Surface anchorage of superantigen SEA promotes induction of specific antitumor immune response by tumor-derived exosomes

Tumor-derived exosomes have been regarded as a new kind of cancer vaccine; however, their therapeutic efficacy needs to be further improved. Superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA)-coated tumor cells have been shown to potently induce tumor-specific T cell response. To increase efficacy of tumor-derived exosomes to induce antitumor immune response, we modified the exosomes by protein transfer of SEA tailed with a highly hydrophobic transmembrane domain (SEA-TM) and designated those SEA-TM-anchored exosomes as Exo/SEA-TM. We found the exosomes secreted from murine lymphoma E.G7-OVA cell line were round vesicles with the sizes of 40-100 nm limited by a bilayer membrane. Interestingly, the inner structure of the exosomes were visible under the transmission electron microscope; those "honeycomb-like" inner structure has not been described by other labs. Immunization with Exo/SEA-TM inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival of the mice challenged with parental tumor cells more significantly than with exosomes (Exo) and even more than with the mixture of exosomes and SEA-TM. The results of mixed lymphocyte-tumor reaction (MLTR) showed that the increased IL-2, IFN-gamma secretion, and specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) could be effectively induced from the splenic lymphocytes of the mice immunized with Exo/SEA-TM. In vivo depletion experiments showed that CD8(+) T cells are the main effector cells, and both CD4(+) T cells and NK cells are also involved in the antitumor effect of Exo/SEA-TM immunization. Therefore, tumor-derived exosomes surface anchored with SEA-TM can efficiently induce tumor-specific CTL thereby resulting in more potent inhibition of tumor growth. Our data provide an efficient and novel approach to tumor immunotherapy by protein modification of tumor-derived exosomes.

Interactions between saporin, a ribosome-inactivating protein, and DNA: a study by atomic force microscopy

Saporins are enzymes belonging to the PNAG class (polynucleotide: adenosine glycosidase), plant enzymes commonly known as ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP), as a result of their property of irreversibly damaging eukaryotic ribosomes. Direct imaging with tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to study pGEM-4Z plasmid DNA binding to the saporin-SO6 (isoform from Saponaria officinalis seeds). Saporin wrapped the plasmidic DNA, and distribution of the enzyme molecules along the DNA chain was markedly variable; plasmid digested with saporin-SO6 appeared fragmented or topologically modified. The supercoiled DNA strands were cleaved, giving rise to a linearized form and to relaxed forms. Electrophoretic analysis of the effect of standard preparations of saporin-SO6 on pGEM-4S confirmed the presence of DNA strand-cleaving activity.