scholarly journals T Cell–Associated Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 609-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijie Ma ◽  
Long Wu ◽  
Fuling Zhou ◽  
Zhenfei Hong ◽  
Yufeng Yuan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Malignant Diseases ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Engineered T Cells ◽  
Clinical Consequences

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant diseases worldwide with limited therapeutic options. Accumulating evidences suggest that immunotherapy could be a promising option for treating HCC. T cell-associated immunotherapy lights up the hope for the improvement of complementary approach to conventional HCC treatments, which needs further research to consummate the clinical consequences. The present work reviewed several T cells associated cellular immunotherapies for HCC, including immune checkpoint blockade, gene–engineered T cells, bispecific T cell engagers, and so on. We also analyzed how these immunotherapies can mediate tumor cell eradication and evaluated their superiority or insufficiency.

A selective HDAC8 inhibitor potentiates antitumor immunity and efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (588) ◽  
pp. eaaz6804
Author(s):  
Weiqin Yang ◽  
Yu Feng ◽  
Jingying Zhou ◽  
Otto Ka-Wing Cheung ◽  
Jianquan Cao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Epigenetic Therapy ◽  
Preclinical Model ◽  
Cell Trafficking ◽  
Dependent Manner

Insufficient T cell infiltration into noninflamed tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), restricts the effectiveness of immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) for a subset of patients. Epigenetic therapy provides further opportunities to rewire cancer-associated transcriptional programs, but whether and how selective epigenetic inhibition counteracts the immune-excluded phenotype remain incompletely defined. Here, we showed that pharmacological inhibition of histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8), a histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27)–specific isozyme overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, thwarts HCC tumorigenicity in a T cell–dependent manner. The tumor-suppressive effect of selective HDAC8 inhibition was abrogated by CD8+ T cell depletion or regulatory T cell adoptive transfer. Chromatin profiling of human HDAC8-expressing HCCs revealed genome-wide H3K27 deacetylation in 1251 silenced enhancer-target gene pairs that are enriched in metabolic and immune regulators. Mechanistically, down-regulation of HDAC8 increased global and enhancer acetylation of H3K27 to reactivate production of T cell–trafficking chemokines by HCC cells, thus relieving T cell exclusion in both immunodeficient and humanized mouse models. In an HCC preclinical model, selective HDAC8 inhibition increased tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and potentiated eradication of established hepatomas by anti–PD-L1 therapy without evidence of toxicity. Mice treated with HDAC8 and PD-L1 coblockade were protected against subsequent tumor rechallenge as a result of the induction of memory T cells and remained tumor-free for greater than 15 months. Collectively, our study demonstrates that selective HDAC8 inhibition elicits effective and durable responses to ICB by co-opting adaptive immunity through enhancer reprogramming.

scholarly journals Glial Cell Expression of PD-L1

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Chauhan ◽  
James Lokensgard
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Pathogen Detection ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Programmed Death ◽  
Cell Expression ◽  
Inflammatory Milieu ◽  
The Brain

The programmed death (PD)-1/PD-L1 pathway is a well-recognized negative immune checkpoint that results in functional inhibition of T-cells. Microglia, the brain-resident immune cells are vital for pathogen detection and initiation of neuroimmune responses. Moreover, microglial cells and astrocytes govern the activity of brain-infiltrating antiviral T-cells through upregulation of PD-L1 expression. While T-cell suppressive responses within brain are undoubtedly beneficial to the host, preventing cytotoxic damage to this vital organ, establishment of a prolonged anti-inflammatory milieu may simultaneously lead to deficiencies in viral clearance. An immune checkpoint blockade targeting the PD-1: PD-L1 (B7-H1; CD274) axis has revolutionized contemporary treatment for a variety of cancers. However, the therapeutic potential of PD1: PD-L1 blockade therapies targeting viral brain reservoirs remains to be determined. For these reasons, it is key to understand both the detrimental and protective functions of this signaling pathway within the brain. This review highlights how glial cells use PD-L1 expression to modulate T-cell effector function and limit detrimental bystander damage, while still retaining an effective defense of the brain.

