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St John LS, Wan L, He H, Garber HR, Clise-Dwyer K, Alatrash G, Rezvani K, Shpall EJ, Bollard CM, Ma Q, Molldrem JJ. PR1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes are relatively frequent in umbilical cord blood and can be effectively expanded to target myeloid leukemia. Cytotherapy 2017; 18:995-1001. [PMID: 27378343 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2016.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS PR1 is an HLA-A2 restricted leukemia-associated antigen derived from neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3, both of which are normally stored in the azurophil granules of myeloid cells but overexpressed in myeloid leukemic cells. PR1-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes (PR1-CTLs) have activity against primary myeloid leukemia in vitro and in vivo and thus could have great potential in the setting of adoptive cellular therapy (ACT). Adult peripheral blood-derived PR1-CTLs are infrequent but preferentially lyse myeloid leukemia cells. We sought to examine PR1-CTLs in umbilical cord blood (UCB) because UCB units provide a rapidly available cell source and a lower risk of graft-versus-host disease, even in the setting of mismatched human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci. METHODS We first determined the frequency of PR1-CTLs in HLA-A2(+) UCB units and then successfully expanded them ex vivo using repeated stimulation with PR1 peptide-pulsed antigen-presenting cells (APCs). After expansion, we assessed the PR1-CTL phenotype (naive, effector, memory) and function against PR1-expressing target cells. RESULTS PR1-CTLs are detected at an average frequency of 0.14% within the CD8(+) population of fresh UCB units, which is 45 times higher than in healthy adult peripheral blood. UCB PR1-CTLs are phenotypically naive, consistent with the UCB CD8(+) population as a whole. In addition, the cells can be expanded by stimulation with PR1 peptide-pulsed APCs. Expansion results in an increased frequency of PR1-CTLs, up to 4.56%, with an average 20-fold increase in total number. After expansion, UCB PR1-CTLs express markers consistent with effector memory T cells. Expanded UCB PR1-CTLs are functional in vitro as they are able to produce cytokines and lyse PR1-expressing leukemia cell lines. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first report to show that T cells specific for a leukemia-associated antigen are found at a significantly higher frequency in UCB than adult blood. Our results also demonstrate specific cytotoxicity of expanded UCB-derived PR1-CTLs against PR1-expressing targets. Together, our data suggest that UCB PR1-CTLs could be useful to prevent or treat leukemia relapse in myeloid leukemia patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa S St John
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Liping Wan
- Department of Hematology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated First People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong He
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Haven R Garber
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Karen Clise-Dwyer
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Gheath Alatrash
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Katayoun Rezvani
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Shpall
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Catherine M Bollard
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Qing Ma
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Molldrem
- Section of Transplantation Immunology, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
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