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Truex N, Rondon A, Rössler SL, Hanna CC, Cho Y, Wang BY, Backlund CM, Lutz EA, Irvine DJ, Pentelute BL. Enhanced Vaccine Immunogenicity Enabled by Targeted Cytosolic Delivery of Tumor Antigens into Dendritic Cells. ACS Cent Sci 2023; 9:1835-1845. [PMID: 37780364 PMCID: PMC10540291 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Molecular vaccines comprising antigen peptides and inflammatory cues make up a class of therapeutics that promote immunity against cancer and pathogenic diseases but often exhibit limited efficacy. Here, we engineered an antigen peptide delivery system to enhance vaccine efficacy by targeting dendritic cells and mediating cytosolic delivery. The delivery system consists of the nontoxic anthrax protein, protective antigen (PA), and a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) that recognizes the XCR1 receptor on dendritic cells (DCs). Combining these proteins enabled selective delivery of the N-terminus of lethal factor (LFN) into XCR1-positive cross-presenting DCs. Incorporating immunogenic epitope sequences into LFN showed selective protein translocation in vitro and enhanced the priming of antigen-specific T cells in vivo. Administering DC-targeted constructs with tumor antigens (Trp1/gp100) into mice bearing aggressive B16-F10 melanomas improved mouse outcomes when compared to free antigen, including suppressed tumor growth up to 58% at 16 days post tumor induction (P < 0.0001) and increased survival (P = 0.03). These studies demonstrate that harnessing DC-targeting anthrax proteins for cytosolic antigen delivery significantly enhances the immunogenicity and antitumor efficacy of cancer vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas
L. Truex
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of South Carolina, 631
Sumter Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Aurélie Rondon
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Simon L. Rössler
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Cameron C. Hanna
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Yehlin Cho
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Bin-You Wang
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Coralie M. Backlund
- The
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Emi A. Lutz
- The
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Department
of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Darrell J. Irvine
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Department
of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Ragon Institute
of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and Harvard University, 400 Technology Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, United States
| | - Bradley L. Pentelute
- Department
of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Center
for Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Broad
Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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2
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Zhang AQ, Hostetler A, Chen LE, Mukkamala V, Abraham W, Padilla LT, Wolff AN, Maiorino L, Backlund CM, Aung A, Melo M, Li N, Wu S, Irvine DJ. Universal redirection of CAR T cells against solid tumours via membrane-inserted ligands for the CAR. Nat Biomed Eng 2023; 7:1113-1128. [PMID: 37291434 PMCID: PMC10504084 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01048-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The effectiveness of chimaeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for solid tumours is hindered by difficulties in the selection of an effective target antigen, owing to the heterogeneous expression of tumour antigens and to target antigen expression in healthy tissues. Here we show that T cells with a CAR specific for fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) can be directed against solid tumours via the intratumoural administration of a FITC-conjugated lipid-poly(ethylene)-glycol amphiphile that inserts itself into cell membranes. In syngeneic and human tumour xenografts in mice, 'amphiphile tagging' of tumour cells drove tumour regression via the proliferation and accumulation of FITC-specific CAR T cells in the tumours. In syngeneic tumours, the therapy induced the infiltration of host T cells, elicited endogenous tumour-specific T cell priming and led to activity against distal untreated tumours and to protection against tumour rechallenge. Membrane-inserting ligands for specific CARs may facilitate the development of adoptive cell therapies that work independently of antigen expression and of tissue of origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Q Zhang
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alexander Hostetler
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Laura E Chen
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Vainavi Mukkamala
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Wuhbet Abraham
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lucia T Padilla
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra N Wolff
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Laura Maiorino
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Aereas Aung
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mariane Melo
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Na Li
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Shengwei Wu
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Ragon Institute of MIT, MGH, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
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3
