scholarly journals Simultaneous Quantification of Anti-vector and Anti-transgene-Specific CD8+ T Cells Via MHC I Tetramer Staining After Vaccination with a Viral Vector

Author(s):  
Sarah Wilmschen ◽  
Zoltan Banki ◽  
Dorothee von Laer ◽  
Janine Kimpel
Author(s):  
Lucas Gonzalez-Nieto ◽  
Aline Domingues ◽  
Michael Ricciardi ◽  
Martin J. Gutman ◽  
Helen S. Maxwell ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A873-A873
Author(s):  
Arika Feils ◽  
Mackenzie Heck ◽  
Anna Hoefges ◽  
Peter Carlson ◽  
Luke Zangl ◽  
...  

BackgroundMice bearing B78 melanoma tumors can be cured using an in situ vaccine (ISV) regimen that includes radiation (RT) together with immunocytokine (tumor-targeting mAb conjugated to IL-2). B78 melanoma cells, derived from B16 cells, express minimal to no MHC-I but express MHC-II upon IFN-g/TNF-a stimulation. Although B78 cells are primarily MHC-I-deficient, an increased CD8 T cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been shown following ISV.1 To further investigate the potential role of specific immune cell lineages in the B78 anti-tumor response to ISV, immune subset depletion studies and flow cytometric analyses were performed.MethodsC57BL/6 mice bearing B78 tumors were depleted of immune cell subsets with mAbs (anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-NK1.1, or Rat IgG control) for 3 weeks during the course of treatment. Treatment groups included no treatment, RT (12 Gy), or ISV (RT D0 and immunocytokine D5-D9). 6 mice/group (repeated three times) were followed for survival/tumor growth, and flow cytometry studies included 4 mice/group, sacrificed on D8 and D13 following the start of ISV.ResultsMice depleted of CD4 T cells during the course of ISV showed a significant reduction of anti-tumor effect as compared to mice treated with ISV/Rat IgG (pConclusionsThese studies suggest that CD4 T cells are essential for an anti-tumor response in the B78 melanoma model. In vivo depletion data show that CD4 T cells, but not CD8 or NK cells, are required for a decrease in tumor growth via ISV. Flow cytometric analyses suggest an interplay between CD4 and CD8 T cells as indicated by a decrease in CD8/IFN-g expression following ISV in the absence of CD4 T cells. The role that MHC-I and MHC-II expression plays in this CD4/CD8 T cell anti-tumor response is under investigation. In future studies, B78 melanoma may serve as a critical syngeneic model for development of more effective immunotherapy treatment regimens.Ethics ApprovalAll animal experiments were performed in accordance with protocols approved by Animal Care and Use Committees of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.ReferenceMorris Z, Guy E, Francis D, et al. In situ tumor vaccination by combining local radiation and tumor-specific antibody or immunocytokine treatments. Cancer Res 2016;76(13):3929-3941.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 235.1-236
Author(s):  
R. Kumar ◽  
N. Yoosuf ◽  
C. Gerstner ◽  
S. Turcinov ◽  
K. Chemin ◽  
...  

