolf Billeskov
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892; .,Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen S, DK-2300, Denmark; and
| | - Yichuan Wang
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Leidos Biomedical Research Corporation, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Shahram Solaymani-Mohammadi
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Blake Frey
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Shweta Kulkarni
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Peter Andersen
- Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen S, DK-2300, Denmark; and
| | - Else Marie Agger
- Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen S, DK-2300, Denmark; and
| | - Yongjun Sui
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Jay A Berzofsky
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892;
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22
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Hu Z, Zhu L, Wang J, Wan Y, Yuan S, Chen J, Ding X, Qiu C, Zhang X, Qiu C, Xu J. Immune Signature of Enhanced Functional Avidity CD8 + T Cells in vivo Induced by Vaccinia Vectored Vaccine. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41558. [PMID: 28155878 PMCID: PMC5290741 DOI: 10.1038/srep41558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional avidity of T cells is a critical determinant for clearing viral infection and eliminating tumor. Understanding how functional avidity is maintained in T cells is imperative for immunotherapy. However, studies systematically characterize T cell with high functional avidity induced in vivo are still lacking. Previously, we and others found vaccinia vectored vaccine (VACV) induced antigen-specific CD8+ T cells with relatively high functional avidity to those from DNA vaccine. Herein, we used functional, immune phenotyping and transcriptomic studies to define the immune signature of these CD8+ T cells with high functional avidity. Antigen-specific CD8+ T cells induced by VACV executed superior in vivo killing activity and displayed a distinct transcriptional profile, whereas no significantly differences were found in composition of memory sub-populations and cytokine poly-functionality. Transcriptional analyses revealed unique features of VACV induced CD8+ T cells in several biological processes, including transport, cell cycle, cell communication and metabolic processes. In summary, we characterize CD8+ T cells of high functional avidity induced in vivo by VACV, which not only improves our understanding of adaptive T cell immunity in VACV vaccination, but also provides clues to modulate functional avidity of CD8+ T cells for T cell based immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhidong Hu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lingyan Zhu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanmin Wan
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Songhua Yuan
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jian Chen
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangqing Ding
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chenli Qiu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoyan Zhang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/ MOH, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chao Qiu
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/ MOH, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianqing Xu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/ MOH, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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23
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Miller NJ, Church CD, Dong L, Crispin D, Fitzgibbon MP, Lachance K, Jing L, Shinohara M, Gavvovidis I, Willimsky G, McIntosh M, Blankenstein T, Koelle DM, Nghiem P. Tumor-Infiltrating Merkel Cell Polyomavirus-Specific T Cells Are Diverse and Associated with Improved Patient Survival. Cancer Immunol Res 2017; 5:137-147. [PMID: 28093446 PMCID: PMC5421625 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-16-0210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2016] [Revised: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells are associated with improved survival of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), an aggressive skin cancer causally linked to Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). However, CD8+ T-cell infiltration is robust in only 4% to 18% of MCC tumors. We characterized the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire restricted to one prominent epitope of MCPyV (KLLEIAPNC, "KLL") and assessed whether TCR diversity, tumor infiltration, or T-cell avidity correlated with clinical outcome. HLA-A*02:01/KLL tetramer+ CD8+ T cells from MCC patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) were isolated via flow cytometry. TCRβ (TRB) sequencing was performed on tetramer+ cells from PBMCs or TILs (n = 14) and matched tumors (n = 12). Functional avidity of T-cell clones was determined by IFNγ production. We identified KLL tetramer+ T cells in 14% of PBMC and 21% of TIL from MCC patients. TRB repertoires were strikingly diverse (397 unique TRBs were identified from 12 patients) and mostly private (only one TCRb clonotype shared between two patients). An increased fraction of KLL-specific TIL (>1.9%) was associated with significantly increased MCC-specific survival P = 0.0009). T-cell cloning from four patients identified 42 distinct KLL-specific TCRa/b pairs. T-cell clones from patients with improved MCC-specific outcomes were more avid (P < 0.05) and recognized an HLA-appropriate MCC cell line. T cells specific for a single MCPyV epitope display marked TCR diversity within and between patients. Intratumoral infiltration by MCPyV-specific T cells was associated with significantly improved MCC-specific survival, suggesting that augmenting the number or avidity of virus-specific T cells may have therapeutic benefit. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(2); 137-47. ©2017 AACR.
