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Mele D, Ottolini S, Lombardi A, Conteianni D, Bandera A, Oliviero B, Mantovani S, Cassaniti I, Baldanti F, Gori A, Mondelli MU, Varchetta S. Long-term dynamics of natural killer cells in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: Persistently enhanced activity postvaccination. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29585. [PMID: 38566585 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29585] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Natural Killer (NK) cells play a significant role in the early defense against virus infections and cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated the involvement of NK cells in both the induction and effector phases of vaccine-induced immunity in various contexts. However, their role in shaping immune responses following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination remains poorly understood. To address this matter, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of NK cell phenotype and function in SARS-CoV-2 unexposed individuals who received the BNT162b2 vaccine. We employed a longitudinal study design and utilized a panel of 53 15-mer overlapping peptides covering the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein to assess NK cell function at 0 and 20 days following the first vaccine, and 30 and 240 days following booster. Additionally, we evaluated the levels of total IgG anti-Spike antibodies and their potential neutralizing ability. Our findings revealed an increased NK cell activity upon re-exposure to RBD when combined with IL12 and IL18 several months after booster. Concurrently, we observed that the frequencies of NKG2A + NK cells declined over the course of the follow-up period, while NKG2C increased only in CMV positive subjects. The finding that NK cell functions are inducible 9 months after vaccination upon re-exposure to RBD and cytokines, sheds light on the role of NK cells in contributing to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune protection and pave the way to further studies in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalila Mele
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sabrina Ottolini
- Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrea Lombardi
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Daniela Conteianni
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alessandra Bandera
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Barbara Oliviero
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefania Mantovani
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - Irene Cassaniti
- Department of Microbiology and Virology, Molecular Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS, Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic, and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Fausto Baldanti
- Department of Microbiology and Virology, Molecular Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS, Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic, and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrea Gori
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Infectious Diseases and Immunopathology, L. Sacco Hospital, Università di Milano, Milan, Italy
- Centre for Multidisciplinary Research in Health Science (MACH), University of Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Mario U Mondelli
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefania Varchetta
- Division of Clinical Immunology - Infectious Diseases, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
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2
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Chen DG, Xie J, Choi J, Ng RH, Zhang R, Li S, Edmark R, Zheng H, Solomon B, Campbell KM, Medina E, Ribas A, Khatri P, Lanier LL, Mease PJ, Goldman JD, Su Y, Heath JR. Integrative systems biology reveals NKG2A-biased immune responses correlate with protection in infectious disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113872. [PMID: 38427562 PMCID: PMC10995767 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113872] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Infection, autoimmunity, and cancer are principal human health challenges of the 21st century. Often regarded as distinct ends of the immunological spectrum, recent studies hint at potential overlap between these diseases. For example, inflammation can be pathogenic in infection and autoimmunity. T resident memory (TRM) cells can be beneficial in infection and cancer. However, these findings are limited by size and scope; exact immunological factors shared across diseases remain elusive. Here, we integrate large-scale deeply clinically and biologically phenotyped human cohorts of 526 patients with infection, 162 with lupus, and 11,180 with cancer. We identify an NKG2A+ immune bias as associative with protection against disease severity, mortality, and autoimmune/post-acute chronic disease. We reveal that NKG2A+ CD8+ T cells correlate with reduced inflammation and increased humoral immunity and that they resemble TRM cells. Our results suggest NKG2A+ biases as a cross-disease factor of protection, supporting suggestions of immunological overlap between infection, autoimmunity, and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G Chen
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jingyi Xie
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Rachel H Ng
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rongyu Zhang
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sarah Li
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rick Edmark
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Hong Zheng
- Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ben Solomon
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Katie M Campbell
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Egmidio Medina
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Antoni Ribas
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Purvesh Khatri
- Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lewis L Lanier
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Philip J Mease
- Swedish Center for Research and Innovation, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, WA, USA
| | - Jason D Goldman
- Swedish Center for Research and Innovation, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Providence St. Joseph Health, Renton, WA, USA; Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yapeng Su
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Clinical Research Division, Program in Immunology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - James R Heath
- Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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3
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Tu C, Buckle I, Leal Rojas I, Rossi GR, Sester DP, Moore AS, Radford K, Guillerey C, Souza‐Fonseca‐Guimaraes F. Exploring NK cell receptor dynamics in paediatric leukaemias: implications for immunotherapy and prognosis. Clin Transl Immunology 2024; 13:e1501. [PMID: 38525380 PMCID: PMC10960520 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1501] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives Immunotherapies targeting natural killer (NK) cell receptors have shown promise against leukaemia. Unfortunately, cancer immunosuppressive mechanisms that alter NK cell phenotype prevent such approaches from being successful. The study utilises advanced cytometry to examine how cancer immunosuppressive pathways affect NK cell phenotypic changes in clinical samples. Methods In this study, we conducted a high-dimensional examination of the cell surface expression of 16 NK cell receptors in paediatric patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, as well as in samples of non-age matched adult peripheral blood (APB) and umbilical cord blood (UCB). An unsupervised analysis was carried out in order to identify NK cell populations present in paediatric leukaemias. Results We observed that leukaemia NK cells clustered together with UCB NK cells and expressed relatively higher levels of the NKG2A receptor compared to APB NK cells. In addition, CD56dimCD16+CD57- NK cells lacking NKG2A expression were mainly absent in paediatric leukaemia patients. However, CD56br NK cell populations expressing high levels of NKG2A were highly represented in paediatric leukaemia patients. NKG2A expression on leukaemia NK cells was found to be positively correlated with the expression of its ligand, suggesting that the NKG2A-HLA-E interaction may play a role in modifying NK cell responses to leukaemia cells. Conclusion We provide an in-depth analysis of NK cell populations in paediatric leukaemia patients. These results support the development of immunotherapies targeting immunosuppressive receptors, such as NKG2A, to enhance innate immunity against paediatric leukaemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui Tu
- Cancer Immunotherapies Laboratory, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research InstituteUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
- Frazer Institute, The University of QueenslandWoolloongabbaQLDAustralia
| | - Irina Buckle
- Cancer Immunotherapies Laboratory, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research InstituteUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Ingrid Leal Rojas
- Cancer Immunotherapies Laboratory, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research InstituteUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | | | - David P Sester
- TRI Flow Cytometry SuiteTranslational Research InstituteWoolloongabbaQLDAustralia
- Translational Research InstituteQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Andrew S Moore
- Oncology ServiceChildren's Health Queensland Hospital & Health ServiceSouth BrisbaneQLDAustralia
- Child Health Research CentreThe University of QueenslandSouth BrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Kristen Radford
- Cancer Immunotherapies Laboratory, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research InstituteUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Camille Guillerey
- Cancer Immunotherapies Laboratory, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research InstituteUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneQLDAustralia
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4
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Cao K, Wang X, Wang H, Xu C, Ma A, Zhang Y, Zheng M, Xu Y, Tang L. Phenotypic and functional exhaustion of circulating CD3 + CD56 + NKT-like cells in colorectal cancer patients. FASEB J 2024; 38:e23525. [PMID: 38430373 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202301743r] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
CD3+ CD56+ NKT-like cells are crucial to antitumor immune surveillance and defense. However, research on circulating NKT-like cells in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients is limited. This investigation selected 113 patients diagnosed with primary CRC for preoperative peripheral blood collection. The blood from 106 healthy donors at the physical examination center was acquired as a healthy control (HC). The distribution of lymphocyte subsets, immunophenotype, and functional characteristics of NKT-like cells was comprehensively evaluated. Compared to HC, primary CRC patients had considerably fewer peripheral NKT-like cells in frequency and absolute quantity, and the fraction of NKT-like cells was further reduced in patients with vascular invasion compared to those without. The NKT-like cells in CRC patients had a reduced fraction of the activating receptor CD16, up-regulated expression of inhibitory receptors LAG-3 and NKG2A, impaired production of TNF-α and IFN-γ, as well as degranulation capacity. Moreover, the increased frequency of NKG2A+ NKT-like cells and the decreased expression of activation-related molecules were significantly correlated with tumor progression. In detail, NKG2A+ NKT-like cells indicated increased PD-1 and Tim-3 and reduced TNF-α than NKG2A- subgroup. Blocking NKG2A in vitro restored cytokine secretion capacity in NKT-like cells from CRC patients. Altogether, this research revealed that circulating NKT-like cells in CRC patients exhibited suppressive phenotype and functional impairment, which was more pronounced in NKG2A+ NKT-like cells. These findings suggest that NKG2A blockade may restore anti-tumor effector function in NKT-like cells, which provides a potential target for immunotherapy in CRC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kangli Cao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Xiaowei Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Centre of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cairui Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Along Ma
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Yuntao Zhang
- The First Clinical Medical School of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Meijuan Zheng
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Yuanhong Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Ling Tang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
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5
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Ayass MA, Tripathi T, Griko N, Okyay T, Ramankutty Nair R, Zhang J, Zhu K, Melendez K, Pashkov V, Abi-Mosleh L. Dual Checkpoint Aptamer Immunotherapy: Unveiling Tailored Cancer Treatment Targeting CTLA-4 and NKG2A. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1041. [PMID: 38473398 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16051041] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent strides in immunotherapy have illuminated the crucial role of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 pathways in contemporary oncology, presenting both promises and challenges in response rates and adverse effects. This study employs a computational biology tool (in silico approach) to craft aptamers capable of binding to dual receptors, namely, inhibitory CTLA4 and NKG2A, thereby unleashing both T and NK cells and enhancing CD8+ T and NK cell functions for tumor cell lysis. Computational analysis highlighted AYA22T-R2-13 with HADDOCK scores of -78.2 ± 10.2 (with CTLA4), -60.0 ± 4.2 (with NKG2A), and -77.5 ± 5.6 (with CD94/NKG2A). Confirmation of aptamer binding to targeted proteins was attained via ELISA and flow cytometry methods. In vitro biological functionality was assessed using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assay. Direct and competitive assays using ELISA and flow cytometry demonstrated the selective binding of AYA22T-R2-13 to CTLA4 and NKG2A proteins, as well as to the cell surface receptors of IL-2-stimulated T cells and NK cells. This binding was inhibited in the presence of competition from CTLA4 or NKG2A proteins. Remarkably, the blockade of CTLA4 or NKG2A by AYA22T-R2-13 augmented human CD8 T cell- and NK cell-mediated tumor cell lysis in vitro. Our findings highlight the precise binding specificity of AYA22T-R2-13 for CTLA4-B7-1/B7-2 (CD80/CD86) or CD94/NKG2A-HLA-E interactions, positioning it as a valuable tool for immune checkpoint blockade aptamer research in murine tumor models. These in vitro studies establish a promising foundation for further enhancing binding capacity and establishing efficacy and safety in animal models. Consequently, our results underscore the potential of AYA22T-R2-13 in cancer immunotherapy, offering high specificity, low toxicity, and the potential for cost-effective production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Natalya Griko
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | - Tutku Okyay
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | | | - Jin Zhang
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | - Kevin Zhu
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | - Kristen Melendez
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | - Victor Pashkov
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
| | - Lina Abi-Mosleh
- Ayass Bioscience LLC, 8501 Wade Blvd, Bld 9, Frisco, TX 75034, USA
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6
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Yang LN, Zhang Y, DU XK, Liu L, Zhang J, Yang Q, Sun LD, Zhu XX, Li Q. [Effect of Spatholobi Caulis extract from ethyl acetate on immune killing function of NK cells]. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2024; 49:1335-1342. [PMID: 38621981 DOI: 10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20231123.402] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the regulatory effect of the Spatholobi Caulis extract from ethyl acetate(SEA) on natural killer(NK) cells under physiological conditions and elucidate the underlying mechanism. The C57BL/6 mice were randomized into NC and SEA groups, and NK-92 cells were respectively treated with 0, 25, 50, and 100 μg·mL~(-1) SEA. The body weight and immune organ index of the mice were compared between groups. The lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) assay was employed to examine the cytotoxicity of NK-92 cells treated with SEA and the killing activity of mouse NK cells against YAC-1 cells. The cell-counting kit-8(CCK-8) was used to examine the impact of SEA on the proliferation of NK-92 cells. Flow cytometry was employed to measure the number of NK cells in the peripheral blood as well as the expression levels of natural killer group 2 member A(NKG2A) and natural killer group 2 member D(NKG2D). The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was performed to determine the interferon(IFN)-γ secretion in the serum. Semi-quantitative PCR was conducted to determine the mRNA levels of NKG2A, NKG2D, and IFN-γ in spleen cells. Western blot was employed to investigate the involvement of phosphoinositide 3-kinase(PI3K)/extracellular regulated protein kinase 1(ERK1) signaling pathway. The results showed that SEA exhibited no adverse effects on the body, while significantly enhance the number of NK cells and augment the cytotoxicity of NK-92 cells against YAC-1 cells. Moreover, it suppressed the expression of NKG2A, enhanced the expression of NKG2D, promoted IFN-γ secretion, and upregulated the protein levels of PI3K and ERK. The findings suggest that SEA has the potential to enhance the immune recognition and effector function of NK cells by increasing the cell number, modulating the expression of functional receptors, and promoting IFN-γ secretion via the PI3K/ERK signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Na Yang
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Xin-Ke DU
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Li Liu
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Qing Yang
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Li-Dong Sun
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Xiao-Xin Zhu
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
| | - Qi Li
- Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100700, China
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7
