| 1. |
- Eltahir, mohmo394, et al.
(författare)
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Profiling of donor-specific immune effector signatures in response to rituximab in a human whole blood loop assay using blood from CLL patients
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Immunopharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 1567-5769 .- 1878-1705. ; 90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rituximab is widely used in the treatment of haematological malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most common leukaemia in adults. However, some patients, especially those with high tumour burden, develop cytokine release syndrome (CRS). It is likely that more patients will develop therapy linked CRS in the future due to the implementation of other immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell, for many malignancies. Current methods for CRS risk assessment are limited, hence there is a need to develop new methods. To better recapitulate an in vivo setting, we implemented a unique human whole blood "loop" system to study patient-specific immune responses to rituximab in blood derived from CLL patients. Upon rituximab infusion, both complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) profiles were evident in CLL patient blood, coincident with CLL cell depletion. Whereas B cell depletion is induced in healthy persons in the blood loop, only patients display B cell depletion coupled with CRS. With the exception of one donor who lacked NK cells, all other five patients displayed variable B cell depletion along with CRS profile. Additionally, inhibition of CDC or ADCC via either inhibitors or antibody Fc modification resulted in skewing of the immune killing mechanism consistent with published literature. Herein we have shown that the human whole blood loop model can be applied using blood from a specific indication to build a disease-specific CRS and immune activation profiling ex vivo system. Other therapeutic antibodies used for other indications may benefit from antibody characterization in a similar setting.
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| 2. |
- Basmo Ellingsen, Espen, et al.
(författare)
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Telomerase as a Target for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines and Considerations for Optimizing Their Clinical Potential
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Immunology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-3224. ; 12
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Telomerase-based therapeutic cancer vaccines (TCVs) have been under clinical investigation for the past two decades. Despite past failures, TCVs have gained renewed enthusiasm for their potential to improve the efficacy of checkpoint inhibition. Telomerase stands as an attractive target for TCVs due to its almost universal presence in cancer and its essential function promoting tumor growth. Herein, we review tumor telomerase biology that may affect the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination and provide insights on optimal vaccine design and treatment combinations. Tumor types possessing mechanisms of increased telomerase expression combined with an immune permissive tumor microenvironment are expected to increase the therapeutic potential of telomerase-targeting cancer vaccines. Regardless, rational treatment combinations, such as checkpoint inhibitors, are likely necessary to bring out the true clinical potential of TCVs.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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Epitopes displayed in a cyclic peptide scaffold bind SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
- 2023
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Ingår i: ChemBioChem. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 1439-4227 .- 1439-7633. ; 24:15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is a global health issue. The spread of the virus has resulted in seven million deaths to date. The emergence of new viral strains highlights the importance of continuous surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by using timely and accurate diagnostic tools. Here, we used a stable cyclic peptide scaffolds to present antigenic sequences derived from the spike protein that are reactive to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Using peptide sequences from different domains of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, we grafted epitopes on the peptide scaffold sunflower trypsin inhibitor 1 (SFTI-1). These scaffold peptides were then used to develop an ELISA to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum. We show that displaying epitopes on the scaffold improves reactivity overall. One of the scaffold peptides (S2_1146-1161_c) has reactivity equal to that of commercial assays, and shows diagnostic potential.
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| 4. |
- Eriksson, Emma, et al.
(författare)
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Activation of myeloid and endothelial cells by CD40L gene therapy supports T-cell expansion and migration into the tumor microenvironment
- 2017
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Ingår i: Gene Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0969-7128 .- 1476-5462. ; 24:2, s. 92-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- CD40 is an interesting target in cancer immunotherapy due to its ability to stimulate T-helper 1 immunity via maturation of dendritic cells and to drive M2 to M1 macrophage differentiation. Pancreatic cancer has a high M2 content that has shown responsive to anti-CD40 agonist therapy and CD40 may thus be a suitable target for immune activation in these patients. In this study, a novel oncolytic adenovirus armed with a trimerized membrane-bound extracellular CD40L (TMZ-CD40L) was evaluated as a treatment of pancreatic cancer. Further, the CD40L mechanisms of action were elucidated in cancer models. The results demonstrated that the virus transferring TMZ-CD40L had oncolytic capacity in pancreatic cancer cells and could control tumor progression. TMZ-CD40L was a potent stimulator of human myeloid cells and T-cell responses. Further, CD40L-mediated stimulation increased tumor-infiltrating T cells in vivo, which may be due to a direct activation of endothelial cells to upregulate receptors for lymphocyte attachment and transmigration. In conclusion, CD40L-mediated gene therapy is an interesting concept for the treatment of tumors with high levels of M2 macrophages, such as pancreatic cancer, and an oncolytic virus as carrier of CD40L may further boost tumor killing and immune activation.
