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Nin DS, Deng LW. Biology of Cancer-Testis Antigens and Their Therapeutic Implications in Cancer. Cells 2023; 12:cells12060926. [PMID: 36980267 PMCID: PMC10047177 DOI: 10.3390/cells12060926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumour-specific antigens have been an area of interest in cancer therapy since their discovery in the middle of the 20th century. In the era of immune-based cancer therapeutics, redirecting our immune cells to target these tumour-specific antigens has become even more relevant. Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are a class of antigens with an expression specific to the testis and cancer cells. CTAs have also been demonstrated to be expressed in a wide variety of cancers. Due to their frequency and specificity of expression in a multitude of cancers, CTAs have been particularly attractive as cancer-specific therapeutic targets. There is now a rapid expansion of CTAs being identified and many studies have been conducted to correlate CTA expression with cancer and therapy-resistant phenotypes. Furthermore, there is an increasing number of clinical trials involving using some of these CTAs as molecular targets in pharmacological and immune-targeted therapeutics for various cancers. This review will summarise the current knowledge of the biology of known CTAs in tumorigenesis and the regulation of CTA genes. CTAs as molecular targets and the therapeutic implications of these CTA-targeted anticancer strategies will also be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn Sijin Nin
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD 7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117596, Singapore
- NUS Center for Cancer Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore
| | - Lih-Wen Deng
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD 7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117596, Singapore
- NUS Center for Cancer Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore
- National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074, Singapore
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2
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Liu X, Xu Y, Xiong W, Yin B, Huang Y, Chu J, Xing C, Qian C, Du Y, Duan T, Wang HY, Zhang N, Yu JS, An Z, Wang R. Development of a TCR-like antibody and chimeric antigen receptor against NY-ESO-1/HLA-A2 for cancer immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2021-004035. [PMID: 35338087 PMCID: PMC8961179 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-004035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The current therapeutic antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are capable of recognizing surface antigens, but not of intracellular proteins, thus limiting the target coverage for drug development. To mimic the feature of T-cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes the complex of major histocompatibility class I and peptide on the cell surface derived from the processed intracellular antigen, we used NY-ESO-1, a cancer-testis antigen, to develop a TCR-like fully human IgG1 antibody and its derivative, CAR-T cells, for cancer immunotherapy. Methods Human single-chain variable antibody fragment (scFv) phage library (~10∧11) was screened against HLA-A2/NY-ESO-1 (peptide 157–165) complex to obtain target-specific antibodies. The specificity and affinity of those antibodies were characterized by flow cytometry, ELISA, biolayer interferometry, and confocal imaging. The biological functions of CAR-T cells were evaluated against target tumor cells in vitro. In vivo antitumor activity was investigated in a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) model and primary melanoma tumor model in immunocompromised mice. Results Monoclonal antibody 2D2 identified from phage-displayed library specifically bound to NY-ESO-1157-165 in the context of human leukocyte antigen HLA-A*02:01 but not to non-A2 or NY-ESO-1 negative cells. The second-generation CAR-T cells engineered from 2D2 specifically recognized and eliminated A2+/NY-ESO-1+tumor cells in vitro, inhibited tumor growth, and prolonged the overall survival of mice in TNBC and primary melanoma tumor model in vivo. Conclusions This study showed the specificity of the antibody identified from human scFv phage library and demonstrated the potential antitumor activity by TCR-like CAR-T cells both in vitro and in vivo, warranting further preclinical and clinical evaluation of the TCR-like antibody in patients. The generation of TCR-like antibody and its CAR-T cells provides the state-of-the-art platform and proof-of-concept validation to broaden the scope of target antigen recognition and sheds light on the development of novel therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Liu
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA.,Institute of Biosciences and Technology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Yixiang Xu
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Wei Xiong
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Bingnan Yin
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Yuqian Huang
- Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA.,Xiangya School of Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China
| | - Junjun Chu
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Changsheng Xing
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Chen Qian
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Yang Du
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Tianhao Duan
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Helen Y Wang
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Ningyan Zhang
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - John S Yu
- Neurosurgical Oncology in the Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Zhiqiang An
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Rongfu Wang
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA .,Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA.,Institute of Biosciences and Technology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, Texas, USA
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Hathaway-schrader JD, Norton D, Hastings K, Doonan BP, Fritz ST, Bethard JR, Blum JS, Haque A. GILT Expression in Human Melanoma Cells Enhances Generation of Antigenic Peptides for HLA Class II-Mediated Immune Recognition. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:1066. [PMID: 35162988 PMCID: PMC8835040 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer that has become increasingly prevalent in western populations. Current treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and high-dose radiation have had limited success, often failing to treat late stage, metastatic melanoma. Alternative strategies such as immunotherapies have been successful in treating a small percentage of patients with metastatic disease, although these treatments to date have not been proven to enhance overall survival. Several melanoma antigens (Ags) proposed as targets for immunotherapeutics include tyrosinase, NY-ESO-1, gp-100, and Mart-1, all of which contain both human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II-restricted epitopes necessary for immune recognition. We have previously shown that an enzyme, gamma-IFN-inducible lysosomal thiol-reductase (GILT), is abundantly expressed in professional Ag presenting cells (APCs), but absent or expressed at greatly reduced levels in many human melanomas. In the current study, we report that increased GILT expression generates a greater pool of antigenic peptides in melanoma cells for enhanced CD4+ T cell recognition. Our results suggest that the induction of GILT in human melanoma cells could aid in the development of a novel whole-cell vaccine for the enhancement of immune recognition of metastatic melanoma.
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Frazao A, Rethacker L, Jeudy G, Colombo M, Pasmant E, Avril MF, Toubert A, Moins-Teisserenc H, Roelens M, Dalac S, Maubec E, Caignard A. BRAF inhibitor resistance of melanoma cells triggers increased susceptibility to natural killer cell-mediated lysis. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 8:jitc-2019-000275. [PMID: 32912923 PMCID: PMC7482503 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2019-000275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Targeted therapies and immunotherapies are first-line treatments for patients with advanced melanoma. Serine–threonine protein kinase B-RAF (BRAF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibition leads to a 70% response rate in patients with advanced melanoma with a BRAFV600E/K mutation. However, acquired resistance occurs in the majority of patients, leading to relapse. Immunotherapies that activate immune cytotoxic effectors induce long-lasting responses in 30% of patients. In that context, combination of targeted therapies with immunotherapy (IT) is a promising approach. We considered boosting natural killer (NK) cell tumor immunosurveillance, as melanoma cells express stress-induced molecules and activate NK cell lysis. Methods Here we have generated vemurafenib (a BRAF inihibitor)-resistant (R) cells from BRAFV600E SK28 and M14-sensitive (S) melanoma cell lines and investigated how resistance interferes with immunogenicity to NK cells. We determined the levels of several soluble molecules including NK ligands in 61 melanoma patients at baseline and 6 months M post-treatment with targeted therapies or immunotherapies. Results Vemurafenib resistance involved activation of p-AKT in SK28R and of p-MEK/p-ERK in M14R cells and was accompanied by modulation of NK ligands. Compared with S cells, SK28R displayed an increased expression of natural killer group 2 D (NKG2D) receptor ligands (major histocompatibility complex class (MHC) I chain-related protein A (MICA) and UL16-binding protein 2 (ULBP2)) whereas M14R exhibited decreased ULBP2. SK28R and M14R cells induced higher NK degranulation and interferon gamma secretion and were more efficiently lysed by donor and patient NK cells. SK28R showed increased tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor II (TRAIL-RII) expression and TRAIL-induced apoptosis, and TRAIL-induced apoptosis of M14R was decreased. Combined BRAF/MEK inhibitors abrogated the growth of SK28S, M14S, and M14R cells, while growth of SK28R was maintained. BRAF/MEK inhibition attenuated NK activity but R cell lines activated polyfunctional NK cells and were lysed with high efficiency. We investigated the relationship of soluble NK ligands and response to treatment in a series of melanoma patients. Soluble NKG2D ligands known to regulate the receptor function have been associated to cancer progression. Serum analysis of patients treated with target therapies or IT indicates that soluble forms of NK ligands (MICA, B7H6, programmed cell death ligand 1, and carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule 1) may correlate with clinical response. Conclusion These results support strategies combining targeted therapies and NK-based immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Frazao
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Louise Rethacker
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Géraldine Jeudy
- University Hospital Centre Dijon Bocage Complex, Dermatology Department, Dijon, France
| | - Marina Colombo
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Eric Pasmant
- Université de Paris, AP-HP Hôpital Cochin, Genetic and Molecular Biology Department, Institut Cochin, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Françoise Avril
- Université de Paris, AP-HP Hôpital Cochin, Dermatology Department, Institute Cochin, Paris, France
| | - Antoine Toubert
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Helene Moins-Teisserenc
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, AP-HP hopital Saint-Louis, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Marie Roelens
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, AP-HP hopital Saint-Louis, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
| | - Sophie Dalac
- University Hospital Centre Dijon Bocage Complex, Dermatology Department, Dijon, France
| | - Eve Maubec
- Université de Paris 13, AP-HP Hôpital Avicenne, Dermatology Department, Bobigny, France
| | - Anne Caignard
- Université de Paris, INSERM UMRS-1160, Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, 75010, Paris, France
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Slingluff CL, Zarour HM, Tawbi HAH, Kirkwood JM, Postow MA, Friedlander P, Devoe CE, Gaughan EM, Mauldin IS, Olson WC, Smith KT, Macri MJ, Ricciardi T, Ryan A, Venhaus R, Wolchok JD. A phase 1 study of NY-ESO-1 vaccine + anti-CTLA4 antibody Ipilimumab (IPI) in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Oncoimmunology 2021; 10:1898105. [PMID: 33796406 PMCID: PMC8007150 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2021.1898105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Ipilimumab (IPI) can enhance immunity to the cancer-testis antigen NY-ESO-1. A clinical trial was designed to assess safety, immunogenicity, and clinical responses with IPI + NY-ESO-1 vaccines and effects on the tumor microenvironment (TME). Patients with measurable NY-ESO-1+ tumors were enrolled among three arms: A) IPI + NY-ESO-1 protein + poly-ICLC (pICLC) + incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA); B) IPI + NY-ESO-1 overlapping long peptides (OLP) + pICLC + IFA; and C) IPI + NY-ESO-1 OLP + pICLC. Clinical responses were assessed by irRC. T cell and Ab responses were assessed by ex vivo IFN-gamma ELIspot and ELISA. Tumor biopsies pre- and post-treatment were evaluated for immune infiltrates. Eight patients were enrolled: 5, 2, and 1 in Arms A-C, respectively. There were no DLTs. Best clinical responses were SD (4) and PD (4). T-cell and antibody (Ab) responses to NY-ESO-1 were detected in 6 (75%) and 7 (88%) patients, respectively, and were associated with SD. The breadth of Ab responses was greater for patients with SD than PD (p = .036). For five patients evaluable in the TME, treatment was associated with increases in proliferating (Ki67+) CD8+ T cells and decreases in RORγt+ CD4+ T cells. T cell densities increased for those with SD. Detection of T cell responses to NY-ESO-1 ex vivo in most patients suggests that IPI may have enhanced those responses. Proliferating intratumoral CD8+ T cells increased after vaccination plus IPI suggesting favorable impact of IPI plus NY-ESO-1 vaccines on the TME. List of Abbreviations: Ab = antibody; CTCAE = NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events; DHFR/DHRP = dihydrofolate reductase; DLT = Dose-limiting toxicity; ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; IFA = incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (Montanide ISA-51); IFNγ = Interferon gamma; IPI = Ipilimumab; irRC = immune-related response criteria; mIFH = multispectral immunofluorescence histology; OLP = NY-ESO-1 overlapping long peptides; PBMC = peripheral blood mononuclear cells; PD = Progressive disease; pICLC = poly-ICLC (Hiltonol), a TLR3/MDA-5 agonist; RLT = Regimen-limiting Toxicity; ROI = regions of interest; RT = room temperature; SAE = serious adverse event; SD = stable disease; TEAE = treatment-emergent adverse events; TLR = toll-like receptor; TME = tumor microenvironment; TRAE = treatment-related adverse events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig L Slingluff
