Natalia Lapteva

CXCR4 knockdown by small interfering RNA abrogates breast tumor growth in vivo.

Breast cancer cells express the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and frequently metastasize to organs with an abundant source of the CXCR4 ligand, stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1). The chemokine receptor CXCR4 plays an active role in the metastasis of breast cancer. Here, we show that a small interfering RNA (siRNA) against CXCR4 effectively downregulates CXCR4 expression in human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, leading to significant decrease in breast cancer cell invasion and adhesion. It was further found that tumor cells lacking CXCR4 expression proliferated at a much slower rate than control cells in vitro. Surprisingly, tumor cells lacking CXCR4 expression failed to grow in SCID mice in repeated experiments, providing the first direct evidence for an essential role of CXCR4 in breast cancer growth in vivo. This finding suggests an expanded role for the CXCR4 molecule in tumor cell growth in vivo, in addition to its role in breast cancer metastasis. This study implies the CXCR4 molecule as a potential target to control breast tumor growth as well as metastasis.

An essential role for Akt1 in dendritic cell function and tumor immunotherapy

Current dendritic cell (DC) vaccine preparations involving ex vivo differentiation and maturation produce short-lived, transiently active DCs that may curtail T-cell responses in vivo. We demonstrate that Akt1, downregulation of which decreases DC lifespan, is critical for proinflammatory signal–mediated DC survival and maturation. Lipopolysaccharide or CD40 signaling stabilizes Akt1, promoting both activation and Bcl-2–dependent survival of DCs. Expression of a potent allele encoding a lipid raft–targeted Akt1, MF-ΔAkt, is sufficient for maturation and survival of murine bone marrow–derived DCs in vivo. MF-ΔAkt–transduced DCs enhanced T-cell proliferation, activation and long-term memory responses, enabling eradication of large pre-established lymphomas and aggressive B16 melanomas. Human myeloid DCs expressing constitutively active MF-ΔhAkt also survived significantly longer and promoted antigen-specific T-cell responses. Thus, Akt1 is a critical regulator of DC lifespan, and its manipulation in DCs can improve the clinical efficacy of DC-based tumor vaccines.

Large-scale ex vivo expansion and characterization of natural killer cells for clinical applications

BACKGROUND AIMS Interest in natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy has resurged since new protocols for the purification and expansion of large numbers of clinical-grade cells have become available. METHODS We have successfully adapted a previously described NK expansion method that uses K562 cells expressing interleukin (IL)-15 and 4-1 BB Ligand (BBL) (K562-mb15-41BBL) to grow NK cells in novel gas-permeable static cell culture flasks (G-Rex). RESULTS Using this system we produced up to 19 × 10(9) functional NK cells from unseparated apheresis products, starting with 15 × 10(7) CD3(-) CD56 (+) NK cells, within 8-10 days of culture. The G-Rex yielded a higher fold expansion of NK cells than conventional gas-permeable bags and required no cell manipulation or feeding during the culture period. We also showed that K562-mb15-41BBL cells up-regulated surface HLA class I antigen expression upon stimulation with the supernatants from NK cultures and stimulated alloreactive CD8 (+) T cells within the NK cultures. However, these CD3 (+) T cells could be removed successfully using the CliniMACS system. We describe our optimized NK cell cryopreservation method and show that the NK cells are viable and functional even after 12 months of cryopreservation. CONCLUSIONS We have successfully developed a static culture protocol for large-scale expansion of NK cells in the gas permeable G-Rex system under good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions. This strategy is currently being used to produce NK cells for cancer immunotherapy.

Enhanced Activation of Human Dendritic Cells by Inducible CD40 and Toll-like Receptor-4 Ligation

Despite the potency of dendritic cells (DC) as antigen-presenting cells for priming adaptive immunity, DC-based cancer vaccines have been largely insufficient to effectively reduce tumor burden or prevent tumor progression in most patients. To enhance DC-based vaccines, we used the combination of a synthetic ligand-inducible CD40 receptor (iCD40) along with Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) ligation in human monocyte-derived DCs. The iCD40 receptor permits targeted, reversible activation of CD40 in vivo, potentially bypassing the essential role of CD4(+) T cells for activation of DCs. As a rigorous preclinical study of this approach, we evaluated key parameters of DC activation and function. Whereas neither iCD40 nor TLR-4 signaling alone led to high levels of interleukin (IL)-12p70 and IL-6, using iCD40 in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or monophosphoryl lipid A led to strongly synergistic production of both. Furthermore, this approach led to high expression of DC maturation markers, epitope-specific CTL and T helper 1 responses, as well as DC migration in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, use of iCD40-modified and LPS-stimulated DCs led to targeted expansion of autologous T cells against tumor-associated antigens, including prostate-specific membrane antigen, and elimination of preestablished tumors, supporting this technology as a potent strategy for DC-based cancer immunotherapy.

