scholarly journals Recombinant Costimulatory Fusion Proteins as Functional Immunomodulators Enhance Antitumor Activity in Murine B16F10 Melanoma

Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Huaman Cai ◽  
Wenfang Wang ◽  
Zhibing Lin ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Bing Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
In Vitro Study ◽  
B16f10 Melanoma ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Modalities ◽  
Inhibitory Signaling

Blocking inhibitory signaling and engaging stimulatory signaling have emerged as important therapeutic modalities for cancer immunotherapy. This study aimed to investigate immunomodulatory features of three recombinant costimulatory ligand proteins in a mouse model, which are extracellular domains of OX40-ligand (OX40L), 4-1BB-ligand (4-1BBL), or two domains in tandem, fused with the transmembrane domain of diphtheria toxin (DTT), named DTT-COS1, DTT-COS2, and DTT-COS12, respectively. In vitro study showed that DTT-COS1 and DTT-COS12 had immunological activity increasing the ratio of CD8/CD4 T cells. Treatments with DTT-COS1 and DTT-COS12 dramatically generated immune protection against the B16F10 tumor challenge in both prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, regarding tumor microenvironment (TME) immunomodulation, DTT-COS1 treatment increased the proportion of CD4+ effector T cells (Teff) and decreased the expression of a suppressive cytokine. Meanwhile, DTT-COS12 reduced regulatory T cells (Treg) and improved the level of stimulatory cytokines. In addition, endogenous antibodies against OX40L/4-1BBL were generated, which may help with antitumor responses. Unexpectedly, DTT-COS2 lacked antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, serum analysis of liver-function associated factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines demonstrated that treatments were safe formulations in mice without signs of systemic toxicity. Remarkably, DTT-COS1 and DTT-COS12 are functional immunomodulators for mouse B16F10 melanoma, creating practical preclinical value in cancer immunotherapy.

scholarly journals Cold Plasma with Immunomodulatory Properties Has Significant Anti-Lymphoma Activities in Vitro and In Vivo

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5307-5307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengdong Cheng ◽  
Dayun Yan ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Michael Keidar ◽  
Eduardo Sotomayor
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cd4 T Cells ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Helium Gas ◽  
Gas Control ◽  
First Time

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.

scholarly journals 114 Preclinical development of a novel iPSC-derived CAR-MICA/B NK cell immunotherapy to overcome solid tumor escape from NKG2D-mediated mechanisms of recognition and killing

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A126-A126
Author(s):  
John Goulding ◽  
Mochtar Pribadi ◽  
Robert Blum ◽  
Wen-I Yeh ◽  
Yijia Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Tumor Immunity ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Nk Cell ◽  
Tumor Escape ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T

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.

Phenotypic and Functional Effects of Perifosine on Dendritic Cells.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 4803-4803
Author(s):  
Weihua Song ◽  
Teru Hideshima ◽  
Yu-Tzu Tai ◽  
Kenneth C. Anderson ◽  
Nikhil C. Munshi
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
Annexin V ◽  
Antitumor Agent ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Akt Inhibitor ◽  
Antitumor Effects

Abstract Perifosine is a synthetic novel alkylphospholipid, a new class of antitumor agent which targets cell membranes and inhibits Akt activation. Perifosine inhibits multiple myeloma (MM) cell growth in vitro and in vivo mouse model. Currently perifosine is under the evaluation of phase II clinical trail in MM. Although perifosine has shown significant direct antitumor effects, its effect on immune system has not yet been clarified. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of perifosine on the activity of antigen presenting cells (APCs). Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) from normal human donors were used as the APCs, and mature DCs were obtained by the treatment of TNF-α and IL-1β. Perifosine was used at the concentrations of 2.5 uM, 5 uM and 10 uM for the treatment with DCs. We first evaluated the effect of perifosine on the survival of DCs. We observed that the perifosine treatment up to 48 hours had no effect on viability (>90%) of DCs, assessed by annexin V and PI staining. Alteration of phenotype by perifosine on DCs was further examined by flow cytometry. Our results demonstrated that with dose-dependent manner, perifosine led to a significant down-regulation of surface antigens on immature DCs at 24 and 48 hours, which associated to costimulation (CD40, CD80 and CD86), antigen presentation (HLA-ABC, HLA-DPQR) and maturation (CD83). However, we did not observed significant effect of perifosine on above surface markers on mature DCs. Since DCs play a crucial role on the regulation of Th1/Th2 immune responses by the production of IL-12, we next evaluated IL-12 secretion by DCs with and without perifosine treatment. Importantly, treatment with perifosine significantly decreased LPS-induced-IL-12 production, compared to untreated DCs (untrt vs. trt = 192.29 vs. 166.23 pg/ml (2.5uM), 111.19 pg/ml (5uM) and 44.886 pg/ml (10uM)) at 24 hours. To assess the effect of perifosine on DCs function on the regulation of T cell responses, we stimulated allogenic T cells with mature DCs with or without the pre-treatment of perifosine. The proliferation assay by 3H-TdR incorporation and IFN-γ production by ELISA indicated perifosine-treated DCs had no significant effect on the regulation of T cells function. Taken together, these results showed that DCs function are influenced by the treatment of perifosine. Our pre-clinical data therefore indicates the need to monitor immune functions in patients under the Akt inhibitor treatment.

