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Immunopeptidomics-based design of mRNA vaccine formulations against Listeria monocytogenes. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6075. [PMID: 36241641 PMCID: PMC9562072 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33721-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne intracellular bacterial pathogen leading to human listeriosis. Despite a high mortality rate and increasing antibiotic resistance no clinically approved vaccine against Listeria is available. Attenuated Listeria strains offer protection and are tested as antitumor vaccine vectors, but would benefit from a better knowledge on immunodominant vector antigens. To identify novel antigens, we screen for Listeria peptides presented on the surface of infected human cell lines by mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics. In between more than 15,000 human self-peptides, we detect 68 Listeria immunopeptides from 42 different bacterial proteins, including several known antigens. Peptides presented on different cell lines are often derived from the same bacterial surface proteins, classifying these antigens as potential vaccine candidates. Encoding these highly presented antigens in lipid nanoparticle mRNA vaccine formulations results in specific CD8+ T-cell responses and induces protection in vaccination challenge experiments in mice. Our results can serve as a starting point for the development of a clinical mRNA vaccine against Listeria and aid to improve attenuated Listeria vaccines and vectors, demonstrating the power of immunopeptidomics for next-generation bacterial vaccine development.
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Nielsen M, Ternette N, Barra C. The interdependence of machine learning and LC-MS approaches for an unbiased understanding of the cellular immunopeptidome. Expert Rev Proteomics 2022; 19:77-88. [PMID: 35390265 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2022.2064278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The comprehensive collection of peptides presented by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules on the cell surface is collectively known as the immunopeptidome. The analysis and interpretation of such data sets holds great promise for furthering our understanding of basic immunology and adaptive immune activation and regulation, and for direct rational discovery of T cell antigens and the design of T-cell based therapeutics and vaccines. These applications are however challenged by the complex nature of immunopeptidome data. AREAS COVERED Here, we describe the benefits and shortcomings of applying liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) to obtain large scale immunopeptidome data sets and illustrate how the accurate analysis and optimal interpretation of such data is reliant on the availability of refined and highly optimized machine learning approaches. EXPERT OPINION Further we demonstrate how the accuracy of immunoinformatics prediction methods within the field of MHC antigen presentation has benefited greatly from the availability of MS-immunopeptidomics data, and exemplify how optimal antigen discovery is best performed in a synergistic combination of MS experiments and such in silico models trained on large scale immunopeptidomics data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morten Nielsen
- Department of Health technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nicola Ternette
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Carolina Barra
- Department of Health technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
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Lee MY, Jeon JW, Sievers C, Allen CT. Antigen processing and presentation in cancer immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2020-001111. [PMID: 32859742 PMCID: PMC7454179 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Knowledge about and identification of T cell tumor antigens may inform the development of T cell receptor-engineered adoptive cell transfer or personalized cancer vaccine immunotherapy. Here, we review antigen processing and presentation and discuss limitations in tumor antigen prediction approaches. Methods Original articles covering antigen processing and presentation, epitope discovery, and in silico T cell epitope prediction were reviewed. Results Natural processing and presentation of antigens is a complex process that involves proteasomal proteolysis of parental proteins, transportation of digested peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum, loading of peptides onto major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules, and shuttling of peptide:MHC complexes to the cell surface. A number of T cell tumor antigens have been experimentally validated in patients with cancer. Assessment of predicted MHC class I binding and total score for these validated T cell antigens demonstrated a wide range of values, with nearly one-third of validated antigens carrying an IC50 of greater than 500 nM. Conclusions Antigen processing and presentation is a complex, multistep process. In silico epitope prediction techniques can be a useful tool, but comprehensive experimental testing and validation on a patient-by-patient basis may be required to reliably identify T cell tumor antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell Y Lee
- NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jun W Jeon
- NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Cem Sievers
- NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Clint T Allen
- NIDCD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Lee SY, Ko DH, Son MJ, Kim JA, Jung K, Kim YS. Affinity Maturation of a T-Cell Receptor-Like Antibody Specific for a Cytomegalovirus pp65-Derived Peptide Presented by HLA-A*02:01. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052349. [PMID: 33652936 PMCID: PMC7956451 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is widespread among adults (60–90%) and is usually undetected in healthy individuals without symptoms but can cause severe diseases in immunocompromised hosts. T-cell receptor (TCR)-like antibodies (Abs), which recognize complex antigens (peptide–MHC complex, pMHC) composed of MHC molecules with embedded short peptides derived from intracellular proteins, including pathogenic viral proteins, can serve as diagnostic and/or therapeutic agents. In this study, we aimed to engineer a TCR-like Ab specific for pMHC comprising a CMV pp65 protein-derived peptide (495NLVPMVATV503; hereafter, CMVpp65495-503) in complex with MHC-I molecule human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02:01 (CMVpp65495-503/HLA-A*02:01) to increase affinity by sequential mutagenesis of complementarity-determining regions using yeast surface display technology. Compared with the parental Ab, the final generated Ab (C1-17) showed ~67-fold enhanced binding affinity (KD ≈ 5.2 nM) for the soluble pMHC, thereby detecting the cell surface-displayed CMVpp65495-503/HLA-A*02:01 complex with high sensitivity and exquisite specificity. Thus, the new high-affinity TCR-like Ab may be used for the detection and treatment of CMV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Se-Young Lee
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; (S.-Y.L.); (D.-H.K.); (M.-J.S.); (J.-A.K.)
| | - Deok-Han Ko
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; (S.-Y.L.); (D.-H.K.); (M.-J.S.); (J.-A.K.)
| | - Min-Jeong Son
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; (S.-Y.L.); (D.-H.K.); (M.-J.S.); (J.-A.K.)
| | - Jeong-Ah Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; (S.-Y.L.); (D.-H.K.); (M.-J.S.); (J.-A.K.)
| | - Keunok Jung
- Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, Korea;
| | - Yong-Sung Kim
- Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea; (S.-Y.L.); (D.-H.K.); (M.-J.S.); (J.-A.K.)
- Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, Korea;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-31-219-2662; Fax: +82-31-219-1610
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Meng Q, Wu Y, Sui X, Meng J, Wang T, Lin Y, Wang Z, Zhou X, Qi Y, Du J, Gao Y. POTN: A Human Leukocyte Antigen-A2 Immunogenic Peptides Screening Model and Its Applications in Tumor Antigens Prediction. Front Immunol 2020; 11:02193. [PMID: 33133063 PMCID: PMC7579403 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.02193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Whole genome/exome sequencing data for tumors are now abundant, and many tumor antigens, especially mutant antigens (neoantigens), have been identified for cancer immunotherapy. However, only a small fraction of the peptides from these antigens induce cytotoxic T cell responses. Therefore, efficient methods to identify these antigenic peptides are crucial. The current models of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) binding and antigenic prediction are still inaccurate. In this study, 360 9-mer peptides with verified immunological activity were selected to construct a prediction of tumor neoantigen (POTN) model, an immunogenic prediction model specifically for the human leukocyte antigen-A2 allele. Based on the physicochemical properties of amino acids, such as the residue propensity, hydrophobicity, and organic solvent/water, we found that the predictive capability of POTN is superior to that of the prediction programs SYPEITHI, IEDB, and NetMHCpan 4.0. We used POTN to screen peptides for the cancer-testis antigen located on the X chromosome, and we identified several peptides that may trigger immunogenicity. We synthesized and measured the binding affinity and immunogenicity of these peptides and found that the accuracy of POTN is higher than that of NetMHCpan 4.0. Identifying the properties related to the T cell response or immunogenicity paves the way to understanding the MHC/peptide/T cell receptor complex. In conclusion, POTN is an efficient prediction model for screening high-affinity immunogenic peptides from tumor antigens, and thus provides useful information for developing cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqing Meng
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yahong Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xinghua Sui
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jingjie Meng
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Tingting Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yan Lin
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Zhiwei Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xiuman Zhou
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yuanming Qi
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jiangfeng Du
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yanfeng Gao
- School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
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Kardani K, Bolhassani A, Namvar A. An overview of in silico vaccine design against different pathogens and cancer. Expert Rev Vaccines 2020; 19:699-726. [PMID: 32648830 DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2020.1794832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Due to overcome the hardness of the vaccine design, computational vaccinology is emerging widely. Prediction of T cell and B cell epitopes, antigen processing analysis, antigenicity analysis, population coverage, conservancy analysis, allergenicity assessment, toxicity prediction, and protein-peptide docking are important steps in the process of designing and developing potent vaccines against various viruses and cancers. In order to perform all of the analyses, several bioinformatics tools and online web servers have been developed. Scientists must take the decision to apply more suitable and precise servers for each part based on their accuracy. AREAS COVERED In this review, a wide-range list of different bioinformatics tools and online web servers has been provided. Moreover, some studies were proposed to show the importance of various bioinformatics tools for predicting and developing efficient vaccines against different pathogens including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi as well as cancer. EXPERT OPINION Immunoinformatics is the best way to find potential vaccine candidates against different pathogens. Thus, the selection of the most accurate tools is necessary to predict and develop potent preventive and therapeutic vaccines. To further evaluation of the computational and in silico vaccine design, in vitro/in vivo analyses are required to develop vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimia Kardani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran, Iran.,Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran
| | - Azam Bolhassani
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Namvar
- Iranian Comprehensive Hemophilia Care Center , Tehran, Iran
