1
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Brunnberg J, Barends M, Frühschulz S, Winter C, Battin C, de Wet B, Cole DK, Steinberger P, Tampé R. Dual role of the peptide-loading complex as proofreader and limiter of MHC-I presentation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2321600121. [PMID: 38771881 PMCID: PMC11145271 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321600121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Antigen presentation via major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules is essential for surveillance by the adaptive immune system. Central to this process is the peptide-loading complex (PLC), which translocates peptides from the cytosol to the endoplasmic reticulum and catalyzes peptide loading and proofreading of peptide-MHC-I (pMHC-I) complexes. Despite its importance, the impact of individual PLC components on the presented pMHC-I complexes is still insufficiently understood. Here, we used stoichiometrically defined antibody-nanobody complexes and engineered soluble T cell receptors (sTCRs) to quantify different MHC-I allomorphs and defined pMHC-I complexes, respectively. Thereby, we uncovered distinct effects of individual PLC components on the pMHC-I surface pool. Knockouts of components of the PLC editing modules, namely tapasin, ERp57, or calreticulin, changed the MHC-I surface composition to a reduced proportion of HLA-A*02:01 presentation compensated by a higher ratio of HLA-B*40:01 molecules. Intriguingly, these knockouts not only increased the presentation of suboptimally loaded HLA-A*02:01 complexes but also elevated the presentation of high-affinity peptides overexpressed in the cytosol. Our findings suggest that the components of the PLC editing module serve a dual role, acting not only as peptide proofreaders but also as limiters for abundant peptides. This dual function ensures the presentation of a broad spectrum of antigenic peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamina Brunnberg
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Martina Barends
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Stefan Frühschulz
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Christian Winter
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
| | - Claire Battin
- Institute of Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna1090, Austria
| | - Ben de Wet
- Immunocore Ltd., AbingdonOX14 4RY, United Kingdom
| | | | - Peter Steinberger
- Institute of Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna1090, Austria
| | - Robert Tampé
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main60438, Germany
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2
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Yan Y, Zhou P, Ding L, Hu W, Chen W, Su B. T Cell Antigen Recognition and Discrimination by Electrochemiluminescence Imaging. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202314588. [PMID: 37903724 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202314588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Adoptive T lymphocyte (T cell) transfer and tumour-specific peptide vaccines are innovative cancer therapies. An accurate assessment of the specific reactivity of T cell receptors (TCRs) to tumour antigens is required because of the high heterogeneity of tumour cells and the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment. In this study, we report a label-free electrochemiluminescence (ECL) imaging approach for recognising and discriminating between TCRs and tumour-specific antigens by imaging the immune synapses of T cells. Various T cell stimuli, including agonistic antibodies, auxiliary molecules, and tumour-specific antigens, were modified on the electrode's surface to allow for their interaction with T cells bearing different TCRs. The formation of immune synapses activated by specific stimuli produced a negative (shadow) ECL image, from which T cell antigen recognition and discrimination were evaluated by analysing the spreading area and the recognition intensity of T cells. This approach provides an easy way to assess TCR-antigen specificity and screen both of them for immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajuan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Ping Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Lurong Ding
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wei Hu
- Kidney Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory for Modern Optical Instrumentation, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310012, China
| | - Bin Su
- Key Laboratory of Excited-State Materials of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
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3
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Zeng B, Moi D, Tolley L, Molotkov N, Frazer IH, Perry C, Dolcetti R, Mazzieri R, Cruz JLG. Skin-Grafting and Dendritic Cell "Boosted" Humanized Mouse Models Allow the Pre-Clinical Evaluation of Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines. Cells 2023; 12:2094. [PMID: 37626903 PMCID: PMC10453599 DOI: 10.3390/cells12162094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccines have been hailed as one of the most remarkable medical advancements in human history, and their potential for treating cancer by generating or expanding anti-tumor T cells has garnered significant interest in recent years. However, the limited efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines in clinical trials can be partially attributed to the inadequacy of current preclinical mouse models in recapitulating the complexities of the human immune system. In this study, we developed two innovative humanized mouse models to assess the immunogenicity and therapeutic effectiveness of vaccines targeting human papillomavirus (HPV16) antigens and delivering tumor antigens to human CD141+ dendritic cells (DCs). Both models were based on the transference of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) into immunocompromised HLA-A*02-NSG mice (NSG-A2), where the use of fresh PBMCs boosted the engraftment of human cells up to 80%. The dynamics of immune cells in the PBMC-hu-NSG-A2 mice demonstrated that T cells constituted the vast majority of engrafted cells, which progressively expanded over time and retained their responsiveness to ex vivo stimulation. Using the PBMC-hu-NSG-A2 system, we generated a hyperplastic skin graft model expressing the HPV16-E7 oncogene. Remarkably, human cells populated the skin grafts, and upon vaccination with a DNA vaccine encoding an HPV16-E6/E7 protein, rapid rejection targeted to the E7-expressing skin was detected, underscoring the capacity of the model to mount a vaccine-specific response. To overcome the decline in DC numbers observed over time in PBMC-hu-NSG-A2 animals, we augmented the abundance of CD141+ DCs, the specific targets of our tailored nanoemulsions (TNEs), by transferring additional autologous PBMCs pre-treated in vitro with the growth factor Flt3-L. The Flt3-L treatment bolstered CD141+ DC numbers, leading to potent antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in vivo, which caused the regression of pre-established triple-negative breast cancer and melanoma tumors following CD141+ DC-targeting TNE vaccination. Notably, using HLA-A*02-matching PBMCs for humanizing NSG-A2 mice resulted in a delayed onset of graft-versus-host disease and enhanced the efficacy of the TNE vaccination compared with the parental NSG strain. In conclusion, we successfully established two humanized mouse models that exhibited strong antigen-specific responses and demonstrated tumor regression following vaccination. These models serve as valuable platforms for assessing the efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines targeting HPV16-dysplastic skin and diverse tumor antigens specifically delivered to CD141+ DCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bijun Zeng
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Davide Moi
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Lynn Tolley
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Natalie Molotkov
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Ian Hector Frazer
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Christopher Perry
- Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Department of Otolaryngology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Riccardo Dolcetti
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Roberta Mazzieri
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jazmina L. G. Cruz
- Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
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4
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Gouttefangeas C, Klein R, Maia A. The good and the bad of T cell cross-reactivity: challenges and opportunities for novel therapeutics in autoimmunity and cancer. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1212546. [PMID: 37409132 PMCID: PMC10319254 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1212546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
T cells are main actors of the immune system with an essential role in protection against pathogens and cancer. The molecular key event involved in this absolutely central task is the interaction of membrane-bound specific T cell receptors with peptide-MHC complexes which initiates T cell priming, activation and recall, and thus controls a range of downstream functions. While textbooks teach us that the repertoire of mature T cells is highly diverse, it is clear that this diversity cannot possibly cover all potential foreign peptides that might be encountered during life. TCR cross-reactivity, i.e. the ability of a single TCR to recognise different peptides, offers the best solution to this biological challenge. Reports have shown that indeed, TCR cross-reactivity is surprisingly high. Hence, the T cell dilemma is the following: be as specific as possible to target foreign danger and spare self, while being able to react to a large spectrum of body-threatening situations. This has major consequences for both autoimmune diseases and cancer, and significant implications for the development of T cell-based therapies. In this review, we will present essential experimental evidence of T cell cross-reactivity, implications for two opposite immune conditions, i.e. autoimmunity vs cancer, and how this can be differently exploited for immunotherapy approaches. Finally, we will discuss the tools available for predicting cross-reactivity and how improvements in this field might boost translational approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Gouttefangeas
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Reinhild Klein
- Department of Hematology, Oncology, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ana Maia
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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5
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Manco R, D’Apice L, Trovato M, Lione L, Salvatori E, Pinto E, Compagnone M, Aurisicchio L, De Berardinis P, Sartorius R. Co-Delivery of the Human NY-ESO-1 Tumor-Associated Antigen and Alpha-GalactosylCeramide by Filamentous Bacteriophages Strongly Enhances the Expansion of Tumor-Specific CD8+ T Cells. Viruses 2023; 15:v15030672. [PMID: 36992381 PMCID: PMC10059692 DOI: 10.3390/v15030672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) represent attractive targets in the development of anti-cancer vaccines. The filamentous bacteriophage is a safe and versatile delivery nanosystem, and recombinant bacteriophages expressing TAA-derived peptides at a high density on the viral coat proteins improve TAA immunogenicity, triggering effective in vivo anti-tumor responses. To enhance the efficacy of the bacteriophage as an anti-tumor vaccine, we designed and generated phage particles expressing a CD8+ peptide derived from the human cancer germline antigen NY-ESO-1 decorated with the immunologically active lipid alpha-GalactosylCeramide (α-GalCer), a potent activator of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. The immune response to phage expressing the human TAA NY-ESO-1 and delivering α-GalCer, namely fdNY-ESO-1/α-GalCer, was analyzed either in vitro or in vivo, using an HLA-A2 transgenic mouse model (HHK). By using NY-ESO-1-specific TCR-engineered T cells and iNKT hybridoma cells, we observed the efficacy of the fdNY-ESO-1/α-GalCer co-delivery strategy at inducing activation of both the cell subsets. Moreover, in vivo administration of fdNY-ESO-1 decorated with α-GalCer lipid in the absence of adjuvants strongly enhances the expansion of NY-ESO-1-specific CD8+ T cells in HHK mice. In conclusion, the filamentous bacteriophage delivering TAA-derived peptides and the α-GalCer lipid may represent a novel and promising anti-tumor vaccination strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Manco
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Luciana D’Apice
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Trovato
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Mirco Compagnone
- Takis Biotech, 00128 Rome, Italy
- Neomatrix Biotech, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Aurisicchio
- Takis Biotech, 00128 Rome, Italy
- Neomatrix Biotech, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Rossella Sartorius
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), 80131 Naples, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0816132716
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6
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Hannani D, Leplus E, Laurin D, Caulier B, Aspord C, Madelon N, Bourova-Flin E, Brambilla C, Brambilla E, Toffart AC, Laulagnier K, Chaperot L, Plumas J. A New Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Expands the Tumor-Specific CD8+ T Cells of Lung Cancer Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24031897. [PMID: 36768214 PMCID: PMC9915756 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24031897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The purpose of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies is to help the patient's immune system to combat tumors by restoring the immune response mediated by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. Despite impressive clinical responses, most patients do not respond to ICIs. Therapeutic vaccines with autologous professional antigen-presenting cells, including dendritic cells, do not show yet significant clinical benefit. To improve these approaches, we have developed a new therapeutic vaccine based on an allogeneic plasmacytoid dendritic cell line (PDC*line), which efficiently activates the CD8+ T-cell response in the context of melanoma. The goal of the study is to demonstrate the potential of this platform to activate circulating tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in patients with lung cancer, specifically non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PDC*line cells loaded with peptides derived from tumor antigens are used to stimulate the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of NSCLC patients. Very interestingly, we demonstrate an efficient activation of specific T cells for at least two tumor antigens in 69% of patients irrespective of tumor antigen mRNA overexpression and NSCLC subtype. We also show, for the first time, that the antitumor CD8+ T-cell expansion is considerably improved by clinical-grade anti-PD-1 antibodies. Using PDC*line cells as an antigen presentation platform, we show that circulating antitumor CD8+ T cells from lung cancer patients can be activated, and we demonstrate the synergistic effect of anti-PD-1 on this expansion. These results are encouraging for the development of a PDC*line-based vaccine in NSCLC patients, especially in combination with ICIs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David Laurin
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Benjamin Caulier
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Caroline Aspord
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Natacha Madelon
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Ekaterina Bourova-Flin
- Groupe EpiMed, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Christian Brambilla
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Grenoble-Alpes, Université Grenoble-Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Elisabeth Brambilla
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Grenoble-Alpes, Université Grenoble-Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Anne-Claire Toffart
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Grenoble-Alpes, Université Grenoble-Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | | | - Laurence Chaperot
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble-Alpes, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR 5309, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Joël Plumas
- PDC*line Pharma, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Recherche et Développement, EFS, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Correspondence:
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7
