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Cossu C, Di Lorenzo A, Fiorilla I, Todesco AM, Audrito V, Conti L. The Role of the Toll-like Receptor 2 and the cGAS-STING Pathways in Breast Cancer: Friends or Foes? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:456. [PMID: 38203626 PMCID: PMC10778705 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010456] [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] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer stands as a primary malignancy among women, ranking second in global cancer-related deaths. Despite treatment advancements, many patients progress to metastatic stages, posing a significant therapeutic challenge. Current therapies primarily target cancer cells, overlooking their intricate interactions with the tumor microenvironment (TME) that fuel progression and treatment resistance. Dysregulated innate immunity in breast cancer triggers chronic inflammation, fostering cancer development and therapy resistance. Innate immune pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) have emerged as crucial regulators of the immune response as well as of several immune-mediated or cancer cell-intrinsic mechanisms that either inhibit or promote tumor progression. In particular, several studies showed that the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathways play a central role in breast cancer progression. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the role of TLR2 and STING in breast cancer, and we explore the potential to target these PRRs for drug development. This information will significantly impact the scientific discussion on the use of PRR agonists or inhibitors in cancer therapy, opening up new and promising avenues for breast cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Cossu
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences–Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, University of Turin, Piazza Nizza 44, 10126 Turin, Italy; (C.C.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Antonino Di Lorenzo
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences–Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, University of Turin, Piazza Nizza 44, 10126 Turin, Italy; (C.C.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Irene Fiorilla
- Department of Science and Technological Innovation (DISIT), University of Eastern Piedmont, 15121 Alessandria, Italy; (I.F.); (A.M.T.); (V.A.)
| | - Alberto Maria Todesco
- Department of Science and Technological Innovation (DISIT), University of Eastern Piedmont, 15121 Alessandria, Italy; (I.F.); (A.M.T.); (V.A.)
| | - Valentina Audrito
- Department of Science and Technological Innovation (DISIT), University of Eastern Piedmont, 15121 Alessandria, Italy; (I.F.); (A.M.T.); (V.A.)
| | - Laura Conti
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences–Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone”, University of Turin, Piazza Nizza 44, 10126 Turin, Italy; (C.C.); (A.D.L.)
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Wei L, Zhang Y, Wang R, Liu S, Luo J, Ma Y, Wang H, Liu Y, Chen Y. Heteroantigen-assembled nanovaccine enhances the polyfunctionality of TILs against tumor growth and metastasis. Biomaterials 2023; 302:122297. [PMID: 37666102 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The dysfunction of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) directly correlates with out of control of tumor growth and metastasis. New approaches and insightful clarity for rescuing TILs dysfunction are urgently needed. Here, we design two heterogenous antigens based on MHC-I epitope and MHC-II epitope from tumor, and assemble heterogenous antigens by electrostatic interactions and π-π stacking into heteroantigen-assembled nanovaccine (HANV). HANV not only significantly increases the abundance of CD8+ and CD4+ TILs, but also elicits stronger polyfunctionality of CD8+ and CD4+ TILs in vivo. Enhanced polyfunctionality of CD8+ and CD4+ TILs positively correlate to suppression of tumor growth and metastasis in melanoma-bearing mouse models. We also validate that nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) dominantly enhances anti-tumor capacity of TILs in a temporal immunoregulation manner. This work presents a new insight in developing HANV as a rational strategy to shape TILs polyfunctionality for tumor growth and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangnian Wei
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China; State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Prenatal Diagnosis, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Immunology, Key Laboratory of Immunological Environment and Disease, Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Epidemiology, National Vaccine Innovation Platform, Center for Global Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Huai'an N0.1 People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, 223300, China
| | - Ye Zhang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China
| | - Ruixin Wang
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China
| | - Shuai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Prenatal Diagnosis, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Immunology, Key Laboratory of Immunological Environment and Disease, Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Epidemiology, National Vaccine Innovation Platform, Center for Global Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Huai'an N0.1 People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, 223300, China
| | - Jia Luo
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China
| | - Yunfei Ma
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China
| | - Hao Wang
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Ye Liu
- Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College; Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China; State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, Beijing, 100190, China; Key Laboratory of Pathogen Infection Prevention and Control (Peking Union Medical College), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Yun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Prenatal Diagnosis, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Immunology, Key Laboratory of Immunological Environment and Disease, Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Key Lab of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University; Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Epidemiology, National Vaccine Innovation Platform, Center for Global Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Department of Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Huai'an N0.1 People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, 223300, China.
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Stickdorn J, Czysch C, Medina-Montano C, Stein L, Xu L, Scherger M, Schild H, Grabbe S, Nuhn L. Peptide-Decorated Degradable Polycarbonate Nanogels for Eliciting Antigen-Specific Immune Responses. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15417. [PMID: 37895096 PMCID: PMC10607756 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015417] [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] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
For successful therapeutic interventions in cancer immunotherapy, strong antigen-specific immune responses are required. To this end, immunostimulating cues must be combined with antigens to simultaneously arrive at antigen-presenting cells and initiate cellular immune responses. Recently, imidazoquinolines have shown their vast potential as small molecular Toll-like receptor 7/8 (TLR7/8) agonists for immunostimulation when delivered by nanocarriers. At the same time, peptide antigens are promising antigen candidates but require combination with immune-stimulating adjuvants to boost their immunogenicity and exploit their full potential. Consequently, we herein present biodegradable polycarbonate nanogels as versatile delivery system for adjuvants within the particles' core as well as for peptide antigens by surface decoration. For that purpose, orthogonally addressable multifunctional polycarbonate block copolymers were synthesized, enabling adjuvant conjugation through reactive ester chemistry and peptide decoration by strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC). In preparation for SPAAC, CD4+-specific peptide sequences of the model protein antigen ovalbumin were equipped with DBCO-moieties by site-selective modification at their N-terminal cysteine. With their azide groups exposed on their surface, the adjuvant-loaded nanogels were then efficiently decorated with DBCO-functional CD4+-peptides by SPAAC. In vitro evaluation of the adjuvant-loaded peptide-decorated gels then confirmed their strong immunostimulating properties as well as their high biocompatibility. Despite their covalent conjugation, the CD4+-peptide-decorated nanogels led to maturation of primary antigen-presenting cells and the downstream priming of CD4+-T cells. Subsequently, the peptide-decorated nanogels loaded with TLR7/8 agonist were successfully processed by antigen-presenting cells, enabling potent immune responses for future application in antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carolina Medina-Montano
- Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Lara Stein
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Lujuan Xu
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, The Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310022, China
| | | | - Hansjörg Schild
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Stephan Grabbe
- Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Lutz Nuhn
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute of Functional Materials and Biofabrication, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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Zahedipour F, Jamialahmadi K, Zamani P, Reza Jaafari M. Improving the efficacy of peptide vaccines in cancer immunotherapy. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 123:110721. [PMID: 37543011 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Peptide vaccines have shown great potential in cancer immunotherapy by targeting tumor antigens and activating the patient's immune system to mount a specific response against cancer cells. However, the efficacy of peptide vaccines in inducing a sustained immune response and achieving clinical benefit remains a major challenge. In this review, we discuss the current status of peptide vaccines in cancer immunotherapy and strategies to improve their efficacy. We summarize the recent advancements in the development of peptide vaccines in pre-clinical and clinical settings, including the use of novel adjuvants, neoantigens, nano-delivery systems, and combination therapies. We also highlight the importance of personalized cancer vaccines, which consider the unique genetic and immunological profiles of individual patients. We also discuss the strategies to enhance the immunogenicity of peptide vaccines such as multivalent peptides, conjugated peptides, fusion proteins, and self-assembled peptides. Although, peptide vaccines alone are weak immunogens, combining peptide vaccines with other immunotherapeutic approaches and developing novel approaches such as personalized vaccines can be promising methods to significantly enhance their efficacy and improve the clinical outcomes for cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Zahedipour
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Khadijeh Jamialahmadi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Parvin Zamani
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mahmoud Reza Jaafari
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
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Huis In 't Veld RV, Ma S, Kines RC, Savinainen A, Rich C, Ossendorp F, Jager MJ. Immune checkpoint inhibition combined with targeted therapy using a novel virus-like drug conjugate induces complete responses in a murine model of local and distant tumors. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2023:10.1007/s00262-023-03425-3. [PMID: 36997666 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-023-03425-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Metastases remain the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Therefore, improving the treatment efficacy against such tumors is essential to enhance patient survival. AU-011 (belzupacap sarotalocan) is a new virus-like drug conjugate which is currently in clinical development for the treatment of small choroidal melanoma and high-risk indeterminate lesions in the eye. Upon light activation, AU-011 induces rapid necrotic cell death which is pro-inflammatory and pro-immunogenic, resulting in an anti-tumor immune response. As AU-011 is known to induce systemic anti-tumor immune responses, we investigated whether this combination therapy would also be effective against distant, untreated tumors, as a model for treating local and distant tumors by abscopal immune effects. We compared the efficacy of combining AU-011 with several different checkpoint blockade antibodies to identify optimal treatment regimens in an in vivo tumor model. We show that AU-011 induces immunogenic cell death through the release and exposure of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), resulting in the maturation of dendritic cells in vitro. Furthermore, we show that AU-011 accumulates in MC38 tumors over time and that ICI enhances the efficacy of AU-011 against established tumors in mice, resulting in complete responses for specific combinations in all treated animals bearing a single MC38 tumor. Finally, we show that AU-011 and anti-PD-L1/anti-LAG-3 antibody treatment was an optimal combination in an abscopal model, inducing complete responses in approximately 75% of animals. Our data show the feasibility of combining AU-011 with PD-L1 and LAG-3 antibodies for the treatment of primary and distant tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben V Huis In 't Veld
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Sen Ma
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
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Therapeutic Vaccination in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—A Review. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11030634. [PMID: 36992219 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11030634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic vaccination is one of the most effective immunotherapeutic approaches, second only to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which have already been approved for clinical use. Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are heterogenous epithelial tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract, and a significant proportion of these tumors tend to exhibit unfavorable therapeutic responses to the existing treatment options. Comprehending the immunopathology of these tumors and choosing an appropriate immunotherapeutic maneuver seems to be a promising avenue for solving this problem. The current review provides a detailed overview of the strategies, targets, and candidates for therapeutic vaccination in HNSCC. The classical principle of inducing a potent, antigen-specific, cell-mediated cytotoxicity targeting a specific tumor antigen seems to be the most effective mechanism of therapeutic vaccination, particularly against the human papilloma virus positive subset of HNSCC. However, approaches such as countering the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of HNSCC and immune co-stimulatory mechanisms have also been explored recently, with encouraging results.
