Keratinocyte differentiation antigen-specific T cells in immune checkpoint inhibitor-treated NSCLC patients are associated with improved survival

A replicating LCMV-based vaccine for the treatment of solid tumors

Harnessing the immune system to eradicate tumors requires identification and targeting of tumor antigens, including tumor-specific neoantigens and tumor-associated self-antigens. Tumor-associated antigens are subject to existing immune tolerance, which must be overcome by immunotherapies. Despite many novel immunotherapies reaching clinical trials, inducing self-antigen-specific immune responses remains challenging. Here, we systematically investigate viral-vector-based cancer vaccines encoding a tumor-associated self-antigen (TRP2) for the treatment of established melanomas in preclinical mouse models, alone or in combination with adoptive T cell therapy. We reveal that, unlike foreign antigens, tumor-associated antigens require replication of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-based vectors to break tolerance and induce effective antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses. Immunization with a replicating LCMV vector leads to complete tumor rejection when combined with adoptive TRP2-specific T cell transfer. Importantly, immunization with replicating vectors leads to extended antigen persistence in secondary lymphoid organs, resulting in efficient T cell priming, which renders previously "cold" tumors open to immune infiltration and reprograms the tumor microenvironment to "hot." Our findings have important implications for the design of next-generation immunotherapies targeting solid cancers utilizing viral vectors and adoptive cell transfer.

Unraveling the complex interplay between anti-tumor immune response and autoimmunity mediated by B cells and autoantibodies in the era of anti-checkpoint monoclonal antibody therapies

The intricate relationship between anti-tumor immunity and autoimmunity is a complex yet crucial aspect of cancer biology. Tumor microenvironment often exhibits autoimmune features, a phenomenon that involves natural autoimmunity and the induction of humoral responses against self-antigens during tumorigenesis. This induction is facilitated by the orchestration of anti-tumor immunity, particularly within organized structures like tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). Paradoxically, a significant number of cancer patients do not manifest autoimmune features during the course of their illness, with rare instances of paraneoplastic syndromes. This discrepancy can be attributed to various immune-mediated locks, including regulatory or suppressive immune cells, anergic autoreactive lymphocytes, or induction of effector cells exhaustion due to chronic stimulation. Overcoming these locks holds the risk to induce autoimmune mechanisms during cancer progression, a phenomenon notably observed with anti-immune checkpoint therapies, in contrast to more conventional treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Therefore, the challenge arises in managing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors treatment, as decoupling them from the anti-tumor activity poses a significant clinical dilemma. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the link between B-cell driven anti-tumor responses and autoimmune reactions in cancer patients, and discusses the clinical implications of this relationship.

Autoimmunity in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced immune-related adverse events: A focus on autoimmune skin toxicity and pneumonitis

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer therapy. However, their use is frequently associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) potentially affecting any organ. The mechanisms mediating such irAEs remain poorly understood and biomarkers to predict the development of irAEs are lacking. Growing evidence shows the importance of self-antigens in mediating irAEs during ICI therapy, in particular the well-described melanocyte differentiation antigens in melanoma patients. This review will focus on two novel classes of self-antigens involved in mediating autoimmune skin toxicity and pneumonitis in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immunotherapy. T cells specific for these self-antigens are thought to not only mediate irAEs but are thought to simultaneously mediate anti-tumor responses and are therefore associated with both autoimmune toxicity and response to ICI therapy. We further discuss emerging cellular and proteomic immune signatures of irAEs that may serve as biomarkers to help predict which patients are at higher risk of developing these irAEs. The determination of new tumor antigens involved in ICI therapy and the identification of related biomarkers brings us a step forward in the mechanistic understanding of ICIs and will help to monitor patients at higher risk of developing irAEs. Lastly, we discuss the current challenges in collecting research samples for the study of ICI-related mechanisms and in distinguishing between immune signatures of response and those of irAEs.

Identification of two immune-related risk score signatures through integrated analysis of multi-omics data in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Immunotherapy has become a major treatment for advanced HCC, but the therapeutic effects remain unsatisfactory. In this study, we constructed an immune cell risk score (ICS) and an immune cell-related gene risk score (ICRGS) for the prognosis prediction of HCC through integrated analysis of bulk and single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing data. These two risk score signatures both showed good predictive values in the training and validation cohorts. The potential interactions among these prognostic immune cell types were elucidated by cell-cell communication analysis. The results of enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of the prognostic genes showed that metabolic-related processes were involved in the immune response of HCC. Furthermore, the results of correlation analyses further confirmed the hub genes that were strongly correlated with immune cells. Finally, potential therapeutic drugs targeting these hub genes were screened by CellMiner based on NCI-60 cell line set. Taken together, two useful models for the prognosis prediction of HCC patients were constructed in this study. The functional differences between the two groups of HCC patients separated by ICS or ICRGS provide fundamental knowledge for finding synergistic therapeutic targets for HCC immunotherapy.