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Murata K, Ly D, Saijo H, Matsunaga Y, Sugata K, Ihara F, Oryoji D, Ohashi Y, Saso K, Wang CH, Zheng EY, Burt BD, Butler MO, Hirano N. Modification of the HLA-A*24:02 Peptide Binding Pocket Enhances Cognate Peptide-Binding Capacity and Antigen-Specific T Cell Activation. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2022; 209:1481-1491. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2200305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
The immunogenicity of a T cell Ag is correlated with the ability of its antigenic epitope to bind HLA and be stably presented to T cells. This presents a challenge for the development of effective cancer immunotherapies, as many self-derived tumor-associated epitopes elicit weak T cell responses, in part due to weak binding affinity to HLA. Traditional methods to increase peptide–HLA binding affinity involve modifying the peptide to reflect HLA allele binding preferences. Using a different approach, we sought to analyze whether the immunogenicity of wild-type peptides could be altered through modification of the HLA binding pocket. After analyzing HLA class I peptide binding pocket alignments, we identified an alanine 81 to leucine (A81L) modification within the F binding pocket of HLA-A*24:02 that was found to heighten the ability of artificial APCs to retain and present HLA-A*24:02–restricted peptides, resulting in increased T cell responses while retaining Ag specificity. This modification led to increased peptide exchange efficiencies for enhanced detection of low-avidity T cells and, when expressed on artificial APCs, resulted in greater expansion of Ag-specific T cells from melanoma-derived tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Our study provides an example of how modifications to the HLA binding pocket can enhance wild-type cognate peptide presentation to heighten T cell activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Murata
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dalam Ly
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hiroshi Saijo
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yukiko Matsunaga
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kenji Sugata
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Fumie Ihara
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daisuke Oryoji
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yota Ohashi
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- †Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and
| | - Kayoko Saso
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chung-Hsi Wang
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- †Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and
| | - Evey Y.F. Zheng
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- †Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and
| | - Brian D. Burt
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marcus O. Butler
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- †Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and
- ‡Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Naoto Hirano
- *Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- †Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and
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8
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Holec PV, Camacho KV, Breuckman KC, Mou J, Birnbaum ME. Proteome-Scale Screening to Identify High-Expression Signal Peptides with Minimal N-Terminus Biases via Yeast Display. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2405-2416. [PMID: 35687717 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Signal peptides are critical for the efficient expression and routing of extracellular and secreted proteins. Most protein production and screening technologies rely upon a relatively small set of signal peptides. Despite their central role in biotechnology, there are limited studies comprehensively examining the interplay between signal peptides and expressed protein sequences. Here, we describe a high-throughput method to screen novel signal peptides that maintain a high degree of surface expression across a range of protein scaffolds with highly variable N-termini. We find that the canonical signal peptide used in yeast surface display, derived from Aga2p, fails to achieve high surface expression for 42.5% of constructs containing diverse N-termini. To circumvent this, we have identified two novel signal peptides derived from endogenous yeast proteins, SRL1 and KISH, which are highly tolerant to diverse N-terminal sequences. This pipeline can be used to expand our understanding of signal peptide function, identify improved signal peptides for protein expression, and refine the computational tools used for signal peptide prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick V Holec
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Karen V Camacho
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Kathryn C Breuckman
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Jody Mou
- Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Michael E Birnbaum
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.,Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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9
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Le Gall C, Cammarata A, de Haas L, Ramos-Tomillero I, Cuenca-Escalona J, Schouren K, Wijfjes Z, Becker AMD, Bödder J, Dölen Y, de Vries IJM, Figdor CG, Flórez-Grau G, Verdoes M. Efficient targeting of NY-ESO-1 tumor antigen to human cDC1s by lymphotactin results in cross-presentation and antigen-specific T cell expansion. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2021-004309. [PMID: 35428705 PMCID: PMC9014073 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-004309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are characterized by their ability to induce potent CD8+ T cell responses. In efforts to generate novel vaccination strategies, notably against cancer, human cDC1s emerge as an ideal target to deliver antigens. cDC1s uniquely express XCR1, a seven transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor. Due to its restricted expression and endocytic nature, XCR1 represents an attractive receptor to mediate antigen-delivery to human cDC1s. Methods To explore tumor antigen delivery to human cDC1s, we used an engineered version of XCR1-binding lymphotactin (XCL1), XCL1(CC3). Site-specific sortase-mediated transpeptidation was performed to conjugate XCL1(CC3) to an analog of the HLA-A*02:01 epitope of the cancer testis antigen New York Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1). While poor epitope solubility prevented isolation of stable XCL1-antigen conjugates, incorporation of a single polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain upstream of the epitope-containing peptide enabled generation of soluble XCL1(CC3)-antigen fusion constructs. Binding and chemotactic characteristics of the XCL1-antigen conjugate, as well as its ability to induce antigen-specific CD8+ T cell activation by cDC1s, was assessed. Results PEGylated XCL1(CC3)-antigen conjugates retained binding to XCR1, and induced cDC1 chemoattraction in vitro. The model epitope was efficiently cross-presented by human cDC1s to activate NY-ESO-1-specific CD8+ T cells. Importantly, vaccine activity was increased by targeting XCR1 at the surface of cDC1s. Conclusion Our results present a novel strategy for the generation of targeted vaccines fused to insoluble antigens. Moreover, our data emphasize the potential of targeting XCR1 at the surface of primary human cDC1s to induce potent CD8+ T cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Le Gall
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Oncode Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Anna Cammarata
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lukas de Haas
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Iván Ramos-Tomillero
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Chemical Immunology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jorge Cuenca-Escalona
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Kayleigh Schouren
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Zacharias Wijfjes
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Chemical Immunology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Anouk M D Becker
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Johanna Bödder
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Yusuf Dölen
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Oncode Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - I Jolanda M de Vries
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Carl G Figdor
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Oncode Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Georgina Flórez-Grau
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Verdoes
- Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboudumc Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Chemical Immunology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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10
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The Full Model of the pMHC-TCR-CD3 Complex: A Structural and Dynamical Characterization of Bound and Unbound States. Cells 2022; 11:cells11040668. [PMID: 35203317 PMCID: PMC8869815 DOI: 10.3390/cells11040668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The machinery involved in cytotoxic T-cell activation requires three main characters: the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) bound to the peptide (p), the T-cell receptor (TCR), and the CD3 complex, a multidimer interfaced with the intracellular side. The pMHC:TCR interaction has been largely studied by means of both experimental and computational models, giving a contribution in understanding the complexity of the TCR triggering. Nevertheless, a detailed study of the structural and dynamical characterization of the full complex (pMHC:TCR:CD3 complex) is still missing due to a lack of structural information of the CD3-chains arrangement around the TCR. Very recently, the determination of the TCR:CD3 complex structure by means of Cryo-EM technique has given a chance to build the entire system essential in the activation of T-cells, a fundamental mechanism in the adaptive immune response. Here, we present the first complete model of the pMHC interacting with the TCR:CD3 complex, built in a lipid environment. To describe the conformational behavior associated with the unbound and the bound states, all-atom Molecular Dynamics simulations were performed for the TCR:CD3 complex and for two pMHC:TCR:CD3 complex systems, bound to two different peptides. Our data point out that a conformational change affecting the TCR Constant β (Cβ) region occurs after the binding to the pMHC, revealing a key role of this region in the propagation of the signal. Moreover, we found that TCR reduces the flexibility of the MHC I binding groove, confirming our previous results.
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11
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He X, Zhou S, Quinn B, Huang W, Jahagirdar D, Vega M, Ortega J, Long MD, Ito F, Abrams SI, Lovell JF. Position-Scanning Peptide Libraries as Particle Immunogens for Improving CD8 + T-Cell Responses. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:e2103023. [PMID: 34716694 PMCID: PMC8693074 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202103023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Short peptides reflecting major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (MHC-I) epitopes frequently lack sufficient immunogenicity to induce robust antigen (Ag)-specific CD8+ T cell responses. In the current work, it is demonstrated that position-scanning peptide libraries themselves can serve as improved immunogens, inducing Ag-specific CD8+ T cells with greater frequency and function than the wild-type epitope. The approach involves displaying the entire position-scanning library onto immunogenic nanoliposomes. Each library contains the MHC-I epitope with a single randomized position. When a recently identified MHC-I epitope in the glycoprotein gp70 envelope protein of murine leukemia virus (MuLV) is assessed, only one of the eight positional libraries tested, randomized at amino acid position 5 (Pos5), shows enhanced induction of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells. A second MHC-I epitope from gp70 is assessed in the same manner and shows, in contrast, multiple positional libraries (Pos1, Pos3, Pos5, and Pos8) as well as the library mixture give rise to enhanced CD8+ T cell responses. The library mixture Pos1-3-5-8 induces a more diverse epitope-specific T-cell repertoire with superior antitumor efficacy compared to an established single mutation mimotope (AH1-A5). These data show that positional peptide libraries can serve as immunogens for improving CD8+ T-cell responses against endogenously expressed MHC-I epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuedan He
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Shiqi Zhou
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Breandan Quinn
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Wei‐Chiao Huang
- University at BuffaloState University of New YorkBuffaloNY14260USA
| | - Dushyant Jahagirdar
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyMcGill University MontrealQuebecH3A1Y2Canada
| | - Michael Vega
- Division of Research and Innovation PartnershipsNorthern Illinois UniversityDeKalbIL60115USA
| | - Joaquin Ortega
- Department of Anatomy and Cell BiologyMcGill University MontrealQuebecH3A1Y2Canada
| | - Mark D. Long
- Department of Cancer Genetics and GenomicsRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (RPCCC)BuffaloNY14263USA
| | - Fumito Ito
- Department of ImmunologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
- Center for ImmunotherapyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
- Department of Surgical OncologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
| | - Scott I. Abrams
- Department of ImmunologyRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterBuffaloNY14263USA
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12
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Brunk F, Moritz A, Nelde A, Bilich T, Casadei N, Fraschka SAK, Heitmann JS, Hörber S, Peter A, Rammensee H, Singh H, Walz J, Maurer D, Wagner C. SARS-CoV-2-reactive T-cell receptors isolated from convalescent COVID-19 patients confer potent T-cell effector function. Eur J Immunol 2021; 51:2651-2664. [PMID: 34424997 PMCID: PMC8646365 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202149290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Both B cells and T cells are involved in an effective immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the disease-causing virus of COVID-19. While B cells-with the indispensable help of CD4+ T cells-are essential to generate neutralizing antibodies, T cells on their own have been recognized as another major player in effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity. In this report, we provide insights into the characteristics of individual HLA-A*02:01- and HLA-A*24:02-restricted SARS-CoV-2-reactive TCRs, isolated from convalescent COVID-19 patients. We observed that SARS-CoV-2-reactive T-cell populations were clearly detectable in convalescent samples and that TCRs isolated from these T cell clones were highly functional upon ectopic re-expression. The SARS-CoV-2-reactive TCRs described in this report mediated potent TCR signaling in reporter assays with low nanomolar EC50 values. We further demonstrate that these SARS-CoV-2-reactive TCRs conferred powerful T-cell effector function to primary CD8+ T cells as evident by a robust anti-SARS-CoV-2 IFN-γ response and in vitro cytotoxicity. We also provide an example of a long-lasting anti-SARS-CoV-2 memory response by reisolation of one of the retrieved TCRs 5 months after initial sampling. Taken together, these findings contribute to a better understanding of anti-SARS-CoV-2 T-cell immunity and may contribute to paving the way toward immunotherapeutics approaches targeting SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Annika Nelde
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational ImmunologyGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK)Department of Internal MedicineUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of ImmunologyInstitute for Cell BiologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) ‘Image‐Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies,’University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Tatjana Bilich
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational ImmunologyGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK)Department of Internal MedicineUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of ImmunologyInstitute for Cell BiologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) ‘Image‐Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies,’University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Nicolas Casadei
- NGS Competence Center TübingenTübingenGermany
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied GenomicsUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Sabine A. K. Fraschka
- NGS Competence Center TübingenTübingenGermany
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied GenomicsUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Jonas S. Heitmann
