scholarly journals Polyclonal lymphoid expansion drives paraneoplastic autoimmunity in neuroblastoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam I Rosenberg ◽  
Erez Greenstein ◽  
Martin Buchkovich ◽  
Martin Mikl ◽  
Ayelet Peres ◽  
...  

Neuroblastoma is a lethal childhood solid tumor of developing peripheral nerves. Two percent of children with neuroblastoma develop Opsoclonus Myoclonus Ataxia Syndrome (OMAS), a paraneoplastic disease characterized by cerebellar and brainstem-directed autoimmunity, but typically with outstanding cancer-related outcomes. We compared tumor transcriptomes and tumor infiltrating T- and B-cell repertoires from 38 OMAS subjects with neuroblastoma to 26 non-OMAS associated neuroblastomas. We found greater B- and T-cell infiltration in OMAS-associated tumors compared to controls, but unexpectedly showed that both were polyclonal expansions. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) were enriched in OMAS-associated tumors. We identified significant enrichment of the MHC Class II allele HLA-DOB*01:01 in OMAS patients. OMAS severity scores were associated with the expression of several candidate autoimmune genes. We propose a model in which polyclonal autoreactive B lymphocytes act as antigen presenting cells and drive TLS formation, thereby crucially supporting both sustained polyclonal T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity and paraneoplastic OMAS neuropathology.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luuk van Hooren ◽  
Alessandra Vaccaro ◽  
Mohanraj Ramachandran ◽  
Konstantinos Vazaios ◽  
Sylwia Libard ◽  
...  

AbstractGliomas are brain tumors characterized by immunosuppression. Immunostimulatory agonistic CD40 antibodies (αCD40) are in clinical development for solid tumors but are yet to be evaluated for glioma. Here, systemic delivery of αCD40 led to cytotoxic T cell dysfunction and impaired the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in preclinical glioma models. This was associated with an accumulation of suppressive CD11b+ B cells. However, αCD40 also induced tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). In human glioma, TLS correlated with increased T cell infiltration indicating enhanced immune responses. Our work unveils the pleiotropic effects of αCD40 therapy in glioma, which is of high clinical relevance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Johansson-Percival ◽  
Ruth Ganss

Improving the effectiveness of anti-cancer immunotherapy remains a major clinical challenge. Cytotoxic T cell infiltration is crucial for immune-mediated tumor rejection, however, the suppressive tumor microenvironment impedes their recruitment, activation, maturation and function. Nevertheless, solid tumors can harbor specialized lymph node vasculature and immune cell clusters that are organized into tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). These TLS support naïve T cell infiltration and intratumoral priming. In many human cancers, their presence is a positive prognostic factor, and importantly, predictive for responsiveness to immune checkpoint blockade. Thus, therapeutic induction of TLS is an attractive concept to boost anti-cancer immunotherapy. However, our understanding of how cancer-associated TLS could be initiated is rudimentary. Exciting new reagents which induce TLS in preclinical cancer models provide mechanistic insights into the exquisite stromal orchestration of TLS formation, a process often associated with a more functional or “normalized” tumor vasculature and fueled by LIGHT/LTα/LTβ, TNFα and CC/CXC chemokine signaling. These emerging insights provide innovative opportunities to induce and shape TLS in the tumor microenvironment to improve immunotherapies.


2021 ◽  
pp. canimm.0949.2020
Author(s):  
Kerstin Wennhold ◽  
Martin Thelen ◽  
Jonas Lehmann ◽  
Simon Schran ◽  
Ella Preugszat ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8407
Author(s):  
Sabine Hülsen ◽  
Eleonora Lippolis ◽  
Fulvia Ferrazzi ◽  
Wolfgang Otto ◽  
Luitpold Distel ◽  
...  

