Systemic administration of rIL-12 synergistically enhances the therapeutic effect of a TNF gene-transduced cancer vaccine.
(1/3029)
Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a potent antitumor cytokine, which induces and enhances the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). IL-12 also stimulates IFN-gamma production from both T cells and NK cells. In this study, we transfected methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma (MCA-D) with TNF gene and investigated the therapeutic effect of TNF gene-transduced cancer vaccine and whether the vaccination effect is enhanced by systemic administration of recombinant IL-12 (rIL-12), in a murine model. TNF gene-transduced cancer vaccine or systemic administration of rIL-12 showed slight or moderate inhibition of pre-established tumor. However, simultaneous application of the vaccine and rIL-12 resulted in complete eradication. The cytotoxicity of CTL against parental tumor cells was enhanced with the combination of the vaccine and rIL-12, and IFN-gamma production from spleen cells also increased synergistically. Our findings show that synergistic enhancement of CTL activity and IFN-gamma production could play an important role in the antitumor effect of combination therapy using TNF gene-transduced cancer vaccine and rIL-12. (+info)
Presentation of renal tumor antigens by human dendritic cells activates tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes against autologous tumor: implications for live kidney cancer vaccines.
(2/3029)
The clinical impact of dendritic cells (DCs) in the treatment of human cancer depends on their unique role as the most potent antigen-presenting cells that are capable of priming an antitumor T-cell response. Here, we demonstrate that functional DCs can be generated from peripheral blood of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by culture of monocytes/macrophages (CD14+) in autologous serum containing medium (RPMI) in the presence of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin (IL) 4. For testing the capability of RCC-antigen uptake and processing, we loaded these DCs with autologous tumor lysate (TuLy) using liposomes, after which cytometric analysis of the DCs revealed a markedly increased expression of HLA class I antigen and a persistent high expression of class II. The immunogenicity of DC-TuLy was further tested in cultures of renal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) cultured in low-dose IL-2 (20 Biologic Response Modifier Program units/ml). A synergistic effect of DC-TuLy and IL-2 in stimulating a T cell-dependent immune response was demonstrated by: (a) the increase of growth expansion of TILs (9.4-14.3-fold; day 21); (b) the up-regulation of the CD3+ CD56- TcR+ (both CD4+ and CD8+) cell population; (c) the augmentation of T cell-restricted autologous tumor lysis; and (d) the enhancement of IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and IL-6 mRNA expression by TILs. Taken together, these data implicate that DC-TuLy can activate immunosuppressed TIL via an induction of enhanced antitumor CTL responses associated with production of Thl cells. This indicates a potential role of DC-TuLy vaccines for induction of active immunity in patients with advanced RCC. (+info)
Melanoma cells present a MAGE-3 epitope to CD4(+) cytotoxic T cells in association with histocompatibility leukocyte antigen DR11.
(3/3029)
In this study we used TEPITOPE, a new epitope prediction software, to identify sequence segments on the MAGE-3 protein with promiscuous binding to histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR molecules. Synthetic peptides corresponding to the identified sequences were synthesized and used to propagate CD4(+) T cells from the blood of a healthy donor. CD4(+) T cells strongly recognized MAGE-3281-295 and, to a lesser extent, MAGE-3141-155 and MAGE-3146-160. Moreover, CD4(+) T cells proliferated in the presence of recombinant MAGE-3 after processing and presentation by autologous antigen presenting cells, demonstrating that the MAGE-3 epitopes recognized are naturally processed. CD4(+) T cells, mostly of the T helper 1 type, showed specific lytic activity against HLA-DR11/MAGE-3-positive melanoma cells. Cold target inhibition experiments demonstrated indeed that the CD4(+) T cells recognized MAGE-3281-295 in association with HLA-DR11 on melanoma cells. This is the first evidence that a tumor-specific shared antigen forms CD4(+) T cell epitopes. Furthermore, we validated the use of algorithms for the prediction of promiscuous CD4(+) T cell epitopes, thus opening the possibility of wide application to other tumor-associated antigens. These results have direct implications for cancer immunotherapy in the design of peptide-based vaccines with tumor-specific CD4(+) T cell epitopes. (+info)
Systemic administration of interleukin 2 enhances the therapeutic efficacy of dendritic cell-based tumor vaccines.
(4/3029)
We have reported previously that murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with whole tumor lysates can mediate potent antitumor immune responses both in vitro and in vivo. Because successful therapy was dependent on host immune T cells, we have now evaluated whether the systemic administration of the T cell stimulatory/growth promoting cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) could enhance tumor lysate-pulsed DC-based immunizations to further promote protective immunity toward, and therapeutic rejection of, syngeneic murine tumors. In three separate approaches using a weakly immunogenic sarcoma (MCA-207), the systemic administration of nontoxic doses of recombinant IL-2 (20,000 and 40,000 IU/dose) was capable of mediating significant increases in the potency of DC-based immunizations. IL-2 could augment the efficacy of tumor lysate-pulsed DC to induce protective immunity to lethal tumor challenge as well as enhance splenic cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and interferon-gamma production in these treated mice. Moreover, treatment with the combination of tumor lysate-pulsed DC and IL-2 could also mediate regressions of established pulmonary 3-day micrometastases and 7-day macrometastases as well as established 14- and 28-day s.c. tumors, leading to either significant cure rates or prolongation in overall survival. Collectively, these findings show that nontoxic doses of recombinant IL-2 can potentiate the antitumor effects of tumor lysate-pulsed DC in vivo and provide preclinical rationale for the use of IL-2 in DC-based vaccine strategies in patients with advanced cancer. (+info)
Cytokine-based tumor cell vaccine is equally effective against parental and isogenic multidrug-resistant myeloma cells: the role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes.