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Speetjens FM, Welters MJP, Slingerland M, van Poelgeest MIE, de Vos van Steenwijk PJ, Roozen I, Boekestijn S, Loof NM, Zom GG, Valentijn ARPM, Krebber WJ, Meeuwenoord NJ, Janssen CAH, Melief CJM, van der Marel GA, Filippov DV, van der Burg SH, Gelderblom H, Ossendorp F. Intradermal vaccination of HPV-16 E6 synthetic peptides conjugated to an optimized Toll-like receptor 2 ligand shows safety and potent T cell immunogenicity in patients with HPV-16 positive (pre-)malignant lesions. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-005016. [PMID: 36261215 PMCID: PMC9582304 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Amplivant is a molecularly optimized Toll-like receptor 2 ligand that can be covalently conjugated to tumor peptide antigens. In preclinical models, amplivant-adjuvanted synthetic long peptides (SLPs) strongly enhanced antigen presentation by dendritic cells, T cell priming and induction of effective antitumor responses. The current study is a first-in-human trial to investigate safety and immunogenicity of amplivant conjugated to human papillomavirus (HPV) 16-SLP. METHODS A dose escalation phase I vaccination trial was performed in 25 patients treated for HPV16 positive (pre-)malignant lesions. Amplivant was conjugated to two SLPs derived from the two most immunodominant regions of the HPV16 E6 oncoprotein. The vaccine, containing a mix of these two conjugates in watery solution without any other formulation, was injected intradermally three times with a 3-week interval in four dose groups (1, 5, 20 or 50 µg per conjugated peptide). Safety data were collected during the study. Peptide-specific T cell immune responses were determined in blood samples taken before, during and after vaccination using complementary immunological assays. RESULTS Toxicity after three amplivant-conjugated HPV16-SLP vaccinations was limited to grade 1 or 2, observed as predominantly mild skin inflammation at the vaccination site and sometimes mild flu-like symptoms. Adverse events varied from none in the lowest dose group to mild/moderate vaccine-related inflammation in all patients and flu-like symptoms in three out of seven patients in the highest dose group, after at least one injection. In the lowest dose group, vaccine-induced T cell responses were observed in the blood of three out of six vaccinated persons. In the highest dose group, all patients displayed a strong HPV16-specific T cell response after vaccination. These HPV16-specific T cell responses lasted until the end of the trial. CONCLUSIONS Amplivant-conjugated SLPs can safely be used as an intradermal therapeutic vaccine to induce robust HPV16-specific T cell immunity in patients previously treated for HPV16 positive (pre-) malignancies. Increased vaccine dose was associated with a higher number of mild adverse events and with stronger systemic T cell immunity. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS NCT02821494 and 2014-000658-12.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank M Speetjens
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marij J P Welters
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marije Slingerland
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Inge Roozen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sanne Boekestijn
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nikki M Loof
- Department of Medical Oncology, Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gijs G Zom
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - A Rob P M Valentijn
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Nico J Meeuwenoord
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Dmitri V Filippov
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd H van der Burg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Gelderblom
- Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Lipid A analog CRX-527 conjugated to synthetic peptides enhances vaccination efficacy and tumor control. NPJ Vaccines 2022; 7:64. [PMID: 35739113 PMCID: PMC9226002 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-022-00484-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Adjuvants play a determinant role in cancer vaccination by optimally activating APCs and shaping the T cell response. Bacterial-derived lipid A is one of the most potent immune-stimulators known, and is recognized via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). In this study, we explore the use of the synthetic, non-toxic, lipid A analog CRX-527 as an adjuvant for peptide cancer vaccines. This well-defined adjuvant was covalently conjugated to antigenic peptides as a strategy to improve vaccine efficacy. We show that coupling of this TLR4 agonist to peptide antigens improves vaccine uptake by dendritic cells (DCs), maturation of DCs and T cell activation in vitro, and stimulates DC migration and functional T cell priming in vivo. This translates into enhanced tumor protection upon prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination via intradermal injection against B16-OVA melanoma and HPV-related TC1 tumors. These results highlight the potential of CRX-527 as an adjuvant for molecularly defined cancer vaccines, and support the design of adjuvant-peptide conjugates as a strategy to optimize vaccine formulation.
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Huis In 't Veld RV, Lara P, Jager MJ, Koning RI, Ossendorp F, Cruz LJ. M1-derived extracellular vesicles enhance photodynamic therapy and promote immunological memory in preclinical models of colon cancer. J Nanobiotechnology 2022; 20:252. [PMID: 35658868 PMCID: PMC9164362 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01448-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising drug carriers of photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) in cancer treatment, due to their ability to circulate in blood and enter cells efficiently. The therapeutic potential of EVs has been suggested to depend on the type and physiological state of their cell of origin. However, the effects of deriving EVs from various cells in different physiological states on their antitumor capacity are rarely evaluated. In the present study, we compared the antitumor efficacy of EV-mediated PDT by incorporating the photosensitizer Zinc Phthalocyanine (ZnPc) into EVs from multiple cells sources. ZnPc was incorporated by a direct incubation strategy into EVs derived from immune cells (M1-like macrophages and M2-like macrophages), cancer cells (B16F10 melanoma cancer cells) and external sources (milk). Our data show that all EVs are suitable carriers for ZnPc and enable efficient PDT in vitro in co-culture models and in vivo. We observed that EV-mediated PDT initiates immunogenic cell death through the release and exposure of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) on cancer cells, which subsequently induced dendritic cell (DC) maturation. Importantly, of all ZnPc-EVs tested, in absence of light only M1-ZnPc displayed toxicity to MC38, but not to DC, in monoculture and in co-culture, indicating specificity for cancer over immune cells. In MC38 tumor-bearing mice, only M1-ZnPc induced a tumor growth delay compared to control in absence of light. Interestingly, M1- but not M2-mediated PDT, induced complete responses against MC38 tumors in murine models (100% versus 38% of cases, respectively), with survival of all animals up to at least 60 days post inoculation. Finally, we show that all cured animals are protected from a rechallenge with MC38 cells, suggesting the induction of immunological memory after EV-mediated PDT. Together, our data show the importance of the cell type from which the EVs are obtained and highlight the impact of the immunological state of these cells on the antitumor efficacy of EV-mediated PDT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben V Huis In 't Veld
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Pablo Lara
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Roman I Koning
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Section Electron Microscopy, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Luis J Cruz
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Shi L, Sheng J, Chen G, Zhu P, Shi C, Li B, Park C, Wang J, Zhang B, Liu Z, Yang X. Combining IL-2-based immunotherapy with commensal probiotics produces enhanced antitumor immune response and tumor clearance. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2020-000973. [PMID: 33028692 PMCID: PMC7542661 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Interleukin-2 (IL-2) serves as a pioneer of immunotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment. However, there is a considerable proportion of patients who cannot benefit from this therapy due to the limited clinical responses and dose-limiting toxicities. Mounting evidence indicates that commensal microbiota shapes the outcome of cancer immunotherapies. In this study, we aim to investigate the enhancing effect of Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK), a beneficial commensal microbe receiving considerable attentions, on the antitumor efficacy of IL-2 and explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods Colorectal carcinoma patient-derived tumor tissues were used to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of combination treatment. AKK was orally delivered to B16F10 and CT26 tumor-bearing mice along with systemic IL-2 treatment. Flow cytometry was carried out to analyze the tumor immune microenvironment. The molecular mechanism of the enhanced therapeutic efficacy was explored by RNA-seq and then verified in tumor-bearing mice. Results Combined treatment with IL-2 and AKK showed a stronger antitumor efficacy in colorectal cancer patient-derived tumor tissues. Meanwhile, the therapeutic outcome of IL-2 was significantly potentiated by oral administration of AKK in subcutaneous melanoma and colorectal tumor-bearing mice, resulting from the strengthened antitumor immune surveillance. Mechanistically, the antitumor immune response elicited by AKK was partially mediated by Amuc, derived from the outer membrane protein of AKK, through activating toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling pathway. Besides, oral supplementation with AKK protected gut barrier function and maintained mucosal homeostasis under systemic IL-2 treatment. Conclusion These findings propose that IL-2 combined with AKK is a novel therapeutic strategy with prospecting application for cancer treatment in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linlin Shi
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianyong Sheng
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Guozhong Chen
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Peng Zhu
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Changping Shi
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Bei Li
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Chaiwoo Park
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jingyi Wang
- Department of Biology, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA
| | - Bixiang Zhang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhi Liu
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiangliang Yang
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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11
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Zinc-Phthalocyanine-Loaded Extracellular Vesicles Increase Efficacy and Selectivity of Photodynamic Therapy in Co-Culture and Preclinical Models of Colon Cancer. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13101547. [PMID: 34683840 PMCID: PMC8537141 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13101547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising and clinically approved method for the treatment of cancer. However, the efficacy of PDT is often limited by the poor selectivity and distribution of the photosensitizers (PS) toward the malignant tumors, resulting in prolonged periods of skin photosensitivity. In this work, we present a simple and straightforward strategy to increase the tumor distribution, selectivity, and efficacy of lipophilic PS zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) in colon cancer by their stabilization in purified, naturally secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs). The PS ZnPc was incorporated in EVs (EV-ZnPc) by a direct incubation strategy that did not affect size distribution or surface charge. By using co-culture models simulating a tumor microenvironment, we determined the preferential uptake of EV-ZnPc toward colon cancer cells when compared with macrophages and dendritic cells. We observed that PDT promoted total tumor cell death in normal and immune cells, but showed selectivity against cancer cells in co-culture models. In vivo assays showed that after a single intravenous or intratumoral injection, EV-ZnPc were able to target the tumor cells and strongly reduce tumor growth over 15 days. These data expose opportunities to enhance the potential and efficacy of PDT using simple non-synthetic strategies that might facilitate translation into clinical practice.
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12
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Combining Photodynamic Therapy with Immunostimulatory Nanoparticles Elicits Effective Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Preclinical Murine Models. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13091470. [PMID: 34575546 PMCID: PMC8465537 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13091470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown encouraging but limited clinical efficacy when used as a standalone treatment against solid tumors. Conversely, a limitation for immunotherapeutic efficacy is related to the immunosuppressive state observed in large, advanced tumors. In the present study, we employ a strategy, in which we use a combination of PDT and immunostimulatory nanoparticles (NPs), consisting of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) particles, loaded with the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist poly(I:C), the TLR7/8 agonist R848, the lymphocyte-attracting chemokine, and macrophage inflammatory protein 3α (MIP3α). The combination provoked strong anti-tumor responses, including an abscopal effects, in three clinically relevant murine models of cancer: MC38 (colorectal), CT26 (colorectal), and TC-1 (human papillomavirus 16-induced). We show that the local and distal anti-tumor effects depended on the presence of CD8+ T cells. The combination elicited tumor-specific oncoviral- or neoepitope-directed CD8+ T cells immune responses against the respective tumors, providing evidence that PDT can be used as an in situ vaccination strategy against cancer (neo)epitopes. Finally, we show that the treatment alters the tumor microenvironment in tumor-bearing mice, from cold (immunosuppressed) to hot (pro-inflammatory), based on greater neutrophil infiltration and higher levels of inflammatory myeloid and CD8+ T cells, compared to untreated mice. Together, our results provide a rationale for combining PDT with immunostimulatory NPs for the treatment of solid tumors.