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| 5. |
- Fletcher, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Formation of Immune Complexes with a Tetanus-Derived B Cell Epitope Boosts Human T Cell Responses to Covalently Linked Peptides in an Ex Vivo Blood Loop System
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - : AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS. - 0022-1767 .- 1550-6606. ; 201:1, s. 87-97
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Enhancing T cell responses against both viral and tumor Ags requires efficient costimulation and directed delivery of peptide Ags into APCs. Long peptide vaccines are considered favorable vaccine moieties from a clinical perspective, as they can harbor more than one immunogenic epitope enabling treatment of a broader target population. In addition, longer peptides are not extracellularly loaded on MHC class I; rather, they require intracellular processing and will thereby be presented to T cells mainly by professional APCs, thereby avoiding the risk of tolerance induction. The drawback of peptide vaccines regardless of peptide length is that naked peptides are not actively targeted to and taken up by APCs, and the standard nonconjugated adjuvant-peptide mixtures do not ensure cotargeting of the two to the same APC. We have identified a tetanus toxin-derived B cell epitope that can mediate the formation of immune complexes in the presence of circulating Abs. In this study, we show that these immune complexes improve both Ag uptake by APCs (blood monocytes and CD1c(+) dendritic cells) and consequently improve CD8(+) T cell recall responses in a human ex vivo blood loop system. The uptake of the peptide conjugate by blood monocytes is dependent on Abs and the complement component C1q. We envision that this strategy can be used to facilitate active uptake of Ags into APCs to improve T cell responses against pathogens or cancer.
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| 6. |
- Ibrahim, Eman I. K., et al.
(författare)
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Bridging responses to a human telomerase reverse transcriptase-based peptide cancer vaccine candidate in a mechanism-based model
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Immunopharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 1567-5769 .- 1878-1705. ; 126
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Therapeutic cancer vaccines are novel immuno-therapeutics, aiming to improve clinical outcomes with other immunotherapies. However, obstacles to their successful clinical development remain, which model-informed drug development approaches may address. UV1 is a telomerase based therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate being investigated in phase I clinical trials for multiple indications. We developed a mechanism-based model structure, using a nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling techniques, based on longitudinal tumor sizes (sum of the longest diameters, SLD), UV1-specific immunological assessment (stimulation index, SI) and overall survival (OS) data obtained from a UV1 phase I trial including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and a phase I/IIa trial including malignant melanoma (MM) patients. The final structure comprised a mechanistic tumor growth dynamics (TGD) model, a model describing the probability of observing a UV1-specific immune response (SI ≥ 3) and a time-to-event model for OS. The mechanistic TGD model accounted for the interplay between the vaccine peptides, immune system and tumor. The model-predicted UV1-specific effector CD4+ T cells induced tumor shrinkage with half-lives of 103 and 154 days in NSCLC and MM patients, respectively. The probability of observing a UV1-specific immune response was mainly driven by the model-predicted UV1-specific effector and memory CD4+ T cells. A high baseline SLD and a high relative increase from nadir were identified as main predictors for a reduced OS in NSCLC and MM patients, respectively. Our model predictions highlighted that additional maintenance doses, i.e. UV1 administration for longer periods, may result in more sustained tumor size shrinkage.
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| 7. |
- Irenaeus, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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Local irradiation does not enhance the effect of immunostimulatory AdCD40L gene therapy combined with low dose cyclophosphamide in melanoma patients
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oncotarget. - : Impact Journals, LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 8:45, s. 78573-78587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: AdCD40L is an immunostimulatory gene therapy under evaluation for advanced melanoma, including ocular melanoma. Herein, we present the final data of a Phase I/IIa trial using AdCD40L alone or in combination with low dose cyclophosphamide +/- radiation therapy.Methods: AdCD40L is a replication-deficient adenovirus carrying the gene for CD40 ligand (CD40L). Twenty-four patients with advanced melanoma were enrolled and treated with AdCD40L monotherapy, or combined with cyclophosphamide +/- single fraction radiotherapy. The patients were monitored for 10 weeks using immunological and radiological evaluations and thereafter for survival.Results: AdCD40L treatment was safe and well tolerated both alone and in combination with cyclophosphamide as well as local radiotherapy. Four out of twenty-four patients had >1 year survival. Addition of cyclophosphamide was beneficial but adding radiotherapy did not further extend survival. High initial plasma levels of IL12 and MIP3b correlated to overall survival, whereas IL8 responses post-treatment correlated negatively with survival. Interestingly, antibody reactions to the virus correlated negatively with post IL6 and pre IL1b levels in blood.Conclusions: AdCD40L was safely administered to patients and effect was improved by cyclophosphamide but not by radiotherapy. Immune activation profile at baseline may predict responders better than shortly after treatment.
