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Chang JF, Wellhausen N, Engel NW, Landmann JH, Hopkins CR, Salas-McKee J, Bear AS, Selli ME, Agarwal S, Jadlowsky JK, Linette GP, Gill S, June CH, Fraietta JA, Singh N. Identification of Core Techniques That Enhance Genome Editing of Human T Cells Expressing Synthetic Antigen Receptors. Cancer Immunol Res 2024; 12:1136-1146. [PMID: 38869428 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-24-0251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Genome editing technologies have seen remarkable progress in recent years, enabling precise regulation of exogenous and endogenous genes. These advances have been extensively applied to the engineering of human T lymphocytes, leading to the development of practice changing therapies for patients with cancer and the promise of synthetic immune cell therapies for a variety of nonmalignant diseases. Many distinct conceptual and technical approaches have been used to edit T-cell genomes, however targeted assessments of which techniques are most effective for manufacturing, gene editing, and transgene expression are rarely reported. Through extensive comparative evaluation, we identified methods that most effectively enhance engineering of research-scale and preclinical T-cell products at critical stages of manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Fang Chang
- Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
- Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Nils Wellhausen
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Nils W Engel
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jack H Landmann
- Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
- Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Caitlin R Hopkins
- Deparment of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - January Salas-McKee
- Deparment of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Adham S Bear
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Mehmet E Selli
- Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
- Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Sangya Agarwal
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Julie K Jadlowsky
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Gerald P Linette
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Saar Gill
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Carl H June
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Joseph A Fraietta
- Deparment of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Nathan Singh
- Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
- Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
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Zappa E, Vitali A, Anders K, Molenaar JJ, Wienke J, Künkele A. Adoptive cell therapy in paediatric extracranial solid tumours: current approaches and future challenges. Eur J Cancer 2023; 194:113347. [PMID: 37832507 PMCID: PMC10695178 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy has ignited hope to cure paediatric solid tumours that resist traditional therapies. Among the most promising methods is adoptive cell therapy (ACT). Particularly, ACT using T cells equipped with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has moved into the spotlight in clinical studies. However, the efficacy of ACT is challenged by ACT-intrinsic factors, like lack of activation or T cell exhaustion, as well as immune evasion strategies of paediatric solid tumours, such as their highly immunosuppressive microenvironment. Novel strategies, including ACT using innate-like lymphocytes, innovative cell engineering techniques, and ACT combination therapies, are being developed and will be crucial to overcome these challenges. Here, we discuss the main classes of ACT for the treatment of paediatric extracranial solid tumours, reflect on the available preclinical and clinical evidence supporting promising strategies, and address the challenges that ACT is still facing. Ultimately, we highlight state-of-the-art developments and opportunities for new therapeutic options, which hold great potential for improving outcomes in this challenging patient population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Zappa
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Alice Vitali
- Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Kathleen Anders
- Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jan J Molenaar
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Judith Wienke
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Annette Künkele
- Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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Meleshko A, Kushniarova L, Shinkevich V, Mikhaleuskaya T, Valochnik A, Proleskovskaya I. Expression Pattern of Tumor-associated Antigens in Neuroblastoma: Association With Cytogenetic Features and Survival. CANCER DIAGNOSIS & PROGNOSIS 2023; 3:695-705. [PMID: 37927813 PMCID: PMC10619573 DOI: 10.21873/cdp.10274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Background/Aim The prognosis of high-risk and relapsed neuroblastoma (NB) patients remains poor. The identification of tumor-associated markers is important for differential diagnosis, prognosis, and the development of targeted therapies. The aim of the study was to determine the expression profile of nine most common NB antigens and assess their association with clinicopathological characteristics and patient survival. Patients and Methods Tumor samples from 86 patients with NB were evaluated for the expression of tumor-associated antigen (TAA) using quantitative PCR. Twenty-one patients with benign tumors and 17 healthy donors were assigned as controls. Results Overexpression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), PHOX2B, PRAME, GPC2, B7-H3, and Survivin is the most typical for NB. Positive expression of MAGEA3, MAGEA1, and NY-ESO-1 at low levels was detected in 54%, 48%, and 52%, respectively, and was not NB specific. Higher TH expression was observed in samples without MYCN-amplification, while higher expression of Survivin, PHOX2B, and GPC2 was significantly associated with the presence of 1p.36 deletion. Overexpression of TH, PHOX2B, and MAGEA1 was associated with better event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS). Survivin overexpression was associated with poor EFS but had no impact on OS. Multivariate analysis confirmed Survivin as independent marker for poor survival, and PHOX2B and MAGEA1 for better survival. Conclusion High expression of TH, PHOX2B, and MAGEA1 genes are favorable prognostic factors for OS and EFS, whereas high expression of Survivin is associated with an increased risk of relapse or progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Meleshko
- Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
| | - Lizaveta Kushniarova
- Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
| | | | - Taisia Mikhaleuskaya
- Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
| | - Alena Valochnik
- Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
| | - Inna Proleskovskaya
- Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology, Minsk, Belarus
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Thelen M, Keller D, Lehmann J, Wennhold K, Weitz H, Bauer E, Gathof B, Brüggemann M, Kotrova M, Quaas A, Mallmann C, Chon SH, Hillmer AM, Bruns C, von Bergwelt-Baildon M, Garcia-Marquez MA, Schlößer HA. Immune responses against shared antigens are common in esophago-gastric cancer and can be enhanced using CD40-activated B cells. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-005200. [PMID: 36600602 PMCID: PMC9743382 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Specific immune response is a hallmark of cancer immunotherapy and shared tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are important targets. Recent advances using combined cellular therapy against multiple TAAs renewed the interest in this class of antigens. Our study aims to determine the role of TAAs in esophago-gastric adenocarcinoma (EGA). METHODS RNA expression was assessed by NanoString in tumor samples of 41 treatment-naïve EGA patients. Endogenous T cell and antibody responses against the 10 most relevant TAAs were determined by FluoroSpot and protein-bound bead assays. Digital image analysis was used to evaluate the correlation of TAAs and T-cell abundance. T-cell receptor sequencing, in vitro expansion with autologous CD40-activated B cells (CD40Bs) and in vitro cytotoxicity assays were applied to determine specific expansion, clonality and cytotoxic activity of expanded T cells. RESULTS 68.3% of patients expressed ≥5 TAAs simultaneously with coregulated clusters, which were similar to data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (n=505). Endogenous cellular or humoral responses against ≥1 TAA were detectable in 75.0% and 53.7% of patients, respectively. We found a correlation of T-cell abundance and the expression of TAAs and genes related to antigen presentation. TAA-specific T-cell responses were polyclonal, could be induced or enhanced using autologous CD40Bs and were cytotoxic in vitro. Despite the frequent expression of TAAs co-occurrence with immune responses was rare. CONCLUSIONS We identified the most relevant TAAs in EGA for monitoring of clinical trials and as therapeutic targets. Antigen-escape rather than missing immune response should be considered as mechanism underlying immunotherapy resistance of EGA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Thelen
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Diandra Keller
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jonas Lehmann
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Kerstin Wennhold
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hendrik Weitz
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Eugen Bauer
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Birgit Gathof
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine, University of Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Monika Brüggemann
- Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Michaela Kotrova
- Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Alexander Quaas
- Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christoph Mallmann
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Seung-Hun Chon
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Axel M Hillmer
- Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christiane Bruns
- Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Michael von Bergwelt-Baildon
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, München, Germany,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maria Alejandra Garcia-Marquez
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hans Anton Schlößer
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany,Department of General, Visceral, Cancer and Transplantation Surgery, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Neoantigens in precision cancer immunotherapy: from identification to clinical applications. Chin Med J (Engl) 2022; 135:1285-1298. [PMID: 35838545 PMCID: PMC9433083 DOI: 10.1097/cm9.0000000000002181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapies targeting cancer neoantigens are safe, effective, and precise. Neoantigens can be identified mainly by genomic techniques such as next-generation sequencing and high-throughput single-cell sequencing; proteomic techniques such as mass spectrometry; and bioinformatics tools based on high-throughput sequencing data, mass spectrometry data, and biological databases. Neoantigen-related therapies are widely used in clinical practice and include neoantigen vaccines, neoantigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, and neoantigen-pulsed dendritic cells. In addition, neoantigens can be used as biomarkers to assess immunotherapy response, resistance, and prognosis. Therapies based on neoantigens are an important and promising branch of cancer immunotherapy. Unremitting efforts are needed to unravel the comprehensive role of neoantigens in anti-tumor immunity and to extend their clinical application. This review aimed to summarize the progress in neoantigen research and to discuss its opportunities and challenges in precision cancer immunotherapy.