Reinforcement of Cancer Immunotherapy by Adoptive Transfer of Cblb-Deficient Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Combined with a Dendritic Cell Vaccine

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 957-957
Author(s):  
Christina Lutz-Nicoladoni ◽  
Patrizia Stoizner ◽  
Magdalena Pircher ◽  
Stephanie Wallner ◽  
Anna Maria Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Dendritic Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes ◽  
Adoptive Transfer ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Dc Vaccine

Abstract Abstract 957 Introduction: Various approaches to induce immunological rejection of tumors including transfer of autologous tumor infiltrating lymhocytes (TIL) after ex vivo clonal expansion or application of ex vivo transduced antigen specific T cell (TCR) transgenic T cells have been elaborated. In general, adoptive T cell transfer (ATC) has been combined with lympho-depleting agents (e.g. cyclophosphamide). However, the therapeutic efficacy of these cancer immunotherapy approaches is limited due to insufficient in vivo activation, expansion and survival of transferred effector immune cells, which is mainly due to suppressive mileu signals and immune evasion mechanisms induced by TGF-β. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b is a key regulator of T cell activation and is assumed to confer TGF-β resistance. Thus we performed a proof-of-concept study evaluating Cbl-b targeting as “intracellular adjuvant” strategy to improve ATC for cancer immunotherapy. Material and Methods: We first tested the in vitro sensitivity of CTL towards TGF-β mediated immuno-suppressive cues and then in vivo evaluated the anti-tumor reactivity of cblb-deficient cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in murine tumor models alone or in combination with a dendritic cell (DC) vaccine. Results: Cblb-deficient CTL are hyper-responsive to TCR/CD28-stimulation in vitro and protected from the negative cues induced by TGF-β as determined by quantification fo IFN-g secretion and quantification of their proliferative capacity. Unexpectedly, adoptive transfer of polyclonal, non TCR-transgenic cblb-deficient CD8+ CTL, however, is not sufficient to reject B16ova or EG7 tumors in vivo, which is in clear contrast to previous reports using lymphopenic animals receiving adoptively transferred TCR-transgenic T cells. Thus, we next evaluated in vivo re-activation of adoptively transferred cblb-deficient T cells by a DC vaccine (i.e. SIINFEKL-pulsed DC). In strict contrast to ATC monotherapy, this approach now markedly delays tumor outgrowth and significantly increase survival rates, which is paralleled by an increased CTL infiltration rate to the tumor site and an enrichment of ova-specific and IFN-g-secreting CTL in the draining lymph nodes. Moreover, compared to wild-type CTL, cblb-deficient mice vaccinated with the DC vaccine show an increased cytolytic activity in vivo. Conclusions: In summary, we provide experimental evidence that genetic inactivation of cblb in polyclonal, non-TCR transgenic adoptively transferred CTL might serve as a novel “adjuvant approach”, suitable to augment the effectiveness of anti-cancer immunotherapies using ATC in immune-competent recipients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Interrogating resistance mechanisms to PD-1 blockade therapy with CRISPR.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 3077-3077
Author(s):  
Davis Yuri Torrejon ◽  
Jesse Meir Zaretsky ◽  
Daniel Sanghoon Shin ◽  
Mykola Onyshchenko ◽  
Gabriel Abril-Rodriguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Antitumor Activity ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Ifn Gamma ◽  
Syngeneic Mouse Model