- Department of Surgery/Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Hassane M Zarour
- Division of Medical Oncology, Dept of Medicine and Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Hussein Abdul-Hassan Tawbi
- Division of Medical Oncology, Dept of Medicine and Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
| | - John M Kirkwood
- Division of Medical Oncology, Dept of Medicine and Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Michael A Postow
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Philip Friedlander
- Department of Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Craig E Devoe
- Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lake Success, NY, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Gaughan
- Department of Medicine/Division of Hematology Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Ileana S Mauldin
- Department of Surgery/Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Walter C Olson
- Department of Surgery/Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Kelly T Smith
- Department of Surgery/Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Mary J Macri
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Aileen Ryan
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ralph Venhaus
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jedd D Wolchok
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.,Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.,Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, California, USA
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6
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Abstract
NY-ESO-1 (CTAG 1B) is highly expressed in the majority of synovial sarcomas and myxoid/round cell liposarcomas as well as in a subset of melanomas, but only rarely in other mesenchymal tumors. This points to a potential for using NY-ESO-1 in the differential diagnosis of these lesions. Furthermore, promising results have been obtained in clinical trials testing NY-ESO-1-targeted immunotherapy in subsets of melanoma and synovial sarcoma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Ping Lai
- Laboratory of Pathology; National Cancer Institute; NIH; Bethesda, MD USA
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7
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Li XF, Ren P, Shen WZ, Jin X, Zhang J. The expression, modulation and use of cancer-testis antigens as potential biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy. Am J Transl Res 2020; 12:7002-7019. [PMID: 33312347 PMCID: PMC7724325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Cancer-testis antigens (CTA) are tumor antigens, present in the germ cells of testes, ovaries and trophoblasts, which undergo deregulated expression in the tumor and malignant cells. CTA genes are either X-linked or autosomal, favourably expressed in spermatogonia and spermatocytes, respectively. CTAs trigger unprompted humoral immunity and immune responses in malignancies, altering tumor cell physiology and neoplastic behaviors. CTAs demonstrate varied expression profile, with increased abundance in malignant melanoma and prostate, lung, breast and epithelial cell cancers, and a relatively reduced prevalence in intestinal cancer, renal cell adenocarcinoma and malignancies of immune cells. A combination of epigenetic and non-epigenetic agents regulates CTA mRNA expression, with the key participation of CpG islands and CpG-rich promoters, histone methyltransferases, cytokines, tyrosine kinases and transcriptional activators and repressors. CTA triggers gametogenesis, in association with mutated tumorigenic genes and tumor repressors. The CTAs function as potential biomarkers, particularly for prostate, cervical, breast, colorectal, gastric, urinary bladder, liver and lung carcinomas, characterized by alternate splicing and phenotypic heterogeneity in the cells. Additionally, CTAs are prospective targets for vaccine therapy, with the MAGE-A3 and NYESO-1 undergoing clinical trials for tumor regression in malignant melanoma. They have been deemed important for adaptive immunotherapy, marked by limited expression in normal somatic tissues and recurrent up-regulation in epithelial carcinoma. Overall, the current review delineates an up-dated understanding of the intricate processes of CTA expression and regulation in cancer. It further portrays the role of CTAs as biomarkers and probable candidates for tumor immunotherapy, with a future prospect in cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Feng Li
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, The Second Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
| | - Ping Ren
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
| | - Wei-Zhang Shen
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, The Second Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
| | - Xin Jin
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, The Second Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin UniversityChangchun, P. R. China
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8
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Dosset M, Castro A, Carter H, Zanetti M. Telomerase and CD4 T Cell Immunity in Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12061687. [PMID: 32630460 PMCID: PMC7352225 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12061687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is a conserved self-tumor antigen which is overexpressed in most tumors and plays a critical role in tumor formation and progression. As such, TERT is an antigen of great relevance to develop widely applicable immunotherapies. CD4 T cells play a major role in the anti-cancer response alone or with other effector cells such as CD8 T cells and NK cells. To date, efforts have been made to identify TERT peptides capable of stimulating CD4 T cells that are also able to bind diverse MHC-II alleles to ease immune status monitoring and immunotherapies. Here, we review the current status of TERT biology, TERT/MHC-II immunobiology, and past and current vaccine clinical trials. We propose that monitoring CD4 T cell immunity against TERT is a simple and direct way to assess immune surveillance in cancer patients and a new way to predict the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPi). Finally, we present the initial results of a systematic discovery of TERT peptides able to bind the most common HLA Class II alleles worldwide and show that the repertoire of MHC-II TERT peptides is wider than currently appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magalie Dosset
- The Laboratory of Immunology, Department of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-081, USA;
| | - Andrea Castro
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine and Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; (A.C.); (H.C.)
- Health Science, Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Hannah Carter
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine and Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; (A.C.); (H.C.)
| | - Maurizio Zanetti
- The Laboratory of Immunology, Department of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-081, USA;
- Correspondence:
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9
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Poncette L, Chen X, Lorenz FK, Blankenstein T. Effective NY-ESO-1-specific MHC II-restricted T cell receptors from antigen-negative hosts enhance tumor regression. J Clin Invest 2018; 129:324-335. [PMID: 30530988 DOI: 10.1172/jci120391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive transfer of T cell receptor-engineered (TCR-engineered) T cells is a promising approach in cancer therapy but needs improvement for more effective treatment of solid tumors. While most clinical approaches have focused on CD8+ T cells, the importance of CD4+ T cells in mediating tumor regression has become apparent. Regarding shared (self) tumor antigens, it is unclear whether the human CD4+ T cell repertoire has been shaped by tolerance mechanisms and lacks highly functional TCRs suitable for therapy. Here, TCRs against the tumor-associated antigen NY-ESO-1 were isolated either from human CD4+ T cells or from mice that express a diverse human TCR repertoire with HLA-DRA/DRB1*0401 restriction and are NY-ESO-1 negative. NY-ESO-1-reactive TCRs from the mice showed superior recognition of tumor cells and higher functional activity compared with TCRs from humans. We identified a candidate TCR, TCR-3598_2, which was expressed in CD4+ T cells and caused tumor regression in combination with NY-ESO-1-redirected CD8+ T cells in a mouse model of adoptive T cell therapy. These data suggest that MHC II-restricted TCRs against NY-ESO-1 from a nontolerant nonhuman host are of optimal affinity and that the combined use of MHC I- and II-restricted TCRs against NY-ESO-1 can make adoptive T cell therapy more effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Poncette
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Xiaojing Chen
- Institute of Immunology, Charité Campus Berlin Buch, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Blankenstein
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Immunology, Charité Campus Berlin Buch, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
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10
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Thomas R, Al-Khadairi G, Roelands J, Hendrickx W, Dermime S, Bedognetti D, Decock J. NY-ESO-1 Based Immunotherapy of Cancer: Current Perspectives. Front Immunol 2018; 9:947. [PMID: 29770138 PMCID: PMC5941317 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
NY-ESO-1 or New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 is a well-known cancer-testis antigen (CTAs) with re-expression in numerous cancer types. Its ability to elicit spontaneous humoral and cellular immune responses, together with its restricted expression pattern, have rendered it a good candidate target for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we provide background information on NY-ESO-1 expression and function in normal and cancerous tissues. Furthermore, NY-ESO-1-specific immune responses have been observed in various cancer types; however, their utility as biomarkers are not well determined. Finally, we describe the immune-based therapeutic options targeting NY-ESO-1 that are currently in clinical trial. We will highlight the recent advancements made in NY-ESO-1 cancer vaccines, adoptive T cell therapy, and combinatorial treatment with checkpoint inhibitors and will discuss the current trends for future NY-ESO-1 based immunotherapy. Cancer treatment has been revolutionized over the last few decades with immunotherapy emerging at the forefront. Immune-based interventions have shown promising results, providing a new treatment avenue for durable clinical responses in various cancer types. The majority of successful immunotherapy studies have been reported in liquid cancers, whereas these approaches have met many challenges in solid cancers. Effective immunotherapy in solid cancers is hampered by the complex, dynamic tumor microenvironment that modulates the extent and phenotype of the antitumor immune response. Furthermore, many solid tumor-associated antigens are not private but can be found in normal somatic tissues, resulting in minor to detrimental off-target toxicities. Therefore, there is an ongoing effort to identify tumor-specific antigens to target using various immune-based modalities. CTAs are considered good candidate targets for immunotherapy as they are characterized by a restricted expression in normal somatic tissues concomitant with a re-expression in solid epithelial cancers. Moreover, several CTAs have been found to induce a spontaneous immune response, NY-ESO-1 being the most immunogenic among the family members. Hence, this review will focus on NY-ESO-1 and discuss the past and current NY-ESO-1 targeted immunotherapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remy Thomas
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ghaneya Al-Khadairi
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Jessica Roelands
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar.,Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Wouter Hendrickx
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Said Dermime
- Translational Cancer Research Facility, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Doha, Qatar
| | - Davide Bedognetti
- Immunology, Inflammation, and Metabolism Department, Tumor Biology, Immunology, and Therapy Section, Division of Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Julie Decock
- Cancer Research Center, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
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11
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Wang M, Lomeli SH, Franklin WA, Lee S, Pantuck AJ, Zeng G. Optimizing peptide epitope-based autoantibody detection in cancer patients. Am J Clin Exp Immunol 2017; 6:84-91. [PMID: 29181273 PMCID: PMC5698562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Autoantibody (autoAb) response is an important arm of endogenously arising anti-tumor immune responses, and has received new attention as a cancer biomarker with the recent success of immune check-point inhibitor therapy. Our laboratory has been focusing on measuring autoAb against B-cell epitopes in order to bypass the necessity to purify a panel of recombinant proteins. In order to optimize peptide-based autoAb measurement and to increase sensitivities to cover more patients, we developed a new approach of using mixed peptides to conjugate on the same microsphere and compared its results with the use of a dominant peptide epitope using Luminex microbead-based multiplex assays. The peptide epitopes of two cancer/germline antigens, New York esophageal cancer antigen-1 (NY-ESO-1) and X antigen family member-1b (XAGE-1b), and cancer/stem cell antigen, sex determining region Y-box-2 (SOX2), were used as prototypes in this study. Our results indicate that using mixed peptides of B-cell epitopes improves the sensitivity of detecting more patients with autoAb responses. Thus, when the full-length protein is not available for conjugating onto microspheres, a mixture of B-cell epitopes is the method of choice for using Luminex multiplex assay to detect autoAb response in cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maize Wang
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles 90095, CA, U. S. A.
