scholarly journals Biomimetic nanoparticles deliver mRNAs encoding costimulatory receptors and enhance T cell mediated cancer immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenqing Li ◽  
Xinfu Zhang ◽  
Chengxiang Zhang ◽  
Jingyue Yan ◽  
Xucheng Hou ◽  
...  

AbstractAntibodies targeting costimulatory receptors of T cells have been developed for the activation of T cell immunity in cancer immunotherapy. However, costimulatory molecule expression is often lacking in tumor-infiltrating immune cells, which can impede antibody-mediated immunotherapy. Here, we hypothesize that delivery of costimulatory receptor mRNA to tumor-infiltrating T cells will enhance the antitumor effects of antibodies. We first design a library of biomimetic nanoparticles and find that phospholipid nanoparticles (PL1) effectively deliver costimulatory receptor mRNA (CD137 or OX40) to T cells. Then, we demonstrate that the combination of PL1-OX40 mRNA and anti-OX40 antibody exhibits significantly improved antitumor activity compared to anti-OX40 antibody alone in multiple tumor models. This treatment regimen results in a 60% complete response rate in the A20 tumor model, with these mice being resistant to rechallenge by A20 tumor cells. Additionally, the combination of PL1-OX40 mRNA and anti-OX40 antibody significantly boosts the antitumor immune response to anti-PD-1 + anti-CTLA-4 antibodies in the B16F10 tumor model. This study supports the concept of delivering mRNA encoding costimulatory receptors in combination with the corresponding agonistic antibody as a strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5307-5307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengdong Cheng ◽  
Dayun Yan ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Michael Keidar ◽  
Eduardo Sotomayor

In recent years, cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer care. Remarkable clinical efficacy and durable responses to checkpoint blockade antibodies or to genetically engineered T-cells (CAR T cell) have been observed in patients with multiple cancers. However, not all cancer patients benefit from these therapies and as such novel immunotherapeutic approaches are needed. The cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a form of near room temperature ionized gas, which has shown a promising application in cancer therapy given its antitumor effects in vitro as well as in vivo. For the first time, we have shown that upon CAP treatment, the viability of the immune cells remained unaffected. Strikingly, we observed a significantly stronger immune activation of those CAP treated cells when compare with helium gas control. First, we have demonstrated that even without LPS stimulation, in vitro exposure of peritoneal elicited macrophages (PEM) to CAP for 15 or 30 seconds was sufficient to trigger the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12 and IL-6. In addition, decreased production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and diminished the expression of PD-L1 were observed in CAP-treated PEM as well. It indicated that CAP treatment may potentially facilitate PEMs as better activator of T cells. Second, in lieu of the stimulatory effects of CAP upon PEM, we asked whether CAP could enhance T-cell activation. So we isolated T cells from spleens of C57BL/6 mice and exposed these T cells to CAP followed by anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation. Our study shown that the production of IL-2 and IFN-g were significantly increased by T-cells treated with CAP as compared with helium gas control. Furthermore, to gain insights into effects of CAP upon immune responses in vivo, we isolated lymph nodes from OTII mice and directly exposed these LNs with CAP, helium gas control or left untreated. Then CD4+ T cells were further isolated from the LNs and cultured with macrophages in the presence or absence of OVA peptide for 48 hours, respectively. Surprisingly, CD4+ T cells isolated from CAP-treated LNs displayed enhanced function indicated by its increased production of IL-2 and IFN-g. More importantly, strong in vivo anti-tumor effects were observed when adoptively transfer CAP exposed T cells to lymphoma bearing animals. Taken together, we have shown for the first time an elevated immune-stimulatory effect of CAP upon both APCs and T cells in vitro and in vivo. Our finding may potentially shed light of a novel therapeutic approach for future cancer immunotherapy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Tao Jiang ◽  
Kai-Ge Chen ◽  
An Liu ◽  
Hua Huang ◽  
Ya-Nan Fan ◽  
...  

AbstractModulating effector immune cells via monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and facilitating the co-engagement of T cells and tumor cells via chimeric antigen receptor- T cells or bispecific T cell-engaging antibodies are two typical cancer immunotherapy approaches. We speculated that immobilizing two types of mAbs against effector cells and tumor cells on a single nanoparticle could integrate the functions of these two approaches, as the engineered formulation (immunomodulating nano-adaptor, imNA) could potentially associate with both cells and bridge them together like an ‘adaptor’ while maintaining the immunomodulatory properties of the parental mAbs. However, existing mAbs-immobilization strategies mainly rely on a chemical reaction, a process that is rough and difficult to control. Here, we build up a versatile antibody immobilization platform by conjugating anti-IgG (Fc specific) antibody (αFc) onto the nanoparticle surface (αFc-NP), and confirm that αFc-NP could conveniently and efficiently immobilize two types of mAbs through Fc-specific noncovalent interactions to form imNAs. Finally, we validate the superiority of imNAs over the mixture of parental mAbs in T cell-, natural killer cell- and macrophage-mediated antitumor immune responses in multiple murine tumor models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Ginefra ◽  
Girieca Lorusso ◽  
Nicola Vannini