3077 Background: We tested the biological significance of the loss of function (LOF) mutations in JAK1 or JAK2 within the IFN-receptor-pathway and in beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), which had been found in patient biopsies with resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy. Methods: We used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to generate JAK1, JAK2 and B2M knockout (KO) sublines of HLA-A*02:01 MART-1 or NY-ESO-1 positive human melanoma cell lines, tested using in-vitro T cell co-culture systems and in a syngeneic mouse model (MC38) to analyze the in-vivo antitumor activity with anti-PD1 therapy. Results: The JAK2-KO cell line was insensitive to IFN-gamma induced signaling and growth arrest (p < 0.001 compared with IFN-alpha or beta), while the JAK1-KO cell line was insensitive to all three IFNs. Baseline MHC class I expression after JAK1-KO was unaffected (baseline-MFI 1230 JAK1-KO vs 1570 parental, p = 0.66), but the magnitude of change was lower upon IFN-gamma exposure compared to the parental (MFI change with IFN-gamma, 26% decrease for JAK1-KO vs 50% increase for parental). There was no difference in in-vitro cytotoxicity by NY-ESO-1-TCR transgenic T-cells against JAK1-KO-NY-ESO-1+ melanoma cells compared to the parental (78% vs 82% cytotoxicity at 10:1 E:T ratio, p NS). However, B2M-KO was resistant to killing by MART-1 specific T-cells (2% vs 96% cytotoxicity at 10:1 E:T ratio, p < 0.0001). On the other hand, in the MC38 model the significant antitumor activity of anti-PD-1 against the wild type cells was lost in both JAK2-KO and B2M-KO. The percentage of CD8+ T cells has a trend of increase with anti-PD1 compared to untreated in the MC38 wild type (p = 0.1 d12), and a trend of decrease in MC38 B2M-KO (p = 0.2 d12), but no change in JAK2-KO tumors (p = 0.7 d12). Conclusions: JAK1/2 LOF mutations result in insensitivity to IFN induced antitumor effects, but does not impair T cell recognition and cytotoxicity, while B2M LOF results in lack of antigen presentation to T cells and loss of antitumor activity. However both lead to in-vivo resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy, suggesting they do so by independent mechanisms.

Synthetic Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) Rapidly Induce Exhaustion and Augmented Glycolytic Metabolism In Human T Cells and Implicate Persistent CD28 Signaling As a Driver Of Exhaustion In Human T Cells

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 192-192
Author(s):  
Adrienne H. Long ◽  
Rimas J. Orentas ◽  
Crystal L. Mackall
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Antitumor Efficacy ◽  
Antigen Receptors ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Human T Cells ◽  
Car T ◽  
In Vitro Expansion