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Yu G, Wang W, He X, Xu J, Xu R, Wan T, Wu Y. Synergistic Therapeutic Effects of Low Dose Decitabine and NY-ESO-1 Specific TCR-T Cells for the Colorectal Cancer With Microsatellite Stability. Front Oncol 2022; 12:895103. [PMID: 35774131 PMCID: PMC9239344 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.895103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients of colorectal cancer (CRC) with microsatellite stability (MSS) show poor clinical response and little beneficial result from the immune-checkpoint inhibitors, due to the ‘cold’ tumor microenvironment. Meanwhile, decitabine can drive the ‘cold’ microenvironment towards ‘hot’ in multiple ways, such as upregulating the tumor associated antigen (TAA) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecular. NY-ESO-1, one of the most important TAAs, can be observably induced in tumors by low dose decitabine, and present itself as ideal targets for antigen specific T cell receptor engineered T (TCR-T) cells. We innovatively used a synergistic tactic, combining decitabine and NY-ESO-1 specific TCR-T cells, for fighting the MSS CRC. Firstly, we confirmed the lysing effect of the NY-ESO-1 TCR-T cells on the NY-ESO-1+ and HLA-A2+ cells in vitro and in vivo. In A375 tumor-bearing mice, the results showed that NY-ESO-1 TCR-T cell therapy could inhibit A375 tumor growth and prolonged the survival time. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of decitabine and NY-ESO-1 TCR-T cells was shown to induce an even higher percentage of tumor cells being lysed in vitro than other control groups, and more potent tumor inhibition and longer survival time were observed in vivo. The innovative synergistic therapeutic strategy of decitabine and TCR-T cells for the CRC with MSS may be also effective in the treatment of other epithelial malignancies. Decitabine may likewise be adopted in combination with other cellular immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Tao Wan
- *Correspondence: Tao Wan, ; Yanfeng Wu,
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Development of Cancer Immunotherapies. Cancer Treat Res 2022; 183:1-48. [PMID: 35551655 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-96376-7_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy, or the utilization of components of the immune system to target and eliminate cancer, has become a highly active area of research in the past several decades and a common treatment strategy for several cancer types. The concept of harnessing the immune system for this purpose originated over 100 years ago when a physician by the name of William Coley successfully treated several of his cancer patients with a combination of live and attenuated bacteria, later known as "Coley's Toxins", after observing a subset of prior patients enter remission following their diagnosis with the common bacterial infection, erysipelas. However, it was not until late in the twentieth century that cancer immunotherapies were developed for widespread use, thereby transforming the treatment landscape of numerous cancer types. Pivotal studies elucidating molecular and cellular functions of immune cells, such as the discovery of IL-2 and production of monoclonal antibodies, fostered the development of novel techniques for studying the immune system and ultimately the development and approval of several cancer immunotherapies by the United States Food and Drug Association in the 1980s and 1990s, including the tuberculosis vaccine-Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, IL-2, and the CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody. Approval of the first therapeutic cancer vaccine, Sipuleucel-T, for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and the groundbreaking success and approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy in the last decade, have driven an explosion of interest in and pursuit of novel cancer immunotherapy strategies. A broad range of modalities ranging from antibodies to adoptive T cell therapies is under investigation for the generalized treatment of a broad spectrum of cancers as well as personalized medicine. This chapter will focus on the recent advances, current strategies, and future outlook of immunotherapy development for the treatment of cancer.