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Dutoit V, Migliorini D, Ranzanici G, Marinari E, Widmer V, Lobrinus JA, Momjian S, Costello J, Walker PR, Okada H, Weinschenk T, Herold-Mende C, Dietrich PY. Antigenic expression and spontaneous immune responses support the use of a selected peptide set from the IMA950 glioblastoma vaccine for immunotherapy of grade II and III glioma. Oncoimmunology 2017; 7:e1391972. [PMID: 29308320 PMCID: PMC5749651 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1391972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Revised: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Gliomas are lethal brain tumors that resist standard therapeutic approaches. Immunotherapy is a promising alternative strategy mostly developed in the context of glioblastoma. However, there is a need for implementing immunotherapy for grade II/III gliomas, as these are the most common CNS tumors in young adults with a high propensity for recurrence, making them lethal despite current treatments. We recently identified HLA-A2-restricted tumor-associated antigens by peptide elution from glioblastoma and formulated a multipeptide vaccine (IMA950) evaluated in phase I/II clinical trials with promising results. Here, we investigated expression of the IMA950 antigens in patients with grade II/III astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma or ependymoma, at the mRNA, protein and peptide levels. We report that the BCAN, CSPG4, IGF2BP3, PTPRZ1 and TNC proteins are significantly over-expressed at the mRNA (n = 159) and protein (n = 36) levels in grade II/III glioma patients as compared to non-tumor samples (IGF2BP3 being absent from oligodendroglioma). Most importantly, we detected spontaneous antigen-specific T cell responses to one or more of the IMA950 antigens in 100% and 71% of grade II and grade III patients, respectively (27 patients tested). These patients displayed T cell responses of better quality (higher frequency, broader epitope targeting) than patients with glioblastoma. Detection of spontaneous T cell responses to the IMA950 antigens shows that these antigens are relevant for tumor targeting, which will be best achieved by combination with CD4 epitopes such as the IDH1R132H peptide. Altogether, we provide the rationale for using a selective set of IMA950 peptides for vaccination of patients with grade II/III glioma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Dutoit
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Denis Migliorini
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Giulia Ranzanici
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Eliana Marinari
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Valérie Widmer
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Johannes Alexander Lobrinus
- Division of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland
| | - Shahan Momjian
- Neurosurgery Service, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland
| | - Joseph Costello
- Brain Tumor Research Centre, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, Room 779 M, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Paul R Walker
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
| | - Hideho Okada
- Brain Tumor Research Centre, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, Room 779 M, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Cancer Immunotherapy Program, University of California San Francisco and The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, 1 Letterman Drive, Suite D3500, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Toni Weinschenk
- Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, Paul-Ehrlich-Strasse 15, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christel Herold-Mende
- Division of Experimental Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Pierre-Yves Dietrich
- Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1204 Geneva 11, Switzerland and Department of Internal Medicine Specialties, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1205 Geneva Switzerland
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Schumacher FR, Delamarre L, Jhunjhunwala S, Modrusan Z, Phung QT, Elias JE, Lill JR. Building proteomic tool boxes to monitor MHC class I and class II peptides. Proteomics 2017; 17. [PMID: 27928884 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201600061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2016] [Revised: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex Class I (MHCI) and Class II (MHCII) presented peptides powerfully modulate T cell immunity and play a vital role in generating effective anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses in mammals. Characterizing these MHCI or MHCII presented peptides can help generate therapeutic treatments, afford information on T cell mediated biomarkers, provide insight into disease progression, and reduce adverse anti-drug side effects from engineered biotherapeutics. Here, we explore the tools and techniques commonly employed to discover both MHCI- and MHCII-presented peptides. We describe complementary strategies that enhance the characterization of these peptides and the informatics tools employed for both predicting and characterizing MHCI- and MHCII-presented epitopes. The evolution of methodologies for isolating MHC-presented peptides is discussed, as are the mass spectrometric workflows that can be employed for their characterization. We provide a perspective on where this field is headed, and how these tools may be applicable to the discovery and monitoring of epitopes in a variety of scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lélia Delamarre
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Suchit Jhunjhunwala
- Department of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Zora Modrusan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Qui T Phung
- Department of Proteomics and Biological Resources, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua E Elias
- Department of Chemical & Systems Biology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jennie R Lill
- Department of Proteomics & Biological Resources, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA
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Levine HA, Smiley MW, Tucker AL, Nilsen-Hamilton M. A Mathematical Model for the Onset of Avascular Tumor Growth in Response to the Loss of P53 Function. Cancer Inform 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/117693510600200022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a mathematical model for the formation of an avascular tumor based on the loss by gene mutation of the tumor suppressor function of p53. The wild type p53 protein regulates apoptosis, cell expression of growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase, which are regulatory functions that many mutant p53 proteins do not possess. The focus is on a description of cell movement as the transport of cell population density rather than as the movement of individual cells. In contrast to earlier works on solid tumor growth, a model is proposed for the initiation of tumor growth. The central idea, taken from the mathematical theory of dynamical systems, is to view the loss of p53 function in a few cells as a small instability in a rest state for an appropriate system of differential equations describing cell movement. This instability is shown (numerically) to lead to a second, spatially inhomogeneous, solution that can be thought of as a solid tumor whose growth is nutrient diffusion limited. In this formulation, one is led to a system of nine partial differential equations. We show computationally that there can be tumor states that coexist with benign states and that are highly unstable in the sense that a slight increase in tumor size results in the tumor occupying the sample region while a slight decrease in tumor size results in its ultimate disappearance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Howard A. Levine
- Department of Mathematics, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011
| | - Michael W. Smiley
- Department of Mathematics, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011
| | - Anna L. Tucker
- Department of Mathematics, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011
| | - Marit Nilsen-Hamilton
- Department of Mathematics, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011
- Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011
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Gupta S, Chaudhary K, Dhanda SK, Kumar R, Kumar S, Sehgal M, Nagpal G, Raghava GPS. A Platform for Designing Genome-Based Personalized Immunotherapy or Vaccine against Cancer. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166372. [PMID: 27832200 PMCID: PMC5104390 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to advancement in sequencing technology, genomes of thousands of cancer tissues or cell-lines have been sequenced. Identification of cancer-specific epitopes or neoepitopes from cancer genomes is one of the major challenges in the field of immunotherapy or vaccine development. This paper describes a platform Cancertope, developed for designing genome-based immunotherapy or vaccine against a cancer cell. Broadly, the integrated resources on this platform are apportioned into three precise sections. First section explains a cancer-specific database of neoepitopes generated from genome of 905 cancer cell lines. This database harbors wide range of epitopes (e.g., B-cell, CD8+ T-cell, HLA class I, HLA class II) against 60 cancer-specific vaccine antigens. Second section describes a partially personalized module developed for predicting potential neoepitopes against a user-specific cancer genome. Finally, we describe a fully personalized module developed for identification of neoepitopes from genomes of cancerous and healthy cells of a cancer-patient. In order to assist the scientific community, wide range of tools are incorporated in this platform that includes screening of epitopes against human reference proteome (http://www.imtech.res.in/raghava/cancertope/).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudheer Gupta
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Kumardeep Chaudhary
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Sandeep Kumar Dhanda
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Shailesh Kumar
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Manika Sehgal
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
| | - Gandharva Nagpal
- Bioinformatics Centre, CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh-160036, India
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Peper JK, Stevanović S. A combined approach of human leukocyte antigen ligandomics and immunogenicity analysis to improve peptide-based cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2015; 64:1295-303. [PMID: 25822767 PMCID: PMC11029747 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-015-1682-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The breakthrough development of immune checkpoint inhibitors as clinically effective novel therapies demonstrates the potential of cancer immunotherapy. The identification of suitable targets for specific immunotherapy, however, remains a challenging task. Most peptides previously used for vaccination in clinical trials were able to elicit strong immunological responses but failed with regard to clinical benefit. This might, at least partly, be caused by an inadequate peptide selection, usually derived from established tumor-associated antigens which are not necessarily presented as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands. Recently, HLA ligandome analysis revealed cancer-associated peptides, which have been used in clinical trials showing encouraging impact on survival. To improve peptide-based cancer immunotherapy, our group established a combined approach of HLA ligandomics and immunogenicity analysis for the identification of vaccine peptides. This approach is based on the identification of naturally presented HLA ligands on tumor samples, the selection of tumor-associated/tumor-specific HLA ligands and their subsequent testing for immunogenicity in vitro. In this review, we want to present our pipeline for the identification of vaccine peptides, focusing on ovarian cancer, and want to discuss differences to other approaches. Furthermore, we want to give a short outlook of a potential multi-peptide vaccination trial using the novel identified peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet Kerstin Peper
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076, Tübingen, Germany,
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12
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Polyakova A, Kuznetsova K, Moshkovskii S. Proteogenomics meets cancer immunology: mass spectrometric discovery and analysis of neoantigens. Expert Rev Proteomics 2015; 12:533-41. [DOI: 10.1586/14789450.2015.1070100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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13
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Human Tumor Antigens and Cancer Immunotherapy. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:948501. [PMID: 26161423 PMCID: PMC4487697 DOI: 10.1155/2015/948501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2014] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
With the recent developments of adoptive T cell therapies and the use of new monoclonal antibodies against the immune checkpoints, immunotherapy is at a turning point. Key players for the success of these therapies are the cytolytic T lymphocytes, which are a subset of T cells able to recognize and kill tumor cells. Here, I review the nature of the antigenic peptides recognized by these T cells and the processes involved in their presentation. I discuss the importance of understanding how each antigenic peptide is processed in the context of immunotherapy and vaccine delivery.