Abstract Introduction Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) provide a promising new approach for the adoptive immunotherapy of cancer. Though impressive antitumor activity has been observed with some CAR T cells, other CAR T cells demonstrate poor antitumor efficacy in vivo despite high cytolytic capacity in vitro due to poor expansion and persistence. Whether exhaustion of CAR T cells mirrors exhaustion that occurs naturally in chronically stimulated human T cells has not yet been studied. Here, we report that expression of select CD28 containing CARs in normal human T cells rapidly induces an exhausted state characterized by high PD-1 expression, poor persistence and poor antitumor efficacy, whereas other CARs do not induce this phenotype. Results Human T cells were expanded with anti-CD3/CD28 beads, and then transduced with a second-generation (CD28-CD3ζ) disialoganglioside 2 (GD2) specific CAR or a second-generation (CD28-CD3ζ) CD19 specific CAR. By day 7 of in vitro expansion, GD2 CAR T cells developed a metabolism more highly dependent on glycolysis compared to CD19 CAR T cells or untransduced controls. Neither CAR population was exposed to antigen during this expansion period. Using a Seahorse Extracellular Flux Analyzer, the ratio of glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation rates (ECAR:OCR ratio) of GD2 CAR T cells was found to be double that of CD19 CAR T cells or controls on day 7. The highly glycolytic metabolism of GD2 CAR T cells was associated with an exhausted phenotype. GD2 CAR T cells expressed higher levels of PD-1, TIM-3 and LAG-3, and transcription repressor BLIMP-1, compared to CD19 CAR T cells or untransduced controls. Additionally, GD2 CAR T cells were poor cytokine producers, generating <10x lower levels of IL2, TNFα and IFNγ than CD19 CAR T cells upon in vitro co-incubation with a GD2+CD19+ osteosarcoma line (143B-CD19), despite maintaining comparable in vitro cytolytic ability. GD2 CAR T cells showed poor in vitro expansion and increased rates of apoptosis compared to controls. GD2 CAR T cells also did not persist and did not mediate antitumor effects against GD2+CD19+ tumors in a murine xenograft model in vivo, whereas CD19 CAR T cells completely eradicated CD19+ tumors and persisted in both the spleen and tumor compartments. To rule out the possibility that diminished cytokine production and in vivo efficacy was related to antigen specific effects, T cells were co-transduced with both the GD2 and CD19 CARs. Though single-transduced CD19 CAR T cells show no signs of an altered metabolism or exhaustion and have strong antitumor efficacy, CD19 CAR T cells co-transduced with the GD2 CAR demonstrate an exhausted phenotype and diminished antitumor efficacy similar to that of single-transduced GD2 CAR T cells. Thus, expression of the GD2 CAR confers a dominant exhausted phenotype in T cells, and prevents otherwise efficacious CARs from mediating strong antitumor effects. We hypothesized that chronic signaling of CD3ζ and CD28 via the GD2 CAR results in exhaustion. Interestingly, however, we did not identify GD2 expression in the culture system. Point mutations in the CAR antigen-binding site, though abrogating GD2 binding, did not prevent the development of exhaustion. Thus, we postulate that constitutive receptor signaling may occur via interactions between the framework regions of the CAR receptors. Importantly however, substitution of 4-1BB for the CD28 domain in the GD2 CAR substantially diminished PD-1 expression, one of the hallmark features of exhausted T cells. Conclusions We report that expression of a CD28 containing GD2 CAR induces both an altered metabolism and an exhausted state in human T cells, resulting in poor in vivo persistence and antitumor efficacy. We hypothesize that tonic signaling through the GD2 CAR induces this phenotype and have identified the CD28 domain as an important component contributing to this phenotype. Rapid induction of exhaustion mediated via a synthetic receptor provides a novel model system to identify mechanistic factors required for this phenotype in human T cells. Work is currently underway to molecularly define the basis for the exhaustion of GD2 CAR T cells and to probe a potential role for altered T cell metabolism as a contributor to T cell exhaustion in human T cells. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

In Vitro and in Vivo Imaging of Initial T-B Cell Interactions in the Setting of B Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy

Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 2740-2740
Author(s):  
Kerstin Wennhold ◽  
Nela Klein-Gonzalez ◽  
Michael von Bergwelt-Baildon ◽  
Alexander Shimabukuro-Vornhagen
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Cell Interactions ◽  
Migration Behavior ◽  
Cell Zone

Abstract In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of B cells for cellular immunotherapy, since B cell-based cancer vaccines have yielded promising results in preclinical animal models. Contrary to dendritic cells (DCs), we know little about the migration behavior of B cells in vivo. Therefore, we investigated the interactions between CD40-activated (CD40) B cells and cytotoxic T cells in vitro and the migration behavior of CD40B cells in vivo. The dynamic interactions of human antigen-presenting cells and antigen-specific T cells were observed by time-lapse videomicroscopy. The migratory and chemoattractant potential of CD40B cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and standard transwell migration assays. GFP+ CD40B cells or CD40B cells isolated from Luciferase+mice were used for subsequent in vivo studies. Murine CD40B cells show similar migratory and chemotactic characteristics compared to human CD40B cells. Upon CD40-activation, B cells upregulate the important molecules involved in lymh node homing (CD62L, CCR7/CDCR4), which are functional and induce chemotaxis of T cells in vitro. Striking differences were observed for interactions of human CD40B cells or DCs with T cells. Antigen-loaded CD40B cells differ from immature and mature DCs by displaying a rapid migratory pattern undergoing highly dynamic, short-lived (7.5 min) and sequential interactions with cognate T cells. In vivo, CD40B cells migrate to the spleen and the lymph nodes, where they enrich in the B cell zone before traveling to B cell/ T cell boundary close to the T cell zone. CD40B cell interactions with T cells are dynamic and short-lived and thereby differ from DCs. Taken together, the migration behavior of CD40B cells and their interaction with T cells underline their potential as cellular adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Engineering light-controllable CAR T cells for cancer immunotherapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. eaay9209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziliang Huang ◽  
Yiqian Wu ◽  
Molly E. Allen ◽  
Yijia Pan ◽  
Phillip Kyriakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Tumor Antigens ◽  
Nuclear Translocation ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T ◽  
Target Cancer