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational ImmunologyGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK)Department of Internal MedicineUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) ‘Image‐Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies,’University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Sebastian Hörber
- Department for Diagnostic Laboratory MedicineInstitute for Clinical Chemistry and PathobiochemistryUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Andreas Peter
- Department for Diagnostic Laboratory MedicineInstitute for Clinical Chemistry and PathobiochemistryUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Hans‐Georg Rammensee
- Department of ImmunologyInstitute for Cell BiologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) ‘Image‐Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies,’University of TübingenTübingenGermany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)Partner Site TübingenTübingenGermany
| | | | - Juliane Walz
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational ImmunologyGerman Cancer Consortium (DKTK)Department of Internal MedicineUniversity Hospital TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of ImmunologyInstitute for Cell BiologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) ‘Image‐Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies,’University of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Dr. Margarete Fischer‐Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases (RBCT)StuttgartGermany
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13
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Shenderov E, Kandasamy M, Gileadi U, Chen J, Shepherd D, Gibbs J, Prota G, Silk JD, Yewdell JW, Cerundolo V. Generation and characterization of HLA-A2 transgenic mice expressing the human TCR 1G4 specific for the HLA-A2 restricted NY-ESO-1 157-165 tumor-specific peptide. J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:jitc-2021-002544. [PMID: 34088742 PMCID: PMC8183295 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background NY-ESO-1 is a tumor-specific, highly immunogenic, human germ cell antigen of the MAGE-1 family that is a promising vaccine and cell therapy candidate in clinical trial development. The mouse genome does not encode an NY-ESO-1 homolog thereby not subjecting transgenic T-cells to thymic tolerance mechanisms that might impair in-vivo studies. We hypothesized that an NY-ESO-1 T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mouse would provide the unique opportunity to study avidity of TCR response against NY-ESO-1 for tumor vaccine and cellular therapy development against this clinically relevant and physiological human antigen. Methods To study in vitro and in vivo the requirements for shaping an effective T cell response against the clinically relevant NY-ESO-1, we generated a C57BL/6 HLA-A*0201 background TCR transgenic mouse encoding the 1G4 TCR specific for the human HLA-A2 restricted, NY-ESO-1157-165 SLLMWITQC (9C), initially identified in an NY-ESO-1 positive melanoma patient. Results The HLA-A*0201 restricted TCR was positively selected on both CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Mouse 1G4 T cells were not activated by endogenous autoimmune targets or a large library of non-cognate viral antigens. In contrast, their activation by HLA-A2 NY-ESO-1157-165 complexes was evident by proliferation, CD69 upregulation, interferon-γ production, and interleukin-2 production, and could be tuned using a twofold higher affinity altered peptide ligand, NY-ESO-1157-165V. NY-ESO-1157-165V recombinant vaccination of syngeneic mice adoptively transferred with m1G4 CD8+ T cells controlled tumor growth in vivo. 1G4 transgenic mice suppressed growth of syngeneic methylcholanthrene (MCA) induced HHD tumor cells expressing the full-length human NY-ESO-1 protein but not MCA HHD tumor cells lacking NY-ESO-1. Conclusions The 1G4 TCR mouse model for the physiological human TCR against the clinically relevant antigen, NY-ESO-1, is a valuable tool with the potential to accelerate clinical development of NY-ESO-1-targeted T-cell and vaccine therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene Shenderov
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK .,National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matheswaran Kandasamy
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Uzi Gileadi
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Jili Chen
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Dawn Shepherd
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - James Gibbs
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Gennaro Prota
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
| | - Jonathan D Silk
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK.,Next Generation Research, Adaptimmune, Abingdon, UK
| | - Jonathan W Yewdell
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Vincenzo Cerundolo
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, Oxford, UK
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14
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Ragone C, Manolio C, Cavalluzzo B, Mauriello A, Tornesello ML, Buonaguro FM, Castiglione F, Vitagliano L, Iaccarino E, Ruvo M, Tagliamonte M, Buonaguro L. Identification and validation of viral antigens sharing sequence and structural homology with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). J Immunother Cancer 2021; 9:jitc-2021-002694. [PMID: 34049932 PMCID: PMC8166618 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The host’s immune system develops in equilibrium with both cellular self-antigens and non-self-antigens derived from microorganisms which enter the body during lifetime. In addition, during the years, a tumor may arise presenting to the immune system an additional pool of non-self-antigens, namely tumor antigens (tumor-associated antigens, TAAs; tumor-specific antigens, TSAs). Methods In the present study, we looked for homology between published TAAs and non-self-viral-derived epitopes. Bioinformatics analyses and ex vivo immunological validations have been performed. Results Surprisingly, several of such homologies have been found. Moreover, structural similarities between paired TAAs and viral peptides as well as comparable patterns of contact with HLA and T cell receptor (TCR) α and β chains have been observed. Therefore, the two classes of non-self-antigens (viral antigens and tumor antigens) may converge, eliciting cross-reacting CD8+ T cell responses which possibly drive the fate of cancer development and progression. Conclusions An established antiviral T cell memory may turn out to be an anticancer T cell memory, able to control the growth of a cancer developed during the lifetime if the expressed TAA is similar to the viral epitope. This may ultimately represent a relevant selective advantage for patients with cancer and may lead to a novel preventive anticancer vaccine strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Concetta Ragone
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmen Manolio
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Beatrice Cavalluzzo
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Angela Mauriello
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Lina Tornesello
- Esperimental Oncology - Molecular Biology and Viral Oncogenesis, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Franco M Buonaguro
- Esperimental Oncology - Molecular Biology and Viral Oncogenesis, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute for Biostructures and Bioimages, CNR, Roma, Italy
| | - Maria Tagliamonte
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi Buonaguro
- Experimental Oncology - Innovative Immunological Models, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, "Fondazione Pascale"- IRCCS, Naples, Italy
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15
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Zhou Y, Shao N, Bessa de Castro R, Zhang P, Ma Y, Liu X, Huang F, Wang RF, Qin L. Evaluation of Single-Cell Cytokine Secretion and Cell-Cell Interactions with a Hierarchical Loading Microwell Chip. Cell Rep 2021; 31:107574. [PMID: 32348757 PMCID: PMC7583657 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Comprehensive evaluation of single T cell functions such as cytokine secretion and cytolysis of target cells is greatly needed in adoptive cell therapy (ACT) but has never been fully fulfilled by current approaches. Herein, we develop a hierarchical loading microwell chip (HL-Chip) that aligns multiple cells and functionalized beads in a high-throughput microwell array with single-cell/bead precision based on size differences. We demonstrate the potential of the HL-Chip in evaluating single T cell functions by three applications: high-throughput longitudinal secretory profiling of single T cells, large-scale evaluation of cytolytic activity of single T cells, and integrated T cell-tumor cell interactions. The HL-Chip is a simple and robust technology that constructs arrays of defined cell/object combinations for multiple measurements and material retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufu Zhou
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; Center for inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ning Shao
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ricardo Bessa de Castro
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Pengchao Zhang
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Yuan Ma
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Xin Liu
- Center for inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Feizhou Huang
- The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Rong-Fu Wang
- Center for inflammation and Epigenetics, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, The Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA; Department of Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
| | - Lidong Qin
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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16
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Sajman J, Razvag Y, Schidorsky S, Kinrot S, Hermon K, Yakovian O, Sherman E. Adhering interacting cells to two opposing coverslips allows super-resolution imaging of cell-cell interfaces. Commun Biol 2021; 4:439. [PMID: 33795833 PMCID: PMC8016881 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01960-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-cell interfaces convey mechanical and chemical information in multicellular systems. Microscopy has revealed intricate structure of such interfaces, yet typically with limited resolution due to diffraction and unfavourable orthogonal orientation of the interface to the coverslip. We present a simple and robust way to align cell-cell interfaces in parallel to the coverslip by adhering the interacting cells to two opposing coverslips. We demonstrate high-quality diffraction-limited and super-resolution imaging of interfaces (immune-synapses) between fixed and live CD8+ T-cells and either antigen presenting cells or melanoma cells. Imaging methods include bright-field, confocal, STED, dSTORM, SOFI, SRRF and large-scale tiled images. The low background, lack of aberrations and enhanced spatial stability of our method relative to existing cell-trapping techniques allow use of these methods. We expect that the simplicity and wide-compatibility of our approach will allow its wide dissemination for super-resolving the intricate structure and molecular organization in a variety of cell-cell interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Sajman
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yair Razvag
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shachar Schidorsky
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Seon Kinrot
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XPresent Address: Graduate Program in Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Kobi Hermon
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Oren Yakovian
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Eilon Sherman
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
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17
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Zhang H, Sun M, Wang J, Zeng B, Cao X, Han Y, Tan S, Gao GF. Identification of NY-ESO-1 157-165 Specific Murine T Cell Receptors With Distinct Recognition Pattern for Tumor Immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:644520. [PMID: 33833762 PMCID: PMC8021954 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.644520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma 1 (NY-ESO-1) is a promising target for T-cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapy, and targeting the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 restricted NY-ESO-1157-165 epitope has yielded remarkable clinical benefits in the treatment of multiple advanced malignancies. Herein, we report the identification of two NY-ESO-1157-165 epitope-specific murine TCRs obtained from HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice. NY-ESO-1157-165 specific TCRs were isolated after vaccinating HLA-A2 transgenic mice with epitope peptides. HZ6 and HZ8 TCRs could specifically bind to NY-ESO-1157-165/HLA-A2 and were capable of cytokine secretion with engineered Jurkat T cells and primary T cells upon recognition with K562 target cells expressing the single-chain trimer (SCT) of NY-ESO-1157-165/HLA-A2. The reactivity profiles of the HZ6 and HZ8 TCRs were found to be distinct from one another when co-cultured with K562 target cells carrying alanine-substituted NY-ESO-1157-165 SCTs. The binding characterization revealed that the recognition pattern of the HZ6 TCR to NY-ESO-1157-165/HLA-A2 was substantially different from the widely used 1G4 TCR. These findings would broaden the understanding of immunogenicity of the NY-ESO-1157-165, and the two identified TCRs may serve as promising candidates for the future development of TCR-T therapy for tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helin Zhang
- Research Network of Immunity and Health (RNIH), Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Sun
- Research Network of Immunity and Health (RNIH), Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Bin Zeng
- College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.,College of Pharmacy, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoqing Cao
- Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Han
- Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Shuguang Tan
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - George F Gao
- Research Network of Immunity and Health (RNIH), Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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18
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Cavalluzzo B, Ragone C, Mauriello A, Petrizzo A, Manolio C, Caporale A, Vitagliano L, Ruvo M, Buonaguro L, Tagliamonte M. Identification and characterization of heteroclitic peptides in TCR-binding positions with improved HLA-binding efficacy. J Transl Med 2021; 19:89. [PMID: 33637105 PMCID: PMC7913412 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-021-02757-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The antigenicity as well as the immunogenicity of tumor associated antigens (TAAs) may need to be potentiated in order to break the immunological tolerance. To this aim, heteroclitic peptides were designed introducing specific substitutions in the residue at position 4 (p4) binding to TCR. The effect of such modifications also on the affinity to the major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) molecule was assessed. The Trp2 antigen, specific for the mouse melanoma B16F10 cells, as well as the HPV-E7 antigen, specific for the TC1 tumor cell lines, were used as models. Affinity of such heteroclitic peptides to HLA was predicted by bioinformatics tools and the most promising ones were validated by structural conformational and HLA binding analyses. Overall, we demonstrated that TAAs modified at the TCR-binding p4 residue are predicted to have higher affinity to MHC-I molecules. Experimental evaluation confirms the stronger binding, suggesting that this strategy may be very effective for designing new vaccines with improved antigenic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Cavalluzzo
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Concetta Ragone
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Angela Mauriello
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Annacarmen Petrizzo
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Carmen Manolio
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Caporale
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Naples, Italy.,Istituto Di Cristallografia-CNR, c/o area Science Park S.S. 14 Km 163.5 Basovizza, 34149, Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Menotti Ruvo
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, CNR, Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi Buonaguro
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Tagliamonte
- Innovative Immunological Models Lab, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fond. G. Pascale", Via Mariano Semmola, 1, 80131, Naples, Italy.