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Pritchard AL, Hastie ML, Neller M, Gorman JJ, Schmidt CW, Hayward NK. Exploration of peptides bound to MHC class I molecules in melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 2015; 28:281-94. [PMID: 25645385 DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Advancements in high-resolution HPLC and mass spectrometry have reinvigorated the application of this technology to identify peptides eluted from immunopurified MHC class I molecules. Three melanoma cell lines were assessed using w6/32 isolation, peptide elution and HPLC purification; peptides were identified by mass spectrometry. A total of 13,829 peptides were identified; 83-87% of these were 8-11 mers. Only approximately 15% have been described before. Subcellular locations of the source proteins showed even sampling; mRNA expression and total protein length were predictive of the number of peptides detected from a single protein. HLA-type binding prediction for 10,078 9/10 mer peptides assigned 88-95% to a patient-specific HLA subtype, revealing a disparity in strength of predicted binding. HLA-B*27-specific isolation successfully identified some peptides not found using w6/32. Sixty peptides were selected for immune screening, based on source protein and predicted HLA binding; no new peptides recognized by antimelanoma T cells were discovered. Additionally, mass spectrometry was unable to identify several epitopes targeted ex vivo by one patient's T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia L Pritchard
- Oncogenomics Research Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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15
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Ofuji K, Tada Y, Yoshikawa T, Shimomura M, Yoshimura M, Saito K, Nakamoto Y, Nakatsura T. A peptide antigen derived from EGFR T790M is immunogenic in non‑small cell lung cancer. Int J Oncol 2014; 46:497-504. [PMID: 25532027 PMCID: PMC4277252 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 10/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), such as gefitinib and erlotinib, have demonstrated marked clinical activity against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. However, in most cases, patients develop acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI therapy. The threonine to methionine change at codon 790 of EGFR (EGFR T790M) mutation is the most common acquired resistance mutation, and is present in ~50% cases of TKI resistance. New treatment strategies for NSCLC patients harboring the EGFR T790M mutation are required. We evaluated the immunogenicity of an antigen derived from EGFR with the T790M mutation. Using BIMAS we selected several EGFR T790M-derived peptides bound to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02:01. T790M-A peptide (789–797) (IMQLMPFGC)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were induced from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of HLA-A2+ healthy donors. An established T790M-A-specific CTL line showed reactivity against the NCSLC cell line, H1975-A2 (HLA-A2+, T790M+), but not H1975 (HLA-A2−, T790M+), and the corresponding wild-type peptide (ITQLMPFGC)-pulsed T2 cells using an interferon-γ (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immuno spot (ELISPOT) assay. This CTL line also demonstrated peptide-specific cytotoxicity against H1975-A2 cells. This finding suggests that the EGFR T790M mutation-derived antigen could be a new target for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuya Ofuji
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yoshitaka Tada
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Yoshikawa
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Manami Shimomura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Mayuko Yoshimura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Keigo Saito
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yasunari Nakamoto
- Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Nakatsura
- Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
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16
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Therapeutic targeting of naturally presented myeloperoxidase-derived HLA peptide ligands on myeloid leukemia cells by TCR-transgenic T cells. Leukemia 2014; 28:2355-66. [PMID: 24736212 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2014.131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2013] [Revised: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 04/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
T cells have been proven to be therapeutically effective in patients with relapsed leukemias, although target antigens on leukemic cells as well as T-cell receptors (TCRs), potentially recognizing those antigens, are mostly unknown. We have applied an immunopeptidomic approach and isolated human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands from primary leukemia cells. We identified a number of ligands derived from different genes that are restrictedly expressed in the hematopoietic system. We exemplarily selected myeloperoxidase (MPO) as a potential target and isolated a high-avidity TCR with specificity for a HLA-B*07:02-(HLA-B7)-restricted epitope of MPO in the single HLA-mismatched setting. T cells transgenic for this TCR demonstrated high peptide and antigen specificity as well as leukemia reactivity in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, no significant on- and off-target toxicity could be observed. In conclusion, we here demonstrate, exemplarily for MPO, that leukemia-derived HLA ligands can be selected for specific effector tool development to redirect T cells to be used for graft manipulation or adoptive T-cell therapies in diverse transplant settings. This approach can be extended to other HLA ligands and HLA molecules in order to provide better treatment options for this life-threatening disease.
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17
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Espinosa G, Collado JA, Scholz E, Mestre-Ferrer A, Kuse N, Takiguchi M, Carrascal M, Canals F, Pujol-Borrell R, Jaraquemada D, Alvarez I. Peptides presented by HLA class I molecules in the human thymus. J Proteomics 2013; 94:23-36. [PMID: 24029068 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2013.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Revised: 08/26/2013] [Accepted: 08/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The thymus is the organ in which T lymphocytes mature. Thymocytes undergo exhaustive selection processes that require interactions between the TCRs and peptide-HLA complexes on thymus antigen-presenting cells. The thymic peptide repertoire associated with HLA molecules must mirror the peptidome that mature T cells will encounter at the periphery, including peptides that arise from tissue-restricted antigens. The transcriptome of specific thymus cell populations has been widely studied, but there are no data on the HLA-I peptidome of the human thymus. Here, we describe the HLA-I-bound peptide repertoire from thymus samples, showing that it is mostly composed of high-affinity ligands from cytosolic and nuclear proteins. Several proteins generated more than one peptide, and some redundant peptides were found in different samples, suggesting the existence of antigen immunodominance during the processes that lead to central tolerance. Three HLA-I ligands were found to be derived from proteins expressed by stromal cells, including one from the protein TBATA (or SPATIAL), which is present in the thymus, brain and testis. The expression of TBATA in medullary thymic epithelial cells has been reported to be AIRE dependent. Thus, this report describes the first identification of a thymus HLA-I natural ligand derived from an AIRE-dependent protein with restricted tissue expression. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE We present the first description of the HLA-I-bound peptide repertoire from ex vivo thymus samples. This repertoire is composed of standard ligands from cytosolic and nuclear proteins. Some peptides seem to be dominantly presented to thymocytes in the thymus. Most importantly, some HLA-I associated ligands derived from proteins expressed by stromal cells, including one peptide, restricted by HLA-A*31:01, arising from an AIRE-dependent protein with restricted tissue expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Espinosa
- Immunology Unit, Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology and Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
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18
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Abstract
The large-scale identification of MHC class I presented peptides is indispensable for gaining insight into the fundamental rules of immune recognition as well as it is an invaluable tool in identifying potential targets for the immunotherapy of disease. In this chapter we briefly review the existing strategies for the analysis of MHC ligandomes and provide an in-depth protocol for the immunoaffinity purification of MHC class I presented peptides from primary tissues or cells.