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MESH Headings
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/etiology
- Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/mortality
- Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/pathology
- Clonal Evolution/genetics
- Clonal Evolution/immunology
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/chemistry
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/genetics
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Genetic Variation
- Humans
- Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/immunology
- Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/metabolism
- Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/pathology
- Merkel cell polyomavirus/immunology
- Prognosis
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta/chemistry
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta/genetics
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
- Skin Neoplasms/etiology
- Skin Neoplasms/mortality
- Skin Neoplasms/pathology
- T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity/immunology
- T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology
- T-Lymphocyte Subsets/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie J Miller
- Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Candice D Church
- Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Lichun Dong
- Department of Medicine/Laboratory Medicine/Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - David Crispin
- Fred Hutchinson, Public Health Sciences Division, Seattle, Washington
| | | | - Kristina Lachance
- Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Lichen Jing
- Department of Medicine/Laboratory Medicine/Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Michi Shinohara
- Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Ioannis Gavvovidis
- Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gerald Willimsky
- Institute of Immunology, Charité, Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martin McIntosh
- Fred Hutchinson, Public Health Sciences Division, Seattle, Washington
| | - Thomas Blankenstein
- Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, Charité, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - David M Koelle
- Department of Medicine/Laboratory Medicine/Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
- Fred Hutchinson, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Seattle, Washington
- Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, Washington
| | - Paul Nghiem
- Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
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24
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Nauerth M, Stemberger C, Mohr F, Weißbrich B, Schiemann M, Germeroth L, Busch DH. Flow cytometry-based TCR-ligandKoff-rate assay for fast avidity screening of even very small antigen-specific T cell populations ex vivo. Cytometry A 2016; 89:816-25. [DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.22933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2016] [Revised: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Nauerth
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
| | - Christian Stemberger
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
- Juno Therapeutics; Munich Germany
| | - Fabian Mohr
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
| | - Bianca Weißbrich
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
| | - Matthias Schiemann
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
| | | | - Dirk H. Busch
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
- DZIF - National Centre for Infection Research; Munich Germany
- Focus Group ‘‘Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”; Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München; Munich Germany
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25
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Komadina N, Quiñones-Parra SM, Kedzierska K, McCaw JM, Kelso A, Leder K, McVernon J. High conservation level of CD8(+) T cell immunogenic regions within an unusual H1N2 human influenza variant. J Med Virol 2016; 88:1725-32. [PMID: 26950895 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.24516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Current seasonal influenza vaccines require regular updates due to antigenic drift causing loss of effectiveness and therefore providing little or no protection against novel influenza A subtypes. Next generation vaccines capable of eliciting CD8(+) T cell (CTL) mediated cross-protective immunity may offer a long-term alternative strategy. However, measuring pre- and existing levels of CTL cross-protection in humans is confounded by differences in infection histories across individuals. During 2000-2003, H1N2 viruses circulated persistently in the human population for the first time and we hypothesized that the viral nucleoprotein (NP) contained novel CTL epitopes that may have contributed to the survival of the viruses. This study describes the immunogenic NP peptides of H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2 influenza viruses isolated from humans over the past century, 1918-2003, by comparing this historical dataset to reference NP peptides from H1N2 that circulated in humans during 2000-2003. Observed peptides sequences ranged from highly conserved (15%) to highly variable (12%), with variation unrelated to reported immunodominance. No unique NP peptides which were exclusive to the H1N2 viruses were noted. However, the virus had inherited the NP from a recently emerged H3N2 variant containing novel peptides, which may have assisted its persistence. Any advantage due to this novelty was subsequently lost with emergence of a newer H3N2 variant in 2003. Our approach has potential to provide insight into the population context in which influenza viruses emerge, and may help to inform immunogenic peptide selection for CTL-inducing influenza vaccines. J. Med. Virol. 88:1725-1732, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Komadina
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,The Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sergio M Quiñones-Parra
- The Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia.,The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Katherine Kedzierska
- The Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia.,The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - James M McCaw
- The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Anne Kelso
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,The Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia.,The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Karin Leder
- Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Victorian Infectious Diseases Services, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jodie McVernon
- The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
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26
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Hebeisen M, Allard M, Gannon PO, Schmidt J, Speiser DE, Rufer N. Identifying Individual T Cell Receptors of Optimal Avidity for Tumor Antigens. Front Immunol 2015; 6:582. [PMID: 26635796 PMCID: PMC4649060 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cytotoxic T cells recognize, via their T cell receptors (TCRs), small antigenic peptides presented by the major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) on the surface of professional antigen-presenting cells and infected or malignant cells. The efficiency of T cell triggering critically depends on TCR binding to cognate pMHC, i.e., the TCR–pMHC structural avidity. The binding and kinetic attributes of this interaction are key parameters for protective T cell-mediated immunity, with stronger TCR–pMHC interactions conferring superior T cell activation and responsiveness than weaker ones. However, high-avidity TCRs are not always available, particularly among self/tumor antigen-specific T cells, most of which are eliminated by central and peripheral deletion mechanisms. Consequently, systematic assessment of T cell avidity can greatly help distinguishing protective from non-protective T cells. Here, we review novel strategies to assess TCR–pMHC interaction kinetics, enabling the identification of the functionally most-relevant T cells. We also discuss the significance of these technologies in determining which cells within a naturally occurring polyclonal tumor-specific T cell response would offer the best clinical benefit for use in adoptive therapies, with or without T cell engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hebeisen