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Middelburg J, Ghaffari S, Schoufour TAW, Sluijter M, Schaap G, Göynük B, Sala BM, Al-Tamimi L, Scheeren F, Franken KLMC, Akkermans JJLL, Cabukusta B, Joosten SA, Derksen I, Neefjes J, van der Burg SH, Achour A, Wijdeven RHM, Weidanz J, van Hall T. The MHC-E peptide ligands for checkpoint CD94/ NKG2A are governed by inflammatory signals, whereas LILRB1/2 receptors are peptide indifferent. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113516. [PMID: 38048225 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113516] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The immune checkpoint NKG2A/CD94 is a promising target for cancer immunotherapy, and its ligand major histocompatibility complex E (MHC-E) is frequently upregulated in cancer. NKG2A/CD94-mediated inhibition of lymphocytes depends on the presence of specific leader peptides in MHC-E, but when and where they are presented in situ is unknown. We apply a nanobody specific for the Qdm/Qa-1b complex, the NKG2A/CD94 ligand in mouse, and find that presentation of Qdm peptide depends on every member of the endoplasmic reticulum-resident peptide loading complex. With a turnover rate of 30 min, the Qdm peptide reflects antigen processing capacity in real time. Remarkably, Qdm/Qa-1b complexes require inflammatory signals for surface expression in situ, despite the broad presence of Qa-1b molecules in homeostasis. Furthermore, we identify LILRB1 as a functional inhibition receptor for MHC-E in steady state. These data provide a molecular understanding of NKG2A blockade in immunotherapy and assign MHC-E as a convergent ligand for multiple immune checkpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jim Middelburg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Soroush Ghaffari
- Department of Biology, College of Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Tom A W Schoufour
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Marjolein Sluijter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Gaby Schaap
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Büsra Göynük
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Benedetta M Sala
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute & Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Lejla Al-Tamimi
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute & Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Ferenc Scheeren
- Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Kees L M C Franken
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jimmy J L L Akkermans
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Birol Cabukusta
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Simone A Joosten
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ian Derksen
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jacques Neefjes
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd H van der Burg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Adnane Achour
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute & Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Ruud H M Wijdeven
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jon Weidanz
- Abexxa Biologics, Inc., Arlington, TX, USA; College of Nursing and Health Innovation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
| | - Thorbald van Hall
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
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8
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Melero I, Ochoa MC, Molina C, Sanchez‐Gregorio S, Garasa S, Luri‐Rey C, Hervas‐Stubbs S, Casares N, Elizalde E, Gomis G, Cirella A, Berraondo P, Teijeira A, Alvarez M. Intratumoral co-injection of NK cells and NKG2A-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. EMBO Mol Med 2023; 15:e17804. [PMID: 37782273 PMCID: PMC10630884 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202317804] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
NK-cell reactivity against cancer is conceivably suppressed in the tumor microenvironment by the interaction of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A with the non-classical MHC-I molecules HLA-E in humans or Qa-1b in mice. We found that intratumoral delivery of NK cells attains significant therapeutic effects only if co-injected with anti-NKG2A and anti-Qa-1b blocking monoclonal antibodies against solid mouse tumor models. Such therapeutic activity was contingent on endogenous CD8 T cells and type-1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1). Moreover, the anti-tumor effects were enhanced upon combination with systemic anti-PD-1 mAb treatment and achieved partial abscopal efficacy against distant non-injected tumors. In xenografted mice bearing HLA-E-expressing human cancer cells, intratumoral co-injection of activated allogeneic human NK cells and clinical-grade anti-NKG2A mAb (monalizumab) synergistically achieved therapeutic effects. In conclusion, these studies provide evidence for the clinical potential of intratumoral NK cell-based immunotherapies that exert their anti-tumor efficacy as a result of eliciting endogenous T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Melero
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC)MadridSpain
- Departments of Immunology and OncologyClínica Universidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
| | - Maria C Ochoa
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC)MadridSpain
| | - Carmen Molina
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Sandra Sanchez‐Gregorio
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Saray Garasa
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Carlos Luri‐Rey
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Sandra Hervas‐Stubbs
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Noelia Casares
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Edurne Elizalde
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Gabriel Gomis
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Assunta Cirella
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
| | - Pedro Berraondo
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC)MadridSpain
| | - Alvaro Teijeira
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC)MadridSpain
| | - Maite Alvarez
- Program for Immunology and Immunotherapy, CIMAUniversidad de NavarraPamplonaSpain
- Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA)PamplonaSpain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC)MadridSpain
- Cell Therapy, Stem Cells and Tissue GroupBiocruces Bizkaia Health Research InstituteBarakaldoSpain
- Research Unit, Basque Center for Blood Transfusion and Human TissuesOsakidetzaGaldakaoSpain
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9
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Mohammadian Gol T, Kim M, Sinn R, Ureña-Bailén G, Stegmeyer S, Gratz PG, Zahedipour F, Roig-Merino A, Antony JS, Mezger M. CRISPR-Cas9-Based Gene Knockout of Immune Checkpoints in Expanded NK Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16065. [PMID: 38003255 PMCID: PMC10671270 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216065] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy has emerged as a novel treatment modality for various cancer types, including leukemia. The modulation of inhibitory signaling pathways in T cells and NK cells has been the subject of extensive investigation in both preclinical and clinical settings in recent years. Nonetheless, further research is imperative to optimize antileukemic activities, especially regarding NK-cell-based immunotherapies. The central scientific question of this study pertains to the potential for boosting cytotoxicity in expanded and activated NK cells through the inhibition of inhibitory receptors. To address this question, we employed the CRISPR-Cas9 system to target three distinct inhibitory signaling pathways in NK cells. Specifically, we examined the roles of A2AR within the metabolic purinergic signaling pathway, CBLB as an intracellular regulator in NK cells, and the surface receptors NKG2A and CD96 in enhancing the antileukemic efficacy of NK cells. Following the successful expansion of NK cells, they were transfected with Cas9+sgRNA RNP to knockout A2AR, CBLB, NKG2A, and CD96. The analysis of indel frequencies for all four targets revealed good knockout efficiencies in expanded NK cells, resulting in diminished protein expression as confirmed by flow cytometry and Western blot analysis. Our in vitro killing assays demonstrated that NKG2A and CBLB knockout led to only a marginal improvement in the cytotoxicity of NK cells against AML and B-ALL cells. Furthermore, the antileukemic activity of CD96 knockout NK cells did not yield significant enhancements, and the blockade of A2AR did not result in significant improvement in killing efficiency. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CRISPR-Cas9-based knockout strategies for immune checkpoints might not be sufficient to efficiently boost the antileukemic functions of expanded (and activated) NK cells and, at the same time, point to the need for strong cellular activating signals, as this can be achieved, for example, via transgenic chimeric antigen receptor expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahereh Mohammadian Gol
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Miso Kim
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Ralph Sinn
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Guillermo Ureña-Bailén
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Sarah Stegmeyer
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Paul Gerhard Gratz
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Fatemeh Zahedipour
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | | | - Justin S. Antony
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
| | - Markus Mezger
- Department of General Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; (T.M.G.); (M.K.); (P.G.G.); (F.Z.)
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10
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Schober R, Brandus B, Laeremans T, Iserentant G, Rolin C, Dessilly G, Zimmer J, Moutschen M, Aerts JL, Dervillez X, Seguin-Devaux C. Multimeric immunotherapeutic complexes activating natural killer cells towards HIV-1 cure. J Transl Med 2023; 21:791. [PMID: 37936122 PMCID: PMC10631209 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04669-4] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has dramatically extended the life expectancy of people living with HIV-1 and improved their quality of life. There is nevertheless no cure for HIV-1 infection since HIV-1 persists in viral reservoirs of latently infected CD4+ T cells. cART does not eradicate HIV-1 reservoirs or restore cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells which are dramatically reduced by HIV-1 infection, and express the checkpoint inhibitors NKG2A or KIR2DL upregulated after HIV-1 infection. Cytotoxic NK cells expressing the homing receptor CXCR5 were recently described as key subsets controlling viral replication. METHODS We designed and evaluated the potency of "Natural killer activating Multimeric immunotherapeutic compleXes", called as NaMiX, combining multimers of the IL-15/IL-15Rα complex with an anti-NKG2A or an anti-KIR single-chain fragment variable (scFv) to kill HIV-1 infected CD4+ T cells. The oligomerization domain of the C4 binding protein was used to associate the IL-15/IL-15Rα complex to the scFv of each checkpoint inhibitor as well as to multimerize each entity into a heptamer (α form) or a dimer (β form). Each α or β form was compared in different in vitro models using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey's tests before evaluation in humanized NSG tg-huIL-15 mice having functional NK cells. RESULTS All NaMiX significantly enhanced the cytolytic activity of NK and CD8+ T cells against Raji tumour cells and HIV-1+ ACH-2 cells by increasing degranulation, release of granzyme B, perforin and IFN-γ. Targeting NKG2A had a stronger effect than targeting KIR2DL due to higher expression of NKG2A on NK cells. In viral inhibition assays, NaMiX initially increased viral replication of CD4+ T cells which was subsequently inhibited by cytotoxic NK cells. Importantly, anti-NKG2A NaMiX enhanced activation, cytotoxicity, IFN-γ production and CXCR5 expression of NK cells from HIV-1 positive individuals. In humanized NSG tg-huIL-15 mice, we confirmed enhanced activation, degranulation, cytotoxicity of NK cells, and killing of HIV-1 infected cells from mice injected with the anti-NKG2A.α NaMiX, as compared to control mice, as well as decreased total HIV-1 DNA in the lung. CONCLUSIONS NK cell-mediated killing of HIV-1 infected cells by NaMiX represents a promising approach to support HIV-1 cure strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaëla Schober
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Bianca Brandus
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Thessa Laeremans
- Neuro-Aging and Viro-Immunotherapy (NAVI) Research Group, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Gilles Iserentant
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Camille Rolin
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Géraldine Dessilly
- AIDS Reference Laboratory, Catholic University of Louvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Jacques Zimmer
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Michel Moutschen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Liège, CHU de Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Joeri L Aerts
- Neuro-Aging and Viro-Immunotherapy (NAVI) Research Group, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Xavier Dervillez
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Carole Seguin-Devaux
- Department of Infection and Immunity, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 29, Rue Henri Koch, L-4354, Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
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11
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Siemaszko J, Łacina P, Szymczak D, Szeremet A, Majcherek M, Czyż A, Sobczyk-Kruszelnicka M, Fidyk W, Solarska I, Nasiłowska-Adamska B, Skowrońska P, Bieniaszewska M, Tomaszewska A, Basak GW, Giebel S, Wróbel T, Bogunia-Kubik K. Significance of HLA-E and its two NKG2 receptors in development of complications after allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1227897. [PMID: 37901227 PMCID: PMC10611459 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1227897] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCT) is a procedure commonly used in treatment of various haematological disorders which is associated with significantly improved survival rates. However, one of its drawbacks is the possibility of development of post-transplant complications, including acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) or CMV infection. Various studies suggested that NK cells and their receptors may affect the transplant outcome. In the present study, patients and donors were found to significantly differ in the distribution of the NKG2A rs7301582 genetic variants - recipients carried the C allele more often than their donors (0.975 vs 0.865, p<0.0001). Increased soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) levels detected in recipients' serum 30 days after transplantation seemed to play a prognostic and protective role. It was observed that recipients with higher sHLA-E levels were less prone to chronic GvHD (11.65 vs 6.33 pg/mL, p=0.033) or more severe acute GvHD grades II-IV (11.07 vs 8.04 pg/mL, p=0.081). Our results also showed an unfavourable role of HLA-E donor-recipient genetic incompatibility in CMV infection development after transplantation (OR=5.92, p=0.014). Frequencies of NK cells (both CD56dim and CD56bright) expressing NKG2C were elevated in recipients who developed CMV, especially 30 and 90 days post-transplantation (p<0.03). Percentages of NKG2C+ NK cells lacking NKG2A expression were also increased in these patients. Moreover, recipients carrying a NKG2C deletion characterized with decreased frequency of NKG2C+ NK cells (p<0.05). Our study confirms the importance of NK cells in the development of post-transplant complications and highlights the effect of HLA-E and NKG2C genetic variants, sHLA-E serum concentration, as well as NKG2C surface expression on transplant outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagoda Siemaszko
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunogenetics and Pharmacogenetics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Łacina
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunogenetics and Pharmacogenetics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Donata Szymczak
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Szeremet
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Maciej Majcherek
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Anna Czyż
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Sobczyk-Kruszelnicka
- Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Hematology-Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Wojciech Fidyk
- Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Hematology-Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Iwona Solarska
- Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Medicine, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | | | - Maria Bieniaszewska
- Department of Hematology and Transplantology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Tomaszewska
- Department of Hematology, Transplantation and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Grzegorz W. Basak
- Department of Hematology, Transplantation and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Sebastian Giebel
- Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Hematology-Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Tomasz Wróbel
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Bogunia-Kubik
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunogenetics and Pharmacogenetics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
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12