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19
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Abstract
The varied landscape of the adaptive immune response is determined by the peptides presented by immune cells, derived from viral or microbial pathogens or cancerous cells. The study of immune biomarkers or antigens is not new and classical methods such as agglutination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or Western blotting have been used for many years to study the immune response to vaccination or disease. However, in many of these traditional techniques, protein or peptide identification has often been the bottleneck. Recent advances in genomics and proteomics, has led to many of the rapid advances in proteomics approaches. Immunoproteomics describes a rapidly growing collection of approaches that have the common goal of identifying and measuring antigenic peptides or proteins. This includes gel based, array based, mass spectrometry, DNA based, or in silico approaches. Immunoproteomics is yielding an understanding of disease and disease progression, vaccine candidates, and biomarkers. This review gives an overview of immunoproteomics and closely related technologies that are used to define the full set of antigens targeted by the immune system during disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M Fulton
- Human Health Therapeutics, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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20
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Neidert MC, Schoor O, Trautwein C, Trautwein N, Christ L, Melms A, Honegger J, Rammensee HG, Herold-Mende C, Dietrich PY, Stevanović S. Natural HLA class I ligands from glioblastoma: extending the options for immunotherapy. J Neurooncol 2012; 111:285-94. [PMID: 23263746 DOI: 10.1007/s11060-012-1028-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 12/08/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most frequent and most malignant primary brain tumor with poor prognosis despite surgical removal and radio-chemotherapy. In this setting, immunotherapeutical strategies have great potential, but the reported repertoire of tumor associated antigens is only for HLA-A 02 positive tumors. We describe the first analysis of HLA-peptide presentation patterns in HLA-A 02 negative glioma tissue combined with gene expression profiling of the tumor samples by oligonucleotide microarrays. We identified numerous candidate peptides for immunotherapy. These are peptides derived from proteins with a well-described role in glioma tumor biology and suitable gene expression profiles such as PTPRZ1, EGFR, SEC61G and TNC. Information obtained from complementary analyses of HLA-A 02 negative tumors not only contributes to the discovery of novel shared glioma antigens, but most importantly provides the opportunity to tailor a patient-individual cocktail of tumor-associated peptides for a personalized, targeted immunotherapeutic approach in HLA-A 02 negative patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marian Christoph Neidert
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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21
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Dutoit V, Herold-Mende C, Hilf N, Schoor O, Beckhove P, Bucher J, Dorsch K, Flohr S, Fritsche J, Lewandrowski P, Lohr J, Rammensee HG, Stevanovic S, Trautwein C, Vass V, Walter S, Walker PR, Weinschenk T, Singh-Jasuja H, Dietrich PY. Exploiting the glioblastoma peptidome to discover novel tumour-associated antigens for immunotherapy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 135:1042-54. [PMID: 22418738 DOI: 10.1093/brain/aws042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Peptides presented at the cell surface reflect the protein content of the cell; those on HLA class I molecules comprise the critical peptidome elements interacting with CD8 T lymphocytes. We hypothesize that peptidomes from ex vivo tumour samples encompass immunogenic tumour antigens. Here, we uncover >6000 HLA-bound peptides from HLA-A*02(+) glioblastoma, of which over 3000 were restricted by HLA-A*02. We prioritized in-depth investigation of 10 glioblastoma-associated antigens based on high expression in tumours, very low or absent expression in healthy tissues, implication in gliomagenesis and immunogenicity. Patients with glioblastoma showed no T cell tolerance to these peptides. Moreover, we demonstrated specific lysis of tumour cells by patients' CD8(+) T cells in vitro. In vivo, glioblastoma-specific CD8(+) T cells were present at the tumour site. Overall, our data show the physiological relevance of the peptidome approach and provide a critical advance for designing a rational glioblastoma immunotherapy. The peptides identified in our study are currently being tested as a multipeptide vaccine (IMA950) in patients with glioblastoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Dutoit
- Laboratory of Tumour Immunology, Centre of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
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22
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Caron E, Vincent K, Fortier MH, Laverdure JP, Bramoullé A, Hardy MP, Voisin G, Roux PP, Lemieux S, Thibault P, Perreault C. The MHC I immunopeptidome conveys to the cell surface an integrative view of cellular regulation. Mol Syst Biol 2011; 7:533. [PMID: 21952136 PMCID: PMC3202804 DOI: 10.1038/msb.2011.68] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2011] [Accepted: 08/23/2011] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Self/non-self discrimination is a fundamental requirement of life. Endogenous peptides presented by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules represent the essence of self for CD8 T lymphocytes. These MHC I peptides (MIPs) are collectively referred to as the immunopeptidome. From a systems-level perspective, very little is known about the origin, composition and plasticity of the immunopeptidome. Here, we show that the immunopeptidome, and therefore the nature of the immune self, is plastic and moulded by cellular metabolic activity. By using a quantitative high-throughput mass spectrometry-based approach, we found that altering cellular metabolism via the inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin results in dynamic changes in the cell surface MIPs landscape. Moreover, we provide systems-level evidence that the immunopeptidome projects at the cell surface a representation of biochemical networks and metabolic events regulated at multiple levels inside the cell. Our findings open up new perspectives in systems immunology and predictive biology. Indeed, predicting variations in the immunopeptidome in response to cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors could be relevant to the rational design of immunotherapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Caron
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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23
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Vigneron N, Van den Eynde BJ. Insights into the processing of MHC class I ligands gained from the study of human tumor epitopes. Cell Mol Life Sci 2011; 68:1503-20. [PMID: 21387143 PMCID: PMC11114561 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-011-0658-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Revised: 02/17/2011] [Accepted: 02/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The molecular definition of tumor antigens recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) started in the late 1980s, at a time when the MHC class I antigen processing field was in its infancy. Born together, these two fields of science evolved together and provided each other with critical insights. Over the years, stimulated by the potential interest of tumor antigens for cancer immunotherapy, scientists have identified and characterized numerous antigens recognized by CTL on human tumors. These studies have provided a wealth of information relevant to the mode of production of antigenic peptides presented by MHC class I molecules. A number of tumor antigenic peptides were found to result from unusual mechanisms occurring at the level of transcription, translation or processing. Although many of these mechanisms occur in the cell at very low level, they are relevant to the immune system as they determine the killing of tumor cells by CTL, which are sensitive to low levels of peptide/MHC complexes. Moreover, these unusual mechanisms were found to occur not only in tumor cells but also in normal cells. Thereby, the study of tumor antigens has illuminated many aspects of MHC class I processing. We review here those insights into the MHC I antigen processing pathway that result from the characterization of human tumor antigens recognized by CTL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Vigneron
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels Branch and de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 74, UCL 7459, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Benoît J. Van den Eynde
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels Branch and de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 74, UCL 7459, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
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24
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Mester G, Hoffmann V, Stevanović S. Insights into MHC class I antigen processing gained from large-scale analysis of class I ligands. Cell Mol Life Sci 2011; 68:1521-32. [PMID: 21387142 PMCID: PMC11114492 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-011-0659-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Revised: 02/17/2011] [Accepted: 02/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Short peptides derived from intracellular proteins and presented on MHC class I molecules on the cell surface serve as a showcase for the immune system to detect pathogenic or malignant alterations inside the cell, and the sequencing and analysis of the presented peptide pool has received considerable attention over the last two decades. In this review, we give a comprehensive presentation of the methods employed for the large-scale qualitative and quantitative analysis of the MHC class I ligandome. Furthermore, we focus on insights gained into the underlying processing pathway, especially involving the roles of the proteasome, the TAP complex, and the peptide specificities and motifs of MHC molecules. The identification of post-translational modifications in MHC ligands and their implications for processing are also considered. Finally, we review the correlations of the ligandome to the proteome and the transcriptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor Mester
- Institute for Cell Biology, Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Hoffmann
- Institute for Cell Biology, Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanović
- Institute for Cell Biology, Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Abteilung für Immunologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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25
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Shetty V, Sinnathamby G, Nickens Z, Shah P, Hafner J, Mariello L, Kamal S, Vlahovic' G, Lyerly HK, Morse MA, Philip R. MHC class I-presented lung cancer-associated tumor antigens identified by immunoproteomics analysis are targets for cancer-specific T cell response. J Proteomics 2011; 74:728-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2011.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2010] [Revised: 01/03/2011] [Accepted: 02/18/2011] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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26
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Adamczyk-Poplawska M, Markowicz S, Jagusztyn-Krynicka EK. Proteomics for development of vaccine. J Proteomics 2011; 74:2596-616. [PMID: 21310271 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2011.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2010] [Revised: 01/26/2011] [Accepted: 01/31/2011] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The success of genome projects has provided us with a vast amount of information on genes of many pathogenic species and has raised hopes for rapid progress in combating infectious diseases, both by construction of new effective vaccines and by creating a new generation of therapeutic drugs. Proteomics, a strategy complementary to the genomic-based approach, when combined with immunomics (looking for immunogenic proteins) and vaccinomics (characterization of host response to immunization), delivers valuable information on pathogen-host cell interaction. It also speeds the identification and detailed characterization of new antigens, which are potential candidates for vaccine development. This review begins with an overview of the global status of vaccinology based on WHO data. The main part of this review describes the impact of proteomic strategies on advancements in constructing effective antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer vaccines. Diverse aspects of disease mechanisms and disease preventions have been investigated by proteomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Adamczyk-Poplawska
- Department of Virology, Institute of Microbiology, Biology Faculty, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
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27
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Reinherz EL, Acuto O. Molecular T cell biology -- basic and translational challenges in the twenty-first century. Front Immunol 2011; 2:3. [PMID: 22566794 PMCID: PMC3342379 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2011.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2011] [Accepted: 01/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ellis L Reinherz
- Laboratory of Immunobiology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA, USA.