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland
| | - Mathilde Allard
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland
| | - Philippe O Gannon
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland
| | - Julien Schmidt
- Ludwig Center for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland ; TCMetrix Sàrl , Epalinges , Switzerland
| | - Daniel E Speiser
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland ; Ludwig Center for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Rufer
- Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital Center (CHUV), University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland ; Ludwig Center for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne , Epalinges , Switzerland
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27
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Zhu Z, Cuss SM, Singh V, Gurusamy D, Shoe JL, Leighty R, Bronte V, Hurwitz AA. CD4+ T Cell Help Selectively Enhances High-Avidity Tumor Antigen-Specific CD8+ T Cells. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2015; 195:3482-9. [PMID: 26320256 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1401571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Maintaining antitumor immunity remains a persistent impediment to cancer immunotherapy. We and others have previously reported that high-avidity CD8(+) T cells are more susceptible to tolerance induction in the tumor microenvironment. In the present study, we used a novel model where T cells derived from two independent TCR transgenic mouse lines recognize the same melanoma antigenic epitope but differ in their avidity. We tested whether providing CD4(+) T cell help would improve T cell responsiveness as a function of effector T cell avidity. Interestingly, delivery of CD4(+) T cell help during in vitro priming of CD8(+) T cells improved cytokine secretion and lytic capacity of high-avidity T cells, but not low-avidity T cells. Consistent with this observation, copriming with CD4(+) T cells improved antitumor immunity mediated by higher avidity, melanoma-specific CD8(+) T cells, but not T cells with similar specificity but lower avidity. Enhanced tumor immunity was associated with improved CD8(+) T cell expansion and reduced tolerization, and it was dependent on presentation of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell epitopes by the same dendritic cell population. Our findings demonstrate that CD4(+) T cell help preferentially augments high-avidity CD8(+) T cells and provide important insight for understanding the requirements to elicit and maintain durable tumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqiang Zhu
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Steven M Cuss
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Vinod Singh
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Devikala Gurusamy
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702
| | - Jennifer L Shoe
- Laboratory Animal Sciences Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick, MD 21072
| | - Robert Leighty
- Data Management Services, National Cancer Institute, Frederick MD, 21702; and
| | - Vincenzo Bronte
- Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, Immunology Section, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
| | - Arthur A Hurwitz
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702;
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28
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Fitness-Balanced Escape Determines Resolution of Dynamic Founder Virus Escape Processes in HIV-1 Infection. J Virol 2015. [PMID: 26223634 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01876-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED To understand the interplay between host cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses and the mechanisms by which HIV-1 evades them, we studied viral evolutionary patterns associated with host CTL responses in six linked transmission pairs. HIV-1 sequences corresponding to full-length p17 and p24 gag were generated by 454 pyrosequencing for all pairs near the time of transmission, and seroconverting partners were followed for a median of 847 days postinfection. T-cell responses were screened by gamma interferon/interleukin-2 (IFN-γ/IL-2) FluoroSpot using autologous peptide sets reflecting any Gag variant present in at least 5% of sequence reads in the individual's viral population. While we found little evidence for the occurrence of CTL reversions, CTL escape processes were found to be highly dynamic, with multiple epitope variants emerging simultaneously. We found a correlation between epitope entropy and the number of epitope variants per response (r = 0.43; P = 0.05). In cases in which multiple escape mutations developed within a targeted epitope, a variant with no fitness cost became fixed in the viral population. When multiple mutations within an epitope achieved fitness-balanced escape, these escape mutants were each maintained in the viral population. Additional mutations found to confer escape but undetected in viral populations incurred high fitness costs, suggesting that functional constraints limit the available sites tolerable to escape mutations. These results further our understanding of the impact of CTL escape and reversion from the founder virus in HIV infection and contribute to the identification of immunogenic Gag regions most vulnerable to a targeted T-cell attack. IMPORTANCE Rapid diversification of the viral population is a hallmark of HIV-1 infection, and understanding the selective forces driving the emergence of viral variants can provide critical insight into the interplay between host immune responses and viral evolution. We used deep sequencing to comprehensively follow viral evolution over time in six linked HIV transmission pairs. We then mapped T-cell responses to explore if mutations arose due to adaption to the host and found that escape processes were often highly dynamic, with multiple mutations arising within targeted epitopes. When we explored the impact of these mutations on replicative capacity, we found that dynamic escape processes only resolve with the selection of mutations that conferred escape with no fitness cost to the virus. These results provide further understanding of the complicated viral-host interactions that occur during early HIV-1 infection and may help inform the design of future vaccine immunogens.
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29
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Adegoke AO, Grant MD. Enhancing Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Specific CD8(+) T Cell Responses with Heteroclitic Peptides. Front Immunol 2015; 6:377. [PMID: 26257743 PMCID: PMC4512150 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-specific CD8(+) T cells play a critical role in containing HIV replication and delaying disease progression. However, HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells become progressively more "exhausted" as chronic HIV infection proceeds. Symptoms of T cell exhaustion range from expression of inhibitory receptors and selective loss of cytokine production capacity through reduced proliferative potential, impaired differentiation into effector cells and increased susceptibility to apoptosis. While effective combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) durably reduces HIV viremia to undetectable levels, this alone does not restore the full pluripotency of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells. In a number of studies, a subset of peptide epitope variants categorized as heteroclitic, restimulated more potent cellular immune responses in vitro than did the native, immunizing peptides themselves. This property of heteroclitic peptides has been exploited in experimental cancer and chronic viral infection models to promote clearance of transformed cells and persistent viruses. In this review, we consider the possibility that heteroclitic peptides could improve the efficacy of therapeutic vaccines as part of HIV immunotherapy or eradication strategies. We review literature on heteroclitic peptides and illustrate their potential to beneficially modulate the nature of HIV-specific T cell responses toward those found in the small minority of HIV-infected, aviremic cART-naïve persons termed elite controllers or long-term non-progressors. Our review suggests that the efficacy of HIV vaccines could be improved by identification, testing, and incorporation of heteroclitic variants of native HIV peptide epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeolu Oyemade Adegoke