| | - Shirley H Lomeli
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles 90095, CA, U. S. A.
| | - Wilbur A Franklin
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora 80045, CO, U. S. A.
| | - Sarah Lee
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles 90095, CA, U. S. A.
| | - Allan J Pantuck
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles 90095, CA, U. S. A.
| | - Gang Zeng
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles 90095, CA, U. S. A.
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12
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Lee JM, Lee MH, Garon E, Goldman JW, Salehi-Rad R, Baratelli FE, Schaue D, Wang G, Rosen F, Yanagawa J, Walser TC, Lin Y, Park SJ, Adams S, Marincola FM, Tumeh PC, Abtin F, Suh R, Reckamp KL, Lee G, Wallace WD, Lee S, Zeng G, Elashoff DA, Sharma S, Dubinett SM. Phase I Trial of Intratumoral Injection of CCL21 Gene-Modified Dendritic Cells in Lung Cancer Elicits Tumor-Specific Immune Responses and CD8 + T-cell Infiltration. Clin Cancer Res 2017; 23:4556-4568. [PMID: 28468947 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-16-2821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Purpose: A phase I study was conducted to determine safety, clinical efficacy, and antitumor immune responses in patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) following intratumoral administration of autologous dendritic cells (DC) transduced with an adenoviral (Ad) vector expressing the CCL21 gene (Ad-CCL21-DC). We evaluated safety and tumor antigen-specific immune responses following in situ vaccination (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01574222).Experimental Design: Sixteen stage IIIB/IV NSCLC subjects received two vaccinations (1 × 106, 5 × 106, 1 × 107, or 3 × 107 DCs/injection) by CT- or bronchoscopic-guided intratumoral injections (days 0 and 7). Immune responses were assessed by tumor antigen-specific peripheral blood lymphocyte induction of IFNγ in ELISPOT assays. Tumor biopsies were evaluated for CD8+ T cells by IHC and for PD-L1 expression by IHC and real-time PCR (RT-PCR).Results: Twenty-five percent (4/16) of patients had stable disease at day 56. Median survival was 3.9 months. ELISPOT assays revealed 6 of 16 patients had systemic responses against tumor-associated antigens (TAA). Tumor CD8+ T-cell infiltration was induced in 54% of subjects (7/13; 3.4-fold average increase in the number of CD8+ T cells per mm2). Patients with increased CD8+ T cells following vaccination showed significantly increased PD-L1 mRNA expression.Conclusions: Intratumoral vaccination with Ad-CCL21-DC resulted in (i) induction of systemic tumor antigen-specific immune responses; (ii) enhanced tumor CD8+ T-cell infiltration; and (iii) increased tumor PD-L1 expression. Future studies will evaluate the role of combination therapies with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibition combined with DC-CCL21 in situ vaccination. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4556-68. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay M Lee
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. .,Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Mi-Heon Lee
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Edward Garon
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jonathan W Goldman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ramin Salehi-Rad
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Felicita E Baratelli
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Dörthe Schaue
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Gerald Wang
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Fran Rosen
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jane Yanagawa
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Tonya C Walser
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ying Lin
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Stacy J Park
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Sharon Adams
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Paul C Tumeh
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Dermatology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Fereidoun Abtin
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Robert Suh
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Karen L Reckamp
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Gina Lee
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California
| | - William D Wallace
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Sarah Lee
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Gang Zeng
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - David A Elashoff
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Biostatistics, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Sherven Sharma
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Molecular Gene Medicine Laboratory, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California
| | - Steven M Dubinett
- Lung Cancer Research Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California. .,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, California.,Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
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13
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Abstract
Harnessing the immune system to eradicate malignant cells is becoming a most powerful new approach to cancer therapy. FDA approval of the immunotherapy-based drugs, sipuleucel-T (Provenge), ipilimumab (Yervoy, anti-CTLA-4), and more recently, the programmed cell death (PD)-1 antibody (pembrolizumab, Keytruda), for the treatment of multiple types of cancer has greatly advanced research and clinical studies in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, recent clinical trials, using NY-ESO-1-specific T cell receptor (TCR) or CD19-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), have shown promising clinical results for patients with metastatic cancer. Current success of cancer immunotherapy is built upon the work of cancer antigens and co-inhibitory signaling molecules identified 20 years ago. Among the large numbers of target antigens, CD19 is the best target for CAR T cell therapy for blood cancer, but CAR-engineered T cell immunotherapy does not yet work in solid cancer. NY-ESO-1 is one of the best targets for TCR-based immunotherapy in solid cancer. Despite the great success of checkpoint blockade therapy, more than 50% of cancer patients fail to respond to blockade therapy. The advent of new technologies such as next-generation sequencing has enhanced our ability to search for new immune targets in onco-immunology and accelerated the development of immunotherapy with potentially broader coverage of cancer patients. In this review, we will discuss the recent progresses of cancer immunotherapy and novel strategies in the identification of new immune targets and mutation-derived antigens (neoantigens) for cancer immunotherapy and immunoprecision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong-Fu Wang
- Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Institute of Biosciences and Technology, College of Medicine, Texas A & M University, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Helen Y Wang
- Center for Inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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14
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Zappasodi R, Merghoub T. Alphavirus-based vaccines in melanoma: rationale and potential improvements in immunotherapeutic combinations. Immunotherapy 2015; 7:981-97. [DOI: 10.2217/imt.15.64] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade has formally demonstrated the clinical benefit of immunotherapy against melanoma. New immunotherapeutic modalities are currently explored to improve the management of relapsing/refractory patients. Potent antitumor vaccines would have the advantage to promote long-lasting tumor control while limiting autoimmunity. Alphavirus vectors and nonreplicating particles offer versatile platforms to deliver antigen expression and immunize against cancer. They have shown promising preclinical results and initial proof of clinical activity in melanoma. The growing number of clinically available immunomodulatory agents provides a tremendous opportunity to exploit and revisit anticancer vaccines in the setting of powerful immunotherapeutic combinations. Accelerating the evaluation of alphavirus-based vaccines in patients with immune sensitive, but still very deadly malignancies, such as melanoma, is thus extremely important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Zappasodi
- Ludwig Collaborative & Swim Across America Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
| | - Taha Merghoub
- Ludwig Collaborative & Swim Across America Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
- Melanoma & Immunotherapeutics Service MSKCC, New York, NY, USA
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15
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16
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Shih J, Rahman M, Luong QT, Lomeli SH, Riss J, Prins RM, Gure AO, Zeng G. Dominant B-cell epitopes from cancer/stem cell antigen SOX2 recognized by serum samples from cancer patients. Am J Clin Exp Immunol 2014; 3:84-90. [PMID: 25143868 PMCID: PMC4138131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/10/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Human sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) is an important transcriptional factor involved in the pluripotency and stemness of human embryonic stem cells. SOX2 plays important roles in maintaining cancer stem cell activities of melanoma and cancers of the brain, prostate, breast, and lung. SOX2 is also a lineage survival oncogene for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and esophagus. Spontaneous cellular and humoral immune responses against SOX2 present in cancer patients classify it as a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) shared by lung cancer, glioblastoma, and prostate cancer among others. In this study, B-cell epitopes were predicted using computer-assisted algorithms. Synthetic peptides based on the prediction were screened for recognition by serum samples from cancer patients using ELISA. Two dominant B-cell epitopes, SOX2:52-87 and SOX2:98-124 were identified. Prostate cancer, glioblastoma and lung cancer serum samples that recognized the above SOX2 epitopes also recognized the full-length protein based on Western blot. These B-cell epitopes may be used in assessing humoral immune responses against SOX2 in cancer immunotherapy and stem cell-related transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Shih
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Munira Rahman
- Western University of Health SciencesPomona, CA 91766, USA
| | - Quang T Luong
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Shirley H Lomeli
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Joseph Riss
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Robert M Prins
- Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ali O Gure
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent UniversityAnkara 06800, Turkey
| | - Gang Zeng
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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17
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Li M, Shi H, Mu Y, Luo Z, Zhang H, Wan Y, Zhang D, Lu L, Men K, Tian Y, Wu X, Liu X, Pan Y, Fan Y, Yu C, Zhou B, Xiang R, Chen X, Yang L. Effective inhibition of melanoma tumorigenesis and growth via a new complex vaccine based on NY-ESO-1-alum-polysaccharide-HH2. Mol Cancer 2014; 13:179. [PMID: 25070035 PMCID: PMC4120012 DOI: 10.1186/1476-4598-13-179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2014] [Accepted: 07/17/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background A safe and effective adjuvant plays an important role in the development of a vaccine. However, adjuvants licensed for administration in humans remain limited. Here, for the first time, we developed a novel combination adjuvant alum-polysaccharide-HH2 (APH) with potent immunomodulating activities, consisting of alum, polysaccharide of Escherichia coli and the synthetic cationic innate defense regulator peptide HH2. Methods The adjuvant effects of APH were examined using NY-ESO-1 protein-based vaccines in prophylactic and therapeutic models. We further determined the immunogenicity and anti-tumor effect of NY-ESO-1-APH (NAPH) vaccine using adoptive cellular/serum therapy in C57/B6 and nude mice. Cell-mediated and antibody-mediated immune responses were evaluated. Results The APH complex significantly promoted antigen uptake, maturation and cross-presentation of dendritic cells and enhanced the secretion of TNF-α, MCP-1 and IFN-γ by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with individual components. Vaccination of NAPH resulted in significant tumor regression or delayed tumor progression in prophylactic and therapeutic models. In addition, passive serum/cellular therapy potently inhibited tumor growth of NY-ESO-1-B16. Mice treated with NAPH vaccine produced higher antibody titers and greater antibody-dependent/independent cellular cytotoxicity. Therefore, NAPH vaccination effectively stimulated innate immunity, and boosted both arms of the adaptive humoral and cellular immune responses to suppress tumorigenesis and growth of melanoma. Conclusions Our study revealed the potential application of APH complex as a novel immunomodulatory agent for vaccines against tumor refractory and growth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Xiancheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy / Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China.
