Structural delineation and phase-dependent activation of the costimulatory CD27:CD70 complex

CD27 is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor, which stimulates lymphocytes and promotes their differentiation upon activation by TNF ligand CD70. Activation of the CD27 receptor provides a costimulatory signal to promote T cell, B cell, and NK cell activity to facilitate antitumor and anti-infection immunity. Aberrant increased and focused expression of CD70 on many tumor cells renders CD70 an attractive therapeutic target for direct tumor killing. However, despite their use as drug targets to treat cancers, the molecular basis and atomic details of CD27 and CD70 interaction remain elusive. Here we report the crystal structure of human CD27 in complex with human CD70. Analysis of our structure shows that CD70 adopts a classical TNF ligand homotrimeric assembly to engage CD27 receptors in a 3:3 stoichiometry. By combining structural and rational mutagenesis data with reported disease-correlated mutations, we identified the key amino acid residues of CD27 and CD70 that control this interaction. We also report increased potency for plate-bound CD70 constructs compared with solution-phase ligand in a functional activity to stimulate T-cells in vitro. These findings offer new mechanistic insight into this critical costimulatory interaction.

CD70-specific CAR T cells have potent activity against acute myeloid leukemia without HSC toxicity

The prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains dismal, highlighting the need for novel innovative treatment strategies. The application of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to patients with AML has been limited, in particular by the lack of a tumor-specific target antigen. CD70 is a promising antigen to target AML, as it is expressed on most leukemic blasts, whereas little or no expression is detectable in normal bone marrow samples. To target CD70 on AML cells, we generated a panel of CD70-CAR T cells that contained a common single-chain variable fragment (scFv) for antigen detection, but differed in size and flexibility of the extracellular spacer and in the transmembrane and the costimulatory domains. These CD70scFv CAR T cells were compared with a CAR construct that contained human CD27, the ligand of CD70 fused to the CD3ζ chain (CD27z). The structural composition of the CAR strongly influenced expression levels, viability, expansion, and cytotoxic capacities of CD70scFv-based CAR T cells, but CD27z-CAR T cells demonstrated superior proliferation and antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo, compared with all CD70scFv-CAR T cells. Although CD70-CAR T cells recognized activated virus-specific T cells (VSTs) that expressed CD70, they did not prevent colony formation by normal hematopoietic stem cells. Thus, CD70-targeted immunotherapy is a promising new treatment strategy for patients with CD70-positive AML that does not affect normal hematopoiesis but will require monitoring of virus-specific T-cell responses.

CD70 antibody-drug conjugate as a potential therapeutic agent for uterine leiomyosarcoma

BACKGROUND

Uterine leiomyosarcoma is a rare and aggressive gynecologic malignancy originating in the myometrium of the uterine corpus that tends to recur even after complete surgical excision. Current therapeutic agents have only modest effects on uterine leiomyosarcoma. Although antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates have been recognized as useful targeted therapies for other cancers, no study has yet evaluated the effects of this approach on uterine leiomyosarcoma.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the activity of tumoral CD70 in uterine leiomyosarcoma and assess the antitumor activity of CD70-antibody-drug conjugate treatment in uterine leiomyosarcoma.

STUDY DESIGN

Target membrane proteins were screened by profiling and comparing membrane protein expression in 3 uterine leiomyosarcoma cell lines (SK-UT-1, SK-LMS-1, and SKN) and normal uterine myometrium cells using the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation labeling method. Western blotting, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses, and immunohistochemistry were used to examine CD70 expression in the membrane proteins in uterine leiomyosarcoma cell lines and clinical samples. We developed an antibody-drug conjugate with a monoclonal antibody of the target membrane protein linked to monomethyl auristatin F and investigated its antitumor effects against uterine leiomyosarcoma (in vitro, in vivo, and in patient-derived xenograft models).