SOX2 as a target for immunotherapy of pediatric gliomas.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e22012-e22012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Vasquez ◽  
Anita Huttner ◽  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Asher Marks ◽  
Amy Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Tumor Immunity ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Cell Mass ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Glial Tumors

e22012 Background: New treatments are needed to improve outcomes for pediatric gliomas. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective therapies in tumors with a high mutation burden that express multiple neo-antigens. However, for pediatric tumors that carry few mutations, there is a need to identify new antigenic targets of anti-tumor immunity. SOX2 is an embryonal stem cell antigen implicated in the biology of glioma initiating cells. Expression of SOX2 by pediatric glial tumors, and the capacity of the immune system in these patients to recognize SOX2, has not been studied. Methods: We examined the expression of SOX2 on paraffin-embedded tissue from pediatric glial tumors (n = 30). The presence of T cell immunity to SOX2 was examined in both blood and tumor-infiltrating T cells using antigen-dependent cytokine and T cell proliferation assays (n = 15). The nature of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in glial tumors (n = 4) was analyzed using single cell mass cytometry. Results: SOX2 is expressed by tumor cells but not surrounding normal tissue in all low grade gliomas (n = 15), high grade gliomas (n = 7), ependymomas (n = 3) and in 60% of oligodendrogliomas (n = 5). T cells against SOX2 can be detected in blood and tumor tissue in 33% of patients. CD4 and CD8 tumor infiltrating T-cells display a higher proportion of PD-1 expression compared to circulating T cells (p < 0.05). Glial CD4 and CD8 T cells are enriched for tissue resident memory phenotype (TRM; CD45RO+, CD69+, CCR7-) and the expression of PD-1 is primarily on these TRM cells (p < 0.05). A subset of CD4 and CD8 TRM cells also co-express multiple inhibitory checkpoints including PD-L1 and TIGIT. Glial tumors also contain NK cells with reduced expression of lytic granzyme (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data demonstrate in vivo immunogenicity of SOX2, which is specifically overexpressed on pediatric glial tumor cells. Our data also suggest that the TRM subset of tumor-infiltrating T cells may be key targets for immune checkpoint blockade, and harnessing tumor immunity will likely require the combined targeting of multiple inhibitory checkpoints. Future efforts to target SOX2 with dendritic cell vaccines combined with immune checkpoint blockade could provide effective tumor immunity and improve outcomes in pediatric brain tumors.

scholarly journals Fucoidan-Supplemented Diet Potentiates Immune Checkpoint Blockage by Enhancing Antitumor Immunity

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Yang ◽  
Xianzhi Yang ◽  
Wenfeng Pan ◽  
Mingshuo Wang ◽  
Yuxiong Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Stat Pathway

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies such as PD-1 antibodies have produced significant clinical responses in treating a variety of human malignancies, yet only a subset of cancer patients benefit from such therapy. To improve the ICB efficacy, combinations with additional therapeutics were under intensive investigation. Recently, special dietary compositions that can lower the cancer risk or inhibit cancer progression have drawn significant attention, although few were reported to show synergistic effects with ICB therapies. Interestingly, Fucoidan is naturally derived from edible brown algae and exhibits antitumor and immunomodulatory activities. Here we discover that fucoidan-supplemented diet significantly improves the antitumor activities of PD-1 antibodies in vivo. Specifically, fucoidan as a dietary ingredient strongly inhibits tumor growth when co-administrated with PD-1 antibodies, which effects can be further strengthened when fucoidan is applied before PD-1 treatments. Immune analysis revealed that fucoidan consistently promotes the activation of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, which support the evident synergies with ICB therapies. RNAseq analysis suggested that the JAK-STAT pathway is critical for fucoidan to enhance the effector function of CD8+ T cells, which could be otherwise attenuated by disruption of the T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex on the cell surface. Mechanistically, fucoidan interacts with this complex and augments TCR-mediated signaling that cooperate with the JAK-STAT pathway to stimulate T cell activation. Taken together, we demonstrated that fucoidan is a promising dietary supplement combined with ICB therapies to treat malignancies, and dissected an underappreciated mechanism for fucoidan-elicited immunomodulatory effects in cancer.

scholarly journals PREDICTIVE IMMUNE CHECKPOINT BLOCKADE CLASSIFIERS DISTINGUISHING MONO- VERSUS COMBINATION THERAPY REQUIREMENT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Krijgsman ◽  
Kristel Kemper ◽  
Julia Boshuizen ◽  
David W. Vredevoogd ◽  
Elisa A. Rozeman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Human Tumor ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Adoptive Cell Transfer ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Melanoma Tumor ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Patient Response