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Jo U, Roh J, Song MJ, Cho KJ, Kim W, Song JS. NY-ESO-1 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for myxoid liposarcoma. Am J Transl Res 2022; 14:1268-1278. [PMID: 35273728 PMCID: PMC8902540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) is a common lipogenic sarcoma, which is difficult to diagnose in small specimens. New York oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 (NY-ESO-1) is a cancer-testis antigen expressed in neoplastic tissue. In this study, NY-ESO-1 expression was assessed in various soft tissue tumors (STTs), and we also evaluated its diagnostic utility. METHODS We included 434 cases of STTs for collection of clinicopathological data. Tissue microarrays were designed, and immunostaining for NY-ESO-1 was examined. We investigated the correlation between NY-ESO-1 expression and various clinicopathological parameters. We also evaluated the role of NY-ESO-1 as a diagnostic marker for MLS and its possible use in prognostication. RESULTS Sixty-four of the 434 STTs (14.75%) were immunoreactive for NY-ESO-1, and the most frequent type of tumor in the NY-ESO-1 positive group was MLS (70.3%, 45/64), followed by synovial sarcoma (17.2%, 11/64). MLS showed 72.6% (45/62) immunopositivity for NY-ESO-1. The sensitivity and specificity of NY-ESO-1 expression for the diagnosis of MLS were 84.4% and 100%, respectively, compared to DDIT3 fluorescence in situ hybridization. When restricting analysis to the MLS (n=62), the NY-ESO-1 positive group had a poor overall survival (OS) rate (P=0.039). CONCLUSION NY-ESO-1 was substantially and widely expressed in the majority of MLS cases. NY-ESO-1 positivity by IHC staining was also a predictor of a poor OS in patients with MLS. It is possible to use NY-ESO-1 for diagnosis and for predicting a prognosis in patients with MLS, and it may be used as a therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uiree Jo
- Department of Pathology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical CenterSeoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Roh
- Department of Pathology, Ajou University School of MedicineSuwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Jeong Song
- Department of Pathology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University, College of MedicineSeoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Ja Cho
- Department of Pathology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical CenterSeoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Wanlim Kim
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical CenterSeoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Joon Seon Song
- Department of Pathology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical CenterSeoul, Republic of Korea
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Zhu YG, Xiao BF, Zhang JT, Cui XR, Lu ZM, Wu N. Genetically Modified T Cells for Esophageal Cancer Therapy: A Promising Clinical Application. Front Oncol 2021; 11:763806. [PMID: 34858843 PMCID: PMC8630679 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.763806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Esophageal cancer is an exceedingly aggressive and malignant cancer that imposes a substantial burden on patients and their families. It is usually treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and molecular-targeted therapy. Immunotherapy is a novel treatment modality for esophageal cancer wherein genetically engineered adoptive cell therapy is utilized, which modifies immune cells to attack cancer cells. Using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or T cell receptor (TCR) modified T cells yielded demonstrably encouraging efficacy in patients. CAR-T cell therapy has shown robust clinical results for malignant hematological diseases, particularly in B cell-derived malignancies. Natural killer (NK) cells could serve as another reliable and safe CAR engineering platform, and CAR-NK cell therapy could be a more generalized approach for cancer immunotherapy because NK cells are histocompatibility-independent. TCR-T cells can detect a broad range of targeted antigens within subcellular compartments and hold great potential for use in cancer therapy. Numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of CAR and TCR based adoptive cell therapies (ACT). A comprehensive understanding of genetically-modified T cell technologies can facilitate the clinical translation of these adoptive cell-based immunotherapies. Here, we systematically review the state-of-the-art knowledge on genetically-modified T-cell therapy and provide a summary of preclinical and clinical trials of CAR and TCR-transgenic ACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ge Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Bu-Fan Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Jing-Tao Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xin-Run Cui
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Zhe-Ming Lu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
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Soltantoyeh T, Akbari B, Karimi A, Mahmoodi Chalbatani G, Ghahri-Saremi N, Hadjati J, Hamblin MR, Mirzaei HR. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy for Metastatic Melanoma: Challenges and Road Ahead. Cells 2021; 10:cells10061450. [PMID: 34207884 PMCID: PMC8230324 DOI: 10.3390/cells10061450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Metastatic melanoma is the most aggressive and difficult to treat type of skin cancer, with a survival rate of less than 10%. Metastatic melanoma has conventionally been considered very difficult to treat; however, recent progress in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the tumorigenesis, metastasis and immune escape have led to the introduction of new therapies. These include targeted molecular therapy and novel immune-based approaches such as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and genetically engineered T-lymphocytes such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Among these, CAR T cell therapy has recently made promising strides towards the treatment of advanced hematological and solid cancers. Although CAR T cell therapy might offer new hope for melanoma patients, it is not without its shortcomings, which include off-target toxicity, and the emergence of resistance to therapy (e.g., due to antigen loss), leading to eventual relapse. The present review will not only describe the basic steps of melanoma metastasis, but also discuss how CAR T cells could treat metastatic melanoma. We will outline specific strategies including combination approaches that could be used to overcome some limitations of CAR T cell therapy for metastatic melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahereh Soltantoyeh
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
| | - Behnia Akbari
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
| | - Amirali Karimi
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran;
| | - Ghanbar Mahmoodi Chalbatani
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
| | - Navid Ghahri-Saremi
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
| | - Jamshid Hadjati
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
| | - Michael R. Hamblin
- Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa;
- Radiation Biology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1449614535, Iran
| | - Hamid Reza Mirzaei
- Department of Medical Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, Iran; (T.S.); (B.A.); (G.M.C.); (N.G.-S.); (J.H.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +98-21-64053268; Fax: +98-21-66419536
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Lu F, Ma XJN, Jin WL, Luo Y, Li X. Neoantigen Specific T Cells Derived From T Cell-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Potential and Challenges. Front Immunol 2021; 12:690565. [PMID: 34054880 PMCID: PMC8155510 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.690565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has become an indispensable part of the comprehensive treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Immunotherapy has proven effective in patients with early HCC, advanced HCC, or HCC recurrence after liver transplantation. Clinically, the most commonly used immunotherapy is immune checkpoint inhibition using monoclonal antibodies, such as CTLA-4 and PD-1. However, it cannot fundamentally solve the problems of a weakened immune system and inactivation of immune cells involved in killing tumor cells. T cells can express tumor antigen-recognizing T cell receptors (TCRs) or chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on the cell surface through gene editing to improve the specificity and responsiveness of immune cells. According to previous studies, TCR-T cell therapy is significantly better than CAR-T cell therapy in the treatment of solid tumors and is one of the most promising immune cell therapies for solid tumors so far. However, its application in the treatment of HCC is still being researched. Technological advancements in induction and redifferentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) allow us to use T cells to induce T cell-derived iPSCs (T-iPSCs) and then differentiate them into TCR-T cells. This has allowed a convenient strategy to study HCC models and explore optimal treatment strategies. This review gives an overview of the major advances in the development of protocols to generate neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells from T-iPSCs. We will also discuss their potential and challenges in the treatment of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Lu
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiao-Jing-Nan Ma
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wei-Lin Jin
- Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Institute of Cancer Neuroscience, Medical Frontier Innovation Research Center, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yang Luo
- Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xun Li
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Institute of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Health Science Center, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,Medical Frontier Innovation Research Center, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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12
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Sawaisorn P, Atjanasuppat K, Anurathapan U, Chutipongtanate S, Hongeng S. Strategies to Improve Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapies for Neuroblastoma. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8040753. [PMID: 33322408 PMCID: PMC7768386 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8040753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are among the curative immunotherapeutic approaches that exploit the antigen specificity and cytotoxicity function of potent immune cells against cancers. Neuroblastomas, the most common extracranial pediatric solid tumors with diverse characteristics, could be a promising candidate for using CAR therapies. Several methods harness CAR-modified cells in neuroblastoma to increase therapeutic efficiency, although the assessment has been less successful. Regarding the improvement of CARs, various trials have been launched to overcome insufficient capacity. However, the reasons behind the inadequate response against neuroblastoma of CAR-modified cells are still not well understood. It is essential to update the present state of comprehension of CARs to improve the efficiency of CAR therapies. This review summarizes the crucial features of CARs and their design for neuroblastoma, discusses challenges that impact the outcomes of the immunotherapeutic competence, and focuses on devising strategies currently being investigated to improve the efficacy of CARs for neuroblastoma immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piamsiri Sawaisorn
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; (P.S.); (K.A.); (U.A.)
| | - Korakot Atjanasuppat
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; (P.S.); (K.A.); (U.A.)
| | - Usanarat Anurathapan
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; (P.S.); (K.A.); (U.A.)
| | - Somchai Chutipongtanate
- Pediatric Translational Research Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
- Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Samut Prakan 10540, Thailand
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (S.H.)
| | - Suradej Hongeng
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; (P.S.); (K.A.); (U.A.)