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Michael David Grant
- Immunology and Infectious Diseases Program, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
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30
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Cukalac T, Kan WT, Dash P, Guan J, Quinn KM, Gras S, Thomas PG, La Gruta NL. Paired TCRαβ analysis of virus-specific CD8(+) T cells exposes diversity in a previously defined 'narrow' repertoire. Immunol Cell Biol 2015; 93:804-14. [PMID: 25804828 DOI: 10.1038/icb.2015.44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Revised: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/19/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
T-cell receptor (TCR) usage has an important role in determining the outcome of CD8(+) cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses to viruses and other pathogens. However, the characterization of TCR usage from which such conclusions are drawn is based on exclusive analysis of either the TCRα chain or, more commonly, the TCRβ chain. Here, we have used a multiplexed reverse transcription-PCR protocol to analyse the CDR3 regions of both TCRα and β chains from single naive or immune epitope-specific cells to provide a comprehensive picture of epitope-specific TCR usage and selection into the immune response. Analysis of TCR repertoires specific for three influenza-derived epitopes (D(b)NP(366), D(b)PA(224) and D(b)PB1-F2(62)) showed preferential usage of particular TCRαβ proteins in the immune repertoire relative to the naive repertoire, in some cases, resulting in a complete shift in TRBV preference or CDR3 length, and restricted repertoire diversity. The NP(366)-specific TCRαβ repertoire, previously defined as clonally restricted based on TCRβ analysis, was similarly diverse as the PA(224)- and PB1-F2(62)-specific repertoires. Intriguingly, preferred TCR characteristics (variable gene usage, CDR3 length and junctional gene usage) appeared to be able to confer specificity either independently or in concert with one another, depending on the epitope specificity. These data have implications for established correlations between the nature of the TCR repertoire and response outcomes after infection, and suggest that analysis of a subset of cells or a single TCR chain does not accurately depict the nature of the antigen-specific TCRαβ repertoire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Cukalac
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Wan-Ting Kan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Pradyot Dash
- Department of Immunology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Jing Guan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Kylie M Quinn
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Stephanie Gras
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Paul G Thomas
- Department of Immunology, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Nicole L La Gruta
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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31
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Dalla Santa S, Merlo A, Bobisse S, Ronconi E, Boldrin D, Milan G, Barbieri V, Marin O, Facchinetti A, Biasi G, Dolcetti R, Zanovello P, Rosato A. Functional avidity-driven activation-induced cell death shapes CTL immunodominance. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2014; 193:4704-11. [PMID: 25246498 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1303203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Immunodominance is a complex phenomenon that relies on a mere numerical concept, while being potentially influenced at every step of the immune response. We investigated the mechanisms leading to the establishment of CTL immunodominance in a retroviral model and found that the previously defined subdominant Env-specific CD8(+) T cells are endowed with an unexpectedly higher functional avidity than is the immunodominant Gag-recognizing counterpart. This high avidity, along with the Env Ag overload, results in a supraoptimal TCR engagement. The overstimulation makes Env-specific T lymphocytes more susceptible to apoptosis, thus hampering their expansion and leading to an unintentional "immune kamikazing." Therefore, Ag-dependent, hyperactivation-induced cell death can be regarded as a novel mechanism in the establishment of the immunodominance that restrains and opposes the expansion of high-avidity T cells in favor of lower-affinity populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Merlo
- Veneto Institute of Oncology, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Sara Bobisse
- Ludwig Center for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne, Biopôle III, 1066 Epalinges, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Ronconi
- Excellence Centre for Research, Transfer, and High Education, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
| | | | - Gabriella Milan
- Department of Medicine, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Vito Barbieri
- Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Oriano Marin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Antonella Facchinetti
- Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Giovanni Biasi
- Department of Molecular Pathology, University of Marche, 60126 Ancona, Italy; and
| | | | - Paola Zanovello
- Veneto Institute of Oncology, 35128 Padua, Italy; Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
| | - Antonio Rosato
- Veneto Institute of Oncology, 35128 Padua, Italy; Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy;
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32
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Nauerth M, Weissbrich B, Busch DH. The clinical potential for koff-rate measurement in adoptive immunotherapy. Expert Rev Clin Immunol 2014; 9:1151-3. [PMID: 24215403 DOI: 10.1586/1744666x.2013.855609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Nauerth
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany
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33
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Peptide Dose and/or Structure in Vaccines as a Determinant of T Cell Responses. Vaccines (Basel) 2014; 2:537-48. [PMID: 26344744 PMCID: PMC4494221 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines2030537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
While T cells recognise the complex of peptide and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) at the cell surface, changes in the dose and/or structure of the peptide component can have profound effects on T cell activation and function. In addition, the repertoire of T cells capable of responding to any given peptide is variable, but broader than a single clone. Consequently, peptide parameters that affect the interaction between T cells and peptide/MHC have been shown to select particular T cell clones for expansion and this impacts on clearance of disease. T cells with high functional avidity are selected on low doses of peptide, while low avidity T cells are favoured in high peptide concentrations. Altering the structure of the peptide ligand can also influence the selection and function of peptide-specific T cell clones. In this review, we will explore the evidence that the choice of peptide dose or the structure of the peptide are critical parameters in an effective vaccine designed to activate T cells.