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28
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Zhang XM, Huang Y, Li ZS, Lin H, Sui YF. Prediction and analysis of HLA-A2/A24-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes of the tumor antigen MAGE-n using the artificial neural networks method on NetCTL1.2 Server. Oncol Lett 2010; 1:1097-1100. [PMID: 22870119 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2010.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2010] [Accepted: 09/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has become one of the most important therapeutic approaches to cancer in the past two decades. Tumor antigen-derived peptides have been widely used to elicit tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Antigen-specific CTLs induced by MAGE-derived peptides have proven to be highly efficacious in the prevention and treatment of various types of tumor. MAGE-n is a new member of the MAGE gene family and has been shown to be closely associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. It is highly homologous to the MAGE-A gene subfamily, particularly to MAGE-3 (93%). MAGE-n-derived peptide QLVFGIEVV is a novel HLA-A2.1-restricted CTL epitope that induces MAGE-n-specific CTLs in vitro. Identification of these CTL epitopes may lead to clinical applications of these peptides as cancer vaccines for patients with MAGE-n(+)/HLA-A2(+) tumors. In the present study, HLA-A/A24-restricted CTL epitopes of antigen MAGE-n were predicted using the NetCTL1.2 Server on the web, COMB >0.85. The results showed that the NetCTL1.2 Server prediction method improved prediction efficacy and accuracy. Additionally, 8 HLA-A2- and 9 HLA-A24-restricted CTL epitope candidates (nonamers) derived from the tumor antigen MAGE-n were predicted. These nonamers, following identification via experimentation, may contribute to the development of potential antigen peptide tumor vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-Min Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, P.R. China
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29
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HLA-A*0201-restricted CEA-derived peptide CAP1 is not a suitable target for T-cell-based immunotherapy. J Immunother 2010; 33:402-13. [PMID: 20386466 DOI: 10.1097/cji.0b013e3181d366da] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a potential target for antigen-specific immunotherapy, as it is frequently overexpressed in human carcinomas. Moreover, an epitope derived from CEA, designated CAP1 (YLSGANLNL), has been proposed as naturally processed and presented by tumors in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*0201 context. Our aim was to fully characterize and assess the clinical relevance of the HLA-A*0201-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response against CEA. Stable and potent artificial antigen presenting cells (AAPCs) were used to evaluate T-cell response against CEA. These cells efficiently activate CTLs against tumor-derived epitopes after transduction with the antigenic peptides or full-length proteins. We found that AAPCs genetically modified to express CAP1, the agonist peptide CAP1-6D, or the whole CEA protein were not able to activate CAP1-specific CTLs from HLA-A*0201+ healthy donors or patients with colorectal carcinoma, even after multiple stimulations. In addition, we showed that a CAP1-specific T-cell clone, obtained after multiple stimulations of T cells of a HLA-A*0201+ healthy donor in vitro with autologous antigen presenting cells, recognized CEA(-) HLA-A*0201+ tumors transduced with a minigene encoding CAP1 but failed to react against HLA-A*0201+ tumor cells expressing CEA. Finally, AAPCs expressing the whole CEA protein did not induce any specific CTL response against CEA+ HLA-A*0201+ tumor cells highlighting the potential difficulty of mounting an efficacious T-cell response against this autoantigen. Altogether, our data indicate that CAP1 is not efficiently processed and presented by CEA+ tumor cells, and therefore, is not an appropriate target for T-cell-based immunotherapy.
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30
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Hoff A, Bagû AC, André T, Roth G, Wiesmüller KH, Gückel B, Brock R. Peptide microarrays for the profiling of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity using minimum numbers of cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2010; 59:1379-87. [PMID: 20512327 PMCID: PMC2892610 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-010-0867-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2009] [Accepted: 04/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The identification of epitopes that elicit cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity is a prerequisite for the development of cancer-specific immunotherapies. However, especially the parallel characterization of several epitopes is limited by the availability of T cells. Microarrays have enabled an unprecedented miniaturization and parallelization in biological assays. Here, we developed peptide microarrays for the detection of CTL activity. MHC class I-binding peptide epitopes were pipetted onto polymer-coated glass slides. Target cells, loaded with the cell-impermeant dye calcein, were incubated on these arrays, followed by incubation with antigen-expanded CTLs. Cytotoxic activity was detected by release of calcein and detachment of target cells. With only 200,000 cells per microarray, CTLs could be detected at a frequency of 0.5% corresponding to 1,000 antigen-specific T cells. Target cells and CTLs only settled on peptide spots enabling a clear separation of individual epitopes. Even though no physical boundaries were present between the individual spots, peptide loading only occurred locally and cytolytic activity was confined to the spots carrying the specific epitope. The peptide microarrays provide a robust platform that implements the whole process from antigen presentation to the detection of CTL activity in a miniaturized format. The method surpasses all established methods in the minimum numbers of cells required. With antigen uptake occurring on the microarray, further applications are foreseen in the testing of antigen precursors that require uptake and processing prior to presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antje Hoff
- Department of Molecular Biology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Present Address: Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Institute for Molecular Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, St. James Street, Dublin 8, Ireland
| | - Ana-Cristina Bagû
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Tübingen, Calwerstraße 7, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas André
- Department of Molecular Biology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Present Address: Bachem AG, Hauptstrasse 144, 4416 Bubendorf, Switzerland
| | - Günter Roth
- Department of Molecular Biology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 106, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Brigitte Gückel
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Tübingen, Calwerstraße 7, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Roland Brock
- Department of Molecular Biology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Biochemistry, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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31
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Beckhove P, Warta R, Lemke B, Stoycheva D, Momburg F, Schnölzer M, Warnken U, Schmitz-Winnenthal H, Ahmadi R, Dyckhoff G, Bucur M, Jünger S, Schueler T, Lennerz V, Woelfel T, Unterberg A, Herold-Mende C. Rapid T cell-based identification of human tumor tissue antigens by automated two-dimensional protein fractionation. J Clin Invest 2010; 120:2230-42. [PMID: 20458140 DOI: 10.1172/jci37646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2009] [Accepted: 03/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying the antigens that have the potential to trigger endogenous antitumor responses in an individual cancer patient is likely to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, but current methodologies do not efficiently identify such antigens. This study describes what we believe to be a new method of comprehensively identifying candidate tissue antigens that spontaneously cause T cell responses in disease situations. We used the newly developed automated, two-dimensional chromatography system PF2D to fractionate the proteome of human tumor tissues and tested protein fractions for recognition by preexisting tumor-specific CD4+ Th cells and CTLs. Applying this method using mice transgenic for a TCR that recognizes an OVA peptide presented by MHC class I, we demonstrated efficient separation, processing, and cross-presentation to CD8+ T cells by DCs of OVA expressed by the OVA-transfected mouse lymphoma RMA-OVA. Applying this method to human tumor tissues, we identified MUC1 and EGFR as tumor-associated antigens selectively recognized by T cells in patients with head and neck cancer. Finally, in an exemplary patient with a malignant brain tumor, we detected CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses against two novel antigens, transthyretin and calgranulin B/S100A9, which were expressed in tumor and endothelial cells. The immunogenicity of these antigens was confirmed in 4 of 10 other brain tumor patients. This fast and inexpensive method therefore appears suitable for identifying candidate T cell antigens in various disease situations, such as autoimmune and malignant diseases, without being restricted to expression by a certain cell type or HLA allele.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Beckhove
- Translational Immunology Unit, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
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32
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Johnson KL, Ovsyannikova IG, Mason CJ, Bergen HR, Poland GA. Discovery of naturally processed and HLA-presented class I peptides from vaccinia virus infection using mass spectrometry for vaccine development. Vaccine 2009; 28:38-47. [PMID: 19822231 PMCID: PMC2787804 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.09.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2008] [Revised: 09/26/2009] [Accepted: 09/30/2009] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
An important approach for developing a safer smallpox vaccine is to identify naturally processed immunogenic vaccinia-derived peptides rather than live whole vaccinia virus. We used two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to identify 116 vaccinia peptides, encoded by 61 open reading frames, from a B-cell line (homozygous for HLA class I A*0201, B*1501, and C*03) after infection with vaccinia virus (Dryvax). Importantly, 68 of these peptides are conserved in variola, providing insight into the peptides that induce protection against smallpox. Twenty-one of these 68 conserved peptides were 11 amino acids long or longer, outside of the range of most predictive algorithms. Thus, direct identification of naturally processed and presented HLA peptides gives important information not provided by current computational methods for identifying potential vaccinia epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth L Johnson