(5/3029)
Tumor cells that survive initial courses of chemotherapy may do so by acquiring a multidrug-resistant phenotype. This particular mechanism of drug resistance may also confer resistance to physiological effectors of apoptosis that could potentially reduce the efficacy of immune therapies that use these pathways of cell death. We have previously demonstrated high efficacy for a cytokine-based tumor cell vaccine in a murine MPC11 myeloma model. In the present study, the effects of this vaccination were compared in MPC11 cells and their isogenic sublines selected for mdr1/P-glycoprotein (Pgp)-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR). Immunization with MPC11 cells expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) led to long-lasting protection of mice against subcutaneous (sc) challenge with both parental cells or their MDR variants. Similarly, immunization with GM-CSF/IL-12-transfected MDR sublines caused rejection of transplantation of both parental cells and the MDR sublines. Whereas MPC11 cells and their MDR variants were resistant to APO-1/CD95/Fas ligand, the immunization generated potent granzyme B/perforin-secreting cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that were similarly effective against both parental and isogenic MDR cells. We conclude that MDR mediated by mdr1/Pgp did not interfere with lysis by pore-forming CTLs. Immunotherapy based on pore-forming CTLs may be an attractive approach to the treatment of drug-resistant myeloma. (+info)
Cancer vaccines.
(6/3029)
It has been more than 100 years since the first reported attempts to activate a patient's immune system to eradicate developing cancers. Although a few of the subsequent vaccine studies demonstrated clinically significant treatment effects, active immunotherapy has not yet become an established cancer treatment modality. Two recent advances have allowed the design of more specific cancer vaccine approaches: improved molecular biology techniques and a greater understanding of the mechanisms involved in the activation of T cells. These advances have resulted in improved systemic antitumor immune responses in animal models. Because most tumor antigens recognized by T cells are still not known, the tumor cell itself is the best source of immunizing antigens. For this reason, most vaccine approaches currently being tested in the clinics use whole cancer cells that have been genetically modified to express genes that are now known to be critical mediators of immune system activation. In the future, the molecular definition of tumor-specific antigens that are recognized by activated T cells will allow the development of targeted antigen-specific vaccines for the treatment of patients with cancer. (+info)
Vaccination with a recombinant vaccinia virus encoding a "self" antigen induces autoimmune vitiligo and tumor cell destruction in mice: requirement for CD4(+) T lymphocytes.
(7/3029)
Many human and mouse tumor antigens are normal, nonmutated tissue differentiation antigens. Consequently, immunization with these "self" antigens could induce autoimmunity. When we tried to induce immune responses to five mouse melanocyte differentiation antigens, gp100, MART-1, tyrosinase, and tyrosinase-related proteins (TRP) 1 and TRP-2, we observed striking depigmentation and melanocyte destruction only in the skin of mice inoculated with a vaccinia virus encoding mouse TRP-1. These mice rejected a lethal challenge of B16 melanoma, indicating the immune response against TRP-1 could destroy both normal and malignant melanocytes. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for TRP-1 could not be detected in depigmented mice, but high titers of IgG anti-TRP-1 antibodies were present. Experiments with knockout mice revealed an absolute dependence on major histocompatibility complex class II, but not major histocompatibility complex class I, for the induction of both vitiligo and tumor protection. Together, these results suggest that the deliberate induction of self-reactivity using a recombinant viral vector can lead to tumor destruction, and that in this model, CD4(+) T lymphocytes are an integral part of this process. Vaccine strategies targeting tissue differentiation antigens may be valuable in cancers arising from nonessential cells and organs such as melanocytes, prostate, testis, breast, and ovary. (+info)
Preclinical development of human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-transfected melanoma cell vaccine using established canine cell lines and normal dogs.
(8/3029)
Tumor vaccines and gene therapy have received significant attention as means of increasing cellular and humoral immune responses to cancer. We conducted a pilot study of seven research dogs to determine whether intradermal injection of canine tumor cells transfected via the Accell particle-mediated gene transfer device with the cDNA for human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) would generate biologically relevant levels of protein and result in demonstrable histological changes at sites of vaccination. Tumor cell vaccines of 10(7) irradiated canine melanoma cells were nontoxic, safe, and well tolerated. No significant alterations in blood chemistry values or hematological profiles were detected. A histological review of control vaccine sites revealed inflammatory responses predominated by eosinophils, whereas vaccine sites with hGM-CSF-transfected tumor cells had an influx of neutrophils and macrophages. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of skin biopsies from vaccine sites had local hGM-CSF production (8.68-16.82 ng/site of injection) at 24 hours after injection and detectable levels (0.014-0.081 ng/site) for < or =2 weeks following vaccination. Flow cytometric analysis of hGM-CSF-transfected cells demonstrated < or =25% transfection efficiency, and hGM-CSF levels obtained during time-course assays demonstrated biologically relevant levels for both irradiated and nonirradiated samples. These data demonstrate the in vivo biological activity of irradiated hGM-CSF-transfected canine tumor cells and help provide evidence for a valid translational research model of spontaneous tumors. (+info)