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34
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Shiner EK, Holbrook BC, Alexander-Miller MA. CD4+ T cell subset differentiation and avidity setpoint are dictated by the interplay of cytokine and antigen mediated signals. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100175. [PMID: 24940899 PMCID: PMC4062528 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
CD4(+) T cell differentiation has been shown to be regulated by the cytokine milieu present during activation as well as peptide MHC levels. However, the extent to which these two important regulatory signals work in concert to shape CD4(+) T cell function has not been investigated. Using a murine OT-II transgenic TCR model of in vitro differentiation, we demonstrate that the ability of CD4(+) T cells to commit to a distinct lineage, i.e. Th1 vs. Th2 vs. Th17, is restricted by the amount of peptide antigen present in the stimulating environment. In addition, whether cells succumb to inhibitory effects associated with high dose antigen is dependent on the array of cytokine signals encountered. Specifically, stimulation with high dose antigen in Th1 or Th17 conditions promoted efficient generation of functional cells, while Th2 polarizing conditions did not. Finally, we found that the peptide sensitivity of an effector cell was determined by the combined actions of cytokine and peptide level, with Th1 cells exhibiting the highest avidity, followed by Th17 and Th2 cells. Together, these data show that the interplay of antigen and cytokine signals shape both the differentiation fate and avidity setpoint of CD4(+) T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin K. Shiner
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Rheumatology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Beth C. Holbrook
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Section on Rheumatology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Martha A. Alexander-Miller
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Section on Rheumatology and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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35
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Boosting functional avidity of CD8+ T cells by vaccinia virus vaccination depends on intrinsic T-cell MyD88 expression but not the inflammatory milieu. J Virol 2014; 88:5356-68. [PMID: 24554667 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.03664-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED T-cell functional avidity is a crucial determinant for efficient pathogen clearance. Although recombinant DNA priming coupled with a vaccinia-vectored vaccine (VACV) boost has been widely used to mount robust CD8+ T-cell responses, how VACV boost shapes the properties of memory CD8+ T cells remains poorly defined. Here, we characterize the memory CD8+ T cells boosted by VACV and demonstrate that the intrinsic expression of MyD88 is critical for their high functional avidity. Independent of selection of clones with high-affinity T-cell receptor (TCR) or of enhanced proximal TCR signaling, the VACV boost significantly increased T-cell functional avidity through a decrease in the activation threshold. VACV-induced inflammatory milieu is not sufficient for this improvement, as simultaneous administration of the DNA vaccine and mock VACV had no effects on the functional avidity of memory CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, reciprocal adoptive transfer models revealed that the intrinsic MyD88 pathway is required for instructing the functional avidity of CD8+ T cells boosted by VACV. Taking these results together, the intrinsic MyD88 pathway is required for the high functional avidity of VACV-boosted CD8+ T cells independent of TCR selection or the VACV infection-induced MyD88-mediated inflammatory milieu. IMPORTANCE Functional avidity is one of the crucial determinants of T-cell functionality. Interestingly, although it has been demonstrated that a DNA prime-VACV boost regimen elicits high levels of T-cell functional avidity, how VACV changes the low avidity of CD8+ T cells primed by DNA into higher ones in vivo is less defined. Here, we proved that the enhancement of CD8+ T cell avidity induced by VACV boost is mediated by the intrinsic MyD88 pathway but not the MyD88-mediated inflammatory milieu, which might provide prompts in vaccine design.
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Ranasinghe C, Ramshaw IA. Genetic heterologous prime–boost vaccination strategies for improved systemic and mucosal immunity. Expert Rev Vaccines 2014; 8:1171-81. [DOI: 10.1586/erv.09.86] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Schlom J, Hodge JW, Palena C, Tsang KY, Jochems C, Greiner JW, Farsaci B, Madan RA, Heery CR, Gulley JL. Therapeutic cancer vaccines. Adv Cancer Res 2014; 121:67-124. [PMID: 24889529 PMCID: PMC6324585 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800249-0.00002-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic cancer vaccines have the potential of being integrated in the therapy of numerous cancer types and stages. The wide spectrum of vaccine platforms and vaccine targets is reviewed along with the potential for development of vaccines to target cancer cell "stemness," the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, and drug-resistant populations. Preclinical and recent clinical studies are now revealing how vaccines can optimally be used with other immune-based therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors, and so-called nonimmune-based therapeutics, radiation, hormonal therapy, and certain small molecule targeted therapies; it is now being revealed that many of these traditional therapies can lyse tumor cells in a manner as to further potentiate the host immune response, alter the phenotype of nonlysed tumor cells to render them more susceptible to T-cell lysis, and/or shift the balance of effector:regulatory cells in a manner to enhance vaccine efficacy. The importance of the tumor microenvironment, the appropriate patient population, and clinical trial endpoints is also discussed in the context of optimizing patient benefit from vaccine-mediated therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Schlom
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
| | - James W Hodge
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Claudia Palena
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Kwong-Yok Tsang
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Caroline Jochems
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - John W Greiner
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Benedetto Farsaci
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ravi A Madan
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Christopher R Heery
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - James L Gulley
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Stromnes IM, Schmitt TM, Chapuis AG, Hingorani SR, Greenberg PD. Re-adapting T cells for cancer therapy: from mouse models to clinical trials. Immunol Rev 2014; 257:145-64. [PMID: 24329795 PMCID: PMC4015625 DOI: 10.1111/imr.12141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Adoptive T-cell therapy involves the isolation, expansion, and reinfusion of T lymphocytes with a defined specificity and function as a means to eradicate cancer. Our research has focused on specifying the requirements for tumor eradication with antigen-specific T cells and T cells transduced to express a defined T-cell receptor (TCR) in mouse models and then translating these strategies to clinical trials. Our design of T-cell-based therapy for cancer has reflected efforts to identify the obstacles that limit sustained effector T-cell activity in mice and humans, design approaches to enhance T-cell persistence, develop methods to increase TCR affinity/T-cell functional avidity, and pursue strategies to overcome tolerance and immunosuppression. With the advent of genetic engineering, a highly functional population of T cells can now be rapidly generated and tailored for the targeted malignancy. Preclinical studies in faithful and informative mouse models, in concert with knowledge gained from analyses of successes and limitations in clinical trials, are shaping how we continue to develop, refine, and broaden the applicability of this approach for cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingunn M. Stromnes
- Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thomas M. Schmitt
- Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Aude G. Chapuis
- Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sunil R. Hingorani
- Clinical Research Division and Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Philip D. Greenberg
- Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
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Jochems C, Tucker JA, Vergati M, Boyerinas B, Gulley JL, Schlom J, Tsang KY. Identification and characterization of agonist epitopes of the MUC1-C oncoprotein. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2013; 63:161-74. [PMID: 24233342 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-013-1494-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 10/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The MUC1 tumor-associated antigen is overexpressed in the majority of human carcinomas and several hematologic malignancies. Much attention has been paid to the hypoglycosylated variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) region of the N-terminus of MUC1 as a vaccine target, and recombinant viral vector vaccines are also being evaluated that express the entire MUC1 transgene. While previous studies have described MUC1 as a tumor-associated tissue differentiation antigen, studies have now determined that the C-terminus of MUC1 (MUC1-C) is an oncoprotein, and its expression is an indication of poor prognosis in numerous tumor types. We report here the identification of nine potential CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes of MUC1, seven in the C-terminus and two in the VNTR region, and have identified enhancer agonist peptides for each of these epitopes. These epitopes span HLA-A2, HLA-A3, and HLA-A24 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alleles, which encompass the majority of the population. The agonist peptides, compared to the native peptides, more efficiently (a) generate T-cell lines from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of cancer patients, (b) enhance the production of IFN-γ by peptide-activated human T cells, and (c) lyse human tumor cell targets in an MHC-restricted manner. The agonist epitopes described here can be incorporated into various vaccine platforms and for the ex vivo generation of human T cells. These studies provide the rationale for the T-cell-mediated targeting of the oncogenic MUC1-C, which has been shown to be an important factor in both drug resistance and poor prognosis for numerous tumor types.
