scholarly journals Expression of the Reverse Transcriptase Domain of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Induces Lytic Cellular Response in DNA-Immunized Mice and Limits Tumorigenic and Metastatic Potential of Murine Adenocarcinoma 4T1 Cells

Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Juris Jansons ◽  
Ekaterina Bayurova ◽  
Dace Skrastina ◽  
Alisa Kurlanda ◽  
Ilze Fridrihsone ◽  
...  

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is a classic tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in majority of tumors. Several TERT-based cancer vaccines are currently in clinical trials, but immune correlates of their antitumor activity remain largely unknown. Here, we characterized fine specificity and lytic potential of immune response against rat TERT in mice. BALB/c mice were primed with plasmids encoding expression-optimized hemagglutinin-tagged or nontagged TERT or empty vector and boosted with same DNA mixed with plasmid encoding firefly luciferase (Luc DNA). Injections were followed by electroporation. Photon emission from booster sites was assessed by in vivo bioluminescent imaging. Two weeks post boost, mice were sacrificed and assessed for IFN-γ, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production by T-cells upon their stimulation with TERT peptides and for anti-TERT antibodies. All TERT DNA-immunized mice developed cellular and antibody response against epitopes at the N-terminus and reverse transcriptase domain (rtTERT) of TERT. Photon emission from mice boosted with TERT/TERT-HA+Luc DNA was 100 times lower than from vector+Luc DNA-boosted controls. Bioluminescence loss correlated with percent of IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α producing CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells specific to rtTERT, indicating immune clearance of TERT/Luc-coexpressing cells. We made murine adenocarcinoma 4T1luc2 cells to express rtTERT by lentiviral transduction. Expression of rtTERT significantly reduced the capacity of 4T1luc2 to form tumors and metastasize in mice, while not affecting in vitro growth. Mice which rejected the tumors developed T-cell response against rtTERT and low/no response to the autoepitope of TERT. This advances rtTERT as key component of TERT-based therapeutic vaccines against cancer.

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamlesh Bhatt ◽  
Sheetal Verma ◽  
Jerrold J. Ellner ◽  
Padmini Salgame

ABSTRACTA major impediment to tuberculosis (TB) vaccine development is the lack of reliable correlates of immune protection or biomarkers that would predict vaccine efficacy. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) produced by CD4+T cells and, recently, multifunctional CD4+T cells secreting IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) have been used in vaccine studies as a measurable immune parameter, reflecting activity of a vaccine and potentially predicting protection. However, accumulating experimental evidence suggests that host resistance againstMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection is independent of IFN-γ and TNF secretion from CD4+T cells. Furthermore, the booster vaccine MVA85A, despite generating a high level of multifunctional CD4+T cell response in the host, failed to confer enhanced protection in vaccinated subjects. These findings suggest the need for identifying reliable correlates of protection to determine the efficacy of TB vaccine candidates. This article focuses on alternative pathways that mediateM. tuberculosiscontrol and their potential for serving as markers of protection. The review also discusses the significance of investigating the natural human immune response toM. tuberculosisto identify the correlates of protection in vaccination.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (10) ◽  
pp. 4928-4940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya F. Kotturi ◽  
Bjoern Peters ◽  
Fernando Buendia-Laysa ◽  
John Sidney ◽  
Carla Oseroff ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT CD8+ T-cell responses control lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in H-2b mice. Although antigen-specific responses against LCMV infection are well studied, we found that a significant fraction of the CD8+ CD44hi T-cell response to LCMV in H-2b mice was not accounted for by known epitopes. We screened peptides predicted to bind major histocompatibility complex class I and overlapping 15-mer peptides spanning the complete LCMV proteome for gamma interferon (IFN-γ) induction from CD8+ T cells derived from LCMV-infected H-2b mice. We identified 19 novel epitopes. Together with the 9 previously known, these epitopes account for the total CD8+ CD44hi response. Thus, bystander T-cell activation does not contribute appreciably to the CD8+ CD44hi pool. Strikingly, 15 of the 19 new epitopes were derived from the viral L polymerase, which, until now, was not recognized as a target of the cellular response induced by LCMV infection. The L epitopes induced significant levels of in vivo cytotoxicity and conferred protection against LCMV challenge. Interestingly, protection from viral challenge was best correlated with the cytolytic potential of CD8+ T cells, whereas IFN-γ production and peptide avidity appear to play a lesser role. Taken together, these findings illustrate that the LCMV-specific CD8+ T-cell response is more complex than previously appreciated.