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13
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Huis In 't Veld RV, Da Silva CG, Jager MJ, Cruz LJ, Ossendorp F. Combining Photodynamic Therapy with Immunostimulatory Nanoparticles Elicits Effective Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Preclinical Murine Models. Pharmaceutics 2021. [PMID: 34575546 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics1309147010.3390/pharmaceutics13091470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown encouraging but limited clinical efficacy when used as a standalone treatment against solid tumors. Conversely, a limitation for immunotherapeutic efficacy is related to the immunosuppressive state observed in large, advanced tumors. In the present study, we employ a strategy, in which we use a combination of PDT and immunostimulatory nanoparticles (NPs), consisting of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) particles, loaded with the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist poly(I:C), the TLR7/8 agonist R848, the lymphocyte-attracting chemokine, and macrophage inflammatory protein 3α (MIP3α). The combination provoked strong anti-tumor responses, including an abscopal effects, in three clinically relevant murine models of cancer: MC38 (colorectal), CT26 (colorectal), and TC-1 (human papillomavirus 16-induced). We show that the local and distal anti-tumor effects depended on the presence of CD8+ T cells. The combination elicited tumor-specific oncoviral- or neoepitope-directed CD8+ T cells immune responses against the respective tumors, providing evidence that PDT can be used as an in situ vaccination strategy against cancer (neo)epitopes. Finally, we show that the treatment alters the tumor microenvironment in tumor-bearing mice, from cold (immunosuppressed) to hot (pro-inflammatory), based on greater neutrophil infiltration and higher levels of inflammatory myeloid and CD8+ T cells, compared to untreated mice. Together, our results provide a rationale for combining PDT with immunostimulatory NPs for the treatment of solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben Victor Huis In 't Veld
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Candido G Da Silva
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J Jager
- Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Luis J Cruz
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Room C2-187h, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
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14
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Najafabadi AH, Abadi ZIN, Aikins ME, Foulds KE, Donaldson MM, Yuan W, Okeke EB, Nam J, Xu Y, Weerappuli P, Hetrick T, Adams D, Lester PA, Salazar AM, Barouch DH, Schwendeman A, Seder RA, Moon JJ. Vaccine nanodiscs plus polyICLC elicit robust CD8+ T cell responses in mice and non-human primates. J Control Release 2021; 337:168-178. [PMID: 34280415 PMCID: PMC8440392 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Conventional cancer vaccines based on soluble vaccines and traditional adjuvants have produced suboptimal therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. Thus, there is an urgent need for vaccine technologies that can generate potent T cell responses with strong anti-tumor efficacy. We have previously reported the development of synthetic high-density protein (sHDL) nanodiscs for efficient lymph node (LN)-targeted co-delivery of antigen peptides and CpG oligonucleotides (a Toll-like receptor-9 agonist). Here, we performed a comparative study in mice and non-human primates (NHPs) to identify an ideal vaccine platform for induction of CD8+ T cell responses. In particular, we compared the efficacy of CpG class B, CpG class C, and polyICLC (a synthetic double-stranded RNA analog, a TLR-3 agonist), each formulated with antigen-carrying sHDL nanodiscs. Here, we report that sHDL-Ag admixed with polyICLC elicited robust Ag-specific CD8+ T cell responses in mice, and when used in combination with α-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, sHDL-Ag + polyICLC eliminated large established (~100 mm3) MC-38 tumors in mice. Moreover, sHDL-Gag + polyICLC induced robust Simian immunodeficiency virus Gag-specific, polyfunctional CD8+ T cell responses in rhesus macaques and could further amplify the efficacy of recombinant adenovirus-based vaccine. Notably, while both sHDL-Ag-CpG-B and sHDL-Ag-CpG-C generated strong Ag-specific CD8+ T cell responses in mice, their results were mixed in NHPs. Overall, sHDL combined with polyICLC offers a strong platform to induce CD8+ T cells for vaccine applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Hassani Najafabadi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
| | - Zeynab Izadi Najaf Abadi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Marisa E Aikins
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Kathryn E Foulds
- The Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Mitzi M Donaldson
- The Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Wenmin Yuan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Emeka B Okeke
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biology, State University of New York, Fredonia, NY 14063, USA
| | - Jutaek Nam
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
| | - Yao Xu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Priyan Weerappuli
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Taryn Hetrick
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - David Adams
- Biomedical Research Core Facilities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Patrick A Lester
- Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | | | - Dan H Barouch
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Anna Schwendeman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Robert A Seder
- The Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - James J Moon
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA..
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15
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Chen Z, Zhang L, Yang J, Zheng L, Hu F, Duan S, Nandakumar KS, Liu S, Yin H, Cheng K. Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationship of N-Aryl- N'-(thiophen-2-yl)thiourea Derivatives as Novel and Specific Human TLR1/2 Agonists for Potential Cancer Immunotherapy. J Med Chem 2021; 64:7371-7389. [PMID: 34029463 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The previous virtual screening of ten million compounds yielded two novel nonlipopeptide-like chemotypes as TLR2 agonists. Herein, we present the chemical optimization of our initial hit, 1-phenyl-3-(thiophen-2-yl)urea, which resulted in the identification of SMU-C80 (EC50 = 31.02 ± 1.01 nM) as a TLR2-specific agonist with a 370-fold improvement in bioactivity. Mechanistic studies revealed that SMU-C80, through TLR1/2, recruits the adaptor protein MyD88 and triggers the NF-κB pathway to release cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β from human, but not murine, cells. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first species-specific TLR1/2 agonist reported until now. Moreover, SMU-C80 increased the percentage of T, B, and NK cells ex vivo and activated the immune cells, which suppressed cancer cell growth in vitro. In summary, we obtained a highly efficient and specific human TLR1/2 agonist that acts through the MyD88 and NF-κB pathway, facilitating cytokine release and the simultaneous activation of immune cells that in turn affects the apoptosis of cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhipeng Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Lina Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Junjie Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Lu Zheng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fanjie Hu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Siqin Duan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Kutty Selva Nandakumar
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Shuwen Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hang Yin
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kui Cheng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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16
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Brentville VA, Metheringham RL, Daniels I, Atabani S, Symonds P, Cook KW, Vankemmelbeke M, Choudhury R, Vaghela P, Gijon M, Meiners G, Krebber WJ, Melief CJM, Durrant LG. Combination vaccine based on citrullinated vimentin and enolase peptides induces potent CD4-mediated anti-tumor responses. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2020-000560. [PMID: 32561639 PMCID: PMC7304843 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stress-induced post-translational modifications occur during autophagy and can result in generation of new epitopes and immune recognition. One such modification is the conversion of arginine to citrulline by peptidylarginine deiminase enzymes. METHODS We used Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) transgenic mouse models to assess the immunogenicity of citrullinated peptide vaccine by cytokine Enzyme linked immunosorbant spot (ELISpot) assay. Vaccine efficacy was assessed in tumor therapy studies using HLA-matched B16 melanoma and ID8 ovarian models expressing either constitutive or interferon-gamma (IFNγ) inducible Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II (MHC-II) as represented by most human tumors. To determine the importance of CD4 T cells in tumor therapy, we analyzed the immune cell infiltrate into murine tumors using flow cytometry and performed therapy studies in the presence of CD4 and CD8 T cell depletion. We assessed the T cell repertoire to citrullinated peptides in ovarian cancer patients and healthy donors using flow cytometry. RESULTS The combination of citrullinated vimentin and enolase peptides (Modi-1) stimulated strong CD4 T cell responses in mice. Responses resulted in a potent anti-tumor therapy against established tumors and generated immunological memory which protected against tumor rechallenge. Depletion of CD4, but not CD8 T cells, abrogated the primary anti-tumor response as well as the memory response to tumor rechallenge. This was further reinforced by successful tumor regression being associated with an increase in tumor-infiltrating CD4 T cells and a reduction in tumor-associated myeloid suppressor cells. The anti-tumor response also relied on direct CD4 T cell recognition as only tumors expressing MHC-II were rejected. A comparison of different Toll-like receptor (TLR)-stimulating adjuvants showed that Modi-1 induced strong Th1 responses when combined with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF), TLR9/TLR4, TLR9, TLR3, TLR1/2 and TLR7 agonists. Direct linkage of the TLR1/2 agonist to the peptides allowed the vaccine dose to be reduced by 10-fold to 100-fold without loss of anti-tumor activity. Furthermore, a CD4 Th1 response to the citrullinated peptides was seen in ovarian cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS Modi-1 citrullinated peptide vaccine induces potent CD4-mediated anti-tumor responses in mouse models and a CD4 T cell repertoire is present in ovarian cancer patients to the citrullinated peptides suggesting that Modi-1 could be an effective vaccine for ovarian cancer patients.
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MESH Headings
- Adjuvants, Immunologic/administration & dosage
- Animals
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
- Cancer Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Cancer Vaccines/genetics
- Cancer Vaccines/immunology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Citrullination/immunology
- Female
- HLA Antigens/genetics
- HLA Antigens/immunology
- Humans
- Immunogenicity, Vaccine
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Lymphocyte Depletion
- Male
- Melanoma, Experimental/immunology
- Melanoma, Experimental/therapy
- Mice
- Mice, Transgenic
- Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/genetics
- Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/immunology
- Vaccines, Combined/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Combined/genetics
- Vaccines, Combined/immunology
- Vaccines, Subunit/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Subunit/genetics
- Vaccines, Subunit/immunology
- Vimentin/genetics
- Vimentin/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ian Daniels
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
| | - Suha Atabani
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Nottingham, UK
| | - Peter Symonds
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
| | - Katherine W Cook
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
| | | | - Ruhul Choudhury
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
| | - Poonam Vaghela
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Nottingham, UK
| | - Mohamed Gijon
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
| | | | | | - Cornelis J M Melief
- ISA Pharmaceuticals, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Lindy G Durrant
- Scancell Ltd, University of Nottingham Biodiscovery Institute, Nottingham, UK
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Nottingham, UK
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17
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Palmitoylated antigens for the induction of anti-tumor CD8 + T cells and enhanced tumor recognition. MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS 2021; 21:315-328. [PMID: 34141869 PMCID: PMC8170356 DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2021.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Induction of tumor-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTLs) via immunization relies on the presentation of tumor-associated peptides in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules by dendritic cells (DCs). To achieve presentation of exogenous peptides into MHC class I, cytosolic processing and cross-presentation are required. Vaccination strategies aiming to induce tumor-specific CD8+ T cells via this exogenous route therefore pose a challenge. In this study, we describe improved CD8+ T cell induction and in vivo tumor suppression of mono-palmitic acid-modified (C16:0) antigenic peptides, which can be attributed to their unique processing route, efficient receptor-independent integration within lipid bilayers, and continuous intracellular accumulation and presentation through MHC class I. We propose that this membrane-integrating feature of palmitoylated peptides can be exploited as a tool for quick and efficient antigen enrichment and MHC class I loading. Importantly, both DCs and non-professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), similar to tumor cells, facilitate anti-tumor immunity by efficient CTL priming via DCs and effective recognition of tumors through enhanced presentation of antigens.