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Vincent K, Hardy MP, Trofimov A, Laumont CM, Sriranganadane D, Hadj-Mimoune S, Salem Fourati I, Soudeyns H, Thibault P, Perreault C. Rejection of leukemic cells requires antigen-specific T cells with high functional avidity. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2013; 20:37-45. [PMID: 24161924 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2013.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2013] [Accepted: 10/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In a context where injection of antigen (Ag)-specific T cells probably represents the future of leukemia immunotherapy, identification of optimal target Ags is crucial. We therefore sought to discover a reliable marker for selection of the most potent Ags. To this end, (1) we immunized mice against 8 individual Ags: 4 minor histocompatibility Ags (miHAs) and 4 leukemia-associated Ags (LAAs) that were overexpressed on leukemic relative to normal thymocytes; (2) we assessed their ability to reject EL4 leukemic cells; and (3) we correlated the properties of our Ags (and their cognate T cells) with their ability to induce protective antileukemic responses. Overall, individual miHAs instigated more potent antileukemic responses than LAAs. Three features had no influence on the ability of primed T cells to reject leukemic cells: (1) MHC-peptide affinity; (2) the stability of MHC-peptide complexes; and (3) epitope density at the surface of leukemic cells, as assessed using mass spectrometry. The cardinal feature of successful Ags is that they were recognized by high-avidity CD8 T cells that proliferated extensively in vivo. Our work suggests that in vitro evaluation of functional avidity represents the best criterion for selection of Ags, which should be prioritized in clinical trials of leukemia immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystel Vincent
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marie-Pierre Hardy
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Assya Trofimov
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Céline M Laumont
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dev Sriranganadane
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sarah Hadj-Mimoune
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Insaf Salem Fourati
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Hugo Soudeyns
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Pierre Thibault
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Claude Perreault
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
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Weissbrich B, Nauerth M, Busch DH. Adoptive immunotherapy: New assay for the identification of T cells with optimal avidity. Oncoimmunology 2013; 2:e26199. [PMID: 24244903 PMCID: PMC3825721 DOI: 10.4161/onci.26199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2013] [Accepted: 08/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells expressing high avidity T-cell receptors (TCRs) have been shown to mediate superior therapeutic effects. A novel koff-rate assay allows for the quantitative and reproducible assessment of the avidity of TCRs for their ligands directly on living T cells, ex vivo. This assay might facilitate the selection of T cells with an optimal avidity for their target, hence favoring the development of adoptive immunotherapeutic regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Weissbrich
- Institute for Medical Microbiology; Immunology and Hygiene; Technische Universität München; Munich, Germany
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42
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Wijesundara DK, Jackson RJ, Tscharke DC, Ranasinghe C. IL-4 and IL-13 mediated down-regulation of CD8 expression levels can dampen anti-viral CD8+ T cell avidity following HIV-1 recombinant pox viral vaccination. Vaccine 2013; 31:4548-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.07.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Revised: 07/02/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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43
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Holbrook BC, Yammani RD, Blevins LK, Alexander-Miller MA. In vivo modulation of avidity in highly sensitive CD8(+) effector T cells following viral infection. Viral Immunol 2013; 26:302-13. [PMID: 23971914 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2013.0042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have demonstrated a critical role for T cell avidity in predicting in vivo efficacy. Even though the measurement of avidity is now a routine assessment for the analysis of effector and memory T cell populations, our understanding of how this property is controlled in vivo at both the population and individual cell levels is limited. Our previous studies have identified high avidity as a property of the initial effector population generated in mice following respiratory virus infection. As the response progresses, lower avidity cells appear in the effector pool. The studies described here investigate the mechanistic basis of this in vivo regulation of avidity. We present data supporting in vivo avidity modulation within the early high avidity responders that results in a population of lower avidity effector cells. Changes in avidity were correlated with decreased lck expression and increased sensitivity to lck inhibitors in effector cells present at late versus early times postinfection. The possibility of tuning within select individual effectors is a previously unappreciated mechanism for the control of avidity in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth C Holbrook
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine , Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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44
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La Gruta NL, Thomas PG. Interrogating the relationship between naïve and immune antiviral T cell repertoires. Curr Opin Virol 2013; 3:447-51. [PMID: 23849601 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2013.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2013] [Revised: 05/22/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how naïve virus-specific CD8+ T cells influence the type of immune response generated after virus infection is critical for the development of enhanced therapeutic and vaccination strategies to exploit CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity. Recent technological advances in T cell isolation and T receptor sequencing have allowed for greater understanding of the basic structure of immune T cell repertoires, the diversity of responses within and between individuals, and changes in repertoires over time and in response to infection conditions. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of how T cell repertoires contribute to potent antiviral responses. Additionally we compare the state of the art in receptor sequencing, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the three most common approaches: next-generation sequencing, template-switch anchored RT-PCR, and multiplex single cell PCR. Finally, we describe how TCR sequencing has delineated the relationship between naïve and immune T cell repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L La Gruta