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Nguyen KB, Roerden M, Copeland CJ, Backlund CM, Klop-Packel NG, Remba T, Kim B, Singh NK, Birnbaum ME, Irvine DJ, Spranger S. Decoupled neoantigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells limits anti-tumor immunity against tumors with heterogeneous neoantigen expression. eLife 2023; 12:e85263. [PMID: 37548358 PMCID: PMC10425174 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapies, in particular checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (CBT), can induce control of cancer growth, with a fraction of patients experiencing durable responses. However, the majority of patients currently do not respond to CBT and the molecular determinants of resistance have not been fully elucidated. Mounting clinical evidence suggests that the clonal status of neoantigens (NeoAg) impacts the anti-tumor T cell response. High intratumor heterogeneity (ITH), where the majority of NeoAgs are expressed subclonally, is correlated with poor clinical response to CBT and poor infiltration with tumor-reactive T cells. However, the mechanism by which ITH blunts tumor-reactive T cells is unclear. We developed a transplantable murine lung cancer model to characterize the immune response against a defined set of NeoAgs expressed either clonally or subclonally to model low or high ITH, respectively. Here we show that clonal expression of a weakly immunogenic NeoAg with a relatively strong NeoAg increased the immunogenicity of tumors with low but not high ITH. Mechanistically we determined that clonal NeoAg expression allowed cross-presenting dendritic cells to acquire and present both NeoAgs. Dual NeoAg presentation by dendritic cells was associated with a more mature DC phenotype and a higher stimulatory capacity. These data suggest that clonal NeoAg expression can induce more potent anti-tumor responses due to more stimulatory dendritic cell:T cell interactions. Therapeutic vaccination targeting subclonally expressed NeoAgs could be used to boost anti-tumor T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Bich Nguyen
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Malte Roerden
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | | | - Coralie M Backlund
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Biological Engineering, MITCambridgeUnited States
| | - Nory G Klop-Packel
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Tanaka Remba
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Byungji Kim
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Nishant K Singh
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
| | - Michael E Birnbaum
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Biological Engineering, MITCambridgeUnited States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and HarvardCambridgeUnited States
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Biological Engineering, MITCambridgeUnited States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and HarvardCambridgeUnited States
| | - Stefani Spranger
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeUnited States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and HarvardCambridgeUnited States
- Ludwig Center at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer ResearchCambridgeUnited States
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4
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Grace BE, Backlund CM, Morgan DM, Kang BH, Singh NK, Huisman BD, Rappazzo CG, Moynihan KD, Maiorino L, Dobson CS, Kyung T, Gordon KS, Holec PV, Mbah OCT, Garafola D, Wu S, Love JC, Wittrup KD, Irvine DJ, Birnbaum ME. Identification of Highly Cross-Reactive Mimotopes for a Public T Cell Response in Murine Melanoma. Front Immunol 2022; 13:886683. [PMID: 35812387 PMCID: PMC9260506 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.886683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
While immune checkpoint blockade results in durable responses for some patients, many others have not experienced such benefits. These treatments rely upon reinvigorating specific T cell-antigen interactions. However, it is often unknown what antigens are being recognized by T cells or how to potently induce antigen-specific responses in a broadly applicable manner. Here, we characterized the CD8+ T cell response to a murine model of melanoma following combination immunotherapy to determine the basis of tumor recognition. Sequencing of tumor-infiltrating T cells revealed a repertoire of highly homologous TCR sequences that were particularly expanded in treated mice and which recognized an antigen from an endogenous retrovirus. While vaccination against this peptide failed to raise a protective T cell response in vivo, engineered antigen mimotopes induced a significant expansion of CD8+ T cells cross-reactive to the original antigen. Vaccination with mimotopes resulted in killing of antigen-loaded cells in vivo yet showed modest survival benefit in a prophylactic vaccine paradigm. Together, this work demonstrates the identification of a dominant tumor-associated antigen and generation of mimotopes which can induce robust functional T cell responses that are cross-reactive to the endogenous antigen across multiple individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth E. Grace
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Coralie M. Backlund
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Duncan M. Morgan
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Byong H. Kang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Nishant K. Singh
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Brooke D. Huisman
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - C. Garrett Rappazzo
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Kelly D. Moynihan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Laura Maiorino
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Connor S. Dobson
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Taeyoon Kyung
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Khloe S. Gordon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Patrick V. Holec
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Daniel Garafola
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shengwei Wu
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - J. Christopher Love
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - K. Dane Wittrup
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Darrell J. Irvine
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Michael E. Birnbaum
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Michael E. Birnbaum,
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5