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18
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Paston SJ, Brentville VA, Symonds P, Durrant LG. Cancer Vaccines, Adjuvants, and Delivery Systems. Front Immunol 2021; 12:627932. [PMID: 33859638 PMCID: PMC8042385 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.627932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccination was first pioneered in the 18th century by Edward Jenner and eventually led to the development of the smallpox vaccine and subsequently the eradication of smallpox. The impact of vaccination to prevent infectious diseases has been outstanding with many infections being prevented and a significant decrease in mortality worldwide. Cancer vaccines aim to clear active disease instead of aiming to prevent disease, the only exception being the recently approved vaccine that prevents cancers caused by the Human Papillomavirus. The development of therapeutic cancer vaccines has been disappointing with many early cancer vaccines that showed promise in preclinical models often failing to translate into efficacy in the clinic. In this review we provide an overview of the current vaccine platforms, adjuvants and delivery systems that are currently being investigated or have been approved. With the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors, we also review the potential of these to be used with cancer vaccines to improve efficacy and help to overcome the immune suppressive tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Peter Symonds
- Biodiscovery Institute, Scancell Limited, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Lindy G. Durrant
- Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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19
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van den Ende TC, Heuts JMM, Gential GPP, Visser M, van de Graaff MJ, Ho NI, Jiskoot W, Valentijn ARPM, Meeuwenoord NJ, Overkleeft HS, Codée JDC, van der Burg SH, Verdegaal EME, van der Marel GA, Ossendorp F, Filippov DV. Simplified Monopalmitoyl Toll-like Receptor 2 Ligand Mini-UPam for Self-Adjuvanting Neoantigen-Based Synthetic Cancer Vaccines. Chembiochem 2020; 22:1215-1222. [PMID: 33180981 PMCID: PMC8049070 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic vaccines, based on antigenic peptides that comprise MHC-I and MHC-II T-cell epitopes expressed by tumors, show great promise for the immunotherapy of cancer. For optimal immunogenicity, the synthetic peptides (SPs) should be adjuvanted with suitable immunostimulatory additives. Previously, we have shown that improved immunogenicity in vivo is obtained with vaccine modalities in which an SP is covalently connected to an adjuvanting moiety, typically a ligand to Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). SPs were covalently attached to UPam, which is a derivative of the classic TLR2 ligand Pam3 CysSK4 . A disadvantage of the triply palmitoylated UPam is its high lipophilicity, which precludes universal adoption of this adjuvant for covalent modification of various antigenic peptides as it renders the synthetic vaccine insoluble in several cases. Here, we report a novel conjugatable TLR2 ligand, mini-UPam, which contains only one palmitoyl chain, rather than three, and therefore has less impact on the solubility and other physicochemical properties of a synthetic peptide. In this study, we used SPs that contain the clinically relevant neoepitopes identified in a melanoma patient who completely recovered after T-cell therapy. Homogeneous mini-UPam-SP conjugates have been prepared in good yields by stepwise solid-phase synthesis that employed a mini-UPam building block pre-prepared in solution and the standard set of Fmoc-amino acids. The immunogenicity of the novel mini-UPam-SP conjugates was demonstrated by using the cancer patient's T-cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C van den Ende
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen M M Heuts
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Geoffroy P P Gential
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marten Visser
- Department of Medical Oncology and Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Michel J van de Graaff
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nataschja I Ho
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Wim Jiskoot
- Division of BioTherapeutics, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - A Rob P M Valentijn
- Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nico J Meeuwenoord
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Herman S Overkleeft
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen D C Codée
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd H van der Burg
- Department of Medical Oncology and Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Els M E Verdegaal
- Department of Medical Oncology and Oncode Institute, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gijsbert A van der Marel
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Dmitri V Filippov
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
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20
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Toll-Like Receptor 2 at the Crossroad between Cancer Cells, the Immune System, and the Microbiota. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21249418. [PMID: 33321934 PMCID: PMC7763461 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) expressed on myeloid cells mediates the recognition of harmful molecules belonging to invading pathogens or host damaged tissues, leading to inflammation. For this ability to activate immune responses, TLR2 has been considered a player in anti-cancer immunity. Therefore, TLR2 agonists have been used as adjuvants for anti-cancer immunotherapies. However, TLR2 is also expressed on neoplastic cells from different malignancies and promotes their proliferation through activation of the myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cell (NF-κB) pathway. Furthermore, its activation on regulatory immune cells may contribute to the generation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment and of the pre-metastatic niche, promoting cancer progression. Thus, TLR2 represents a double-edge sword, whose role in cancer needs to be carefully understood for the setup of effective therapies. In this review, we discuss the divergent effects induced by TLR2 activation in different immune cell populations, cancer cells, and cancer stem cells. Moreover, we analyze the stimuli that lead to its activation in the tumor microenvironment, addressing the role of danger, pathogen, and microbiota-associated molecular patterns and their modulation during cancer treatments. This information will contribute to the scientific debate on the use of TLR2 agonists or antagonists in cancer treatment and pave the way for new therapeutic avenues.
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21
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Manabe Y, Chang TC, Fukase K. Recent advances in self-adjuvanting glycoconjugate vaccines. DRUG DISCOVERY TODAY. TECHNOLOGIES 2020; 37:61-71. [PMID: 34895656 DOI: 10.1016/j.ddtec.2020.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Compared to traditional vaccines that are formulated into mixtures of an adjuvant and an antigen, a self-adjuvanting vaccine consists of an antigen that is covalently conjugated to a well-defined adjuvant. In self-adjuvanting vaccines, innate immune receptor ligands are usually used as adjuvants. Innate immune receptor ligands effectively trigger acquired immunity through the activation of innate immunity to enhance host immune responses to antigens. When a self-adjuvanting vaccine is used, immune cells simultaneously uptake the antigen and the adjuvant because they are covalently linked. Consequently, the adjuvant can specifically induce immune responses against the conjugated antigen. Importantly, self-adjuvanting vaccines do not require co-administration of additional adjuvants or immobilization to carrier proteins, which enables avoidance of the use of highly toxic adjuvants or the induction of undesired immune responses. Given these excellent properties, self-adjuvanting vaccines are expected to serve as candidates for the next generation of vaccines. Herein, we review vaccine adjuvants, with a focus on the adjuvants used in self-adjuvanting vaccines, and then overview recent advances made with self-adjuvanting conjugate vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiyuki Manabe
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Japan; Core for Medicine and Science Collaborative Research and Education, Project Research Center for Fundamental Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Japan.
| | - Tsung-Che Chang
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Japan
| | - Koichi Fukase
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Japan; Core for Medicine and Science Collaborative Research and Education, Project Research Center for Fundamental Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Japan.
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22
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Abstract
Personalized cancer vaccines (PCVs) are reinvigorating vaccine strategies in cancer immunotherapy. In contrast to adoptive T-cell therapy and checkpoint blockade, the PCV strategy modulates the innate and adaptive immune systems with broader activation to redeploy antitumor immunity with individualized tumor-specific antigens (neoantigens). Following a sequential scheme of tumor biopsy, mutation analysis, and epitope prediction, the administration of neoantigens with synthetic long peptide (SLP) or mRNA formulations dramatically improves the population and activity of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Despite the promising prospect of PCVs, there is still great potential for optimizing prevaccination procedures and vaccine potency. In particular, the arduous development of tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-based vaccines provides valuable experience and rational principles for augmenting vaccine potency which is expected to advance PCV through the design of adjuvants, delivery systems, and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) reversion since current personalized vaccination simply admixes antigens with adjuvants. Considering the broader application of TAA-based vaccine design, these two strategies complement each other and can lead to both personalized and universal therapeutic methods. Chemical strategies provide vast opportunities for (1) exploring novel adjuvants, including synthetic molecules and materials with optimizable activity, (2) constructing efficient and precise delivery systems to avoid systemic diffusion, improve biosafety, target secondary lymphoid organs, and enhance antigen presentation, and (3) combining bioengineering methods to innovate improvements in conventional vaccination, "smartly" re-educate the TME, and modulate antitumor immunity. As chemical strategies have proven versatility, reliability, and universality in the design of T cell- and B cell-based antitumor vaccines, the union of such numerous chemical methods in vaccine construction is expected to provide new vigor and vitality in cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Hao Li
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Mei Li
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, 100069 Beijing, China.,Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
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23
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Tabachnick-Cherny S, Pulliam T, Church C, Koelle DM, Nghiem P. Polyomavirus-driven Merkel cell carcinoma: Prospects for therapeutic vaccine development. Mol Carcinog 2020; 59:807-821. [PMID: 32219902 PMCID: PMC8238237 DOI: 10.1002/mc.23190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Great strides have been made in cancer immunotherapy including the breakthrough successes of anti-PD-(L)1 checkpoint inhibitors. In Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and aggressive skin cancer, PD-(L)1 blockade is highly effective. Yet, ~50% of patients either do not respond to therapy or develop PD-(L)1 refractory disease and, thus, do not experience long-term benefit. For these patients, additional or combination therapies are needed to augment immune responses that target and eliminate cancer cells. Therapeutic vaccines targeting tumor-associated antigens, mutated self-antigens, or immunogenic viral oncoproteins are currently being developed to augment T-cell responses. Approximately 80% of MCC cases in the United States are driven by the ongoing expression of viral T-antigen (T-Ag) oncoproteins from genomically integrated Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Since T-Ag elicits specific B- and T-cell immune responses in most persons with virus-positive MCC (VP-MCC), and ongoing T-Ag expression is required to drive VP-MCC cell proliferation, therapeutic vaccination with T-Ag is a rational potential component of immunotherapy. Failure of the endogenous T-cell response to clear VP-MCC (allowing clinically evident tumors to arise) implies that therapeutic vaccination will need to be potent anśd synergize with other mechanisms to enhance T-cell activity against tumor cells. Here, we review the relevant underlying biology of VP-MCC, potentially applicable therapeutic vaccine platforms, and antigen delivery formats. We also describe early successes in the field of therapeutic cancer vaccines and address several clinical scenarios in which VP-MCC patients could potentially benefit from a therapeutic vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shira Tabachnick-Cherny
- Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Thomas Pulliam
- Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Candice Church
- Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - David M Koelle
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Translational Research Program, Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, Washington
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Paul Nghiem
- Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, Washington
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
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24
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Van Herck S, De Geest BG. Nanomedicine-mediated alteration of the pharmacokinetic profile of small molecule cancer immunotherapeutics. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2020; 41:881-894. [PMID: 32451411 PMCID: PMC7471422 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-020-0425-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The advent of immunotherapy is a game changer in cancer therapy with monoclonal antibody- and T cell-based therapeutics being the current flagships. Small molecule immunotherapeutics might offer advantages over the biological drugs in terms of complexity, tissue penetration, manufacturing cost, stability, and shelf life. However, small molecule drugs are prone to rapid systemic distribution, which might induce severe off-target side effects. Nanotechnology could aid in the formulation of the drug molecules to improve their delivery to specific immune cell subsets. In this review we summarize the current efforts in changing the pharmacokinetic profile of small molecule immunotherapeutics with a strong focus on Toll-like receptor agonists. In addition, we give our vision on limitations and future pathways in the route of nanomedicine to the clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Van Herck