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
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45
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Nauerth M, Weiβbrich B, Knall R, Franz T, Dössinger G, Bet J, Paszkiewicz PJ, Pfeifer L, Bunse M, Uckert W, Holtappels R, Gillert-Marien D, Neuenhahn M, Krackhardt A, Reddehase MJ, Riddell SR, Busch DH. TCR-ligand koff rate correlates with the protective capacity of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells for adoptive transfer. Sci Transl Med 2013; 5:192ra87. [PMID: 23825303 PMCID: PMC3991308 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Adoptive immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of chronic infections and cancer. T cells within a certain range of high avidity for their cognate ligand are believed to be most effective. T cell receptor (TCR) transfer experiments indicate that a major part of avidity is hardwired within the structure of the TCR. Unfortunately, rapid measurement of structural avidity of TCRs is difficult on living T cells. We developed a technology where dissociation (koff rate) of truly monomeric peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules bound to surface-expressed TCRs can be monitored by real-time microscopy in a highly reliable manner. A first evaluation of this method on distinct human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T cell populations revealed unexpected differences in the koff rates. CMV-specific T cells are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for efficacy in adoptive immunotherapy; therefore, determination of koff rates could guide selection of the most effective donor cells. Indeed, in two different murine infection models, we demonstrate that T cell populations with lower koff rates confer significantly better protection than populations with fast koff rates. These data indicate that koff rate measurements can improve the predictability of adoptive immunotherapy and provide diagnostic information on the in vivo quality of T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Nauerth
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Bianca Weiβbrich
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Robert Knall
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Franz
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Georg Dössinger
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Jeannette Bet
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Focus Group “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Paulina J. Paszkiewicz
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Focus Group “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Lukas Pfeifer
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Mario Bunse
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Uckert
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rafaela Holtappels
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunology (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Dorothea Gillert-Marien
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunology (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Michael Neuenhahn
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Groups ‘‘Antigen-specific Immunotherapy’’ and “Immune Monitoring”, Helmholtz Center Munich (Neuherberg) and Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- DZIF - National Centre for Infection Research, Munich, Germany
| | - Angela Krackhardt
- Clinical Cooperation Groups ‘‘Antigen-specific Immunotherapy’’ and “Immune Monitoring”, Helmholtz Center Munich (Neuherberg) and Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Medical Department III, Hematology and Oncology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias J. Reddehase
- Institute for Virology and Research Center for Immunology (FZI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
- Helmholtz Virtual Institute on Viral Strategies of Immune Evasion (VISTRIE), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stanley R. Riddell
- Focus Group “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Program in Immunology, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Dirk H. Busch
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Focus Group “Clinical Cell Processing and Purification”, Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Groups ‘‘Antigen-specific Immunotherapy’’ and “Immune Monitoring”, Helmholtz Center Munich (Neuherberg) and Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
- DZIF - National Centre for Infection Research, Munich, Germany
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46
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Wijesundara DK, Tscharke DC, Jackson RJ, Ranasinghe C. Reduced interleukin-4 receptor α expression on CD8+ T cells correlates with higher quality anti-viral immunity. PLoS One 2013; 8:e55788. [PMID: 23383283 PMCID: PMC3561338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2012] [Accepted: 12/31/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With the hope of understanding how interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 modulated quality of anti-viral CD8+ T cells, we evaluated the expression of receptors for these cytokines following a range of viral infections (e.g. pox viruses and influenza virus). Results clearly indicated that unlike other IL-4/IL-13 receptor subunits, IL-4 receptor α (IL-4Rα) was significantly down-regulated on anti-viral CD8+ T cells in a cognate antigen dependent manner. The infection of gene knockout mice and wild-type (WT) mice with vaccinia virus (VV) or VV expressing IL-4 confirmed that IL-4, IL-13 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) were required to increase IL-4Rα expression on CD8+ T cells, but not interferon (IFN)-γ. STAT6 dependent elevation of IL-4Rα expression on CD8+ T cells was a feature of poor quality anti-viral CD8+ T cell immunity as measured by the production of IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in response to VV antigen stimulation in vitro. We propose that down-regulation of IL-4Rα, but not the other IL-4/IL-13 receptor subunits, is a mechanism by which CD8+ T cells reduce responsiveness to IL-4 and IL-13. This can improve the quality of anti-viral CD8+ T cell immunity. Our findings have important implications in understanding anti-viral CD8+ T cell immunity and designing effective vaccines against chronic viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danushka K Wijesundara
- The Molecular Mucosal Vaccine Immunology Group, The Department of Immunology, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, Australia.