Ex vivo-expanded natural killer cells demonstrate robust proliferation in vivo in high-risk relapsed multiple myeloma patients.

Highly activated/expanded natural killer (NK) cells can be generated by stimulation with the human leukocyte antigen-deficient cell line K562, genetically modified to express 41BB-ligand and membrane-bound interleukin (IL)15. We tested the safety, persistence, and activity of expanded NK cells generated from myeloma patients (auto-NK) or haploidentical family donors (allo-NK) in heavily pretreated patients with high-risk relapsing myeloma. The preparative regimen comprised bortezomib only or bortezomib and immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone, and fludarabine. NK cells were shipped overnight either cryopreserved or fresh. In 8 patients, up to 1×108 NK cells/kg were infused on day 0 and followed by daily administrations of IL2. Significant in vivo expansion was observed only in the 5 patients receiving fresh products, peaking at or near day 7, with the highest NK-cell counts in 2 subjects who received cells produced in a high concentration of IL2 (500 U/mL). Seven days after infusion, donor NK cells comprised >90% of circulating leukocytes in fresh allo-NK cell recipients, and cytolytic activity against allogeneic myeloma targets was retained in vitro. Among the 7 evaluable patients, there were no serious adverse events that could be related to NK-cell infusion. One patient had a partial response and in another the tempo of disease progression decreased; neither patient required further therapy for 6 months. In the 5 remaining patients, disease progression was not affected by NK-cell infusion. In conclusion, infusion of large numbers of expanded NK cells was feasible and safe; infusing fresh cells was critical to their expansion in vivo.

CCL5 as an adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy

Importance of the field: To date cancer immunotherapy has only achieved limited clinical efficacy, thus more efficient immunotherapeutic approaches need to be explored. The CC chemokine CCL5 plays a role in chemoattraction and activation of immune cells implying its potential clinical application as an adjuvant for boosting anti-tumor immunity, although an effect on carcinogenesis and tumor cell invasiveness is also reported to be associated with CCL5. Areas covered in this review: Recent progress in exploiting CCL5 as an adjuvant for cancer prevention and treatment, and updated understanding on how CCL5 is involved in tumor invasiveness and carcinogenesis. What the reader will gain: CCL5 represents a natural adjuvant for enhancing anti-tumor immune responses. However, animal experiments and clinical reports suggest that CCL5 plays a role in carcinogenesis and invasiveness of tumor cells. Therefore, a CCL5-based cancer therapeutic approach needs to avoid the CCL5-associated potential detrimental effects. Take home message: CCL5 has a pre-eminent role in chemotaxis and activation of a wide spectrum of immune cells. CCL5 functions as an adjuvant to boost anti-tumor immunity by diverse protocols such as co-immunization of recombinant CCL5 protein with tumor-associated antigen, vaccination with CCL-5-expressing tumor cells, or viral vector delivery of CCL5 cDNA into growing tumor. CCL5 may also promote tumor cell survival, proliferation and invasion by different mechanisms.

Attraction and Activation of Dendritic Cells at the Site of Tumor Elicits Potent Antitumor Immunity

Tumor cells harbor unique genetic mutations, which lead to the generation of immunologically foreign antigenic peptide repertoire with the potential to induce individual tumor-specific immune responses. Here, we developed an in situ tumor vaccine with the ability to elicit antitumor immunity. This vaccine comprised an E1B-deleted oncolytic adenovirus expressing beta-defensin-2 (Ad-BD2-E1A) for releasing tumor antigens, recruiting and activating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). Intratumoral injections of Ad-BD2-E1A vaccine inhibited primary breast tumor growth and blocked naturally occurring metastasis in mice. Ad-BD2-E1A vaccination induced potent tumor-specific T-cell responses. Splenic and intratumoral DCs isolated from Ad-BD2-E1A-immunized mice were able to stimulate or promote the differentiation of naive T cells into tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells. We further found that the increased numbers of mature CD45RA(+)CD8alpha(+)CD40(+) pDCs infiltrated into Ad-BD2-E1A-treated tumors. The antitumor effect of Ad-BD2-E1A vaccination was abrogated in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) deficient mice, suggesting the critical role of TLR4 in the induction of antitumor immunity by Ad-BD2-E1A. The results of this study indicate that in situ vaccination with the oncolytic BD2-expressing adenovirus preferentially attracts pDCs and promotes their maturation, and thus elicits potent tumor-specific immunity. This vaccine represents an attractive therapeutic strategy for the induction of individualized antitumor immunity.