T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) can recognize and engage with target cancer cells with redirected specificity for cancer immunotherapy. However, there is a lack of ideal CARs for solid tumor antigens, which may lead to severe adverse effects. Here, we developed a light-inducible nuclear translocation and dimerization (LINTAD) system for gene regulation to control CAR T activation. We first demonstrated light-controllable gene expression and functional modulation in human embryonic kidney 293T and Jurkat T cell lines. We then improved the LINTAD system to achieve optimal efficiency in primary human T cells. The results showed that pulsed light stimulations can activate LINTAD CAR T cells with strong cytotoxicity against target cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, our LINTAD system can serve as an efficient tool to noninvasively control gene activation and activate inducible CAR T cells for precision cancer immunotherapy.

scholarly journals Cell-permeable transgelin-2 as a potent therapeutic for dendritic cell-based cancer immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Ran Kim ◽  
Jeong-Su Park ◽  
Jin-Hwa Park ◽  
Fatima Yasmin ◽  
Chang-Hyun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Dendritic Cell ◽  
Tumor Growth ◽  
Cancer Immunotherapy ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
B16f10 Melanoma ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Viral Transduction ◽  
Tumor Growth And Metastasis

Abstract Background Transgelin-2 is a 22 kDa actin-binding protein that has been proposed to act as an oncogenic factor, capable of contributing to tumorigenesis in a wide range of human malignancies. However, little is known whether this tiny protein also plays an important role in immunity, thereby keeping body from the cancer development and metastasis. Here, we investigated the functions of transgelin-2 in dendritic cell (DC) immunity. Further, we investigated whether the non-viral transduction of cell-permeable transgelin-2 peptide potentially enhance DC-based cancer immunotherapy. Methods To understand the functions of transgelin-2 in DCs, we utilized bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) purified from transgelin-2 knockout (Tagln2−/−) mice. To observe the dynamic cellular mechanism of transgelin-2, we utilized confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. To monitor DC migration and cognate T–DC interaction in vivo, we used intravital two-photon microscopy. For the solid and metastasis tumor models, OVA+ B16F10 melanoma were inoculated into the C57BL/6 mice via intravenously (i.v.) and subcutaneously (s.c.), respectively. OTI TCR T cells were used for the adoptive transfer experiments. Cell-permeable, de-ubiquitinated recombinant transgelin-2 was purified from Escherichia coli and applied for DC-based adoptive immunotherapy. Results We found that transgelin-2 is remarkably expressed in BMDCs during maturation and lipopolysaccharide activation, suggesting that this protein plays a role in DC-based immunity. Although Tagln2−/− BMDCs exhibited no changes in maturation, they showed significant defects in their abilities to home to draining lymph nodes (LNs) and prime T cells to produce antigen-specific T cell clones, and these changes were associated with a failure to suppress tumor growth and metastasis of OVA+ B16F10 melanoma cells in mice. Tagln2−/− BMDCs had defects in filopodia-like membrane protrusion and podosome formation due to the attenuation of the signals that modulate actin remodeling in vitro and formed short, unstable contacts with cognate CD4+ T cells in vivo. Strikingly, non-viral transduction of cell-permeable, de-ubiquitinated recombinant transgelin-2 potentiated DC functions to suppress tumor growth and metastasis. Conclusion This work demonstrates that transgelin-2 is an essential protein for both cancer and immunity. Therefore, transgelin-2 can act as a double-edged sword depending on how we apply this protein to cancer therapy. Engineering and clinical application of this protein may unveil a new era in DC-based cancer immunotherapy. Our findings indicate that cell-permeable transgelin-2 have a potential clinical value as a cancer immunotherapy based on DCs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document