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Shin H, Lee HS, Noh JY, Koh JY, Kim SY, Park J, Chung SW, Hur MH, Park MK, Lee YB, Kim YJ, Yoon JH, Ko JH, Peck KR, Song JY, Shin EC, Lee JH. COVID-19 Vaccination Alters NK Cell Dynamics and Transiently Reduces HBsAg Titers Among Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B. Immune Netw 2023; 23:e39. [PMID: 37970236 PMCID: PMC10643334 DOI: 10.4110/in.2023.23.e39] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination may non-specifically alter the host immune system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg) titer and host immunity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Consecutive 2,797 CHB patients who had serial HBsAg measurements during antiviral treatment were included in this study. Changes in the HBsAg levels after COVID-19 vaccination were analyzed. The dynamics of NK cells following COVID-19 vaccination were also examined using serial blood samples collected prospectively from 25 healthy volunteers. Vaccinated CHB patients (n=2,329) had significantly lower HBsAg levels 1-30 days post-vaccination compared to baseline (median, -21.4 IU/ml from baseline), but the levels reverted to baseline by 91-180 days (median, -3.8 IU/ml). The velocity of the HBsAg decline was transiently accelerated within 30 days after vaccination (median velocity: -0.06, -0.39, and -0.04 log10 IU/ml/year in pre-vaccination period, days 1-30, and days 31-90, respectively). In contrast, unvaccinated patients (n=468) had no change in HBsAg levels. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the frequency of NK cells expressing NKG2A, an NK inhibitory receptor, significantly decreased within 7 days after the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (median, -13.1% from baseline; p<0.001). The decrease in the frequency of NKG2A+ NK cells was observed in the CD56dimCD16+ NK cell population regardless of type of COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccination leads to a rapid, transient decline in HBsAg titer and a decrease in the frequency of NKG2A+ NK cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunjae Shin
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Ha Seok Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Ji Yun Noh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 08308, Korea
| | - June-Young Koh
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - So-Young Kim
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
| | - Jeayeon Park
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Sung Won Chung
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Moon Haeng Hur
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Min Kyung Park
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Yun Bin Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Yoon Jun Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Jung-Hwan Yoon
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
| | - Jae-Hoon Ko
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 16419, Korea
| | - Kyong Ran Peck
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 16419, Korea
| | - Joon Young Song
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 08308, Korea
| | - Eui-Cheol Shin
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
- The Center for Viral Immunology, Korea Virus Research Institute, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34126, Korea
| | - Jeong-Hoon Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
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13
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Shen X, Wu T, Ji X, Yang K, Wang L, Peng Y, Huang G, Shen H, Sha W. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection depressed cytotoxic T cells activity owing to decreasing NKG2C and increasing NKG2A expression. Mol Immunol 2023; 162:133-142. [PMID: 37683324 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2023.08.014] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play protective roles in immunity against tuberculosis (TB) infection by strongly inhibiting intracellular mycobacterial growth. In TB infection, the impairing mechanism of CTLs function remains unclear. In this study, we identified that the cytotoxic granule molecules expression levels of perforin (PRF) and granulysin (GNLY) in CD3+ and CD8+ CTL cells were significantly depressed in TB patients compared to those in healthy donors. The frequencies of T-CTLs, co-expressing granzyme B (GZMB), PRF and GNLY, were obviously decreased in TB patients. Moreover, NKG2C highly expressed in T-CTLs, was an effective activator of cytotoxic activity of CD3+ T cells. And, NKG2C+CD3+ T cells potently inhibited intracellular mycobacterial growth. The proportions of NKG2C+ cells in CD3+ and CD8+ T cells were dramatically decreased in TB patients. Contrarily, NKG2A, an inhibitor of T cells cytotoxic activities, was highly expressed in T-CTLs of CD3+ and CD8+ T cells in TB patients. Here, we successfully discovered that depressed CTLs activities in TB patients were attributed to low expression of cytotoxic granule molecules and high expression of inhibitory NKG2A receptor, suppression of agonist receptor NKG2C. Thus, NKG2 receptors were potential targets for immunotherapy of tuberculosis, especially for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaona Shen
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Tian Wu
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuejiao Ji
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Kunfeng Yang
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Shandong, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Ying Peng
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
| | - Guixian Huang
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongbo Shen
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
| | - Wei Sha
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease (tuberculosis), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Institute for Advanced Study, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
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14
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Mac Donald A, Guipouy D, Lemieux W, Harvey M, Bordeleau LJ, Guay D, Roméro H, Li Y, Dion R, Béland K, Haddad E. KLRC1 knockout overcomes HLA-E-mediated inhibition and improves NK cell antitumor activity against solid tumors. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1231916. [PMID: 37675109 PMCID: PMC10478211 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1231916] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Natural Killer (NK) cells hold the potential to shift cell therapy from a complex autologous option to a universal off-the-shelf one. Although NK cells have demonstrated efficacy and safety in the treatment of leukemia, the limited efficacy of NK cell-based immunotherapies against solid tumors still represents a major hurdle. In the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), inhibitory interactions between cancer and immune cells impair antitumoral immunity. KLRC1 gene encodes the NK cell inhibitory receptor NKG2A, which is a potent NK cell immune checkpoint. NKG2A specifically binds HLA-E, a non-classical HLA class I molecule frequently overexpressed in tumors, leading to the transmission of inhibitory signals that strongly impair NK cell function. Methods To restore NK cell cytotoxicity against HLA-E+ tumors, we have targeted the NKG2A/HLA-E immune checkpoint by using a CRISPR-mediated KLRC1 gene editing. Results KLRC1 knockout resulted in a reduction of 81% of NKG2A+ cell frequency in ex vivo expanded human NK cells post-cell sorting. In vitro, the overexpression of HLA-E by tumor cells significantly inhibited wild-type (WT) NK cell cytotoxicity with p-values ranging from 0.0071 to 0.0473 depending on tumor cell lines. In contrast, KLRC1 KO NK cells exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity when compared to WT NK cells against four different HLA-E+ solid tumor cell lines, with p-values ranging from<0.0001 to 0.0154. Interestingly, a proportion of 43.5% to 60.2% of NKG2A- NK cells within the edited NK cell population was sufficient to reverse at its maximum the HLA-E-mediated inhibition of NK cell cytotoxicity. The expression of the activating receptor NKG2C was increased in KLRC1 KO NK cells and contributed to the improved NK cell cytotoxicity against HLA-E+ tumors. In vivo, the adoptive transfer of human KLRC1 KO NK cells significantly delayed tumor progression and increased survival in a xenogeneic mouse model of HLA-E+ metastatic breast cancer, as compared to WT NK cells (p = 0.0015). Conclusions Our results demonstrate that KLRC1 knockout is an effective strategy to improve NK cell antitumor activity against HLA-E+ tumors and could be applied in the development of NK cell therapy for solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mac Donald
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Delphine Guipouy
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - William Lemieux
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Hugo Roméro
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Yuanyi Li
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Renaud Dion
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Kathie Béland
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Elie Haddad
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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15
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Bernson E, Huhn O, Karlsson V, Hawkes D, Lycke M, Cazzetta V, Mikulak J, Hall J, Piskorz AM, Portuesi R, Vitobello D, Fiamengo B, Siesto G, Horowitz A, Ghadially H, Mavilio D, Brenton JD, Sundfeldt K, Colucci F. Identification of Tissue-Resident Natural Killer and T Lymphocytes with Anti-Tumor Properties in Ascites of Ovarian Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3362. [PMID: 37444472 PMCID: PMC10340516 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15133362] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Women with ovarian cancer have limited therapy options, with immunotherapy being unsatisfactory for a large group of patients. Tumor cells spread from the ovary or the fallopian tube into the abdominal cavity, which is commonly accompanied with massive ascites production. The ascites represents a unique peritoneal liquid tumor microenvironment with the presence of both tumor and immune cells, including cytotoxic lymphocytes. We characterized lymphocytes in ascites from patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Our data reveal the presence of NK and CD8+ T lymphocytes expressing CD103 and CD49a, which are markers of tissue residency. Moreover, these cells express high levels of the inhibitory NKG2A receptor, with the highest expression level detected on tissue-resident NK cells. Lymphocytes with these features were also present at the primary tumor site. Functional assays showed that tissue-resident NK cells in ascites are highly responsive towards ovarian tumor cells. Similar results were observed in an in vivo mouse model, in which tissue-resident NK and CD8+ T cells were detected in the peritoneal fluid upon tumor growth. Together, our data reveal the presence of highly functional lymphocyte populations that may be targeted to improve immunotherapy for patients with ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elin Bernson
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hosptial, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Oisín Huhn
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hosptial, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Veronika Karlsson
- Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Delia Hawkes
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hosptial, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Maria Lycke
- Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Valentina Cazzetta
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Joanna Mikulak
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
| | - James Hall
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
| | - Anna M. Piskorz
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
| | - Rosalba Portuesi
- Unit of Gynecology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
| | - Domenico Vitobello
- Unit of Gynecology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
| | - Barbara Fiamengo
- Unit of Pathological Anatomy, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
| | - Gabriele Siesto
- Unit of Gynecology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
| | - Amir Horowitz
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Hormas Ghadially
- AstraZeneca, Oncology R&D, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine and Oral Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Blantyre Private Bag 360, Malawi
| | - Domenico Mavilio
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, 20089 Rozzano, Italy
- Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - James D. Brenton
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
| | - Karin Sundfeldt
- Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Francesco Colucci
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Addenbrooke’s Hosptial, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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16
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Vietzen H, Staber PB, Berger SM, Furlano PL, Kühner LM, Lubowitzki S, Pichler A, Strassl R, Cornelissen JJ, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. Inhibitory NKG2A+ and absent activating NKG2C + NK cell responses are associated with the development of EBV + lymphomas. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1183788. [PMID: 37426645 PMCID: PMC10324562 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1183788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus, which infects over 90% of the adult human population worldwide. After primary infections, EBV is recurrently reactivating in most adult individuals. It is, however, unclear, why these EBV reactivations progress to EBV+ Hodgkin (EBV+HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphomas (EBV+nHL) only in a minority of EBV-infected individuals. The EBV LMP-1 protein encodes for a highly polymorphic peptide, which upregulates the immunomodulatory HLA-E in EBV-infected cells, thereby stimulating the inhibitory NKG2A-, but also the activating NKG2C-receptor on natural killer (NK) cells. Using a genetic-association approach and functional NK cell analyses, we now investigated, whether these HLA-E-restricted immune responses impact the development of EBV+HL and EBV+nHL. Therefore, we recruited a study cohort of 63 EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients and 192 controls with confirmed EBV reactivations, but without lymphomas. Here, we demonstrate that in EBV+ lymphoma patients exclusively the high-affine LMP-1 GGDPHLPTL peptide variant-encoding EBV-strains reactivate. In EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients, the high-expressing HLA-E*0103/0103 genetic variant was significantly overrepresented. Combined, the LMP-1 GGDPHLPTL and HLA-E*0103/0103 variants efficiently inhibited NKG2A+ NK cells, thereby facilitating the in vitro spread of EBV-infected tumor cells. In addition, EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients, showed impaired pro-inflammatory NKG2C+ NK cell responses, which accelerated the in vitro EBV-infected tumor cells spread. In contrast, the blocking of NKG2A by monoclonal antibodies (Monalizumab) resulted in efficient control of EBV-infected tumor cell growth, especially by NKG2A+NKG2C+ NK cells. Thus, the HLA-E/LMP-1/NKG2A pathway and individual NKG2C+ NK cell responses are associated with the progression toward EBV+ lymphomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Vietzen
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philipp B. Staber
- Department of Medicine I, Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah M. Berger
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Laura M. Kühner
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Simone Lubowitzki
- Department of Medicine I, Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander Pichler
- Department of Medicine I, Division of Hematology and Hemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Robert Strassl
- Division of Clinical Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan J. Cornelissen
- Department of Hematology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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17
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Greppi M, Obino V, Goda R, Rebaudi F, Carlomagno S, Della Chiesa M, Sivori S, Ubezio G, Agostini V, Bo A, Pesce S, Marcenaro E. Identification of a novel cord blood NK cell subpopulation expressing functional programmed death receptor-1. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1183215. [PMID: 37441071 PMCID: PMC10335745 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1183215] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Natural Killer cells (NKs) represent the innate counterpart of TCRαβ lymphocytes and are characterized by a high anti-tumor and an anti-viral cytotoxic activity. Recently, it has been demonstrated that NKs can express PD-1 as an additional inhibitory receptor. Specifically, PD-1 was identified on a subpopulation of terminally differentiated NKs from healthy adults with previous HCMV infection. So far it is unknown whether PD-1 appears during NK-cell development and whether this process is directly or indirectly related to HCMV infection. Methods In this study, we analyzed the expression and function of PD-1 on Cord Blood derived NKs (CB-NKs) on a large cohort of newborns through multiparametric cytofluorimetric analysis. Results We identified PD-1 on CB-NKs in more than of half the newborns analyzed. PD-1 was present on CD56dim NKs, and particularly abundant on CD56neg NKs, but only rarely present on CD56bright NKs. Importantly, unlike in adult healthy donors, in CB-NKs PD-1 is co-expressed not only with KIR, but also with NKG2A. PD-1 expression was independent of HCMV mother seropositivity and occurs in the absence of HCMV infection/reactivation during pregnancy. Notably, PD-1 expressed on CB-NKs was functional and mediated negative signals when triggered. Conclusion To our understanding, this study is the first to report PD-1 expression on CB derived NKs and its features in perinatal conditions. These data may prove important in selecting the most suitable CB derived NK cell population for the development of different immunotherapeutic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Greppi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Valentina Obino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Rayan Goda
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Federico Rebaudi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Simona Carlomagno
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | | | - Simona Sivori
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | | | | | - Alessandra Bo
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
| | - Silvia Pesce
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Emanuela Marcenaro
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
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18