Although high clinical response rates are seen for immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) treatment of metastatic melanomas, both intrinsic and acquired ICB resistance remain considerable clinical challenges1. Combination ICB (anti-PD-1 + anti-CTLA-4) shows improved patient benefit2–5, but is associated with severe adverse events and exceedingly high cost. Therefore, there is a dire need to stratify individual patients for their likelihood of responding to either anti-PD-1 or anti-CTLA-4 monotherapy, or the combination. Since it is conceivable that ICB responses are influenced by both tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors6–9, we hypothesized that a predictive genetic classifier ought to mirror both these features. In a panel of patient-derived melanoma xenografts10 (PDX), we noted that cells derived from the human tumor microenvironment (TME) that were co-grafted with the tumor cells were naturally replaced by murine cells after the first passage. Taking advantage of the XenofilteR11 algorithm we recently developed to deconvolute human from murine RNA sequence reads from PDX10, we obtained curated human melanoma tumor cell RNA reads. These expression signals were computationally subtracted from the total RNA profiles in bulk (tumor cell + TME) melanomas from patients. We thus derived one genetic signature that is purely tumor cell-intrinsic (“InTumor”), and one that comprises tumor cell-extrinsic RNA profiles (“ExTumor”). Here we report that the InTumor signature predicts patient response to anti-PD-1, but not anti-CTLA-4 treatment. This was validated in melanoma PDX and cell lines, which confirmed that InTumorLO tumors were effectively eliminated by adoptive cell transfer of T-Cell Receptor (TCR)-matched cytotoxic T cells, whereas InTumorHI melanomas were refractory and grew out as fast as tumors challenged with unmatched T cells. In contrast, the ExTumor signature predicts patient response to anti-CTLA-4 but not anti-PD-1. Most importantly, we used the InTumor and ExTumor signatures in conjunction to generate an ICB response quadrant, which predicts clinical benefit for five independent melanoma patient cohorts treated with either mono- or combination ICB. Specifically, these signatures enable identification of patients who have a much higher chance of responding to the combination treatment than to either monotherapy (p < 0.05), as well as patients who are likely to experience little benefit from receiving anti-CTLA-4 on top of anti-PD-1 (p < 0.05). These signatures may be clinically exploited to distinguish patients who need combined PD-1 + CTLA-4 blockade from those who are likely to benefit from either anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 monotherapy.

scholarly journals B7-H5 blockade enhances CD8+ T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayu Wang ◽  
Hongya Wu ◽  
Yanjun Chen ◽  
Jinghan Zhu ◽  
Linqing Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Immune Escape ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Cell Infiltration ◽  
Tumor Immune Escape ◽  
T Cell Infiltration

AbstractNegative immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy has shown potential for multiple malignancies including colorectal cancer (CRC). B7-H5, a novel negative immune checkpoint regulator, is highly expressed in tumor tissues and promotes tumor immune escape. However, the clinical significance of B7-H5 expression in CRC and the role of B7-H5 in the tumor microenvironment (TME) has not been fully clarified. In this study, we observed that high B7-H5 expression in CRC tissues was significantly correlated with the lymph node involvement, AJCC stage, and survival of CRC patients. A significant inverse correlation was also observed between B7-H5 expression and CD8+ T-cell infiltration in CRC tissues. Kaplan−Meier analysis showed that patients with high B7-H5 expression and low CD8+ T-cell infiltration had the worst prognosis in our cohort of CRC patients. Remarkably, both high B7-H5 expression and low CD8+ T infiltration were risk factors for overall survival. Additionally, B7-H5 blockade using a B7-H5 monoclonal antibody (B7-H5 mAb) effectively suppressed the growth of MC38 colon cancer tumors by enhancing the infiltration and Granzyme B production of CD8+ T cells. Importantly, the depletion of CD8+ T cells obviously abolished the antitumor effect of B7-H5 blockade in the MC38 tumors. In sum, our findings suggest that B7-H5 may be a valuably prognostic marker for CRC and a potential target for CRC immunotherapy.

scholarly journals HDAC6 Inhibition Alleviates CLL-Induced T-Cell Dysfunction and Enhances Immune Checkpoint Blockade Efficacy in the Eμ-TCL1 Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamira Maharaj ◽  
John J. Powers ◽  
Melanie Mediavilla-Varela ◽  
Alex Achille ◽  
Wael Gamal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
Cell Dysfunction ◽  
T Cell Dysfunction