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18
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Westdorp H, Sköld AE, Snijer BA, Franik S, Mulder SF, Major PP, Foley R, Gerritsen WR, de Vries IJM. Immunotherapy for prostate cancer: lessons from responses to tumor-associated antigens. Front Immunol 2014; 5:191. [PMID: 24834066 PMCID: PMC4018526 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men and the second most common cause of cancer-related death in men. In recent years, novel therapeutic options for PCa have been developed and studied extensively in clinical trials. Sipuleucel-T is the first cell-based immunotherapeutic vaccine for treatment of cancer. This vaccine consists of autologous mononuclear cells stimulated and loaded with an immunostimulatory fusion protein containing the prostate tumor antigen prostate acid posphatase. The choice of antigen might be key for the efficiency of cell-based immunotherapy. Depending on the treatment strategy, target antigens should be immunogenic, abundantly expressed by tumor cells, and preferably functionally important for the tumor to prevent loss of antigen expression. Autoimmune responses have been reported against several antigens expressed in the prostate, indicating that PCa is a suitable target for immunotherapy. In this review, we will discuss PCa antigens that exhibit immunogenic features and/or have been targeted in immunotherapeutic settings with promising results, and we highlight the hurdles and opportunities for cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harm Westdorp
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands ; Department of Medical Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - Annette E Sköld
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - Berit A Snijer
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - Sebastian Franik
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - Sasja F Mulder
- Department of Medical Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - Pierre P Major
- Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre , Hamilton, ON , Canada
| | - Ronan Foley
- Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre , Hamilton, ON , Canada
| | - Winald R Gerritsen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
| | - I Jolanda M de Vries
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands ; Department of Medical Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center , Nijmegen , Netherlands
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19
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Abstract
The potential for therapeutic efficacy of a melanoma vaccine has been evident preclinically for many years. In melanoma patients, vaccines have resulted in the induction of immune responses, although clinical benefit has not been clearly documented. The recent achievements with immune-checkpoint blockade have shown that immunotherapy can be a powerful tool in cancer therapy. With increased understanding of tumor immunity, the limitations of previous cancer vaccination approaches have become evident. Rapid progress in technologies that enable better vaccine design raise the expectation that these limitations can be overcome, thus leading to a clinically effective melanoma vaccine in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Ott
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Melanoma Disease Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Center for Immuno-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Edward F Fritsch
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Catherine J Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Cancer Vaccine Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Glenn Dranoff
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Cancer Vaccine Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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20
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Abstract
XAGE-1b belongs to cancer/testis (CT) antigens, and has been shown to be expressed frequently in lung cancers and to elicit an antibody response in patients with XAGE-1b-expressing tumors. In this study, we investigated an XAGE-1b peptide recognized by CD4 T cells. CD4 T cells were purified from PBMC of a healthy donor and stimulated with pooled 25-mer peptides overlapped with 15 amino acids spanning the entire XAGE-1b protein. The generation of XAGE-1b-specific CD4 T cells was shown by IFNgamma secretion assay. A CD4 T cell clone OHD1 was obtained by limiting dilution. OHD1 recognized two overlapping peptides, XAGE1-b(33-49) and XAGE-1b(37-52), by ELISPOT assay. A peptide XAGE-1b(38-46) which was included in both XAGE-1b(33-49) and XAGE-1b(37-52) was predicted to be a DRB1*0410-restricted 9-mer peptide by a computer-based program. We identified the 12-mer peptide XAGE-1b(37-48) as a new XAGE-1b epitope restricted to HLA-DRB1*0410.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiyuki Morishita
- Department of Immunology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
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21
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Seiler D, Zheng J, Liu G, Wang S, Yamashiro J, Reiter RE, Huang J, Zeng G. Enrichment of putative prostate cancer stem cells after androgen deprivation: upregulation of pluripotency transactivators concurs with resistance to androgen deprivation in LNCaP cell lines. Prostate 2013; 73:1378-90. [PMID: 23728788 DOI: 10.1002/pros.22685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2012] [Accepted: 04/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prostate cancer stem cells (PCSC) offer theoretical explanations to many clinical and biological behaviors of the disease in human. In contrast to approaches of using side populations and cell-surface markers to isolate and characterize the putative PCSC, we hypothesize that androgen deprivation leads to functional enrichment of putative PCSC. METHODS AND RESULTS Human prostate cancer lines LNCaP, LAPC4 and LAPC9 were depleted of androgen in cell cultures and in castrated SCID mice. The resultant androgen deprivation-resistant or castration-resistant populations, in particular in LNCaP and its derivative cell lines, displayed increased expression of pluripotency transactivators and significantly higher tumorigenicity. Individual tumor cell clones were isolated from castration-resistant bulk cultures of LNCaP (CR-LNCaP) and tested for tumorigenicity in male SCID mice under limiting dilution conditions. As few as 200 cells were able to form spheres in vitro, and generate tumors with similar growth kinetics as 10(6) LNCaP or 10(4) CR-LNCaP cells in vivo. These putative PCSC were CD44(+) /CD24(-) and lack the expression of prostate lineage proteins. When transplanted into the prostate of an intact male SCID mouse, these putative PCSC seemed to show limited differentiation into Ck5(+) , Ck8(+) , Ck5(+) /Ck8(+) , and AR(+) cells. On the other hand, stable transduction of LNCaP with retrovirus encoding Sox2 led to androgen-deprivation resistant growth and down-regulation of major prostate lineage gene products in vitro. CONCLUSION Concurrence of overexpression of pluripotency transactivators and resistance to androgen deprivation supported the role of putative PCSC in the emergence of prostate cancer resistant to androgen deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Seiler
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1738, USA
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Sonpavde G, Wang M, Peterson LE, Wang HY, Joe T, Mims MP, Kadmon D, Ittmann MM, Wheeler TM, Gee AP, Wang RF, Hayes TG. HLA-restricted NY-ESO-1 peptide immunotherapy for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. Invest New Drugs 2014; 32:235-42. [PMID: 23609828 DOI: 10.1007/s10637-013-9960-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 03/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Given the immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 peptides in prostate cancer, a phase I clinical trial was designed to evaluate HLA class-I and class-II restricted NY-ESO-1 peptides in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). METHODS Patients with progressive mCRPC, Zubrod Performance Status ≤2, PSA ≥10 ng/ml who had appropriate HLA class I (A2) and class II haplotypes (DR4, DP4) were eligible. Three groups with 3 patients each received the vaccine subcutaneously every 2 weeks for 6 doses. Group 1 received a peptide presented by an HLA class I haplotype (HLA-A2), Group 2 with a peptide presented by HLA class II haplotype (DR4, DP4), and Group 3 with peptides presented by both Class I and II haplotypes. Androgen-deprivation was continued. Owing to a myocardial infarction, the protocol was amended to omit the use of GM-CSF. RESULTS Fourteen patients were evaluable for toxicities and 9 received all 6 doses and were evaluable for efficacy. One death from myocardial infarction following GM-CSF occurred in a patient with generalized myalgias. After omitting GM-CSF, no grade >2 toxicities were observed. Among 9 patients evaluable for efficacy, the median PSA doubling time pre-therapy and during therapy were 3.1 and 4.92 months, respectively. NY-ESO-1 specific T-cell response observed by ELISPOT appeared more frequent in docetaxel-naïve patients (4 of 4) than docetaxel-pretreated patients (2 of 5). CONCLUSION In men with mCRPC, individualized HLA class-I and/or class-II restricted NY-ESO-1 peptides were tolerable, appeared to slow PSA doubling time and yielded antigen-specific T-cell responses more often in chemonaïve patients.