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Graninger M, Vietzen H, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. Association between human genetic variants affecting the host NK cell response and the development of herpes simplex virus type 1 encephalitis. J Med Virol 2023; 95:e28759. [PMID: 37212301 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.28759] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSE) is a rare complication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection or reactivation. It is so far unclear why only few patients develop HSE. As natural killer (NK) cells provide an important defense against HSV-1, we investigated whether there is an association between distinct human genetic variants associated with the host NK cell response and HSE. Forty-nine adult patients with confirmed HSE and 247 matched controls were analyzed for the distribution of the following genotypes: CD16A (FcγRIIIA) V/F and IGHG1 G1m3/17, both influencing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity; HLA-E*0101/*0103, associated with NK cell activation; and SLFN13 rs9916629C/T associated with NK cell response. Homozygous HLA-E*0101:0101 and HLA-E*0103:0103 variants as well as the rs9916629CC genotype were overrepresented in HSE patients compared to controls (p ≤ 0.001). Notably, cooccurrence of the homozygous HLA-E*0101 and rs9916629CC genotypes was present in 19% of patients but totally absent in controls (p ≤ 0.0001). Distribution of CD16A and IGHG1 variants did not differ between patients and controls. Our data show that the rare combination of HLA-E*0101:0101 and rs9916629CC is significantly associated with HSE. Possibly, these genetic variations could be useful as clinical markers predicting HSE prognosis and helping to adapt the treatment of HSE in the individual patient.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannes Vietzen
- Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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19
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Beelen NA, Ehlers FAI, Bos GMJ, Wieten L. Inhibitory receptors for HLA class I as immune checkpoints for natural killer cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2023; 72:797-804. [PMID: 36261539 PMCID: PMC10025219 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-022-03299-x] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells mediate potent anti-tumor responses, which makes them attractive targets for immunotherapy. The anti-tumor response of endogenous- or allogeneic NK cells can be enhanced through clinically available monoclonal antibodies that mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). NK cell activation is regulated by interaction of inhibitory receptors with classical- and non-classical human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class I molecules. Inhibitory receptors of the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family interact with HLA-A, -B or -C epitopes, while NKG2A interacts with the non-classical HLA-E molecule. Both types of inhibitory interactions may influence the strength of the ADCC response. In the present review, we provide an overview of the effect of inhibitory KIRs and NKG2A on NK cell-mediated ADCC, which highlights the rationale for combination strategies with ADCC triggering antibodies and interference with the NK cell relevant inhibitory immune checkpoints, such as KIR and NKG2A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky A. Beelen
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, P. Debeyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
- GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Femke A. I. Ehlers
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, P. Debeyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
- GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Gerard M. J. Bos
- GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Lotte Wieten
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center+, P. Debeyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
- GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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20
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Lu YC, Ho CH, Hong JH, Kuo MC, Liao YA, Jaw FS, Cheng JCH, Huang CY, Chang KP, Chen CH, Lin JA, Hsiao A, Kung HN. NKG2A and circulating extracellular vesicles are key regulators of natural killer cell activity in prostate cancer after prostatectomy. Mol Oncol 2023. [PMID: 36931723 PMCID: PMC10399716 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13422] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are an important regulatory factor for natural killer cell activity (NKA) in the tumor microenvironment. The relationship between circulating EVs in the peripheral blood and natural killer (NK) cells in prostate cancer is unclear. This study aims to investigate the key regulators in the interaction between circulating EVs and NK cells in prostate cancer patients before and after tumor removal. NK-cell characteristics were prospectively assessed in 79 patients treated with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP) preoperatively and postoperatively. Compared with healthy donors, the existence of prostate tumors increased the number of circulating EVs and altered ligand expression of EVs. Circulating EVs extracted from cancer patients significantly decreased NKA of NK cells compared to those extracted from healthy donors. Upon treatment with an inhibiting antibody or small interfering RNA (siRNA), natural killer cell protein group 2A (NKG2A) was identified as the main NKA regulator in cancer patients for accepting the signal from circulating EVs. After surgery, NKA was increased and NKG2A expression on NK cells was significantly reduced. The expression of ligands for NKG2D on EVs and the level of circulation EVs both significantly increased. With the decrease in NKG2A levels on NK cells and the increase in total NKG2D ligands on circulating EVs, which was increased postoperatively, both NKG2A on NK cells and NKG2D ligands on circulating exosomes are main regulators of NKA restoration after prostatectomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chuan Lu
- Department of Surgical Oncology, National Taiwan University Cancer Center and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Hsun Ho
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Jian-Hua Hong
- Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Chieh Kuo
- Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yunlin Branch, National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-An Liao
- Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Fu-Shan Jaw
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jason Chia-Hsien Cheng
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Oncology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chao-Yuan Huang
- Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ko-Ping Chang
- Department of Pathology, National, Taiwan University Hospital
| | - Chung-Hsin Chen
- Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jung-An Lin
- Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - An Hsiao
- Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsiu-Ni Kung
- Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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21
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Choi SJ, Koh JY, Rha MS, Seo IH, Lee H, Jeong S, Park SH, Shin EC. KIR +CD8 + and NKG2A+CD8 + T cells are distinct innate-like populations in humans. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112236. [PMID: 36897779 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112236] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Subsets of the human CD8+ T cell population express inhibitory NK cell receptors, such as killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and NKG2A. In the present study, we examine the phenotypic and functional characteristics of KIR+CD8+ T cells and NKG2A+CD8+ T cells. KIRs and NKG2A tend to be expressed by human CD8+ T cells in a mutually exclusive manner. In addition, TCR clonotypes of KIR+CD8+ T cells barely overlap with those of NKG2A+CD8+ T cells, and KIR+CD8+ T cells are more terminally differentiated and replicative senescent than NKG2A+CD8+ T cells. Among cytokine receptors, IL12Rβ1, IL12Rβ2, and IL18Rβ are highly expressed by NKG2A+CD8+ T cells, whereas IL2Rβ is expressed by KIR+CD8+ T cells. IL-12/IL-18-induced production of IFN-γ is prominent in NKG2A+CD8+ T cells, whereas IL-15-induced NK-like cytotoxicity is prominent in KIR+CD8+ T cells. These findings suggest that KIR+CD8+ and NKG2A+CD8+ T cells are distinct innate-like populations with different cytokine responsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong Jin Choi
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea
| | - June-Young Koh
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Genome Insight, Inc., San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Min-Seok Rha
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - In-Ho Seo
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hoyoung Lee
- The Center for Viral Immunology, Korea Virus Research Institute, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, Republic of Korea
| | - Seongju Jeong
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Su-Hyung Park
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; The Center for Epidemic Preparedness, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
| | - Eui-Cheol Shin
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; The Center for Viral Immunology, Korea Virus Research Institute, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34126, Republic of Korea.
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22
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Cazzetta V, Depierreux D, Colucci F, Mikulak J, Mavilio D. NKG2A Immune Checkpoint in Vδ2 T Cells: Emerging Application in Cancer Immunotherapy. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15. [PMID: 36831606 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune regulation has revolutionized cancer treatment with the introduction of T-cell-targeted immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This successful immunotherapy has led to a more complete view of cancer that now considers not only the cancer cells to be targeted and destroyed but also the immune environment of the cancer cells. Current challenges associated with the enhancement of ICI effects are increasing the fraction of responding patients through personalized combinations of multiple ICIs and overcoming acquired resistance. This requires a complete overview of the anti-tumor immune response, which depends on a complex interplay between innate and adaptive immune cells with the tumor microenvironment. The NKG2A was revealed to be a key immune checkpoint for both Natural Killer (NK) cells and T cells. Monalizumab, a humanized anti-NKG2A antibody, enhances NK cell activity against various tumor cells and rescues CD8 αβ T cell function in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. In this review, we discuss the potential for targeting NKG2A expressed on tumor-sensing human γδ T cells, mostly on the specific Vδ2 T cell subset, in order to emphasize its importance and potential in the development of new ICI-based therapeutic approaches.
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23
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Hosseini E, Minagar A, Ghasemzadeh M, Arabkhazaeli A, Ghasemzadeh A. HLA-E*01:01 + HLA-E*01:01 genotype confers less susceptibility to COVID-19, while HLA-E*01:03 + HLA-E*01:03 genotype is associated with more severe disease. Hum Immunol 2023; 84:263-271. [PMID: 36822912 PMCID: PMC9922572 DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2023.02.002] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND HLA-E interaction with inhibitory receptor, NKG2A attenuates NK-mediated cytotoxicity. NKG2A overexpression by SARS-CoV-2 exhausts NK cells function, whereas virus-induced down-regulation of MHC-Ia reduces its derived-leader sequence peptide levels required for proper binding of HLA-E to NKG2A. This leads HLA-E to become more complex with viral antigens and delivers them to CD8+ T cells, which facilitates cytolysis of infected cells. Now, the fact that alleles of HLA-E have different levels of expression and affinity for MHC Ia-derived peptide raises the question of whether HLA-E polymorphisms affect susceptibility to COVID-19 or its severity. METHODS 104 COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors with/without history of hospitalization and 18 blood donors with asymptomatic COVID-19, all were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody as well as a group of healthy control including 68 blood donors with negative antibody were subjected to HLA-E genotyping. As a privilege, individuals hadn't been vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore naturally exposed to the SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS The absence of HLA-E*01:03 allele significantly decreases the odds of susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection [p = 0.044; OR (95 %CI) = 0.530 (0.286 - 0.983)], suggesting that HLA-E*01:01 + HLA-E*01:01 genotype favors more protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. HLA-E*01:03 + HLA-E*01:03 genotype was also significantly associated with more severe COVID-19 [p = 0.020; 2.606 (1.163 - 5.844) CONCLUSION: Here, our observation about lower susceptibility of HLA-E*01:01 + HLA-E*01:01 genotype to COVID-19 could be clinical evidence in support of some previous studies suggesting that the lower affinity of HLA-E*01:01 to peptides derived from the leader sequence of MHC class Ia may instead shift its binding to virus-derived peptides, which then facilitates target recognition by restricted conventional CD8+ T cells and leads to efficient cytolysis. On the other hand, according to other studies, less reactivity of HLA-E*01:01 with NKG2A abrogates NK cells or T cells inhibition, which may also lead to a greater cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV-2 infected cells compared to HLA-E*01:03. Taken together given HLA-E polymorphisms, the data presented here may be useful in identifying more vulnerable individuals to COVID-19 for better care and management. Especially since along with other risk factors in patients, having HLA-E*01:03 + HLA-E*01:03 genotype may also be associated with the possibility of severe cases of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehteramolsadat Hosseini
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Arefeh Minagar
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehran Ghasemzadeh
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Ali Arabkhazaeli
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
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Rascle P, Woolley G, Jost S, Manickam C, Reeves RK. NK cell education: Physiological and pathological influences. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1087155. [PMID: 36742337 PMCID: PMC9896005 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1087155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells represent a critical defense against viral infections and cancers. NK cells require integration of activating and inhibitory NK cell receptors to detect target cells and the balance of these NK cell inputs defines the global NK cell response. The sensitivity of the response is largely defined by interactions between self-major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules and specific inhibitory NK cell receptors, so-called NK cell education. Thus, NK cell education is a crucial process to generate tuned effector NK cell responses in different diseases. In this review, we discuss the relationship between NK cell education and physiologic factors (type of self-MHC-I, self-MHC-I allelic variants, variant of the self-MHC-I-binding peptides, cytokine effects and inhibitory KIR expression) underlying NK cell education profiles (effector function or metabolism). Additionally, we describe the broad-spectrum of effector educated NK cell functions on different pathologies (such as HIV-1, CMV and tumors, among others).
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Rascle
- Division of Innate and Comparative Immunology, Center for Human Systems Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Griffin Woolley
- Division of Innate and Comparative Immunology, Center for Human Systems Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Stephanie Jost
- Division of Innate and Comparative Immunology, Center for Human Systems Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Cordelia Manickam
- Division of Innate and Comparative Immunology, Center for Human Systems Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
| | - R. Keith Reeves
- Division of Innate and Comparative Immunology, Center for Human Systems Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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25
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Ridgley LA, Caron J, Dalgleish A, Bodman-Smith M. Releasing the restraints of Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells in cancer immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1065495. [PMID: 36713444 PMCID: PMC9880221 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1065495] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells are a subset of T-cells with a crucial role in immunosurveillance which can be activated and expanded by multiple means to stimulate effector responses. Little is known about the expression of checkpoint molecules on this cell population and whether the ligation of these molecules can regulate their activity. The aim of this study was to assess the expression of both activatory and inhibitory receptors on Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells to assess potential avenues of regulation to target with immunotherapy. Methods Expression of various activatory and inhibitory receptors was assessed on Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells by flow cytometry following activation and expansion using zoledronic acid (ZA) and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Expression of these markers and production of effector molecules was also examined following co-culture with various tumour cell targets. The effect of immune checkpoint blockade on Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells was also explored. Results Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells expressed high levels of activatory markers both at baseline and following stimulation. Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells expressed variable levels of inhibitory checkpoint receptors with many being upregulated following stimulation. Expression of these markers is further modulated upon co-culture with tumour cells with changes reflecting activation and effector functions. Despite their high expression of inhibitory receptors when cultured with tumour cells expressing cognate ligands there was no effect on Vδ2+ T-cell cytotoxic capacity or cytokine production with immune checkpoint blockade. Conclusions Our work suggests the expression of checkpoint receptors present on Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells which may provide a mechanism with the potential to be utilised by tumour cells to subvert Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell cytotoxicity. This work suggests important candidates for blockade by ICI therapy in order to increase the successful use of Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells in immunotherapy.