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19
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Cancer Vaccines: Antigen Selection Strategy. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9020085. [PMID: 33503926 PMCID: PMC7911511 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9020085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Unlike traditional cancer therapies, cancer vaccines (CVs) harness a high specificity of the host’s immunity to kill tumor cells. CVs can train and bolster the patient’s immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells by enhancing immune cells’ identification of antigens expressed on cancer cells. Various features of antigens like immunogenicity and avidity influence the efficacy of CVs. Therefore, the choice and application of antigens play a critical role in establishing and developing CVs. Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), a group of proteins expressed at elevated levels in tumor cells but lower levels in healthy normal cells, have been well-studied and developed in CVs. However, immunological tolerance, HLA restriction, and adverse events are major obstacles that threaten TAA-based CVs’ efficacy due to the “self-protein” characteristic of TAAs. As “abnormal proteins” that are completely absent from normal cells, tumor-specific antigens (TSAs) can trigger a robust immune response against tumor cells with high specificity and without going through central tolerance, contributing to cancer vaccine development feasibility. In this review, we focus on the unique features of TAAs and TSAs and their application in vaccines, summarizing their performance in preclinical and clinical trials.
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20
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Trendel N, Kruger P, Gaglione S, Nguyen J, Pettmann J, Sontag ED, Dushek O. Perfect adaptation of CD8 + T cell responses to constant antigen input over a wide range of affinities is overcome by costimulation. Sci Signal 2021; 14:eaay9363. [PMID: 34855472 PMCID: PMC7615691 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aay9363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Reduced T cell responses by contrast antigen stimulation can be rescued by signals from costimulatory receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Trendel
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
| | - Philipp Kruger
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
| | - Stephanie Gaglione
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
| | - John Nguyen
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
| | - Johannes Pettmann
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
| | - Eduardo D Sontag
- Electrical and Computer Engineering & Bioengineering, Northeastern University, USA
| | - Omer Dushek
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RE, Oxford, UK
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21
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Buonaguro L, Tagliamonte M. Selecting Target Antigens for Cancer Vaccine Development. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8040615. [PMID: 33080888 PMCID: PMC7711972 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8040615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the principal goals of cancer immunotherapy is the development of efficient therapeutic cancer vaccines that are able to elicit an effector as well as memory T cell response specific to tumor antigens. In recent years, the attention has been focused on the personalization of cancer vaccines. However, the efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines is still disappointing despite the large number of vaccine strategies targeting different tumors that have been evaluated in recent years. While the preclinical data have frequently shown encouraging results, clinical trials have not provided satisfactory data to date. The main reason for such failures is the complexity of identifying specific target tumor antigens that should be unique or overexpressed only by the tumor cells compared to normal cells. Most of the tumor antigens included in cancer vaccines are non-mutated overexpressed self-antigens, eliciting mainly T cells with low-affinity T cell receptors (TCR) unable to mediate an effective anti-tumor response. In this review, the target tumor antigens employed in recent years in the development of therapeutic cancer vaccine strategies are described, along with potential new classes of tumor antigens such as the human endogenous retroviral elements (HERVs), unconventional antigens, and/or heteroclitic peptides.
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22
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Merhi M, Raza A, Inchakalody VP, Siveen KS, Kumar D, Sahir F, Mestiri S, Hydrose S, Allahverdi N, Jalis M, Relecom A, Al Zaidan L, Hamid MSE, Mostafa M, Gul ARZ, Uddin S, Al Homsi M, Dermime S. Persistent anti-NY-ESO-1-specific T cells and expression of differential biomarkers in a patient with metastatic gastric cancer benefiting from combined radioimmunotherapy treatment: a case report. J Immunother Cancer 2020; 8:jitc-2020-001278. [PMID: 32913031 PMCID: PMC7484873 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Combined radioimmunotherapy is currently being investigated to treat patients with cancer. Anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) immunotherapy offers the prospect of long-term disease control in solid tumors. Radiotherapy has the ability to promote immunogenic cell death leading to the release of tumor antigens, increasing infiltration and activation of T cells. New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) is a cancer-testis antigen expressed in 20% of advanced gastric cancers and known to induce humoral and cellular immune responses in patients with cancer. We report on the dynamic immune response to the NY-ESO-1 antigen and important immune-related biomarkers in a patient with metastatic gastric cancer treated with radiotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab antibody.Our patient was an 81-year-old man diagnosed with locally advanced unresectable mismatch repair-deficient gastric cancer having progressed to a metastatic state under a second line of systemic treatment consisting of an anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab antibody. The patient was subsequently treated with local radiotherapy administered concomitantly with anti-PD-1, with a complete response on follow-up radiologic assessment. Disease control was sustained with no further therapy for a period of 12 months before relapse. We have identified an NY-ESO-1-specific interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion from the patients' T cells that was significantly increased at response (****p˂0.0001). A novel promiscuous immunogenic NY-ESO-1 peptide P39 (P153-167) restricted to the four patient's HLA-DQ and HLA-DP alleles was identified. Interestingly, this peptide contained the known NY-ESO-1-derived HLA-A2-02:01(P157-165) immunogenic epitope. We have also identified a CD107+ cytotoxic T cell subset within a specific CD8+/HLA-A2-NY-ESO-1 T cell population that was low at disease progression, markedly increased at disease resolution and significantly decreased again at disease re-progression. Finally, we identified two groups of cytokines/chemokines. Group 1 contains five cytokines (IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-5 and IL-6) that were present at disease progression, significantly downregulated at disease resolution and dramatically upregulated again at disease re-progression. Group 2 contains four biomarkers (perforin, soluble FAS, macrophage inflammatory protein-3α and C-X-C motif chemokine 11/Interferon-inducible T Cell Alpha Chemoattractant that were present at disease progression, significantly upregulated at disease resolution and dramatically downregulated again at disease re-progression. Combined radioimmunotherapy can enhance specific T cell responses to the NY-ESO-1 antigen that correlates with beneficial clinical outcome of the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maysaloun Merhi
- Medical Oncology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | - Afsheen Raza
- Medical Oncology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | | | | | - Deepak Kumar
- Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University - Qatar Campus, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | | | | | | | | | - Munir Jalis
- Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | | | | | | | - Mai Mostafa
- Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | | | - Shahab Uddin
- Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
| | | | - Said Dermime
- Medical Oncology, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Doha, Qatar
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23
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Abu-Shah E, Trendel N, Kruger P, Nguyen J, Pettmann J, Kutuzov M, Dushek O. Human CD8 + T Cells Exhibit a Shared Antigen Threshold for Different Effector Responses. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 205:1503-1512. [PMID: 32817332 PMCID: PMC7477745 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
CD8+ T cells produce TNF-α, IL-2, and IFN-γ with similar Ag thresholds. Costimulation decreases Ag thresholds similarly for different cytokines. A common rate-limiting switch downstream of the TCR can explain these findings.