RESULTS

CD70 was identified as a specific antigen highly expressed in uterine leiomyosarcoma cell lines. Of the 3 uterine leiomyosarcoma cell lines, CD70 expression was confirmed in SK-LMS-1 cells by western blotting and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. CD70 overexpression was observed in 19 of 21 (90.5%) tumor specimens from women with uterine leiomyosarcoma. To generate CD70-antibody-drug conjugate, anti-CD70 monoclonal antibody was conjugated with a novel derivative of monomethyl auristatin F. CD70-antibody-drug conjugate showed significant antitumor effects on SK-LMS-1 cells (half maximal inhibitory concentration, 0.120 nM) and no antitumor effects on CD70-negative uterine leiomyosarcoma cells. CD70-antibody-drug conjugate significantly inhibited tumor growth in the SK-LMS-1 xenograft mouse model (tumor volume, 129.8 vs 285.5 mm³; relative reduction, 54.5%; P<.001) and patient-derived xenograft mouse model (tumor volume, 128.1 vs 837.7 mm³; relative reduction, 84.7%; P<.001).

CONCLUSION

Uterine leiomyosarcoma tumors highly express CD70 and targeted therapy with CD70-antibody-drug conjugate may have a potential therapeutic implication in the treatment of uterine leiomyosarcoma.

A randomized controlled phase II clinical trial on mRNA electroporated autologous monocyte-derived dendritic cells (TriMixDC-MEL) as adjuvant treatment for stage III/IV melanoma patients who are disease-free following the resection of macrometastases

BACKGROUND

Autologous monocyte-derived mRNA co-electroporated dendritic cells with mRNA encoding CD40 ligand (CD40L), CD70 and a constitutively activated TLR4 (caTLR4) (referred to as TriMixDC-MEL) have anti-tumor activity in advanced melanoma patients. We investigated the safety and activity of adjuvant TriMixDC-MEL in stage III/IV melanoma patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty-one patients were randomly assigned to treatment with TriMixDC-MEL (n = 21) and standard follow-up (n = 20). "Cross-over" was allowed at the time of non-salvageable recurrence. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients alive and disease-free at 1-year. For a subset of patients, (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded), tumor tissue samples were available for mRNA expression profiling and PD-L1 immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics were well balanced. One-year after randomization, 71% of patients in the study arm were alive and free of disease compared to 35% in the control arm. After a median follow-up of 53 months (range 3-67), 23 patients experienced a non-salvageable melanoma recurrence (TriMixDC-Mel arm n = 9 and control arm n = 14).The median time to non-salvageable recurrence was superior in the TriMixDC-MEL arm (median 8 months (range 1-6) vs. not reached; log-rank p 0.044). TriMixDC-MEL-related adverse events (AE) consisted of transient local skin reactions, flu-like symptoms and post-infusion chills. No grade ≥ 3 AE's occurred. The mRNA expression profiling revealed four genes (STAT2, TPSAB1, CD9 and CSF2) as potential predictive biomarkers.

CONCLUSION

TriMixDC-MEL id/iv as adjuvant therapy is tolerable and may improve the 1-year disease-free survival rate. Combination of optimized autologous monocyte-derived DC-formulations warrants further investigation in combination with currently approved adjuvant therapy options.

Crystal structure of CD27 in complex with a neutralizing noncompeting antibody

CD27 is a T-cell and B-cell co-stimulatory glycoprotein of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily that is dependent on the availability of the TNF-like ligand CD70. Therapeutic approaches to treating autoimmune diseases and cancers with antagonistic and agonistic anti-CD27 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), respectively, have recently been developed. Mouse anti-human CD27 mAb 2177 shows potency in neutralizing CD70-induced signaling; however, it does not block the binding of soluble CD70. To provide insight into the mechanism of action of the mAb, the crystal structure of the CD27 extracellular domain in complex with the Fab fragment of mAb 2177 was determined at 1.8 Å resolution. CD27 exhibits the assembly of cysteine-rich domains characteristic of the TNF receptor superfamily. The structure reveals a unique binding site of mAb 2177 at the edge of the receptor molecule, which allows the mAb to sterically block the cell-bound form of CD70 from reaching CD27 while leaving the ligand epitope clear. This mode of action suggests a potential dual use of mAb 2177 either as an antagonist or as an agonist.