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Ebert LM, MacRaild SE, Zanker D, Davis ID, Cebon J, Chen W. A cancer vaccine induces expansion of NY-ESO-1-specific regulatory T cells in patients with advanced melanoma. PLoS One 2012; 7:e48424. [PMID: 23110239 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2012] [Accepted: 09/25/2012] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer vaccines are designed to expand tumor antigen-specific T cells with effector function. However, they may also inadvertently expand regulatory T cells (Treg), which could seriously hamper clinical efficacy. To address this possibility, we developed a novel assay to detect antigen-specific Treg based on down-regulation of surface CD3 following TCR engagement, and used this approach to screen for Treg specific to the NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen in melanoma patients treated with the NY-ESO-1/ISCOMATRIXTM cancer vaccine. All patients tested had Treg (CD25bright FoxP3+ CD127neg) specific for at least one NY-ESO-1 epitope in the blood. Strikingly, comparison with pre-treatment samples revealed that many of these responses were induced or boosted by vaccination. The most frequently detected response was toward the HLA-DP4-restricted NY-ESO-1157–170 epitope, which is also recognized by effector T cells. Notably, functional Treg specific for an HLA-DR-restricted epitope within the NY-ESO-1115–132 peptide were also identified at high frequency in tumor tissue, suggesting that NY-ESO-1-specific Treg may suppress local anti-tumor immune responses. Together, our data provide compelling evidence for the ability of a cancer vaccine to expand tumor antigen-specific Treg in the setting of advanced cancer, a finding which should be given serious consideration in the design of future cancer vaccine clinical trials.
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Wang HY, Wang RF. Enhancing cancer immunotherapy by intracellular delivery of cell-penetrating peptides and stimulation of pattern-recognition receptor signaling. Adv Immunol 2012; 114:151-76. [PMID: 22449781 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-396548-6.00006-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The importance of T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity has been demonstrated in both animal models and human cancer immunotherapy. In the past 30 years, T-cell-based immunotherapy has been improved with an objective clinical response rate of up to 72%. Identification of MHC class I- and II-restricted tumor antigens recognized by tumor-reactive T cells has generated a resurgence of interest in cancer vaccines. Although clinical trials with cancer peptide/protein vaccines have only met a limited success, several phase II/III clinical trials are either completed or ongoing with encouraging results. Recent advances in immunotherapy have led to the approval of two anticancer drugs (sipuleucel-T vaccine and anti-CTLA-4 antibody) by the US FDA for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and melanoma, respectively. Intracellular delivery of antigenic peptides into dendritic cells (DCs) prolongs antigen presentation of antigen-presenting cells to T cells, thus further improving clinical efficacy of peptide/protein cancer vaccines. Because innate immune responses are critically important to provide sensing and initiating of adaptive immunity, combined use of cell-penetrating peptide vaccines with stimulation of innate immune signaling may produce potent antitumor immune responses. We will discuss the recent progress and novel strategies in cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Y Wang
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
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Nicholaou T, Chen W, Davis ID, Jackson HM, Dimopoulos N, Barrow C, Browning J, MacGregor D, Williams D, Hopkins W, Maraskovsky E, Venhaus R, Pan L, Hoffman EW, Old LJ, Cebon J. Immunoediting and persistence of antigen-specific immunity in patients who have previously been vaccinated with NY-ESO-1 protein formulated in ISCOMATRIX™. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2011; 60:1625-37. [PMID: 21698545 PMCID: PMC11028944 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-011-1041-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2010] [Accepted: 05/14/2011] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND NY-ESO-1 protein formulated in ISCOMATRIX™ results in CD4+, CD8+ T cell and antibody-mediated immunity. We evaluated persistence of immunity, relapse-free survival and tumour antigen expression upon relapse in patients vaccinated in an earlier trial. METHODS Immunity was measured in 28 patients with resected NY-ESO-1-expressing tumours (melanoma 25, breast 3) 252-1,155 days (median = 681) after vaccination. In the earlier vaccination, trial patients received NY-ESO-1 with ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant at three protein doses 10 μg, 30 μg or 100 μg (n = 14); 100 μg NY-ESO-1 protein (n = 8) or placebo (n = 6), together with 1 μg of intradermal (ID) NY-ESO-1 protein twice for DTH skin testing. Immune responses assessed in the current study included antibody titres, circulating NY-ESO-1-specific T cells and DTH reactivity 2 days after DTH skin testing with NY-ESO-1 protein (1 μg) or peptides (10 μg). Relapse-free survival was determined for 42 melanoma patients. On relapse NY-ESO-1 and HLA, class I was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 17. RESULTS Persisting anti-NY-ESO-1 immunity was detected in 10/14 recipients who had previously received vaccine with ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvant. In contrast, immunity only persisted in 3/14 who received 100 μg un-adjuvanted NY-ESO-1 protein (3/8) or 2 μg DTH protein (0/6) P = 0.02. Hence, persisting NY-ESO-1 immunity was associated with prior adjuvant. Tumour NY-ESO-1 or HLA class I was downregulated in participants who relapsed suggesting immunoediting had occurred. CONCLUSION Immunoediting suggests that a signal of anti-tumour activity was observed in high-risk resected melanoma patients vaccinated with NY-ESO-1/ISCOMATRIX™. This was associated with measurable persisting immunity in the majority of vaccinated subjects tested. A prospective randomised trial has been undertaken to confirm these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo Nicholaou
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Weisan Chen
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Ian D. Davis
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
- Austin Health, Melbourne, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Heather M. Jackson
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Nektaria Dimopoulos
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Catherine Barrow
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
- Austin Health, Melbourne, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Judy Browning
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Duncan MacGregor
- Austin Health, Melbourne, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - David Williams
- Austin Health, Melbourne, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | - Wendie Hopkins
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
| | | | - Ralph Venhaus
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 605 Third Avenue/33rd Floor, New York, NY 10158 USA
| | - Linda Pan
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 605 Third Avenue/33rd Floor, New York, NY 10158 USA
| | - Eric W. Hoffman
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 605 Third Avenue/33rd Floor, New York, NY 10158 USA
| | - Lloyd J. Old
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 605 Third Avenue/33rd Floor, New York, NY 10158 USA
| | - Jonathan Cebon
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne, Austin Hospital, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
- Austin Health, Melbourne, 145–163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC 3084 Australia
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Liu Y, Tian X, Leitner WW, Aldridge ME, Zheng J, Yu Z, Restifo NP, Weiss R, Scheiblhofer S, Xie C, Sun R, Cheng G, Zeng G. Polymeric structure and host Toll-like receptor 4 dictate immunogenicity of NY-ESO-1 antigen in vivo. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:37077-84. [PMID: 21900253 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.280123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
In search of intrinsic factors that contribute to the distinctively strong immunogenicity of a non-mutated cancer/testis antigen, we found that NY-ESO-1 forms polymeric structures through disulfide bonds. NY-ESO-1 binding to immature dendritic cells was dependent on its polymeric structure and involved Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) on the surface of immature dendritic cells in mouse and human. Gene gun-delivered plasmid encoding the wild-type NY-ESO-1 readily induced T cell-dependent antibody (Ab) responses in wild-type C57BL/10 mice but not TLR4-knock-out C57BL/10ScNJ mice. Disrupting polymeric structures of NY-ESO-1 by cysteine-to-serine (Cys-to-Ser) substitutions lead to diminished immunogenicity and altered TLR4-dependence in the induced Ab response. To demonstrate its adjuvant effect, NY-ESO-1 was fused with a major mugwort pollen allergen Art v 1 and a tumor-associated antigen, carbonic anhydrase 9. Plasmid DNA vaccines encoding the fusion genes generated robust immune responses against otherwise non-immunogenic targets in mice. Polymeric structure and TLR4 may play important roles in rendering NY-ESO-1 immunogenic and thus serve as a potent molecular adjuvant. NY-ESO-1 thus represents the first example of a cancer/testis antigen that is a also damage-associated molecular pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanan Liu
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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Martorelli D, Muraro E, Merlo A, Turrini R, Rosato A, Dolcetti R. Role of CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes in the control of viral diseases and cancer. Int Rev Immunol 2010; 29:371-402. [PMID: 20635880 DOI: 10.3109/08830185.2010.489658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Our knowledge on the physiological role of CD4(+) T lymphocytes has improved in the last decade: available data convincingly demonstrate that, besides the 'helper' activity, CD4(+) T cells may be also endowed with lytic properties. The cytotoxic function of these effector cells has a relevant role in the control of pathogenic infections and in mediating antitumor immune responses. On these bases, several immunotherapeutic approaches exploiting the cytotoxic properties of CD4(+) T cells are under investigation. This review summarizes available data supporting the functional and therapeutic relevance of cytotoxic CD4(+) T cells, with a particular focus on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Martorelli
- Cancer Bioimmunotherapy Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, IRCCS-National Cancer Institute, Aviano (PN), Italy
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Mizote Y, Taniguchi T, Tanaka K, Isobe M, Wada H, Saika T, Kita S, Koide Y, Uenaka A, Nakayama E. Three novel NY-ESO-1 epitopes bound to DRB1*0803, DQB1*0401 and DRB1*0901 recognized by CD4 T cells from CHP-NY-ESO-1-vaccinated patients. Vaccine 2010; 28:5338-46. [PMID: 20665979 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Three novel NY-ESO-1 CD4 T cell epitopes were identified using PBMC obtained from patients who were vaccinated with a complex of cholesterol-bearing hydrophobized pullulan (CHP) and NY-ESO-1 protein (CHP-NY-ESO-1). The restriction molecules were determined by antibody blocking and using various EBV-B cells with different HLA alleles as APC to present peptides to CD4 T cells. The minimal epitope peptides were determined using various N- and C-termini truncated peptides deduced from 18-mer overlapping peptides originally identified for recognition. Those epitopes were DRB1*0901-restricted NY-ESO-1 87-100, DQB1*0401-restricted NY-ESO-1 95-107 and DRB1*0803-restricted NY-ESO-1 124-134. CD4 T cells used to determine those epitope peptides recognized EBV-B cells or DC that were treated with recombinant NY-ESO-1 protein or NY-ESO-1-expressing tumor cell lysate, suggesting that the epitope peptides are naturally processed. These CD4 T cells showed a cytokine profile with Th1 characteristics. Furthermore, NY-ESO-1 87-100 peptide/HLA-DRB1*0901 tetramer staining was observed. Multiple Th1-type CD4 T cell responses are beneficial for inducing effective anti-tumor responses after NY-ESO-1 protein vaccination.