T cells recognizing cognate pMHC Ags become activated to elicit a myriad of cellular responses, such as target cell killing and the secretion of different cytokines, that collectively contribute to adaptive immunity. These effector responses have been hypothesized to exhibit different Ag dose and affinity thresholds, suggesting that pathogen-specific information may be encoded within the nature of the Ag. In this study, using systematic experiments in a reductionist system, in which primary human CD8+ T cell blasts are stimulated by recombinant peptides presented on MHC Ag alone, we show that different inflammatory cytokines have comparable Ag dose thresholds across a 25,000-fold variation in affinity. Although costimulation by CD28, CD2, and CD27 increased cytokine production in this system, the Ag threshold remained comparable across different cytokines. When using primary human memory CD8+ T cells responding to autologous APCs, equivalent thresholds were also observed for different cytokines and killing. These findings imply a simple phenotypic model of TCR signaling in which multiple T cell responses share a common rate-limiting threshold and a conceptually simple model of CD8+ T cell Ag recognition, in which Ag dose and affinity do not provide any additional response-specific information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enas Abu-Shah
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and.,Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FY, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola Trendel
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
| | - Philipp Kruger
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
| | - John Nguyen
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
| | - Johannes Pettmann
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
| | - Mikhail Kutuzov
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
| | - Omer Dushek
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom; and
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24
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Sachs A, Moore E, Kosaloglu-Yalcin Z, Peters B, Sidney J, Rosenberg SA, Robbins PF, Sette A. Impact of Cysteine Residues on MHC Binding Predictions and Recognition by Tumor-Reactive T Cells. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2020; 205:539-549. [PMID: 32571843 PMCID: PMC7413297 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1901173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The availability of MHC-binding prediction tools has been useful in guiding studies aimed at identifying candidate target Ags to generate reactive T cells and to characterize viral and tumor-reactive T cells. Nevertheless, prediction algorithms appear to function poorly for epitopes containing cysteine (Cys) residues, which can oxidize and form disulfide bonds with other Cys residues under oxidizing conditions, thus potentially interfering with their ability to bind to MHC molecules. Analysis of the results of HLA-A*02:01 class I binding assays carried out in the presence and absence of the reducing agent 2-ME indicated that the predicted affinity for 25% of Cys-containing epitopes was underestimated by a factor of 3 or more. Additional analyses were undertaken to evaluate the responses of human CD8+ tumor-reactive T cells against 10 Cys-containing HLA class I-restricted minimal determinants containing substitutions of α-aminobutyric acid (AABA), a cysteine analogue containing a methyl group in place of the sulfhydryl group present in Cys, for the native Cys residues. Substitutions of AABA for Cys at putative MHC anchor positions often significantly enhanced T cell recognition, whereas substitutions at non-MHC anchor positions were neutral, except for one epitope where this modification abolished T cell recognition. These findings demonstrate the need to evaluate MHC binding and T cell recognition of Cys-containing peptides under conditions that prevent Cys oxidation, and to adjust current prediction binding algorithms for HLA-A*02:01 and potentially additional class I alleles to more accurately rank peptides containing Cys anchor residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abraham Sachs
- Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1201
| | - Eugene Moore
- La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037; and
| | | | - Bjoern Peters
- La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037; and
| | - John Sidney
- La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037; and
| | - Steven A Rosenberg
- Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1201
| | - Paul F Robbins
- Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1201;
| | - Alessandro Sette
- La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037; and
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92122
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25
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Patel BK, Wang C, Lorens B, Levine AD, Steinmetz NF, Shukla S. Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV)-Based Cancer Testis Antigen NY-ESO-1 Vaccine Elicits an Antigen-Specific Cytotoxic T Cell Response. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2020; 3:4179-4187. [PMID: 34368641 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c00259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Cancer vaccines are promising adjuvant immunotherapies that can stimulate the immune system to recognize tumor-associated antigens and eliminate the residual or recurring disease. The aberrant and restricted expression of highly immunogenic cancer testis antigen NY-ESO-1 in several malignancies, including triple-negative breast cancer, melanoma, myelomas, and ovarian cancer, makes NY-ESO-1 an attractive antigenic target for cancer vaccines. This study describes a NY-ESO-1 vaccine based on a bio-inspired nanomaterial platform technology, specifically a plant virus nanoparticle. The 30 nm icosahedral plant virus cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) displaying multiple copies of human HLA-A2 restricted peptide antigen NY-ESO-1157-165 exhibited enhanced uptake and activation of antigen-presenting cells and stimulated a potent CD8+ T cell response in transgenic human HLA-A2 expressing mice. CD8+ T cells from immunized mice exhibited antigen-specific proliferation and cancer cell cytotoxicity, highlighting the potential application of a CPMV-NY-ESO-1 vaccine against NY-ESO-1+ malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bindi K Patel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Chao Wang
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Braulio Lorens
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Alan D Levine
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Medicine, Pediatrics Pathology, and Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Nicole F Steinmetz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Sourabh Shukla
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
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26
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Coles CH, Mulvaney RM, Malla S, Walker A, Smith KJ, Lloyd A, Lowe KL, McCully ML, Martinez Hague R, Aleksic M, Harper J, Paston SJ, Donnellan Z, Chester F, Wiederhold K, Robinson RA, Knox A, Stacey AR, Dukes J, Baston E, Griffin S, Jakobsen BK, Vuidepot A, Harper S. TCRs with Distinct Specificity Profiles Use Different Binding Modes to Engage an Identical Peptide-HLA Complex. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 204:1943-1953. [PMID: 32102902 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The molecular rules driving TCR cross-reactivity are poorly understood and, consequently, it is unclear the extent to which TCRs targeting the same Ag recognize the same off-target peptides. We determined TCR-peptide-HLA crystal structures and, using a single-chain peptide-HLA phage library, we generated peptide specificity profiles for three newly identified human TCRs specific for the cancer testis Ag NY-ESO-1157-165-HLA-A2. Two TCRs engaged the same central peptide feature, although were more permissive at peripheral peptide positions and, accordingly, possessed partially overlapping peptide specificity profiles. The third TCR engaged a flipped peptide conformation, leading to the recognition of off-target peptides sharing little similarity with the cognate peptide. These data show that TCRs specific for a cognate peptide recognize discrete peptide repertoires and reconciles how an individual's limited TCR repertoire following negative selection in the thymus is able to recognize a vastly larger antigenic pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte H Coles
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Rachel M Mulvaney
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Sunir Malla
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Andrew Walker
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Kathrine J Smith
- GlaxoSmithKline, Medicines Research Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, United Kingdom
| | - Angharad Lloyd
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Kate L Lowe
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | | | | | - Milos Aleksic
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Jane Harper
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Samantha J Paston
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Zoe Donnellan
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Fiona Chester
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Katrin Wiederhold
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Ross A Robinson
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Andrew Knox
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Andrea R Stacey
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Joseph Dukes
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Emma Baston
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Sue Griffin
- GlaxoSmithKline, Medicines Research Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, United Kingdom
| | - Bent K Jakobsen
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Annelise Vuidepot
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
| | - Stephen Harper
- Immunocore, Ltd., Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RY, United Kingdom; and
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27
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Denham EM, Barton MI, Black SM, Bridge MJ, de Wet B, Paterson RL, van der Merwe PA, Goyette J. A generic cell surface ligand system for studying cell-cell recognition. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000549. [PMID: 31815943 PMCID: PMC6922461 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Dose-response experiments are a mainstay of receptor biology studies and can reveal valuable insights into receptor function. Such studies of receptors that bind cell surface ligands are currently limited by the difficulty in manipulating the surface density of ligands at a cell–cell interface. Here, we describe a generic cell surface ligand system that allows precise manipulation of cell surface ligand densities over several orders of magnitude. These densities are robustly quantifiable, a major advance over previous studies. We validate the system for a range of immunoreceptors, including the T-cell receptor (TCR), and show that this generic ligand stimulates via the TCR at a similar surface density as its native ligand. We also extend our work to the activation of chimeric antigen receptors. This novel system allows the effect of varying the surface density, valency, dimensions, and affinity of the ligand to be investigated. It can be readily broadened to other receptor–cell surface ligand interactions and will facilitate investigation into the activation of, and signal integration between, cell surface receptors. This study describes a generic cell-surface ligand system that allows precise manipulation of ligand densities, valency, dimensions, and affinity. The system is validated for a range of immunoreceptors, including the T-cell receptor, and can be readily broadened to other cell-surface receptor-ligand interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor M. Denham
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Michael I. Barton
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Susannah M. Black
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Marcus J. Bridge
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Ben de Wet
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel L. Paterson
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - P. Anton van der Merwe
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (JG); (PAvdM)
| | - Jesse Goyette
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail: (JG); (PAvdM)
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28
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Single variable domains from the T cell receptor β chain function as mono- and bifunctional CARs and TCRs. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17291. [PMID: 31754147 PMCID: PMC6872726 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53756-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell therapy using T cell receptors (TCRs) and chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) represents a new wave of immunotherapies garnering considerable attention and investment. Further progress in this area of medicine depends in part on improving the functional capabilities of the engineered components, while maintaining the overall size of recombinant constructs to ensure their compatibility with existing gene delivery vehicles. We describe a single-variable-domain TCR (svd TCR) that utilizes only the variable domain of the β chain (Vβ). This Vβ module not only works in TCR and CAR formats, but also can be used to create single-chain bispecific CARs and TCRs. Comparison of individual ligand-binding Vβ domains in different formats suggests that the lone Vβ sequence controls the sensitivity and a major part of the specificity of the CAR or TCR construct, regardless of signaling format, in Jurkat and primary T cells.
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29
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Karapetyan AR, Chaipan C, Winkelbach K, Wimberger S, Jeong JS, Joshi B, Stein RB, Underwood D, Castle JC, van Dijk M, Seibert V. TCR Fingerprinting and Off-Target Peptide Identification. Front Immunol 2019; 10:2501. [PMID: 31695703 PMCID: PMC6817589 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive T cell therapy using patient T cells redirected to recognize tumor-specific antigens by expressing genetically engineered high-affinity T-cell receptors (TCRs) has therapeutic potential for melanoma and other solid tumors. Clinical trials implementing genetically modified TCRs in melanoma patients have raised concerns regarding off-target toxicities resulting in lethal destruction of healthy tissue, highlighting the urgency of assessing which off-target peptides can be recognized by a TCR. As a model system we used the clinically efficacious NY-ESO-1-specific TCR C259, which recognizes the peptide epitope SLLMWITQC presented by HLA-A*02:01. We investigated which amino acids at each position enable a TCR interaction by sequentially replacing every amino acid position outside of anchor positions 2 and 9 with all 19 possible alternative amino acids, resulting in 134 peptides (133 altered peptides plus epitope peptide). Each peptide was individually evaluated using three different in vitro assays: binding of the NY-ESOc259 TCR to the peptide, peptide-dependent activation of TCR-expressing cells, and killing of peptide-presenting target cells. To represent the TCR recognition kernel, we defined Position Weight Matrices (PWMs) for each assay by assigning normalized measurements to each of the 20 amino acids in each position. To predict potential off-target peptides, we applied a novel algorithm projecting the PWM-defined kernel into the human proteome, scoring NY-ESOc259 TCR recognition of 336,921 predicted human HLA-A*02:01 binding 9-mer peptides. Of the 12 peptides with high predicted score, we confirmed 7 (including NY-ESO-1 antigen SLLMWITQC) strongly activate human primary NY-ESOc259-expressing T cells. These off-target peptides include peptides with up to 7 amino acid changes (of 9 possible), which could not be predicted using the recognition motif as determined by alanine scans. Thus, this replacement scan assay determines the “TCR fingerprint” and, when coupled with the algorithm applied to the database of human 9-mer peptides binding to HLA-A*02:01, enables the identification of potential off-target antigens and the tissues where they are expressed. This platform enables both screening of multiple TCRs to identify the best candidate for clinical development and identification of TCR-specific cross-reactive peptide recognition and constitutes an improved methodology for the identification of potential off-target peptides presented on MHC class I molecules.
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30
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Abu-Shah E, Demetriou P, Bálint Š, Mayya V, Kutuzov MA, Dushek O, Dustin ML. A tissue-like platform for studying engineered quiescent human T-cells' interactions with dendritic cells. eLife 2019; 8:e48221. [PMID: 31552826 PMCID: PMC6910819 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Research in the field of human immunology is restricted by the lack of a system that reconstitutes the in-situactivation dynamics of quiescent human antigen-specific T-cells interacting with dendritic cells. Here we report a tissue-like system that recapitulates the dynamics of engineered primary human immune cell. Our approach facilitates real-time single-cell manipulations, tracking of interactions and functional responses complemented by population-based measurements of cytokines, activation status and proliferation. As a proof of concept, we recapitulate immunological phenomenon such as CD4 T-cells' help to CD8 T-cells through enhanced maturation of DCs and the effect of PD-1 checkpoint blockades. In addition, we characterise unique dynamics of T-cell/DC interactions as a function of antigen affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enas Abu-Shah
- Kennedy Institute of RheumatologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Sir William Dunn School of PathologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Štefan Bálint
- Kennedy Institute of RheumatologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Viveka Mayya
- Kennedy Institute of RheumatologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Mikhail A Kutuzov
- Sir William Dunn School of PathologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Omer Dushek
- Sir William Dunn School of PathologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Michael L Dustin
- Kennedy Institute of RheumatologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular MedicineNew York University School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
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31
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Impact of epitope density on CD8+ T cell development and function. Mol Immunol 2019; 113:120-125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2019.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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32
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Lu BL, Williams GM, Verdon DJ, Dunbar PR, Brimble MA. Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel TLR2 Agonists as Potential Adjuvants for Cancer Vaccines. J Med Chem 2019; 63:2282-2291. [PMID: 31418565 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has gained increasing attention due to its potential specificity and lack of adverse side effects when compared to more traditional modes of treatment. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) agonists are lipopeptides possessing the S-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]-l-cysteine (Pam2Cys) motif and exhibit potent immunostimulatory effects. These agonists offer a means of providing "danger signals" in order to activate the immune system toward tumor antigens. Thus, the development of TLR2 agonists is attractive in the search of potential immunostimulants for cancer. Existing SAR studies of Pam2Cys with TLR2 indicate that the structural requirements for activity are, for the most part, very intolerable. We have investigated the importance of stereochemistry, the effect of N-terminal acylation, and homologation between the two ester functionalities in Pam2Cys-conjugated lipopeptides on TLR2 activity. The R diastereomer is significantly more potent than the S diastereomer and N-terminal modification generally lowers TLR2 activity. Most notably, homologation gives rise to analogues which are comparatively active to the native Pam2Cys containing constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Lu
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Geoffrey M Williams
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Daniel J Verdon
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - P Rod Dunbar
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Margaret A Brimble
- School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.,Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, The University of Auckland, 3A Symonds Street 1010, Auckland, New Zealand
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33
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Isolation and characterization of NY-ESO-1-specific T cell receptors restricted on various MHC molecules. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E10702-E10711. [PMID: 30348802 PMCID: PMC6233129 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810653115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
T immune cells can be engineered to express tumor-specific T cell receptor (TCR) genes and thereby kill cancer cells. This approach—termed TCR gene therapy—is effective but can cause serious adverse events if the target is also expressed in healthy, noncancerous tissue. NY-ESO-1 is a tumor-specific antigen that has been targeted successfully and safely through TCR gene therapies for melanoma, synovial sarcoma, and myeloma. However, trials to date have focused exclusively on a single NY-ESO-1–derived epitope presented on HLA-A*02:01, limiting application to patients expressing that allele. In this work, we isolate TCRs that collectively recognize multiple NY-ESO-1–derived epitopes presented by multiple MHC alleles. We thereby outline a general approach for expanding targeted immunotherapies to more diverse MHC haplotypes. Tumor-specific T cell receptor (TCR) gene transfer enables specific and potent immune targeting of tumor antigens. Due to the prevalence of the HLA-A2 MHC class I supertype in most human populations, the majority of TCR gene therapy trials targeting public antigens have employed HLA-A2–restricted TCRs, limiting this approach to those patients expressing this allele. For these patients, TCR gene therapy trials have resulted in both tantalizing successes and lethal adverse events, underscoring the need for careful selection of antigenic targets. Broad and safe application of public antigen-targeted TCR gene therapies will require (i) selecting public antigens that are highly tumor-specific and (ii) targeting multiple epitopes derived from these antigens by obtaining an assortment of TCRs restricted by multiple common MHC alleles. The canonical cancer-testis antigen, NY-ESO-1, is not expressed in normal tissues but is aberrantly expressed across a broad array of cancer types. It has also been targeted with A2-restricted TCR gene therapy without adverse events or notable side effects. To enable the targeting of NY-ESO-1 in a broader array of HLA haplotypes, we isolated TCRs specific for NY-ESO-1 epitopes presented by four MHC molecules: HLA-A2, -B07, -B18, and -C03. Using these TCRs, we pilot an approach to extend TCR gene therapies targeting NY-ESO-1 to patient populations beyond those expressing HLA-A2.