Single-step antigen loading and maturation of dendritic cells through mRNA electroporation of a tumor-associated antigen and a TriMix of costimulatory molecules

Dendritic cells (DC) are key players in several types of cancer vaccines. Large numbers of DC can easily be generated in closed systems from the monocyte fraction of the peripheral blood. They are the professional antigen-presenting cells, and electroporation of mRNA-encoding tumor antigens is a very efficient and a relatively simple way to load the DC with antigen. The co-electroporation of a tumor antigen of choice and the combination of 3 costimulatory molecules, including CD70, caTLR4, and CD40L (TriMix-DC), leads to fully potent antigen-presenting DC able to generate a broad immune response.Here we describe the in vitro transcription of the mRNA and the subsequent generation and electroporation of autologous DC used for the treatment of melanoma patients.

Agonistic anti-CD40 enhances the CD8+ T cell response during vesicular stomatitis virus infection

Intracellular pathogens are capable of inducing vigorous CD8⁺ T cell responses. However, we do not entirely understand the factors driving the generation of large pools of highly protective memory CD8⁺ T cells. Here, we studied the generation of endogenous ovalbumin-specific memory CD8⁺ T cells following infection with recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and Listeria monocytogenes (LM). VSV infection resulted in the generation of a large ovalbumin-specific memory CD8⁺ T cell population, which provided minimal protective immunity that waned with time. In contrast, the CD8⁺ T cell population of LM-ova provided protective immunity and remained stable with time. Agonistic CD40 stimulation during CD8⁺ T cell priming in response to VSV infection enabled the resultant memory CD8⁺ T cell population to provide strong protective immunity against secondary infection. Enhanced protective immunity by agonistic anti-CD40 was dependent on CD70. Agonistic anti-CD40 not only enhanced the size of the resultant memory CD8⁺ T cell population, but enhanced their polyfunctionality and sensitivity to antigen. Our data suggest that immunomodulation of CD40 signaling may be a key adjuvant to enhance CD8⁺ T cell response during development of VSV vaccine strategies.

Artificial antigen-presenting cells expressing CD80, CD70, and 4-1BB ligand efficiently expand functional T cells specific to tumor-associated antigens

Professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), notably dendritic cells (DCs), are the most potent for expanding antigen-specific T cells ex vivo. However, the labor-intensive and expensive procedure for customized preparation of autologous APCs has hampered their broad clinical application. Artificial APC (aAPC) systems, which can be readily prepared from off-the-shelf components, have been proposed as a promising alternative to custom-made professional APCs. Here, in order to develop a novel aAPC system, we established K562 erythroleukemia cells expressing different combinations of co-stimulatory molecule ligands, CD80, CD70, and/or 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL). When nucleofected with in vitro-generated mRNA encoding a tumor-associated antigen, MART-1, the K562 cells expressing all of CD80, CD70, and 4-1BBL were the most efficient for expansion of functional T cells specific to an HLA-A2-restricted immunodominant epitope, MART-126-35. In addition, only the K562 cells expressing all three of these co-stimulatory molecule ligands could clearly expand T cells specific to other less immunogenic antigen epitopes, gp100154-162 and Cyp1B1239-247, through transfection with in vitro generated gp100 and Cyp1B1 mRNA, respectively. These results indicated that non-redundant and synergistic effects of co-stimulation via CD28/CD80, CD27/CD70, and 4-1BB/4-1BBL might be critical for eliciting efficient expansion of T cells; co-stimulation via the 4-1BB/4-1BBL interaction might expand antigen-specific T cells by preventing apoptotic cell death triggered by specific antigens in the presence of the CD28/CD80 and CD27/CD70 signaling. Taken together, our findings suggested that this K562-based aAPC system expressing CD80, CD70, and 4-1BBL would be useful for efficiently stimulating functional antigen-specific T cells ex vivo, in particular when detailed information on the epitope specificities is unavailable.