In recent years, immunotherapy has become the most promising therapy for a variety of cancer types. The development of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies, the adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T cells (adoptive cell therapy (ACT)) or the generation of T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have been successfully applied to elicit durable immunological responses in cancer patients. However, not all the patients respond to these therapies, leaving a consistent gap of therapeutic improvement that still needs to be filled. The innate immune components of the tumor microenvironment play a pivotal role in the activation and modulation of the adaptive immune response against the tumor. Indeed, several efforts are made to develop strategies aimed to harness innate immune cells in the context of cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we describe the contribution of innate immune cells in T-cell-based cancer immunotherapy and the therapeutic approaches implemented to broaden the efficacy of these therapies in cancer patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e001925
Author(s):  
Shujuan Zhou ◽  
Fanyan Meng ◽  
Shiyao Du ◽  
Hanqing Qian ◽  
Naiqing Ding ◽  
...  

BackgroundPoor infiltration and limited activation of transferred T cells are fundamental factors impeding the development of adoptive cell immunotherapy in solid tumors. A tumor-penetrating peptide iRGD has been widely used to deliver drugs deep into tumor tissues. CD3-targeting bispecific antibodies represent a promising immunotherapy which recruits and activates T cells.MethodsT-cell penetration was demonstrated in tumor spheroids using confocal microscope, and in xenografted tumors by histology and in vivo real-time fluorescence imaging. Activation and cytotoxicity of T cells were assessed by flow cytometry and confocal microscope. Bioluminescence imaging was used to evaluate in vivo antitumor effects, and transmission electron microscopy was used for mechanistic studies.ResultsWe generated a novel bifunctional agent iRGD-anti-CD3 which could immobilize iRGD on the surface of T cells through CD3 engaging. We found that iRGD-anti-CD3 modification not only facilitated T-cell infiltration in 3D tumor spheroids and xenografted tumor nodules but also induced T-cell activation and cytotoxicity against target cancer cells. T cells modified with iRGD-anti-CD3 significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival in several xenograft mouse models, which was further enhanced by the combination of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade. Mechanistic studies revealed that iRGD-anti-CD3 initiated a transport pathway called vesiculovacuolar organelles in the endothelial cytoplasm to promote T-cell extravasation.ConclusionAltogether, we show that iRGD-anti-CD3 modification is an innovative and bifunctional strategy to overcome major bottlenecks in adoptive cell therapy. Moreover, we demonstrate that combination with PD-1 blockade can further improve antitumor efficacy of iRGD-anti-CD3-modified T cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (29) ◽  
pp. eaat7061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bei Wang ◽  
Wen Zhang ◽  
Vladimir Jankovic ◽  
Jacquelynn Golubov ◽  
Patrick Poon ◽  
...  

Most patients with cancer do not develop durable antitumor responses after programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death ligand 1(PD-L1) checkpoint inhibition monotherapy because of an ephemeral reversal of T cell dysfunction and failure to promote long-lasting immunological T cell memory. Activating costimulatory pathways to induce stronger T cell activation may improve the efficacy of checkpoint inhibition and lead to durable antitumor responses. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of more than 2000 tumor-infiltrating CD8+T cells in mice receiving both PD-1 and GITR (glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor–related protein) antibodies and found that this combination synergistically enhanced the effector function of expanded CD8+T cells by restoring the balance of key homeostatic regulators CD226 and T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT), leading to a robust survival benefit. Combination therapy decreased CD8+T cell dysfunction and induced a highly proliferative precursor effector memory T cell phenotype in a CD226-dependent manner. PD-1 inhibition rescued CD226 activity by preventing PD-1–Src homology region 2 (SHP2) dephosphophorylation of the CD226 intracellular domain, whereas GITR agonism decreased TIGIT expression. Unmasking the molecular pathways driving durable antitumor responses will be essential to the development of rational approaches to optimizing cancer immunotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8910
Author(s):  
Masatsugu Miyashita ◽  
Teruki Shimizu ◽  
Eishi Ashihara ◽  
Osamu Ukimura