Background:Autoimmunity to citrullinated autoantigens forms a critical component of disease pathogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Presence of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) in patients has high diagnostic value. Recently, several citrullinated antigen specific CD4+T cells have been described. However, detailed studies of their T-cell receptor usage and in-vivo profile suffer from the disadvantage that these cells are present at very low frequencies. In this context, we here present a pipeline for TCR repertoire analysis of antigen-specific CD4+T cells from RA patients, including both citrulline and influenza (control) specificities using in-vitro peptide challenge induced-cell expansion.Objectives:To enable studies of the T cell repertoire of citrullinated antigen-specific CD4+T cells in rheumatoid arthritisMethods:Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (n=7) and synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) (n=5) from HLA-DR*0401-postive RA patients were cultured in the presence of citrullinated Tenascin C peptide cocktails or influenza peptides (positive control). Citrulline reactive cells were further supplemented with recombinant human IL-15 and IL-7 on day 2. All cultures were replenished with fresh medium on day 6 and rIL-2 was added every 2 days from then. Assessment of proportion of peptide-HLA-tetramer positive cells was performed using flow cytometry whereby individual antigen-specific CD4+T cells were sorted into 96-well plates containing cell lysis buffer, followed by PCR-based alpha/beta TCR sequencing. TCR sequencing data was demultiplexed and aligned for TCR gene usage using MiXCR. Some tetramer positive cells were sorted into complete medium containing human IL-2 and PHA for expansion of antigen-specific cells. Cells were supplemented with irradiated allogenic PBMCs (30 times number of antigen specific cells). Clones of antigen specific CD4+T cells were further subjected to tetramer staining to confirm expansion of cells.Results:As evidenced by increase in frequency of tetramer positive CD4+T cells, in vitro peptide stimulation resulted in expansion of both influenza specific (Fig. 1a) and citrullinated antigen specific (Fig. 1b) CD4+T cells. Polyclonal in-vitro expansion of tenascin C tetramer positive sorted cells followed by tetramer staining further confirmed antigen specificity and enrichment for antigen specific CD4+T cells after polyclonal stimulation (Fig.1c). TCR repertoire analysis in PB and SF dataset from the first patient showed clonal expansion of influenza specific cells in both sites. Synovial fluid had more diversity of expanding clones as compared to paired PB, with few expanded clones being shared among SF and PB. We observed a more diverse TCR repertoire in citrulline specific CD4+T cells. We also observed sharing of TCR alpha chains among different citrulline specific CD4+T cell clones.Fig. 1In-vitroexpansion of antigen specific CD4+T cells:Conclusion:This method provides a highly suitable approach for investigating TCR specificities of antigen specific CD4+T cells under conditions of low cell yields. Building on this dataset will allow us to assess specific features of TCR usage of autoreactive T cells in RA.PBMCs were cultured in presence of (a) influenza (HA, MP54) and (b) citrullinated tenascin peptides. The proportion of antigen specific CD4+T cells was assessed using HLA-class II tetramer staining. We observed an increase in frequency of (a) Infleunza specific cells (red dots in upper left and lower right quadrants) and (b) citrullinated tenascin C specific cells (red dots in lower right quadrant), at day 13 post culture as compared to day 3. (c) Sorting of citrullinated tenascin specific CD4+T cells, followed by PHA expansion resulted in visible increase in proportion of citrullinated tenascin specific CD4+T cells.Disclosure of Interests:Ravi kumar: None declared, Niyaz Yoosuf: None declared, Christina Gerstner: None declared, Sara Turcinov: None declared, Karine Chemin: None declared, Vivianne Malmström Grant/research support from: VM has had research grants from Janssen Pharmaceutica


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A161-A161
Author(s):  
Diana DeLucia ◽  
Tiffany Pariva ◽  
Roland Strong ◽  
Owen Witte ◽  
John Lee

BackgroundIn advanced prostate cancer (PCa), progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) is inevitable and novel therapies for CRPC are needed. Adoptive transfer of T cells targeting tumor antigens is a promising approach in the cancer field. Unfortunately, identifying antigens expressed exclusively in prostate tumor cells has been challenging. Since the prostate is not an essential organ, we alternatively selected prostate-restricted epithelial antigens (PREAs) expressed in both malignant and normal prostate tissue for transgenic T cell studies.MethodsRNA-seq data sets identifying genes enriched in PCa were cross-referenced with the NIH Genotype-Expression database to identify PREAs. Using a novel molecular immunology approach, select PREAs and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules were co-expressed in HEK293F cells, from which MHC–peptide complexes were efficiently isolated. Peptides were eluted and sequenced by mass spectrometry. Peptide–MHC binding was validated with a T2 stabilization assay and peptide immunodominance was determined using an interferon-γ (IFN-γ) ELISpot assay following stimulation of healthy HLA-A2+ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with peptide pools. Following peptide stimulation, CD8+ T cells with peptide-specific T cell receptors (TCR) were enriched by peptide–MHC-I dextramer labeling and fluorescence activated cell sorting for single cell TCR α/β chain sequencing.ResultsWe identified 11 A2+ peptides (8 previously unpublished) from prostatic acid phosphatase (ACPP), solute carrier family 45 member 3 (SLC45A3), and NK3 homeobox 1 (NKX3.1) that bound to HLA-A2 with varying affinities. Extended culture stimulation of PBMC with peptide pools from each PREA, compared to the standard overnight culture, revealed a greater number of IFN-γ producing cells overall and a greater breadth of response across all the peptides. Antigen specific CD8+ T cells were detectable at low frequencies in both male and female healthy PBMC for 7 of the 11 peptides. Dextramer-sorted antigen-specific cells were used for single-cell paired TCR αβ sequencing and transgenic T cell development.ConclusionsThrough this work we identified HLA-A2-presented antigenic peptides from the PREAs ACPP, SLC45A3, and NKX3.1 that can induce the expansion of IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells. Through peptide–MHC-I dextramer labeling, we isolated PREA-specific CD8+ T cells and characterized TCR αβ sequences with potential anti-tumor functionality. Our results highlight a rapid and directed platform for the development of MHC-I-restricted transgenic CD8+ T cells targeting lineage-specific proteins expressed in prostate epithelia for adoptive therapy of advanced PCa.


2012 ◽  
Vol 209 (12) ◽  
pp. 2263-2276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom M. McCaughtry ◽  
Ruth Etzensperger ◽  
Amala Alag ◽  
Xuguang Tai ◽  
Sema Kurtulus ◽  
...  

The thymus generates T cells with diverse specificities and functions. To assess the contribution of cytokine receptors to the differentiation of T cell subsets in the thymus, we constructed conditional knockout mice in which IL-7Rα or common cytokine receptor γ chain (γc) genes were deleted in thymocytes just before positive selection. We found that γc expression was required to signal the differentiation of MHC class I (MHC-I)–specific thymocytes into CD8+ cytotoxic lineage T cells and into invariant natural killer T cells but did not signal the differentiation of MHC class II (MHC-II)–specific thymocytes into CD4+ T cells, even into regulatory Foxp3+CD4+ T cells which require γc signals for survival. Importantly, IL-7 and IL-15 were identified as the cytokines responsible for CD8+ cytotoxic T cell lineage specification in vivo. Additionally, we found that small numbers of aberrant CD8+ T cells expressing Runx3d could arise without γc signaling, but these cells were developmentally arrested before expressing cytotoxic lineage genes. Thus, γc-transduced cytokine signals are required for cytotoxic lineage specification in the thymus and for inducing the differentiation of MHC-I–selected thymocytes into functionally mature T cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A19.1-A19
Author(s):  
JGM Strijker ◽  
E Drent ◽  
JJF van der Hoek ◽  
R Pscheid ◽  
B Koopmans ◽  
...  

BackgroundCurrently ~50% of patients with the diagnosis of high-risk neuroblastoma will not survive due to relapsing or refractory disease. Recent innovations in immunotherapy for solid tumors are highly promising, but the low MHC-I expression of neuroblastoma represents a major challenge for T cell-mediated immunotherapy. Here, we propose a novel T cell-based immunotherapy approach for neuroblastoma, based on the use of TEG002, αβ-T cells engineered to express a defined γδ-T cell receptor, which are thought to recognize and kill target cells independent of MHC-I. In this pilot project we have tested the potential efficacy of TEG002 therapy as a novel treatment for neuroblastoma, with tumor organoids.Materials and MethodsEffector cells were created from healthy donor peripheral blood T cells. The TEG002 cells were engineered by transducing αβ-T cells with a defined Vγ9Vδ2-T cell receptor. Both the untransduced αβ-T cells and the endogenous Vγ9Vδ2-T cells from the same healthy donor were used as controls in all experiments. Activation and killing of TEG002 was tested in a co-culture setting with neuroblastoma organoids. Supernatant of the co-culture was collected at 24 hours for IFNγ ELISA to measure activation of TEG002. The dynamics of cytotoxicity were analyzed over time from 0 till 72 hours, using the live-cell imaging system IncuCyte from Sartorius®. Killing was quantified using a Caspase3/7 Green dye and the IncuCyte software. Transcriptional profiling of the neuroblastoma organoids was done by RNA sequencing and MHC-I expression of the neuroblastoma organoids was determined by flow cytometry.ResultsWe showed that 3 out of 6 neuroblastoma organoids could activate TEG002 as measured by IFNγ production. Transcriptional profiling of the neuroblastoma organoids showed that this effect correlates with an increased activity of processes involved in interferon signaling and extracellular matrix organization. Analysis of the dynamics of organoid killing by TEG002 over time confirmed that organoids which induced TEG002 activation were efficiently killed independently of their MHC-I expression. Of note, efficacy of TEG002 treatment was superior to donor-matched untransduced αβ-T cells or endogenous γδ-T cells.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that 50% of tested neuroblastoma organoids can effectively activate TEG002 and that killing of the organoids is independent of MHC-I expression. Hence, this pilot study identified TEG002 as a promising novel cellular product for immunotherapy for a subset of neuroblastoma tumors, warranting further investigations into its clinical application.Disclosure InformationJ.G.M. Strijker: None. E. Drent: A. Employment (full or part-time); Significant; Gadeta BV. J.J.F. van der Hoek: None. R. Pscheid: A. Employment (full or part-time); Significant; Gadeta BV. B. Koopmans: None. K. Ober: None. S.R. van Hooff: None. W.M. Kholosy: None. C. Coomans: A. Employment (full or part-time); Significant; Gadeta BV. A. Bisso: A. Employment (full or part-time); Significant; Gadeta BV. M. van Loenen: A. Employment (full or part-time); Significant; Gadeta BV. J.J. Molenaar: None. J. Wienke: None.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 923
Author(s):  
Josephine G. M. Strijker ◽  
Ronja Pscheid ◽  
Esther Drent ◽  
Jessica J. F. van der Hoek ◽  
Bianca Koopmans ◽  
...  