Epithelial and dendritic cells in the thymic medulla promote CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cell development via the CD27-CD70 pathway

CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are largely autoreactive yet escape clonal deletion in the thymus. We demonstrate here that CD27-CD70 co-stimulation in the thymus rescues developing Treg cells from apoptosis and thereby promotes Treg cell generation. Genetic ablation of CD27 or its ligand CD70 reduced Treg cell numbers in the thymus and peripheral lymphoid organs, whereas it did not alter conventional CD4(+)Foxp3(-) T cell numbers. The CD27-CD70 pathway was not required for pre-Treg cell generation, Foxp3 induction, or mature Treg cell function. Rather, CD27 signaling enhanced positive selection of Treg cells within the thymus in a cell-intrinsic manner. CD27 signals promoted the survival of thymic Treg cells by inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. CD70 was expressed on Aire(-) and Aire(+) medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) and on dendritic cells (DCs) in the thymic medulla. CD70 on both mTECs and DCs contributed to Treg cell development as shown in BM chimera experiments with CD70-deficient mice. In vitro experiments indicated that CD70 on the CD8α(+) subset of thymic DCs promoted Treg cell development. Our data suggest that mTECs and DCs form dedicated niches in the thymic medulla, in which CD27-CD70 co-stimulation rescues developing Treg cells from apoptosis, subsequent to Foxp3 induction by TCR and CD28 signals.

Intravenous and intradermal TriMix-dendritic cell therapy results in a broad T-cell response and durable tumor response in a chemorefractory stage IV-M1c melanoma patient

Dendritic cells (DCs) electroporated with mRNA encoding CD70, CD40L and a constitutively active toll-like receptor 4 (TriMix-DC) have an increased T-cell stimulatory capacity. In a prospective phase IB clinical trial, we treated melanoma patients with intradermal and intravenous injections of autologous TriMix-DC co-electroporated with mRNA encoding full-length MAGE-A3, MAGE-C2, tyrosinase and gp100. We report here the immunological and clinical results obtained in one patient with a particularly favorable outcome. This patient had stage IV-M1c melanoma with documented progression during dacarbazine chemotherapy and received 5 TriMix-DC injections. Following DC therapy, a broad CD8(+) T-cell response against multiple epitopes derived from all four treatment antigens was found in the blood and among T cells derived from DTH biopsy. In addition, CD4(+) T cells recognizing different MAGE-A3-derived epitopes were detected in DTH-derived cells. A spontaneous anti-MAGE-C2 CD8(+) T-cell response was present prior to TriMix-DC therapy and increased during treatment. The tumor response was assessed with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission/computed tomography. We documented a partial tumor response according to RECIST criteria with a marked reduction in (18)F-FDG-uptake by lung, lymph node and bone metastases. The patient remains free from progression after 12 months of follow-up. This case report indicates that administration of autologous TriMix-DC by the combined intradermal and intravenous route can mediate a durable objective tumor response accompanied by a broad T-cell response in a chemorefractory stage IV-M1c melanoma patient.

Role of the Fc region in CD70-specific antibody effects on cardiac transplant survival

BACKGROUND

The role of the CD70-specific antibody and the mechanisms by which it extends transplant survival are not known.

METHODS

Fully major histocompatibility complex-mismatched heterotopic heart transplantation (BALB/c to C57BL/6) was performed. Treated mice received intraperitoneal injections of wild-type (WT) CD70-specific antibody (FR70) or IgG1 or IgG2a chimeric antibodies on days 0, 2, 4, and 6 posttransplantation.

RESULTS

WT FR70 antibody significantly extended heart transplant survival to 19 days compared with untreated mice (median survival time [MST]=10 days). Graft survival using the nondepleting IgG1 antibody was significantly shorter (MST=14 days), whereas the survival using depleting IgG2a antibody (MST=18) was similar to that using WT FR70. The FR70 and IgG2a antibodies demonstrated a greater efficiency of fixing mouse complement over the IgG1 variant in vitro. CD4 and CD8 T-cell graft infiltration was reduced with treatment; however, this was most pronounced with WT FR70 and IgG2a antibody therapy compared with the IgG1 chimeric variant. Circulating donor-specific IgG alloantibodies were initially reduced with WT FR70 treatment (day 8 posttransplantation) but increased at days 15 and 20 posttransplantation to the level detected in untreated controls.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that WT (FR70) and the IgG2a depleting variant of CD70-specific antibody reduce graft infiltrating CD4 and CD8 T cells, transiently reduce serum alloantibody levels, and extend graft survival. In contrast, the nondepleting IgG1 variant of this antibody showed lower efficacy. These data suggest that a depleting mechanism of action and not merely costimulation blockade plays a substantial role in the therapeutic effects of CD70-specific antibody.