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Bruno G De Geest
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
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25
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Mehta NK, Pradhan RV, Soleimany AP, Moynihan KD, Rothschilds AM, Momin N, Rakhra K, Mata-Fink J, Bhatia SN, Wittrup KD, Irvine DJ. Pharmacokinetic tuning of protein-antigen fusions enhances the immunogenicity of T-cell vaccines. Nat Biomed Eng 2020; 4:636-648. [PMID: 32483299 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-020-0563-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The formulations of peptide-based antitumour vaccines being tested in clinical studies are generally associated with weak potency. Here, we show that pharmacokinetically tuning the responses of peptide vaccines by fusing the peptide epitopes to carrier proteins optimizes vaccine immunogenicity in mice. In particular, we show in immunized mice that the carrier protein transthyretin simultaneously optimizes three factors: efficient antigen uptake in draining lymphatics from the site of injection, protection of antigen payloads from proteolytic degradation and reduction of antigen presentation in uninflamed distal lymphoid organs. Optimizing these factors increases vaccine immunogenicity by up to 90-fold and maximizes the responses to viral antigens, tumour-associated antigens, oncofetal antigens and shared neoantigens. Protein-peptide epitope fusions represent a facile and generalizable strategy for enhancing the T-cell responses elicited by subunit vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naveen K Mehta
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Roma V Pradhan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ava P Soleimany
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Harvard Graduate Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kelly D Moynihan
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,The Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Adrienne M Rothschilds
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Noor Momin
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kavya Rakhra
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jordi Mata-Fink
- The Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sangeeta N Bhatia
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - K Dane Wittrup
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,The Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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26
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Patidar A, Selvaraj S, Chauhan P, Guzman CA, Ebensen T, Sarkar A, Chattopadhyay D, Saha B. Peptidoglycan-treated tumor antigen-pulsed dendritic cells impart complete resistance against tumor rechallenge. Clin Exp Immunol 2020; 201:279-288. [PMID: 32443171 DOI: 10.1111/cei.13468] [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: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Solid tumors elicit suppressive T cell responses which impair antigen-presenting cell (APC) functions. Such immune suppression results in uncontrolled tumor growth and mortality. Addressing APC dysfunction, dendritic cell (DC)-mediated anti-tumor vaccination was extensively investigated in both mice and humans. These studies never achieved full resistance to tumor relapse. Herein, we describe a repetitive RM-1 murine tumor rechallenge model for recurrence in humans. Using this newly developed model, we show that priming with tumor antigen-pulsed, Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 ligand-activated DCs elicits a host-protective anti-tumor immune response in C57BL/6 mice. Upon stimulation with the TLR2 ligand peptidoglycan (PGN), the tumor antigen-pulsed DCs induce complete resistance to repetitive tumor challenges. Intra-tumoral injection of PGN reduces tumor growth. The tumor resistance is accompanied by increased expression of interleukin (IL)-27, T-box transcription factor TBX21 (T-bet), IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ, along with heightened cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) functions. Mice primed four times with PGN-stimulated tumor antigen-pulsed DCs remain entirely resistant to repeat challenges with RM-1 tumor cells, suggesting complete prevention of relapse and recurrence of tumor. Adoptive transfer of T cells from these mice, which were fully protected from RM-1 rechallenge, confers anti-tumor immunity to syngeneic naive recipient mice upon RM-1 challenge. These observations indicate that PGN-activated DCs induce robust host-protective anti-tumor T cells that completely resist tumor growth and recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Patidar
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India
| | - S Selvaraj
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India
| | - P Chauhan
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India
| | - C A Guzman
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig, Germany
| | - T Ebensen
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Braunschweig, Germany
| | - A Sarkar
- Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, India
| | | | - B Saha
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India.,Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, India.,National Institute of Traditional Medicine, Belagavi, India
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27
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van der Zanden SY, Luimstra JJ, Neefjes J, Borst J, Ovaa H. Opportunities for Small Molecules in Cancer Immunotherapy. Trends Immunol 2020; 41:493-511. [PMID: 32381382 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2020.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has proven remarkably successful through instigation of systemic antitumor T cell responses. Despite this achievement, further advancements are needed to expand the scope of susceptible cancer types and overcome variation in treatment outcomes between patients. Small-molecule drugs targeting defined pathways and/or cells capable of immune modulation are expected to substantially improve efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Small-molecule drugs possess unique properties compatible with systemic administration and amenable to both extracellular and intracellular targets. These compounds can modify molecular pathways to overcome immune tolerance and suppression towards effective antitumor responses. Here, we provide an overview of how such effects might be achieved by combining immunotherapy with conventional and/or new small-molecule chemotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabina Y van der Zanden
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jolien J Luimstra
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jacques Neefjes
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Jannie Borst
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Huib Ovaa
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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28
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Wei L, Zhao Y, Hu X, Tang L. Redox-Responsive Polycondensate Neoepitope for Enhanced Personalized Cancer Vaccine. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2020; 6:404-412. [PMID: 32232140 PMCID: PMC7099592 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b01174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
A versatile and highly effective platform remains a major challenge in the development of personalized cancer vaccines. Here, we devised a redox-responsive polycondensate neoepitope (PNE) through a reversible polycondensation reaction of peptide neoantigens and adjuvants together with a tracelessly responsive linker-monomer. Peptide-based neoantigens with diverse sequences and structures could be copolymerized with molecular adjuvants to form PNEs of high loading capacity for vaccine delivery without adding any carriers. The redox-responsive PNEs with controlled molecular weights and sizes efficiently targeted and accumulated in draining lymph nodes and greatly promoted the antigen capture and cross-presentation by professional antigen presenting cells. Mice immunized with PNEs showed markedly enhanced antigen-specific T cell response and the protective immunity against the tumor cell challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixia Wei
- Institute
of Materials Science and Engineering, École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Yu Zhao
- Institute
of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Xiaomeng Hu
- Institute
of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Li Tang
- Institute
of Materials Science and Engineering, École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- Institute
of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- E-mail:
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29
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Shan Z, Liu S, Yang L, Liu Z, Hu Y, Yao Z, Tang Z, Fang L, Quan H. Repertoire of peripheral T cells in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oral Dis 2020; 26:885-893. [PMID: 32097519 DOI: 10.1111/odi.13311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The establishment of adaptive immune responses to neoplasms involves not only the tumour tissue, but also the peripheral blood. We aimed to conduct a preliminary exploration to understand the immune response of T lymphocytes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC-Ts) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS A total of 103 blood samples from OSCC patients and 18 blood samples from healthy donors (HD) were analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Compared to those in HD, a series of unique features of PBMC-Ts were observed in OSCC patients including a significant increase in CD4+ T cells, a shift from naïve to memory/effector phenotype, an increased frequency of exhausted phenotypes (programmed death-1 [PD-1], T cell Ig and mucin protein-3 [Tim-3] and Tregs), an abundance of Th17s and Tc17s and an imbalance in Th17/Tc17 and Th17/Treg ratios. Furthermore, in OSCC patients, we also found that CD4+ T cells were significantly increased in patients with larger tumours than smaller tumours, memory/effector phenotype and exhausted phenotypes were significantly associated with advanced clinical stage and lymph node metastasis, and the Th17/Treg ratio was associated with early clinical stage and no lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION PBMC-Ts may be involved in the development and progression of OSCC, which suggested to be a manifestation of an immune response between host and tumour neoantigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyan Shan
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Sixuan Liu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Liu Yang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ziyi Liu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yanjia Hu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhigang Yao
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Pathology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhangui Tang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Liangjuan Fang
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Changsha, China
| | - Hongzhi Quan
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, China
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30
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Lynn GM, Sedlik C, Baharom F, Zhu Y, Ramirez-Valdez RA, Coble VL, Tobin K, Nichols SR, Itzkowitz Y, Zaidi N, Gammon JM, Blobel NJ, Denizeau J, de la Rochere P, Francica BJ, Decker B, Maciejewski M, Cheung J, Yamane H, Smelkinson MG, Francica JR, Laga R, Bernstock JD, Seymour LW, Drake CG, Jewell CM, Lantz O, Piaggio E, Ishizuka AS, Seder RA. Peptide-TLR-7/8a conjugate vaccines chemically programmed for nanoparticle self-assembly enhance CD8 T-cell immunity to tumor antigens. Nat Biotechnol 2020; 38:320-332. [PMID: 31932728 PMCID: PMC7065950 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0390-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 177] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Personalized cancer vaccines targeting patient-specific neoantigens are a promising cancer treatment modality; however, neoantigen physicochemical variability can present challenges to manufacturing personalized cancer vaccines in an optimal format for inducing anticancer T cells. Here, we developed a vaccine platform (SNP-7/8a) based on charge-modified peptide-TLR-7/8a conjugates that are chemically programmed to self-assemble into nanoparticles of uniform size (~20 nm) irrespective of the peptide antigen composition. This approach provided precise loading of diverse peptide neoantigens linked to TLR-7/8a (adjuvant) in nanoparticles, which increased uptake by and activation of antigen-presenting cells that promote T-cell immunity. Vaccination of mice with SNP-7/8a using predicted neoantigens (n = 179) from three tumor models induced CD8 T cells against ~50% of neoantigens with high predicted MHC-I binding affinity and led to enhanced tumor clearance. SNP-7/8a delivering in silico-designed mock neoantigens also induced CD8 T cells in nonhuman primates. Altogether, SNP-7/8a is a generalizable approach for codelivering peptide antigens and adjuvants in nanoparticles for inducing anticancer T-cell immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey M Lynn
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
- Avidea Technologies, Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Christine Sedlik
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Biothérapie, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Faezzah Baharom
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yaling Zhu
- Avidea Technologies, Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ramiro A Ramirez-Valdez
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Kennedy Tobin
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Neeha Zaidi
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Joshua M Gammon
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Nicolas J Blobel
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jordan Denizeau
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Biothérapie, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Philippe de la Rochere
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Biothérapie, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Brian J Francica
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Tempest Therapeutics, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Justin Cheung
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Hidehiro Yamane
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Margery G Smelkinson
- Biological Imaging Section, Research Technologies Branch, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Joseph R Francica
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Richard Laga