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34
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Neek M, Tucker JA, Kim TI, Molino NM, Nelson EL, Wang SW. Co-delivery of human cancer-testis antigens with adjuvant in protein nanoparticles induces higher cell-mediated immune responses. Biomaterials 2017; 156:194-203. [PMID: 29202325 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Revised: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest as cancer vaccine delivery vehicles for inducing sufficient CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses to overcome the low immunogenicity of the tumor microenvironment. Our studies described here are the first to examine the effects of clinically-tested human cancer-testis (CT) peptide epitopes within a synthetic nanoparticle. Specifically, we focused on two significant clinical CT targets, the HLA-A2 restricted epitopes of NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A3, using a viral-mimetic packaging strategy. Our data shows that simultaneous delivery of a NY-ESO-1 epitope (SLLMWITQV) and CpG using the E2 subunit assembly of pyruvate dehydrogenase (E2 nanoparticle), resulted in a 25-fold increase in specific IFN-γ secretion in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. This translated to a 15-fold increase in lytic activity toward target cancer cells expressing the antigen. Immunization with a MAGE-A3 epitope (FLWGPRALV) delivered with CpG in E2 nanoparticles yielded an increase in specific IFN-γ secretion and cell lysis by 6-fold and 9-fold, respectively. Furthermore, combined delivery of NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A3 antigens in E2 nanoparticles yielded an additive effect that increased lytic activity towards cells bearing NY-ESO-1+ and MAGE-A3+. Our investigations demonstrate that formulation of CT antigens within a nanoparticle can significantly enhance antigen-specific cell-mediated responses, and the combination of the two antigens in a vaccine can preserve the increased individual responses that are observed for each antigen alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Medea Neek
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jo Anne Tucker
- Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Tae Il Kim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Nicholas M Molino
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Edward L Nelson
- Department of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Institute for Immunology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Szu-Wen Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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35
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Krishnadas DK, Wang Y, Sundaram K, Bai F, Lucas KG. Expansion of cancer germline antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes for immunotherapy. Tumour Biol 2017; 39:1010428317701309. [PMID: 28677424 DOI: 10.1177/1010428317701309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The cancer germline antigens MAGE-A1, MAGE-A3, and NY-ESO-1 can be used to target relapsed or therapy-resistant malignant solid tumors, and previous studies have demonstrated that these antigens can be epigenetically upregulated on the surface of tumor cells following exposure to low-dose demethylating chemotherapy agents, such as decitabine. The extent to which cancer germline antigen cytotoxic T lymphocytes can be reliably expanded from healthy donors has not been well characterized, specifically in terms of whether these T cells consistently kill antigen-bearing targets or simply produce interferon-γ in the presence of the antigen. Cancer germline antigen cytotoxic T lymphocytes were generated using conventional method and high-density lymphocyte culture method. We demonstrate that there is no difference in the extent of antigen-specific killing with or without CD25 depletion when interleukin-21 is added to the cultures. Cancer germline antigen-specific killer cells could be expanded from 8/12 healthy donors using overlapping peptide mixes derived from MAGE-A1, MAGE-A3, and NY-ESO-1 and from 7/9 healthy donors using HLA-restricted epitopes. Furthermore, cytotoxic T lymphocyte derived from 4/5 patients displayed specific cytotoxicity of target cells expressing respective cancer germline antigen and HLA partially matched tumor lines. High-density lymphocyte culture prior to stimulation with cancer germline antigen peptides resulted in antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte from healthy donors and patients from whom cancer germline antigen cytotoxic T lymphocyte culture with conventional methods was not feasible. These data demonstrate that MAGE-A1-, MAGE-A3-, and NY-ESO-1-specific T cells with antigen-specific cytotoxicity can be cultured from healthy donors and patient-derived cells making adoptive immunotherapy with these cytotoxic T lymphocyte feasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepa Kolaseri Krishnadas
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Yali Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Kumaran Sundaram
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Fanqi Bai
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Kenneth G Lucas
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
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36
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NY-ESO-1 TCR single edited stem and central memory T cells to treat multiple myeloma without graft-versus-host disease. Blood 2017. [PMID: 28637663 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2016-08-732636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Transfer of T-cell receptors (TCRs) specific for tumor-associated antigens is a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy. We developed the TCR gene editing technology that is based on the knockout of the endogenous TCR α and β genes, followed by the introduction of tumor-specific TCR genes, and that proved safer and more effective than conventional TCR gene transfer. Although successful, complete editing requires extensive cell manipulation and 4 transduction procedures. Here we propose a novel and clinically feasible TCR "single editing" (SE) approach, based on the disruption of the endogenous TCR α chain only, followed by the transfer of genes encoding for a tumor-specific TCR. We validated SE with the clinical grade HLA-A2 restricted NY-ESO-1157-165-specific TCR. SE allowed the rapid production of high numbers of tumor-specific T cells, with optimal TCR expression and preferential stem memory and central memory phenotype. Similarly to unedited T cells redirected by TCR gene transfer (TCR transferred [TR]), SE T cells efficiently killed NY-ESO-1pos targets; however, although TR cells proved highly alloreactive, SE cells showed a favorable safety profile. Accordingly, when infused in NSG mice previously engrafted with myeloma, SE cells mediated tumor rejection without inducing xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease, thus resulting in significantly higher survival than that observed in mice treated with TR cells. Overall, single TCR gene editing represents a clinically feasible approach that is able to increase the safety and efficacy of cancer adoptive immunotherapy.
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37
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Capasso C, Magarkar A, Cervera-Carrascon V, Fusciello M, Feola S, Muller M, Garofalo M, Kuryk L, Tähtinen S, Pastore L, Bunker A, Cerullo V. A novel in silico framework to improve MHC-I epitopes and break the tolerance to melanoma. Oncoimmunology 2017; 6:e1319028. [PMID: 28932628 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1319028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Tolerance toward tumor antigens, which are shared by normal tissues, have often limited the efficacy of cancer vaccines. However, wild type epitopes can be tweaked to activate cross-reactive T-cell clones, resulting in antitumor activity. The design of these analogs (i.e., heteroclitic peptides) can be difficult and time-consuming since no automated in silico tools are available. Hereby we describe the development of an in silico framework to improve the selection of heteroclitic peptides. The Epitope Discovery and Improvement System (EDIS) was first validated by studying the model antigen SIINFEKL. Based on artificial neural network (ANN) predictions, we selected two mutant analogs that are characterized by an increased MHC-I binding affinity (SIINFAKL) or increased TCR stimulation (SIIWFEKL). Therapeutic vaccination using optimized peptides resulted in enhanced antitumor activity and against B16.OVA melanomas in vivo. The translational potential of the EDIS platform was further demonstrated by studying the melanoma-associated antigen tyrosinase related protein 2 (TRP2). Following therapeutic immunization with the EDIS-derived epitope SVYDFFAWL, a significant reduction in the growth of established B16.F10 tumors was observed, suggesting a break in the tolerance toward the wild type epitope. Finally, we tested a multi vaccine approach, demonstrating that combination of wild type and mutant epitopes targeting both TRP2 and OVA antigens increases the antitumor response. In conclusion, by taking advantage of available prediction servers and molecular dynamics simulations, we generated an innovative platform for studying the initial sequences and selecting lead candidates with improved immunological features. Taken together, EDIS is the first automated algorithm-driven platform to speed up the design of heteroclitic peptides that can be publicly queried online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Capasso
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aniket Magarkar
- Centre for Drug Research at the Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Victor Cervera-Carrascon
- TILT Biotherapeutics, Helsinki, Finland.,Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Manlio Fusciello
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sara Feola
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
| | - Martin Muller
- Department of Pharmacy - Center for Drug Research, Pharmaceutical Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Mariangela Garofalo
- Centre for Drug Research at the Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Siri Tähtinen
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lucio Pastore
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.,CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate S.C. a R.L., Naples, Italy
| | - Alex Bunker
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vincenzo Cerullo
- Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy, Drug Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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38
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Fujii K, Miyahara Y, Harada N, Muraoka D, Komura M, Yamaguchi R, Yagita H, Nakamura J, Sugino S, Okumura S, Imoto S, Miyano S, Shiku H. Identification of an immunogenic neo-epitope encoded by mouse sarcoma using CXCR3 ligand mRNAs as sensors. Oncoimmunology 2017. [PMID: 28638727 PMCID: PMC5467990 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1306617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, 10, and 11 play critical roles in the amplification of immune responses by recruiting CXCR3+ immune effector cells to the tumor site. Taking advantage of this property of CXCR3 ligands, we aimed to establish a novel approach to identify immunogenic mutated-antigens. We examined the feasibility of using CXCR3 ligand mRNAs as sensors for detection of specific immune responses in human and murine systems. We further investigated whether this approach is applicable for the identification of immunogenic mutated-antigens by using murine sarcoma lines. Rapid synthesis of CXCR3 ligand mRNAs occurred shortly after specific immune responses in both human and murine immune systems. Particularly, in CMS5 tumor-bearing mice, we detected specific immune responses to mutated mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 (ERK2), which has previously been identified as an immunogenic mutated-antigen. Furthermore, by combining this approach with whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing analyses, we identified an immunogenic neo-epitope derived from mutated staphylococcal nuclease domain-containing protein 1 (Snd1) in CMS7 tumor-bearing mice. Most importantly, we successfully detected the specific immune response to this neo-epitope even without co-administration of anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte protein-4 (CTLA-4), anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and anti-glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related protein (GITR) antibodies, which vigorously augmented the immune response and consequently enabled us to detect the specific immune response to this neo-epitope by conventional IFNγ intracellular staining method. Our data indicate the potential usefulness of this strategy for the identification of immunogenic mutated-antigens. We propose that this approach would be of great help for the development of personalized cancer vaccine therapies in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keisuke Fujii
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Miyahara
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Naozumi Harada
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Daisuke Muraoka
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan.,Center for Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Komura
- Laboratory of DNA Information Analysis, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Rui Yamaguchi
- Laboratory of DNA Information Analysis, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hideo Yagita
- Department of Immunology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junko Nakamura
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Sahoko Sugino
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okumura
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
| | - Seiya Imoto
- Division of Health Medical Data Science, Health Intelligence Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoru Miyano
- Laboratory of DNA Information Analysis, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Shiku
- Department of Immuno-Gene Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Mie, Japan
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39