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26
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Yu L, Sun L, Liu X, Wang X, Yan H, Pu Q, Xie Y, Jiang Y, Du J, Yang Z. The imbalance between NKG2A and NKG2D expression is involved in NK cell immunosuppression and tumor progression of patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatol Res 2023; 53:417-431. [PMID: 36628564 DOI: 10.1111/hepr.13877] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immunosuppression in a tumor microenvironment is associated with enhanced tumor progression. Natural killer group 2 (NKG2) family proteins, including inhibitory receptors and activators, can be used as attractive targets for immunotherapy of immune checkpoint inhibition. We further explore the expression level prognostic value of NKG2A and NKG2D in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC). METHODS This study was a prospective study involving 92 patients with HBV-HCC, 16 patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis, 18 patients with CHB, and 38 healthy donors. We analyzed the expression and related functions of NKG2A, NKG2D, and the NKG2A/NKG2D ratio in the peripheral blood of patients with HBV-HCC and analyzed tumor progression. The tissue samples from patients with HBV-HCC were further used for multiple immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS In patients with HBV-HCC with tumor progression, the ratio of NKG2A/NKG2D is higher in NK cells and T cells. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the NKG2A/NKG2D ratio on NK cells could predict tumor progression in patients with HBV-HCC, and that an increase in this ratio was associated with inhibition of NK cell function. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was further used to verify that the higher the NKG2A/NKG2D ratio, the shorter the progression-free survival of patients with HCC, and the more likely the immune function was suppressed. CONCLUSIONS The imbalance between NKG2A and NKG2D of NK cells is involved in NK cell immunosuppression, and the increase of the NKG2A/NKG2D ratio is related to the tumor progression of HBV-HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihua Yu
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Sun
- Department of Pathology, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoli Liu
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinhui Wang
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Huiwen Yan
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Pu
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuqing Xie
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuyong Jiang
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Juan Du
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiyun Yang
- Center of Integrative Medicine, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Shirane M, Yawata N, Motooka D, Shibata K, Khor SS, Omae Y, Kaburaki T, Yanai R, Mashimo H, Yamana S, Ito T, Hayashida A, Mori Y, Numata A, Murakami Y, Fujiwara K, Ohguro N, Hosogai M, Akiyama M, Hasegawa E, Paley M, Takeda A, Maenaka K, Akashi K, Yokoyama WM, Tokunaga K, Yawata M, Sonoda KH. Corrigendum: Intraocular human cytomegaloviruses of ocular diseases are distinct from those of viremia and are capable of escaping from innate and adaptive immunity by exploiting HLA-E-mediated peripheral and central tolerance. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1124440. [PMID: 36685570 PMCID: PMC9851041 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1124440] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1008220.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariko Shirane
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Nobuyo Yawata
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan,Ocular inflammation and Immunology, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore,Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore,*Correspondence: Nobuyo Yawata,
| | - Daisuke Motooka
- Department of Infection Metagenomics, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan,Integrated Frontier Research for Medical Science Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kensuke Shibata
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan,Department of Molecular Immunology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Seik-Soon Khor
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yosuke Omae
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshikatsu Kaburaki
- Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan,Department of Ophthalmology, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Ryoji Yanai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Hisashi Mashimo
- Department of Ophthalmology, Japan Community Health Care Organization Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Yamana
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Takako Ito
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Akira Hayashida
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yasuo Mori
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Akihiko Numata
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yusuke Murakami
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kohta Fujiwara
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Ohguro
- Department of Ophthalmology, Japan Community Health Care Organization Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mayumi Hosogai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan
| | - Masato Akiyama
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Eiichi Hasegawa
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Michael Paley
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Atsunobu Takeda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Katsumi Maenaka
- Center for Research and Education on Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan,Laboratory of Biomolecular Science, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan,Global Station for Biosurfaces and Drug Discovery, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Koichi Akashi
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Wayne M. Yokoyama
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States,Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Katsushi Tokunaga
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Makoto Yawata
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research, ASTAR, Singapore, Singapore,Department of Pediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore,Department of Pediatrics, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore,Immunology Programme, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore,National University Singapore Medicine Immunology Translational Research Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore,International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Koh-Hei Sonoda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
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Cianga VA, Rusu C, Pavel-Tanasa M, Dascalescu A, Danaila C, Harnau S, Aanei CM, Cianga P. Combined flow cytometry natural killer immunophenotyping and KIR/HLA-C genotyping reveal remarkable differences in acute myeloid leukemia patients, but suggest an overall impairment of the natural killer response. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1148748. [PMID: 36960339 PMCID: PMC10028202 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1148748] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Natural killer (NK) cells are key anti-tumor effectors of the innate immunity. Phenotypic differences allow us to discriminate in between three functional stages of maturation, named immature, mature and hypermature that are distinctive in terms of receptor expression, cytokine secretion, cytotoxic properties and organ trafficking. NKs display an impressive repertoire of highly polymorphic germline encoded receptors that can be either activating, triggering the effector's function, or inhibitory, limiting the immune response. In our study, we have investigated peripheral blood NK cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Methods The Killer Immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and the HLA-C genotypes were assessed, as HLA-C molecules are cognate antigens for inhibitory KIRs. Results The AA mainly inhibitory KIR haplotype was found in a higher proportion in AML, while a striking low frequency of the 2DS3 characterized the mainly activating Bx haplotype. Flow cytometry immunophenotyping evidenced a lower overall count of NK cells in AML versus healthy controls, with lower percentages of the immature and mature subpopulations, but with a markedly increase of the hypermature NKs. The analysis of the KIR2DL1, KIR2DL2, KIR2DL3, KIR3DL1, and NKG2A inhibitory receptors surface expression revealed a remarkable heterogeneity. However, an overall trend for a higher expression in AML patients could be noticed in all maturation subpopulations. Some of the AML patients with complex karyotypes or displaying a FLT3 gene mutation proved to be extreme outliers in terms of NK cells percentages or inhibitory receptors expression. Discussion We conclude that while the genetic background investigation in AML offers important pieces of information regarding susceptibility to disease or prognosis, it is flow cytometry that is able to offer details of finesse in terms of NK numbers and phenotypes, necessary for an adequate individual evaluation of these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlad Andrei Cianga
- Department of Hematology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
- Department of Clinical Hematology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi, Romania
| | - Cristina Rusu
- Department of Genetics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
- *Correspondence: Cristina Rusu,
| | - Mariana Pavel-Tanasa
- Department of Immunology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
| | - Angela Dascalescu
- Department of Hematology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
- Department of Clinical Hematology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi, Romania
| | - Catalin Danaila
- Department of Hematology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
- Department of Clinical Hematology, Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi, Romania
| | - Sebastian Harnau
- Department of Immunology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
| | - Carmen-Mariana Aanei
- Laboratory of Hematology, Nord Hospital, CHU Saint Etienne, Cedex2, Saint-Étienne, France
- INSERM U1059-SAINBIOSE, Université de Lyon, Saint-Étienne, France
| | - Petru Cianga
- Department of Immunology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania
- Petru Cianga,
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Hasan MZ, Höltermann C, Petersen B, Schrod A, Mätz-Rensing K, Kaul A, Salinas G, Dressel R, Walter L. Detailed phenotypic and functional characterization of CMV-associated adaptive NK cells in rhesus macaques. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1028788. [PMID: 36518759 PMCID: PMC9742600 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1028788] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research on adaptive NK cells in rhesus macaques suffered from the lack of specific antibodies to differentiate between inhibitory CD94/NKG2A and stimulatory CD94/NKG2C heterodimeric receptors. Recently we reported an expansion of NKG2C receptor-encoding genes in rhesus macaques, but their expression and functional role on primary NK cells remained unknown due to this deficit. Thus, we established monoclonal antibodies 4A8 and 7B1 which show identical specificities and bind to both NKG2C-1 and NKG2C-2 but neither react with NKG2C-3 nor NKG2A on transfected cells. Using a combination of 4A8 and Z199 antibodies in multicolor flow cytometry we detected broad expression (4-73%) of NKG2C-1 and/or NKG2C-2 (NKG2C-1/2) on primary NK cells in rhesus macaques from our breeding colony. Stratifying our data to CMV-positive and CMV-negative animals, we noticed a higher proportion (23-73%) of primary NK cells expressing NKG2C-1/2 in CMV+ as compared to CMV- macaques (4-5%). These NKG2C-1/2-positive NK cells in CMV+ macaques are characterized by lower expression of IL12RB2, ZBTB16, SH2D1B, but not FCER1G, as well as high expression of IFNG, indicating that antibody 4A8 detects CMV-associated adaptive NK cells. Single cell RNA seq data of 4A8-positive NK cells from a rhCMV-positive macaque demonstrated that a high proportion of these adaptive NK cells transcribe in addition to NKG2C-1 and NKG2C-2 also NKG2C-3, but interestingly NKG2A as well. Remarkably, in comparison to NKG2A, NKG2C-1 and in particular NKG2C-2 bind Mamu-E with higher avidity. Primary NK cells exposed to Mamu-E-expressing target cells displayed strong degranulation as well as IFN-gamma expression of 4A8+ adaptive NK cells from rhCMV+ animals. Thus, despite co-expression of inhibitory and stimulatory CD94/NKG2 receptors the higher number of different stimulatory NKG2C receptors and their higher binding avidity to Mamu-E outreach inhibitory signaling via NKG2A. These data demonstrate the evolutionary conservation of the CMV-driven development of NKG2C-positive adaptive NK cells with particular molecular signatures in primates and with changes in gene copy numbers and ligand-binding strength of NKG2C isotypes. Thus, rhesus macaques represent a suitable and valuable nonhuman primate animal model to study the CMV-NKG2C liaison in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Zahidul Hasan
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany,PhD program Molecular Biology of Cells, GGNB, Georg August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Charlotte Höltermann
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany,PhD program Molecular Biology of Cells, GGNB, Georg August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Beatrix Petersen
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Annette Schrod
- Animal Husbandry, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Mätz-Rensing
- Pathology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Artur Kaul
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Gabriela Salinas
- NGS Core Unit for Integrative Genomics, Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ralf Dressel
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Immunology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lutz Walter
- Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany,*Correspondence: Lutz Walter,
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Fisher JG, Doyle ADP, Graham LV, Khakoo SI, Blunt MD. Disruption of the NKG2A:HLA-E Immune Checkpoint Axis to Enhance NK Cell Activation against Cancer. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:1993. [PMID: 36560403 PMCID: PMC9783329 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10121993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Ligation of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A by its ligand HLA-E negatively regulates the activation of natural killer (NK) cells, as well as subsets of CD8+ T cells and innate T cell populations. NKG2A has recently become a novel immune checkpoint target for the treatment of cancer and direct antibody mediated blockade of NKG2A function is currently under assessment in two phase 3 clinical trials. In addition to direct targeting, the NKG2A:HLA-E axis can also be disrupted indirectly via multiple different targeted cancer agents that were not previously recognised to possess immunomodulatory properties. Increased understanding of immune cell modulation by targeted cancer therapies will allow for the design of rational and more efficacious drug combination strategies to improve cancer patient outcomes. In this review, we summarise and discuss the various strategies currently in development which either directly or indirectly disrupt the NKG2A:HLA-E interaction to enhance NK cell activation against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Matthew D. Blunt
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
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31
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Romero-Martín L, Duran-Castells C, Olivella M, Rosás-Umbert M, Ruiz-Riol M, Sanchez J, Hartigan-O Connor D, Mothe B, Olvera À, Brander C. Disruption of the HLA-E/NKG2X axis is associated with uncontrolled HIV infections. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1027855. [PMID: 36466823 PMCID: PMC9716355 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1027855] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The contribution of the HLA-E/NKG2X axis in NK-mediated control of HIV infection remains unclear. We have studied the relationship between HLA-E expression and phenotypical as well as functional characteristics of NK cells, in the context of chronic HIV infection and in an in vitro model of acute infection. High viremia in HIV+ individuals was related to increased HLA-E expression, and changes in NK subpopulations, especially a reduction of the CD56bright as well as an increase in adaptive NK subpopulation. Uncontrolled HIV infection was also characterized by a reversion of the NKG2A/NKG2C expression ratio and a loss of positive and negative regulation of NK mediated by HLA-E. This was reflected in a lower cytotoxic, degranulation and cytokine production capacity, especially in CD56bright and adaptive NK. In line with these results, HLA-E expression showed a positive correlation with viral growth inhibition in an in vitro model of acute infection at day 7, which was lost after 14 days of culture. Using HLA-E expressing K562 cells, we determined that only one out of 11 described HIV-derived HLA-E epitopes increased HLA-E surface stability. In spite of that, eight of the 11 epitopes were capable of increasing degranulation and three drove differences in NK-cell mediated cell lysis or cytokine secretion. In conclusion, our results indicate that HLA-E molecules presenting HIV-derived epitopes may sensitize target cells for NK lysis in early HIV infection. However, prolonged exposure to elevated HLA-E expression levels in vivo may lead to NK cell dysfunction and reduced viral control In chronic infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Romero-Martín
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Duran-Castells
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mireia Olivella
- University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
| | - Míriam Rosás-Umbert
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
| | - Marta Ruiz-Riol
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- CIBERINFEC, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Dennis Hartigan-O Connor
- California National Primate Research Center and Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Beatriz Mothe
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- Fundació Lluita contra la Sida, Infectious Disease Department, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
| | - Àlex Olvera
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- CIBERINFEC, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christian Brander
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
- University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- CIBERINFEC, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
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32
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Ureña-Bailén G, Dobrowolski JM, Hou Y, Dirlam A, Roig-Merino A, Schleicher S, Atar D, Seitz C, Feucht J, Antony JS, Mohammadian Gol T, Handgretinger R, Mezger M. Preclinical Evaluation of CRISPR-Edited CAR-NK-92 Cells for Off-the-Shelf Treatment of AML and B-ALL. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:12828. [PMID: 36361619 PMCID: PMC9655234 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232112828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [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: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) are severe blood malignancies affecting both adults and children. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapies have proven highly efficacious in the treatment of leukemia. However, the challenge of the immune escape of cancer cells remains. The development of more affordable and ready-to-use therapies is essential in view of the costly and time-consuming preparation of primary cell-based treatments. In order to promote the antitumor function against AML and B-ALL, we transduced NK-92 cells with CD276-CAR or CD19-CAR constructs. We also attempted to enhance cytotoxicity by a gene knockout of three different inhibitory checkpoints in NK cell function (CBLB, NKG2A, TIGIT) with CRISPR-Cas9 technology. The antileukemic activity of the generated cell lines was tested with calcein and luciferase-based cytotoxicity assays in various leukemia cell lines. Both CAR-NK-92 exhibited targeted cytotoxicity and a significant boost in antileukemic function in comparison to parental NK-92. CRISPR-Cas9 knock-outs did not improve B-ALL cytotoxicity. However, triple knock-out CD276-CAR-NK-92 cells, as well as CBLB or TIGIT knock-out NK-92 cells, showed significantly enhanced cytotoxicity against U-937 or U-937 CD19/tag AML cell lines. These results indicate that the CD19-CAR and CD276-CAR-NK-92 cell lines' cytotoxic performance is suitable for leukemia killing, making them promising off-the-shelf therapeutic candidates. The knock-out of CBLB and TIGIT in NK-92 and CD276-CAR-NK-92 should be further investigated for the treatment of AML.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Antigens, CD19
- B7 Antigens/metabolism
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Killer Cells, Natural
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/metabolism
- Lymphoma, B-Cell
- Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/metabolism
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Ureña-Bailén
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Jérôme-Maurice Dobrowolski
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Yujuan Hou
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Alicia Dirlam
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | | | - Sabine Schleicher
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Atar
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Christian Seitz
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Judith Feucht
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Justin S. Antony
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Tahereh Mohammadian Gol
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Rupert Handgretinger
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Markus Mezger
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital, University Hospital Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
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33