Development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with severe immune dysfunction. T-cell exhaustion, immune checkpoint upregulation, and increase of regulatory T cells contribute to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. As a result, CLL patients are severely susceptible to infectious complications that increase morbidity and mortality. CLL B-cell survival is highly dependent upon interaction with the supportive tumor microenvironment. It has been postulated that the reversal of T-cell dysfunction in CLL may be beneficial to reduce tumor burden. Previous studies have also highlighted roles for histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in regulation of immune cell phenotype and function. Here, we report for the first time that HDAC6 inhibition exerts beneficial immunomodulatory effects on CLL B cells and alleviates CLL-induced immunosuppression of CLL T cells. In the Eμ-TCL1 adoptive transfer murine model, genetic silencing or inhibition of HDAC6 reduced surface expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on CLL B cells and lowered interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels. This occurred concurrently with a bolstered T-cell phenotype, demonstrated by alteration of coinhibitory molecules and activation status. Analysis of mice with similar tumor burden indicated that the majority of T-cell changes elicited by silencing or inhibition of HDAC6 in vivo are likely secondary to decrease of tumor burden and immunomodulation of CLL B cells. The data reported here suggest that CLL B cell phenotype may be altered by HDAC6-mediated hyperacetylation of the chaperone heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and subsequent inhibition of the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway. Based on the beneficial immunomodulatory activity of HDAC6 inhibition, we rationalized that HDAC6 inhibitors could enhance immune checkpoint blockade in CLL. Conclusively, combination treatment with ACY738 augmented the antitumor efficacy of anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies in the Eμ-TCL1 adoptive transfer murine model. These combinatorial antitumor effects coincided with an increased cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell phenotype. Taken together, these data highlight a role for HDAC inhibitors in combination with immunotherapy and provides the rationale to investigate HDAC6 inhibition together with immune checkpoint blockade for treatment of CLL patients.

96 Decitabine gene modulation sensitizes human non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to NY-ESO-1 TCR immunotherapy (letetresgene autoleucel; GSK3377794) in vivo

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A107-A107
Author(s):  
Dmitry Pankov ◽  
Ioanna Eleftheriadou ◽  
Anna Domogala ◽  
Sara Brett ◽  
Lea Patasic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Human Leukocyte Antigen ◽  
Human Leukocyte ◽  
List Type ◽  
Leukocyte Antigen ◽  
Engineered T Cells

BackgroundNY-ESO-1–specific T cells (letetresgene autoleucel [lete-cel] GSK3377794) are autologous CD4+ and CD8+ T cells transduced to express a high-affinity T-cell receptor (TCR) capable of recognizing NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1a antigens in complex with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02. NY-ESO-1 (CTAG1B) and LAGE-1a (CTAG2) are tumor-associated antigens (TAA) that share the SLLMWITQC peptide bound to human leukocyte antigen HLA-A*02 and are expressed in various cancers. Emerging evidence suggests that TCR-engineered T cells targeting NY-ESO-1 hold promise for patients with solid tumors.1 Approximately 75% of synovial sarcomas can over-express NY-ESO-1 vs 12% of NSCLC,2 however, NSCLC expression of NY-ESO-1/LAGE1-a may have therapeutic potential.3 A separate study using engineered T cells targeting NY-ESO-1 has shown a partial response in a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.4 Decitabine (DAC) is a hypomethylating agent and potent inducer of TAA, including NY-ESO-1.5 We have reported in vitro use of DAC to selectively modulate TAA expression in TAA low-expressing tumor cell lines in order to enhance lete-cel therapy.3 The aim of this study was to assess enhancement of combination therapy with lete-cel and DAC in an in vivo NSCLC model.MethodsNOD scid gamma (NSG) mice were injected subcutaneously with the human NSCLC tumor cell line NCI-H1703. Upon engraftment, tumor-bearing mice were treated with a 5-day course of DAC or vehicle control followed by 2 days of rest. Lete-cel was infused on Day 8. RNA was isolated from tumor formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks, and levels of NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1a transcript were measured by RT-qPCR. Expression pattern of the NY-ESO-1 protein was assessed via immunohistochemistry. Efficacy was defined by changes in tumor volume and systemic IFN-γ secretion.ResultsConsistent with our previous in vitro studies, DAC treatment in vivo resulted in induction of NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1a in NSCLC tumors. Lete-cel in combination with DAC significantly enhanced antitumor efficacy in vivo compared with lete-cel alone. This was associated with increased interferon-γ secretion. Mice that received DAC treatment only did not show statistically significant tumor reduction compared with untreated mice.Ethics ApprovalAll animal studies were ethically reviewed and carried out in accordance with Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and the GSK Policy on the Care, Welfare and Treatment of Animals. Human biological samples were sourced ethically and their research use was in accord with the terms of the informed consents under an Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee approved protocol.ConclusionsGSK is currently enrolling a Phase Ib/IIa, multi-arm, open-label pilot study (NCT03709706) of lete-cel as a monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab in HLA-A*02–positive patients with NSCLC whose tumors express NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1a. This work may support rationale for the use of DAC in combination with lete-cel to improve adoptive T-cell therapy by increasing levels of target antigens and antitumor effect in NSCLC.AcknowledgementsFunding: GSKReferencesD’Angelo SP, Melchiori L, Merchant MS, et al. Cancer Discov 2018;8:944–957.Kerkar SP, Wang Z-F, Lasota J, et al. J Immunother 2016;39:181–187.Eleftheriadou I, Brett S, Domogala A, et al. Ann Oncol 2019:30(Suppl 5):v475–v532.Xia Y, Tian X, Wang J, et al. Oncol Lett 2018;16:6998–7007.Schrump DS, Fischette MR, Nguyen DM, et al. Clin Cancer Res 2006;12:5777–5785.