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Westcott PMK, Sacks NJ, Schenkel JM, Ely ZA, Smith O, Hauck H, Jaeger AM, Zhang D, Backlund CM, Beytagh MC, Patten JJ, Elbashir R, Eng G, Irvine DJ, Yilmaz OH, Jacks T. Low neoantigen expression and poor T-cell priming underlie early immune escape in colorectal cancer. Nat Cancer 2021; 2:1071-1085. [PMID: 34738089 PMCID: PMC8562866 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-021-00247-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Immune evasion is a hallmark of cancer, and therapies that restore immune surveillance have proven highly effective in cancers with high tumor mutation burden (TMB) (e.g., those with microsatellite instability (MSI)). Whether low TMB cancers, which are largely refractory to immunotherapy, harbor potentially immunogenic neoantigens remains unclear. Here, we show that tumors from all patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer (CRC) express clonal predicted neoantigens despite low TMB. Unexpectedly, these neoantigens are broadly expressed at lower levels compared to those in MSI CRC. Using a versatile platform for modulating neoantigen expression in CRC organoids and transplantation into the distal colon of mice, we show that low expression precludes productive cross priming and drives immediate T cell dysfunction. Strikingly, experimental or therapeutic rescue of priming rendered T cells capable of controlling tumors with low neoantigen expression. These findings underscore a critical role of neoantigen expression level in immune evasion and therapy response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M K Westcott
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nathan J Sacks
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jason M Schenkel
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zackery A Ely
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Olivia Smith
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Haley Hauck
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alex M Jaeger
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Zhang
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Coralie M Backlund
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mary C Beytagh
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - J J Patten
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ryan Elbashir
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - George Eng
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Omer H Yilmaz
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Tyler Jacks
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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6
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Hango CR, Backlund CM, Davis HC, Posey ND, Minter LM, Tew GN. Non-Covalent Carrier Hydrophobicity as a Universal Predictor of Intracellular Protein Activity. Biomacromolecules 2021; 22:2850-2863. [PMID: 34156837 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c00242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decade, extensive optimization of polymeric cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) mimics (CPPMs) by our group has generated a substantial library of broadly effective carriers which circumvent the need for covalent conjugation often required by CPPs. In this study, design rules learned from CPPM development were applied to reverse-engineer the first library of simple amphiphilic block copolypeptides for non-covalent protein delivery, namely, poly(alanine-block-arginine), poly(phenylalanine-block-arginine), and poly(tryptophan-block-arginine). This new CPP library was screened for enhanced green fluorescent protein and Cre recombinase delivery alongside a library of CPPMs featuring equivalent side-chain configurations. Due to the added hydrophobicity imparted by the polymer backbone as compared to the polypeptide backbone, side-chain functionality was not a universal predictor of carrier performance. Rather, overall carrier hydrophobicity predicted the top performers for both internalization and activity of protein cargoes, regardless of backbone identity. Furthermore, comparison of protein uptake and function revealed carriers which facilitated high gene recombination despite remarkably low Cre internalization, leading us to formalize the concept of intracellular availability (IA) of the delivered cargo. IA, a measure of cargo activity per quantity of cargo internalized, provides valuable insight into the physical relationship between cellular internalization and bioavailability, which can be affected by bottlenecks such as endosomal escape and cargo release. Importantly, carriers with maximal IA existed within a narrow hydrophobicity window, more hydrophilic than those exhibiting maximal cargo uptake. Hydrophobicity may be used as a scaffold-independent predictor of protein uptake, function, and IA, enabling identification of new, effective carriers which would be overlooked by uptake-based screening methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Hango
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Coralie M Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Hazel C Davis
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Nicholas D Posey
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Lisa M Minter
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.,Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, Untied States
| | - Gregory N Tew
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.,Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.,Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, Untied States
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7
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Backlund CM, Hango CR, Minter LM, Tew GN. Protein and Antibody Delivery into Difficult-to-Transfect Cells by Polymeric Peptide Mimics. ACS Appl Bio Mater 2019; 3:180-185. [DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b00876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Coralie M. Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Christopher R. Hango
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Lisa M. Minter
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, Untied States
| | - Gregory N. Tew
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, Untied States
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8
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Abstract
