Dataset Information

Targeting IL-21 to tumor-reactive T cells enhances memory T cell responses and anti-PD-1 antibody therapy

ABSTRACT: T cell rejuvenation by PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, despite emerging as a highly promising therapy for advanced cancers, is only beneficial for a minority of treated patients. There is evidence that a lack of efficient T cell activation may be responsible for the failure. Here, we demonstrate that IL-21 can be targeted to tumor-reactive T cells by fusion of IL-21 to anti-PD-1 antibody. To our surprise, the fusion protein PD-1Ab21 promoted the generation of TSCM-like CD8+ T cells with enhanced cell proliferation. A transcriptome analysis of isolated TN, activated and PD-1Ab-cultured CD44highCD62Lhigh T cells, IL-2-generated TE/TEM, IL-15-generated TCM as well as PD-1Ab21 and IL-21-generated CD44lowCD62Lhigh T cells provides corroborating evidence that PD-1Ab21 induces conversion of activated CD8+ T cells back to a memory subset that is distinct from TCM cells, but similar to TSCM. PD-1Ab21 treatment showed potent antitumor effects in established tumor-bearing mice accompanied with an increased frequency of TSCM and robust expansion of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells with a memory phenotype, and was superior to a combination of PD-1 blockade and IL-21 infusion. Therefore, we have developed a potential strategy to improve the therapeutic effects of immune checkpoint blockade by simultaneously targeting cytokines to tumor-reactive T cells.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE164093 | GEO | 2021/01/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Adoptive immunotherapy using ex vivo expanded tumor reactive lymphocytes can mediate durable cancer regression in selected melanoma patients. Analyses of these trials have associated the in vivo engraftment ability of the transferred cells with their anti-tumor efficacy. Thus, there is significant clinical interest in the prospective isolation of tumor specific T cells that can reliably persist after transfer. Animal studies have suggested that central memory CD8+ T cells (TCM) have divergent capabilities including effector differentiation to target antigen and stem cell-like self renewal that enable long term survival after adoptive transfer. In this study, we sought to isolate human melanoma specific TCM to define their in vivo fate and function after autologous therapeutic transfer to metastatic patients. To facilitate the high throughput identification of these rare cells from patients, we report that TCM have a defined stoichiometric production of IL-2 and IFN-g mRNA after antigen stimulation. Melanoma specific T cells screened for high relative IL-2 production possessed a TCM phenotype and superior in vitro proliferative capacity compared to cells with low IL-2 production. To investigate in vivo effector function and self renewal capability, melanoma specific TCM underwent in vitro expansion and differentiation into lytic effector clones and then were adoptively transferred back into their hosts. These clones targeted skin melanocytes in all five patients and persisted long term and reacquired parental TCM attributes in four patients after transfer. These findings demonstrate the favorable engraftment fitness for human TCM-derived clones, but further efforts to improve their anti-tumor efficacy are still necessary. We used microarrays to compare the resting gene expression profile of melanoma specific CD8+ T cell clones that were derived from either High IL-2:IFN index precursors or Low IL-2:IFN index precursors. Three melanoma specific effector clones were derived from parental cells that possessed a high IL-2:IFN index from three independent patients with metastatic melanoma. Two melanoma specific effector clones were derived from parental cells that possessed a low IL-2:IFN index from two independent patients with metastatic melanoma. We used microarrays to compare the resting gene expression profile of the CD8+ T cell clones that were derived from either high IL-2:IFN index precursors or low IL-2:IFN index precursors.

Dataset Information

Targeting IL-21 to tumor-reactive T cells enhances memory T cell responses and anti-PD-1 antibody therapy

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure