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Mirbahari SN, Da Silva M, Zúñiga AIM, Kooshki Zamani N, St-Laurent G, Totonchi M, Azad T. Recent progress in combination therapy of oncolytic vaccinia virus. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1272351. [PMID: 38558795 PMCID: PMC10979700 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1272351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, oncolytic viruses have emerged as promising agents for treating various cancers. An oncolytic virus is a non-pathogenic virus that, due to genetic manipulation, tends to replicate in and cause lysis of cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells unaffected. Among these viruses, vaccinia virus is an attractive platform for use as an oncolytic platform due to its 190 Kb genome with a high capacity for encoding therapeutic payloads. Combining oncolytic VV therapy with other conventional cancer treatments has been shown to be synergistic and more effective than monotherapies. Additionally, OVV can be used as a vector to deliver therapeutic payloads, alone or in combination with other treatments, to increase overall efficacy. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of preclinical and clinical studies that have evaluated the efficacy of oncolytic vaccinia viruses in cancer immunotherapy. We discuss the outcomes of these studies, including tumor regression rates, overall survival benefits, and long-term responses. Moreover, we provide insights into the challenges and limitations associated with oncolytic vaccinia virus- based therapies, including immune evasion mechanisms, potential toxicities, and the development of resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyedeh Nasim Mirbahari
- Faculty of Sciences and Advanced Technologies in Biology, University of Science and Culture, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
- Department of Genetics, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
| | - Miles Da Silva
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Abril Ixchel Muñoz Zúñiga
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Nika Kooshki Zamani
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Gabriel St-Laurent
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Mehdi Totonchi
- Department of Genetics, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Tehran, Iran
| | - Taha Azad
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHUS, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
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Santry LA, van Vloten JP, AuYeung AWK, Mould RC, Yates JGE, McAusland TM, Petrik JJ, Major PP, Bridle BW, Wootton SK. Recombinant Newcastle disease viruses expressing immunological checkpoint inhibitors induce a pro-inflammatory state and enhance tumor-specific immune responses in two murine models of cancer. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1325558. [PMID: 38328418 PMCID: PMC10847535 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1325558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Tumor microenvironments are immunosuppressive due to progressive accumulation of mutations in cancer cells that can drive expression of a range of inhibitory ligands and cytokines, and recruitment of immunomodulatory cells, including myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), tumor-associated macrophages, and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Methods To reverse this immunosuppression, we engineered mesogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) to express immunological checkpoint inhibitors anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 and soluble programmed death protein-1. Results Intratumoral administration of recombinant NDV (rNDV) to mice bearing intradermal B16-F10 melanomas or subcutaneous CT26LacZ colon carcinomas led to significant changes in the tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte profiles. Vectorizing immunological checkpoint inhibitors in NDV increased activation of intratumoral natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells and decreased Tregs and MDSCs, suggesting induction of a pro-inflammatory state with greater infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells. These notable changes translated to higher ratios of activated effector/suppressor tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in both cancer models, which is a promising prognostic marker. Whereas all rNDV-treated groups showed evidence of tumor regression and increased survival in the CT26LacZ and B16-F10, only treatment with NDV expressing immunological checkpoint blockades led to complete responses compared to tumors treated with NDV only. Discussion These data demonstrated that NDV expressing immunological checkpoint inhibitors could reverse the immunosuppressive state of tumor microenvironments and enhance tumor-specific T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A. Santry
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jacob P. van Vloten
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Amanda W. K. AuYeung
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Robert C. Mould
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jacob G. E. Yates
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Thomas M. McAusland
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - James J. Petrik
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | | | - Byram W. Bridle
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah K. Wootton
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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Chen L, Zuo M, Zhou Q, Wang Y. Oncolytic virotherapy in cancer treatment: challenges and optimization prospects. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1308890. [PMID: 38169820 PMCID: PMC10758479 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1308890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are emerging cancer therapeutics that offer a multifaceted therapeutic platform for the benefits of replicating and lysing tumor cells, being engineered to express transgenes, modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME), and having a tolerable safety profile that does not overlap with other cancer therapeutics. The mechanism of OVs combined with other antitumor agents is based on immune-mediated attack resistance and might benefit patients who fail to achieve durable responses after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. In this Review, we summarize data on the OV mechanism and limitations of monotherapy, which are currently in the process of combination partner development, especially with ICIs. We discuss some of the hurdles that have limited the preclinical and clinical development of OVs. We also describe the available data and provide guidance for optimizing OVs in clinical practice, as well as a summary of approved and promising novel OVs with clinical indications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingjuan Chen
- Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Institute of Radiation Oncology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Precision Radiation Oncology, Wuhan, China
| | - Mengsi Zuo
- Department of Oncology, The Sixth Hospital of Wuhan, Affiliated Hospital of Jianghan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Qin Zhou
- National “111” Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), College of Bioengineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yang Wang
- National “111” Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), College of Bioengineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, China
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Remy C, Pintado E, Dunlop M, Schön S, Kleinpeter P, Rozanes H, Fend L, Brandely R, Geist M, Suhner D, Winter E, Silvestre N, Huguet C, Fitzgerald P, Quéméneur E, Marchand JB. Design and selection of anti-PD-L1 single-domain antibody and tumor necrosis factor superfamily ligands for an optimal vectorization in an oncolytic virus. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1247802. [PMID: 38053848 PMCID: PMC10694795 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1247802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Arming oncolytic viruses with transgenes encoding immunomodulators improves their therapeutic efficacy by enhancing and/or sustaining the innate and adaptive anti-tumoral immune responses. We report here the isolation, selection, and vectorization of a blocking anti-human PDL1 single-domain antibody (sdAb) isolated from PDL1-immunized alpacas. Several formats of this sdAb were vectorized into the vaccinia virus (VV) and evaluated for their programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1)/PD1 ligand (PDL1) blocking activity in the culture medium of tumor cells infected in vitro. In those conditions, VV-encoded homodimeric sdAb generated superior PDL1 blocking activity compared to a benchmark virus encoding full-length avelumab. The sdAb was further used to design simple, secreted, and small tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFSF) fusions with the ability to engage their cognate receptors (TNFRSF) only in the presence of PDL1-positive cells. Finally, PDL1-independent alternatives of TNFRSF agonists were also constructed by fusing different variants of surfactant protein-D (SP-D) oligomerization domains with TNFSF ectodomains. An optimal SP-D-CD40L fusion with an SP-D collagen domain reduced by 80% was identified by screening with a transfection/infection method where poxvirus transfer plasmids and vaccinia virus were successively introduced into the same cell. However, once vectorized in VV, this construct had a much lower CD40 agonist activity compared to the SP-D-CD40L construct, which is completely devoid of the collagen domain that was finally selected. This latest result highlights the importance of working with recombinant viruses early in the payload selection process. Altogether, these results bring several complementary solutions to arm oncolytic vectors with powerful immunomodulators to improve their immune-based anti-tumoral activity.
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Houel A, Foloppe J. [Oncolytic viruses: Actors and deliverers of therapeutic proteins against tumors]. Med Sci (Paris) 2023; 39:845-854. [PMID: 38018928 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2023161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The discovery of the unique ability of certain viruses to specifically target cancer cells has led to significant advancements in cancer immunotherapy research. In addition to inducing specific lysis of cancer cells, oncolytic viruses (OV) have been genetically modified to express molecules of interest within the tumor bed. The use of OV as vectors for therapeutic molecules has allowed to enhance antitumor responses while limiting the adverse effects associated with systemic administration of the molecule. Other studies are currently focused on delaying the neutralization and clearance of the virus by the host's immune system and improving its delivery insight tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Houel
- UMRS 1 135 Sorbonne université, Paris, France - Inserm U1135, Paris, France - Équipe « Microenvironnement immunitaire et immunothérapie », centre d'immunologie et des maladies infectieuses (Cimi), faculté de médecine, Sorbonne université, Paris, France - Transgene, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
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Lovatt C, Parker AL. Oncolytic Viruses and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: The "Hot" New Power Couple. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4178. [PMID: 37627206 PMCID: PMC10453115 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15164178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer care and shown remarkable efficacy clinically. This efficacy is, however, limited to subsets of patients with significant infiltration of lymphocytes into the tumour microenvironment. To extend their efficacy to patients who fail to respond or achieve durable responses, it is now becoming evident that complex combinations of immunomodulatory agents may be required to extend efficacy to patients with immunologically "cold" tumours. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) have the capacity to selectively replicate within and kill tumour cells, resulting in the induction of immunogenic cell death and the augmentation of anti-tumour immunity, and have emerged as a promising modality for combination therapy to overcome the limitations seen with ICIs. Pre-clinical and clinical data have demonstrated that OVs can increase immune cell infiltration into the tumour and induce anti-tumour immunity, thus changing a "cold" tumour microenvironment that is commonly associated with poor response to ICIs, to a "hot" microenvironment which can render patients more susceptible to ICIs. Here, we review the major viral vector platforms used in OV clinical trials, their success when used as a monotherapy and when combined with adjuvant ICIs, as well as pre-clinical studies looking at the effectiveness of encoding OVs to deliver ICIs locally to the tumour microenvironment through transgene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Lovatt
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK;
| | - Alan L. Parker
- Division of Cancer and Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK;
- Systems Immunity University Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
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Wan PKT, Fernandes RA, Seymour LW. Oncolytic viruses and antibodies: are they more successful when delivered separately or when engineered as a single agent? J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e006518. [PMID: 37541690 PMCID: PMC10407364 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-006518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) provide the promise of tumor-selective cytotoxicity coupled with amplification of the therapeutic agent (the virus) in situ within the tumor improving its therapeutic index. Despite this promise, however, single agent-treatments have not been as successful as combination therapies, particularly combining with checkpoint inhibitor antibodies. The antibodies may be delivered by two approaches, either encoded within the OV genome to restrict antibody production to sites of active virus infection or alternatively given alongside OVs as separate treatments. Both approaches have shown promising therapeutic outcomes, and this leads to an interesting question of whether one approach is potentially better than the other. In this review, we provide a brief summary of the combination OV-antibody therapies that target tumor cells, tumor microenvironment and immune cells to help define key parameters influencing which approach is superior, thereby improving insight into the rational design of OV treatment strategies.
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Silva-Pilipich N, Covo-Vergara Á, Vanrell L, Smerdou C. Checkpoint blockade meets gene therapy: Opportunities to improve response and reduce toxicity. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 379:43-86. [PMID: 37541727 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2023.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) based on monoclonal antibodies represent a breakthrough for the treatment of cancer. However, their efficacy varies among tumor types and patients, and they can lead to adverse effects due to on-target/off-tumor activity, since they are administered systemically at high doses. An alternative and attractive approach for the delivery of ICIs is the use of gene therapy vectors able to express them in vivo. This review focuses on the most recent studies using viral vectors able to express ICIs locally or systemically in preclinical models of cancer. These vectors include non-replicating viruses, oncolytic viruses able to propagate specifically in tumor cells and destroy them, and self-amplifying RNA vectors, armed with different formats of antibodies against immune checkpoints. Non-replicating vectors usually lead to long-term ICI expression, potentially eliminating the need for repeated administration. Vectors with replication capacity, although they have a shorter window of expression, can induce inflammation which enhances the antitumor effect. Finally, these engineered vectors can be used in combination with other immunostimulatory molecules or with CAR-T cells, further boosting the antitumor immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Silva-Pilipich
- Division of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Cima Universidad de Navarra, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdISNA), and CCUN, Pamplona, Spain.
| | - Ángela Covo-Vergara
- Division of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Cima Universidad de Navarra, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdISNA), and CCUN, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Lucía Vanrell
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad ORT Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; Nanogrow Biotech, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Cristian Smerdou
- Division of Gene Therapy and Regulation of Gene Expression, Cima Universidad de Navarra, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdISNA), and CCUN, Pamplona, Spain.
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Xie J, Wang S, Zhong Y, Gao M, Tian X, Zhang L, Pan D, Qin Q, Wu B, Lan K, Sun ZJ, Zhang J. Oncolytic herpes simplex virus armed with a bacterial GBP1 degrader improves antitumor activity. Mol Ther Oncolytics 2023; 29:61-76. [PMID: 37223114 PMCID: PMC10200819 DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2023.04.006] [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] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) encoding various transgenes are being evaluated for cancer immunotherapy. Diverse factors such as cytokines, immune checkpoint inhibitors, tumor-associated antigens, and T cell engagers have been exploited as transgenes. These modifications are primarily aimed to reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. By contrast, antiviral restriction factors that inhibit the replication of OVs and result in suboptimal oncolytic activity have received far less attention. Here, we report that guanylate-binding protein 1 (GBP1) is potently induced during HSV-1 infection and restricts HSV-1 replication. Mechanistically, GBP1 remodels cytoskeletal organization to impede nuclear entry of HSV-1 genome. Previous studies have established that IpaH9.8, a bacterial E3 ubiquitin ligase, targets GBPs for proteasomal degradation. We therefore engineered an oncolytic HSV-1 to express IpaH9.8 and found that the modified OV effectively antagonized GBP1, replicated to a higher titer in vitro and showed superior antitumor activity in vivo. Our study features a strategy for improving the replication of OVs via targeting a restriction factor and achieving promising therapeutic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Xie
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Shaowei Wang
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Yunhong Zhong
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Ming Gao
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Xuezhang Tian
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Liting Zhang
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Dongli Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qingsong Qin
- Laboratory of Human Virology and Oncology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Bing Wu
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Ke Lan
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, School of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Sun
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
| | - Junjie Zhang
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Virology, Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
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Najafi S, Majidpoor J, Mortezaee K. The impact of oncolytic adenoviral therapy on the therapeutic efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 161:114436. [PMID: 36841031 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment of cancer during the last decades. Oncolytic virotherapy has also emerged as a strategy to fight against cancer cells both via lysis of malignant cells and activating immune responses. Accepted as a logical strategy, combination of monoclonal antibodies particularly against the programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is introduced to improve clinical responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Accordingly, Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) has received approval for clinical use, while a number of oncolytic Adenoviruses (Ads) are being investigated in clinical trials of malignancies. Combination of oncolytic Ads with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have shown potentials in promoting responses to ICIs, changing the tumor microenvironment, inducing long-term protection against tumor, and promoting survival among mice models of malignancies. Regarding the increasing importance of oncolytic Ads in combination therapy of cancers, in this review we decide to outline recent studies in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajad Najafi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jamal Majidpoor
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
| | - Keywan Mortezaee
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran; Cancer and Immunology Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
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Veinalde R, Pidelaserra-Martí G, Moulin C, Tan CL, Schäfer TE, Kang N, Ball CR, Leichsenring J, Stenzinger A, Kaderali L, Jäger D, Ungerechts G, Engeland CE. Virotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 transiently reshapes the tumor immune environment and induces anti-tumor immunity in a preclinical PDAC model. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1096162. [PMID: 36726983 PMCID: PMC9886093 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1096162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is largely refractory to cancer immunotherapy with PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Oncolytic virotherapy has been shown to synergize with ICB. In this work, we investigated the combination of anti-PD-1 and oncolytic measles vaccine in an immunocompetent transplantable PDAC mouse model. Methods We characterized tumor-infiltrating T cells by immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and T cell receptor sequencing. Further, we performed gene expression profiling of tumor samples at baseline, after treatment, and when tumors progressed. Moreover, we analyzed systemic anti-tumor and anti-viral immunity. Results Combination treatment significantly prolonged survival compared to monotherapies. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells were increased after virotherapy. Gene expression profiling revealed a unique, but transient signature of immune activation after combination treatment. However, systemic anti-tumor immunity was induced by virotherapy and remained detectable even when tumors progressed. Anti-PD-1 treatment did not impact anti-viral immunity. Discussion Our results indicate that combined virotherapy and ICB induces anti-tumor immunity and reshapes the tumor immune environment. However, further refinement of this approach may be required to develop its full potential and achieve durable efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rūta Veinalde
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gemma Pidelaserra-Martí
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany,Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Research and Education (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany,Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Coline Moulin
- Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Research and Education (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany,Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Chin Leng Tan
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany,Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Theresa E. Schäfer
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Na Kang
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudia R. Ball
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany,Center for Personalized Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Faculty of Medicine and Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jonas Leichsenring
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany,Institut für Pathologie, Zytologie und molekulare Diagnostik, Regiomed Klinikum Coburg, Coburg, Germany
| | | | - Lars Kaderali
- Institute for Bioinformatics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Dirk Jäger
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumor Immunity, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany,Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Guy Ungerechts
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany,Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine E. Engeland
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany,Faculty of Health, School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Research and Education (ZBAF), Institute of Virology and Microbiology, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany,Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany,*Correspondence: Christine E. Engeland, ;
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12
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Ghorbankhani GA, Mohammadi A, Kazemipur N, Morovati S, Gharesi Fard B, Nazifi Habibabadi S, Hashempour Sadeghian M. Apoptotic activity of Newcastle disease virus in comparison with nisin A in MDA-MB-231 cell line. VETERINARY RESEARCH FORUM : AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL 2023; 14:29-37. [PMID: 36816859 PMCID: PMC9906615 DOI: 10.30466/vrf.2022.542258.3297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Given the development of drug-resistant cancer cells, designing alternative approaches for cancer treatment seems essential. In this study, we evaluated the anti-tumor effects of nisin A and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) on triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cell line. The MDA-MB-231 cell line was separately and in combination subjected to the different concentrations of a Vero-adapted NDV (JF820294.1) and nisin A. The oncolytic effects of these treatments were analyzed by different cytotoxic and apoptosis techniques including trypan blue staining, MTT assay, acridine orange (EB/AO) staining, colony assay and flow cytometry over time. Nisin A at doses of more than 20.00 μg mL-1 could represent the anti-viral effects and interfere with the oncolytic activity of NDV. Moreover, the analyses indicated that the anti-proliferative and cytotoxic features of combination therapy were stronger than those of individual NDV groups. However, the most apoptotic effect was seen in NDV experimental groups. Taken together, the results from cytotoxicity tests, flow cytometry and colony assay showed that either of the oncolytic agents had significant effects at low concentrations 72 hr post-treatment. Thereby, they had the potential to be used as new approaches in cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Mohammadi
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran; ,Correspondence Ali Mohammadi. DVM, PhD, Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. E-mail:
| | - Nasrin Kazemipur
- Department of Basic Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran;
| | - Solmaz Morovati
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran;
| | - Behrouz Gharesi Fard
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;
| | - Saeed Nazifi Habibabadi
- Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
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13
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Li SJ, Sun ZJ. Fueling immune checkpoint blockade with oncolytic viruses: Current paradigms and challenges ahead. Cancer Lett 2022; 550:215937. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2022.215937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Jafari M, Kadkhodazadeh M, Shapourabadi MB, Goradel NH, Shokrgozar MA, Arashkia A, Abdoli S, Sharifzadeh Z. Immunovirotherapy: The role of antibody based therapeutics combination with oncolytic viruses. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1012806. [PMID: 36311790 PMCID: PMC9608759 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1012806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that the new drugs and targeted therapies have been approved for cancer therapy during the past 30 years, the majority of cancer types are still remain challenging to be treated. Due to the tumor heterogeneity, immune system evasion and the complex interaction between the tumor microenvironment and immune cells, the great majority of malignancies need multimodal therapy. Unfortunately, tumors frequently develop treatment resistance, so it is important to have a variety of therapeutic choices available for the treatment of neoplastic diseases. Immunotherapy has lately shown clinical responses in malignancies with unfavorable outcomes. Oncolytic virus (OV) immunotherapy is a cancer treatment strategy that employs naturally occurring or genetically-modified viruses that multiply preferentially within cancer cells. OVs have the ability to not only induce oncolysis but also activate cells of the immune system, which in turn activates innate and adaptive anticancer responses. Despite the fact that OVs were translated into clinical trials, with T-VECs receiving FDA approval for melanoma, their use in fighting cancer faced some challenges, including off-target side effects, immune system clearance, non-specific uptake, and intratumoral spread of OVs in solid tumors. Although various strategies have been used to overcome the challenges, these strategies have not provided promising outcomes in monotherapy with OVs. In this situation, it is increasingly common to use rational combinations of immunotherapies to improve patient benefit. With the development of other aspects of cancer immunotherapy strategies, combinational therapy has been proposed to improve the anti-tumor activities of OVs. In this regard, OVs were combined with other biotherapeutic platforms, including various forms of antibodies, nanobodies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, and dendritic cells, to reduce the side effects of OVs and enhance their efficacy. This article reviews the promising outcomes of OVs in cancer therapy, the challenges OVs face and solutions, and their combination with other biotherapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdie Jafari
- Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | - Nasser Hashemi Goradel
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Arash Arashkia
- Department of Molecular Virology, Pasture Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahriyar Abdoli
- School of Advanced Medical Technologies, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
- *Correspondence: Zahra Sharifzadeh, ; Shahriyar Abdoli,
| | - Zahra Sharifzadeh
- Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- *Correspondence: Zahra Sharifzadeh, ; Shahriyar Abdoli,
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15
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Development of a human phage display-derived anti-PD-1 scFv antibody: an attractive tool for immune checkpoint therapy. BMC Biotechnol 2022; 22:22. [PMID: 35996120 PMCID: PMC9396865 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-022-00752-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The PD-1 checkpoint pathway plays a major role in tumor immune evasion and the development of the tumor microenvironment. Clinical studies show that therapeutic antibodies blocking the PD-1 pathway can restore anti-tumor or anti-virus immune responses by the reinvigoration of exhausted T cells. Because of the promising results of anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies in cancer treatment, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases, the PD-1 has emerged as an encouraging target for different diseases. Results In the present study, we employed a human semi-synthetic phage library for isolation of some scFvs against the extracellular domain of PD-1 protein by panning process. After the panning, a novel anti-PD-1 scFv (SS107) was found that exhibited specific binding to PD-1 antigen and stimulated Jurkat T cells. The selected anti-PD-1 scFv could restore the production of IL-2 and IFN-γ by Jurkat T cells that were co-cultured with PD-L1 positive tumor cells. Conclusion This anti-PD-1 scFv with high specificity and the ability to reactivate exhausted T cells has the potential to be developed as an anti-cancer agent or to be used in combination with other therapeutic approaches.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12896-022-00752-8.
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16
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Mencattini A, Lansche C, Veith I, Erbs P, Balloul JM, Quemeneur E, Descroix S, Mechta-Grigoriou F, Zalcman G, Zaupa C, Parrini MC, Martinelli E. Direct imaging and automatic analysis in tumor-on-chip reveal cooperative antitumoral activity of immune cells and oncolytic vaccinia virus. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 215:114571. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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17
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Zhou P, Wang X, Xing M, Yang X, Wu M, Shi H, Zhu C, Wang X, Guo Y, Tang S, Huang Z, Zhou D. Intratumoral delivery of a novel oncolytic adenovirus encoding human antibody against PD-1 elicits enhanced antitumor efficacy. Mol Ther Oncolytics 2022; 25:236-248. [PMID: 35615266 PMCID: PMC9118129 DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2022.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, diverse combination therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), particularly oncolytic virotherapy, have demonstrated enhanced therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment. However, high pre-existing immunity against the widely used adenovirus human serotype 5 (AdHu5) limits its extensive clinical application. In this study, we constructed an innovative oncolytic virus (OV) based on a chimpanzee adenoviral vector with low seropositivity in the human population, named AdC68-spE1A-αPD-1, which endows the parental OV (AdC68-spE1A-ΔE3) with the ability to express full-length anti-human programmed cell death-1 monoclonal antibody (αPD-1). In vitro studies indicated that the AdC68-spE1A-αPD-1 retained parental oncolytic capacity, and αPD-1 was efficiently secreted from the infected tumor cells and bound exclusively to human PD-1 (hPD-1) protein. In vivo, intratumoral treatment with AdC68-spE1A-αPD-1 resulted in significant tumor suppression, prolonged overall survival, and enhanced systemic antitumor memory response in an hPD-1 knockin mouse tumor model. This strategy outperformed the unarmed OV and was comparable with combination therapy with intratumoral injection of AdC68-spE1A-ΔE3 and systemic administration of commercial αPD-1. In summary, AdC68-spE1A-αPD-1 is a cost-effective approach with potential clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Zhou
- Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xuchen Wang
- Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Man Xing
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China.,Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
| | - Xi Yang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
| | - Mangteng Wu
- Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hongyang Shi
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
| | - Caihong Zhu
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
| | - Xiang Wang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
| | - Yingying Guo
- Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
| | - Shubing Tang
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China
| | - Zhong Huang
- Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Dongming Zhou
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China.,Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China.,The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
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18
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Wang X, Wang C, Qu Z, Tian C, Wang T, Miao Y, Jiang H, Li L, Liu J, Zhao R, Li X, Geng X. Preclinical safety assessment of toxicity and biodistribution of oncolytic virus HSV-1 expressing human PD-1 antibody in mice. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2022; 132:105166. [PMID: 35405296 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2022.105166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
HSV-1/hPD-1 is composed of engineered herpes simplex virus type-1 and two inserted copies of the human PD-1 antibody sequence. It is a novel oncolytic virus product designed to cure malignancies. The objective of this study was to estimate its toxicity in mice. In the single-dose toxicity study, no mortality and abnormal symptoms were observed in animals injected with 4.0 × 107 pfu/mouse dose. In the repeat-dose toxicity study, HSV-1/hPD-1 in animals intramuscularly treated with 1.0 × 107, 2.0 × 107, or 4.0 × 107 pfu/mouse doses was well tolerated in terms of clinical observation, body weight, food consumption, hematology and biochemistry indexes, T lymphocyte counting, immune reaction, and organ weight, except for some histopathological changes, such as the irreversible degeneration of the sciatic nerve, which was considered related to the adopted administration route. Synchronously, a biodistribution study in mice was performed to examine whether HSV-1/hPD-1 could spread to the injection site, gonads, liver, lung, heart, mesenteric and inguinal lymph nodes, skin, dorsal root ganglia, and blood, and then be gradually eliminated. Thus, two safety dose levels-the maximum tolerance dose of 4.0 × 107 pfu/mouse and the no-observed-adverse-effect-level dose of 1.0 × 107 pfu/mouse-were determined to help design patients' dose regimens. Our research data have been successfully accepted for investigational new drug (IND) application in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wang
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Chao Wang
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Zhe Qu
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Chao Tian
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Tiantian Wang
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Yufa Miao
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Hua Jiang
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Lulu Li
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China
| | - Jiajia Liu
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Rui Zhao
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Xiaopeng Li
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China.
| | - Xingchao Geng
- National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, National Institute for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, 100176, China.
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19
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Tian Y, Xie D, Yang L. Engineering strategies to enhance oncolytic viruses in cancer immunotherapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2022; 7:117. [PMID: 35387984 PMCID: PMC8987060 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-00951-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are emerging as potentially useful platforms in treatment methods for patients with tumors. They preferentially target and kill tumor cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed. In addition to direct oncolysis, the essential and attractive aspect of oncolytic virotherapy is based on the intrinsic induction of both innate and adaptive immune responses. To further augment this efficacious response, OVs have been genetically engineered to express immune regulators that enhance or restore antitumor immunity. Recently, combinations of OVs with other immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), antigen-specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) and autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), have led to promising progress in cancer treatment. This review summarizes the intrinsic mechanisms of OVs, describes the optimization strategies for using armed OVs to enhance the effects of antitumor immunity and highlights rational combinations of OVs with other immunotherapies in recent preclinical and clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaomei Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center/Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17, Section 3, South Renmin Road, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.,College of Bioengineering, Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, No. 519, Huixing Road, 643000, Zigong, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Daoyuan Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center/Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17, Section 3, South Renmin Road, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center/Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17, Section 3, South Renmin Road, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
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20
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van Vloten JP, Matuszewska K, Minow MAA, Minott JA, Santry LA, Pereira M, Stegelmeier AA, McAusland TM, Klafuric EM, Karimi K, Colasanti J, McFadden DG, Petrik JJ, Bridle BW, Wootton SK. Oncolytic Orf virus licenses NK cells via cDC1 to activate innate and adaptive antitumor mechanisms and extends survival in a murine model of late-stage ovarian cancer. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2021-004335. [PMID: 35296558 PMCID: PMC8928368 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-004335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Novel therapies are needed to improve outcomes for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Oncolytic viruses are multifunctional immunotherapeutic biologics that preferentially infect cancer cells and stimulate inflammation with the potential to generate antitumor immunity. Herein we describe Parapoxvirus ovis (Orf virus (OrfV)), an oncolytic poxvirus, as a viral immunotherapy for ovarian cancer. METHODS The immunotherapeutic potential of OrfV was tested in the ID8 orthotopic mouse model of end-stage epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Immune cell profiling, impact on secondary lesion development and survival were evaluated in OrfV-treated mice as well as in Batf3 knockout, mice depleted of specific immune cell subsets and in mice where the primary tumor was removed. Finally, we interrogated gene expression datasets from primary human ovarian tumors from the International Cancer Genome Consortium database to determine whether the interplay we observed between natural killer (NK) cells, classical type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) and T cells exists and influences outcomes in human ovarian cancer. RESULTS OrfV was an effective monotherapy in a murine model of advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. OrfV intervention relied on NK cells, which when depleted abrogated antitumor CD8+ T-cell responses. OrfV therapy was shown to require cDC1s in experiments with BATF3 knockout mice, which do not have mature cDC1s. Furthermore, cDC1s governed antitumor NK and T-cell responses to mediate antitumor efficacy following OrfV. Primary tumor removal, a common treatment option in human patients, was effectively combined with OrfV for optimal therapeutic outcome. Analysis of human RNA sequencing datasets revealed that cDC1s correlate with NK cells in human ovarian cancer and that intratumoral NK cells correlate positively with survival. CONCLUSIONS The data herein support the translational potential of OrfV as an NK stimulating immunotherapeutic for the treatment of advanced-stage ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob P van Vloten
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kathy Matuszewska
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark A A Minow
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jessica A Minott
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa A Santry
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Madison Pereira
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Thomas M McAusland
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elaine M Klafuric
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Khalil Karimi
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joseph Colasanti
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - D Grant McFadden
- Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - James J Petrik
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Byram W Bridle
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah K Wootton
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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21
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Thoreau F, Chudasama V. Enabling the next steps in cancer immunotherapy: from antibody-based bispecifics to multispecifics, with an evolving role for bioconjugation chemistry. RSC Chem Biol 2022; 3:140-169. [PMID: 35360884 PMCID: PMC8826860 DOI: 10.1039/d1cb00082a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past two decades, immunotherapy has established itself as one of the leading strategies for cancer treatment, as illustrated by the exponentially growing number of related clinical trials. This trend was, in part, prompted by the clinical success of both immune checkpoint modulation and immune cell engagement, to restore and/or stimulate the patient's immune system's ability to fight the disease. These strategies were sustained by progress in bispecific antibody production. However, despite the decisive progress made in the treatment of cancer, toxicity and resistance are still observed in some cases. In this review, we initially provide an overview of the monoclonal and bispecific antibodies developed with the objective of restoring immune system functions to treat cancer (cancer immunotherapy), through immune checkpoint modulation, immune cell engagement or a combination of both. Their production, design strategy and impact on the clinical trial landscape are also addressed. In the second part, the concept of multispecific antibody formats, notably MuTICEMs (Multispecific Targeted Immune Cell Engagers & Modulators), as a possible answer to current immunotherapy limitations is investigated. We believe it could be the next step to take for cancer immunotherapy research and expose why bioconjugation chemistry might play a key role in these future developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Thoreau
- Department of Chemistry, University College London 20 Gordon Street London WC1H 0AJ UK
| | - Vijay Chudasama
- Department of Chemistry, University College London 20 Gordon Street London WC1H 0AJ UK
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22
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Semmrich M, Marchand JB, Fend L, Rehn M, Remy C, Holmkvist P, Silvestre N, Svensson C, Kleinpeter P, Deforges J, Junghus F, Cleary KL, Bodén M, Mårtensson L, Foloppe J, Teige I, Quéméneur E, Frendéus B. Vectorized Treg-depleting αCTLA-4 elicits antigen cross-presentation and CD8+ T cell immunity to reject ‘cold’ tumors. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2021-003488. [PMID: 35058324 PMCID: PMC8783833 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is a clinically proven concept to treat cancer. Still, a majority of patients with cancer including those with poorly immune infiltrated ‘cold’ tumors are resistant to currently available ICB therapies. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is one of few clinically validated targets for ICB, but toxicities linked to efficacy in approved αCTLA-4 regimens have restricted their use and precluded full therapeutic dosing. At a mechanistic level, accumulating preclinical and clinical data indicate dual mechanisms for αCTLA-4; ICB and regulatory T cell (Treg) depletion are both thought to contribute efficacy and toxicity in available, systemic, αCTLA-4 regimens. Accordingly, strategies to deliver highly effective, yet safe αCTLA-4 therapies have been lacking. Here we assess and identify spatially restricted exposure to a novel strongly Treg-depleting, checkpoint-blocking, vectorized αCTLA-4, as a highly efficacious and potentially safe strategy to target CTLA-4.MethodsA novel human IgG1 CTLA-4 antibody (4-E03) was identified using function-first screening for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and targets associated with superior Treg-depleting activity. A tumor-selective oncolytic vaccinia vector was then engineered to encode this novel, strongly Treg-depleting, checkpoint-blocking, αCTLA-4 antibody or a matching surrogate antibody, and Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (VVGM-αCTLA-4).ResultsThe identified 4-E03 antibody showed significantly stronger Treg depletion, but equipotent checkpoint blockade, compared with clinically validated αCTLA-4 ipilimumab against CTLA-4-expressing Treg cells in a humanized mouse model in vivo. Intratumoral administration of VVGM-αCTLA-4 achieved tumor-restricted CTLA-4 receptor saturation and Treg depletion, which elicited antigen cross-presentation and stronger systemic expansion of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and antitumor immunity compared with systemic αCTLA-4 antibody therapy. Efficacy correlated with FcγR-mediated intratumoral Treg depletion. Remarkably, in a clinically relevant mouse model resistant to systemic ICB, intratumoral VVGM-αCTLA-4 synergized with αPD-1 to reject cold tumors.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate in vivo proof of concept for spatial restriction of Treg depletion-optimized immune checkpoint blocking, vectorized αCTLA-4 as a highly effective and safe strategy to target CTLA-4. A clinical trial evaluating intratumoral VVGM-αhCTLA-4 (BT-001) alone and in combination with αPD-1 in metastatic or advanced solid tumors has commenced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Semmrich
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Laetitia Fend
- Department of Research, Transgene SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Matilda Rehn
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | - Christelle Remy
- Department of Research, Transgene SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Petra Holmkvist
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Carolin Svensson
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Jules Deforges
- Department of Research, Transgene SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Fred Junghus
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | - Kirstie L Cleary
- Antibody and Vaccine Group, Centre for Cancer Immunology, Cancer Sciences Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Mimoza Bodén
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | - Linda Mårtensson
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | - Johann Foloppe
- Department of Research, Transgene SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Ingrid Teige
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
| | - Eric Quéméneur
- Department of Research, Transgene SA, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Björn Frendéus
- Department of Research, BioInvent International AB, Lund, Sweden
- Antibody and Vaccine Group, Centre for Cancer Immunology, Cancer Sciences Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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23
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Xie X, Lv J, Zhu W, Tian C, Li J, Liu J, Zhou H, Sun C, Hu Z, Li X. The combination therapy of oncolytic HSV-1 armed with anti-PD-1 antibody and IL-12 enhances anti-tumor efficacy. Transl Oncol 2022; 15:101287. [PMID: 34808461 PMCID: PMC8607272 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy is a new therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment that targets tumors by improving or restoring immune system function. Therapies targeting immune checkpoint molecules have exerted potent anti-tumor effects and prolonged the overall survival rate of patients. However, only a small number of patients benefit from the treatment. Oncolytic viruses exert anti-tumor effects by regulating the tumor microenvironment and affecting multiple steps of tumor immune circulation. In this study, we engineered two oncolytic viruses that express mouse anti-PD-1 antibody (VT1093M) or mouse IL-12 (VT1092M). We found that both oncolytic viruses showed significant anti-tumor effects in a murine CT26 colon adenocarcinoma model. Importantly, the intratumoral combined injection with VT1092M and VT1093M inhibited growth of the primary tumor, prevented growth of the contralateral untreated tumor, produced a vaccine-like response, activated antigen-specific T cell responses and prolonged the overall survival rate of mice. These results indicate that combination therapy with the engineered oncolytic virus may represent a potent immunotherapy strategy for cancer patients, especially those resistant to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Xie
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China
| | - Jingwen Lv
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China
| | - Chao Tian
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jingfeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China; Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jiajia Liu
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Hua Zhou
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Chunyang Sun
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Zongfeng Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China
| | - Xiaopeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai Shandong 264005, China; Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China.
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24
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Zuo S, Wei M, Xu T, Kong L, He B, Wang S, Wang S, Wu J, Dong J, Wei J. An engineered oncolytic vaccinia virus encoding a single-chain variable fragment against TIGIT induces effective antitumor immunity and synergizes with PD-1 or LAG-3 blockade. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:jitc-2021-002843. [PMID: 34949694 PMCID: PMC8705214 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In addition to directly lysing tumors, oncolytic viruses also induce antitumor immunity by recruiting and activating immune cells in the local tumor microenvironment. However, the activation of the immune cells induced by oncolytic viruses is always accompanied by high-level expression of immune checkpoints in these cells, which may reduce the efficacy of the oncolytic viruses. The aim of this study is to arm the oncolytic vaccinia virus (VV) with immune checkpoint blockade to enhance its antitumor efficacy. METHODS Through homologous recombination with the parental VV, an engineered VV-scFv-TIGIT was produced, which encodes a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) targeting T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT). The antitumor efficacy of the VV-scFv-TIGIT was explored in several subcutaneous and ascites tumor models. The antitumor efficacy of VV-scFv-TIGIT combined with programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) blockade was also investigated. RESULTS The VV-scFv-TIGIT effectively replicated in tumor cells and lysed them, and prompt the infected tumor cells to secret the functional scFv-TIGIT. Compared with control VV, intratumoral injection of VV-scFv-TIGIT in several mouse subcutaneous tumor models showed superior antitumor efficacy, accompanied by more T cell infiltration and a higher degree of CD8+ T cells activation. Intraperitoneal injection of VV-scFv-TIGIT in a mouse model of malignant ascites also significantly improved T cell infiltration and CD8+ T cell activation, resulting in more than 90% of the tumor-bearing mice being cured. Furthermore, the antitumor immune response induced by VV-scFv-TIGIT was dependent on CD8+ T cells which mediated a long-term immunological memory and a systemic antitumor immunity against the same tumor. Finally, the additional combination of PD-1 or LAG-3 blockade further enhanced the antitumor efficacy of VV-scFv-TIGIT, increasing the complete response rate of tumor-bearing mice. CONCLUSIONS Oncolytic virotherapy using engineered VV-scFv-TIGIT was an effective strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Administration of VV-scFv-TIGIT caused a profound reshaping of the suppressive tumor microenvironment from 'cold' to 'hot' status. VV-scFv-TIGIT also synergized with PD-1 or LAG-3 blockade to achieve a complete response to tumors with poor response to VV or immune checkpoint blockade monotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuguang Zuo
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,Laboratory for Translational Medicine, Chifeng Municipal Hospital, Chifeng Clinical Medical School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Min Wei
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Tiancheng Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lingkai Kong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Bohao He
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shiqun Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shibing Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Junhua Wu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jie Dong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jiwu Wei
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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25
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Feola S, Russo S, Ylösmäki E, Cerullo V. Oncolytic ImmunoViroTherapy: A long history of crosstalk between viruses and immune system for cancer treatment. Pharmacol Ther 2021; 236:108103. [PMID: 34954301 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.108103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cancer Immunotherapy relies on harnessing a patient's immune system to fine-tune specific anti-tumor responses and ultimately eradicate cancer. Among diverse therapeutic approaches, oncolytic viruses (OVs) have emerged as a novel form of cancer immunotherapy. OVs are a naturally occurring or genetically modified class of viruses able to selectively kill cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed; in the last two decades, the role of OVs has been redefined to act beyond their oncolytic activity. Indeed, the immunogenic cancer cell death mediated by OVs induces the release of tumor antigens that in turn induces anti-tumor immunity, allowing OVs to act as in situ therapeutic cancer vaccines. Additionally, OVs can be engineered for intratumoral delivery of immunostimulatory molecules such as tumor antigens or cytokines to further enhance anti-tumor response. Moreover, OVs can be used in combination with other cancer immunotherapeutic approaches such as Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and CAR-T cells. The current review first defines the three main mechanisms of action (MOA) of OVs currently used in cancer therapy that are: i) Oncolysis, ii) OV-induced cancer-specific immune activation, and iii) Exploiting pre-existing anti-viral immunity to enhance cancer therapy. Secondly, we focus on how OVs can induce and/or improve anti-cancer immunity in a specific or unspecific fashion, highlighting the importance of these approaches. Finally, the last part of the review analyses OVs combined with other cancer immunotherapies, revising present and future clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Feola
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland; TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland; iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - S Russo
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland; TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland; iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - E Ylösmäki
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland; TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland; iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - V Cerullo
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 5E, 00790 Helsinki, Finland; TRIMM, Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, 00290 Helsinki, Finland; iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology and CEINGE, Naples University Federico II, S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy.
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26
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Assi HH, Wong C, Tipton KA, Mei L, Wong K, Razo J, Chan C, Howng B, Sagert J, Krimm M, Diep L, Jang A, Nguyen MT, Lapuyade N, Singson V, Villanueva R, Paidhungat M, Liu S, Rangan V, Vasiljeva O, West JW, Richardson JH, Irving B, Daniel D, Belvin M, Kavanaugh WM. Conditional PD-1/PD-L1 Probody Therapeutics Induce Comparable Antitumor Immunity but Reduced Systemic Toxicity Compared with Traditional Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Agents. Cancer Immunol Res 2021; 9:1451-1464. [PMID: 34635485 PMCID: PMC9414278 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-21-0031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Immune-checkpoint blockade has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, most patients do not respond to single-agent therapy. Combining checkpoint inhibitors with other immune-stimulating agents increases both efficacy and toxicity due to systemic T-cell activation. Protease-activatable antibody prodrugs, known as Probody therapeutics (Pb-Tx), localize antibody activity by attenuating capacity to bind antigen until protease activation in the tumor microenvironment. Herein, we show that systemic administration of anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) and anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) Pb-Tx to tumor-bearing mice elicited antitumor activity similar to that of traditional PD-1/PD-L1-targeted antibodies. Pb-Tx exhibited reduced systemic activity and an improved nonclinical safety profile, with markedly reduced target occupancy on peripheral T cells and reduced incidence of early-onset autoimmune diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice. Our results confirm that localized PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition by Pb-Tx can elicit robust antitumor immunity and minimize systemic immune-mediated toxicity. These data provide further preclinical rationale to support the ongoing development of the anti-PD-L1 Pb-Tx CX-072, which is currently in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - W. Michael Kavanaugh
- Corresponding Author: W. Michael Kavanaugh, CytomX Therapeutics, Inc., 151 Oyster Point Boulevard, Suite 400, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Phone: 650-763-9949; E-mail:
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27
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Zhu W, Lv J, Xie X, Tian C, Liu J, Zhou H, Sun C, Li J, Hu Z, Li X. The oncolytic virus VT09X optimizes immune checkpoint therapy in low immunogenic melanoma. Immunol Lett 2021; 241:15-22. [PMID: 34774916 DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2021.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Tumors with a low level of pre-existing immune cell infiltration respond poorly to immune checkpoint therapies. Oncolytic viruses optimize immunotherapies by modulating the tumor microenvironment and affecting multiple steps in the cancer-immunity cycle, making them an attractive agent for combination strategies. We engineered an HSV-1-based oncolytic virus and investigated its antitumor effects in combination with the marketed PD-1 antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in hPD-1 knock-in mice bearing non-immunogenic B16-F10 melanoma. Our results showed enhanced CD8+ and CD4+ T cell infiltration, IFN-γ secretion and PD-L1 expression in tumors, subsequently leading to the prolonged overall survival of mice. Systemic changes in lymphocyte cell proportions were also observed in the peripheral blood. In summary, these findings provide evidence that oncolytic viruses can be engineered as a potential platform for combination therapies, especially to treat tumors that are poorly responsive to immune checkpoint therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China
| | - Jingwen Lv
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China
| | - Xin Xie
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China
| | - Chao Tian
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jiajia Liu
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Hua Zhou
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Chunyang Sun
- Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jingfeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China; Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Zongfeng Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaopeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, Shandong, China; Beijing WellGene Company, Ltd, Beijing 100085, China.
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28
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Kontermann RE, Ungerechts G, Nettelbeck DM. Viro-antibody therapy: engineering oncolytic viruses for genetic delivery of diverse antibody-based biotherapeutics. MAbs 2021; 13:1982447. [PMID: 34747345 PMCID: PMC8583164 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2021.1982447] [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] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer therapeutics approved for clinical application include oncolytic viruses and antibodies, which evolved by nature, but were improved by molecular engineering. Both facilitate outstanding tumor selectivity and pleiotropic activities, but also face challenges, such as tumor heterogeneity and limited tumor penetration. An innovative strategy to address these challenges combines both agents in a single, multitasking therapeutic, i.e., an oncolytic virus engineered to express therapeutic antibodies. Such viro-antibody therapies genetically deliver antibodies to tumors from amplified virus genomes, thereby complementing viral oncolysis with antibody-defined therapeutic action. Here, we review the strategies of viro-antibody therapy that have been pursued exploiting diverse virus platforms, antibody formats, and antibody-mediated modes of action. We provide a comprehensive overview of reported antibody-encoding oncolytic viruses and highlight the achievements of 13 years of viro-antibody research. It has been shown that functional therapeutic antibodies of different formats can be expressed in and released from cancer cells infected with different oncolytic viruses. Virus-encoded antibodies have implemented direct tumor cell killing, anti-angiogenesis, or activation of adaptive immune responses to kill tumor cells, tumor stroma cells or inhibitory immune cells. Importantly, numerous reports have shown therapeutic activity complementary to viral oncolysis for these modalities. Also, challenges for future research have been revealed. Established engineering technologies for both oncolytic viruses and antibodies will enable researchers to address these challenges, facilitating the development of effective viro-antibody therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland E Kontermann
- Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.,Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Guy Ungerechts
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Cancer Therapeutics Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Dirk M Nettelbeck
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Virotherapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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29
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Appleton E, Hassan J, Chan Wah Hak C, Sivamanoharan N, Wilkins A, Samson A, Ono M, Harrington KJ, Melcher A, Wennerberg E. Kickstarting Immunity in Cold Tumours: Localised Tumour Therapy Combinations With Immune Checkpoint Blockade. Front Immunol 2021; 12:754436. [PMID: 34733287 PMCID: PMC8558396 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.754436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer patients with low or absent pre-existing anti-tumour immunity ("cold" tumours) respond poorly to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPI). In order to render these patients susceptible to ICPI, initiation of de novo tumour-targeted immune responses is required. This involves triggering of inflammatory signalling, innate immune activation including recruitment and stimulation of dendritic cells (DCs), and ultimately priming of tumour-specific T cells. The ability of tumour localised therapies to trigger these pathways and act as in situ tumour vaccines is being increasingly explored, with the aspiration of developing combination strategies with ICPI that could generate long-lasting responses. In this effort, it is crucial to consider how therapy-induced changes in the tumour microenvironment (TME) act both as immune stimulants but also, in some cases, exacerbate immune resistance mechanisms. Increasingly refined immune monitoring in pre-clinical studies and analysis of on-treatment biopsies from clinical trials have provided insight into therapy-induced biomarkers of response, as well as actionable targets for optimal synergy between localised therapies and ICB. Here, we review studies on the immunomodulatory effects of novel and experimental localised therapies, as well as the re-evaluation of established therapies, such as radiotherapy, as immune adjuvants with a focus on ICPI combinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Appleton
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jehanne Hassan
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Charleen Chan Wah Hak
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
| | - Nanna Sivamanoharan
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Wilkins
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
| | - Adel Samson
- Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St. James, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Masahiro Ono
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin J. Harrington
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Melcher
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
| | - Erik Wennerberg
- Department of Radiotherapy and Imaging, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, United Kingdom
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30
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Tian C, Liu J, Zhou H, Li J, Sun C, Zhu W, Yin Y, Li X. Enhanced anti-tumor response elicited by a novel oncolytic HSV-1 engineered with an anti-PD-1 antibody. Cancer Lett 2021; 518:49-58. [PMID: 34139284 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses as cancer vaccines modulate the tumor microenvironment and act synergistically with immune checkpoint inhibitors to overcome resistance. Taking advantage of the loading capacity for exogenous genes, we generated a recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), HSV-aPD-1, carrying a full-length humanized anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (anti-PD-1 mAb) that replicates and expresses anti-PD-1 mAbs in tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Its anti-tumor effect was assessed in human PD-1 knock-in mice by analyzing tumor inhibition, cell populations and RNA expression in tumors, and serum cytokine levels. Enhanced anti-tumor immune responses and T-cell infiltration were induced by HSV-aPD-1 compared with unloaded virus or anti-PD-1 therapy in both MC38 and B16-F10 models, resulting in improved treatment efficacy in the latter. Moreover, compared with unloaded HSV-1 or HSV-1 loaded with GM-CSF/IL-2 combined with anti-PD-1 mAbs, HSV-aPD-1 displayed similar therapeutic control of tumor growth. Finally, tumor RNAseq analysis in the B16-F10 model showed upregulated IFN pathway and antigen processing and presentation genes, and downregulated angiogenesis and cell adhesion genes, which all contribute to tumor inhibition. These findings indicate the clinical potential of HSV-aPD-1 as monotherapy or combination therapy, especially in tumors resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Tian
- Center of Biological Sciences, School of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Jiajia Liu
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Hua Zhou
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Jingfeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, Shandong, China; Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Chunyang Sun
- Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Wei Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, Shandong, China
| | - Yuxin Yin
- Center of Biological Sciences, School of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Xiaopeng Li
- School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, Shandong, China; Beijing WellGene Company Ltd., Beijing, 100085, China.
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31
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Ahmed J, Chard LS, Yuan M, Wang J, Howells A, Li Y, Li H, Zhang Z, Lu S, Gao D, Wang P, Chu Y, Al Yaghchi C, Schwartz J, Alusi G, Lemoine N, Wang Y. A new oncolytic V accinia virus augments antitumor immune responses to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis after surgery. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2019-000415. [PMID: 32217766 PMCID: PMC7206973 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2019-000415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Local recurrence and remote metastasis are major challenges to overcome in order to improve the survival of patients with cancer after surgery. Oncolytic viruses are a particularly attractive option for prevention of postsurgical disease as they offer a non-toxic treatment option that can directly target residual tumor deposits and beneficially modulate the systemic immune environment that is suppressed post surgery and allows residual disease escape from control. Here, we report that a novel Vaccinia virus (VV), VVΔTKΔN1L (with deletion of both thymidine kinase (TK) and N1L genes) armed with interleukin 12 (IL-12), can prolong postoperative survival when used as a neoadjuvant treatment in different murine and hamster surgical models of cancer. Methods A tumor-targeted replicating VV with deletion of TK gene and N1L gene (VVΔTKΔN1L) was created. This virus was armed rationally with IL-12. The effect of VVΔTKΔN1L and VVΔTKΔN1L-IL12 on modulation of the tumor microenvironment and induction of tumor-specific immunity as well the feasibility and safety as a neoadjuvant agent for preventing recurrence and metastasis after surgery were assessed in several clinically relevant models. Results VVΔTKΔN1L can significantly prolong postoperative survival when used as a neoadjuvant treatment in three different surgery-induced metastatic models of cancer. Efficacy was critically dependent on elevation of circulating natural killer cells that was achieved by virus-induced cytokine production from cells infected with N1L-deleted, but not N1L-intact VV. This effect was further enhanced by arming VVΔTKΔN1L with IL-12, a potent antitumor cytokine. Five daily treatments with VVΔTKΔN1L-IL12 before surgery dramatically improved postsurgical survival. VVΔTKΔN1L armed with human IL-12 completely prevented tumor recurrence in surgical models of head and neck cancer in Syrian hamsters. Conclusions These data provide a proof of concept for translation of the regime into clinical trials. VVΔTKΔN1L-IL12 is a promising agent for use as an adjuvant to surgical treatment of solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jahangir Ahmed
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Louisa S Chard
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Ming Yuan
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Jiwei Wang
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Anwen Howells
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Yuenan Li
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Haoze Li
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zhongxian Zhang
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Shuangshuang Lu
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Dongling Gao
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Pengju Wang
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Yongchao Chu
- National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Chadwan Al Yaghchi
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Joel Schwartz
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Ghassan Alusi
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Nicholas Lemoine
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Yaohe Wang
- Centre for Biomarkers & Biotherapeutics, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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Fang T, Xiao J, Zhang Y, Hu H, Zhu Y, Cheng Y. Combined with interventional therapy, immunotherapy can create a new outlook for tumor treatment. Quant Imaging Med Surg 2021; 11:2837-2860. [PMID: 34079746 PMCID: PMC8107298 DOI: 10.21037/qims-20-173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Recent progress in immunotherapy provides hope of a complete cure to cancer patients. However, recent studies have reported that only a limited number of cancer patients with a specific immune status, known as "cold tumor", can benefit from a single immune agent. Although the combination of immune agents with different mechanisms can partially increase the low response rate and improve efficacy, it can also result in more side effects. Therefore, discovering therapies that can improve tumors' response rate to immunotherapy without increasing toxicity for patients is urgently needed. Tumor interventional therapy is promising. It mainly includes transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, ablation, radioactive particle internal irradiation, and photodynamic interventional therapy based on a luminal stent. Interventional therapy can directly kill tumor cells by targeted drug delivery in situ, thus reducing drug dosage and systemic toxicity like cytokine release syndrome. More importantly, interventional therapy can regulate the immune system through numerous mechanisms, making it a suitable choice for immunotherapy to combine with. In this review, we provide a brief description of immunotherapies (and their side effects) on tumors of different immune types and preliminarily elaborate on interventional therapy mechanisms to improve immune efficacy. We also discuss the progress and challenges of the combination of interventional therapy and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tonglei Fang
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Junyuan Xiao
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiran Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiyan Hu
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Yueqi Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Yingsheng Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai, China
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Maulana TI, Kromidas E, Wallstabe L, Cipriano M, Alb M, Zaupa C, Hudecek M, Fogal B, Loskill P. Immunocompetent cancer-on-chip models to assess immuno-oncology therapy. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2021; 173:281-305. [PMID: 33798643 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2021.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The advances in cancer immunotherapy come with several obstacles, limiting its widespread use and benefits so far only to a small subset of patients. One of the underlying challenges remains to be the lack of representative nonclinical models that translate to human immunity and are able to predict clinical efficacy and safety outcomes. In recent years, immunocompetent Cancer-on-Chip models emerge as an alternative human-based platform that enables the integration and manipulation of complex tumor microenvironment. In this review, we discuss novel opportunities offered by Cancer-on-Chip models to advance (mechanistic) immuno-oncology research, ranging from design flexibility to multimodal analysis approaches. We then exemplify their (potential) applications for the research and development of adoptive cell therapy, immune checkpoint therapy, cytokine therapy, oncolytic virus, and cancer vaccines.
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Wan PKT, Ryan AJ, Seymour LW. Beyond cancer cells: Targeting the tumor microenvironment with gene therapy and armed oncolytic virus. Mol Ther 2021; 29:1668-1682. [PMID: 33845199 PMCID: PMC8116634 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer gene therapies are usually designed either to express wild-type copies of tumor suppressor genes or to exploit tumor-associated phenotypic changes to endow selective cytotoxicity. However, these approaches become less relevant to cancers that contain many independent mutations, and the situation is made more complex by our increased understanding of clonal evolution of tumors, meaning that different metastases and even regions of the same tumor mass have distinct mutational and phenotypic profiles. In contrast, the relatively genetically stable tumor microenvironment (TME) therefore provides an appealing therapeutic target, particularly since it plays an essential role in promoting cancer growth, immune tolerance, and acquired resistance to many therapies. Recently, a variety of different TME-targeted gene therapy and armed oncolytic strategies have been explored, with particular success observed in strategies targeting the cancer stroma, reducing tumor vasculature, and repolarizing the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Herein, we review the progress of these TME-targeting approaches and try to highlight those showing the greatest promise.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anderson J Ryan
- Department Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
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35
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Enhanced antitumor efficacy of a novel oncolytic vaccinia virus encoding a fully monoclonal antibody against T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT). EBioMedicine 2021; 64:103240. [PMID: 33581644 PMCID: PMC7878184 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Oncolytic virotherapy with vaccinia virus (VV) can lead to effective anti-tumor immunity by turning “cold” tumors into “hot” tumors. However, its therapeutic potential is affected by the tumor's local immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore, it is necessary to explore the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to arm oncolytic VVs to enhance their anti-tumor efficacy. Methods A novel recombinant oncolytic VV, VV-α-TIGIT, which encoded a fully monoclonal antibody against T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) was generated by homologous recombination with a shuttle plasmid. The anti-tumor efficacy of the VV-α-TIGIT was investigated in several subcutaneous and ascites tumor models. Findings The functional α-TIGIT was sufficiently produced and secreted by tumor cells infected with VV-α-TIGIT, which effectively replicated in tumor cells leading to significant oncolysis. Intratumoral injection of VV-α-TIGIT improved anti-tumor efficacy in several murine subcutaneous tumor models compared to VV-Control (without α-TIGIT insertion). Intraperitoneal injection of VV-α-TIGIT achieved approximately 70% of complete tumor regression in an ascites tumor model. At the same time, treatment with VV-α-TIGIT significantly increased the recruitment and activation of T cells in TME. Moreover, the in vivo anti-tumor activity of VV-α-TIGIT was largely dependent on CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity. Finally, the tumor-bearing mice cured of VV-α-TIGIT treatment resisted rechallenge with the same tumor cells, suggesting a long-term persistence of tumor-specific immunological memory. Interpretation The recombinant oncolytic virus VV-α-TIGIT successfully combines the advantages of oncolytic virotherapy and intratumorally expression of immune checkpoint inhibitor against TIGIT. This novel strategy can provide information on the optimal design of novel antibody-armed oncolytic viruses for cancer immunotherapy. Funding This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773255, 81472820, and 81700037), the Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Nanjing University (14913414), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20171098).