- Mayo Proteomics Research Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, United States
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33
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Bonertz A, Weitz J, Pietsch DHK, Rahbari NN, Schlude C, Ge Y, Juenger S, Vlodavsky I, Khazaie K, Jaeger D, Reissfelder C, Antolovic D, Aigner M, Koch M, Beckhove P. Antigen-specific Tregs control T cell responses against a limited repertoire of tumor antigens in patients with colorectal carcinoma. J Clin Invest 2009; 119:3311-21. [PMID: 19809157 PMCID: PMC2769188 DOI: 10.1172/jci39608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2009] [Accepted: 07/29/2009] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous antitumor T cell responses in cancer patients are strongly controlled by Tregs, and increased numbers of tumor-infiltrating Tregs correlate with reduced survival. However, the tumor antigens recognized by Tregs in cancer patients and the impact of these cells on tumor-specific T cell responses have not been systematically characterized. Here we used a broad panel of long synthetic peptides of defined tumor antigens and normal tissue antigens to exploit a newly developed method to identify and compare ex vivo the antigen specificities of Tregs with those of effector/memory T cells in peripheral blood of colorectal cancer patients and healthy subjects. Tregs in tumor patients were highly specific for a distinct set of only a few tumor antigens, suggesting that Tregs exert T cell suppression in an antigen-selective manner. Tumor-specific effector T cells were detectable in the majority of colorectal cancer patients but not in healthy individuals. We detected differences in the repertoires of antigens recognized by Tregs and effector/memory T cells in the majority of colorectal cancer patients. In addition, only effector/memory T cell responses against antigens recognized by Tregs strongly increased after Treg depletion. The selection of antigens according to preexisting T cell responses may improve the efficacy of future immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Bonertz
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Weitz
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dong-Ho Kim Pietsch
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nuh N. Rahbari
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christoph Schlude
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yingzi Ge
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simone Juenger
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Israel Vlodavsky
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Khashayarsha Khazaie
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dirk Jaeger
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christoph Reissfelder
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dalibor Antolovic
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maximilian Aigner
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Moritz Koch
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philipp Beckhove
- Translational Immunology Unit, The German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Vascular and Tumor Biology Research Center, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Division of Gastroenterology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
National Center of Tumour Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany
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Toussaint NC, Kohlbacher O. Towards in silico design of epitope-based vaccines. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2009; 4:1047-60. [PMID: 23480396 DOI: 10.1517/17460440903242283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epitope-based vaccines (EVs) make use of immunogenic peptides (epitopes) to trigger an immune response. Due to their manifold advantages, EVs have recently been attracting growing interest. The success of an EV is determined by the choice of epitopes used as a basis. However, the experimental discovery of candidate epitopes is expensive in terms of time and money. Furthermore, for the final choice of epitopes various immunological requirements have to be considered. METHODS Numerous in silico approaches exist that can guide the design of EVs. In particular, computational methods for MHC binding prediction have already become standard tools in immunology. Apart from binding prediction and prediction of antigen processing, methods for epitope design and selection have been suggested. We review these in silico approaches for epitope discovery and selection along with their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we discuss some of the obvious problems in the design of EVs. CONCLUSION State-of-the-art in silico approaches to MHC binding prediction yield high accuracies. However, a more thorough understanding of the underlying biological processes and significant amounts of experimental data will be required for the validation and improvement of in silico approaches to the remaining aspects of EV design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora C Toussaint
- Eberhard Karls University, Center for Bioinformatics Tübingen, Division for Simulation of Biological Systems, 72076 Tübingen, Germany +49 7071 2970458 ; +49 7071 295152 ;
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35
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Schmidt SM, König T, Bringmann A, Held S, von Schwarzenberg K, Heine A, Holderried TAW, Stevanovic S, Grünebach F, Brossart P. Characterization of BAX inhibitor-1 as a novel leukemia-associated antigen. Leukemia 2009; 23:1818-24. [PMID: 19609282 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2009.138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Using dendritic cells (DCs) electroporated with whole RNA isolated from blasts of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), we were able to generate leukemia-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) capable of recognizing the leucemic cells. To identify T-cell epitopes mediating lysis of malignant cells, peptides were eluted from the patient's blasts and analyzed by mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based peptide sequencing. Using this approach, an HLA-A24-binding peptide derived from Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1), a regulator of apoptosis pathways, was identified as an epitope recognized by the generated CTLs. To further characterize this novel antigenic peptide, CTLs were induced using DCs electroporated with RNA coding for BI-1 or pulsed with the cognate peptide. These CTLs generated from healthy donors in vitro efficiently lysed the patient's blasts as well as other HLA-matched leukemic cells. In conclusion, we identified a BI-1 peptide as a novel immunogenic tumor-associated antigen (TAA) in AML. In vitro induction of BI-1-specific CTLs by RNA transfection or pulsing of DCs with the synthetically generated peptide was a feasible and highly effective method to generate leukemia-specific CTLs. As BI-1 is (over-) expressed in a broad variety of malignancies, it may represent an interesting novel TAA in the context of cancer vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Schmidt
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, Rheumatology and Immunology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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36
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Meyer VS, Drews O, Günder M, Hennenlotter J, Rammensee HG, Stevanovic S. Identification of Natural MHC Class II Presented Phosphopeptides and Tumor-Derived MHC Class I Phospholigands. J Proteome Res 2009; 8:3666-74. [DOI: 10.1021/pr800937k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Verena S. Meyer
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Drews
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marc Günder
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jörg Hennenlotter
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hans-Georg Rammensee
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanovic
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and Department of Urology, University of Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
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37
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Meyer VS, Kastenmuller W, Gasteiger G, Franz-Wachtel M, Lamkemeyer T, Rammensee HG, Stevanovic S, Sigurdardottir D, Drexler I. Long-term immunity against actual poxviral HLA ligands as identified by differential stable isotope labeling. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2009; 181:6371-83. [PMID: 18941228 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.181.9.6371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Viral peptides are presented by HLA class I on infected cells to activate CD8(+) T cells. Several immunogenic peptides have been identified indirectly by epitope prediction and screening of T cell responses to poxviral vectors, including modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) currently being tested as recombinant or smallpox vaccines. However, for the development of optimal vaccination and immunomonitoring strategies, it is essential to characterize the actual viral HLA ligand repertoire of infected cells. We used an innovative approach to identify naturally processed MVA HLA ligands by differential HPLC-coupled mass spectrometry. We describe 12 viral peptides presented by HLA-A*0201 and 3 by HLA-B*0702. All HLA-A*0201 ligands participated in the memory response of MVA-immune donors, and several were immunogenic in Dryvax vaccinees. Eight epitopes were novel. Viral HLA ligand presentation and viral protein abundance did not correlate. All ligands were expressed early during the viral life cycle, and a pool of three of these mediated stronger protection against a lethal challenge in mice as compared with late epitopes. This highlights the reliability of the comparative mass spectrometry-based technique to identify relevant viral CD8(+) T cell epitopes for optimizing the monitoring of protective immune responses and the development of effective peptide-based vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena S Meyer
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany
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38