Human γδ T cells show potent cytotoxicity against various types of cancer cells in a major histocompatibility complex unrestricted manner. Phosphoantigens and nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-bis) stimulate γδ T cells via interaction between the γδ T cell receptor (TCR) and butyrophilin subfamily 3 member A1 (BTN3A1) expressed on target cells. γδ T cell immunotherapy is classified as either in vivo or ex vivo according to the method of activation. Immunotherapy with activated γδ T cells is well tolerated; however, the clinical benefits are unsatisfactory. Therefore, the antitumor effects need to be increased. Administration of γδ T cells into local cavities might improve antitumor effects by increasing the effector-to-target cell ratio. Some anticancer and molecularly targeted agents increase the cytotoxicity of γδ T cells via mechanisms involving natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D)-mediated recognition of target cells. Both the tumor microenvironment and cancer stem cells exert immunosuppressive effects via mechanisms that include inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules. Therefore, co-immunotherapy with γδ T cells plus immune checkpoint inhibitors is a strategy that may improve cytotoxicity. The use of a bispecific antibody and chimeric antigen receptor might be effective to overcome current therapeutic limitations. Such strategies should be tested in a clinical research setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1252-1261
Author(s):  
Uri Greenbaum ◽  
Ecaterina I. Dumbrava ◽  
Amadeo B. Biter ◽  
Cara L. Haymaker ◽  
David S. Hong

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinjie Lu

Background: T-cell immunoglobulin (Ig)-domain and mucin-domain (TIM) proteins represent a family of receptors expressed on T-cells that play essential cellular immunity roles. The TIM proteins span across the membrane belonging to type I transmembrane proteins. The N terminus contains an Ig-like V-type domain and a Ser/Thr-rich mucin stalk as a co-inhibitory receptor. The C-terminal tail oriented toward the cytosol predominantly mediates intracellular signaling. Methods: This review discusses the structural features and functions of TIM-3, specifically on its role in mediating immune responses in different cell types, and the rationale for TIM-3-targeted cancer immunotherapy. Results: TIM-3 has gained significant importance to be a potential biomarker in cancer immunotherapy. It has been shown that blockade with checkpoint inhibitors promotes anti-tumor immunity and inhibits tumor growth in several preclinical tumor models. Conclusion: TIM-3 is an immune regulating molecule expressed on several cell types, including IFNγ-producing T-cells, FoxP3+ Treg cells, and innate immune cells. The roles of TIM-3 in immunosuppression support its merit as a target for cancer immunotherapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e000605
Author(s):  
Souvik Dey ◽  
Erika Sutanto-Ward ◽  
Katharina L Kopp ◽  
James DuHadaway ◽  
Arpita Mondal ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), which subverts T-cell immunity at multiple levels, is itself subject to inherent T-cell reactivity. This intriguing deviation from central tolerance has been interpreted as counterbalancing IDO1-mediated immunosuppression. Based on this hypothesis, clinical studies employing an IDO1 peptide-based vaccine approach for cancer treatment have been initiated, but there remains a pressing need to further investigate the immunological ramifications of stimulating the anti-IDO1 T-cell response in this manner.MethodsCT26 colon carcinoma tumors were evaluated for expression of IDO1 protein by western blot analysis, immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Mouse IDO1-derived peptides, predicted to bind either major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or II of the H2d BALB/c strain, were emulsified in 50% Montanide for prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine treatment of CT26 tumor-bearing mice initiated either 7 days prior to or following tumor cell injection, respectively. In some therapeutic treatment experiments, administration of programmed cell death protein 1-binding antibody (anti-PD1 antibody) or epacadostat was concurrently initiated. Tumor size was determined by caliper measurements and comparative tumor growth suppression was assessed by longitudinal analyses of tumor growth data. For adoptive transfer, T cells from complete responder animals were isolated using paramagnetic beads and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.ResultsThis study identifies mouse MHC class I-directed and II-directed, IDO1-derived peptides capable of eliciting antitumor responses, despite finding IDO1 expressed exclusively in tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Treatment of established tumors with anti-PD1 antibody and class I-directed but not class II-directed IDO1 peptide vaccines produced an enhanced antitumor response. Likewise, class I-directed and II-directed IDO1 peptides elicited an enhanced combinatorial response, suggesting distinct mechanisms of action. Consistent with this interpretation, adoptive transfer of isolated CD8+ T cells from class I and CD4+ T cells from class II peptide-vaccinated responder mice delayed tumor growth. The class II-directed response was completely IDO1-dependent while the class I-directed response included an IDO1-independent component consistent with antigen spread.ConclusionsThe in vivo antitumor effects demonstrated with IDO1-based vaccines via targeting of the tumor microenvironment highlight the utility of mouse models for further exploration and refinement of this novel vaccine-based approach to IDO1-directed cancer therapy and its potential to improve patient response rates to anti-PD1 therapy.


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