- Correspondence: (S.C.); (S.H.)
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13
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Seyfoori A, Barough MS, Amereh M, Jush BK, Lum JJ, Akbari M. Bioengineered tissue models for the development of dynamic immuno-associated tumor models and high-throughput immunotherapy cytotoxicity assays. Drug Discov Today 2020; 26:455-473. [PMID: 33253917 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2020.11.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy is rapidly developing, with numerous therapies approved over the past decade and more therapies expected to gain approval in the future. However, immunotherapy of solid tumors has been less successful because immunosuppressive barriers limit immune cell trafficking and function against cancer cells. Interactions between suppressive immune cells, cytokines, and inhibitory factors are central to cancer immunotherapy approaches. In this review, we discuss recent advances in utilizing microfluidic platforms for understanding cancer-suppressive immune system interactions. Dendritic cell (DC)-mediated tumor models, infiltrated lymphocyte-mediated tumor models [e.g., natural killer (NK) cells, T cells, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, and macrophages], monocyte-mediated tumor models, and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) tumor models are among the various bioengineered immune cell-cancer cell interactions that we reviewed herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Seyfoori
- Laboratory for Innovations in Micro Engineering (LiME), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
| | | | - Meitham Amereh
- Laboratory for Innovations in Micro Engineering (LiME), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
| | - Bardia Khun Jush
- Laboratory for Innovations in Micro Engineering (LiME), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
| | - Julian J Lum
- Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC V8R 6V5, Canada; Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Mohsen Akbari
- Laboratory for Innovations in Micro Engineering (LiME), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada; Center for Biomedical Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada; Center for Advanced Materials and Related Technologies (CAMTEC), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada.
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14
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Seo ES, Lee EJ, Lee B, Shin M, Cho YS, Hyun JK, Cho HW, Ju HY, Yoo KH, Koo HH, Lee JW, Sung KW. Metastatic Burden Defines Clinically and Biologically Distinct Subgroups of Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma. J Clin Med 2020; 9:jcm9092730. [PMID: 32847064 PMCID: PMC7565784 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9092730] [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: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the prognostic subgroups of stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma based on metastatic burden and explore their distinct clinical and genomic features. Patients aged ≥18 months with stage 4 and metaiodobenzylguanidine-avid neuroblastoma were enrolled. One hundred and thirty eligible patients were treated under the tandem high-dose chemotherapy scheme. Prognostic significance of metastatic burden measured by the modified Curie score was analyzed using a competing risk approach, and the optimal cut-point was determined. Metastasis-specific subgroups (cut-point: 26) were compared using clinicopathological variables, and differential gene expression analysis and gene set variation analysis (GSVA) were performed using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Metastatic burden at diagnosis showed a progressive association with relapse/progression. After applying the cut-point, patients with high metastatic burden showed >3-fold higher risk of relapse/progression than those with low metastatic burden. Moreover, patients with high metastatic burden showed smaller primary tumors and higher biochemical marker levels than those with low metastatic burden. In the genomic analysis, 51 genes were found to be differentially expressed based on the set criteria. GSVA revealed 55 gene sets, which significantly distinguished patients with high metastatic burden from those with low metastatic burden at a false discovery rate <0.25. The results indicated the prognostic significance of metastatic burden in stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, and we identified the distinct clinicopathological and genomic features based on metastatic burden. This study may aid in the better understanding and risk-stratification of stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Seop Seo
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Eun-jin Lee
- Samsung Genome Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.-j.L.); (B.L.)
| | - Boram Lee
- Samsung Genome Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.-j.L.); (B.L.)
| | - Muheon Shin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (M.S.); (Y.-S.C.)
| | - Young-Seok Cho
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (M.S.); (Y.-S.C.)
| | - Ju Kyung Hyun
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Hee Won Cho
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Hee Young Ju
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Keon Hee Yoo
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Hong Hoe Koo
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
| | - Ji Won Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
- Correspondence: (J.W.L.); (K.W.S.); Tel.: +82-2-3410-0659 (J.W.L.); +82-2-3410-3529 (K.W.S.); Fax: +82-2-3410-0049 (K.W.S.)
| | - Ki Woong Sung
- Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.S.S.); (J.K.H.); (H.W.C.); (H.Y.J.); (K.H.Y.); (H.H.K.)
- Correspondence: (J.W.L.); (K.W.S.); Tel.: +82-2-3410-0659 (J.W.L.); +82-2-3410-3529 (K.W.S.); Fax: +82-2-3410-0049 (K.W.S.)
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15
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Poelaert BJ, Romanova S, Knoche SM, Olson MT, Sliker BH, Smits K, Dickey BL, Moffitt-Holida AEJ, Goetz BT, Khan N, Smith L, Band H, Mohs AM, Coulter DW, Bronich TK, Solheim JC. Nanoformulation of CCL21 greatly increases its effectiveness as an immunotherapy for neuroblastoma. J Control Release 2020; 327:266-283. [PMID: 32711026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Neuroblastoma is the most commonly diagnosed extracranial solid tumor in children. The patients with aggressive metastatic disease or refractory/relapsed neuroblastoma currently face a dismally low chance of survival. Thus, there is a great need for more effective therapies for this illness. In previous studies, we, as well as others, showed that the immune cell chemoattractant C-C motif chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21) is effective as an intratumoral therapy able to slow the growth of cancers. In this current study, we developed and tested an injectable, slow-release, uniform, and optimally loaded alginate nanoformulation of CCL21 as a means to provide prolonged intratumoral treatment. The alginate-nanoformulated CCL21, when injected intratumorally into mice bearing neuroblastoma lesions, significantly prolonged survival and decreased the tumor growth rate compared to CCL21 alone, empty nanoparticles, or buffer. Notably, we also observed complete tumor clearance and subsequent full protection against tumor rechallenge in 33% of nanoformulated CCL21-treated mice. Greater intratumoral presence of nanoformulated CCL21, compared to free CCL21, at days 1 and 2 after treatment ended was confirmed through fluorescent labeling and tracking. Nanoformulated CCL21-treated tumors exhibited a general pattern of prolonged increases in anti-tumor cytokines and relatively lower levels of pro-tumor cytokines in comparison to tumors treated with CCL21 alone or buffer only. Thus, this novel nanoformulation of CCL21 is an effective treatment for neuroblastoma, and may have potential for the delivery of CCL21 to other types of solid tumors in the future and as a slow-release delivery modality for other immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany J Poelaert
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Svetlana Romanova
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Shelby M Knoche
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Madeline T Olson
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Bailee H Sliker
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Kaitlin Smits
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Brittney L Dickey
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Alexandra E J Moffitt-Holida
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Benjamin T Goetz
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Nuzhat Khan
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Lynette Smith
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Department of Biostatistics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Hamid Band
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Aaron M Mohs
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Donald W Coulter
- Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Tatiana K Bronich
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America
| | - Joyce C Solheim
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America; Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, United States of America.