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Joshua D Bernstock
- Avidea Technologies, Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Charles G Drake
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christopher M Jewell
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Olivier Lantz
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Biothérapie, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Eliane Piaggio
- Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Biothérapie, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Andrew S Ishizuka
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
- Avidea Technologies, Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert A Seder
- Vaccine Research Center (VRC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Dou Y, Jansen DTSL, van den Bosch A, de Man RA, van Montfoort N, Araman C, van Kasteren SI, Zom GG, Krebber WJ, Melief CJM, Woltman AM, Buschow SI. Design of TLR2-ligand-synthetic long peptide conjugates for therapeutic vaccination of chronic HBV patients. Antiviral Res 2020; 178:104746. [PMID: 32081741 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2020.104746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic long peptide (SLP) vaccination is a promising new treatment strategy for patients with a chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. We have previously shown that a prototype HBV-core protein derived SLP was capable of boosting CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in the presence of a TLR2-ligand in chronic HBV patients ex vivo. For optimal efficacy of a therapeutic vaccine in vivo, adjuvants can be conjugated to the SLP to ensure delivery of both the antigen and the co-stimulatory signal to the same antigen-presenting cell (APC). Dendritic cells (DCs) express the receptor for the adjuvant and are optimally equipped to efficiently process and present the SLP-contained epitopes to T cells. Here, we investigated TLR2-ligand conjugation of the prototype HBV-core SLP. Results indicated that TLR2-ligand conjugation reduced cross-presentation efficiency of the SLP-contained epitope by both monocyte-derived and naturally occurring DC subsets. Importantly, cross-presentation was improved after optimization of the conjugate by either shortening the SLP or by placing a valine-citrulline linker between the TLR2-ligand and the long SLP, to facilitate endosomal dissociation of SLP and TLR2-ligand after uptake. HBV-core SLP conjugates also triggered functional patient T cell responses ex vivo. These results provide an import step forward in the design of a therapeutic SLP-based vaccine to cure chronic HBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Dou
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Diahann T S L Jansen
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Aniek van den Bosch
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Robert A de Man
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Nadine van Montfoort
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Can Araman
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry and the Institute for Chemical Immunology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Sander I van Kasteren
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry and the Institute for Chemical Immunology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Gijs G Zom
- ISA Pharmaceuticals BV, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Andrea M Woltman
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sonja I Buschow
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center (Eramus MC), Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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32
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Quan H, Shan Z, Liu Z, Liu S, Yang L, Fang X, Li K, Wang B, Deng Z, Hu Y, Yao Z, Huang J, Yu J, Xia K, Tang Z, Fang L. The repertoire of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes within the microenvironment of oral squamous cell carcinoma reveals immune dysfunction. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2020; 69:465-476. [PMID: 31950224 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-020-02479-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the immune remodeling of tumor microenvironments (TME) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains controversial. In this study, we pursued a comprehensive characterization of the repertoire of TILs and then analyzed its clinical significance and potential prognostic value. METHODS Fresh tumor tissue samples and peripheral blood from 83 OSCC patients were collected to comprehensively characterize the phenotypes and frequencies of TILs by flow cytometry. Archived paraffin-embedded tissues derived from 159 OSCC patients were analyzed by immunohistochemistry to further assess the TIL repertoire. The clinical significance of TILs and their potential prognostic value were further analyzed. RESULTS A series of unique features of TILs were observed. IL-17 was highly expressed in betel nut chewers, and CD20 was abundantly expressed in patients who did not drink alcohol; high expression of CD138, PD-L1, and Foxp3 was associated with poor prognosis. The Th17/Treg ratio was an independent prognostic factor for patient survival with greater predictive accuracy for overall survival. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest an antigen-driven immune response; however, the immune dysfunction within the microenvironment in OSCC and the Th17/Treg balance may play important roles in the modulation of antitumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongzhi Quan
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhongyan Shan
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ziyi Liu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Sixuan Liu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Liu Yang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaodan Fang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Kun Li
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Baisheng Wang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiyuan Deng
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanjia Hu
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhigang Yao
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Pathology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Junhui Huang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Pathology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianjun Yu
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Hunan Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Kun Xia
- Center for Medical Genetics, School of Life Science, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhangui Tang
- Research Institution of Stomatology, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, 72 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Xiangya Stomatological Hospital and School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Liangjuan Fang
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China. .,Key Laboratory of Hunan Province in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
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33
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Lu BL, Williams GM, Brimble MA. TLR2 agonists and their structure–activity relationships. Org Biomol Chem 2020; 18:5073-5094. [DOI: 10.1039/d0ob00942c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
We review the structure–activity relationships and synthetic studies of TLR2 agonists – important chemical targets in immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L. Lu
- The School of Biological Sciences
- University of Auckland
- Auckland 1010
- New Zealand
- The School of Chemical Sciences
| | - Geoffrey M. Williams
- The School of Biological Sciences
- University of Auckland
- Auckland 1010
- New Zealand
- The School of Chemical Sciences
| | - Margaret A. Brimble
- The School of Biological Sciences
- University of Auckland
- Auckland 1010
- New Zealand
- The School of Chemical Sciences
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34
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Kordalivand N, Tondini E, Lau CYJ, Vermonden T, Mastrobattista E, Hennink WE, Ossendorp F, Nostrum CFV. Cationic synthetic long peptides-loaded nanogels: An efficient therapeutic vaccine formulation for induction of T-cell responses. J Control Release 2019; 315:114-125. [PMID: 31672626 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.10.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have shown a high potency of protein-based vaccines for cell-mediated cancer immunotherapy. However, due to their poor cellular uptake, efficient immune responses with soluble protein antigens are often not observed. As a result of superior cellular uptake, nanogels loaded with antigenic peptides were investigated in this study as carrier systems for cancer immunotherapy. Different synthetic long peptides (SLPs) containing the CTL and CD4+ T-helper (Help) epitopes were synthesized and covalently conjugated via disulfide bonds to the polymeric network of cationic dextran nanogels. Cationic nanogels with a size of 210 nm, positive zeta potential (+24 mV) and high peptide loading content (15%) showed triggered release of the loaded peptides under reducing conditions. An in vitro study demonstrated the capability of cationic nanogels to maturate dendritic cells (DCs). Importantly, covalently SLP-loaded nanogels adjuvanted with poly(I:C) showed superior CD8+ T cell responses compared to soluble peptides and nanogel formulations with physically loaded peptides both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, covalently SLPs-loaded cationic nanogels are a promising system to provoke immune responses for therapeutic cancer vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neda Kordalivand
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Elena Tondini
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Chun Yin Jerry Lau
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Tina Vermonden
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Enrico Mastrobattista
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Wim E Hennink
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Cornelus F van Nostrum
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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35
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Hos BJ, Camps MG, van den Bulk J, Tondini E, van den Ende TC, Ruano D, Franken K, Janssen GM, Ru A, Filippov DV, Arens R, van Veelen PA, Miranda N, Ossendorp F. Identification of a neo-epitope dominating endogenous CD8 T cell responses to MC-38 colorectal cancer. Oncoimmunology 2019; 9:1673125. [PMID: 32923109 PMCID: PMC7458608 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2019.1673125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The murine MC-38 colorectal cancer model is a commonly used model for cancer with high mutational burden, which is sensitive for immune checkpoint immunotherapy. We set out to analyze endogenous CD8+ T cell responses to MC-38 neo-antigens in tumor-bearing mice and after anti-PD-L1 checkpoint therapy. Through combination of whole-exome sequencing analysis with mass spectrometry of MHC class I eluted peptides we could identify eight candidate epitopes. Of these, a neo-epitope encoded by a point-mutation in the sequence of the ribosomal protein L18 (Rpl18) strongly dominated the CD8+ T cell response to our MC-38 cell-line in comparison to a previously described neo-epitope in the Adpgk protein. Therapeutic vaccination with synthetic peptides induced CD8+ T cell responses against the mutated Rpl18 epitope, which controlled tumor growth in vivo. This immunologically dominant response to mutated Rpl18 is of great importance in the development and optimization of immunotherapeutic strategies with the MC-38 tumor model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett J. Hos
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel G.M. Camps
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Elena Tondini
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Dina Ruano
- Leiden University Medical Center, Pathology, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Kees Franken
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - George M.C. Janssen
- Leiden University Medical Center, Center for Proteomics & Metabolomics, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Arnoud Ru
- Leiden University Medical Center, Center for Proteomics & Metabolomics, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Dmitri V. Filippov
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ramon Arens
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Peter A. van Veelen
- Leiden University Medical Center, Center for Proteomics & Metabolomics, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Noel Miranda
- Leiden University Medical Center, Pathology, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Leiden University Medical Center, Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden, The Netherlands
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36
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Da Silva CG, Camps MG, Li TM, Zerrillo L, Löwik CW, Ossendorp F, Cruz LJ. Effective chemoimmunotherapy by co-delivery of doxorubicin and immune adjuvants in biodegradable nanoparticles. Theranostics 2019; 9:6485-6500. [PMID: 31588231 PMCID: PMC6771237 DOI: 10.7150/thno.34429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemoimmunotherapy is an emerging combinatorial modality for the treatment of cancers resistant to common first-line therapies, such as chemotherapy and checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. We used biodegradable nanoparticles as delivery vehicles for local, slow and sustained release of doxorubicin, two immune adjuvants and one chemokine for the treatment of resistant solid tumors. Methods: Bio-compatible poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-PEG nanoparticles were synthesized in an oil/water emulsion, using a solvent evaporation-extraction method. The nanoparticles were loaded with a NIR-dye for theranostic purposes, doxorubicin cytostatic agent, poly (I:C) and R848 immune adjuvants and CCL20 chemokine. After physicochemical and in vitro characterization the nanoparticles therapeutic efficacy were carried-out on established, highly aggressive and treatment resistant TC-1 lung carcinoma and MC-38 colon adenocarcinoma models in vivo. Results: The yielded nanoparticles average size was 180 nm and -14 mV surface charge. The combined treatment with all compounds was significantly superior than separate compounds and the compounds nanoparticle encapsulation was required for effective tumor control in vivo. The mechanistic studies confirmed strong induction of circulating cancer specific T cells upon combined treatment in blood. Analysis of the tumor microenvironment revealed a significant increase of infiltrating leukocytes upon treatment. Conclusion: The multi-drug loaded nanoparticles mediated delivery of chemoimmunotherapy exhibited excellent therapeutic efficacy gain on two treatment resistant cancer models and is a potent candidate strategy to improve cancer therapy of solid tumors resistant to first-line therapies.