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Shirane M, Yawata N, Motooka D, Shibata K, Khor SS, Omae Y, Kaburaki T, Yanai R, Mashimo H, Yamana S, Ito T, Hayashida A, Mori Y, Numata A, Murakami Y, Fujiwara K, Ohguro N, Hosogai M, Akiyama M, Hasegawa E, Paley M, Takeda A, Maenaka K, Akashi K, Yokoyama WM, Tokunaga K, Yawata M, Sonoda KH. Intraocular human cytomegaloviruses of ocular diseases are distinct from those of viremia and are capable of escaping from innate and adaptive immunity by exploiting HLA-E-mediated peripheral and central tolerance. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1008220. [PMID: 36341392 PMCID: PMC9626817 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1008220] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections develop into CMV diseases that result in various forms of manifestations in local organs. CMV-retinitis is a form of CMV disease that develops in immunocompromised hosts with CMV-viremia after viruses in the peripheral circulation have entered the eye. In the HCMV genome, extensive diversification of the UL40 gene has produced peptide sequences that modulate NK cell effector functions when loaded onto HLA-E and are subsequently recognized by the NKG2A and NKG2C receptors. Notably, some HCMV strains carry UL40 genes that encode peptide sequences identical to the signal peptide sequences of specific HLA-A and HLA-C allotypes, which enables these CMV strains to escape HLA-E-restricted CD8+T cell responses. Variations in UL40 sequences have been studied mainly in the peripheral blood of CMV-viremia cases. In this study, we sought to investigate how ocular CMV disease develops from CMV infections. CMV gene sequences were compared between the intraocular fluids and peripheral blood of 77 clinical cases. UL40 signal peptide sequences were more diverse, and multiple sequences were typically present in CMV-viremia blood compared to intraocular fluid. Significantly stronger NK cell suppression was induced by UL40-derived peptides from intraocular HCMV compared to those identified only in peripheral blood. HCMV present in intraocular fluids were limited to those carrying a UL40 peptide sequence corresponding to the leader peptide sequence of the host's HLA class I, while UL40-derived peptides from HCMV found only in the peripheral blood were disparate from any HLA class I allotype. Overall, our analyses of CMV-retinitis inferred that specific HCMV strains with UL40 signal sequences matching the host's HLA signal peptide sequences were those that crossed the blood-ocular barrier to enter the intraocular space. UL40 peptide repertoires were the same in the intraocular fluids of all ocular CMV diseases, regardless of host immune status, implying that virus type is likely to be a common determinant in ocular CMV disease development. We thus propose a mechanism for ocular CMV disease development, in which particular HCMV types in the blood exploit peripheral and central HLA-E-mediated tolerance mechanisms and, thus, escape the antivirus responses of both innate and adaptive immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariko Shirane
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Nobuyo Yawata
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Ocular inflammation and Immunology, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Daisuke Motooka
- Department of Infection Metagenomics, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Integrated Frontier Research for Medical Science Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kensuke Shibata
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
- Department of Molecular Immunology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Seik-Soon Khor
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yosuke Omae
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshikatsu Kaburaki
- Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jichi Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, Japan
| | - Ryoji Yanai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Hisashi Mashimo
- Department of Ophthalmology, Japan Community Health Care Organization Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Satoshi Yamana
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Takako Ito
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Akira Hayashida
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yasuo Mori
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Akihiko Numata
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yusuke Murakami
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kohta Fujiwara
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Ohguro
- Department of Ophthalmology, Japan Community Health Care Organization Hospital, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mayumi Hosogai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan
| | - Masato Akiyama
- Department of Ocular Pathology and Imaging Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Eiichi Hasegawa
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Michael Paley
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Atsunobu Takeda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Katsumi Maenaka
- Center for Research and Education on Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Science, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
- Global Station for Biosurfaces and Drug Discovery, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Koichi Akashi
- Department of Medicine and Biosystemic Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Science, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Wayne M. Yokoyama
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Katsushi Tokunaga
- Genome Medical Science Project, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Makoto Yawata
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research, ASTAR, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Pediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Pediatrics, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
- Immunology Programme, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- National University Singapore Medicine Immunology Translational Research Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- International Research Center for Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
| | - Koh-Hei Sonoda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
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34
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Salomé B, Sfakianos JP, Ranti D, Daza J, Bieber C, Charap A, Hammer C, Banchereau R, Farkas AM, Ruan DF, Izadmehr S, Geanon D, Kelly G, de Real RM, Lee B, Beaumont KG, Shroff S, Wang YA, Wang YC, Thin TH, Garcia-Barros M, Hegewisch-Solloa E, Mace EM, Wang L, O'Donnell T, Chowell D, Fernandez-Rodriguez R, Skobe M, Taylor N, Kim-Schulze S, Sebra RP, Palmer D, Clancy-Thompson E, Hammond S, Kamphorst AO, Malmberg KJ, Marcenaro E, Romero P, Brody R, Viard M, Yuki Y, Martin M, Carrington M, Mehrazin R, Wiklund P, Mellman I, Mariathasan S, Zhu J, Galsky MD, Bhardwaj N, Horowitz A. NKG2A and HLA-E define an alternative immune checkpoint axis in bladder cancer. Cancer Cell 2022; 40:1027-1043.e9. [PMID: 36099881 PMCID: PMC9479122 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-blockade immunotherapies have limited efficacy in the treatment of bladder cancer. Here, we show that NKG2A associates with improved survival and responsiveness to PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy in bladder tumors that have high abundance of CD8+ T cells. In bladder tumors, NKG2A is acquired on CD8+ T cells later than PD-1 as well as other well-established immune checkpoints. NKG2A+ PD-1+ CD8+ T cells diverge from classically defined exhausted T cells through their ability to react to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-deficient tumors using T cell receptor (TCR)-independent innate-like mechanisms. HLA-ABC expression by bladder tumors is progressively diminished as disease progresses, framing the importance of targeting TCR-independent anti-tumor functions. Notably, NKG2A+ CD8+ T cells are inhibited when HLA-E is expressed by tumors and partly restored upon NKG2A blockade in an HLA-E-dependent manner. Overall, our study provides a framework for subsequent clinical trials combining NKG2A blockade with other T cell-targeted immunotherapies, where tumors express higher levels of HLA-E.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bérengère Salomé
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - John P Sfakianos
- Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Daniel Ranti
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Jorge Daza
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Christine Bieber
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Andrew Charap
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Christian Hammer
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA; Department of Human Genetics, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Romain Banchereau
- Department of Oncology Biomarker Development, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Adam M Farkas
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Dan Fu Ruan
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Sudeh Izadmehr
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Daniel Geanon
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Geoffrey Kelly
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ronaldo M de Real
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Brian Lee
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Kristin G Beaumont
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Sanjana Shroff
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Yuanshuo A Wang
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ying-Chih Wang
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Tin Htwe Thin
- Pathology, Molecular and Cell Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Monica Garcia-Barros
- Pathology, Molecular and Cell Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Everardo Hegewisch-Solloa
- Department of Pediatrics, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Emily M Mace
- Department of Pediatrics, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Sema4, a Mount Sinai Venture, Stamford, CT 06902, USA
| | - Timothy O'Donnell
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Diego Chowell
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ruben Fernandez-Rodriguez
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Mihaela Skobe
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Nicole Taylor
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Seunghee Kim-Schulze
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Robert P Sebra
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Sema4, a Mount Sinai Venture, Stamford, CT 06902, USA; Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Doug Palmer
- AstraZeneca, Oncology R & D Unit, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA
| | | | - Scott Hammond
- AstraZeneca, Oncology R & D Unit, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA
| | - Alice O Kamphorst
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Karl-Johan Malmberg
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Pedro Romero
- Department of Oncology UNIL CHUV, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Rachel Brody
- Pathology, Molecular and Cell Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Mathias Viard
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
| | - Yuko Yuki
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
| | - Maureen Martin
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
| | - Mary Carrington
- Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21701, USA; Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Reza Mehrazin
- Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Peter Wiklund
- Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ira Mellman
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Sanjeev Mariathasan
- Department of Oncology Biomarker Development, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jun Zhu
- Center for Advanced Genomics Technology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Sema4, a Mount Sinai Venture, Stamford, CT 06902, USA
| | - Matthew D Galsky
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Nina Bhardwaj
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Amir Horowitz
- The Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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Battin C, Kaufmann G, Leitner J, Tobias J, Wiedermann U, Rölle A, Meyer M, Momburg F, Steinberger P. NKG2A-checkpoint inhibition and its blockade critically depends on peptides presented by its ligand HLA-E. Immunology 2022; 166:507-521. [PMID: 35596615 PMCID: PMC9426624 DOI: 10.1111/imm.13515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
NKG2A has emerged as a new immunotherapy target and its blockade with the novel immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monalizumab can boost both NK cell and CD8+ T cell responses. NKG2A forms heterodimers with CD94 and binds to the human non-classical MHC class I molecule HLA-E. HLA-E forms complexes with a limited set of peptides mainly derived from the leader sequences of the classical MHC class I molecules (HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C) and the non-classical class I paralogue HLA-G, and it is well established that the interaction between CD94/NKG2x receptors and its ligand HLA-E is peptide-sensitive. Here, we have evaluated peptide dependence of NKG2A-mediated inhibition and the efficiency of interference by monalizumab in a transcriptional T cell reporter system. NKG2A inhibition was mediated by cell-expressed HLA-E molecules stably presenting disulfate-trapped peptide ligands. We show that different HLA-class I leader peptides mediate varying levels of inhibition. We have used NKG2A/NKG2C chimeric receptors to map the binding site of NKG2A and NKG2C blocking antibodies. Furthermore, we determined the functional EC50 values of blocking NKG2A antibodies and show that they greatly depend on the HLA-leader peptide presented by HLA-E. Monalizumab was less effective in augmenting NK cell-mediated killing of target cells displaying HLA-G peptide on HLA-E, than cells expressing HLA-E complexed with HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C peptides. Our results indicate that peptides displayed by HLA-E molecules on tumour cells might influence the effectivity of NKG2A-ICI therapy and potentially suggest novel approaches for patient stratification, for example, based on tumoral HLA-G levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Battin
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gabriel Kaufmann
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Judith Leitner
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Joshua Tobias
- Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Ursula Wiedermann
- Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Alexander Rölle
- Clinical Cooperation Unit “Applied Tumor Immunity”German Cancer Research CenterHeidelbergGermany
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor DiseasesUniversity Hospital HeidelbergHeidelbergGermany
| | - Marten Meyer
- Clinical Cooperation Unit “Applied Tumor Immunity”German Cancer Research CenterHeidelbergGermany
- Antigen Presentation and T/NK Cell Activation GroupDKFZHeidelbergGermany
| | - Frank Momburg
- Clinical Cooperation Unit “Applied Tumor Immunity”German Cancer Research CenterHeidelbergGermany
- Antigen Presentation and T/NK Cell Activation GroupDKFZHeidelbergGermany
| | - Peter Steinberger
- Division of Immune Receptors and T Cell Activation, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and ImmunologyMedical University of ViennaViennaAustria
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Hosseini E, Sarraf Kazerooni E, Azarkeivan A, Sharifi Z, Shahabi M, Ghasemzadeh M. HLA-E*01:01 allele is associated with better response to anti-HCV therapy while homozygous status for HLA-E*01:03 allele increases the resistance to anti-HCV treatments in frequently transfused thalassemia patients. Hum Immunol 2022; 83:556-563. [PMID: 35570067 DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2022.04.010] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND HLA-E binding to NKG2A/CD94 induces inhibitory signals that modulate NK cells cytotoxicity against infected targets. HCV-derived peptides stabilize HLA-E molecule that favours its higher expression. However, HLA-E stability and expression vary in different genotypes where the presence of HLA-E*01:03 allele is associated with higher HLA-E expression on targets that enhances NK cells inhibition and increases the chance of virus to escape from innate immune system. Here, we aimed to investigate whether HLA-E polymorphism affects HCV infection status or its treatment in major thalassemia patients who are more vulnerable to hepatitis C. METHODS AND MATERIALS Study included 89 cases of major thalassemia positive for HCV-antibody; of those 17 patients were negative for HCV-PCR (spontaneously cleared) and 72 patients were HCV-PCR positive (persistent hepatitis under different anti-viral treatment). 16 major thalassemia patients without hepatitis, negative for HCV-antibody were also considered as patients control group. Genomic DNAs extracted from whole bloods were genotyped for HLA-E locus using a sequence specific primer-PCR strategy. RESULTS In thalassemia patients, HLA-E*01:03 allele increased susceptibility to HCV infection [p = 0.02; 4.74(1.418-15.85)]. In addition, HLA-E*01:03/*01:03 genotype predicted more resistance to HCV treatment compared to other genotypes [p = 0.037; 3.5(1.1-11.4)]. In other words, we found that the presence of HLA-E*01:01 allele favors better response to anti-HCV therapy [p = 0.037; 3.5(1.1-11.4)]. CONCLUSION From a mechanistic point of view, the associations between HLA-E polymorphisms and susceptibility to HCV infection or its therapeutic resistance in thalassemia patients may suggest potential roles for the innate and adaptive immune responses to this infection, which are manifested by the acts of HLA-E - NKG2A/CD94 axis in the modulation of NK cell inhibitory function as well as HLA-E associated CD8+ T cell cytolytic activity against HCV, respectively. Notably, from a clinical point of view, paying attention to these associations may not only be useful in increasing the effectiveness of current anti-HCV regimens comprising direct acting antivirals (DAAs) in more complicated patients, but may also suggest antiviral prophylaxis for patients more vulnerable to HCV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehteramolsadat Hosseini
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ehsan Sarraf Kazerooni
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azita Azarkeivan
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran; Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Thalassemia Clinic, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zohreh Sharifi
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Shahabi
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehran Ghasemzadeh
- Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
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Xu Z, Yin J, Sun Q, Hu J, Hong M, Qian S, Liu W. The prognostic role of NKG2A expression for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia after treatment discontinuation. Leuk Lymphoma 2022; 63:2616-2626. [PMID: 35758278 DOI: 10.1080/10428194.2022.2090549] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the possibility of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) discontinuation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients who obtained sustained deep molecular response (DMR) and to explore the prognostic role of NK cells in treatment-free remission (TFR). Sixty CML patients who discontinued TKI treatment were enrolled, and we also investigated the immune profiles in 27 CML patients after TKI cessation. Of the 60 patients, the estimated TFR rate was 60.8% [95% CI: 49.5-74.8%] at 12 months. Patients who had longer TKI duration, major molecular response, and DMR maintenance time had a significantly higher TFR rate. And a higher percentage of NKG2A+NK cells and NKG2A+CD56brightCD16-NK cells were independent prognostic factors of TFR in multivariate analysis. These results indicate the practicality of the cessation of TKIs and patients with stable NK cell counts accompanied by higher cytotoxicity and increased killing capacity are more inclined to get sustained treatment-free survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyao Xu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jinyu Yin
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qian Sun
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jinhua Hu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ming Hong
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Sixuan Qian
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenjie Liu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China.,Key Laboratory of Hematology of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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38
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Walters LC, Rozbesky D, Harlos K, Quastel M, Sun H, Springer S, Rambo RP, Mohammed F, Jones EY, McMichael AJ, Gillespie GM. Primary and secondary functions of HLA-E are determined by stability and conformation of the peptide-bound complexes. Cell Rep 2022; 39:110959. [PMID: 35705051 PMCID: PMC9380258 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
MHC-E regulates NK cells by displaying MHC class Ia signal peptides (VL9) to NKG2A:CD94 receptors. MHC-E can also present sequence-diverse, lower-affinity, pathogen-derived peptides to T cell receptors (TCRs) on CD8+ T cells. To understand these affinity differences, human MHC-E (HLA-E)-VL9 versus pathogen-derived peptide structures are compared. Small-angle X-ray scatter (SAXS) measures biophysical parameters in solution, allowing comparison with crystal structures. For HLA-E-VL9, there is concordance between SAXS and crystal parameters. In contrast, HLA-E-bound pathogen-derived peptides produce larger SAXS dimensions that reduce to their crystallographic dimensions only when excess peptide is supplied. Further crystallographic analysis demonstrates three amino acids, exclusive to MHC-E, that not only position VL9 close to the α2 helix, but also allow non-VL9 peptide binding with re-configuration of a key TCR-interacting α2 region. Thus, non-VL9-bound peptides introduce an alternative peptide-binding motif and surface recognition landscape, providing a likely basis for VL9- and non-VL9-HLA-E immune discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy C Walters
- Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK
| | - Daniel Rozbesky
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karl Harlos
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Max Quastel
- Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK
| | - Hong Sun
- Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK; Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Sebastian Springer
- Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Robert P Rambo
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK
| | - Fiyaz Mohammed
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - E Yvonne Jones
- Division of Structural Biology, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Andrew J McMichael
- Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK.
| | - Geraldine M Gillespie
- Nuffield Department of Medicine Research Building, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK.