2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie J. Ragin ◽  
Nisebita Sahu ◽  
Avery August

ABSTRACT NKT cells are a heterogeneous population characterized by the ability to rapidly produce cytokines, such as interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in response to infections by viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The bacterial superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) interacts with T cells bearing the Vβ3, -7, or -8 T-cell receptors, inducing their expansion and cytokine secretion, leading to death in some cases due to cytokine poisoning. The majority of NKT cells bear the Vβ7 or -8 T-cell receptor, suggesting that they may play a role in regulating this response. Using mice lacking NKT cells (CD1d−/− and Jα18−/− mice), we set out to identify the role of these cells in T-cell expansion, cytokine secretion, and toxicity induced by exposure to SEB. We find that Vβ8+ CD4+ T-cell populations similarly expand in wild-type (WT) and NKT cell-null mice and that NKT cells did not regulate the secretion of IL-2. By contrast, these cells positively regulated the secretion of IL-4 and IFN-γ production and negatively regulated the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). However, this negative regulation of TNF-α secretion by NKT cells provides only a minor protective effect on SEB-mediated shock in WT mice compared to mice lacking NKT cells. These data suggest that NKT cells may regulate the nature of the cytokine response to exposure to the superantigen SEB and may act as regulatory T cells during exposure to this superantigen.