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Parkhurst MR, Joo J, Riley JP, Yu Z, Li Y, Robbins PF, Rosenberg SA. Characterization of genetically modified T-cell receptors that recognize the CEA:691-699 peptide in the context of HLA-A2.1 on human colorectal cancer cells. Clin Cancer Res 2009; 15:169-80. [PMID: 19118044 PMCID: PMC3474199 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-08-1638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a tumor-associated protein expressed on a variety of adenocarcinomas. To develop an immunotherapy for patients with cancers that overexpress CEA, we isolated and genetically modified a T-cell receptors (TCRs) that specifically bound a CEA peptide on human cancer cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice were immunized with CEA:691-699. A CEA-reactive TCR was isolated from splenocytes of these mice and was genetically introduced into human peripheral blood lymphocytes via RNA electroporation or retroviral transduction. Amino acid substitutions were introduced throughout the complementarity determining regions (CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3) of both TCR alpha and beta chains to improve recognition of CEA. RESULTS Murine lymphocytes bearing the CEA-reactive TCR specifically recognized peptide-loaded T2 cells and HLA-A2.1(+) CEA(+) human colon cancer cells. Both CD8(+) and CD4(+) human lymphocytes expressing the murine TCR specifically recognized peptide-loaded T2 cells. However, only gene-modified CD8(+) lymphocytes specifically recognized HLA-A2.1(+) CEA(+) colon cancer cell lines, and tumor cell recognition was weak and variable. We identified two substitutions in the CDR3 of the alpha chain that significantly influenced tumor cell recognition by human peripheral blood lymphocytes. One substitution, T for S at position 112 (S112T), enhanced tumor cell recognition by CD8(+) lymphocytes, and a second dually substituted receptor (S112T L110F) enhanced tumor cell recognition by CD4(+) T cells. CONCLUSIONS The modified CEA-reactive TCRs are good candidates for future gene therapy clinical trials and show the power of selected amino acid substitutions in the antigen-binding regions of the TCR to enhance desired reactivities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria R Parkhurst
- Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute/NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
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39
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Weinzierl AO, Rudolf D, Maurer D, Wernet D, Rammensee HG, Stevanović S, Klingel K. Identification of HLA-A*01- and HLA-A*02-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitopes shared among group B enteroviruses. J Gen Virol 2008; 89:2090-2097. [PMID: 18753217 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.2008/000711-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute enteroviral infections ranging from meningitis, pancreatitis to myocarditis are common and normally well controlled by the host immune system comprising virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). However, in some patients enteroviruses and especially coxsackieviruses of group B are capable of inducing severe chronic forms of diseases such as chronic myocarditis. Currently, it is not known whether divergences in the CTL-related immune response may contribute to the different outcome and course of enterovirus myocarditis. A pre-requisite for the study of CTL reactions in patients with acute and chronic myocarditis is the identification of CTL epitopes. In order to define dominant enterovirus CTL epitopes, we have screened, by using gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) ELISPOT, 62 HLA-A*01- and 59 HLA-A*02-positive healthy blood donors for pre-existing CTL reactions against 12 HLA-A*01 and 20 HLA-A*02 predicted CTL epitopes derived from coxsackieviruses of group B. Positive CTL reactions were verified by FACS analysis in a combined major histocompatibility complex-tetramer IFN-gamma staining. A total of 14.8% of all donors reacted against one of the three identified epitopes MLDGHLIAFDY, YGDDVIASY or GIIYIIYKL. The HLA-A*02-restricted epitope ILMNDQEVGV was recognized by 25% of all tested blood donors. For this peptide, we could demonstrate specific granzyme B secretion, a strong cytolytic potential and endogenous processing. All four epitopes were homologous in 36-92% of group B enteroviruses, providing a strong basis for monitoring the divergence of T-cell-based immune responses in enterovirus-induced acute and chronic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas O Weinzierl
- Department of Molecular Pathology, University of Tübingen, Liebermeisterstraße 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Despina Rudolf
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Maurer
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dorothee Wernet
- Institute of Clinical and Experimental Transfusion Medicine, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Str. 4/1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hans-Georg Rammensee
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanović
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karin Klingel
- Department of Molecular Pathology, University of Tübingen, Liebermeisterstraße 8, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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40
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Carralot JP, Lemmel C, Stevanovic S, Pascolo S. Mass spectrometric identification of an HLA-A*0201 epitope from Plasmodium falciparum MSP-1. Int Immunol 2008; 20:1451-6. [PMID: 18794202 DOI: 10.1093/intimm/dxn102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) directed against Plasmodium falciparum-derived antigens were shown to play an important role for the protection against malaria. Although several CTL epitopes have been identified from P. falciparum sporozoite-derived antigens, none has been described for the merozoite form. Since the merozoite surface protein (MSP)-1 is a known target of the immune response, we focused on this protein to identify HLA-A*0201-associated epitopes. Using our mass spectrometry-based method [the 'predict-calibrate-detect' (PCD) approach], we were able to identify an MSP-1-derived epitope in the peptide mixture naturally associated with HLA-A*0201 molecules purified from an MSP-1-expressing cell line. CTLs against this epitope were generated from HLA-A*0201 monochain transgenic mice (HHD). They specifically killed MSP-1-expressing HLA-A2-positive target cells. Thus, we describe here the first MHC class I epitope from the merozoite form of P. falciparum. This epitope can be used as a tool for the immunomonitoring of natural or vaccine-induced CTL immune responses against malaria and could eventually be proposed as a component of an anti-malaria peptide-based vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Philippe Carralot
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Shingler WH, Chikoti P, Kingsman SM, Harrop R. Identification and functional validation of MHC class I epitopes in the tumor-associated antigen 5T4. Int Immunol 2008; 20:1057-66. [DOI: 10.1093/intimm/dxn063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Thedieck C, Kalbacher H, Kratzer U, Lammers R, Stevanovic S, Klein G. αB-Crystallin is a Cytoplasmic Interaction Partner of the Kidney-Specific Cadherin-16. J Mol Biol 2008; 378:145-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2008.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2007] [Revised: 01/11/2008] [Accepted: 02/04/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Rudolf D, Silberzahn T, Walter S, Maurer D, Engelhard J, Wernet D, Bühring HJ, Jung G, Kwon BS, Rammensee HG, Stevanović S. Potent costimulation of human CD8 T cells by anti-4-1BB and anti-CD28 on synthetic artificial antigen presenting cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2008; 57:175-83. [PMID: 17657490 PMCID: PMC11030657 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-007-0360-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2006] [Accepted: 06/20/2007] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The in vitro generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) for anticancer immunotherapy is a promising approach to take patient-specific therapy from the bench to the bedside. Two criteria must be met by protocols for the expansion of CTLs: high yield of functional cells and suitability for good manufacturing practice (GMP). The antigen presenting cells (APCs) used to expand the CTLs are the key to achieving both targets but they pose a challenge: Unspecific stimulation is not feasible because only memory T cells are expanded and not rare naïve CTL precursors; in addition, antigen-specific stimulation by cell-based APCs is cumbersome and problematic in a clinical setting. However, synthetic artificial APCs which can be loaded reproducibly with MHC-peptide monomers and antibodies specific for costimulatory molecules could resolve these problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of complex synthetic artificial APCs in triggering the costimulatory molecules CD28 and 4-1BB on the T cell. Anti-4-1BB antibodies were added to an established system of microbeads coated with MHC-peptide monomers and anti-CD28. Triggering via CD28 and 4-1BB resulted in strong costimulatory synergy. The quantitative ratio between these signals determined the outcome of the stimulation with optimal results when anti-4-1BB and anti-CD28 were applied in a 3:1 ratio. Functional CTLs of an effector memory subtype (CD45RA(-) CCR7(-)) were generated in high numbers. We present a highly defined APC platform using off-the-shelf reagents for the convenient generation of large numbers of antigen-specific CTLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Despina Rudolf
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Silberzahn
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Steffen Walter
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Maurer
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johanna Engelhard
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dorothee Wernet
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hans-Jörg Bühring
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gundram Jung
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Byoung S. Kwon
- The Immunomodulation Research Center, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
- LSU Eye Center, 2020 Gravier Street Suite B, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA
| | - Hans-Georg Rammensee
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Stevanović
- Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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44
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Muixí L, Alvarez I, Jaraquemada D. Peptides presented in vivo by HLA-DR in thyroid autoimmunity. Adv Immunol 2008; 99:165-209. [PMID: 19117535 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2776(08)00606-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The association of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes with autoimmune diseases together with the ectopic expression of class II molecules by epithelial cells of the target tissue gives to these molecules a central role in the pathogenesis of the disease, in its regulation and in the persistence of the immune response in situ. HLA-DR molecules expressed by thyroid follicular cells in thyroid autoimmune diseases are compact molecules stably associated with peptides. The nature of these peptides is of vital importance in the understanding of the disease, since these MHC-II-peptide complexes are going to be recognized by both effector and regulatory T cells in situ. In this chapter, we review the current state of the analysis of naturally processed peptides presented by MHC class II molecules in the context of autoimmunity and we discuss our data of natural HLA-DR ligands eluted from Graves' disease affected thyroid glands, from where autoantigen-derived peptides have been identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laia Muixí
- Immunology Unit, Institut de Biotechnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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45