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Jaiswal SR, Arunachalam J, Saifullah A, Lakhchaura R, Tailor D, Mehta A, Bhagawati G, Aiyer H, Khamar B, Malhotra SV, Chakrabarti S. Impact of an Immune Modulator Mycobacterium-w on Adaptive Natural Killer Cells and Protection Against COVID-19. Front Immunol 2022; 13:887230. [PMID: 35603154 PMCID: PMC9115578 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.887230] [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: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The kinetics of NKG2C+ adaptive natural killer (ANK) cells and NKG2A+inhibitory NK (iNK) cells with respect to the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection were studied for 6 months in a cohort of healthcare workers following the administration of the heat-killed Mycobacterium w (Mw group) in comparison to a control group. In both groups, corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) correlated with lower NKG2C+ANK cells at baseline. There was a significant upregulation of NKG2C expression and IFN-γ release in the Mw group (p=0.0009), particularly in those with a lower baseline NKG2C expression, along with the downregulation of iNK cells (p<0.0001). This translated to a significant reduction in the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in the Mw group (incidence risk ratio-0.15, p=0.0004). RNA-seq analysis at 6 months showed an upregulation of the ANK pathway genes and an enhanced ANK-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) signature. Thus, Mw was observed to have a salutary impact on the ANK cell profile and a long-term upregulation of ANK-ADCC pathways, which could have provided protection against COVID-19 in a non-immune high-risk population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarita Rani Jaiswal
- Cellular Therapy and Immunology, Manashi Chakrabarti Foundation, New Delhi, India
- Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Dharamshila Narayana Super-Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Amity University, Noida, India
| | - Jaganath Arunachalam
- Cellular Therapy and Immunology, Manashi Chakrabarti Foundation, New Delhi, India
| | - Ashraf Saifullah
- Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Dharamshila Narayana Super-Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Rohit Lakhchaura
- Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Dharamshila Narayana Super-Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Dhanir Tailor
- Department of Cell, Development & Cancer Biology and Center for Experimental Therapeutics, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Anupama Mehta
- Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Dharamshila Narayana Super-Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Gitali Bhagawati
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Dharamshila Narayana Super-speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Hemamalini Aiyer
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Dharamshila Narayana Super-speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Bakulesh Khamar
- Research & Development, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Ahmedabad, India
| | - Sanjay V. Malhotra
- Department of Cell, Development & Cancer Biology and Center for Experimental Therapeutics, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Suparno Chakrabarti
- Cellular Therapy and Immunology, Manashi Chakrabarti Foundation, New Delhi, India
- Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Dharamshila Narayana Super-Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India
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Hammer Q, Dunst J, Christ W, Picarazzi F, Wendorff M, Momayyezi P, Huhn O, Netskar HK, Maleki KT, García M, Sekine T, Sohlberg E, Azzimato V, Aouadi M, Degenhardt F, Franke A, Spallotta F, Mori M, Michaëlsson J, Björkström NK, Rückert T, Romagnani C, Horowitz A, Klingström J, Ljunggren HG, Malmberg KJ. SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13 encodes for an HLA-E-stabilizing peptide that abrogates inhibition of NKG2A-expressing NK cells. Cell Rep 2022; 38:110503. [PMID: 35235832 PMCID: PMC8858686 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [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: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that contribute to host defense against virus infections. NK cells respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro and are activated in patients with acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, by which mechanisms NK cells detect SARS-CoV-2-infected cells remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the Non-structural protein 13 of SARS-CoV-2 encodes for a peptide that is presented by human leukocyte antigen E (HLA-E). In contrast with self-peptides, the viral peptide prevents binding of HLA-E to the inhibitory receptor NKG2A, thereby rendering target cells susceptible to NK cell attack. In line with these observations, NKG2A-expressing NK cells are particularly activated in patients with COVID-19 and proficiently limit SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected lung epithelial cells in vitro. Thus, these data suggest that a viral peptide presented by HLA-E abrogates inhibition of NKG2A+ NK cells, resulting in missing self-recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quirin Hammer
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Josefine Dunst
- Division of Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Wanda Christ
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Francesca Picarazzi
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Mareike Wendorff
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Pouria Momayyezi
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Oisín Huhn
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Herman K Netskar
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kimia T Maleki
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marina García
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Takuya Sekine
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ebba Sohlberg
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Valerio Azzimato
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Myriam Aouadi
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Frauke Degenhardt
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andre Franke
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Francesco Spallotta
- Institute for Systems Analysis and Computer Science "A. Ruberti," National Research Council (IASI-CNR), Rome, Italy
| | - Mattia Mori
- Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Jakob Michaëlsson
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niklas K Björkström
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Timo Rückert
- Innate Immunity, Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ), Institute of the Leibniz Association, Berlin, Germany
| | - Chiara Romagnani
- Innate Immunity, Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ), Institute of the Leibniz Association, Berlin, Germany; Division of Gastroenterology, Infectiology and Rheumatology, Medical Department I, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Amir Horowitz
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Precision Immunology Institute, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonas Klingström
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karl-Johan Malmberg
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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Abstract
The two γ-herpesviruses Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) are each associated with more than 1% of all tumors in humans. While EBV establishes persistent infection in nearly all adult individuals, KSHV benefits from this widespread EBV prevalence for its own persistence. Interestingly, EBV infection expands early differentiated NKG2A+KIR- NK cells that protect against lytic EBV infection, while KSHV co-infection drives accumulation of poorly functional CD56-CD16+ NK cells. Thus persistent γ-herpesvirus infections are sculptors of human NK cell repertoires and the respectively stimulated NK cell subsets should be considered for immunotherapies of EBV and KSHV associated malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Münz
- Viral Immunobiology, Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zürich, Switzerland.
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42
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Chen X, Lin Y, Yue S, Yang Y, Wang X, Pan Z, Yang X, Gao L, Zhou J, Li Z, Hu L, Tang J, Wu Q, Wang Y, Tian Q, Hao Y, Xu L, Zhu B, Huang Q, Ye L. Differential expression of inhibitory receptor NKG2A distinguishes disease-specific exhausted CD8 + T cells. MedComm (Beijing) 2022; 3:e111. [PMID: 35281793 PMCID: PMC8906559 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.111] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Exhausted CD8+ T (Tex) cells are caused by persistent antigenic stimulation during chronic viral infection or tumorigenesis. Tex cells upregulate and sustain the expressions of multiple immune inhibitory receptors (IRs). Blocking IRs of Tex cells, exemplified by PD-1, can partially restore their effector functions and thus lead to viral suppression or tumor remission. Tex cells derived from chronic viral infections share the expression spectrum of IRs with Tex cells derived from tumors; however, whether any IRs are selectively expressed by tumor-derived Tex cells or virus-derived Tex cells remains to be learnt. In the study, we found that Tex cells upregulate IR natural killer cell lectin-like receptor isoform A (NKG2A) specifically in the context of tumor but not chronic viral infection. Moreover, the NKG2A expression is attributed to tumor antigen recognition and thus bias expressed by tumor-specific Tex cells in the tumor microenvironment instead of their counterparts in the periphery. Such dichotomous NKG2A expression further dictates the differential responsiveness of Tex cells to NKG2A immune checkpoint blockade. Therefore, our study highlighted NKG2A as a disease-dependent IR and provided novel insights into the distinct regulatory mechanisms underlying T cell exhaustion between tumor and chronic viral infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyu Chen
- School of Laboratory Medicine and BiotechnologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Institute of Cancer, Xinqiao HospitalThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Yao Lin
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Shuai Yue
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Yang Yang
- School of Laboratory Medicine and BiotechnologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Xinxin Wang
- Institute of Cancer, Xinqiao HospitalThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Zhiwei Pan
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Xiaofan Yang
- Dermatology HospitalSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Leiqiong Gao
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Jing Zhou
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Zhirong Li
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Li Hu
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Jianfang Tang
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Qing Wu
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Yifei Wang
- School of Laboratory Medicine and BiotechnologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Qin Tian
- Dermatology HospitalSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Yaxing Hao
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Lifan Xu
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Bo Zhu
- Institute of Cancer, Xinqiao HospitalThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Qizhao Huang
- School of Laboratory Medicine and BiotechnologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Lilin Ye
- School of Laboratory Medicine and BiotechnologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
- Institute of ImmunologyThird Military Medical UniversityChongqingChina
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Fisher JG, Walker CJ, Doyle ADP, Johnson PWM, Forconi F, Cragg MS, Landesman Y, Khakoo SI, Blunt MD. Selinexor Enhances NK Cell Activation Against Malignant B Cells via Downregulation of HLA-E. Front Oncol 2021; 11:785635. [PMID: 34926302 PMCID: PMC8672299 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.785635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Selinexor is an FDA approved selective inhibitor of the nuclear export protein exportin-1 (XPO1) and causes specific cancer cell death via nuclear accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins. Design of rational studies for the use of selinexor in combination with other therapeutic agents, such as immunotherapies, requires a fundamental understanding of the effects of selinexor on the immune system. One important emerging area of immunotherapy are natural killer (NK) cell based therapeutics. NK cell function is tightly regulated by a balance of signals derived from multiple activating and inhibitory receptors. Thus in cancer, up-regulation of stress ligands recognised by activating receptors or down-regulation of HLA class I recognised by inhibitory receptors can result in an anti-cancer NK cell response. Changes in XPO1 function therefore have the potential to affect NK cell function through shifting this balance. We therefore sought to investigate how selinexor may affect NK cell function. Selinexor pre-treatment of lymphoma cells significantly increased NK cell mediated cytotoxicity against SU-DHL-4, JeKo-1 and Ramos cells, concurrent with increased CD107a and IFNγ expression on NK cells. In addition, selinexor enhanced ADCC against lymphoma cells coated with the anti-CD20 antibodies rituximab and obinutuzumab. In probing the likely mechanism, we identified that XPO1 inhibition significantly reduced the surface expression of HLA-E on lymphoma cell lines and on primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. HLA-E binds the inhibitory receptor NKG2A and in accordance with this, selinexor selectively increased activation of NKG2A+ NK cells. Our data reveals that selinexor, in addition to its direct cytotoxic activity, also activates an anti-cancer immune response via disruption of the inhibitory NKG2A:HLA-E axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack G. Fisher
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J. Walker
- Research & Translational Development, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Newton, MA, United States
| | - Amber DP. Doyle
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Peter WM. Johnson
- School of Cancer Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Francesco Forconi
- School of Cancer Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Mark S. Cragg
- School of Cancer Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Yosef Landesman
- Research & Translational Development, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Newton, MA, United States
| | - Salim. I. Khakoo
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew D. Blunt
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
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Borst L, Sluijter M, Sturm G, Charoentong P, Santegoets SJ, van Gulijk M, van Elsas MJ, Groeneveldt C, van Montfoort N, Finotello F, Trajanoski Z, Kiełbasa SM, van der Burg SH, van Hall T. NKG2A is a late immune checkpoint on CD8 T cells and marks repeated stimulation and cell division. Int J Cancer 2021; 150:688-704. [PMID: 34716584 PMCID: PMC9299709 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The surface inhibitory receptor NKG2A forms heterodimers with the invariant CD94 chain and is expressed on a subset of activated CD8 T cells. As antibodies to block NKG2A are currently tested in several efficacy trials for different tumor indications, it is important to characterize the NKG2A+ CD8 T cell population in the context of other inhibitory receptors. Here we used a well‐controlled culture system to study the kinetics of inhibitory receptor expression. Naïve mouse CD8 T cells were synchronously and repeatedly activated by artificial antigen presenting cells in the presence of the homeostatic cytokine IL‐7. The results revealed NKG2A as a late inhibitory receptor, expressed after repeated cognate antigen stimulations. In contrast, the expression of PD‐1, TIGIT and LAG‐3 was rapidly induced, hours after first contact and subsequently down regulated during each resting phase. This late, but stable expression kinetics of NKG2A was most similar to that of TIM‐3 and CD39. Importantly, single‐cell transcriptomics of human tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) showed indeed that these receptors were often coexpressed by the same CD8 T cell cluster. Furthermore, NKG2A expression was associated with cell division and was promoted by TGF‐β in vitro, although TGF‐β signaling was not necessary in a mouse tumor model in vivo. In summary, our data show that PD‐1 reflects recent TCR triggering, but that NKG2A is induced after repeated antigen stimulations and represents a late inhibitory receptor. Together with TIM‐3 and CD39, NKG2A might thus mark actively dividing tumor‐specific TILs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Borst
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marjolein Sluijter
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gregor Sturm
- Institute of Bioinformatics, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Pornpimol Charoentong
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, Applied Tumor Immunity, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Saskia J Santegoets
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mandy van Gulijk
- Department of Pulmonology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marit J van Elsas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christianne Groeneveldt
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nadine van Montfoort
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Francesca Finotello
- Institute of Bioinformatics, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Zlatko Trajanoski
- Institute of Bioinformatics, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Szymon M Kiełbasa
- Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd H van der Burg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thorbald van Hall