Function of CD27 in helper T cell differentiation

Differentiation of naïve CD4(+) T cells to functional effector T-helper (T(H)) cells is driven by both costimulatory molecules and cytokines. Although polarizing cytokines can induce the differentiation into a particular T(H)-subset, certain costimulatory molecules also seem to affect this polarization process. We have previously found that CD70-transgenic (CD70TG) mice develop large numbers of IFN-γ-producing CD4(+) T cells and we therefore questioned whether CD27 triggering provides an instructive signal for T(H)1 differentiation or rather supports T(H) cell formation in general. Although CD70TG mice on a T(H)1-prone C57Bl/6J background develop more T(H)1 cells, we found that this phenotype is lost when CD70TG mice are fully backcrossed on a T(H)2-prone Balb/c background, but is not replaced with more T(H)2 cells. Furthermore, CD70-overexpression is not sufficient to drive T(H)17 cell formation, nor does it affect the generation of FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells. Using an in vitro setting, we found that CD27-triggering does not provide instructive signals for a specific T(H) cell subset, but, depending on the cytokine milieu and genetic background, supports T(H)1 cell formation, while it inhibits the formation of T(H)17 but not T(H)2 cells. Induction of allergic airway inflammation in CD70TG Balb/c mice further illustrates that CD27 plays a supportive role in T(H)1 differentiation in vivo, without modulating the classical T(H)2 response. This supportive role of CD27 in T(H) cell polarization could not be attributed to a specific change of transcription factor expression levels. In summary, this study indicates that CD27 signalling does influence T(H) cell differentiation, but that it is highly dependent on the conditions and genetic background.

Invariant natural killer T-cell control of type 1 diabetes: a dendritic cell genetic decision of a silver bullet or Russian roulette

OBJECTIVE

In part, activation of invariant natural killer T (iNKT)-cells with the superagonist alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) inhibits the development of T-cell-mediated autoimmune type 1 diabetes in NOD mice by inducing the downstream differentiation of antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) to an immunotolerogenic state. However, in other systems iNKT-cell activation has an adjuvant-like effect that enhances rather than suppresses various immunological responses. Thus, we tested whether in some circumstances genetic variation would enable activated iNKT-cells to support rather than inhibit type 1 diabetes development.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We tested whether iNKT-conditioned DCs in NOD mice and a major histocompatibility complex-matched C57BL/6 (B6) background congenic stock differed in capacity to inhibit type 1 diabetes induced by the adoptive transfer of pathogenic AI4 CD8 T-cells.

RESULTS

Unlike those of NOD origin, iNKT-conditioned DCs in the B6 background stock matured to a state that actually supported rather than inhibited AI4 T-cell-induced type 1 diabetes. The induction of a differing activity pattern of T-cell costimulatory molecules varying in capacity to override programmed death-ligand-1 inhibitory effects contributes to the respective ability of iNKT-conditioned DCs in NOD and B6 background mice to inhibit or support type 1 diabetes development. Genetic differences inherent to both iNKT-cells and DCs contribute to their varying interactions in NOD and B6.H2(g7) mice.

CONCLUSIONS

This great variability in the interactions between iNKT-cells and DCs in two inbred mouse strains should raise a cautionary note about considering manipulation of this axis as a potential type 1 diabetes prevention therapy in genetically heterogeneous humans.

