scholarly journals New emerging targets in cancer immunotherapy: CD137/4-1BB costimulatory axis

ESMO Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. e000733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iñaki Etxeberria ◽  
Javier Glez-Vaz ◽  
Álvaro Teijeira ◽  
Ignacio Melero

CD137 (4-1BB) is a surface glycoprotein that belongs to the tumour necrosis factor receptor family (TNFRSF9). Its expression is induced on activation on a number of leucocyte types. Interestingly, for cancer immunotherapy, CD137 becomes expressed on primed T and natural killer (NK) cells, which on ligation provides powerful costimulatory signals. Perturbation of CD137 by CD137L or agonist monoclonal antibodies on activated CD8 T cells protects such antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes from apoptosis, enhances effector functionalities and favours persistence and memory differentiation. As a consequence, agonist antibodies exert potent antitumour effects in mouse models and the CD137 signalling domain is critical in chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) of CAR T cells approved to be used in the clinic. New formats of CD137 agonist moieties are being clinically developed, seeking potent costimulation targeted to the tumour microenvironment to avoid liver inflammation side effects, that have thus far limited and delayed clinical development.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman K Ray ◽  
Yamini Meshram ◽  
Sukhes Mukherjee

: Cancer immunotherapy endeavours in harnessing delicate strength and specificity of immune system for therapy of different malignancies including colorectal carcinoma. The recent challenge for cancer immunotherapy is to practice and develop molecular immunology tools to create tactics that efficiently and securely boost antitumor reactions. After several attempts of deceptive outcomes, the wave has lastly altered and immunotherapy has become a clinically confirmed treatment for several cancers. Immunotherapeutic methods include administration of antibodies or modified proteins that either block cellular activity or co-stimulate cells through immune control pathways, cancer vaccines, oncolytic bacteria, ex vivo activated adoptive transfer of T cells and natural killer cells. Engineered T cells are used to produce a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to treat different malignancies including colorectal carcinoma in a recent decade. Despite considerable early clinical success, CAR-T therapies are associated with some side effects and sometimes display minimal efficacy. It gives special emphasis on the latest clinical evidence with CAR-T technology and also other related immunotherapeutic methods with promising performance, and highlighted how this therapy can affect therapeutic outcome and next upsurge as a key clinical aspect of colorectal carcinoma. In this review we recapitulate the current developments produced to improve the efficacy and specificity of CAR-T therapies in colon cancer.


Author(s):  
Ramazan Rezaei ◽  
Hadi Esmaeili Gouvarchin Ghaleh ◽  
Mahdieh Farzanehpour ◽  
Ruhollah Dorostkar ◽  
Reza Ranjbar ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A126-A126
Author(s):  
John Goulding ◽  
Mochtar Pribadi ◽  
Robert Blum ◽  
Wen-I Yeh ◽  
Yijia Pan ◽  
...  

BackgroundMHC class I related proteins A (MICA) and B (MICB) are induced by cellular stress and transformation, and their expression has been reported for many cancer types. NKG2D, an activating receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) and T cells, targets the membrane-distal domains of MICA/B, activating a potent cytotoxic response. However, advanced cancer cells frequently evade immune cell recognition by proteolytic shedding of the α1 and α2 domains of MICA/B, which can significantly reduce NKG2D function and the cytolytic activity.MethodsRecent publications have shown that therapeutic antibodies targeting the membrane-proximal α3 domain inhibited MICA/B shedding, resulting in a substantial increase in the cell surface density of MICA/B and restoration of immune cell-mediated tumor immunity.1 We have developed a novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting the conserved α3 domain of MICA/B (CAR-MICA/B). Additionally, utilizing our proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) product platform, we have developed multiplexed engineered, iPSC-derived CAR-MICA/B NK (iNK) cells for off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy.ResultsA screen of CAR spacer and ScFv orientations in primary T cells delineated MICA-specific in vitro activation and cytotoxicity as well as in vivo tumor control against MICA+ cancer cells. The novel CAR-MICA/B design was used to compare efficacy against NKG2D CAR T cells, an alternative MICA/B targeting strategy. CAR-MICA/B T cells showed superior cytotoxicity against melanoma, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and lung cancer lines in vitro compared to primary NKG2D CAR T cells (p<0.01). Additionally, using an in vivo xenograft metastasis model, CAR-MICA/B T cells eliminated A2058 human melanoma metastases in the majority of the mice treated. In contrast, NKG2D CAR T cells were unable to control tumor growth or metastases. To translate CAR-MICA/B functionality into an off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy, CAR-MICA/B was introduced into a clonal master engineered iPSC line to derive a multiplexed engineered, CAR-MICA/B iNK cell product candidate. Using a panel of tumor cell lines expressing MICA/B, CAR-MICA/B iNK cells displayed MICA specificity, resulting in enhanced cytokine production, degranulation, and cytotoxicity. Furthermore, in vivo NK cell cytotoxicity was evaluated using the B16-F10 melanoma cell line, engineered to express MICA. In this model, CAR-MICA/B iNK cells significantly reduced liver and lung metastases, compared to untreated controls, by 93% and 87% respectively.ConclusionsOngoing work is focused on extending these preclinical studies to further support the clinical translation of an off-the-shelf, CAR-MICA/B iNK cell cancer immunotherapy with the potential to overcome solid tumor escape from NKG2D-mediated mechanisms of recognition and killing.ReferenceFerrari de Andrade L, Tay RE, Pan D, Luoma AM, Ito Y, Badrinath S, Tsoucas D, Franz B, May KF Jr, Harvey CJ, Kobold S, Pyrdol JW, Yoon C, Yuan GC, Hodi FS, Dranoff G, Wucherpfennig KW. Antibody-mediated inhibition of MICA and MICB shedding promotes NK cell-driven tumor immunity. Science 2018 Mar 30;359(6383):1537–1542.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8620
Author(s):  
Alain E. Andrea ◽  
Andrada Chiron ◽  
Stéphanie Bessoles ◽  
Salima Hacein-Bey-Abina