2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1097-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Jason ◽  
Lennox K. Archibald ◽  
Okey C. Nwanyanwu ◽  
Martha G. Byrd ◽  
Peter N. Kazembe ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Cytokines function at the cellular, microenvironmental level, but human cytokine assessment is most commonly done at the macro level, by measuring serum cytokines. The relationships between serum and cellular cytokines, if there are any, are undefined. In a study of hospitalized patients in Malawi, we compared cytometrically assessed, cell-specific cytokine data to serum interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, gamma interferon (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels in 16 children and 71 (IL-2, -4, -6, -10) or 159 (IL-8, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) adults, using Wilcoxon rank sum tests and Pearson's (rp ) and Spearman's (rs ) rank correlations. For the entire study group, correlations between identical serum and cellular cytokines mainly involved IL-8 and IFN-γ, were few, and were weakly positive (r < 0.40). Blood culture-positive persons had the most and strongest correlations, including those between serum IL-2 levels and the percentages of lymphocytes spontaneously making IL-2 (rs = +0.74), serum IL-8 levels and the percentages of lymphocytes spontaneously making IL-8 (rp = +0.66), and serum IL-10 levels and the percentages of CD8+ T cells making TNF-α (rp = +0.89). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons had the next largest number of correlations, including several serum IL-8 level correlations, correlation of serum IL-10 levels with the percentages of lymphocytes producing induced IL-10 (rs = +0.36), and correlation of serum IFN-γ levels and the percentages of lymphocytes spontaneously making both IL-6 and IFN-γ in the same cell (rp = +0.59). HIV-negative, malaria smear-positive, and pediatric patients had few significant correlations; for the second and third of these subgroups, serum IL-8 level was correlated with the percentage of CD8− T cells producing induced IL-8 (rs = +0.40 and rs = +0.56, respectively). Thus, the strength of associations between serum and cellular cytokines varied with the presence or absence of bloodstream infection, HIV status, and perhaps other factors we did not assess. These results strongly suggest that serum cytokines at best only weakly reflect peripheral blood cell cytokine production and balances.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bang-Ning Lee ◽  
Michele Follen ◽  
De-Yu Shen ◽  
Anais Malpica ◽  
Karen Adler-Storthz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Carcinoma of the cervix is causally related to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), and T cells play a pivotal role in the immune response of the host to rid itself of HPV infection. Therefore, we assessed the T-cell function of women with HPV-related cervical neoplasia against a superantigen, Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB). Each woman provided a cervical brush specimen for HPV DNA testing and Papanicolaou (Pap) smears for the staging of cervical lesions. They also provided a blood specimen for determination of the ability of CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells to synthesize Th1 (interleukin-2 [IL-2], gamma interferon [IFN-γ], and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) and Th2 (IL-10) cytokines in response to activation with SEB. Compared with control subjects with self-attested negative Pap smears, women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) had significantly lower percentages of activated CD4+ T cells that produced IL-2 (P = 0.045), IFN-γ (P = 0.040), and TNF-α (P = 0.015) and a significantly lower percentage of activated CD8+ T cells that produced IL-2 (P < 0.01). These data indicate that women with HPV-related cervical HSIL show a decrease in Th1 cytokine production by activated CD4+ T cells and suggested that compromised T-helper functions may negatively impact the function of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 778-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mardi C. Boer ◽  
Corine Prins ◽  
Krista E. van Meijgaarden ◽  
Jaap T. van Dissel ◽  
Tom H. M. Ottenhoff ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMycobacterium bovisbacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only currently available vaccine against tuberculosis, induces variable protection in adults. Immune correlates of protection are lacking, and analyses on cytokine-producing T cell subsets in protected versus unprotected cohorts have yielded inconsistent results. We studied the primary T cell response, both proinflammatory and regulatory T cell responses, induced by BCG vaccination in adults. Twelve healthy adult volunteers who were tuberculin skin test (TST) negative, QuantiFERON test (QFT) negative, and BCG naive were vaccinated with BCG and followed up prospectively. BCG vaccination induced an unexpectedly dichotomous immune response in this small, BCG-naive, young-adult cohort: BCG vaccination induced either gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ+) interleukin 2-positive (IL-2+) tumor necrosis factor α-positive (TNF-α+) polyfunctional CD4+T cells concurrent with CD4+IL-17A+and CD8+IFN-γ+T cells or, in contrast, virtually absent cytokine responses with induction of CD8+regulatory T cells. Significant induction of polyfunctional CD4+IFN-γ+IL-2+TNF-α+T cells and IFN-γ production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was confined to individuals with strong immunization-induced local skin inflammation and increased serum C-reactive protein (CRP). Conversely, in individuals with mild inflammation, regulatory-like CD8+T cells were uniquely induced. Thus, BCG vaccination either induced a broad proinflammatory T cell response with local inflammatory reactogenicity or, in contrast, a predominant CD8+regulatory T cell response with mild local inflammation, poor cytokine induction, and absent polyfunctional CD4+T cells. Further detailed fine mapping of the heterogeneous host response to BCG vaccination using classical and nonclassical immune markers will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms and determinants that underlie the induction of apparently opposite immune responses and how these impact the ability of BCG to induce protective immunity to TB.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 1763-1771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Leroux-Roels ◽  
Geert Leroux-Roels ◽  
Opokua Ofori-Anyinam ◽  
Philippe Moris ◽  
Els De Kock ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of illness and death worldwide, making a new TB vaccine an urgent public health priority. Purified protein derivative (PPD)-negative adults (n = 50) were equally randomized to receive 3 doses at 1-month intervals (at 0, 1, and 2 months) of one of the following vaccines: Mtb72F/AS02A (10 or 40 μg antigen), Mtb72F/saline (10 or 40 μg antigen), or AS02A. Mtb72F/AS02A recipients received an additional dose 1 year after the first dose to evaluate if the elicited immune response could be boosted. Mtb72F/AS02A vaccines were locally reactogenic but clinically well tolerated, with transient adverse events (usually lasting between 1 and 4 days) that resolved without sequelae being observed. No vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported. Vaccination with Mtb72F/AS02A induced a strong Mtb72F-specific humoral response and a robust Mtb72F-specific CD4+ T-cell response, both of which persisted at 9 months after primary immunization and for 1 year after the booster immunization. There was no significant difference between the magnitude of the CD4+ T-cell response induced by the 10-μg and 40-μg Mtb72F/AS02A vaccines. The Mtb72F-specific CD4+ T cells predominantly expressed CD40L; CD40L and interleukin-2 (IL-2); CD40L and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α); CD40L, IL-2, and TNF-α; and CD40L, IL-2, TNF-α, and gamma interferon (IFN-γ). Serum IFN-γ, but not TNF-α, was detected 1 day after doses 2 and 3 for the Mtb72F/AS02A vaccine but did not persist. Vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cell responses were not detected, and no immune responses were elicited with AS02A alone. In conclusion, Mtb72F/AS02A is clinically well tolerated and is highly immunogenic in TB-naïve adults. The 10- and 40-μg Mtb72F/AS02A vaccines show comparable safety and immunogenicity profiles.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 3243-3253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanmugalakshmi Sadagopal ◽  
Rama Rao Amara ◽  
David C. Montefiori ◽  
Linda S. Wyatt ◽  
Silvija I. Staprans ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In 2001, we reported 20 weeks of control of challenge with the virulent 89.6P chimera of simian and human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIV-89.6P) by a Gag-Pol-Env vaccine consisting of DNA priming and modified vaccinia virus Ankara boosting. Here we report that 22 out of 23 of these animals successfully controlled their viremia until their time of euthanasia at 200 weeks postchallenge. At euthanasia, all animals had low to undetectable viral loads and normal CD4 counts. During the long period of viral control, gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing antiviral T cells were present at unexpectedly low breadths and frequencies. Most animals recognized two CD8 and one CD4 epitope and had frequencies of IFN-γ-responding T cells from 0.01 to 0.3% of total CD8 or CD4 T cells. T-cell responses were remarkably stable over time and, unlike responses in most immunodeficiency virus infections, maintained good functional characteristics, as evidenced by coproduction of IFN-γ and interleukin-2. Overall, high titers of binding and neutralizing antibody persisted throughout the postchallenge period. Encouragingly, long-term control was effective in macaques of diverse histocompatibility types.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hutchinson ◽  
Timothy M. S. Barkham ◽  
Wenying Tang ◽  
David M. Kemeny ◽  
Cynthia Bin-Eng Chee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) are used as adjunctive tests for the evaluation of suspected cases of active tuberculosis (TB). However, a positive test does not differentiate latent from active TB. We investigated whether flow cytometric measurement of novel combinations of intracellular cytokines and surface makers on CD4 T cells could differentiate between active and latent TB after stimulation withMycobacterium tuberculosis-specific proteins. Blood samples from 60 patients referred to the Singapore Tuberculosis Control Unit for evaluation for active TB or as TB contacts were stimulated with purified protein derivative (PPD), ESAT-6 and CFP-10, or heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HBHA). The CD4 T cell cytokine response (IFN-γ, interleukin-2 [IL-2], interleukin-17A [IL-17A], interleukin-22 [IL-22], granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF], and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) and surface marker expression (CD27, CXCR3, and CD154) were then measured. We found that the proportion of PPD-specific CD4 T cells, defined as CD154+TNF-α+cells that were negative for CD27 and positive for GM-CSF, gave the strongest discrimination between subjects with latent and those with active TB (area under the receiver operator characteristic [ROC] curve of 0.9277;P< 0.0001). Also, the proportions and absolute numbers of HBHA-specific CD4 T cells were significantly higher in those with latent TB infection, particularly CD154+TNF-α+IFN-γ+IL-2+and CD154+TNF-α+CXCR3+. Finally, we found that the ratio of ESAT-6- and CFP-10-responding to HBHA-responding CD4 T cells was significantly different between the two study populations. In conclusion, we found novel markers ofM. tuberculosis-specific CD4 cells which differentiate between active and latent TB.