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16
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Jacqueline C, Finn OJ. Antibodies specific for disease-associated antigens (DAA) expressed in non-malignant diseases reveal potential new tumor-associated antigens (TAA) for immunotherapy or immunoprevention. Semin Immunol 2020; 47:101394. [PMID: 32273212 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2020.101394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Immune responses to a large number of mutated and non-mutated tumor antigens have been studied in an attempt to unravel the highly complex immune response to cancer. Better understanding of both the effectors and the targets of successful immunosurveillance can inform various immunotherapeutic approaches, which can strengthen or replace natural immunosurveillance that a tumor has managed to escape. In this review we highlight targets of antibodies generated in the context of diseases other than cancer, such as asthma, allergies, autoimmune disorders, inflammation and infections, where the antibody presence correlates either with an increased or a reduced lifetime risk of cancer. We focus on their target antigens, self-molecules abnormally expressed on diseased cells or cross-reactive with exogenous antigens and found on cancer cells as tumor associated antigens (TAA). We refer to them as disease-associated antigens (DAA). We review 4 distinct categories of antibodies according to their target DAA, their origin and their reported impact on cancer risk: natural antibodies, autoantibodies, long-term memory antibodies and allergy-associated antibodies. Increased understanding and focus on their specific targets could enable a more rational choice of antigens for both therapeutic and preventative cancer vaccines and other more effective and less toxic cancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Jacqueline
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Olivera J Finn
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA.
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17
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Raza A, Merhi M, Inchakalody VP, Krishnankutty R, Relecom A, Uddin S, Dermime S. Unleashing the immune response to NY-ESO-1 cancer testis antigen as a potential target for cancer immunotherapy. J Transl Med 2020; 18:140. [PMID: 32220256 PMCID: PMC7102435 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02306-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cancer Immunotherapy has recently emerged as a promising and effective modality to treat different malignancies. Antigenic profiling of cancer tissues and determination of any pre-existing immune responses to cancer antigens may help predict responses to immune intervention in cancer. NY-ESO-1, a cancer testis antigen is the most immunogenic antigen to date. The promise of NY-ESO-1 as a candidate for specific immune recognition of cancer comes from its restricted expression in normal adult tissue but frequent occurrence in multiple tumors including melanoma and carcinomas of lung, esophageal, liver, gastric, prostrate, ovarian, and bladder. MAIN BODY This review summarizes current knowledge of NY-ESO-1 as efficient biomarker and target of immunotherapy. It also addresses limitations and challenges preventing a robust immune response to NY-ESO-1 expressing cancers, and describes pre-clinical and clinical observations relevant to NY-ESO-1 immunity, holding potential therapeutic relevance for cancer treatment. CONCLUSION NY-ESO-1 induces strong immune responses in cancer patients but has limited objective clinical responses to NY-ESO-1 expressing tumors due to effect of competitive negative signaling from immune-checkpoints and immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. We propose that combination therapy to increase the efficacy of NY-ESO-1 specific immunotherapeutic interventions should be explored to unleash the immune response against NY-ESO-1 expressing tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afsheen Raza
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.,Translational Cancer Research Facility and Clinical Trial Unit, Interim Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Maysaloun Merhi
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.,Translational Cancer Research Facility and Clinical Trial Unit, Interim Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Varghese Philipose Inchakalody
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.,Translational Cancer Research Facility and Clinical Trial Unit, Interim Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - Allan Relecom
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Shahab Uddin
- Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Said Dermime
- National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. .,Translational Cancer Research Facility and Clinical Trial Unit, Interim Translational Research Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. .,Hamad Medical Corporation, iTRI, Hamad Medical City (Building 320, Office 3-6-5), Po Box 3050, Doha, Qatar.
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18
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Monitoring Immune Responses in Neuroblastoma Patients during Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020519. [PMID: 32102342 PMCID: PMC7072382 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NBL) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. Despite intense treatment, children with this high-risk disease have a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy showed a significant improvement in event-free survival in high-risk NBL patients receiving chimeric anti-GD2 in combination with cytokines and isotretinoin after myeloablative consolidation therapy. However, response to immunotherapy varies widely, and often therapy is stopped due to severe toxicities. Objective markers that help to predict which patients will respond or develop toxicity to a certain treatment are lacking. Immunotherapy guided via immune monitoring protocols will help to identify responders as early as possible, to decipher the immune response at play, and to adjust or develop new treatment strategies. In this review, we summarize recent studies investigating frequency and phenotype of immune cells in NBL patients prior and during current treatment protocols and highlight how these findings are related to clinical outcome. In addition, we discuss potential targets to improve immunogenicity and strategies that may help to improve therapy efficacy. We conclude that immune monitoring during therapy of NBL patients is essential to identify predictive biomarkers to guide patients towards effective treatment, with limited toxicities and optimal quality of life.