Stage pT1 bladder cancer (BC) shows highly diverse outcomes. Predictive markers are required to stratify patients for personalized treatment. The present study aimed to validate immune response quantification as a prognostic marker. Patients with pT1 BC (n = 167) treated by transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) were enrolled. Formaldehyde-fixed paraffin-embedded material was stained for CD3 and CD8. Corresponding T cells were counted in three regions with the highest immune response. Numbers of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and lymphocyte aggregates (LA) were quantified. High CD3+ stroma T-cell infiltration was associated with improved survival (p = 0.045), especially in the G3 subgroup (p = 0.01). Cluster with higher immune response showed less recurrence (p = 0.034) and favorable overall survival (OS) (p = 0.019). In contrast, higher CD3+ and CD8+ tumor T-cell infiltration seemed to have a negative impact on prognosis. TLS and LA were more frequently observed in G3 tumors, indicating an increased anti-tumoral immune response. We proved the role of immune cell infiltration and showed that higher infiltration numbers of CD3+ (not CD8+) lymphocytes in the stroma are associated with favorable outcome. Immune cell quantification could be used as a marker to help stratify patients’ risk and therefore, to optimize patients’ management and follow-up examination as well as possible therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luuk van Hooren ◽  
Alessandra Vaccaro ◽  
Mohanraj Ramachandran ◽  
Konstantinos Vazaios ◽  
Sylwia Libard ◽  
...  

AbstractGliomas are brain tumors characterized by an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Immunostimulatory agonistic CD40 antibodies (αCD40) are in clinical development for solid tumors, but are yet to be evaluated for glioma. Here, we demonstrate that systemic delivery of αCD40 in preclinical glioma models induces the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in proximity of meningeal tissue. In treatment-naïve glioma patients, the presence of TLS correlates with increased T cell infiltration. However, systemic delivery of αCD40 induces hypofunctional T cells and impairs the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in pre-clinical glioma models. This is associated with a systemic induction of suppressive CD11b+ B cells post-αCD40 treatment, which accumulate in the tumor microenvironment. Our work unveils the pleiotropic effects of αCD40 therapy in glioma and reveals that immunotherapies can modulate TLS formation in the brain, opening up for future opportunities to regulate the immune response.


2017 ◽  
Vol 214 (11) ◽  
pp. 3417-3433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojing Chen ◽  
Lucia Poncette ◽  
Thomas Blankenstein

For thymic selection and responses to pathogens, T cells interact through their αβ T cell receptor (TCR) with peptide–major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on antigen-presenting cells. How the diverse TCRs interact with a multitude of MHC molecules is unresolved. It is also unclear how humans generate larger TCR repertoires than mice do. We compared the TCR repertoire of CD4 T cells selected from a single mouse or human MHC class II (MHC II) in mice containing the human TCR gene loci. Human MHC II yielded greater thymic output and a more diverse TCR repertoire. The complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) length adjusted for different inherent V-segment affinities to MHC II. Humans evolved with greater nontemplate-encoded CDR3 diversity than did mice. Our data, which demonstrate human TCR–MHC coevolution after divergence from rodents, explain the greater T cell diversity in humans and suggest a mechanism for ensuring that any V–J gene combination can be selected by a single MHC II.


1993 ◽  
Vol 178 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Bhardwaj ◽  
J W Young ◽  
A J Nisanian ◽  
J Baggers ◽  
R M Steinman

