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Cervera-Carrascon V, Siurala M, Santos JM, Havunen R, Tähtinen S, Karell P, Sorsa S, Kanerva A, Hemminki A. TNFa and IL-2 armed adenoviruses enable complete responses by anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade. Oncoimmunology 2018; 7:e1412902. [PMID: 29721366 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1412902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Releasing the patient's immune system against their own malignancy by the use of checkpoint inhibitors is delivering promising results. However, only a subset of patients currently benefit from them. One major limitation of these therapies relates to the inability of T cells to detect or penetrate into the tumor resulting in unresponsiveness to checkpoint inhibition. Virotherapy is an attractive tool for enabling checkpoint inhibitors as viruses are naturally recognized by innate defense elements which draws the attention of the immune system. Besides their intrinsic immune stimulating properties, the adenoviruses used here are armed to express tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) and interleukin-2 (IL-2). These cytokines result in immunological danger signaling and multiple appealing T-cell effects, including trafficking, activation and propagation. When these viruses were injected into B16.OVA melanoma tumors in animals concomitantly receiving programmed cell-death protein 1 (PD-1) blocking antibodies both tumor growth control (p < 0.0001) and overall survival (p < 0.01) were improved. In this set-up, the addition of adoptive cell therapy with OT-I lymphocytes did not increase efficacy further. When virus injections were initiated before antibody treatment in a prime-boost approach, 100% of tumors regressed completely and all mice survived. Viral expression of IL2 and TNFa altered the cytokine balance in the tumor microenvironment towards Th1 and increased the intratumoral proportion of CD8+ and conventional CD4+ T cells. These preclinical studies provide the rationale and schedule for a clinical trial where oncolytic adenovirus coding for TNFa and IL-2 (TILT-123) is used in melanoma patients receiving an anti-PD-1 antibody.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Cervera-Carrascon
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - M Siurala
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - J M Santos
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - R Havunen
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - S Tähtinen
- Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - P Karell
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - S Sorsa
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - A Kanerva
- Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
| | - A Hemminki
- TILT Biotherapeutics Ltd, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Department of Oncology, Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland.,Helsinki University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helsinki, Uusima, Finland
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Jung K, Ha JH, Kim JE, Kim JA, Kim YJ, Kim CH, Kim YS. Heterodimeric Fc-fused IL12 shows potent antitumor activity by generating memory CD8 + T cells. Oncoimmunology 2018; 7:e1438800. [PMID: 29900039 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2018.1438800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Interleukin-12 (IL12) (p35/p40 complex) is a heterodimeric cytokine with potent anti-tumor activity. However, its short serum half-life and high dose-related toxicities limit its clinical efficacy. Here, we constructed heterodimeric immunoglobulin Fc-fused mouse IL12 (mIL12) in a monovalent binding format (mono-mIL12-Fc) to generate long-acting mIL12 in the naturally occurring heterodimeric form. Mono-mIL12-Fc exhibited a much longer plasma half-life than recombinant mIL12, enabling twice-weekly systemic injections to remove established tumors in syngeneic mouse models. Mono-mIL12-Fc was more potent than wild-type Fc-based bivalent-binding IL12-Fc (bi-mIL12-Fc) for eradicating large established immunogenic tumors without noticeable toxicities by enhancing interferon-γ production and the proliferation of immune effector cells in tumors. More importantly, mono-mIL12-Fc triggered weaker IL12 signaling than bi-mIL12-Fc, favoring the generation of functional and protective memory CD8+ T cells. Our results demonstrate that heterodimeric-Fc-fused IL12 is a suitable format for augmenting adaptive CD8+ T cell immune responses, providing a practical alternative to the systemic administration of IL12 for antitumor therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keunok Jung
- Priority Research Center for Molecular Science & Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Hee Ha
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Eun Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Ah Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ye-Jin Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Chul-Ho Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea.,Department of Otolaryngology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong-Sung Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
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Martinenaite E, Mortensen REJ, Hansen M, Orebo Holmström M, Munir Ahmad S, Grønne Dahlager Jørgensen N, Met Ö, Donia M, Svane IM, Andersen MH. Frequent adaptive immune responses against arginase-1. Oncoimmunology 2017; 7:e1404215. [PMID: 29399404 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1404215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The enzyme arginase-1 reduces the availability of arginine to tumor-infiltrating immune cells, thus reducing T-cell functionality in the tumor milieu. Arginase-1 is expressed by some cancer cells and by immune inhibitory cells, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and its expression is associated with poor prognosis. In the present study, we divided the arginase-1 protein sequence into overlapping 20-amino-acid-long peptides, generating a library of 31 peptides covering the whole arginase-1 sequence. Reactivity towards this peptide library was examined in PBMCs from cancer patients and healthy individuals. IFNγ ELISPOT revealed frequent immune responses against multiple arginase-1-derived peptides. We further identified a hot-spot region within the arginase-1 protein sequence containing multiple epitopes recognized by T cells. Next, we examined in vitro-expanded tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) isolated from melanoma patients, and detected arginase-1-specific T cells that reacted against epitopes from the hot-spot region. Arginase-1-specific CD4+T cells could be isolated and expanded from peripheral T cell pool of a patient with melanoma, and further demonstrated the specificity and reactivity of these T cells. Overall, we showed that arginase-1-specific T cells were capable of recognizing arginase-1-expressing cells. The activation of arginase-1-specific T cells by vaccination is an attractive approach to target arginase-1-expressing malignant cells and inhibitory immune cells. In the clinical setting, the induction of arginase-1-specific immune responses could induce or increase Th1 inflammation at the sites of tumors that are otherwise excluded due to infiltration with MDSCs and TAMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelina Martinenaite
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | | | - Morten Hansen
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Morten Orebo Holmström
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Hematology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Shamaila Munir Ahmad
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark
| | | | - Özcan Met
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marco Donia
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Inge Marie Svane
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Mads Hald Andersen
- Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Department of Hematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark.,Department of Hematology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark
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