Currently ~50% of patients with a diagnosis of high-risk neuroblastoma will not survive due to relapsing or refractory disease. Recent innovations in immunotherapy for solid tumors are highly promising, but the low MHC-I expression of neuroblastoma represents a major challenge for T cell-mediated immunotherapy. Here, we propose a novel T cell-based immunotherapy approach for neuroblastoma, based on the use of TEG002, αβ-T cells engineered to express a defined γδ-T cell receptor, which can recognize and kill target cells independent of MHC-I. In a co-culture killing assay, we showed that 3 out of 6 neuroblastoma organoids could activate TEG002 as measured by IFNγ production. Transcriptional profiling showed this effect correlates with an increased activity of processes involved in interferon signaling and extracellular matrix organization. Analysis of the dynamics of organoid killing by TEG002 over time confirmed that organoids which induced TEG002 activation were efficiently killed independent of their MHC-I expression. Of note, efficacy of TEG002 treatment was superior to donor-matched untransduced αβ-T cells or endogenous γδ-T cells. Our data suggest that TEG002 may be a promising novel treatment option for a subset of neuroblastoma patients.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome S. Harms ◽  
Mike Khan ◽  
Cherisse Hall ◽  
Gary A. Splitter ◽  
E. Jane Homan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBrucella spp are intracellular pathogenic bacteria remarkable in their ability to escape immune surveillance and therefore inflict a state of chronic disease within the host. To enable further immune response studies, Brucella were engineered to express the well characterized chicken ovalbumin (OVA). Surprisingly, we found that CD8 T cells bearing T cell receptors (TCR) nominally specific for the OVA peptide SIINFEKL (OT-1) reacted to parental Brucella-infected targets as well as OVA-expressing Brucella variants in cytotoxicity assays. Furthermore, splenocytes from Brucella immunized mice produced IFN-γ and exhibited cytotoxicity in response to SIINFEKL-pulsed target cells. To determine if the SIINFEKL-reactive OT-1 TCR could be cross-reacting to Brucella peptides, we searched the Brucella proteome using an algorithm to generate a list of near-neighbor nonamer peptides that would bind to H2Kb. Selecting five Brucella peptide candidates, along with controls, we verified that several of these peptides mimicked SIINFEKL resulting in T cell activation through the “SIINFEKL-specific” TCR. Activation was dependent on peptide concentration as well as sequence. Our results underscore the complexity and ubiquity of cross-reactivity in T cell recognition. This cross-reactivity may enable microbes such as Brucella to escape immune surveillance by presenting peptides similar to the host, and may also lead to the activation of autoreactive T cells.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric T. Son ◽  
Pouya Faridi ◽  
Moumita Paul-Heng ◽  
Mario Leong ◽  
Kieran English ◽  
...  

AbstractWhile direct allorecognition underpins both solid organ allograft rejection and tolerance induction, the specific molecular targets of most directly-alloreactive CD8+T cells have not been defined. In this study, we used a combination of genetically-engineered MHC I constructs, mice with a hepatocyte-specific mutation in the class I antigen-presentation pathway and immunopeptidomic analysis to provide definitive evidence for the contribution of the peptide cargo of allogeneic MHC I molecules to transplant tolerance induction. We established a systematic approach for the discovery of directly-recognised pMHC epitopes, and identified 17 strongly immunogenic H-2Kb-associated peptides recognised by CD8+T cells from B10.BR (H-2k) mice, 13 of which were also recognised by BALB/c (H-2d) mice. As few as five different tetramers used together were able to identify almost 40% of alloreactive T cells within a polyclonal population, suggesting that there are immunodominant allogeneic MHC-peptide complexes that can account for a large proportion of the alloresponse.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (13) ◽  
pp. 7284-7287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Lucas ◽  
Cheryl L. Day ◽  
Jessica R. Wyer ◽  
Sharon L. Cunliffe ◽  
Andrew Loughry ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Recent advances in class II tetramer staining technology have allowed reliable direct ex vivo visualization of antigen-specific CD4 T cells. In order to define the frequency and phenotype of a prototype response to a nonpersistent pathogen, we have used such techniques to analyze influenza virus-specific memory CD4 T cells directly from blood. These responses are stably detectable ex vivo at low frequencies (range, 0.00012 to 0.0061% of CD4 T cells) and display a distinct “central memory” CD62L+ phenotype.


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