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Murphy R, Green S, Ritter G, Cohen L, Ryan D, Woods W, Rubira M, Cebon J, Davis ID, Sjolander A, Kypridis A, Kalnins H, McNamara M, Moloney MB, Ackland J, Cartwright G, Rood J, Dumsday G, Healey K, Maher D, Maraskovsky E, Chen YT, Hoffman EW, Old LJ, Scott AM. Recombinant NY‐ESO‐1 Cancer Antigen: Production and Purification under cGMP Conditions. Prep Biochem Biotechnol 2010; 35:119-34. [PMID: 15881594 DOI: 10.1081/pb-200054732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The cancer-testis antigen, NY-ESO-1, has been engineered into a bacterial expression plasmid which incorporates a His6-tag. The plasmid was transfected into E. coli strain BL21 and Master and Working cell banks generated from this expression system. Three 15-litre fermentations were performed under cGMP (code of Good Manufacturing Practice) conditions and the crude NY-ESO-1 tagged protein isolated as solubilised inclusion bodies. A three-step cGMP chromatography process (immobilised metal affinity, anion exchange, and hydrophobic interaction) was utilised to purify the protein. The purified NY-ESO-1 is being used in early stage human cancer vaccine trials in Australia and the U.S.A.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Murphy
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne Tumour Biology Branch, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Australia.
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Abstract
Cancer germline (CG; also known as cancer-testis) antigen genes are normally expressed in germ cells and trophoblast tissues and are aberrantly expressed in a variety of human malignancies. CG antigen genes have high clinical relevance as they encode a class of immunogenic and highly selective tumor antigens. CG antigen-directed immunotherapy is undergoing clinical evaluation for the treatment of a number of solid tumor malignancies and has been demonstrated to be safe, provoke immune responses and be of therapeutic benefit. Achieving an improved understanding of the mechanisms of CG antigen gene regulation will facilitate the continued development of targeted therapeutic approaches against tumors expressing these antigens. Substantial evidence suggests epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation, as a primary regulator of CG antigen gene expression in normal and cancer cells as well as in stem cells. The roles of sequence-specific transcription factors and signal transduction pathways in controlling CG antigen gene expression are less clear but are emerging. A combinatorial therapeutic approach involving epigenetic modulatory drugs and CG antigen immunotherapy is suggested based on these data and is being actively pursued. In this article, we review the mechanisms of CG antigen gene regulation and discuss the implications of these mechanisms for the development of cancer immunotherapy approaches targeting CG antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey N Akers
- Department of Gynecological Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
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Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme is a malignant, relentless brain cancer with no known cure, and standard therapies leave significant room for the development of better, more effective treatments. Immunotherapy is a promising approach to the treatment of solid tumors that directs the patient's own immune system to destroy tumor cells. The most successful immunologically based cancer therapy to date involves the passive administration of monoclonal antibodies, but significant antitumor responses have also been generated with active vaccination strategies and cell-transfer therapies. This article summarizes the important components of the immune system, discusses the specific difficulty of immunologic privilege in the central nervous system, and reviews treatment approaches that are being attempted, with an emphasis on active immunotherapy using peptide vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles W Kanaly
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3050, 220 Sands Building, Research Drive, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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Norton DL, Haque A. Insights into the Role of GILT in HLA Class II Antigen Processing and Presentation by Melanoma. J Oncol 2009; 2009:142959. [PMID: 20016802 DOI: 10.1155/2009/142959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2009] [Accepted: 09/12/2009] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Metastatic melanoma is one of the deadliest of skin cancers and is increasing in incidence. Since current treatment regimens are ineffective at controlling and/or curing the disease, novel approaches, such as immunotherapy, for treating this malignant disease are being explored. In this review, we discuss potential melanoma antigens (Ags) and their role in utilizing the HLA class II pathway to elicit tumor Ag-specific CD4+ T cell responses in order to effectively induce long-lasting CD8+ antitumor memory. We also discuss the role of endolysosomal cathepsins and Gamma-Interferon-inducible Lysosomal Thiol reductase (GILT) in Ag processing and presentation, and at enhancing CD4+ T cell recognition of melanoma cells. This review also summarizes our current knowledge on GILT and highlights a novel mechanism of GILT-mediated immune responses against melanoma cells. At the end, we propose a strategy employing GILT in the development of a potential whole cell vaccine for combating metastatic melanoma.
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Dickhaut K, Hoepner S, Eckhard J, Wiesmueller KH, Schindler L, Jung G, Falk K, Roetzschke O. Enhancement of tumour-specific immune responses in vivo by 'MHC loading-enhancer' (MLE). PLoS One 2009; 4:e6811. [PMID: 19738910 PMCID: PMC2735034 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2009] [Accepted: 08/03/2009] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Class II MHC molecules (MHC II) are cell surface receptors displaying short protein fragments for the surveillance by CD4+ T cells. Antigens therefore have to be loaded onto this receptor in order to induce productive immune responses. On the cell surface, most MHC II molecules are either occupied by ligands or their binding cleft has been blocked by the acquisition of a non-receptive state. Direct loading with antigens, as required during peptide vaccinations, is therefore hindered. Principal Findings Here we show, that the in vivo response of CD4+ T cells can be improved, when the antigens are administered together with ‘MHC-loading enhancer’ (MLE). MLE are small catalytic compounds able to open up the MHC binding site by triggering ligand-release and stabilizing the receptive state. Their enhancing effect on the immune response was demonstrated here with an antigen from the influenza virus and tumour associated antigens (TAA) derived from the NY-ESO-1 protein. The application of these antigens in combination with adamantane ethanol (AdEtOH), an MLE compound active on human HLA-DR molecules, significantly increased the frequency of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in mice transgenic for the human MHC II molecule. Notably, the effect was evident only with the MLE-susceptible HLA-DR molecule and not with murine MHC II molecules non-susceptible for the catalytic effect of the MLE. Conclusion MLE can specifically increase the potency of a vaccine by facilitating the efficient transfer of the antigen onto the MHC molecule. They may therefore open a new way to improve vaccination efficacy and tumour-immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Dickhaut
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
- Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sabine Hoepner
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
| | - Jamina Eckhard
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Kirsten Falk
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Olaf Roetzschke
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
- Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Biopolis, Singapore
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Garcia Casado J, Janda J, Wei J, Chapatte L, Colombetti S, Alves P, Ritter G, Ayyoub M, Valmori D, Chen W, Lévy F. Lentivector immunization induces tumor antigen‐specific B and T cell responsesin vivo. Eur J Immunol 2008; 38:1867-76. [DOI: 10.1002/eji.200737923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Abstract
The clinical course of ovarian cancer is often marked by periods of relapse and remission until chemo-resistance develops. Patients in remission with minimal disease burdens are ideally suited for the evaluation of immune-based strategies. Major obstacles to the development of successful immune strategies include the identification of tumor-restricted immunogenic targets, generation of a sufficient immune response to cause tumor rejection, and approaches to overcome evasion of immune attack. Many questions remain as optimal strategies are developed, which include: (i) What is the best antigen form (e.g. peptides, proteins or tumor lysates)? (ii) What are the appropriate adjuvants? (iii) Are mono-valent or multi-valent vaccines likely to be more effective? (iv) What is the optimal frequency and duration of vaccination? (v) How should antigen-specific responses be monitored? and (vi) How should the anti-cancer response be maintained? In this review, we explore representative examples of immune strategies under investigation for patients with ovarian carcinoma which illustrate many of these issues. Basic principles generic to all these immunotherapeutic approaches will also be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunle Odunsi
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA.
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Weber J, Dessureault S, Antonia S. Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy. Oncology. [DOI: 10.1007/0-387-31056-8_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Abstract
The clinical course of ovarian cancer is often marked by periods of relapse and remission until chemotherapy resistance develops. Patients in remission with minimal disease burdens are ideally suited for the evaluation of immune-based strategies. The role of immune surveillance in improving outcome has been supported by the correlation of increased survival with the presence or absence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in a given patient. Major obstacles to the development of successful immune strategies include the identification of tumor-restricted immunogenic targets, generation of a sufficient immune response to cause tumor rejection, and approaches to overcome evasion of immune attack. As optimal strategies are being developed, many questions remain. Some of the questions are as follows: What is the best antigen form (eg, peptides, proteins, or tumor lysates)? What are the appropriate adjuvants? Are monovalent or multivalent vaccines likely to be more effective? What is the optimal frequency and duration of vaccination? How should antigen-specific responses be monitored? How should the anticancer response be maintained? In this review, we will explore representative examples of immune strategies under investigation for patients with ovarian carcinoma that illustrate many of these issues. We will review ongoing phase III studies for patients in first clinical remission. Basic principles generic to all these immunotherapeutic approaches will be discussed in the hopes of yielding the most promising results as the field continues to evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Sabbatini
- Medical Gynecologic Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York 10021, USA.