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36
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Coënon L, Battistoni A, Poupée-Beaugé A, Germon S, Dimier-Poisson I. [Antitumoral microorganisms: The Swiss army knife of immunotherapy]. Med Sci (Paris) 2021; 37:47-52. [PMID: 33492218 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2020259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on viruses, bacteria and protozoa-based immunotherapy has been on the rise for several years. The antitumoral efficacy of these microorganisms relies on three main mechanisms: Destruction of tumor cells, stimulation of the immune response and reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment. In order to optimize their immunotherapeutic action, these microorganisms can be genetically engineered to enhance their tumor-targeting efficacy or to vectorize immunostimulating molecules and/or antibodies. To this aim, molecular engineering allows the design of new antibody formats optimizing their functions. From whole antibodies to tandem single-chain variable fragments, various antibody formats can be vectorized by microorganisms to target receptors such as immune checkpoints or recruit immune effector cells within the tumor. Such possibilities broaden the arsenal of immunotherapeutic cancer treatment. This review focuses on these innovations and their advantages for immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïs Coënon
- Équipe BioMAP, Université de Tours, INRAe, 31 avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Arthur Battistoni
- Équipe BioMAP, Université de Tours, INRAe, 31 avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
| | | | - Stéphanie Germon
- Équipe BioMAP, Université de Tours, INRAe, 31 avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
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37
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Zhang S, Rabkin SD. The discovery and development of oncolytic viruses: are they the future of cancer immunotherapy? Expert Opin Drug Discov 2020; 16:391-410. [PMID: 33232188 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2021.1850689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Despite diverse treatment modalities and novel therapies, many cancers and patients are not effectively treated. Cancer immunotherapy has recently achieved breakthrough status yet is not effective in all cancer types or patients and can generate serious adverse effects. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are a promising new therapeutic modality that harnesses virus biology and host interactions to treat cancer. OVs, genetically engineered or natural, preferentially replicate in and kill cancer cells, sparing normal cells/tissues, and mediating anti-tumor immunity.Areas covered: This review focuses on OVs as cancer therapeutic agents from a historical perspective, especially strategies to boost their immunotherapeutic activities. OVs offer a multifaceted platform, whose activities are modulated based on the parental virus and genetic alterations. In addition to direct viral effects, many OVs can be armed with therapeutic transgenes to also act as gene therapy vectors, and/or combined with other drugs or therapies.Expert opinion: OVs are an amazingly versatile and malleable class of cancer therapies. They tend to target cellular and host physiology as opposed to specific genetic alterations, which potentially enables broad responsiveness. The biological complexity of OVs have hindered their translation; however, the recent approval of talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) has invigorated the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunchuan Zhang
- Molecular Neurosurgery Laboratory and the Brain Tumor Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Samuel D Rabkin
- Molecular Neurosurgery Laboratory and the Brain Tumor Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Chen M, Hu S, Li Y, Jiang TT, Jin H, Feng L. Targeting nuclear acid-mediated immunity in cancer immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2020; 5:270. [PMID: 33214545 PMCID: PMC7677403 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-020-00347-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy especially immune checkpoint inhibition has achieved unprecedented successes in cancer treatment. However, there are many patients who failed to benefit from these therapies, highlighting the need for new combinations to increase the clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we summarized the latest discoveries on the combination of nucleic acid-sensing immunity and immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy. Given the critical role of nuclear acid-mediated immunity in maintaining the activation of T cell function, it seems that harnessing the nuclear acid-mediated immunity opens up new strategies to enhance the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors for tumor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaoqin Chen
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Key lab of Biotherapy in Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Sir Run Run Shaw hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China
| | - Shiman Hu
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Key lab of Biotherapy in Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Sir Run Run Shaw hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China
| | - Yiling Li
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Key lab of Biotherapy in Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Sir Run Run Shaw hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China
| | - Ting Ting Jiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310016, China
| | - Hongchuan Jin
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Key lab of Biotherapy in Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Sir Run Run Shaw hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China
| | - Lifeng Feng
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Key lab of Biotherapy in Zhejiang Province, Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Sir Run Run Shaw hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016, China.
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Cook M, Chauhan A. Clinical Application of Oncolytic Viruses: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21207505. [PMID: 33053757 PMCID: PMC7589713 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21207505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Leveraging the immune system to thwart cancer is not a novel strategy and has been explored via cancer vaccines and use of immunomodulators like interferons. However, it was not until the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors that we realized the true potential of immunotherapy in combating cancer. Oncolytic viruses are one such immunotherapeutic tool that is currently being explored in cancer therapeutics. We present the most comprehensive systematic review of all oncolytic viruses in Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials published to date. We performed a systematic review of all published clinical trials indexed in PubMed that utilized oncolytic viruses. Trials were reviewed for type of oncolytic virus used, method of administration, study design, disease type, primary outcome, and relevant adverse effects. A total of 120 trials were found; 86 trials were available for our review. Included were 60 phase I trials, five phase I/II combination trials, 19 phase II trials, and two phase III clinical trials. Oncolytic viruses are feverously being evaluated in oncology with over 30 different types of oncolytic viruses being explored either as a single agent or in combination with other antitumor agents. To date, only one oncolytic virus therapy has received an FDA approval but advances in bioengineering techniques and our understanding of immunomodulation to heighten oncolytic virus replication and improve tumor kill raises optimism for its future drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Cook
- Department of Internal Medicine, Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, 22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA;
| | - Aman Chauhan
- Department of Internal Medicine-Medical Oncology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
- Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +504-278-0134
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40
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Santry LA, van Vloten JP, Knapp JP, Matuszewska K, McAusland TM, Minott JA, Mould RC, Stegelmeier AA, Major PP, Wootton SK, Petrik JJ, Bridle BW. Tumour vasculature: Friend or foe of oncolytic viruses? Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 2020; 56:69-82. [PMID: 32893095 DOI: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In the past two decades there have been substantial advances in understanding the anti-cancer mechanisms of oncolytic viruses (OVs). OVs can mediate their effects directly, by preferentially infecting and killing tumour cells. Additionally, OVs can indirectly generate anti-tumour immune responses. These differing mechanisms have led to a paradoxical divergence in strategies employed to further increase the potency of oncolytic virotherapies. On one hand, the tumour neovasculature is seen as a vital lifeline to the survival of the tumour, leading some to use OVs to target the tumour vasculature in hopes to starve cancers. Therapeutics causing vascular collapse can potentiate tumour hypoxia, nutrient restriction and pro-inflammatory cytokine release, which has shown promise in oncological studies. On the other hand, the same vasculature plays an important role for the dissemination of OVs, trafficking of effector cells and other therapeutics, which has prompted researchers to find ways of normalizing the vasculature to enhance infiltration of leukocytes and delivery of therapeutic agents. This article describes the recent developments of therapies aimed to shut down versus normalize tumour vasculature in order to inform researchers striving to optimize OV-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Santry
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Jacob P van Vloten
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Jason P Knapp
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Kathy Matuszewska
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Thomas M McAusland
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Jessica A Minott
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Robert C Mould
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Ashley A Stegelmeier
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Pierre P Major
- Juravinski Cancer Centre, 699 Concession Street, Hamilton, ON L8V 5C2, Canada.
| | - Sarah K Wootton
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - James J Petrik
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Byram W Bridle
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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Muscolini M, Tassone E, Hiscott J. Oncolytic Immunotherapy: Can't Start a Fire Without a Spark. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev 2020; 56:94-101. [PMID: 32826166 DOI: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy have renewed interest in oncolytic viruses (OVs) as a synergistic platform for the development of novel antitumor strategies. Cancer cells adopt multiple mechanisms to evade and suppress antitumor immune responses, essentially establishing a non-immunogenic ('cold') tumor microenvironment (TME), with poor T-cell infiltration and low mutational burden. Limitations to the efficacy of immunotherapy still exist, especially for a variety of solid tumors, where new approaches are necessary to overcome physical barriers in the TME and to mitigate adverse effects associated with current immunotherapeutics. OVs offer an attractive alternative by inducing direct oncolysis, immunogenic cell death, and immune stimulation. These multimodal mechanisms make OVs well suited to reprogram non-immunogenic tumors and TME into inflamed, immunogenic ('hot') tumors; enhanced release of tumor antigens by dying cancer cells is expected to augment T-cell infiltration, thereby eliciting potent antitumor immunity. Advances in virus engineering and understanding of tumor biology have allowed the optimization of OV-tumor selectivity, oncolytic potency, and immune stimulation. However, OV antitumor activity is likely to achieve its greatest potential as part of combinatorial strategies with other immune or cancer therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Evelyne Tassone
- Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy
| | - John Hiscott
- Istituto Pasteur Italia - Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy
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42
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Hu PY, Fan XM, Zhang YN, Wang SB, Wan WJ, Pan HY, Mou XZ. The limiting factors of oncolytic virus immunotherapy and the approaches to overcome them. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:8231-8242. [PMID: 32816087 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10802-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Oncolytic virus (OV) immunotherapy is characterized by viruses which specifically target cancer cells and cause their cytolysis. They provide a unique and promising new tool for the eradication of cancer as they interact with and affect the tumor microenvironment (TME), vasculature, and immune system. Advancements of genetic engineering have allowed for these viruses to be armed in such a way to have enhanced targeting, strong immunomodulation properties, and an ability to modify the TME. However, there are still major limitations in their use, mostly due to difficulties in delivering the viral particles to the tumors and in ensuring that the immunomodulatory properties are able to stimulate the host immune response to mount a complete response. Using novel delivery systems and using OVs as a complementary therapy in a combinatorial treatment have shown some significant successes. In this review, we discuss the major issues and difficulties in using OVs as anti-tumor agents and some of the strategies put in place so far to overcome these limitations. KEY POINTS: • Oncolytic viruses (OVs) infect cancer cells and cause their cytolysis. • The major limitations in using OVs as anti-tumor therapy were discussed. • The potential strategies to overcome these limitations were summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Yang Hu
- Department of Traumatology, Tiantai People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province (Tiantai Branch of Zhejiang People's Hospital), Taizhou, 317200, China
| | - Xiao-Ming Fan
- Department of Ultrasound, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - You-Ni Zhang
- Department of Traumatology, Tiantai People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province (Tiantai Branch of Zhejiang People's Hospital), Taizhou, 317200, China.,Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Shi-Bing Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Wei-Jie Wan
- Shandong Xiandai University, Jinan, 250104, China
| | - Hong-Ying Pan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China.
| | - Xiao-Zhou Mou
- Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China. .,Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou, 310014, China.
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43
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Wang X, Wu Z, Qiu W, Chen P, Xu X, Han W. Programming CAR T cells to enhance anti-tumor efficacy through remodeling of the immune system. Front Med 2020; 14:726-745. [PMID: 32794014 DOI: 10.1007/s11684-020-0746-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have been indicated effective in treating B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and have shown encouraging results in preclinical and clinical studies. However, CAR T cells have achieved minimal success against solid malignancies because of the additional obstacles of their insufficient migration into tumors and poor amplification and persistence, in addition to antigen-negative relapse and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Various preclinical studies are exploring strategies to overcome the above challenges. Mobilization of endogenous immune cells is also necessary for CAR T cells to obtain their optimal therapeutic effect given the importance of the innate immune responses in the elimination of malignant tumors. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in the engineering of CAR T cell therapies to restore the immune response in solid malignancies, especially with CAR T cells acting as cellular carriers to deliver immunomodulators to tumors to mobilize the endogenous immune response. We also explored the sensitizing effects of conventional treatment approaches, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, on CAR T cell therapy. Finally, we discuss the combination of CAR T cells with biomaterials or oncolytic viruses to enhance the anti-tumor outcomes of CAR T cell therapies in solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohui Wang
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, Daping Hospital and Research Institute of Surgery, Chongqing, 400042, China.,Molecular & Immunological Department, Bio-therapeutic Department, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Zhiqiang Wu
- Molecular & Immunological Department, Bio-therapeutic Department, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Wei Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, Daping Hospital and Research Institute of Surgery, Chongqing, 400042, China
| | - Ping Chen
- College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Xiang Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, Daping Hospital and Research Institute of Surgery, Chongqing, 400042, China.
| | - Weidong Han
- Molecular & Immunological Department, Bio-therapeutic Department, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China.