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Bethune MT, Gee MH, Bunse M, Lee MS, Gschweng EH, Pagadala MS, Zhou J, Cheng D, Heath JR, Kohn DB, Kuhns MS, Uckert W, Baltimore D. Domain-swapped T cell receptors improve the safety of TCR gene therapy. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27823582 PMCID: PMC5101000 DOI: 10.7554/elife.19095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells engineered to express a tumor-specific αβ T cell receptor (TCR) mediate anti-tumor immunity. However, mispairing of the therapeutic αβ chains with endogenous αβ chains reduces therapeutic TCR surface expression and generates self-reactive TCRs. We report a general strategy to prevent TCR mispairing: swapping constant domains between the α and β chains of a therapeutic TCR. When paired, domain-swapped (ds)TCRs assemble with CD3, express on the cell surface, and mediate antigen-specific T cell responses. By contrast, dsTCR chains mispaired with endogenous chains cannot properly assemble with CD3 or signal, preventing autoimmunity. We validate this approach in cell-based assays and in a mouse model of TCR gene transfer-induced graft-versus-host disease. We also validate a related approach whereby replacement of αβ TCR domains with corresponding γδ TCR domains yields a functional TCR that does not mispair. This work enables the design of safer TCR gene therapies for cancer immunotherapy. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19095.001 T cells enable the immune system to recognize invading microbes and diseased cells while ignoring healthy cells. The ability of a T cell to recognize a specific microbe or diseased cell is determined by two proteins that pair to form its “T cell receptor.” The paired receptors are exported to the surface of the T cell, where they bind to infected or cancerous cells. Those T cells that produce receptors that bind healthy cells are eliminated during development. T cells can generally distinguish between the body’s own cells and the cells of invading bacteria or other microbes. However, cancer cells are more difficult to identify because they are similar to healthy cells. Efforts to develop therapies that enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize cancer cells have had only limited success. One successful approach – known as T cell receptor gene therapy – modifies T cells to destroy cancer cells by arming them with a cancer-specific T cell receptor. This technique produces T cells possessing two T cell receptors – the cancer-specific receptor and the one it had originally – so it is possible for proteins from the two receptors to mispair. This impedes the correct pairing of the cancer-specific T cell receptor, reducing the effectiveness of the therapy. More importantly, mispaired T cell receptors may cause the immune cells to attack healthy cells in the body, leading to autoimmune disease. To make T cell receptor gene therapy safe, the cancer-specific receptor must not mispair with the resident receptor. Here, Bethune et al. describe a new strategy to prevent T cell receptors from mispairing. The researchers altered the arrangement of particular regions in a cancer-specific T cell receptor to make a new receptor called a domain-swapped T cell receptor (dsTCR). Like normal T cell receptors, the dsTCRs were exported to the T cell surface and were able to interact with other proteins involved in immune responses. Furthermore, T cells armed with dsTCRs were able to kill cancer cells and prevent tumor growth in mice. Unlike other cancer-specific receptors, dsTCRs did not mispair with the resident T cell receptors in mouse or human cells, and did not cause autoimmune disease in mice. The findings of Bethune et al. show that the structure of the T cell receptor is unexpectedly robust, in that it still works even if it is modified. The next step is to study dsTCRs in more detail with the aim of optimizing them so that they might be used in human clinical trials in the future. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19095.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Bethune
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
| | - Marvin H Gee
- Program in Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, United States
| | - Mario Bunse
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mark S Lee
- Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States.,The BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Eric H Gschweng
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Meghana S Pagadala
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
| | - Jing Zhou
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
| | - Donghui Cheng
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - James R Heath
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
| | - Donald B Kohn
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Michael S Kuhns
- Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States.,The BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Wolfgang Uckert
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Baltimore
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
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Timosenko E, Ghadbane H, Silk JD, Shepherd D, Gileadi U, Howson LJ, Laynes R, Zhao Q, Strausberg RL, Olsen LR, Taylor S, Buffa FM, Boyd R, Cerundolo V. Nutritional Stress Induced by Tryptophan-Degrading Enzymes Results in ATF4-Dependent Reprogramming of the Amino Acid Transporter Profile in Tumor Cells. Cancer Res 2016; 76:6193-6204. [PMID: 27651314 PMCID: PMC5096689 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-15-3502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Tryptophan degradation is an immune escape strategy shared by many tumors. However, cancer cells' compensatory mechanisms remain unclear. We demonstrate here that a shortage of tryptophan caused by expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) resulted in ATF4-dependent upregulation of several amino acid transporters, including SLC1A5 and its truncated isoforms, which in turn enhanced tryptophan and glutamine uptake. Importantly, SLC1A5 failed to be upregulated in resting human T cells kept under low tryptophan conditions but was enhanced upon cognate antigen T-cell receptor engagement. Our results highlight key differences in the ability of tumor and T cells to adapt to tryptophan starvation and provide important insights into the poor prognosis of tumors coexpressing IDO and SLC1A5. Cancer Res; 76(21); 6193-204. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elina Timosenko
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Hemza Ghadbane
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D Silk
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Dawn Shepherd
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Uzi Gileadi
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren J Howson
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Laynes
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Qi Zhao
- Ludwig Cancer Research, New York, New York
| | | | - Lars R Olsen
- Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stephen Taylor
- The Computational Biology Research Group (CBRG), Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca M Buffa
- Department of Oncology, Old Road Campus Research Building, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Boyd
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Vincenzo Cerundolo
- MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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41
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Candia M, Kratzer B, Pickl WF. On Peptides and Altered Peptide Ligands: From Origin, Mode of Action and Design to Clinical Application (Immunotherapy). Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2016; 170:211-233. [PMID: 27642756 PMCID: PMC7058415 DOI: 10.1159/000448756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
T lymphocytes equipped with clonotypic T cell antigen receptors (TCR) recognize immunogenic peptides only when presented in the context of their own major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Peptide loading to MHC molecules occurs in intracellular compartments (ER for class I and MIIC for class II molecules) and relies on the interaction of the respective peptides and peptide binding pockets on MHC molecules. Those peptide residues not engaged in MHC binding point towards the TCR screening for possible peptide MHC complex binding partners. Natural or intentional modification of both MHC binding registers and TCR interacting residues of peptides – leading to the formation of altered peptide ligands (APLs) – might alter the way peptides interact with TCRs and hence influence subsequent T cell activation events, and consequently T cell effector functions. This review article summarizes how APLs were detected and first described, current concepts of how APLs modify T cellular signaling, which biological mechanisms might force the generation of APLs in vivo, and how peptides and APLs might be used for the benefit of patients suffering from allergic or autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martín Candia
- Institute of Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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42
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Functional role of T-cell receptor nanoclusters in signal initiation and antigen discrimination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E5454-63. [PMID: 27573839 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607436113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Antigen recognition by the T-cell receptor (TCR) is a hallmark of the adaptive immune system. When the TCR engages a peptide bound to the restricting major histocompatibility complex molecule (pMHC), it transmits a signal via the associated CD3 complex. How the extracellular antigen recognition event leads to intracellular phosphorylation remains unclear. Here, we used single-molecule localization microscopy to quantify the organization of TCR-CD3 complexes into nanoscale clusters and to distinguish between triggered and nontriggered TCR-CD3 complexes. We found that only TCR-CD3 complexes in dense clusters were phosphorylated and associated with downstream signaling proteins, demonstrating that the molecular density within clusters dictates signal initiation. Moreover, both pMHC dose and TCR-pMHC affinity determined the density of TCR-CD3 clusters, which scaled with overall phosphorylation levels. Thus, TCR-CD3 clustering translates antigen recognition by the TCR into signal initiation by the CD3 complex, and the formation of dense signaling-competent clusters is a process of antigen discrimination.
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43
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Xue W, Metheringham RL, Brentville VA, Gunn B, Symonds P, Yagita H, Ramage JM, Durrant LG. SCIB2, an antibody DNA vaccine encoding NY-ESO-1 epitopes, induces potent antitumor immunity which is further enhanced by checkpoint blockade. Oncoimmunology 2016; 5:e1169353. [PMID: 27471648 PMCID: PMC4938367 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2016.1169353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Revised: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Checkpoint blockade has demonstrated promising antitumor responses in approximately 10-40% of patients. However, the majority of patients do not make a productive immune response to their tumors and do not respond to checkpoint blockade. These patients may benefit from an effective vaccine that stimulates high-avidity T cell responses in combination with checkpoint blockade. We have previously shown that incorporating TRP-2 and gp100 epitopes into the CDR regions of a human IgG1 DNA (ImmunoBody®: IB) results in significant tumor regression both in animal models and patients. This vaccination strategy is superior to others as it targets antigen to antigen-presenting cells and stimulates high-avidity T cell responses. To broaden the application of this vaccination strategy, 16 NY-ESO-1 epitopes, covering over 80% of HLA phenotypes, were incorporated into the IB (SCIB2). They produced higher frequency and avidity T cell responses than peptide vaccination. These T cells were of sufficient avidity to kill NY-ESO-1-expressing tumor cells, and in vivo controlled the growth of established B16-NY-ESO-1 tumors, resulting in long-term survival (35%). When SCIB2 was given in combination with Treg depletion, CTLA-4 blockade or PD-1 blockade, long-term survival from established tumors was significantly enhanced to 56, 67 and 100%, respectively. Translating these responses into the clinic by using a combination of SCIB2 vaccination and checkpoint blockade can only further improve clinical responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xue
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Rachael L Metheringham
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Victoria A Brentville
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Barbara Gunn
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Peter Symonds
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Hideo Yagita
- Department of Immunology, Juntendo University School of Medicine , Tokyo, Japan
| | - Judith M Ramage
- Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus , Nottingham, UK
| | - Lindy G Durrant
- Scancell Limited, Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus, Nottingham, UK; Academic Department of Clinical Oncology, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, City Hospital Campus, Nottingham, UK
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44
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Golnik R, Lehmann A, Kloetzel PM, Ebstein F. Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class I Processing of the NY-ESO-1 Antigen Is Regulated by Rpn10 and Rpn13 Proteins and Immunoproteasomes following Non-lysine Ubiquitination. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:8805-15. [PMID: 26903513 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.705178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The supply of MHC class I-restricted peptides is primarily ensured by the degradation of intracellular proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Depending on the target and the enzymes involved, ubiquitination is a process that may dramatically vary in terms of linkages, length, and attachment sites. Here we identified the unique lysine residue at position 124 of the NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis antigen as the acceptor site for the formation of canonical Lys-48-linkages. Interestingly, a lysine-less form of NY-ESO-1 was as efficient as its wild-type counterpart in supplying the HLA-A*0201-restricted NY-ESO-1157-165 antigenic peptide. In fact, we show that the regulation of NY-ESO-1 processing by the ubiquitin receptors Rpn10 and Rpn13 as a well as by the standard and immunoproteasome is governed by non-canonical ubiquitination on non-lysine sites. In summary, our data underscore the significance of atypical ubiquitination in the modulation of MHC class I antigen processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Golnik
- From the Institute for Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Platz 1/Virchowweg 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrea Lehmann
- From the Institute for Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Platz 1/Virchowweg 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter-Michael Kloetzel
- From the Institute for Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Platz 1/Virchowweg 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Frédéric Ebstein
- From the Institute for Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Platz 1/Virchowweg 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
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45
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Hofmann S, Mead A, Malinovskis A, Hardwick NR, Guinn BA. Analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of human acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2015; 64:1357-67. [PMID: 26438084 PMCID: PMC11029593 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-015-1762-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 09/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The use of peptide vaccines, enhanced by adjuvants, has shown some efficacy in clinical trials. However, responses are often short-lived and rarely induce notable memory responses. The reason is that self-antigens have already been presented to the immune system as the tumor develops, leading to tolerance or some degree of host tumor cell destruction. To try to break tolerance against self-antigens, one of the methods employed has been to modify peptides at the anchor residues to enhance their ability to bind major histocompatibility complex molecules, extending their exposure to the T-cell receptor. These modified or analogue peptides have been investigated as stimulators of the immune system in patients with different cancers with variable but sometimes notable success. In this review we describe the background and recent developments in the use of analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia describing knowledge useful for the application of analogue peptide treatments for other malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Hofmann
- Third Clinic for Internal Medicine, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Andrew Mead
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton, LU1 3JU, UK
| | - Aleksandrs Malinovskis
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton, LU1 3JU, UK
| | - Nicola R Hardwick
- Division of Translational Vaccine Research, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA
- Department of Haematological Medicine, Guy's, King's & St. Thomas' School of Medicine, The Rayne Institute, King's College London, 123 Coldharbour Lane, London, UK
| | - Barbara-Ann Guinn
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton, LU1 3JU, UK.