2013 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Hee Jeong ◽  
Bo-Young Jeon ◽  
Sun-Hwa Gu ◽  
Sang-Nae Cho ◽  
Sung Jae Shin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDespite the generation ofMycobacterium tuberculosis-specific T cell immune responses during the course of infection, only 5 to 10% of exposed individuals develop active disease, while others develop a latent infection. This phenomenon suggests defectiveM. tuberculosis-specific immunity, which necessitates more careful characterization ofM. tuberculosis-specific T cell responses. Here, we longitudinally analyzed the phenotypes and functions ofM. tuberculosis-specific T cells. In contrast to the functional exhaustion of T cells observed after chronic infection,M. tuberculosis-specific CD8+T cells differentiated into either effector (CD127loCD62Llo) or effector memory (CD127hiCD62Llo) cells, but not central memory cells (CD127hiCD62Lhi), with low programmed death 1 (PD-1) expression, even in the presence of high levels of bacteria. Additionally,M. tuberculosis-specific CD8+and CD4+T cells produced substantial levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ), but not interleukin 2 (IL-2), uponin vitrorestimulation. AmongM. tuberculosis-specific CD8+T cells, CD127hieffector memory cells displayed slower ongoing turnover but greater survival potential. In addition, these cells produced more IFN-γ and TNF-α and displayed lytic activity upon antigen stimulation. However, the effector function ofM. tuberculosis-specific CD8+CD127hieffector memory T cells was inferior to that of canonical CD8+CD127himemory T cells generated after acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. Collectively, our data demonstrate thatM. tuberculosis-specific T cells can differentiate into memory T cells during the course ofM. tuberculosisinfection independent of the bacterial burden but with limited functionality. These results provide a framework for further understanding the mechanisms ofM. tuberculosisinfection that can be used to develop more effective vaccines.


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