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Zhu Z, Singh V, Watkins SK, Bronte V, Shoe JL, Feigenbaum L, Hurwitz AA. High-avidity T cells are preferentially tolerized in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Res 2012. [PMID: 23204239 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-12-1123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
One obstacle in eliciting potent antitumor immune responses is the induction of tolerance to tumor antigens. TCR(lo) mice bearing a TCR transgene specific for the melanoma antigen tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2, Dct) harbor T cells that maintain tumor antigen responsiveness but lack the ability to control melanoma outgrowth. We used this model to determine whether higher avidity T cells could control tumor growth without becoming tolerized. As a part of the current study, we developed a second TRP-2-specific TCR transgenic mouse line (TCR(hi)) that bears higher avidity T cells and spontaneously developed autoimmune depigmentation. In contrast to TCR(lo) T cells, which were ignorant of tumor-derived antigen, TCR(hi) T cells initially delayed subcutaneous B16 melanoma tumor growth. However, persistence in the tumor microenvironment resulted in reduced IFN-γ production and CD107a (Lamp1) mobilization, hallmarks of T-cell tolerization. IFN-γ expression by TCR(hi) T cells was critical for upregulation of MHC-I on tumor cells and control of tumor growth. Blockade of PD-1 signals prevented T-cell tolerization and restored tumor immunity. Depletion of tumor-associated dendritic cells (TADC) reduced tolerization of TCR(hi) T cells and enhanced their antitumor activity. In addition, TADCs tolerized TCR(hi) T cells but not TCR(lo) T cells in vitro. Our findings show that T-cell avidity is a critical determinant of not only tumor control but also susceptibility to tolerization in the tumor microenvironment. For this reason, care should be exercised when considering T-cell avidity in designing cancer immunotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqiang Zhu
- Tumor Immunity and Tolerance Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoregulation, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, NCI, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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Functional avidity: a measure to predict the efficacy of effector T cells? Clin Dev Immunol 2012; 2012:153863. [PMID: 23227083 PMCID: PMC3511839 DOI: 10.1155/2012/153863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2012] [Accepted: 10/22/2012] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The functional avidity is determined by exposing T-cell populations in vitro to different amounts of cognate antigen. T-cells with high functional avidity respond to low antigen doses. This in vitro measure is thought to correlate well with the in vivo effector capacity of T-cells. We here present the multifaceted factors determining and influencing the functional avidity of T-cells. We outline how changes in the functional avidity can occur over the course of an infection. This process, known as avidity maturation, can occur despite the fact that T-cells express a fixed TCR. Furthermore, examples are provided illustrating the importance of generating T-cell populations that exhibit a high functional avidity when responding to an infection or tumors. Furthermore, we discuss whether criteria based on which we evaluate an effective T-cell response to acute infections can also be applied to chronic infections such as HIV. Finally, we also focus on observations that high-avidity T-cells show higher signs of exhaustion and facilitate the emergence of virus escape variants. The review summarizes our current understanding of how this may occur as well as how T-cells of different functional avidity contribute to antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. Enhancing our knowledge in this field is relevant for tumor immunotherapy and vaccines design.
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49
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Berzofsky JA. A push-pull vaccine strategy using Toll-like receptor ligands, IL-15, and blockade of negative regulation to improve the quality and quantity of T cell immune responses. Vaccine 2012; 30:4323-7. [PMID: 22115635 PMCID: PMC3319860 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.11.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2011] [Revised: 10/25/2011] [Accepted: 11/10/2011] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
We have developed a strategy to optimize the efficacy of vaccines to induce T-cell immunity against chronic viral infections and cancer based on a "push-pull" approach in which we first optimize the antigen structure by increasing the affinity of epitopes for major histocompatibility complex molecules ("epitope enhancement"), then push the response not only in magnitude but also in quality toward the desired response phenotype, using synergistic combinations of cytokines, Toll-like receptor ligands, and costimulatory molecules, and then pull the response by removing the brakes exerted by negative regulatory mechanisms, including regulatory cells, cell surface molecules, and cytokines. Components of this approach show promise in macaque models of AIDS virus infection and in murine models of cancer, and are being developed for human clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay A Berzofsky
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 10, Room 6B-04 (MSC#1578) NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1578, USA.
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Lövgren T, Baumgaertner P, Wieckowski S, Devêvre E, Guillaume P, Luescher I, Rufer N, Speiser DE. Enhanced cytotoxicity and decreased CD8 dependence of human cancer-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes after vaccination with low peptide dose. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2012; 61:817-26. [PMID: 22080404 PMCID: PMC11029156 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-011-1140-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2011] [Accepted: 10/24/2011] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
In mice, vaccination with high peptide doses generates higher frequencies of specific CD8+ T cells, but with lower avidity compared to vaccination with lower peptide doses. To investigate the impact of peptide dose on CD8+ T cell responses in humans, melanoma patients were vaccinated with 0.1 or 0.5 mg Melan-A/MART-1 peptide, mixed with CpG 7909 and Incomplete Freund's adjuvant. Neither the kinetics nor the amplitude of the Melan-A-specific CD8+ T cell responses differed between the two vaccination groups. Also, CD8+ T cell differentiation and cytokine production ex vivo were similar in the two groups. Interestingly, after low peptide dose vaccination, Melan-A-specific CD8+ T cells showed enhanced degranulation upon peptide stimulation, as assessed by CD107a upregulation and perforin release ex vivo. In accordance, CD8+ T cell clones derived from low peptide dose-vaccinated patients showed significantly increased degranulation and stronger cytotoxicity. In parallel, Melan-A-specific CD8+ T cells and clones from low peptide dose-vaccinated patients expressed lower CD8 levels, despite similar or even stronger binding to tetramers. Furthermore, CD8+ T cell clones from low peptide dose-vaccinated patients bound CD8 binding-deficient tetramers more efficiently, suggesting that they may express higher affinity TCRs. We conclude that low peptide dose vaccination generated CD8+ T cell responses with stronger cytotoxicity and lower CD8 dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Lövgren
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Petra Baumgaertner
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien Wieckowski
- University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Estelle Devêvre
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Guillaume
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Immanuel Luescher
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Rufer
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel E. Speiser
- Clinical Tumor Biology and Immunotherapy Unit, Ludwig Center of the University of Lausanne, Hôpital Orthopédique 05/1552, Av. Pierre-Decker 4, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
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