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19
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Li D, Li X, Zhou WL, Huang Y, Liang X, Jiang L, Yang X, Sun J, Li Z, Han WD, Wang W. Genetically engineered T cells for cancer immunotherapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2019; 4:35. [PMID: 31637014 PMCID: PMC6799837 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-019-0070-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
T cells in the immune system protect the human body from infection by pathogens and clear mutant cells through specific recognition by T cell receptors (TCRs). Cancer immunotherapy, by relying on this basic recognition method, boosts the antitumor efficacy of T cells by unleashing the inhibition of immune checkpoints and expands adaptive immunity by facilitating the adoptive transfer of genetically engineered T cells. T cells genetically equipped with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) or TCRs have shown remarkable effectiveness in treating some hematological malignancies, although the efficacy of engineered T cells in treating solid tumors is far from satisfactory. In this review, we summarize the development of genetically engineered T cells, outline the most recent studies investigating genetically engineered T cells for cancer immunotherapy, and discuss strategies for improving the performance of these T cells in fighting cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Li
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Xue Li
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Wei-Lin Zhou
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Yong Huang
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Xiao Liang
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
- Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Xiao Yang
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Department of Cell Biology, and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310058 Zhejiang, China
- Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University & Laboratory of Stem cell and Immunotherapy Engineering, 310058 Zhejing, China
| | - Zonghai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 200032 Shanghai, China
- CARsgen Therapeutics, 200032 Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Dong Han
- Molecular & Immunological Department, Biotherapeutic Department, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, 100853 Beijing, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Biotherapy, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041 Chengdu, China
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20
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Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common and deadly malignancy mostly observed in children. Evolution of therapeutic options for NB led to the addition of immunotherapeutic modalities to the previously recruited chemotherapeutic options. Molecular studies of the NB cells resulted in the discovery of many tumor-associated genes and antigens such as MYCN gene and GD2. MYCN gene and GD2 surface antigen are two of the most practical discoveries regarding immunotherapy of neuroblastoma. The GD2 antigen has been targeted in many animal and human studies including Phase III clinical trials. Even though these antigens have changed the face of pediatric neuroblastoma, they do not take as much credit in immunotherapy of adult-onset neuroblastoma. Monoclonal antibodies have been designed to detect this antigen on the surface of NB tumor cells. Despite bettering the outcomes for NB patients, current therapies still fail in many cases. Studies are underway to discover more specific tumor-associated antigens and more effective treatment options. In the current narrative, immunotherapy of NB - from emerging of this therapeutic backbone in NB to the latest discoveries regarding this malignancy - has been reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parnian Jabbari
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies (RCID), Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.,Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy & Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education & Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Sara Hanaei
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies (RCID), Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.,Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy & Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education & Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Nima Rezaei
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies (RCID), Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.,Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.,Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy & Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education & Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
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21
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Martinez M, Moon EK. CAR T Cells for Solid Tumors: New Strategies for Finding, Infiltrating, and Surviving in the Tumor Microenvironment. Front Immunol 2019; 10:128. [PMID: 30804938 PMCID: PMC6370640 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 529] [Impact Index Per Article: 105.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, T cells that have been genetically engineered to express a receptor that recognizes a specific antigen, have given rise to breakthroughs in treating hematological malignancies. However, their success in treating solid tumors has been limited. The unique challenges posed to CAR T cell therapy by solid tumors can be described in three steps: finding, entering, and surviving in the tumor. The use of dual CAR designs that recognize multiple antigens at once and local administration of CAR T cells are both strategies that have been used to overcome the hurdle of localization to the tumor. Additionally, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment has implications for T cell function in terms of differentiation and exhaustion, and combining CARs with checkpoint blockade or depletion of other suppressive factors in the microenvironment has shown very promising results to mitigate the phenomenon of T cell exhaustion. Finally, identifying and overcoming mechanisms associated with dysfunction in CAR T cells is of vital importance to generating CAR T cells that can proliferate and successfully eliminate tumor cells. The structure and costimulatory domains chosen for the CAR may play an important role in the overall function of CAR T cells in the TME, and “armored” CARs that secrete cytokines and third- and fourth-generation CARs with multiple costimulatory domains offer ways to enhance CAR T cell function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Martinez
- Perelman School of Medicine, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Edmund Kyung Moon
- Perelman School of Medicine, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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22
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Novel Immunotherapeutic Approaches for Neuroblastoma and Malignant Melanoma. J Immunol Res 2018; 2018:8097398. [PMID: 30510968 PMCID: PMC6232800 DOI: 10.1155/2018/8097398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) and malignant melanoma (MM), tumors of pediatric age and adulthood, respectively, share a common origin, both of them deriving from the neural crest cells. Although NB and MM have a different behavior, in respect to age of onset, primary tissue involvement and metastatic spread, the prognosis for high stage-affected patients is still poor, in spite of aggressive treatment strategies and the huge amount of new discovered biological knowledge. For these reasons researchers are continuously attempting to find out new treatment options, which in a near future could be translated to the clinical practice. In the last two decades, a strong effort has been spent in the field of translational research of immunotherapy which led to satisfactory results. Indeed, several immunotherapeutic clinical trials have been performed and some of them also resulted beneficial. Here, we summarize preclinical studies based on immunotherapeutic approaches applied in models of both NB and MM.
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23
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Camisaschi C, Renne SL, Beretta V, Rini F, Spagnuolo RD, Tuccitto A, Podda MG, Parmiani G, Rivoltini L, Collini P, Castelli C, Luksch R. Immune landscape and in vivo immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen in advanced neuroblastoma patients. BMC Cancer 2018; 18:983. [PMID: 30326856 PMCID: PMC6192300 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-4910-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Indirect evidence suggesting the immunosensitivity/immunogenicity of neuroblastoma is accumulating. The aims of this study were to investigate the immune landscape of neuroblastoma and to evaluate the in vivo immunogenicity of the NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen in advanced neuroblastoma patients. METHODS The immune infiltrating cells of the NY-ESO-1+ tumors from three HLA*A201 patients with metastatic neuroblastoma who relapsed after conventional treatments were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The patients were vaccinated with the HLA-A*0201-restricted peptide NY-ESO-1157-165(V). The peptide was emulsified in Montanide ISA51 and given subcutaneously in a phase I pilot study. The immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 antigen was evaluated by monitoring mononuclear cells in patient peripheral blood, pre- and post-vaccine, by short-term in vitro sensitization, HLA-multimer staining and IFN-γ ELISpot analysis. RESULTS Both CD3 T cells and CD163 myeloid cells were present in pre-vaccine tumors and PD-1 and PD-L1 expression was mainly found in the immune infiltrate. Despite the advanced stage of the disease, the vaccination induced systemic NY-ESO-1 specific CD8 T cells releasing IFN-γ in response to activation with the NY-ESO-1 peptide and an HLA-A2 positive neuroblastoma cell line. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that vaccination with a tumor-associated peptide is able to boost NY-ESO-1-specific, functionally active T cells in advanced neuroblastoma patients with lymphocyte infiltration in their pre-vaccine tumors. TRIAL REGISTRATION EudraCT #2006-002859-33.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Camisaschi
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Salvatore Lorenzo Renne
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Soft Tissue and Bone Pathology, Histopathology and Pediatric Pathology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Valeria Beretta
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Rini
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Rosalin Dolores Spagnuolo
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Soft Tissue and Bone Pathology, Histopathology and Pediatric Pathology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandra Tuccitto
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Marta Giorgia Podda
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via G. Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Parmiani
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Licia Rivoltini
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Collini
- Department of Diagnostic Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Soft Tissue and Bone Pathology, Histopathology and Pediatric Pathology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Castelli
- Department of Experimental Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Luksch
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via G. Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy.
