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Versteven M, Flumens D, Campillo-Davó D, De Reu H, Van Bruggen L, Peeters S, Van Tendeloo V, Berneman Z, Dolstra H, Anguille S, Hobo W, Smits E, Lion E. Anti-Tumor Potency of Short-Term Interleukin-15 Dendritic Cells Is Potentiated by In Situ Silencing of Programmed-Death Ligands. Front Immunol 2022; 13:734256. [PMID: 35250967 PMCID: PMC8891487 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.734256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [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: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Dendritic cell (DC) vaccines have proven to be a valuable tool in cancer immune therapy. With several DC vaccines being currently tested in clinical trials, knowledge about their therapeutic value has been significantly increased in the past decade. Despite their established safety, it has become clear that objective clinical responses are not yet robust enough, requiring further optimization. Improvements of this advanced therapy medicinal product encompass, among others, regulating their immune stimulating capacity by in situ gene engineering, in addition to their implementation in combination therapy regimens. Previously, we have reported on a superior monocyte-derived DC preparation, including interleukin-15, pro-inflammatory cytokines and immunological danger signals in the culture process. These so-called IL-15 DCs have already proven to exhibit several favorable properties as cancer vaccine. Evolving research into mechanisms that could further modulate the immune response towards cancer, points to programmed death-1 as an important player that dampens anti-tumor immunity. Aiming at leveraging the immunogenicity of DC vaccines, we hypothesized that additional implementation of the inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules programmed death-ligand (PD-L)1 and PD-L2 in IL-15 DC vaccines would exhibit superior stimulatory potential. In this paper, we successfully implemented PD-L silencing at the monocyte stage in the 3-day IL-15 DC culture protocol resulting in substantial downregulation of both PD-L1 and PD-L2 to levels below 30%. Additionally, we validated that these DCs retain their specific characteristics, both at the level of phenotype and interferon gamma secretion. Evaluating their functional characteristics, we demonstrate that PD-L silencing does not affect the capacity to induce allogeneic proliferation. Ultimately designed to induce a durable tumor antigen-specific immune response, PD-L silenced IL-15 DCs were capable of surpassing PD-1-mediated inhibition by antigen-specific T cells. Further corroborating the superior potency of short-term IL-15 DCs, the combination of immune stimulatory components during DC differentiation and maturation with in situ checkpoint inhibition supports further clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten Versteven
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Donovan Flumens
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Diana Campillo-Davó
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Hans De Reu
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Laura Van Bruggen
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Stefanie Peeters
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Viggo Van Tendeloo
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Zwi Berneman
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Division of Hematology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Harry Dolstra
- Department of Laboratory Medicine – Laboratory of Hematology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Sébastien Anguille
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Division of Hematology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
| | - Willemijn Hobo
- Department of Laboratory Medicine – Laboratory of Hematology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Evelien Smits
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
- Center for Oncological Research (CORE), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Eva Lion
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
- *Correspondence: Eva Lion,
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Derdelinckx J, Nkansah I, Ooms N, Van Bruggen L, Emonds MP, Daniëls L, Reynders T, Willekens B, Cras P, Berneman ZN, Cools N. HLA Class II Genotype Does Not Affect the Myelin Responsiveness of Multiple Sclerosis Patients. Cells 2020; 9:cells9122703. [PMID: 33348629 PMCID: PMC7766454 DOI: 10.3390/cells9122703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: When aiming to restore myelin tolerance using antigen-specific treatment approaches in MS, the wide variety of myelin-derived antigens towards which immune responses are targeted in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients needs to be taken into account. Uncertainty remains as to whether the myelin reactivity pattern of a specific MS patient can be predicted based upon the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II haplotype of the patient. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the reactivity towards myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), myelin basic protein (MBP) and proteolipid protein (PLP) peptides using direct interferon (IFN)-γ enzyme-linked immune absorbent spot (ELISPOT). Next, the HLA class II haplotype profile was determined by next-generation sequencing. In doing so, we aimed to evaluate the possible association between the precursor frequency of myelin-reactive T cells and the HLA haplotype. Results: Reactivity towards any of the analyzed peptides could be demonstrated in 65.0% (13/20) of MS patients and in 60.0% (6/10) of healthy controls. At least one of the MS risk alleles HLA-DRB1*15:01, HLA-DQA1*01:02 and HLA-DQB1*06:02 was found in 70.0% (14/20) of patients and in 20.0% (2/10) of healthy controls. No difference in the presence of a myelin-specific response, nor in the frequency of myelin peptide-reactive precursor cells could be detected among carriers and non-carriers of these risk alleles. Conclusion: No association between HLA haplotype and myelin reactivity profile was present in our study population. This complicates the development of antigen-specific treatment approaches and implies the need for multi-epitope targeting in an HLA-unrestricted manner to fully address the wide variation in myelin responses and HLA profiles in a heterogeneous group of MS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Derdelinckx
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
- Division of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium; (T.R.); (P.C.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +32-3-821-3584; Fax: +32-3-825-1148
| | - Irene Nkansah
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
| | - Naomi Ooms
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
| | - Laura Van Bruggen
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
| | - Marie-Paule Emonds
- Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Red Cross-Flanders, 2650 Mechelen, Belgium; (M.-P.E.); (L.D.)
| | - Liesbeth Daniëls
- Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Red Cross-Flanders, 2650 Mechelen, Belgium; (M.-P.E.); (L.D.)
| | - Tatjana Reynders
- Division of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium; (T.R.); (P.C.)
| | - Barbara Willekens
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
- Division of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium; (T.R.); (P.C.)
| | - Patrick Cras
- Division of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium; (T.R.); (P.C.)
- Born Bunge Institute, Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Zwi N. Berneman
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium
| | - Nathalie Cools
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VaxInfectio), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; (I.N.); (N.O.); (L.V.B.); (B.W.); (Z.N.B.); (N.C.)
- Center for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Edegem, Belgium
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