The Phosphatase Src Homology Region 2 Domain-Containing Phosphatase-1 Is an Intrinsic Central Regulator of Dendritic Cell Function

Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate proinflammatory or regulatory T cell responses, depending on their activation state. Despite extensive knowledge of DC-activating signals, the understanding of DC inhibitory signals is relatively limited. We show that Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) is an important inhibitor of DC signaling, targeting multiple activation pathways. Downstream of TLR4, SHP-1 showed increased interaction with several proteins including IL-1R–associated kinase-4, and modulated LPS signaling by inhibiting NF-κB, AP-1, ERK, and JNK activity, while enhancing p38 activity. In addition, SHP-1 inhibited prosurvival signaling through AKT activation. Furthermore, SHP-1 inhibited CCR7 protein expression. Inhibiting SHP-1 in DCs enhanced proinflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-12, and IL-1β production, promoted survival, and increased DC migration to draining lymph nodes. Administration of SHP-1–inhibited DCs in vivo induced expansion of Ag-specific cytotoxic T cells and inhibited Foxp3+ regulatory T cell induction, resulting in an enhanced immune response against pre-established mouse melanoma and prostate tumors. Taken together, these data demonstrate that SHP-1 is an intrinsic global regulator of DC function, controlling many facets of T cell-mediated immune responses.

Complementation of antigen-presenting cells to generate T lymphocytes with broad target specificity.

Antigen-specific T cells provide a therapy for cancer that is highly specific, self-replicating, and potentially devoid of toxicity. Ideally, tumor-specific T cells should recognize multiple epitopes on multiple antigens to prevent tumor immune escape. However the large-scale expansion of such broad-spectrum T cells has been limited by the availability of potent autologous antigen-presenting cells that can present antigens on the polymorphic array of each patient’s HLA allotype. We evaluated a novel antigen-presenting complex (KATpx) in which antigens in the form of peptide libraries can be presented by autologous activated T cells, whereas costimulation is complemented in trans by an HLA-negative K562 cell line genetically modified to express CD80, CD83, CD86, and 4-1BBL (K562cs). The additional costimulation provided by K562cs significantly enhanced T-cell expansion in culture over autologous activated T cells alone while maintaining antigen specificity. We validated this antigen-presenting system by generating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigen-specific T cells from healthy donors and from patients with EBV-positive malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma and multiply relapsed EBV-positive lymphoma. These T cells were specific for EBNA1, LMP1, and LMP2, the viral antigens expressed in these type 2 latency EBV-associated malignancies. The KATpx system consistently activated and expanded antigen-specific T cells both from healthy donors and from 5 of 6 patients with lymphoma and 6 of 6 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, while simplifying the process for generating APCs by eliminating the need for live virus (EBV) or viral vectors to force expression of transgenic EBV antigens. Hence, KATpx provides a robust, reliable, and scalable process to expand tumor-directed T cells for the treatment of virus-associated cancers.

Early transduction produces highly functional chimeric antigen receptor-modified virus-specific T-cells with central memory markers: a Production Assistant for Cell Therapy (PACT) translational application

BackgroundVirus-specific T-cells (VSTs) proliferate exponentially after adoptive transfer into hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, eliminate virus infections, then persist and provide long-term protection from viral disease. If VSTs behaved similarly when modified with tumor-specific chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), they should have potent anti-tumor activity. This theory was evaluated by Cruz et al. in a previous clinical trial with CD19.CAR-modified VSTs, but there was little apparent expansion of these cells in patients. In that study, VSTs were gene-modified on day 19 of culture and we hypothesized that by this time, sufficient T-cell differentiation may have occurred to limit the subsequent proliferative capacity of the transduced T-cells. To facilitate the clinical testing of this hypothesis in a project supported by the NHLBI-PACT mechanism, we developed and optimized a good manufacturing practices (GMP) compliant method for the early transduction of VSTs directed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Adenovirus (AdV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) using a CAR directed to the tumor-associated antigen disialoganglioside (GD2).ResultsAd-CMVpp65-transduced EBV-LCLs effectively stimulated VSTs directed to all three viruses (triVSTs). Transduction efficiency on day three was increased in the presence of cytokines and high-speed centrifugation of retroviral supernatant onto retronectin-coated plates, so that under optimal conditions up to 88% of tetramer-positive VSTs expressed the GD2.CAR. The average transduction efficiency of early-and late transduced VSTs was 55 ± 4% and 22 ± 5% respectively, and early-transduced VSTs maintained higher frequencies of T cells with central memory or intermediate memory phenotypes. Early-transduced VSTs also had higher proliferative capacity and produced higher levels of TH1 cytokines IL-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and other cytokines in vitro.ConclusionsWe developed a rapid and GMP compliant method for the early transduction of multivirus-specific T-cells that allowed stable expression of high levels of a tumor directed CAR. Since a proportion of early-transduced CAR-VSTs had a central memory phenotype, they should expand and persist in vivo, simultaneously protecting against infection and targeting residual malignancy. This manufacturing strategy is currently under clinical investigation in patients receiving allogeneic HSCT for relapsed neuroblastoma and B-cell malignancies (NCT01460901 using a GD2.CAR and NCT00840853 using a CD19.CAR).