Immunoadoptive therapy with genetically modified T lymphocytes expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with hematologic cancers. Although clinical outcomes in B-cell malignancies are impressive, researchers are seeking to enhance the activity, persistence, and also safety of CAR-T cell therapy—notably with a view to mitigating potentially serious or even life-threatening adverse events like on-target/off-tumor toxicity and (in particular) cytokine release syndrome. A variety of safety strategies have been developed by replacing or adding various components (such as OFF- and ON-switch CARs) or by combining multi-antigen-targeting OR-, AND- and NOT-gate CAR-T cells. This research has laid the foundations for a whole new generation of therapeutic CAR-T cells. Here, we review the most promising CAR-T cell safety strategies and the corresponding preclinical and clinical studies.


Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (18) ◽  
pp. 3138-3148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armen Mardiros ◽  
Cedric Dos Santos ◽  
Tinisha McDonald ◽  
Christine E. Brown ◽  
Xiuli Wang ◽  
...  

Key Points CD123 CAR T cells specifically target CD123+ AML cells. AML patient-derived T cells can be genetically modified to lyse autologous tumor cells.


Author(s):  
Aaron J Harrison ◽  
Xin Du ◽  
Bianca von Scheidt ◽  
Michael H Kershaw ◽  
Clare Y Slaney

Abstract Co-stimulation is a fundamental component of T cell biology and plays a key role in determining the quality of T cell proliferation, differentiation and memory formation. T cell-based immunotherapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy, are no exception. Solid tumours have largely been refractory to CAR T cell therapy owing to an immunosuppressive microenvironment which limits CAR T cell persistence and effector function. In order to eradicate solid cancers, increasingly sophisticated strategies are being developed to deliver these vital co-stimulatory signals to CAR T cells, often specifically within the tumour microenvironment. These include designing novel co-stimulatory domains within the CAR or other synthetic receptors, arming CAR T cells with cytokines or using CAR T cells in combination with agonist antibodies. This review discusses the evolving role of co-stimulation in CAR T cell therapies and the strategies employed to target co-stimulatory pathways in CAR T cells, with a view to improve responses in solid tumours.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 412-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladapo O. Yeku ◽  
Renier J. Brentjens

Chimaeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells are T-cells that have been genetically modified to express an artificial construct consisting of a synthetic T-cell receptor (TCR) targeted to a predetermined antigen expressed on a tumour. Coupling the T-cell receptor to a CD3ζ signalling domain paved the way for first generation CAR T-cells that were efficacious against cluster of differentiation (CD)19-expressing B-cell malignancies. Optimization with additional signalling domains such as CD28 or 4-1BB in addition to CD3ζ provided T-cell activation signal 2 and further improved the efficacy and persistence of these second generation CAR T-cells. Third generation CAR T-cells which utilize two tandem costimulatory domains have also been reported. In this review, we discuss a different approach to optimization of CAR T-cells. Through additional genetic modifications, these resultant armored CAR T-cells are typically modified second generation CAR T-cells that have been further optimized to inducibly or constitutively secrete active cytokines or express ligands that further armor CAR T-cells to improve efficacy and persistence. The choice of the ‘armor’ agent is based on knowledge of the tumour microenvironment and the roles of other elements of the innate and adaptive immune system. Although there are several variants of armored CAR T-cells under investigation, here we focus on three unique approaches using interleukin-12 (IL-12), CD40L and 4-1BBL. These agents have been shown to further enhance CAR T-cell efficacy and persistence in the face of a hostile tumour microenvironment via different mechanisms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Graham ◽  
Rebecca Hewitson ◽  
Antonio Pagliuca ◽  
Reuben Benjamin

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuliang Chu ◽  
Jingjing Cao ◽  
Sattva S. Neelalpu

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