- Department of Haematological Medicine, Guy's, King's & St. Thomas' School of Medicine, The Rayne Institute, King's College London, 123 Coldharbour Lane, London, UK.
- Cancer Sciences Unit, Southampton University Hospitals Trust, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
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46
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Schrage R, De Min A, Hochheiser K, Kostenis E, Mohr K. Superagonism at G protein-coupled receptors and beyond. Br J Pharmacol 2015; 173:3018-27. [PMID: 26276510 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Revised: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ligands targeting GPCRs can be categorized according to their intrinsic efficacy to trigger a specific, receptor-mediated response. A ligand endowed with the same level of efficacy as the endogenous agonist can be classified as a full agonist, whereas a compound that displays greater efficacy, that is, higher receptor signalling output than the endogenous agonist, can be called a superagonist. Subsequent to GPCR activation, an intracellular signalling cascade is set in motion, which may generate substantial amplification of the signal. This may obscure superagonism in pharmacological assays and, therefore, the definition of superagonism necessitates a combination of operational approaches, reduction of spare receptors or estimation of receptor activation close to the receptor level to quantify relative agonist efficacies in a particular system. The first part of this review will compare GPCR superagonism with superagonism in the field of immunology, where this term is well established. In the second part, known GPCR superagonists will be reviewed. Then, the experimental and analytical challenges in the deconvolution of GPCR superagonism will be addressed. Finally, the potential benefit of superagonism is discussed. The molecular mechanisms behind GPCR superagonism are not completely understood. However, crystallography shows that agonist binding alone is not sufficient for a fully active receptor state and that binding of the G protein is at least equally important. Accordingly, the emerging number of reported superagonists implies that ligand-induced receptor conformations more active than the ones stabilized by the endogenous agonist are indeed feasible. Superagonists may have therapeutic potential when receptor function is impaired or to induce negative feedback mechanisms. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Molecular Pharmacology of G Protein-Coupled Receptors. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v173.20/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Schrage
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Section, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Bonn, 53121, Bonn, Germany.
| | - A De Min
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Section, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Bonn, 53121, Bonn, Germany
| | - K Hochheiser
- Peter Doherty Institute, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3100, Australia
| | - E Kostenis
- Molecular-, Cellular-, and Pharmacobiology Section, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - K Mohr
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Section, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Bonn, 53121, Bonn, Germany
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47
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Chen JL, Dawoodji A, Tarlton A, Gnjatic S, Tajar A, Karydis I, Browning J, Pratap S, Verfaille C, Venhaus RR, Pan L, Altman DG, Cebon JS, Old LL, Nathan P, Ottensmeier C, Middleton M, Cerundolo V. NY-ESO-1 specific antibody and cellular responses in melanoma patients primed with NY-ESO-1 protein in ISCOMATRIX and boosted with recombinant NY-ESO-1 fowlpox virus. Int J Cancer 2015; 136:E590-601. [PMID: 25081390 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.29118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2014] [Revised: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Vaccination strategies based on repeated injections of NY-ESO-1 protein formulated in ISCOMATRIX particles (NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX) have shown to elicit combined NY-ESO-1 specific antibody and T cell responses. However, it remains unclear whether heterologous prime-boost strategies based on the combination with NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX with different NY-ESO-1 boosting reagents could be used to increase NY-ESO-1 CD8(+) or CD4(+) T cell responses. To address this question, we carried out a randomized clinical trial in 39 high-risk, resected melanoma patients vaccinated with NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX, and then boosted with repeated injections of either recombinant fowlpox virus encoding full length NY-ESO-1 (rF-NY-ESO-1) (Arm A) or NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX alone (Arm B). We have comprehensively analyzed NY-ESO-1 specific T cells and B cells response in all patients before and after vaccination for a total of seven time points per patient. NY-ESO-1 ISCOMATRIX alone elicited a strong NY-ESO-1 specific CD4(+) T cell and antibody response, which was maintained by both regiments at similar levels. However, CD8(+) T cell responses were significantly boosted in 3 out of 18 patients in Arm A after the first rF-NY-ESO-1 injection and such responses were maintained until the end of the trial, while no patients in Arm B showed similar CD8(+) T cell responses. In addition, our results clearly identified immunodominant regions in the NY-ESO-1 protein: NY-ESO-179-102 and NY-ESO-1115-138 for CD4+ T cells and NY-ESO-185-108 for CD8+ T cells in a large proportion of vaccinated patients. These regions of NY-ESO-1 protein should be considered in future clinical trials as immunodominant epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Li Chen
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine, MRC Human Immunology Unit, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
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48
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Lendvai N, Cohen AD, Cho HJ. Beyond consolidation: auto-SCT and immunotherapy for plasma cell myeloma. Bone Marrow Transplant 2015; 50:770-80. [PMID: 25751647 DOI: 10.1038/bmt.2015.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 12/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (auto-HCT) is the standard consolidation therapy for plasma cell myeloma patients following induction therapy. Auto-HCT improves disease-free survival (DFS), but is generally not curative. The allogeneic HCT experience demonstrated that T-cell immunotherapy can confer long-term DFS. Preclinical and clinical data indicate that myeloma-associated Ags elicit humoral and cellular immune responses (IRs) in myeloma patients. These findings strongly suggest that the immunotherapeutic strategies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, therapeutic cancer vaccines and adoptive cellular therapies, are promising avenues of clinical research that may be most applicable in the minimal residual disease state following auto-HCT. These strategies are designed to prime or augment antimyeloma IRs and promote a 'host-vs-myeloma' effect that may result in durable DFS. Innovative clinical trials investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors and cancer vaccines have demonstrated that robust immunity against myeloma-associated Ags can be elicited in the setting of auto-HCT. A diverse array of immunotherapeutic strategies have entered clinical trials in myeloma, including PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, DC/myeloma cell fusion vaccines and adoptive chimeric Ag receptor T-cell therapy, and further investigation of combinations of immunologic and pharmaceutical agents are expected in the near future. In this review, we will discuss the preclinical data supporting immunotherapy in auto-HCT for myeloma, clinical investigation of these strategies and the future prospects of immunotherapy in pursuit of the goal of curative therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Lendvai
- 1] Myeloma Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA [2] Department of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA
| | - A D Cohen
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - H J Cho
- Multiple Myeloma Service, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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49
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Zhou C, Zhang P, Xu GC, Wu DM, Liu RY, Zeng Q, Wang CT. RNA interference of Biot2 induces G1 phase arrest and apoptosis in mouse colorectal cancer cell line. Oncol Res 2015; 22:93-103. [PMID: 25706396 PMCID: PMC7838428 DOI: 10.3727/096504014x14146137738583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Biot2 is a tumor-associated antigen, and it is a novel gene (GenBank EF100607) that was first identified with the SEREX technique and named by our laboratory. It is highly expressed in cancer cells and testis, with low or no expression in normal tissues. In our previous study, RNA interference of human Biot2 can inhibit tumor cell growth, and it is associated with poor prognosis of patients in clinical study; however, the mechanism of Biot2 that effects tumor growth is not yet clear. Here, in this study, we explore further the mechanism of Biot2 by silencing Biot2 in CT26 cells. It provides some theoretical basis for Biot2 as a new target for gene therapy. In CT26 cells, the expression of Biot2 was downregulated by Biot2-shRNA. It also promoted G1 phase arrest, the expression of p16 and p21, and cell apoptosis. In the mouse model, the tumor volume and the expression of PCNA of the Biot2-shRNA group significantly decreased. These results suggest that silencing Biot2 in CT26 cells by RNA interference can inhibit cell growth in vitro and in vivo. It also induces cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and apoptosis throughout regulation of p16 and p21. Taken together, our data demonstrate that Biot2 can be a potential target of gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
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50
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Nakatsugawa M, Yamashita Y, Ochi T, Tanaka S, Chamoto K, Guo T, Butler MO, Hirano N. Specific roles of each TCR hemichain in generating functional chain-centric TCR. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2015; 194:3487-500. [PMID: 25710913 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1401717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
TCRα- and β-chains cooperatively recognize peptide-MHC complexes. It has been shown that a "chain-centric" TCR hemichain can, by itself, dictate MHC-restricted Ag specificity without requiring major contributions from the paired TCR counterchain. Little is known, however, regarding the relative contributions and roles of chain-centric and its counter, non-chain-centric, hemichains in determining T cell avidity. We comprehensively analyzed a thymically unselected T cell repertoire generated by transducing the α-chain-centric HLA-A*02:01(A2)/MART127-35 TCRα, clone SIG35α, into A2-matched and unmatched postthymic T cells. Regardless of their HLA-A2 positivity, a substantial subset of peripheral T cells transduced with SIG35α gained reactivity for A2/MART127-35. Although the generated A2/MART127-35-specific T cells used various TRBV genes, TRBV27 predominated with >10(2) highly diverse and unique clonotypic CDR3β sequences. T cells individually reconstituted with various A2/MART127-35 TRBV27 TCRβ genes along with SIG35α possessed a wide range (>2 log orders) of avidity. Approximately half possessed avidity higher than T cells expressing clone DMF5, a naturally occurring A2/MART127-35 TCR with one of the highest affinities. Importantly, similar findings were recapitulated with other self-Ags. Our results indicate that, although a chain-centric TCR hemichain determines Ag specificity, the paired counterchain can regulate avidity over a broad range (>2 log orders) without compromising Ag specificity. TCR chain centricity can be exploited to generate a thymically unselected Ag-specific T cell repertoire, which can be used to isolate high-avidity antitumor T cells and their uniquely encoded TCRs rarely found in the periphery because of tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munehide Nakatsugawa
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Yuki Yamashita
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Toshiki Ochi
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Shinya Tanaka
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Takara Bio, Inc., Otsu, Shiga 520-2193, Japan
| | - Kenji Chamoto
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Tingxi Guo
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; and
| | - Marcus O Butler
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Naoto Hirano
- Immune Therapy Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; and
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