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| 8. |
- Kerzeli, Iliana K., et al.
(författare)
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MALT1 inhibition suppresses antigen-specific T cell responses
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cellular Immunology. - : Elsevier. - 0008-8749 .- 1090-2163. ; 397
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to assess the potential use of a selective small molecule MALT1 inhibitor in solid tumor treatment as an immunotherapy targeting regulatory T-cells (Tregs). In vitro, MALT1 inhibition suppressed the proteolytic cleavage of the MALT1-substrate HOIL1 and blocked IL-2 secretion in Jurkat cells. It selectively suppressed the proliferation of PBMC-derived Tregs, with no effect on conventional CD4+ T-cells. In vivo, however, no evident anti-tumor effect was achieved by MALT1 inhibition monotherapy or in combination with anti-CTLA4 in the MB49 cancer model. Despite decreased Treg-frequencies in lymph nodes of tumor-bearing animals, intratumoral Treg depletion was not observed. We also showed that MALT1-inhibition caused a reduction of antigen-specific CD8+ T-cells in an adoptive T-cell transfer model. Thus, selective targeting of Tregs would be required to improve the immunotherapeutic effect of MALT1-inhibition. Also, various dosing schedules and combination therapy strategies should be carefully designed and evaluated further.
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| 9. |
- Mangsbo, Sara M, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Complement Activation by CpG in a Human Whole Blood Loop System : Mechanisms and Immunomodulatory Effects
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - : The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.. - 0022-1767 .- 1550-6606. ; 183:10, s. 6724-6732
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides can activate complement, and experimental murine studies have revealed differential effects upon simultaneous TLR stimulation and complement activation compared with either event alone. We set out to investigate the immune stimulatory effects of CpG 2006 in fresh non-anticoagulated human blood with or without presence of active complement. We also sought to elucidate the mechanism behind complement activation upon stimulation with phosphorothioate CpG 2006. In a human blood loop system, both backbone and sequence-specific effects by CpG were counteracted by selective inhibition of C3. Furthermore, DNA backbone-mediated CD40 and CD83 expression on monocytes and sequence-specific IL-6 and TNF production were reduced by complement inhibition. CpG-induced complement activation occurred via either the classical or the alternative pathway and deposits of both IgM and properdin, two activators of complement, were detected on CpG after incubation with EDTA plasma. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring demonstrated alternative pathway convertase build-up onto CpG as a likely pathway to initiate and sustain complement activation. Specific inhibition of C3 suppressed CpG 2006 uptake into monocytes indicating that C3 fragments are involved in CpG internalization. The interplay between complement and TLR9 signaling demonstrated herein warrants further investigation.
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| 10. |
- Mangsbo, Sara M, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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CpG Therapy is Superior to BCG in an Orthotopic Bladder Cancer Model and Generates CD4+ T-cell Immunity
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of immunotherapy (1997). - 1524-9557 .- 1537-4513. ; 31:1, s. 34-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy has been successful in extending tumor remission in bladder cancer, the fifth most common cancer in men. However, relapses are frequent and some patients develop resistance to BCG. CpGs were previously demonstrated to be effective in the murine MB49 model. In this paper, we modeled a more aggressive orthotopic bladder cancer than previously studied. Moreover, we compared standard BCG immunotherapy side-by-side with the Toll-like receptor-9 agonist CpG. MB49 tumor-bearing mice were treated with BCG or CpG and survival as well as tumor progression were observed over time. Urine, blood, and tumors were collected and analyzed. Mice were rechallenged and evaluated for tumor-specific immunity. In this study, CpGs induced a complete response of large aggressive orthotopic MB49 bladder tumors, resulting in tumor-specific systemic immunity. Further, data indicated that this potent antitumor effect required T cells. A comparison of CpGs and BCG in both a highly and less aggressive orthotopic tumor model, and in a subcutaneous tumor model, demonstrated that CpGs were superior to BCG. In the orthotopic model, BCG induced a local cytokine storm during treatment initiation whereas CpG affected a more refined cytokine pattern over time. Increased levels of cytokines in serum correlated with enhanced survival in the subcutaneous model. Further, immune cell depletion studies demonstrated that CpG-induced protective immunity was CD4 T-cell dependent. Taken together, our data suggest that CpGs are superior to BCG for bladder cancer immunotherapy. Thus, this potent new drug may be an attractive therapeutic alternative and should be evaluated in bladder cancer patients.
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