Engineered anti-CD70 antibody-drug conjugate with increased therapeutic index

An anti-CD70 antibody conjugated to monomethylauristatin F (MMAF) via a valine-citrulline dipeptide containing linker has been shown previously to have potent antitumor activity in renal cell cancer xenograft studies. Here, we generated a panel of humanized anti-CD70 antibody IgG variants and conjugated them to MMAF to study the effect of isotype (IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4) and Fcgamma receptor binding on antibody-drug conjugate properties. All IgG variants bound CD70+ 786-O cells with an apparent affinity of approximately 1 nmol/L, and drug conjugation did not impair antigen binding. The parent anti-CD70 IgG1 bound to human FcgammaRI and FcgammaRIIIA V158 and mouse FcgammaRIV and this binding was not impaired by drug conjugation. In contrast, binding to these Fcgamma receptors was greatly reduced or abolished in the variant, IgG1v1, containing the previously described mutations, E233P:L234V:L235A. All conjugates had potent cytotoxic activity against six different antigen-positive cancer cell lines in vitro with IC50 values of 30 to 540 pmol/L. The IgGv1 conjugate with MMAF displayed improved antitumor activity compared with other conjugates in 786-O and UMRC3 models of renal cell cancer and in the DBTRG05-MG glioblastoma model. All conjugates were tolerated to > or =40 mg/kg in mice. Thus, the IgG1v1 MMAF conjugate has an increased therapeutic index compared with the parent IgG1 conjugate. The improved antitumor activity of the IgG1v1 auristatin conjugates may relate to increased exposure as suggested by pharmacokinetic analysis. The strategy used here for enhancing the therapeutic index of antibody-drug conjugates is independent of the antigen-binding variable domains and potentially applicable to other antibodies.

CD28 and Cd27 Costimulation of Cd8+ T Cells: A Story of Survival

Although the requirement of CD28 and CD27 costimulation has been clearly demonstrated during primary CD8+ T cell responses and this costimulation acts by providing proliferation and survival cues to naive CD8+ T cells, a number of questions also arise from these studies. Is the requirement for CD28 and CD27 costimulation restricted to the initiation of the immune response in the lymph nodes, where presumably the initial contact between naive CD8+ T cell and DC occurs? What is the purpose of the dramatic influx of DC to sites of inflammation such as the lung during influenza virus infection and the formation of inflammatory BALT (iBALT)?(104) Are such DC at the site of inflammation and at later stages of the immune response providing cytokines or costimulation to effector CD8+ T cells? If DC are required for optimal secondary responses (100), is CD28 costimulation the missing signal or is it other members of the B7:CD28 family or TNF family? Given that a number of investigators are actively addressing these questions, the answers we expect will be soon to come and open exciting new opportunities for immune enhancement or dampening strategies and vaccine adjuvants.

Unchecked CD70 expression on T cells lowers threshold for T cell activation in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by premature immune aging with accumulation of degenerate T cells deficient for CD28. Gene expression profiling of CD4(+)CD28(-) and CD4(+)CD28(+) T cells to discover disease-promoting activities of CD28(-) T cells identified expression of CD70 as a most striking difference. Hence, CD70 was significantly more expressed in CD4 T cells from RA patients compared with age-matched controls (p < 0.006). The underlying mechanism was a failure to repress CD70 expression after activation-dependent induction. This defect in RA was not related to differential promoter demethylation. CD70 on bystander CD4(+)CD28(-) T cells functioned by lowering the threshold for T cell activation; admixture of CD4(+)CD28(-) T cells augmented TCR-induced responses of autologous naive CD4(+)CD28(+) T cells, particularly of low-avidity T cells. The data support a model in which CD70 expressed on T cells causes degeneracy in T cell responses and undermines tolerance mechanisms that normally control T cell autoreactivity.

Costimulatory ligand CD70 is delivered to the immunological synapse by shared intracellular trafficking with MHC class II molecules

TNF family member CD70 is the ligand of CD27, a costimulatory receptor that shapes effector and memory T cell pools. Tight control of CD70 expression is required to prevent lethal immunodeficiency. By selective transcription, CD70 is largely confined to activated lymphocytes and dendritic cells (DC). We show here that, in addition, specific intracellular routing controls its plasma membrane deposition. In professional antigen-presenting cells, such as DC, CD70 is sorted to late endocytic vesicles, defined as MHC class II compartments (MIIC). In cells lacking the machinery for antigen presentation by MHC class II, CD70 travels by default to the plasma membrane. Introduction of class II transactivator sufficed to reroute CD70 to MIIC. Vesicular trafficking of CD70 and MHC class II is coordinately regulated by the microtubule-associated dynein motor complex. We show that when maturing DC make contact with T cells in a cognate fashion, newly synthesized CD70 is specifically delivered via MIIC to the immunological synapse. Therefore, we propose that routing of CD70 to MIIC serves to coordinate delivery of the T cell costimulatory signal in time and space with antigen recognition.