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Cao F, Nguyen P, Hong B, DeRenzo C, Rainusso NC, Rodriguez Cruz T, Wu MF, Liu H, Song XT, Suzuki M, Wang LL, Yustein JT, Gottschalk S. Engineering Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus to redirect Macrophages to Tumor Cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 4. [PMID: 33829146 DOI: 10.1002/acg2.99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Oncolytic virotherapy has been tested in numerous early phase clinical studies. However, the antitumor activity of oncolytic viruses thus far has been limited. Numerous strategies are being explored to enhance their antitumor activity by activating the adaptive arm of the immune system. We reasoned that it might also be possible to engineer oncolytic viruses to redirect tumor-associated macrophages to tumor cells for therapeutic benefit. We engineered an oncolytic vaccinia virus (VV) to disrupt the CD47/SIRPα interaction by expressing a chimeric molecule that consists of the ectodomain of SIRPα and the Fc domain of IgG4 (SIRPα-Fc-VV). SIRPα-Fc-VV readily replicated in tumor cells and redirected M1 as well as M2 macrophages to tumor cells in vitro. In contrast, control VVs that either encoded YFP (YFP-VV) or SIRPα (SIRPα-VV) did not. In vivo, SIRPα-Fc-VV had greater antitumor activity than YFP-VV and SIRPα-VV in an immune competent osteosarcoma model resulting in a significant survival advantage. Pretreatment with cytoxan further augmented the antitumor activity of SIRPα-Fc-VV. Thus, arming oncolytic viruses with SIRPα-Fc may present a promising strategy to enhance their antitumor activity for the virotherapy of solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia Cao
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Phuong Nguyen
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.,Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Bangxing Hong
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher DeRenzo
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Nino C Rainusso
- Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Tania Rodriguez Cruz
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Meng-Fen Wu
- Biostatistics Shared Resource, Dan L Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Hao Liu
- Department of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Xiao-Tong Song
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Masataka Suzuki
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Lisa L Wang
- Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Jason T Yustein
- Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Stephen Gottschalk
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.,Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
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Chaurasiya S, Fong Y, Warner SG. Optimizing Oncolytic Viral Design to Enhance Antitumor Efficacy: Progress and Challenges. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12061699. [PMID: 32604787 PMCID: PMC7352900 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12061699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The field of oncolytic virotherapy has seen remarkable advancements in last two decades, leading to approval of the first oncolytic immuno-virotherapy, Talimogene Laherparepvec, for the treatment of melanoma. A plethora of preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated excellent safety profiles of other oncolytic viruses. While oncolytic viruses show clinical promise in already immunogenic malignancies, response rates are inconsistent. Response rates are even less consistent in immunosuppressed tumor microenvironments like those found in liver, pancreas, and MSI-stable colon cancers. Therefore, the efficacy of oncolytic viruses needs to be improved for more oncolytic viruses to enter mainstream cancer therapy. One approach to increase the therapeutic efficacy of oncolytic viruses is to use them as primers for other immunotherapeutics. The amenability of oncolytic viruses to transgene-arming provides an immense opportunity for investigators to explore different ways of improving the outcome of oncolytic therapy. In this regard, genes encoding immunomodulatory proteins are the most commonly studied genes for arming oncolytic viruses. Other transgenes used to arm oncolytic viruses include those with the potential to favorably modulate tumor stroma, making it possible to image the virus distribution and increase its suitability for combination with other therapeutics. This review will detail the progress made in arming oncolytic viruses with a focus on immune-modulatory transgenes, and will discuss the challenges that need to be addressed for more armed oncolytic viruses to find widespread clinical use.
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46
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Zhang Y, Liu Z. Oncolytic Virotherapy for Malignant Tumor: Current Clinical Status. Curr Pharm Des 2020; 25:4251-4263. [PMID: 31682207 DOI: 10.2174/1381612825666191104090544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses, as novel biological anti-tumor agents, provide anti-tumor therapeutic effects by different mechanisms including directly selective tumor cell lysis and secondary systemic anti-tumor immune responses. Some wide-type and genetically engineered oncolytic viruses have been applied in clinical trials. Among them, T-Vec has a significant therapeutic effect on melanoma patients and received the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first oncolytic virus to treat cancer in the US. However, the mechanisms of virus interaction with tumor and immune systems have not been clearly elucidated and there are still no "gold standards" for instructions of virotherapy in clinical trials. This Review collected the recent clinical trials data from 2005 to summarize the basic oncolytic viruses biology, describe the application in recent clinical trials, and discuss the challenges in the application of oncolytic viruses in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhui Zhang
- Department of Spine Surgery, Renji Hospital, Medical School, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhuoming Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States
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47
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Chiu M, Armstrong EJL, Jennings V, Foo S, Crespo-Rodriguez E, Bozhanova G, Patin EC, McLaughlin M, Mansfield D, Baker G, Grove L, Pedersen M, Kyula J, Roulstone V, Wilkins A, McDonald F, Harrington K, Melcher A. Combination therapy with oncolytic viruses and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2020; 20:635-652. [PMID: 32067509 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2020.1729351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have dramatically improved the outcome for cancer patients across multiple tumor types. However the response rates to ICI monotherapy remain relatively low, in part due to some tumors cultivating an inherently 'cold' immune microenvironment. Oncolytic viruses (OV) have the capability to promote a 'hotter' immune microenvironment which can improve the efficacy of ICI.Areas covered: In this article we conducted a literature search through Pubmed/Medline to identify relevant articles in both the pre-clinical and clinical settings for combining OVs with ICIs and discuss the impact of this approach on treatment as well as changes within the tumor microenvironment. We also explore the future directions of this novel combination strategy.Expert opinion: The imminent results of the Phase 3 study combining pembrolizumab with or without T-Vec injection are eagerly awaited. OV/ICI combinations remain one of the most promising avenues to explore in the success of cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Chiu
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Edward John Lloyd Armstrong
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Vicki Jennings
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Shane Foo
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Eva Crespo-Rodriguez
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Galabina Bozhanova
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | | | - Martin McLaughlin
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - David Mansfield
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Gabriella Baker
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Lorna Grove
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Malin Pedersen
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Joan Kyula
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Victoria Roulstone
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Anna Wilkins
- Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | | | - Kevin Harrington
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Alan Melcher
- Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
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48
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Pelin A, Boulton S, Tamming LA, Bell JC, Singaravelu R. Engineering vaccinia virus as an immunotherapeutic battleship to overcome tumor heterogeneity. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2020; 20:1083-1097. [PMID: 32297534 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2020.1757066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Immunotherapy is a rapidly evolving area of cancer therapeutics aimed at driving a systemic immune response to fight cancer. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are at the cutting-edge of innovation in the immunotherapy field. Successful OV platforms must be effective in reshaping the tumor microenvironment and controlling tumor burden, but also be highly specific to avoid off-target side effects. Large DNA viruses, like vaccinia virus (VACV), have a large coding capacity, enabling the encoding of multiple immunostimulatory transgenes to reshape the tumor immune microenvironment. VACV-based OVs have shown promising results in both pre-clinical and clinical studies, including safe and efficient intravenous delivery to metastatic tumors. AREA COVERED This review summarizes attenuation strategies to generate a recombinant VACV with optimal tumor selectivity and immunogenicity. In addition, we discuss immunomodulatory transgenes that have been introduced into VACV and summarize their effectiveness in controlling tumor burden. EXPERT OPINION VACV encodes several immunomodulatory genes which aid the virus in overcoming innate and adaptive immune responses. Strategic deletion of these virulence factors will enable an optimal balance between viral persistence and immunogenicity, robust tumor-specific expression of payloads and promotion of a systemic anti-cancer immune response. Rational selection of therapeutic transgenes will maximize the efficacy of OVs and their synergy in combinatorial immunotherapy schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Pelin
- Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen Boulton
- Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Levi A Tamming
- Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - John C Bell
- Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ragunath Singaravelu
- Centre for Innovative Cancer Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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49
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Shi T, Song X, Wang Y, Liu F, Wei J. Combining Oncolytic Viruses With Cancer Immunotherapy: Establishing a New Generation of Cancer Treatment. Front Immunol 2020; 11:683. [PMID: 32411132 PMCID: PMC7198760 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent successes of tumor immunotherapy approaches, such as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, have revolutionized cancer treatment, improving efficacy and extending treatment to a larger proportion of cancer patients. However, due to high heterogeneity of cancer, poor tumor cell targeting, and the immunosuppressive status of the tumor microenvironment (TME), combinatorial agents are required to obtain more effective and consistent therapeutic responses in a wide range of cancers. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are able to selectively replicate in and destroy tumor cells and subsequently induce systematic anti-tumor immune responses. Thus, they are ideal for combining with cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of OVs, as well as the latest preclinical and clinical progress of combining OVs with cancer immunotherapies, including ICB, CAR-T therapy, bispecific T cell engagers (BiTEs), and cancer vaccines. Moreover, we consider future directions for applying OVs to personalized cancer immunotherapies, which could potentially launch a new generation of cancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Shi
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University & Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xueru Song
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University & Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yue Wang
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University & Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Fangcen Liu
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University & Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jia Wei
- The Comprehensive Cancer Centre of Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University & Clinical Cancer Institute of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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50
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Groeneveldt C, van Hall T, van der Burg SH, Ten Dijke P, van Montfoort N. Immunotherapeutic Potential of TGF-β Inhibition and Oncolytic Viruses. Trends Immunol 2020; 41:406-420. [PMID: 32223932 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2020.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In cancer immunotherapy, a patient's own immune system is harnessed against cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors release the brakes on tumor-reactive T cells and, therefore, are particularly effective in treating certain immune-infiltrated solid tumors. By contrast, solid tumors with immune-silent profiles show limited efficacy of checkpoint blockers due to several barriers. Recent discoveries highlight transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced immune exclusion and a lack of immunogenicity as examples of these barriers. In this review, we summarize preclinical and clinical evidence that illustrates how the inhibition of TGF-β signaling and the use of oncolytic viruses (OVs) can increase the efficacy of immunotherapy, and discuss the promise and challenges of combining these approaches with immune checkpoint blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christianne Groeneveldt
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Thorbald van Hall
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd H van der Burg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Ten Dijke
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nadine van Montfoort
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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