Dendritic cells are potent antigen-presenting cells for several primary immune responses and therefore provide an opportunity for evaluating the amounts of cell-associated antigens that are required for inducing T cell-mediated immunity. Because dendritic cells express very high levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II products, it has been assumed that high levels of ligands bound to MHC products ("signal one") are needed to stimulate quiescent T cells. Here we describe quantitative aspects underlying the stimulation of human blood T cells by a bacterial superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA). The advantages of superantigens for quantitative studies of signal one are that these ligands: (a) engage MHC class II and the T cell receptor but do not require processing; (b) are efficiently presented to large numbers of quiescent T cells; and (c) can be pulsed onto dendritic cells before their application to T cells. Thus one can relate amounts of dendritic cell-associated SEA to subsequent lymphocyte stimulation. Using radioiodinated SEA, we noted that dendritic cells can bind 30-200 times more superantigen than B cells and monocytes. Nevertheless, this high SEA binding does not underlie the strong potency of dendritic cells to present antigen to T cells. Dendritic cells can sensitize quiescent T cells, isolated using monoclonals to appropriate CD45R epitopes, after a pulse of SEA that occupies a maximum of 0.1% of surface MHC class II molecules. This corresponds to an average of 2,000 molecules per dendritic cell. At these low doses of bound SEA, monoclonal antibodies to CD3, CD4, and CD28 almost completely block T cell proliferation. In addition to suggesting new roles for MHC class II on dendritic cells, especially the capture and retention of ligands at low external concentrations, the data reveal that primary T cells can generate a response to exceptionally low levels of signal one as long as these are delivered on dendritic cells.


Author(s):  
Anthony M. Deacy ◽  
Samuel Ken-En Gan ◽  
Jeremy P. Derrick

Superantigens are unconventional antigens which recognise immune receptors outside the usual binding sites e.g. complementary determining regions (CDRs), to elicit a response within the target cell. T-cell superantigens crosslink T-cell receptors and MHC Class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells, leading to lymphocyte recruitment, induction of cytokine storms and T-cell anergy or apoptosis among many other effects. B-cell superantigens, on the other hand, bind immunoglobulin receptors on B-cells affecting opsonisation, IgG-mediated phagocytosis, and drive B-cells into apoptosis. Here, through a review of the structural basis for recognition of immune receptors by superantigens, we show that their binding interfaces share specific physicochemical characteristics when compared with other protein-protein interaction complexes. Given that antibody-binding superantigens have been exploited extensively in industrial antibody purification, these observations could facilitate further protein engineering to optimize the use of superantigens in this and other areas of biotechnology.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aras Toker

<p>Glatiramer acetate (GA) is approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), and can suppress experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of human MS. GA treatment is associated with the induction of anti-inflammatory TH2 responses and with the antigen specific expansion of regulatory T cells that counteract or inhibit pathogenic events in MS and EAE. These T cell mediated mechanisms of protection are considered to be a result of modulation of antigen presenting cells (APCs) by GA, rather than direct effects on T cells. However, it is unknown if GA preferentially targets a specific APC subset or can act through multiple APCs in vivo. In addition, GA-modulated innate cells may also exhibit direct antigen non-specific suppression of autoreactive cells. One objective of this study was to identify the in vivo target cell population of GA and to assess the potential of the target cells to antigen non-specifically suppress immune responses. Fluorophor-labelled GA bound to monocytes after intravenous injections, suggesting that monocytes may be the primary target of GA in vivo. In addition, intravenous GA treatment enhanced the intrinsic ability of monocytes to suppress T cell proliferation, both in vitro and in vivo. The findings of this study therefore suggest that GA-induced monocytes may contribute to GA therapy through direct mechanisms of antigen non-specific T cell immunosuppression. A further objective of this work was to investigate the potential of an in vivo drug targeting approach. This approach was hypothesised to increase the uptake of GA by the target cells and substantially improve GA treatment through antigen specific mechanisms such as induction of TH2 or regulatory T cells. Targeting antigens to professional APCs with an anti-MHC class II antibody resulted in significantly enhanced T cell proliferation in vitro. However, no EAE suppression occurred when GA was targeted to MHC class II in vivo. In addition, targeting GA specifically to monocytes also failed to suppress EAE. These findings suggest that GA treatment may selectively modulate monocytes to enhance their ability to inhibit autoreactive T cells, which could be part of the mechanism by which GA ameliorates MS. Targeting GA to a specific cell type may not be a powerful approach to improve treatment, because increased proliferation of GA specific T cells is not sufficient for disease suppression, and conjugation to antibodies may functionally reduce GA to a mere antigen devoid of immunomodulatory capacity.</p>


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