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37
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Cen X, Zhu G, Yang J, Yang J, Guo J, Jin J, Nandakumar KS, Yang W, Yin H, Liu S, Cheng K. TLR1/2 Specific Small-Molecule Agonist Suppresses Leukemia Cancer Cell Growth by Stimulating Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2019; 6:1802042. [PMID: 31131189 PMCID: PMC6523386 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201802042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) expressed on antigen presenting cells evokes a series of critical cytokines, which favor the development of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Therefore, TLR2 represents an attractive cancer immunotherapeutic target. Here, a synthetic library of 14 000 compounds together with a series of newly developed compounds for NF-κB activation using HEK-Blue hTLR2 cells is initially screened. Following further screening in a variety of cells including HEK-Blue hTLRs reporter cells, murine, and human macrophage cell lines, a potent small molecule agonist 23 (SMU-Z1) is identified, which specifically activates TLR2 through its association with TLR1, with a EC50 of 4.88 ± 0.79 × 10-9 m. Toxicology studies, proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and nitric oxide) and target-protein based biophysical assays demonstrate the pharmacologically relevant characteristics of SMU-Z1. In addition, SMU-Z1 promotes murine splenocyte proliferation and upregulates the expression of CD8+ T cells, NK cells and DCs, which results in a significant antitumor effect in a murine leukemia model. Finally, the induced tumors in three out of seven mice disappear after administration of SMU-Z1. Our studies thus identify a novel and potent TLR1/2 small molecule agonist, which displays promising immune adjuvant properties and antitumor immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohong Cen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Gengzhen Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Junjie Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Jianjun Yang
- Department of Thoracic SurgeryNanfang HospitalSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Jiayin Guo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Jiabing Jin
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Kutty Selva Nandakumar
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Wei Yang
- Department of PathologySchool of Basic Medical SciencesDepartment of PathologyNanfang Hospital, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncologic PathologySouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Hang Yin
- School of Pharmaceutical SciencesTsinghua University‐Peking University Joint Center for Life SciencesTsinghua UniversityBeijing100082China
| | - Shuwen Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
| | - Kui Cheng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Drug Research for Emerging Virus Prevention and TreatmentSchool of Pharmaceutical SciencesSouthern Medical UniversityGuangzhou510515China
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38
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Abstract
With the spotlight on cancer immunotherapy and the expanding use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, strategies to improve the response rate and duration of current cancer immunotherapeutics are highly sought. In that sense, investigators around the globe have been putting spurs on the development of effective cancer vaccines in humans after decades of efforts that led to limited clinical success. In more than three decades of research in pursuit of targeted and personalized immunotherapy, several platforms have been incorporated into the list of cancer vaccines from live viral or bacterial agents harboring antigens to synthetic peptides with the hope of stronger and durable immune responses that will tackle cancers better. Unlike adoptive cell therapy, cancer vaccines can take advantage of using a patient's entire immune system that can include more than engineered receptors or ligands in developing antigen-specific responses. Advances in molecular technology also secured the use of genetically modified genes or proteins of interest to enhance the chance of stronger immune responses. The formulation of vaccines to increase chances of immune recognition such as nanoparticles for peptide delivery is another area of great interest. Studies indicate that cancer vaccines alone may elicit tumor-specific cellular or humoral responses in immunologic assays and even regression or shrinkage of the cancer in select trials, but novel strategies, especially in combination with other cancer therapies, are under study and are likely to be critical to achieve and optimize reliable objective responses and survival benefit. In this review, cancer vaccine platforms with different approaches to deliver tumor antigens and boost immunity are discussed with the intention of summarizing what we know and what we need to improve in the clinical trial setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoyoung M. Maeng
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jay A. Berzofsky
- Vaccine Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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39
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Wijayadikusumah AR, Zeng W, McQuilten HA, Wong CY, Jackson DC, Chua BY. Geometry of a TLR2-Agonist-Based Adjuvant Can Affect the Resulting Antigen-Specific Immune Response. Mol Pharm 2019; 16:2037-2047. [PMID: 30924661 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.9b00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Targeted delivery of otherwise nonimmunogenic antigens to Toll-like receptors (TLRs) expressed on dendritic cells (DCs) has proven to be an effective means of improving immunogenicity. For this purpose, we have used a branched cationic lipopeptide, R4Pam2Cys, which is an agonist for TLR2 and enables electrostatic association with antigen for this purpose. Here, we compare the immunological properties of ovalbumin formulated with different geometrical configurations of R4Pam2Cys. Our results demonstrate that notwithstanding the presence of the same adjuvant, branched forms of R4Pam2Cys are more effective at inducing immune responses than are linear geometries. CD8+ T-cell-mediated responses are particularly improved, resulting in significantly higher levels of antigen-specific cytokine secretion and cytolysis of antigen-bearing target cells in vivo. The results correlate with the ability of branched R4Pam2Cys conformations to encourage higher levels of DC maturation and facilitate superior antigen uptake, leading to increased production of proinflammatory cytokines. These differences are not attributable to particle size because both branched and linear lipopeptides associate with antigen-forming complexes of similar size, but rather the ability of branched lipopeptides to induce more efficient TLR2-mediated cell signaling. Branched lipopeptides are also more resistant to trypsin-mediated proteolysis, suggesting greater stability than their linear counterparts. The branched lipopeptide facilitates presentation of antigen more efficiently to CD8+ T cells, resulting in rapid cell division and upregulation of early cell surface activation markers. These results as well as cognate recognition of Pam2Cys by TLR2 indicate that the adjuvant's efficiency is also dependent on its geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Acep R Wijayadikusumah
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia.,Research and Development Division , PT. Bio Farma (Persero) , 28 Pasteur Street , Bandung , West Java 40161 , Indonesia
| | - Weiguang Zeng
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Hayley A McQuilten
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Chinn Yi Wong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - David C Jackson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
| | - Brendon Y Chua
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology , The University of Melbourne, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity , 792 Elizabeth Street , Melbourne , Victoria 3010 , Australia
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Zom GG, Willems MMJHP, Meeuwenoord NJ, Reintjens NRM, Tondini E, Khan S, Overkleeft HS, van der Marel GA, Codee JDC, Ossendorp F, Filippov DV. Dual Synthetic Peptide Conjugate Vaccine Simultaneously Triggers TLR2 and NOD2 and Activates Human Dendritic Cells. Bioconjug Chem 2019; 30:1150-1161. [PMID: 30865430 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Simultaneous triggering of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and NOD-like receptors (NLRs) has previously been shown to synergistically activate monocytes, dendritic cells, and macrophages. We applied these properties in a T-cell vaccine setting by conjugating the NOD2-ligand muramyl-dipeptide (MDP) and TLR2-ligand Pam3CSK4 to a synthetic peptide derived from a model antigen. Stimulation of human DCs with the MDP-peptide-Pam3CSK4 conjugate led to a strongly increased secretion of pro-inflammatory and Th1-type cytokines and chemokines. We further show that the conjugated ligands retain their ability to trigger their respective receptors, while even improving NOD2-triggering. Also, activation of murine DCs was enhanced by the dual triggering, ultimately leading to effective induction of vaccine-specific T cells expressing IFNγ, IL-2, and TNFα. Together, these data indicate that the dual MDP-SLP-Pam3CSK4 conjugate constitutes a chemically well-defined vaccine approach that holds promise for the use in the treatment of virus infections and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gijs G Zom
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion , Leiden University Medical Center , P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Marian M J H P Willems
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Nico J Meeuwenoord
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Niels R M Reintjens
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Elena Tondini
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion , Leiden University Medical Center , P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Selina Khan
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion , Leiden University Medical Center , P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Herman S Overkleeft
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Gijsbert A van der Marel
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen D C Codee
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion , Leiden University Medical Center , P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Dmitri V Filippov
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Einsteinweg 55 , 2333 CC Leiden , The Netherlands
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41
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Lagousi T, Basdeki P, Routsias J, Spoulou V. Novel Protein-Based Pneumococcal Vaccines: Assessing the Use of Distinct Protein Fragments Instead of Full-Length Proteins as Vaccine Antigens. Vaccines (Basel) 2019; 7:vaccines7010009. [PMID: 30669439 PMCID: PMC6466302 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines7010009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-serotype-specific protein-based pneumococcal vaccines have received extensive research focus due to the limitations of polysaccharide-based vaccines. Pneumococcal proteins (PnPs), universally expressed among serotypes, may induce broader immune responses, stimulating humoral and cellular immunity, while being easier to manufacture and less expensive. Such an approach has raised issues mainly associated with sequence/level of expression variability, chemical instability, as well as possible undesirable reactogenicity and autoimmune properties. A step forward employs the identification of highly-conserved antigenic regions within PnPs with the potential to retain the benefits of protein antigens. Besides, their low-cost and stable construction facilitates the combination of several antigenic regions or peptides that may impair different stages of pneumococcal disease offering even wider serotype coverage and more efficient protection. This review discusses the up-to-date progress on PnPs that are currently under clinical evaluation and the challenges for their licensure. Focus is given on the progress on the identification of antigenic regions/peptides within PnPs and their evaluation as vaccine candidates, accessing their potential to overcome the issues associated with full-length protein antigens. Particular mention is given of the use of newer delivery system technologies including conjugation to Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and reformulation into nanoparticles to enhance the poor immunogenicity of such antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theano Lagousi
- First Department of Paediatrics, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Immunobiology Research Laboratory and Infectious Diseases Department "MAKKA," Athens Medical School, 11527 Athens, Greece.
| | - Paraskevi Basdeki
- First Department of Paediatrics, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Immunobiology Research Laboratory and Infectious Diseases Department "MAKKA," Athens Medical School, 11527 Athens, Greece.
| | - John Routsias
- Department of Microbiology, Athens Medical School, 11527 Athens, Greece.
| | - Vana Spoulou
- First Department of Paediatrics, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Immunobiology Research Laboratory and Infectious Diseases Department "MAKKA," Athens Medical School, 11527 Athens, Greece.