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Orrantia A, Terrén I, Astarloa-Pando G, González C, Uranga A, Mateos-Mazón JJ, García-Ruiz JC, Riñón M, Rey M, Pérez-Fernandez S, Zenarruzabeitia O, Borrego F. NK Cell Reconstitution After Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Association Between NK Cell Maturation Stage and Outcome in Multiple Myeloma. Front Immunol 2021; 12:748207. [PMID: 34675932 PMCID: PMC8524090 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.748207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (autoHSCT) is a standard of care for transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Among factors that influence outcome after autoHSCT, it has been suggested that the number of natural killer (NK) cells plays an important role. However, the impact that different NK cell subsets and their phenotype could have in disease progression after autoHSCT are less clear. For this reason, we have phenotypically and functionally characterized NK cells during immune system reconstitution after autoHSCT in 54 MM patients. Shortly after leukocyte recovery, an extensive redistribution of NK cell subsets occurs in these patients. In addition, NK cells undergo a profound phenotypic change characterized, among others, by their increased proliferative capacity and immature phenotype. Importantly, MM patients who showed lower frequencies of the mature highly differentiated NKG2A-CD57+ NK cell subset at +30 and +100 days after autoHSCT experienced superior progression-free survival and had a longer time to the next treatment than those with higher frequencies. Our results provide significant insights into NK cell reconstitution after autoHSCT and suggest that the degree of NK cell maturation after autoHSCT affects the clinical outcome of MM patients treated with this therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ane Orrantia
- Immunopathology Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Iñigo Terrén
- Immunopathology Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
| | | | - Carmen González
- Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Hematology and Hemotherapy Service, Donostia University Hospital, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Alasne Uranga
- Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Hematology and Hemotherapy Service, Donostia University Hospital, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Juan J Mateos-Mazón
- Hematological Cancer Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Hematology and Hemotherapy Service, Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Juan C García-Ruiz
- Hematological Cancer Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Hematology and Hemotherapy Service, Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Marta Riñón
- Regulation of the Immune System Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Immunology Service, Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Mercedes Rey
- Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Immunology Service, Donostia University Hospital, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Silvia Pérez-Fernandez
- Scientific Coordination Facility, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Olatz Zenarruzabeitia
- Immunopathology Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
| | - Francisco Borrego
- Immunopathology Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
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Galot R, Le Tourneau C, Saada-Bouzid E, Daste A, Even C, Debruyne P, Henry S, Zanetta S, Rutten A, Licitra L, Canon JL, Kaminsky MC, Specenier P, Rottey S, Guigay J, Kong A, Tinhofer I, Borcoman E, Dirix L, Raveloarivahy T, Fortpied C, Vanlancker M, Morfouace M, Govaerts AS, Machiels JP. A phase II study of monalizumab in patients with recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: The I1 cohort of the EORTC-HNCG-1559 UPSTREAM trial. Eur J Cancer 2021; 158:17-26. [PMID: 34638090 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [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: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Monalizumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting the inhibitory natural killer group 2A (NKG2A) receptor localised on natural killer (NK) and T cells. Its ligand, the human leukocyte antigen E (HLA-E), is overexpressed in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). By targeting the HLA-E-NKG2A pathway, monalizumab may enhance NK and T cell activity. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The UPSTREAM trial is a biomarker-driven umbrella trial studying targeted therapies and immunotherapies in patients with recurrent/metastatic (R/M) SCCHN progressing after platinum therapy. The immunotherapy 1 (I1) cohort was a phase II, single-arm substudy evaluating monalizumab (10 mg/kg intravenously on day 1 of a 14-day cycle). The primary end-point was the objective response (OR) rate (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1) over the first 16 weeks. A two-stage Simon design was used (H1 15%, H0 3%, α 8%, power 90%) with pre-planned interruption of accrual if no OR was observed after the first 25 patients. RESULTS Twenty-six eligible patients were enrolled. Seventeen (65%) patients had received ≥2 previous lines of systemic treatment, and 15 (58%) patients were PD(-L)1 inhibitor pretreated. No OR was observed. Stable disease was observed in 6 patients (23%) with a median duration of 3.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.7-NE). The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 1.7 months (95% CI: 1.5-1.8) and 6.7 months (95% CI: 3.0-9.6), respectively. The most frequent treatment-related adverse event was grade I/II fatigue (19%). CONCLUSIONS Monalizumab monotherapy has limited activity in R/M SCCHN. The I1 cohort did not meet its primary objective. Monalizumab combined with durvalumab is under investigation within UPSTREAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Galot
- Service d'Oncologie Médicale, Institut Roi Albert II, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc and Institut de Recherche Clinique et Expérimentale, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Christophe Le Tourneau
- Department of Drug Development and Innovation, Institut Curie, Paris, Saint-Cloud, France; INSERM U900 Research Unit, Saint-Cloud, France; Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France.
| | - Esma Saada-Bouzid
- Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Antoine Lacassagne, 33 Avenue de Valombrose, 06189 Nice Cedex 2, France.
| | - Amaury Daste
- Département d'Oncologie Médicale, Hôpital Saint André, CHU de Bordeaux, 1 Rue Jean Burguet, 33075, Bordeaux Cedex, France.
| | - Caroline Even
- Head and Neck Department, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
| | - Philip Debruyne
- Kortrijk Cancer Centre, General Hospital Groeninge, Kortrijk, Belgium; School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Stéphanie Henry
- Université Catholique de Louvain, CHU UCL Namur, Département d'oncologie Médicale, Site Ste Elisabeth, Place Louise Godin 15, B5000, Namur, Belgium.
| | - Sylvie Zanetta
- Département d'oncologie Médicale, Centre GF Leclerc, 1 Rue Du Pr Marion, 21000 DIJON, France.
| | | | - Lisa Licitra
- Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology Department, Fondazione IRCCS "Istituto Nazionale Dei Tumori, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-oncology, University of Milan, Italy.
| | - Jean-Luc Canon
- Grand Hôpital de Charleroi, Pôle Cancer et Maladies Du Sang, Site Notre Dame, Grand Rue 3, 6000 Charleroi, Belgium.
| | - Marie-Christine Kaminsky
- Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine - Alexis Vautrin, 6 Avenue de Bourgogne - CS 30519, 54519 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex, France.
| | - Pol Specenier
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2610 Edegem, Belgium.
| | - Sylvie Rottey
- Drug Research Unit Ghent and Department Medical Oncology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Gent, C. Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
| | - Joël Guigay
- Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Antoine Lacassagne, 33 Avenue de Valombrose, 06189 Nice Cedex 2, France.
| | - Anthony Kong
- Comprehensive Cancer Centre, King's College London, Guy's Campus, Room 2.36b New Hunt's House, London SE1 1UL, UK.
| | - Inge Tinhofer
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Radiooncology and Radiotherapy, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Edith Borcoman
- Department of Drug Development and Innovation, Institut Curie, Paris, Saint-Cloud, France.
| | - Lieve Dirix
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Tiana Raveloarivahy
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Catherine Fortpied
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Maureen Vanlancker
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Marie Morfouace
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Anne-Sophie Govaerts
- European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Jean-Pascal Machiels
- Service d'Oncologie Médicale, Institut Roi Albert II, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc and Institut de Recherche Clinique et Expérimentale, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
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47
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Huang RYC, Wang Y, Jhatakia AD, Deng AX, Bee C, Deshpande S, Rangan VS, Bezman N, Gudmundsson O, Chen G. Higher-Order Structure Characterization of NKG2A/CD94 Protein Complex and Anti-NKG2A Antibody Binding Epitopes by Mass Spectrometry-Based Protein Footprinting Strategies. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2021; 32:1567-1574. [PMID: 33415981 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.0c00399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
NK group 2 member A (NKG2A), an immune checkpoint inhibitor, is an emerging therapeutic target in immuno-oncology. NKG2A forms a heterodimer with CD94 on the cell surface of NK and a subset of T cells and recognizes the nonclassical human leukocyte antigen (HLA-E) in humans. Therapeutic blocking antibodies that block the ligation between HLA-E and NKG2A/CD94 have been shown to enhance antitumor immunity in mice and humans. In this study, we illustrate the practical utilities of mass spectrometry (MS)-based protein footprinting in areas from reagent characterization to antibody epitope mapping. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) in the higher-order structure characterization of NKG2A in complex with CD94 provides novel insights into the conformational dynamics of NKG2A/CD94 heterodimer. To fully understand antibody/target interactions, we employed complementary protein footprinting methods, including HDX-MS and fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP)-MS, to determine the binding epitopes of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting NKG2A. Such a combination approach provides molecular insights into the binding mechanisms of antibodies to NKG2A with high specificity, demonstrating the blockade of NKG2A/HLA-E interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Y-C Huang
- Pharmaceutical Candidate Optimization, Nonclinical Research and Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, New Jersey United States
| | - Yun Wang
- Pharmaceutical Candidate Optimization, Nonclinical Research and Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, New Jersey United States
| | - Amy D Jhatakia
- Discovery Biology, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Andy X Deng
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Christine Bee
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Shrikant Deshpande
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Vangipuram S Rangan
- Discovery Biotherapeutics, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Natalie Bezman
- Discovery Biology, Research and Early Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Redwood City, California United States
| | - Olafur Gudmundsson
- Pharmaceutical Candidate Optimization, Nonclinical Research and Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, New Jersey United States
| | - Guodong Chen
- Pharmaceutical Candidate Optimization, Nonclinical Research and Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, New Jersey United States
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48
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Duygu B, Olieslagers TI, Groeneweg M, Voorter CEM, Wieten L. HLA Class I Molecules as Immune Checkpoints for NK Cell Alloreactivity and Anti-Viral Immunity in Kidney Transplantation. Front Immunol 2021; 12:680480. [PMID: 34295330 PMCID: PMC8290519 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.680480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that can kill diseased- or virally-infected cells, mediate antibody dependent cytotoxicity and produce type I immune-associated cytokines upon activation. NK cells also contribute to the allo-immune response upon kidney transplantation either by promoting allograft rejection through lysis of cells of the transplanted organ or by promoting alloreactive T cells. In addition, they protect against viral infections upon transplantation which may be especially relevant in patients receiving high dose immune suppression. NK cell activation is tightly regulated through the integrated balance of signaling via inhibitory- and activating receptors. HLA class I molecules are critical regulators of NK cell activation through the interaction with inhibitory- as well as activating NK cell receptors, hence, HLA molecules act as critical immune checkpoints for NK cells. In the current review, we evaluate how NK cell alloreactivity and anti-viral immunity are regulated by NK cell receptors belonging to the KIR family and interacting with classical HLA class I molecules, or by NKG2A/C and LILRB1/KIR2DL4 engaging non-classical HLA-E or -G. In addition, we provide an overview of the methods to determine genetic variation in these receptors and their HLA ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burcu Duygu
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.,GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Timo I Olieslagers
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.,GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Mathijs Groeneweg
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.,GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Christina E M Voorter
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.,GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Lotte Wieten
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.,GROW, School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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49
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Münz C. Natural Killer Cell Responses during Human γ-Herpesvirus Infections. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:655. [PMID: 34203904 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9060655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Herpesviruses are main sculptors of natural killer (NK) cell repertoires. While the β-herpesvirus human cytomegalovirus (CMV) drives the accumulation of adaptive NKG2C-positive NK cells, the human γ-herpesvirus Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) expands early differentiated NKG2A-positive NK cells. While adaptive NK cells support adaptive immunity by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, NKG2A-positive NK cells seem to preferentially target lytic EBV replicating B cells. The importance of this restriction of EBV replication during γ-herpesvirus pathogenesis will be discussed. Furthermore, the modification of EBV-driven NK cell expansion by coinfections, including by the other human γ-herpesvirus Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), will be summarized.
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50
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Saputro RD, Rinonce HT, Iramawasita Y, Ridho MR, Pudjohartono MF, Anwar SL, Setiaji K, Aryandono T. Potential prognostic value of PD-L1 and NKG2A expression in Indonesian patients with skin nodular melanoma. BMC Res Notes 2021; 14:206. [PMID: 34049578 PMCID: PMC8161664 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-021-05623-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Biomarker mRNA levels have been suggested to be predictors of patient survival and therapy response in melanoma cases. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between the mRNA expression levels of PD-L1 and NKG2A in melanoma tissue with clinicopathologic characteristics and survival in Indonesian primary nodular melanoma patients. RESULTS Thirty-one tissue samples were obtained; two were excluded from survival analysis due to Breslow depth of less than 4 mm. The median survival of upregulated and normoregulated PD-L1-patients were 15.800 ± 2.345 and 28.945 ± 4.126 months, respectively. However, this difference was not significant statistically (p = 0.086). Upregulated and normoregulated NKG2A patients differed very little in median survival time (25.943 ± 7.415 vs 26.470 ± 3.854 months; p = 0.981). Expression of PD-L1 and NKG2A were strongly correlated (rs: 0.787, p < 0.001). No clinicopathologic associations with PD-L1 and NKG2A mRNA levels were observed. These results suggest that PD-L1 may have potential as a prognostic factor. Although an unlikely prognostic factor, NKG2A may become an adjunct target for therapy. The strong correlation between PD-L1 and NKG2A suggests that anti-PD-1 and anti-NKG2A agents could be effective in patients with PD-L1 upregulation. The mRNA levels of these two genes may help direct choice of immunotherapy and predict patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ridwan Dwi Saputro
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Hanggoro Tri Rinonce
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman , Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
| | - Yayuk Iramawasita
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman , Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Muhammad Rasyid Ridho
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman , Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Maria Fransiska Pudjohartono
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman , Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Sumadi Lukman Anwar
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Kunto Setiaji
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - Teguh Aryandono
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada/Dr. Sardjito Hospital , Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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