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Philip R, Murthy S, Krakover J, Sinnathamby G, Zerfass J, Keller L, Philip M. Shared immunoproteome for ovarian cancer diagnostics and immunotherapy: potential theranostic approach to cancer. J Proteome Res 2007; 6:2509-17. [PMID: 17547437 PMCID: PMC2533805 DOI: 10.1021/pr0606777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Elimination of cancer through early detection and treatment is the ultimate goal of cancer research and is especially critical for ovarian and other forms of cancer typically diagnosed at very late stages that have very poor response rates. Proteomics has opened new avenues for the discovery of diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Immunoproteomics, which defines the subset of proteins involved in the immune response, holds considerable promise for providing a better understanding of the early-stage immune response to cancer as well as important insights into antigens that may be suitable for immunotherapy. Early administration of immunotherapeutic vaccines can potentially have profound effects on prevention of metastasis and may potentially cure through efficient and complete tumor elimination. We developed a mass-spectrometry-based method to identify novel autoantibody-based serum biomarkers for the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer that uses native tumor-associated proteins immunoprecipitated by autoantibodies from sera obtained from cancer patients and from cancer-free controls to identify autoantibody signatures that occur at high frequency only in cancer patient sera. Interestingly, we identified a subset of more than 50 autoantigens that were also processed and presented by MHC class I molecules on the surfaces of ovarian cancer cells and thus were common to the two immunological processes of humoral and cell-mediated immunity. These shared autoantigens were highly representative of families of proteins with roles in key processes in carcinogenesis and metastasis, such as cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumor suppression, and cell adhesion. Autoantibodies appearing at the early stages of cancer suggest that this detectable immune response to the developing tumor can be exploited as early-stage biomarkers for the development of ovarian cancer diagnostics. Correspondingly, because the T-cell immune response depends on MHC class I processing and presentation of peptides, proteins that go through this pathway are potential candidates for the development of immunotherapeutics designed to activate a T-cell immune response to cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study that identifies and categorizes proteins that are involved in both humoral and cell-mediated immunity against ovarian cancer, and it may have broad implications for the discovery and selection of theranostic molecular targets for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramila Philip
- Immunotope Inc., The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18902, USA.
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Karbach J, Gnjatic S, Pauligk C, Bender A, Maeurer M, Schultze JL, Nadler K, Wahle C, Knuth A, Old LJ, Jäger E. Tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cell clones in patients after NY-ESO-1 peptide vaccination. Int J Cancer 2007; 121:2042-2048. [PMID: 17640060 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A major objective of peptide vaccination is the induction of tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cells. We have shown that HLA-A2 positive cancer patients frequently develop an antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell response after vaccination with NY-ESO-1 peptides p157-165/p157-167. These T-cells are highly reactive with the peptides used for vaccination, but only rarely recognize HLA-matched, NY-ESO-1 expressing tumor cell lines. To address the apparent lack of tumor recognition of vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cell responses, we used autologous tumor cells for in vitro stimulation and expansion of pre- and postvaccine CD8+ T-cells. In contrast to standard presensitization methods with peptide-pulsed antigen-presenting cells, mixed lymphocyte tumor culture favored the selective expansion of low-frequency tumor-reactive T-cells. In four patients, we were able to demonstrate that antigen-specific and tumor-reactive T-cells are detectable and are indeed elicited as a result of NY-ESO-1 peptide vaccination. Further analyses of postvaccine antigen-specific T-cells at a clonal level show that vaccine-induced antigen-specific T-cells are heterogeneous in functional activity. These results suggest that the methods of immunomonitoring are critical to identify the proportion of tumor-reactive T-cells within the population of vaccine-induced antigen-specific effector cells. Our results show that immunization with NY-ESO-1 peptides leads to strong tumor-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses. Our findings suggest that approaches to peptide vaccination may be improved to induce higher numbers of antigen-specific T-cells and to selectively increase the proportion of CD8+ T-cells that have the capacity to recognize and eliminate tumor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Karbach
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sacha Gnjatic
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY
| | - Claudia Pauligk
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Armin Bender
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Markus Maeurer
- Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center (MTC), Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden
| | - Joachim L Schultze
- Molekulare Tumorbiologie und Tumorimmunologie, Klinik I für Innere Medizin, Klinikum der Universität zu Köln, Germany
| | - Kerstin Nadler
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Claudia Wahle
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Alexander Knuth
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Onkologie, UniversitätsSpital Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lloyd J Old
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY
| | - Elke Jäger
- II. Medizinische Klinik, Hämatologie-Onkologie, Krankenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt, Germany
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Zeng G, Aldridge ME, Tian X, Seiler D, Zhang X, Jin Y, Rao J, Li W, Chen D, Langford MP, Duggan C, Belldegrun AS, Dubinett SM. Dendritic cell surface calreticulin is a receptor for NY-ESO-1: direct interactions between tumor-associated antigen and the innate immune system. J Immunol 2006; 177:3582-9. [PMID: 16951317 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.177.6.3582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
How the immune system recognizes endogenously arising tumors and elicits adaptive immune responses against nonmutated tumor-associated Ags is poorly understood. In search of intrinsic factors contributing to the immunogenicity of the tumor-associated Ag NY-ESO-1, we found that the NY-ESO-1 protein binds to the surface of immature dendritic cells (DC), macrophages, and monocytes, but not to that of B cells or T cells. Using immunoprecipitation coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, we isolated DC surface calreticulin as the receptor for NY-ESO-1. Calreticulin Abs blocked NY-ESO-1 binding on immature DC and its cross-presentation to CD8+ T cells in vitro. Calreticulin/NY-ESO-1 interactions provide a direct link between NY-ESO-1, the innate immune system, and, potentially, the adaptive immune response against NY-ESO-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Zeng
- Department of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Atanackovic D, Arfsten J, Cao Y, Gnjatic S, Schnieders F, Bartels K, Schilling G, Faltz C, Wolschke C, Dierlamm J, Ritter G, Eiermann T, Hossfeld DK, Zander AR, Jungbluth AA, Old LJ, Bokemeyer C, Kröger N. Cancer-testis antigens are commonly expressed in multiple myeloma and induce systemic immunity following allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Blood 2006; 109:1103-12. [PMID: 17023585 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2006-04-014480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapies using cancer-testis (CT) antigens as targets represent a potentially useful treatment in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who commonly show recurrent disease following chemotherapy. We analyzed the expression of 11 CT antigens in bone marrow samples from patients with MM (n=55) and healthy donors (n=32) using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). CT antigens were frequently expressed in MM with 56% (MAGEC2), 55% (MAGEA3), 35% (SSX1), 20% (SSX4, SSX5), 16% (SSX2), 15% (BAGE), 7% (NY-ESO-1), and 6% (ADAM2, LIPI) expressing the given antigen. Importantly, CT antigens were not expressed in healthy bone marrow. Analyzing patients with MM (n=66) for antibody responses against MAGEA3, SSX2, and NY-ESO-1, we found strong antibody responses against CT antigens preferentially in patients who had received allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). Antibody responses against NY-ESO-1 correlated with NY-ESO-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses against peptide NY-ESO-1(51-62) and CD4+ responses against NY-ESO-1(121-140) in 1 of these patients. These allogeneic immune responses were not detectable in pretransplantation samples and in the patients' stem cell donors, indicating that CT antigens might indeed represent natural targets for graft-versus-myeloma effects. Immune responses induced by alloSCT could be boosted by active CT antigen-specific immunotherapy, which might help to achieve long-lasting remissions in patients with MM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Djordje Atanackovic
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
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Abstract
The development of cancer vaccines, aimed to enhance the immune response against a tumor, is a promising area of research. A better understanding of both the molecular mechanisms that govern the generation of an effective immune response and the biology of a tumor has contributed to substantial progress in the field. Areas of intense investigation in cancer immunotherapy will be discussed here, including: (1) the discovery and characterization of novel tumor antigens to be used as targets for vaccination; (2) the investigation of different vaccine-delivery modalities such as cellular-based vaccines, protein- and peptide-based vaccines, and vector-based vaccines; (3) the characterization of biological adjuvants to further improve the immunogenicity of a vaccine; and (4) the investigation of multimodal therapies where vaccines are being combined with other oncological treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. A compilation of data from preclinical studies conducted in vitro as well as in animal models is presented here. The results from these studies would certainly support the development of new vaccination strategies toward cancer vaccines with enhanced clinical efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Palena
- Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
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43
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Abstract
In the 9 years since its discovery, cancer-testis antigen NY-ESO-1 has made one of the fastest transitions from molecular, cellular, and immunological description to vaccine and immunotherapy candidate, already tested in various formulations in more than 30 clinical trials worldwide. Its main characteristic resides in its capacity to elicit spontaneous antibody and T-cell responses in a proportion of cancer patients. An overview of immunological findings and immunotherapeutic approaches with NY-ESO-1, as well the role of regulation in NY-ESO-1 immunogenicity, is presented here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sacha Gnjatic
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York 10021, USA
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Abstract
cDNAs encoding functional T cell receptor (TCR) alpha and beta chains from a CD4+ T cell line (SG6) generated by repeated stimulation of a melanoma patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells with HLA-DP4-restricted, NY-ESO-1-specific peptide p161-180 were cloned using a 5'rapid amplification of cDNA end method. Three different TCR alpha chains and 7 TCR beta chains were found among the 84 alpha and 162 beta cDNA clones tested. By screening different combination of the alpha/beta chains using RNA electroporation, TRAV9-1 (Valpha22.1) and TRBV20-1 (Vbeta2) were found to be the functional pair in line SG6. Antibody blocking experiments confirmed that the specificity of TRAV9-1/TRBV20-1 mRNA-transfected T cells were CD4 dependent and HLA-DP4 restricted. A retroviral vector expressing both TRAV9-1 and TRBV20-1 was constructed and used for transduction of OKT3-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes from melanoma patients. TCR-transduced CD4 T cells were capable of recognizing peptide-pulsed antigen-presenting cells (Epstein-Barr virus transformed B-cells, dendritic cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells), and protein-pulsed dendritic cells. Transduced cells were also capable of proliferation upon peptide stimulation and recognized peptide concentrations that were recognized by the parental line (0.2 microM). In contrast to SG6, which could not recognize human tumors, TCR-transduced CD4 T cells could specifically recognize NY-ESO-1/HLA-DP4-expressing melanoma cells. Major histocompatibility complex class II TCR-transduced CD4 T cells provides an alternative source of tumor antigen-specific T cells for adoptive immunotherapy of cancer patients.