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Alves PMS, Viatte S, Fagerberg T, Michielin O, Bricard G, Bouzourene H, Vuilleumier H, Kruger T, Givel JC, Lévy F, Speiser DE, Cerottini JC, Romero P. Immunogenicity of the carcinoembryonic antigen derived peptide 694 in HLA-A2 healthy donors and colorectal carcinoma patients. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2007; 56:1795-805. [PMID: 17447064 PMCID: PMC11030050 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-007-0323-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2007] [Accepted: 03/23/2007] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEACAM5) is commonly overexpressed in human colon cancer. Several antigenic peptides recognized by cytolytic CD8+ T-cells have been identified and used in colon cancer phase-I vaccination clinical trials. The HLA-A*0201-binding CEA(694-702) peptide was recently isolated from acid eluted MHC-I associated peptides from a human colon tumor cell line. However, the immunogenicity of this peptide in humans remains unknown. We found that the peptide CEA(694-702) binds weakly to HLA-A*0201 molecules and is ineffective at inducing specific CD8+ T-cell responses in healthy donors. Immunogenic-altered peptide ligands with increased affinity for HLA-A*0201 were identified. Importantly, the elicited cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines and clones cross-reacted with the wild-type CEA(694-702) peptide. Tumor cells expressing CEA were recognized in a peptide and HLA-A*0201 restricted fashion, but high-CEA expression levels appear to be required for CTL recognition. Finally, CEA-specific T-cell precursors could be readily expanded by in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from colon cancer patients with altered CEA peptide. However, the CEA-specific CD8+ T-cell clones derived from cancer patients revealed low-functional avidity and impaired tumor-cell recognition. Together, using T-cells to demonstrate the processing and presentation of the peptide CEA694-702, we were able to corroborate its presentation by tumor cells. However, the low avidity of the specific CTLs generated from cancer patients as well as the high-antigen expression levels required for CTL recognition pose serious concerns for the use of CEA694-702 in cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M S Alves
- Division of Clinical Onco-Immunology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Hôpital Orthopédique, HO-05, Rue Pierre-Decker, 4, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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46
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Beck A, Hillen N, Dolashki A, Stevanovic S, Salvato B, Voelter W, Dolashka-Angelova P. Oligosaccharide structure of a functional unit RvH1-b of Rapana venosa hemocyanin using HPLC/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Biochimie 2007; 89:938-49. [PMID: 17400357 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2007.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2006] [Accepted: 02/06/2007] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In the present study the structures of two glycopeptides (G1 and G1'), isolated from FU RvH(1)-b and two glycopeptides (G2 and G3), isolated from the structural subunit RvH(1) of Rapana venosa hemocyanin, were determined. To structurally characterize the site-specific carbohydrate heterogeneity and binding site of the N-linked glycopeptide(s), a combination of capillary reversed-phase chromatography and ion trap mass spectrometry was used. The amino acid sequences of glycopeptides G1 and G1' determined by Edman degradation and MS/MS sequencing demonstrated that the oligosaccharides are linked to N-glycosylation sites. Two peptides (a glycosylated (G1) and non-glycosylated one) were identified in this fraction and no linkage sites were observed in the latter one. Based on the sequencing of the glycosylated fractions G1, G1', G2 and G3, the carbohydrate structure Man(alpha1-6)Man(alpha1-3)Man(beta1-4)GlcNAc(beta1-4)[Fuc(alpha1-6)]GlcNAc-R could be identified for glycopeptides G1 and G3, and only the typical core structure Man(alpha1-6)Man(alpha1-3)Man(beta1-4)GlcNAc(beta1-4)GlcNAc-R was found for G1' and G2. The Fuc residue found in glycopeptides G1 and G3 is attached to N-acetyl-glucosamine of the carbohydrate core, as often found in other glycoproteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Beck
- Klinisch-chemisches Zentrallaboratorium der Universitätskliniken, Abteilung Innere Medizin IV, Universität Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 10, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
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47
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Abstract
The effectiveness of T-cell-mediated immunotherapy of cancer depends on both an optimal immunostimulatory context of the therapy and the proper selection with respect to quality and quantity of the targeted tumor-associated antigens (TAA), and, more precisely, the T-cell epitopes contained in these tumor proteins. Our progressing insight in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II antigen processing and presentation mechanisms has improved the prediction by reverse immunology of novel cytotoxic T lymphocyte and T-helper cell epitopes within known antigens. Computer algorithms that in silico predict HLA class I and class II binding, proteasome cleavage patterns and transporter associated with antigen processing translocation are now available to expedite epitope identification. The advent of genomics allows a high-throughput screening for tumor-specific transcripts and mutations, with that identifying novel shared and unique TAA. The increasing power of mass spectrometry and proteomics will lead to the direct identification from the tumor cell surface of numerous novel tumor-specific HLA class I and class II presented ligands. Together, the expanded repertoire of tumor-specific T-cell epitopes will enable more precise immunomonitoring and the development of effective epitope-defined adoptive T-cell transfer and multi-epitope-based vaccination strategies targeting epitopes derived from a wider diversity of TAA presented in a broader array of HLA molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- J H Kessler
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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48
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Millo E, Pietra G, Armirotti A, Vacca P, Mingari MC, Moretta L, Damonte G. Purification and HPLC-MS analysis of a naturally processed HCMV-derived peptide isolated from the HEK-293T/HLA-E+/Ul40+ cell transfectants and presented at the cell surface in the context of HLA-E. J Immunol Methods 2007; 322:128-36. [PMID: 17331531 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2007.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2006] [Revised: 01/16/2007] [Accepted: 01/18/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A new method for isolation and characterization of peptides presented in the context of the nonclassical human leukocytes antigen (HLA) class I molecule HLA-E was developed. A combination of different chromatographic steps coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry allowed us to detect the presence of small amounts of a naturally processed human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-derived peptide isolated from the HEK-293T/HLA-E+/UL40+ transfected cells of from HELA cell line. The peptide sequence was confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). This approach provides a versatile and sensitive method for direct identification of MHC class I-binding peptides that might be derive from different pathogen or tumor-associated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Millo
- Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Biochimica, c/o CEBR, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy.
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Boulter JM, Schmitz N, Sewell AK, Godkin AJ, Bachmann MF, Gallimore AM. Potent T cell agonism mediated by a very rapid TCR/pMHC interaction. Eur J Immunol 2007; 37:798-806. [PMID: 17295390 PMCID: PMC2435421 DOI: 10.1002/eji.200636743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The interaction between T cell receptors (TCR) and peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) antigens can lead to varying degrees of agonism (T cell activation), or antagonism. The P14 TCR recognises the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-derived peptide, gp33 residues 33–41 (KAVYNFATC), presented in the context of H-2Db. The cellular responses to various related H-2Db peptide ligands are very well characterised, and P14 TCR-transgenic mice have been used extensively in models of virus infection, autoimmunity and tumour rejection. Here, we analyse the binding of the P14 soluble TCR to a broad panel of related H-2Db-peptide complexes by surface plasmon resonance, and compare this with their diverse cellular responses. P14 TCR binds H-2Db-gp33 with a KD of 3 µM (±0.5 µM), typical of an immunodominant antiviral TCR, but with unusually fast kinetics (koff=1 s−1), corresponding to a half-life of 0.7 s at 25°C, outside the range previously observed for murine agonist TCR/pMHC interactions. The most striking feature of these data is that a very short half-life does not preclude the ability of a TCR/pMHC interaction to induce antiviral immunity, autoimmune disease and tumour rejection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Boulter
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK.
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50
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Hillen N, Stevanovic S. Contribution of mass spectrometry-based proteomics to immunology. Expert Rev Proteomics 2007; 3:653-64. [PMID: 17181480 DOI: 10.1586/14789450.3.6.653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Antigen processing forwards various information about the cellular status and the proteome to the cell surface for scrutiny by the cellular immune system. Thus the repertoire of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-bound peptides and the MHC ligandome, indirectly mirrors the proteome in order to make alterations instantly detectable and, if necessary, to oppose them. Mass spectrometry is the core technology for analysis of both proteome and MHC ligandome and has evoked several strategies to gain qualitative and quantitative insight into the MHC-presented peptide repertoire. After immunoaffinity purification of detergent-solubilized peptide-MHC complexes followed by acid elution of peptides, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is applied to determine individual peptide sequences and, thus, allow qualitative characterization of the MHC-bound repertoire. Differential quantification based on stable isotope labeling enables the relative comparison of two samples, such as diseased and healthy tissue. Targeted searches for certain natural ligands, such as the 'predict-calibrate-detect' strategy, include motif-based epitope prediction and calibration with reference peptides. Thus, various approaches are now available for exposing and understanding the intricacies of the MHC ligand repertoire. Analysis of differences in the MHC ligandome under distinct conditions contributes to our understanding of basic cellular processes, but also enables the formulation of immunodiagnostic or immunotherapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Hillen
- University of Tübingen, Department of Immunology, Institute for Cell Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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