Delivering peptides and proteins with intracellular function represents a promising avenue for therapeutics, but remains a challenge due to the selective permeability of the plasma membrane. The successful delivery of cytosolically active proteins would enable many opportunities, including improved vaccine development through major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen display. Extended research using cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) has aimed to facilitate intracellular delivery of exogenous proteins with some success. A new class of polymer-based mimics termed protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs), which maintain the positive charge and amphiphilic nature displayed by many CPPs, was developed using a poly-norbornene-based backbone. Herein, we use a previously characterized PTDM to investigate delivery of the model antigen SIINFEKL into leukocytes. Peptide delivery into over 90% of CD14+ monocytes was detected in less than 15 min with nominal inflammatory cytokine response and high cell viability. The co-delivery of a TLR9 agonist and antigen using the PTDM into antigen-presenting cells in vitro showed presentation of SIINFEKL in association with MHC class I molecules, in addition to upregulation of classical differentiation markers revealing the ability of the PTDM to successfully deliver cargo intracellularly and show application in the field of immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ladan Parhamifar
- Department of Health Technology , Technical University of Denmark , 2800 Lyngby , Denmark
| | | | | | - Thomas L Andresen
- Department of Health Technology , Technical University of Denmark , 2800 Lyngby , Denmark
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9
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Sgolastra F, Backlund CM, Ilker Ozay E, deRonde BM, Minter LM, Tew GN. Sequence segregation improves non-covalent protein delivery. J Control Release 2017; 254:131-136. [PMID: 28363520 PMCID: PMC5568762 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2017.03.387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2016] [Revised: 03/07/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The impermeability of the plasma membrane towards large, hydrophilic biomolecules is a major obstacle in their use and development against intracellular targets. To overcome such limitations, protein transduction domains (PTDs) have been used as protein carriers, however they often require covalent fusion to the protein for efficient delivery. In an effort to develop more efficient and versatile biological vehicles, a series of PTD-inspired polyoxanorbornene-based synthetic mimics with identical chemical compositions but different hydrophobic/hydrophilic segregation were used to investigate the role of sequence segregation on protein binding and uptake into Jurkat T cells and HEK293Ts. This series was composed of a strongly segregated block copolymer, an intermediately segregated gradient copolymer, and a non-segregated homopolymer. Among the series, the block copolymer maximized both protein binding and translocation efficiencies, closely followed by the gradient copolymer, resulting in two protein transporter molecules more efficacious than currently commercially available agents. These two polymers were also used to deliver the biologically active Cre recombinase into a loxP-reporter T cell line. Since exogenous Cre must reach the nucleus and retain its activity to induce gene recombination, this in vitro experiment better exemplifies the broad applicability of this synthetic system. This study shows that increasing segregation between hydrophobic and cationic moieties in these polymeric mimics improves non-covalent protein delivery, providing crucial design parameters for the creation of more potent biological delivery agents for research and biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Sgolastra
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Coralie M Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - E Ilker Ozay
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Brittany M deRonde
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Lisa M Minter
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States; Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Gregory N Tew
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States; Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States; Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States.
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10
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Sarapas JM, Backlund CM, deRonde BM, Minter LM, Tew GN. ROMP- and RAFT-Based Guanidinium-Containing Polymers as Scaffolds for Protein Mimic Synthesis. Chemistry 2017; 23:6858-6863. [PMID: 28370636 PMCID: PMC5551038 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201700423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Cell-penetrating peptides are an important class of molecules with promising applications in bioactive cargo delivery. A diverse series of guanidinium-containing polymeric cell-penetrating peptide mimics (CPPMs) with varying backbone chemistries was synthesized and assessed for delivery of both GFP and fluorescently tagged siRNA. Specifically, we examined CPPMs based on norbornene, methacrylate, and styrene backbones to determine how backbone structure impacted internalization of these two cargoes. Either charge content or degree of polymerization was held constant at 20, with diguanidinium norbornene molecules being polymerized to both 10 and 20 repeat units. Generally, homopolymer CPPMs delivered low amounts of siRNA into Jurkat T cells, with no apparent backbone dependence; however, by adding a short hydrophobic methyl methacrylate block to the guanidinium-rich methacrylate polymer, siRNA delivery to nearly the entire cell population was achieved. Protein internalization yielded similar results for most of the CPPMs, though the block polymer was unable to deliver proteins. In contrast, the styrene-based CPPM yielded the highest internalization for GFP (≈40 % of cells affected), showing that indeed backbone chemistry impacts protein delivery, specifically through the incorporation of an aromatic group. These results demonstrate that an understanding of how polymer structure affects cargo-dependent internalization is critical to designing new, more effective CPPMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel M Sarapas
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Coralie M Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Brittany M deRonde
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Lisa M Minter
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Gregory N Tew
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Özgül Tezgel
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, ‡Molecular and Cell Biology Program, and §Veterinary and
Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Paejonette Jacobs