Metalloprotease inhibitors block release of soluble CD27 and enhance the immune stimulatory activity of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

OBJECTIVE

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells from most patients express both membrane-bound CD27 (mCD27) and soluble CD27 (sCD27). Expression of sCD27 inhibits CD27-dependent T-cell or CLL-cell activation mediated by its ligand, CD70. In this study, we evaluated whether protease inhibitors could inhibit the release of sCD27 from CLL cells and enhance T-cell activation mediated by CD27-CD70 interaction.

METHODS

CLL cells exposed to hydroxamic acid-based matrix metalloprotease (MMP) inhibitors were evaluated for the release of sCD27 by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoprecipitation. We examined for phenotypic changes in CLL cells treated with MMP inhibitors by flow cytometry and T-cell activation by CLL cells was assessed by [(3)H] thymidine incorporation assay and the production of interferon-gamma.

RESULTS

Treatment of CLL cells with MMP inhibitors blocked the release of sCD27 to the culture supernatant. In contrast, a non-hydroxamic acid control compound or inhibitors of other proteases, including serine, cysteine, and aspartyl proteases, were ineffective. Furthermore, CLL cells treated with MMP inhibitors expressed significantly higher levels of accessory molecules, such as CD54, CD80, and CD95. Consistent with such changes, we found that CLL cells treated with MMP inhibitors, but not control treated cells, could stimulate allogeneic and autologous T cells in mixed lymphocyte reactions.

CONCLUSION

These data reveal that metalloprotease inhibitors can block production of sCD27, which can interfere with mCD27-CD70 interactions that induce expression of immune costimulatory molecules on CLL B cells. Conceivably, treatment of CLL cells with metalloprotease inhibitors may enhance their potential for stimulating cellular immune recognition of leukemia-associated antigens.

Cutting Edge: Distinct NK receptor profiles are imprinted on CD8 T cells in the mucosa and periphery during the same antigen challenge: role of tissue-specific factors

NK cell receptors (NKRs) modulate T lymphocyte responses by modifying the Ag activation threshold. However, what governs their expression on T cells remains unclear. In this study we show that different NKRs are imprinted on CD8 T cells in the gut mucosa and periphery during the same Ag challenge. After a viral, bacterial, and tumor challenge, most CD8 peritoneal exudate lymphocytes expressed NKG2A but not 2B4. In contrast, most CD8 intraepithelial lymphocytes exhibited 2B4 but not NKG2A. Our data suggest that tissue-specific factors may determine the pattern of NKR expression. In the gut, CD70 licensing appears to promote 2B4 induction on mucosal CD8 T cells. Conversely, retinoic acid produced by the intestinal dendritic cells may suppress NKG2A expression. Thus, tissue-specific factors regulate NKR expression and may confer T cells with differing effector functions in a tissue and site-specific manner.

The adjuvant effects of co-stimulatory molecules on cellular and memory responses to HBsAg DNA vaccination

Because DNA vaccines on their own tend to induce weak immune responses in humans, adjuvant methods are needed in order to improve their efficacy. The co-stimulatory molecules 4-1BBL, OX40L, and CD70 have been shown to induce strong T cell activities; therefore, in this study, we investigated whether they may be used as molecular adjuvants for a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) DNA vaccine (pcDS2) in eliciting strong cellular and memory responses. Compared to mice immunized with pcDS2 alone, addition of the co-stimulatory molecules increased T cell proliferation and an HBsAg-specific antibody response that was marked with a higher ratio of IgG2a/IgG1. Importantly, pcDS2 plus these co-stimulatory molecules elicited a higher level of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in CD4(+) T cells and a higher level of IFN-gamma in CD8(+) T cells. In addition, a significantly robust antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response and the production of long-term memory CD8(+) T cells were also observed in the groups immunized with pcDS2 plus 4-1BBL, OX40L, or CD70. Consistently, as late as 100 days after immunization, upregulated expressions of BCL-2, Spi2A, IL-7Ra, and IL-15Ra were still observed in mice immunized with pcDS2 plus these co-stimulatory molecules, suggesting the generation of memory T cells in these groups. Together, these results suggest that the co-stimulatory molecules 4-1BBL, OX40L, or CD70 can enhance the immunogenicity of HBsAg DNA vaccines, resulting in strong humoral, cellular, and memory responses. This approach may lead to an effective therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