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24
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review will discuss the challenges facing adoptive cell techniques in the treatment of solid tumors and examine the therapies that are in development for specifically pediatric solid tumors. RECENT FINDINGS Targeting solid tumors with adoptive cell therapy has been limited by the inhibitory tumor microenvironment and heterogeneous expression of targetable antigens. Many creative strategies to overcome these limitations are being developed but still need to be tested clinically. Early phase clinical trials in neuroblastoma with GD2 CAR T cells are promising but results need to be validated on a larger scale. Most research in other pediatric solid tumors is still in early stages. Adoptive cell therapy represents a useful tool to improve the outcomes of many pediatric solid tumors but significant study is still required. Several clinical trials are ongoing to test therapies that have shown promise in the lab.
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25
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Baldauf MC, Gerke JS, Kirschner A, Blaeschke F, Effenberger M, Schober K, Rubio RA, Kanaseki T, Kiran MM, Dallmayer M, Musa J, Akpolat N, Akatli AN, Rosman FC, Özen Ö, Sugita S, Hasegawa T, Sugimura H, Baumhoer D, Knott MML, Sannino G, Marchetto A, Li J, Busch DH, Feuchtinger T, Ohmura S, Orth MF, Thiel U, Kirchner T, Grünewald TGP. Systematic identification of cancer-specific MHC-binding peptides with RAVEN. Oncoimmunology 2018; 7:e1481558. [PMID: 30228952 PMCID: PMC6140548 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2018.1481558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy can revolutionize anti-cancer therapy if specific targets are available. Immunogenic peptides encoded by cancer-specific genes (CSGs) may enable targeted immunotherapy, even of oligo-mutated cancers, which lack neo-antigens generated by protein-coding missense mutations. Here, we describe an algorithm and user-friendly software named RAVEN (Rich Analysis of Variable gene Expressions in Numerous tissues) that automatizes the systematic and fast identification of CSG-encoded peptides highly affine to Major Histocompatibility Complexes (MHC) starting from transcriptome data. We applied RAVEN to a dataset assembled from 2,678 simultaneously normalized gene expression microarrays comprising 50 tumor entities, with a focus on oligo-mutated pediatric cancers, and 71 normal tissue types. RAVEN performed a transcriptome-wide scan in each cancer entity for gender-specific CSGs, and identified several established CSGs, but also many novel candidates potentially suitable for targeting multiple cancer types. The specific expression of the most promising CSGs was validated in cancer cell lines and in a comprehensive tissue-microarray. Subsequently, RAVEN identified likely immunogenic CSG-encoded peptides by predicting their affinity to MHCs and excluded sequence identity to abundantly expressed proteins by interrogating the UniProt protein-database. The predicted affinity of selected peptides was validated in T2-cell peptide-binding assays in which many showed binding-kinetics like a very immunogenic influenza control peptide. Collectively, we provide an exquisitely curated catalogue of cancer-specific and highly MHC-affine peptides across 50 cancer types, and a freely available software (https://github.com/JSGerke/RAVENsoftware) to easily apply our algorithm to any gene expression dataset. We anticipate that our peptide libraries and software constitute a rich resource to advance anti-cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela C Baldauf
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julia S Gerke
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Kirschner
- Children's Cancer Research Center, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Franziska Blaeschke
- Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner'sches Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Manuel Effenberger
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Kilian Schober
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Rebeca Alba Rubio
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Merve M Kiran
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Marlene Dallmayer
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Julian Musa
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Nurset Akpolat
- Department of Pathology, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey
| | - Ayse N Akatli
- Department of Pathology, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey
| | - Fernando C Rosman
- Department for Pathology, Hospital Municipal Jesus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Özlem Özen
- Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Başkent University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Shintaro Sugita
- Department of Pathology, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Tadashi Hasegawa
- Department of Pathology, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Haruhiko Sugimura
- Department of Tumor Pathology, Hamamatsu School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
| | - Daniel Baumhoer
- Bone Tumor Reference Center, Institute of Pathology of the University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maximilian M L Knott
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Giuseppina Sannino
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Aruna Marchetto
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jing Li
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Dirk H Busch
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Feuchtinger
- Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner'sches Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Shunya Ohmura
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin F Orth
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Uwe Thiel
- Children's Cancer Research Center, Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Kirchner
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas G P Grünewald
- Faculty of Medicine, Max-Eder Research Group for Pediatric Sarcoma Biology, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich, Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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26
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Toward Engineered Cells as Transformational and Broadly Available Medicines for the Treatment of Cancer. Oncoimmunology 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-62431-0_42] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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27
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Chüeh AC, Liew MS, Russell PA, Walkiewicz M, Jayachandran A, Starmans MH, Boutros PC, Wright G, Barnett SA, Mariadason JM, John T. Promoter hypomethylation of NY-ESO-1, association with clinicopathological features and PD-L1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer. Oncotarget 2017; 8:74036-74048. [PMID: 29088766 PMCID: PMC5650321 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.18198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer-Testis antigens (CTA) are immunogenic molecules with normal tissue expression restricted to testes but with aberrant expression in up to 30% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Regulation of CTA expression is mediated in part through promoter DNA methylation. Recently, immunotherapy has altered treatment paradigms in NSCLC. Given its immunogenicity and ability to be re-expressed through demethylation, NY-ESO-1 promoter methylation, protein expression and its association with programmed death receptor ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression and clinicopathological features were investigated. Lung cancer cell line demethylation resulting from 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment was associated with both NY-ESO-1 and PD-L1 re-expression in vitro but not increased chemosensitivity. NY-ESO-1 hypomethylation was observed in 15/94 (16%) of patient samples and associated with positive protein expression (P < 0.0001). In contrast, PD-L1 expression was observed in 50/91 (55%) but strong expression in only 12/91 (13%) cases. There was no association between NY-ESO-1 and PD-L1 expression, despite resultant re-expression of both by 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine. Importantly, NY-ESO-1 hypomethylation was found to be an independent marker of poor prognosis in patients not treated with chemotherapy (HR 3.59, P = 0.003) in multivariate analysis. In patients treated with chemotherapy there were no differences in survival associated with NY-ESO-1 hypomethylation. Collectively, these results provided supporting evidence for the potential use of NY-ESO-1 hypomethylation as a prognostic biomarker in stage 3 NSCLCs. In addition, these data highlight the potential to incorporate demethylating agents to enhance immune activation, in tumours currently devoid of immune infiltrates and expression of immune checkpoint genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderly C. Chüeh
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 2 Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mun-Sem Liew
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 2 Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 3 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Victoria, Australia
| | - Prudence A. Russell
- 4 Department of Anatomical Pathology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marzena Walkiewicz