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MESH Headings
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Proliferation/drug effects
- Cloning, Molecular
- DNA, Complementary
- Epitopes
- HLA-DP Antigens/immunology
- HLA-DP beta-Chains
- Humans
- Melanoma/immunology
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta/immunology
- Transduction, Genetic
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangbing Zhao
- Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Nicholaou T, Ebert L, Davis ID, Robson N, Klein O, Maraskovsky E, Chen W, Cebon J. Directions in the immune targeting of cancer: lessons learned from the cancer-testis Ag NY-ESO-1. Immunol Cell Biol 2006; 84:303-17. [PMID: 16681828 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1711.2006.01446.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Since the early 1990s, numerous cancer Ag have been defined and for a handful of these there is now some clinical experience, which has made it possible to assess their value as targets for cancer immunotherapy. The cancer-testis Ag have been particularly attractive because their expression is limited to cancer and virtually no non-malignant cells apart from germ cells and trophoblast. Among these, NY-ESO-1 has been the focus of our attention. The exceptional immunogenicity of this Ag coupled with its widespread distribution among many cancer types make it a very good vaccine candidate, with the potential to be used in vaccines against many types of malignancies. This article reviews emerging knowledge about the biology of NY-ESO-1 and experience with the early clinical development of vaccines directed against NY-ESO-1. These early studies have yielded a wealth of information about the immunology of NY-ESO-1 and set the scene for future clinical strategies for immune targeting of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo Nicholaou
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Cancer Vaccine Programme, Austin Hospital, Victoria, Australia
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46
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Hasegawa K, Noguchi Y, Koizumi F, Uenaka A, Tanaka M, Shimono M, Nakamura H, Shiku H, Gnjatic S, Murphy R, Hiramatsu Y, Old LJ, Nakayama E. In vitro Stimulation of CD8 and CD4 T Cells by Dendritic Cells Loaded with a Complex of Cholesterol-Bearing Hydrophobized Pullulan and NY-ESO-1 Protein: Identification of a New HLA-DR15–Binding CD4 T-Cell Epitope. Clin Cancer Res 2006; 12:1921-7. [PMID: 16551878 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-05-1900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE NY-ESO-1 belongs to a class of cancer/testis antigens and has been shown to be immunogenic in cancer patients. We synthesized a complex of cholesterol-bearing hydrophobized pullulan and NY-ESO-1 protein (CHP/ESO) and investigated the in vitro stimulation of CD8 and CD4 T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in healthy donors with autologous CHP/ESO-loaded dendritic cells as antigen-presenting cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN In vitro stimulation of CD8 or CD4 T cells was determined by IFNgamma ELISPOT assays against autologous EBV-B cells infected with vaccinia/NY-ESO-1 recombinant virus or wild-type vaccinia virus as targets and by ELISA measuring secreted IFNgamma. RESULTS NY-ESO-1-specific CD8 and CD4 T cells were induced. In a donor expressing HLA-A2, CD8 T cells stimulated with CHP/ESO-loaded dendritic cells recognized naturally processed NY-ESO-1(157-165), an HLA-A2-binding CD8 T cell epitope. NY-ESO-1 CD4 T cells were Th1-type. We identified a new HLA-DR15-binding CD4 T cell epitope, NY-ESO-1(37-50). CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that CHP/ESO is a promising polyvalent cancer vaccine targeting NY-ESO-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosei Hasegawa
- Department of Immunology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama, Japan
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Lepage S, Lapointe R. Melanosomal targeting sequences from gp100 are essential for MHC class II-restricted endogenous epitope presentation and mobilization to endosomal compartments. Cancer Res 2006; 66:2423-32. [PMID: 16489049 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-05-2516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
CD4+ T lymphocytes play an important role in CD8+ T cell-mediated responses against tumors. Considering that approximately 20% of melanomas express MHC class II, it is plausible that concomitant presentation by MHC class I and class II shapes positive (helper T cells) or negative (regulatory T cells) antitumor responses. Interestingly, gp100, a melanoma antigen, can be presented by both MHC class I and class II when expressed endogenously, suggesting that it can reach endosomal/MHC class II compartments (MIIC). Here, we showed that gp100 putative NH2-terminal signal sequence and the last 70 residues in COOH terminus are essential for MIIC localization and MHC class II presentation. Confocal microscopy analyses confirmed that gp100 was localized in LAMP-1+/HLA-DR+ endosomal/MIIC. Gp100 targeting sequences were characterized by deleting different sections in the COOH terminus (last 70 residues). Transfection in 293T cells, expressing MHC class I and class II molecules, revealed that specific deletions in COOH terminus resulted in decreased MHC class II presentation, without effects on class I presentation, suggesting a role in MIIC trafficking for these deleted sections. Then, we used these gp100 targeting sequences to mobilize green fluorescent protein to endosomal compartments and to allow MHC class II and class I presentation of minimal endogenous epitopes. We conclude that these specific sequences are MIIC-targeting motifs, which could be included in expression cassettes for endogenously expressed tumor or viral antigens for MHC class II and class I presentation and optimize in vivo T-cell responses or as an in vitro tool for characterization of new MHC class II epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Lepage
- Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Hôpital Notre Dame, Université de Montréal and Institut du Cancer de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Grunwald C, Koslowski M, Arsiray T, Dhaene K, Praet M, Victor A, Morresi-Hauf A, Lindner M, Passlick B, Lehr HA, Schäfer SC, Seitz G, Huber C, Sahin U, Türeci O. Expression of multiple epigenetically regulated cancer/germline genes in nonsmall cell lung cancer. Int J Cancer 2006; 118:2522-8. [PMID: 16353146 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.21669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Cancer/germline (CG) antigens represent promising targets for widely applicable mono- and multiantigen cancer vaccines for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Since little is known about their composite expression in this tumor type, we analyzed 7 CG genes (MAGE-A3, NY-ESO-1, LAGE-1, BRDT, HOM-TES-85, TPX-1 and LDHC) in 102 human NSCLC specimens. About 81% of NSCLC express at least 1 and half of the specimen at least 2 CG genes. Activation of most of these genes occurs more frequently in squamous cell cancer than in adenocarcinomas. Even though we found all genes but one to be regulated by genomic methylation, not all of them are co-expressed. In particular, combining CG genes not localized on the X-chromosome may provide effective treatment for an extended number of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Grunwald
- Department of Internal Medicine III, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Langenbeckstr. 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany, and University Hospital Ghent, Belgium
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Paschen A, Song M, Osen W, Nguyen XD, Mueller-Berghaus J, Fink D, Daniel N, Donzeau M, Nagel W, Kropshofer H, Schadendorf D. Detection of Spontaneous CD4+ T-Cell Responses in Melanoma Patients against a Tyrosinase-Related Protein-2–Derived Epitope Identified in HLA-DRB1*0301 Transgenic Mice. Clin Cancer Res 2005; 11:5241-7. [PMID: 16033842 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-05-0170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The frequently expressed differentiation antigen tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) has repeatedly been described as a target of spontaneous cytotoxic T-cell responses in melanoma patients, suggesting that it might be an ideal candidate antigen for T cell-based immunotherapy. As a prerequisite for immunization, T-cell epitopes have to be identified. Whereas a number of HLA class I-presented TRP-2-derived epitopes are known, information about HLA class II-presented antigenic ligands recognized by CD4+ T helper (Th) cells is limited. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The search for TRP-2-derived Th epitopes was carried out by competitive in vitro peptide binding studies with predicted HLA-DRB1*0301 ligands in combination with peptide and protein immunizations of HLA-DRB1*0301 transgenic mice. In vivo selected candidate epitopes were subsequently verified for their immunogenicity in human T-cell cultures. RESULTS This strategy led to the characterization of TRP-2(60-74) as an HLA-DRB1*0301-restricted Th epitope. Importantly, TRP-2(60-74)-reactive human CD4+ Th cell lines, specifically recognizing target cells loaded with recombinant TRP-2 protein, could be established by repeated peptide stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes from several HLA-DRB1*03+ melanoma patients. Even short-term peptide stimulation of patients' peripheral blood lymphocytes showed the presence of TRP-2(60-74)-reactive T cells, suggesting that these T cells were already activated in vivo. CONCLUSION Peptide TRP-2(60-74) might be a useful tool for the improvement of immunotherapy and immune monitoring of melanoma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Paschen
- Skin Cancer Unit of the German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
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50
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Neumann F, Wagner C, Preuss KD, Kubuschok B, Schormann C, Stevanovic S, Pfreundschuh M. Identification of an epitope derived from the cancer testis antigen HOM-TES-14/SCP1 and presented by dendritic cells to circulating CD4+ T cells. Blood 2005; 106:3105-13. [PMID: 16030183 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2005-04-1487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Because of their frequent expression in a wide spectrum of malignant tumors but not in normal tissue except testis, cancer testis antigens are promising targets. However, except for HOM-TES-14/SCP1, their expression in malignant lymphomas is rare. SCP1 (synaptonemal complex protein 1) has been shown to elicit antibody responses in the autologous host, but no T-cell responses against HOM-TES-14/SCP1 have been reported. Using the SYFPEITHI algorithm, we selected peptides with a high binding affinity to major histocompatibility complex class 2 (MHC 2) molecules. The pentadecamer epitope p635-649 induced specific CD4+ T-cell responses that were shown to be restricted by HLA-DRB1*1401. The responses could be blocked by preincubation of T cells with anti-CD4 and antigen-presenting cells with anti-HLA-DR, respectively, proving the HLA-DR-restricted presentation of p635-649 and a CD4+ T-cell-mediated effector response. Responding CD4+ cells did not secrete interleukin-5 (IL-5), indicating that they belong to the T(H)1 subtype. The natural processing and presentation of p635-649 were demonstrated by pulsing autologous and allogeneic dendritic cells with a protein fragment covering p635-649. Thus, p635-649 is the first HOM-TES-14/SCP1-derived epitope to fulfill all prerequisites for use as a peptide vaccine in patients with HOM-TES-14/SCP1-expressing tumors, which is the case in two thirds of peripheral T-cell lymphomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Neumann
- Medizinische Klinik I, Saarland University Medical School, D-66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany
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