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, ‡Molecular and Cell Biology Program, and §Veterinary and
Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Coralie M. Backlund
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, ‡Molecular and Cell Biology Program, and §Veterinary and
Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Janice C. Telfer
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, ‡Molecular and Cell Biology Program, and §Veterinary and
Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Gregory N. Tew
- Department
of Polymer Science and Engineering, ‡Molecular and Cell Biology Program, and §Veterinary and
Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
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12
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Backlund CM, Sgolastra F, Otter R, Minter LM, Takeuchi T, Futaki S, Tew GN. Correction: Increased hydrophobic block length of PTDMs promotes protein internalization. Polym Chem 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7py90169k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Correction for ‘Increased hydrophobic block length of PTDMs promotes protein internalization’ by Coralie M. Backlund, et al., Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 7514–7521.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie M. Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering
- University of Massachusetts
- Amherst
- USA
| | - Federica Sgolastra
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering
- University of Massachusetts
- Amherst
- USA
| | - Ronja Otter
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering
- University of Massachusetts
- Amherst
- USA
| | - Lisa M. Minter
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences
- University of Massachusetts
- Amherst
- USA
- Molecular & Cellular Biology Program
| | | | - Shiroh Futaki
- Institute for Chemical Research
- Kyoto University
- Uji
- Japan
| | - Gregory N. Tew
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering
- University of Massachusetts
- Amherst
- USA
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences
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13
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Backlund CM, Sgolastra F, Otter R, Minter L, Takeuchi T, Futaki S, Tew GN. Increased Hydrophobic Block Length of PTDMs Promotes Protein Internalization. Polym Chem 2016; 7:7514-7521. [PMID: 29093759 PMCID: PMC5661863 DOI: 10.1039/c6py01615d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The plasma membrane is a major obstacle in the development and use of biomacromolecules for intracellular therapeutic applications. Protein transduction domains (PTDs) have been used to overcome this barrier, but often require covalent conjugation to their cargo and can be time consuming to synthesize. Synthetic monomers can be designed to mimic the amino acid moieties in PTDs, and their resulting polymers provide a well-controlled platform to vary molecular composition for structure-activity relationship studies. In this paper, a series of polyoxanorbornene-based synthetic mimics, inspired by PTDs, with varying cationic and hydrophobic densities, and the nature of the hydrophobic chain and degree of polymerizations were investigated in vitro to determine their ability to non-covalently transport enhanced green fluorescent protein into HeLa cells, Jurkat T cells, and hTERT mesenchymal stem cells. Polymers with high charge density lead to efficient protein delivery. Similarly, the polymers with the highest hydrophobic content and density proved to be the most efficient at internalization. The observed improvements with increased hydrophobic length and content were consistent across all three cell types, suggesting that these architectural relationships are not cell type specific. However, Jurkat T cells showed distinct variation in uptake between polymers than with the other two cell types. These results provide important design parameters for more effective delivery of biomacromolecules for intracellular delivery applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie M Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Federica Sgolastra
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Ronja Otter
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Lisa Minter
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Toshihide Takeuchi
- Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
| | - Shiroh Futaki
- Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
| | - Gregory N Tew
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
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14
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Backlund CM, Takeuchi T, Futaki S, Tew GN. Relating structure and internalization for ROMP-based protein mimics. Biochim Biophys Acta 2016; 1858:1443-50. [PMID: 27039278 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Revised: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Elucidating the predominant cellular entry mechanism for protein transduction domains (PTDs) and their synthetic mimics (PTDMs) is a complicated problem that continues to be a significant source of debate in the literature. The PTDMs reported here provide a well-controlled platform to vary molecular composition for structure activity relationship studies to further our understanding of PTDs, their non-covalent association with cargo, and their cellular internalization pathways. Specifically, several guanidine rich homopolymers, along with an amphiphilic block copolymer were used to investigate the relationship between structure and internalization activity in HeLa cells, both alone and non-covalently complexed with EGFP by flow cytometery and confocal imaging. The findings indicate that while changing the amount of positive charge on our PTDMs does not seem to affect the endosomal uptake, the presence of hydrophobicity appears to be a critical factor for the polymers to enter cells either alone, or with associated cargo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie M Backlund
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Toshihide Takeuchi
- Department of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Shiroh Futaki
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Gregory N Tew
- Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
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