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 3 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aparna Jayachandran
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 3 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Victoria, Australia
- 5 School of Cancer Medicine, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Maud H.W. Starmans
- 6 Informatics and Biocomputing Program, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Canada
| | - Paul C. Boutros
- 6 Informatics and Biocomputing Program, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Canada
- 7 Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- 8 Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Gavin Wright
- 9 Department of Thoracic Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Victoria, Australia
| | - Stephen A Barnett
- 10 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - John M. Mariadason
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 2 Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 3 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Victoria, Australia
- 5 School of Cancer Medicine, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thomas John
- 1 Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Melbourne-Austin Branch, Victoria, Australia
- 2 Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 3 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Victoria, Australia
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28
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Mo Z, Du P, Wang G, Wang Y. The Multi-Purpose Tool of Tumor Immunotherapy: Gene-Engineered T Cells. J Cancer 2017; 8:1690-1703. [PMID: 28775789 PMCID: PMC5535725 DOI: 10.7150/jca.18681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
A detailed summary of the published clinical trials of chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) and TCR-transduced T cells (TCR-T) was constructed to understand the development trend of adoptive T cell therapy (ACT). In contrast to TCR-T, the number of CAR-T clinical trials has increased dramatically in China in the last three years. The ACT seems to be very prosperous. But, the multidimensional interaction of tumor, tumor associated antigen (TAA) and normal tissue exacerbates the uncontrolled outcome of T cells gene therapy. It reminds us the importance that optimizing treatment security to prevent the fatal serious adverse events. How to balance the safety and effectiveness of the ACT? At least six measures can potentially optimize the safety of ACT. At the same time, with the application of gene editing techniques, more endogenous receptors are disrupted while more exogenous receptors are expressed on T cells. As a multi-purpose tool of tumor immunotherapy, gene-engineered T cells (GE-T) have been given different functional weapons. A network which is likely to link radiation therapy, tumor vaccines, CAR-T and TCR-T is being built. Moreover, more and more evidences indicated that the combination of the ACT and other therapies would further enhance the anti-tumor capacity of the GE-T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeming Mo
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 610041
| | - Peixin Du
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 610041
| | - Guoping Wang
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 610041
| | - Yongsheng Wang
- Department of Thoracic Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 610041
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29
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Singh N, Hofmann TJ, Gershenson Z, Levine BL, Grupp SA, Teachey DT, Barrett DM. Monocyte lineage-derived IL-6 does not affect chimeric antigen receptor T-cell function. Cytotherapy 2017; 19:867-880. [PMID: 28506444 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting CD19 has demonstrated remarkable success in targeting B-cell malignancies but is often complicated by serious systemic toxicity in the form of cytokine release syndrome (CRS). CRS symptoms are primarily mediated by interleukin 6 (IL-6), and clinical management has focused on inhibition of IL-6 signaling. The cellular source and function of IL-6 in CRS remain unknown. METHODS Using co-culture assays and data from patients on our clinical CAR T-cell trials, we investigated the cellular source of IL-6, as well as other CRS-associated cytokines, during CAR T-cell activation. We also explored the effect that IL-6 has on T-cell function. RESULTS We demonstrated that IL-6 is secreted by monocyte-lineage cells in response to CAR T-cell activation in a contact-independent mechanism upon T-cell engagement of target leukemia. We observed that the presence of antigen-presenting cell-derived IL-6 has no impact on CAR T-cell transcriptional profiles or cytotoxicity. Finally, we confirm that CAR T cells do not secrete IL-6 in vivo during clinical CRS. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that IL-6 blockade will not affect CD19 CAR T-cell-driven anti-leukemic cytotoxicity, permitting enhanced control of CRS while maintaining CAR T-cell efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Singh
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
| | - Ted J Hofmann
- Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Zachary Gershenson
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Bruce L Levine
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Stephan A Grupp
- Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David T Teachey
- Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David M Barrett
- Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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30
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Zhen Z, Yang K, Ye L, You Z, Chen R, Liu Y, He Y. HLA-E inhibitor enhances the killing of neuroblastoma stem cells by co-cultured dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells loaded with membrane-based microparticles. Am J Cancer Res 2017; 7:334-345. [PMID: 28337381 PMCID: PMC5336506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroblastoma stem cells (NSCs) can cause drug resistance and tumor recurrence. This study aimed to enhance the lytic effect of dendritic cells (DCs) co-cultured with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells. NSCs were obtained by suspension culture, and DC-CIK cells were loaded with extracted NSC membrane-based microparticles (MMPs) before evaluating the lytic effect of DC-CIK cells on NSCs. After inhibiting the function or expression of human leukocyte antigen-E (HLA-E) in NSCs by anti-HLA-E monoclonal antibody or siRNA, the DC-CIK cell lytic effect on NSCs was re-assessed. NSC nestin expression was high, but glial fibrillary acid protein expression and class IIIβ-tubulin-1 expression were low. Moreover, NSCs exhibited strong tumorigenic ability in nude mice. Loading DCs with NSC-derived MMPs induced the differentiation of DCs and CIK cells and enhanced the killing of NSCs by DC-CIK cells. Inhibiting the function or expression of HLA-E in NSCs further enhanced the cytolytic capability of DC-CIK cells loaded with NSC-derived MMPs. HLA-E inhibitor can enhance the killing of NSC by DC-CIK cells loaded with NSC-derived MMPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijun Zhen
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer CenterGuangzhou, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Kaibin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Litong Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Zhiyao You
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Rirong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Ying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of MedicineGuangzhou, China
| | - Youjian He
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South ChinaGuangzhou, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer MedicineGuangzhou, China
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer CenterGuangzhou, China
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Abstract
Adoptive T-cell therapies have shown exceptional promise in the treatment of cancer, especially B-cell malignancies. Two distinct strategies have been used to redirect the activity of ex vivo engineered T cells. In one case, the well-known ability of the T-cell receptor (TCR) to recognize a specific peptide bound to a major histocompatibility complex molecule has been exploited by introducing a TCR against a cancer-associated peptide/human leukocyte antigen complex. In the other strategy, synthetic constructs called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that contain antibody variable domains (single-chain fragments variable) and signaling domains have been introduced into T cells. Whereas many reviews have described these two approaches, this review focuses on a few recent advances of significant interest. The early success of CARs has been followed by questions about optimal configurations of these synthetic constructs, especially for efficacy against solid tumors. Among the many features that are important, the dimensions and stoichiometries of CAR/antigen complexes at the synapse have recently begun to be appreciated. In TCR-mediated approaches, recent evidence that mutated peptides (neoantigens) serve as targets for endogenous T-cell responses suggests that these neoantigens may also provide new opportunities for adoptive T-cell therapies with TCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preeti Sharma
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - David M Kranz
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
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