scholarly journals Combined PD-L1 and TIM-3 blockade improves the expansion of fit human CD8+ antigen-specific T cells for adoptive immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirin Lak ◽  
Valérie Janelle ◽  
Anissa Djedid ◽  
Gabrielle Boudreau ◽  
Ann Brasey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Immune Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Checkpoint Blockade ◽  
Immune Checkpoints ◽  
T Cell Expansion ◽  
And Function

AbstractBackgroundThe stimulation and expansion of antigen-specific T cells ex vivo enables the targeting of a multitude of cancer antigens. However, clinical scale T-cell expansion from rare precursors requires repeated stimulations ex vivo leading to T-cell terminal effector differentiation and exhaustion that adversely impact therapeutic potential. We leveraged immune checkpoint blockade relevant to antigen-specific CD8+ human T cells to improve the expansion and function of T cells targeting clinically relevant antigens.MethodsA clinically-compliant protocol relying on peptide-pulsed monocyte-derived dendritic cells and cytokines was used to expand antigen-specific CD8+ targeting the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the tumor associated antigen (TAA) Wilms Tumor 1 (WT1) protein. The effects of antibody-mediated blockade of immune checkpoints applied to the cultures (T-cell expansion, phenotypes and function) were assessed at various time points. Genomic studies including single cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing and T-cell receptor sequencing were performed on EBV-specific T cells to inform about the impact of immune checkpoint blockade on the clonal distribution and gene expression of the expanded T cells.ResultsSeveral immune checkpoints were expressed early by ex vivo expanded antigen-specific CD8+ T cells, including PD-1 and TIM-3 with co-expression matching evidence of T-cell dysfunction as the cultures progressed. The introduction of anti-PD-L1 (expressed by the dendritic cells) and anti-TIM-3 antibodies in combination (but not individually) to the culture led to markedly improved antigen-specific T-cell expansion based on cell counts, fluorescent multimer staining and functional tests. This was not associated with evidence of T-cell dysfunction when compared to T cells expanded without immune checkpoint blockade. Genomics studies largely confirmed these results, showing that double blockade does not impart specific transcriptional programs or patterns on TCR repertoires. However, our data indicate that combined blockade may nonetheless alter gene expression in a minority of clonotypes and have donor-specific impacts.ConclusionsThe manufacturing of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells can be improved in terms of yield and functionality using blockade of TIM-3 and the PD-L1/PD-1 axis in combination. Overcoming the deleterious effects of multiple antigenic stimulations through PD-L1/TIM-3 blockade is a readily applicable approach for several adoptive-immunotherapy strategies.

scholarly journals G9a/GLP inhibition during ex vivo lymphocyte expansion increases in vivo cytotoxicity of engineered TCR-T cells against hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxine Lam ◽  
Jose Reales-Calderon ◽  
Jin Rong Ow ◽  
Joey AW ◽  
Damien TAN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Antitumor Activity ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Insertional Mutagenesis ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Engineered T Cells

Abstract Engineered T cells transiently expressing tumor-targeting receptors are an attractive form of engineered T cell therapy as they carry no risk of insertional mutagenesis or long-term adverse side-effects. However, multiple rounds of treatment are often required, increasing patient discomfort and cost. To mitigate this, we sought to improve the antitumor activity of transient engineered T cells by screening a panel of small molecules targeting epigenetic regulators for their effect on T cell cytotoxicity. Using a model for engineered T cells targetting hepatocellular carcinoma, we found that short-term inhibition of G9a/GLP increased T cell antitumor activity in in vitro models and an orthotopic mouse model. G9a/GLP inhibition increased granzyme expression without terminal T cell differentiation or exhaustion and resulted in specific changes in expression of genes and proteins involved in pro-inflammatory pathways, T cell activation and cytotoxicity.

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