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42
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Zom GG, Willems MMJHP, Khan S, van der Sluis TC, Kleinovink JW, Camps MGM, van der Marel GA, Filippov DV, Melief CJM, Ossendorp F. Novel TLR2-binding adjuvant induces enhanced T cell responses and tumor eradication. J Immunother Cancer 2018; 6:146. [PMID: 30541631 PMCID: PMC6292168 DOI: 10.1186/s40425-018-0455-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ligands for the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family can induce activation of cells of the innate immune system and are widely studied for their potential to enhance adaptive immunity. Conjugation of TLR2-ligand Pam3CSK4 to synthetic long peptides (SLPs) was shown to strongly enhance the induction of antitumor immunity. To further improve cancer vaccination, we have previously shown that the novel TLR2-L Amplivant (AV), a modified Pam3CSK4, potentiates the maturation effects on murine DCs. In the current study, we further assessed the immunological properties of AV. Methods Naïve mice were vaccinated with a conjugate of either Pam3CSK4 or AV and an SLP to assess specific T cell priming efficiency in vivo. The potency of AV and Pam3CSK4, either as free compounds or conjugated to different SLPs, to mature murine DCs was compared by stimulating murine dendritic cells overnight followed by ELISA and flow cytometry analysis. Murine tumor experiments were carried out by vaccinating mice carrying established HPV16 E6 and E7-expressing tumors and subsequently analyzing myeloid and lymphoid cells infiltrating the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, tumor outgrowth after vaccination was monitored to enable comparison of the efficiency to induce antitumor immunity by Pam3CSK-SLP and AV-SLP conjugates. To enhance therapeutic efficacy, AV-SLP conjugate vaccination was combined with ablative therapies to assess whether synergism between such therapies would occur. Results SLPs conjugated to AV induce stronger DC maturation, in vivo T cell priming and antitumor immunity compared to conjugates with Pam3CSK4. Interestingly, AV-SLP conjugates modulate the macrophage populations in the tumor microenvironment, correlating with a therapeutic effect in an aggressive murine tumor model. The potency of AV-SLP conjugates in cancer vaccination operates optimally in combination with chemotherapy or photodynamic therapy. Conclusion These data allow further optimization of vaccination-based immunotherapy of cancer by use of the improved TLR2-ligand Amplivant. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40425-018-0455-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gijs G Zom
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Selina Khan
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Tetje C van der Sluis
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Willem Kleinovink
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel G M Camps
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Dmitri V Filippov
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Cornelis J M Melief
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.,ISA Pharmaceuticals BV, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, section Tumorimmunology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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43
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Zhang R, Kramer JS, Smith JD, Allen BN, Leeper CN, Li X, Morton LD, Gallazzi F, Ulery BD. Vaccine Adjuvant Incorporation Strategy Dictates Peptide Amphiphile Micelle Immunostimulatory Capacity. AAPS JOURNAL 2018; 20:73. [DOI: 10.1208/s12248-018-0233-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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44
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Hos BJ, Tondini E, van Kasteren SI, Ossendorp F. Approaches to Improve Chemically Defined Synthetic Peptide Vaccines. Front Immunol 2018; 9:884. [PMID: 29755468 PMCID: PMC5932164 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress made in peptide-based vaccinations to induce T-cell-dependent immune responses against cancer has invigorated the search for optimal vaccine modalities. Design of new vaccine strategies intrinsically depends on the knowledge of antigen handling and optimal epitope presentation in both major histocompatibility complex class I and -II molecules by professional antigen-presenting cells to induce robust CD8 and CD4 T-cell responses. Although there is a steady increase in the understanding of the underlying mechanisms that bridges innate and adaptive immunology, many questions remain to be answered. Moreover, we are in the early stage of exploiting this knowledge to clinical advantage. Several adaptations of peptide-based vaccines like peptide-adjuvant conjugates have been explored and showed beneficial outcomes in preclinical models; but in the clinical trials conducted so far, mixed results were obtained. A major limiting factor to unravel antigen handling mechanistically is the lack of tools to efficiently track peptide vaccines at the molecular and (sub)cellular level. In this mini-review, we will discuss options to develop molecular tools for improving, as well as studying, peptide-based vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett J Hos
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Elena Tondini
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Sander I van Kasteren
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, The Institute for Chemical Immunology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Ferry Ossendorp
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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45
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Akazawa T, Ohashi T, Wijewardana V, Sugiura K, Inoue N. Development of a vaccine based on bacteria-mimicking tumor cells coated with novel engineered toll-like receptor 2 ligands. Cancer Sci 2018; 109:1319-1329. [PMID: 29575556 PMCID: PMC5980365 DOI: 10.1111/cas.13576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2017] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
For a successful tumor vaccine, it is necessary to develop effective immuno-adjuvants and identify specific tumor antigens. Tumor cells obtained from surgical or biopsy tissues are a good source of tumor antigens but, unlike bacteria, they do not induce strong immune responses. Here, we designed 2 novel lipopeptides that coat tumor cell surfaces and mimic bacterial components. Tumor cells coated with these lipopeptides (called bacteria-mimicking tumor cells [BMTC]) were prepared and their efficacy as a tumor vaccine examined. Natural bacterial lipopeptides act as ligands for toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and activate dendritic cells (DC). To increase the affinity of the developed lipopeptides for the negatively charged plasma membrane, a cationic polypeptide was connected to Pam2Cys (P2C), which is the basic structure of the TLR2 ligand. This increased the non-specific binding affinity of the peptides for the cell surface. Two such lipopeptides, P2CSK11 (containing 1 serine and 11 lysine residues) and P2CSR11 (containing 1 serine and 11 arginine residues) bound to irradiated tumor cells via the long cationic polypeptides more efficiently than the natural lipopeptide MALP2 (P2C-GNNDESNISFKEK) or a synthetic lipopeptide P2CSK4 (a short cationic polypeptide containing 1 serine and 4 lysines). BMTC coated with P2CSR11 or P2CSK11 were efficiently phagocytosed by DC and induced antigen cross-presentation in vitro. They also induced effective tumor-specific cytotoxic T cell responses and inhibited tumor growth in in vivo mouse models. P2CSR11 activated DC but induced less inflammation-inducing cytokines/interferons than other lipopeptides. Thus, P2CSR11 is a strong candidate antigen-specific immuno-adjuvant, with few adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Akazawa
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Research Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan
| | - Toshimitsu Ohashi
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Research Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan.,Department of Otolaryngology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu City, Japan
| | - Viskam Wijewardana
- Department of Advanced Pathobiology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Izumisano, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kikuya Sugiura
- Department of Advanced Pathobiology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Izumisano, Osaka, Japan
| | - Norimitsu Inoue
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Research Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan
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46
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Kowalczyk R, Harris PWR, Williams GM, Yang SH, Brimble MA. Peptide Lipidation - A Synthetic Strategy to Afford Peptide Based Therapeutics. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1030:185-227. [PMID: 29081055 PMCID: PMC7121180 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-66095-0_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Peptide and protein aberrant lipidation patterns are often involved in many diseases including cancer and neurological disorders. Peptide lipidation is also a promising strategy to improve pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of peptide-based drugs. Self-adjuvanting peptide-based vaccines commonly utilise the powerful TLR2 agonist PamnCys lipid to stimulate adjuvant activity. The chemical synthesis of lipidated peptides can be challenging hence efficient, flexible and straightforward synthetic routes to access homogeneous lipid-tagged peptides are in high demand. A new technique coined Cysteine Lipidation on a Peptide or Amino acid (CLipPA) uses a 'thiol-ene' reaction between a cysteine and a vinyl ester and offers great promise due to its simplicity, functional group compatibility and selectivity. Herein a brief review of various synthetic strategies to access lipidated peptides, focusing on synthetic methods to incorporate a PamnCys motif into peptides, is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Kowalczyk
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Paul W R Harris
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
| | - Geoffrey M Williams
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand
| | - Sung-Hyun Yang
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Margaret A Brimble
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand. .,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds St, Auckland, New Zealand. .,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
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47
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Brentville VA, Atabani S, Cook K, Durrant LG. Novel tumour antigens and the development of optimal vaccine design. Ther Adv Vaccines Immunother 2018; 6:31-47. [PMID: 29998219 DOI: 10.1177/2515135518768769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay between tumours and the immune system has long been known to involve complex interactions between tumour cells, immune cells and the tumour microenvironment. The progress of checkpoint inhibitors in the clinic in the last decade has highlighted again the role of the immune system in the fight against cancer. Numerous efforts have been undertaken to develop ways of stimulating the cellular immune response to eradicate tumours. These interventions include the identification of appropriate tumour antigens as targets for therapy. In this review, we summarize progress in selection of target tumour antigen. Targeting self antigens has the problem of thymic deletion of high-affinity T-cell responses leaving a diminished repertoire of low-affinity T cells that fail to kill tumour cells. Thymic regulation appears to be less stringent for differentiation of cancer-testis antigens, as many tumour rejection antigens fall into this category. More recently, targeting neo-epitopes or post-translational modifications such as a phosphorylation or stress-induced citrullination has shown great promise in preclinical studies. Of particular interest is that the responses can be mediated by both CD4 and CD8 T cells. Previous vaccines have targeted CD8 T-cell responses but more recently, the central role of CD4 T cells in orchestrating inflammation within tumours and also differentiating into potent killer cells has been recognized. The design of vaccines to induce such immune responses is discussed herein. Liposomally encoded ribonucleic acid (RNA), targeted deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or long peptides linked to toll-like receptor (TLR) adjuvants are the most promising new vaccine approaches. These exciting new approaches suggest that the 'Holy Grail' of a simple nontoxic cancer vaccine may be on the horizon. A major hurdle in tumour therapy is also to overcome the suppressive tumour environment. We address current progress in combination therapies and suggest that these are likely to show the most promise for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Suha Atabani
- Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Katherine Cook
- Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Lindy G Durrant
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital, Hucknall Road, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK
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48
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Ignacio BJ, Albin TJ, Esser-Kahn AP, Verdoes M. Toll-like Receptor Agonist Conjugation: A Chemical Perspective. Bioconjug Chem 2018; 29:587-603. [PMID: 29378134 PMCID: PMC10642707 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are vital elements of the mammalian immune system that function by recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), bridging innate and adaptive immunity. They have become a prominent therapeutic target for the treatment of infectious diseases, cancer, and allergies, with many TLR agonists currently in clinical trials or approved as immunostimulants. Numerous studies have shown that conjugation of TLR agonists to other molecules can beneficially influence their potency, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, or function. The functional properties of TLR agonist conjugates, however, are highly dependent on the ligation strategy employed. Here, we review the chemical structural requirements for effective functional TLR agonist conjugation. In addition, we provide similar analysis for those that have yet to be conjugated. Moreover, we discuss applications of covalent TLR agonist conjugation and their implications for clinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob J. Ignacio
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tyler J. Albin
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Aaron P. Esser-Kahn
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Martijn Verdoes
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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49
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TLR2 ligand-synthetic long peptide conjugates effectively stimulate tumor-draining lymph node T cells of cervical cancer patients. Oncotarget 2018; 7:67087-67100. [PMID: 27564262 PMCID: PMC5341859 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/10/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The potency of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-encoded synthetic long peptides (SLP), conjugated to an optimized Toll-like receptor 2 ligand (TLR2-L), was assessed in ex vivo activation of HPV16+ cancer patient-derived T cells. Two highly immunogenic SLP sequences derived from the oncogenic E6 protein of HPV16 were selected and conjugated to a Pam3CSK4-based TLR2-L under GMP conditions. Both conjugates were able to mature human DCs in vitro and to activate human skin-derived antigen-presenting cells (APCs) upon intradermal injection in an ex vivo skin model, associated with induction of a favorable chemokine profile to attract and activate T cells. The conjugated SLPs were efficiently processed by APCs, since HPV16-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell clones isolated from HPV16+ cervical tumors proliferated in response to both conjugates. The TLR2-L SLP conjugates significantly enhanced ex vivo T helper type 1 T-cell activation in cell suspensions obtained from tumor-draining lymph nodes (LN) resected during hysterectomy of HPV16+ cervical cancer patients. These results show that TLR2-L SLP conjugates can activate circulating or LN-derived tumor-specific T cells, a promising outcome for studying these two conjugates in a phase I/II clinical safety and immunogenicity trial.
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50
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Dou Y, van Montfoort N, van den Bosch A, de Man RA, Zom GG, Krebber WJ, Melief CJM, Buschow SI, Woltman AM. HBV-Derived Synthetic Long Peptide Can Boost CD4+ and CD8+ T-Cell Responses in Chronic HBV Patients Ex Vivo. J Infect Dis 2018; 217:827-839. [PMID: 29220492 PMCID: PMC5853453 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jix614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Vaccination with synthetic long peptides (SLP) is a promising new treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB). SLP can induce broad T-cell responses for all HLA types. Here we investigated the ability of a prototype HBV-core (HBc)-sequence-derived SLP to boost HBV-specific T cells in CHB patients ex vivo. Methods HBc-SLP was used to assess cross-presentation by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC) and BDCA1+ blood myeloid DC (mDC) to engineered HBV-specific CD8+ T cells. Autologous SLP-loaded and toll-like receptor (TLR)-stimulated DC were used to activate patient HBc-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Results HBV-SLP was cross-presented by moDC, which was further enhanced by adjuvants. Patient-derived SLP-loaded moDC significantly increased autologous HBcAg18-27-specific CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells ex vivo. HBV-specific T cells were functional as they synthesized tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma. In 6/7 of patients blockade of PD-L1 further increased SLP effects. Also, importantly, patient-derived BDCA1+ mDC cross-presented and activated autologous T-cell responses ex vivo. Conclusions As a proof of concept, we showed a prototype HBc-SLP can boost T-cell responses in patients ex vivo. These results pave the way for the development of a therapeutic SLP-based vaccine to induce effective HBV-specific adaptive immune responses in CHB patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Dou
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Nadine van Montfoort
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Aniek van den Bosch
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Robert A de Man
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Gijs G Zom
- ISA Pharmaceuticals BV, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Sonja I Buschow
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Andrea M Woltman
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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