CD70 (TNFSF7) is expressed at high prevalence in renal cell carcinomas and is rapidly internalised on antibody binding

In order to identify potential markers of renal cancer, the plasma membrane protein content of renal cell carcinoma (RCC)-derived cell lines was annotated using a proteomics process. One unusual protein identified at high levels in A498 and 786-O cells was CD70 (TNFSF7), a type II transmembrane receptor normally expressed on a subset of B, T and NK cells, where it plays a costimulatory role in immune cell activation. Immunohistochemical analysis of CD70 expression in multiple carcinoma types demonstrated strong CD70 staining in RCC tissues. Metastatic tissues from eight of 11 patients with clear cell RCC were positive for CD70 expression. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that binding of an anti-CD70 antibody to CD70 endogenously expressed on the surface of A498 and 786-O cell lines resulted in the rapid internalisation of the antibody-receptor complex. Coincubation of the internalising anti-CD70 antibody with a saporin-conjugated secondary antibody before addition to A498 cells resulted in 50% cell killing. These data indicate that CD70 represents a potential target antigen for toxin-conjugated therapeutic antibody treatment of RCC.

Engineered anti-CD70 antibody with multiple effector functions exhibits in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities

Antigens expressed on malignant cells in the absence of significant expression on normal tissues are highly desirable targets for therapeutic antibodies. CD70 is a TNF superfamily member whose normal expression is highly restricted but is aberrantly expressed in hematologic malignancies including non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin disease, and multiple myeloma. In addition, solid tumors such as renal cell carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, thymic carcinoma, meduloblastoma, and glioblastoma express high levels of this antigen. To functionally target CD70-expressing cancers, a murine anti-CD70 monoclonal antibody was engineered to contain human IgG1 constant domains. The engineered antibody retained the binding specificity of the murine parent monoclonal antibody and was shown to induce Fc-mediated effector functions including antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, complement-dependent cytotoxicity, and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis in vitro. Further, administration of this antibody significantly prolonged survival of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice bearing CD70+ disseminated human NHL xenografts. Survival of these mice was dependent upon the activity of resident effector cells including neutrophils, macrophages, and natural killer (NK) cells. These data suggest that an anti-CD70 antibody, when engineered to contain human IgG1 constant domains, possesses effector cell–mediated antitumor activity and has potential utility for anticancer therapy.

Activation Antigens during the Proliferative and Secretory Phases of Endometrium and Early-Pregnancy Decidua

BACKGROUND

Clarifying the normal distribution of activation antigens will contribute to database construction studies of monoclonal-antibody-based therapies in endometrial disorders.

METHODS

In this study, endometrial tissue samples obtained during proliferative and secretory phases and decidual samples of early pregnancies were immunostained by the monoclonal antibodies anti-CD26, anti-CD30, anti-CD70, anti-CD71, and anti-CD98 using the indirect immunoperoxidase method.

RESULTS

CD26 is expressed on the glandular epithelium in the endometrium and decidua. Endothelial CD26 is expressed less in the decidua when compared to the endometrium. CD30 is strongly expressed by decidual cells. It is only weakly expressed on endometrial and decidual vessels. Glandular and endothelial CD70 expression is mainly seen in the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. Glandular CD71 expression is less in the decidua when compared to the endometrium. Its expression on stromal cells is more in the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle and in early pregnancy deciduae. It is expressed on endometrial vessels but not on decidual vessels. Glandular CD98 is expressed more in the decidua when compared to the endometrium. This antigen exists on endometrial lymphocytes. It is strongly expressed on the endothelium in the endometrium and decidua.

CONCLUSION

It seems that CD26 and CD70 are not involved in the functions of endometrial and decidual stromal cells. CD30 and CD71 are thought to be involved in decidualization. Absence of activation antigens other than CD98 on lymphocytes indicated an antigenic profile for large granular lymphocytes that is different from regular lymphocytes.