An Effective Strategy of Human Tumor Vaccine Modification by Coupling
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An effective strategy of human tumor vaccine modification by coupling bispecific costimulatory molecules Claudia Haas,1 Christel Herold-Mende,2 Roswitha Gerhards,3 and Volker Schirrmacher1 1German Cancer Research Center, Tumor Immunology Program, Heidelberg, Germany; 2Department of Neurosurgery, University-Clinic, Heidelberg, Germany; and 3Marien-Hospital, Herne, Germany. A new, generally applicable procedure is described for the introduction of defined costimulatory molecules into human cancer cells to increase their T-cell stimulatory capacity. The procedure involves infection with Newcastle disease virus to mediate the cell surface binding of costimulatory molecules (e.g., specially designed bispecific antibodies (bsAb)). The modification is independent of tumor cell proliferation and laborious recombinant gene technology and can be applied directly to freshly isolated and g-irradiated patient-derived tumor cells as an autologous cancer vaccine. Following the infection of tumor cells with a nonvirulent strain of Newcastle disease virus, the cells are washed and then further modified by coincubation with bsAbs, which attach with one arm to the viral hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) molecule on the infected tumor cells. The second specificity of one bsAb (bs HN 3 CD28) is directed against CD28 to augment antitumor T-cell responses by selectively channeling positive costimulatory signals via the CD28 pathway. A second bsAb (bs HN 3 CD3) was produced to deliver T-cell receptor-mediated signals either alone (bsCD3 vaccine) or in combination with anti-CD28 (bsCD3 vaccine plus bsCD28 vaccine). In human T-cell stimulation studies in vitro, the bsCD28 vaccine caused an up-regulation of early (CD69) and late (CD25) T-cell activation markers on CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes from either normal healthy donors or cancer patients (autologous system) and induced tumor cytostasis in nonmodified bystander tumor cells. In addition, in combination with the bsCD3 vaccine, augmented antitumor cytotoxicity and T-cell proliferative responses were observed. This tumor vaccine modification procedure is highly specific, quick, economic, and has a broad range of clinical applications. Key words: Cancer vaccine; bispecific antibody; Newcastle disease virus; tumor-associated antigen; T-cell costimulation. here is now much evidence that an antigen (Ag)- come immunogenic after CD80, CD86, and/or cytokine Tspecific, T-cell-mediated immune response requires, gene transfection, and mice that rejected such transfec- apart from the Ag, additional costimulatory signals.1,2 tants developed systemic protective immunity against These signals are normally provided by professional the nontransfected tumor.2–6 Ag-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells, mac- B7 transfection, however, often does not suffice to rophages, and activated B lymphocytes but not, for transfer immunogenicity to tumor cells such as human instance, by carcinoma cells, which represent the major- carcinoma cells, even when these cells are antigenic and ity of human tumors and are derived from the non-APC- susceptible to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).7 This type cells that form the epithelial layers. In the absence may be due in part to the fact that B7 also interacts with of costimulation, encounters with a tumor-associated Ag a negative regulator of T-cell activation, CTLA-4.8,9 An (TAA) can lead to T-cell inactivation or death rather ideal tumor vaccine should selectively channel costimu- than to proliferation and differentiation into effector latory signals via the CD28 pathway. This is achieved in cells. Modern gene therapy strategies, therefore, aim at the human cancer vaccines described here, in which a transforming carcinoma cells into professional APCs by bispecific (bs) anti-CD28 antibody (Ab) that does not transfecting genes that code for T-cell costimulatory interact with CTLA-4 is used for tumor vaccine modifi- molecules, such as CD80 (B7-1),2,3 CD86 (B7-2), and/or 4,5 cation. The vaccine modification procedure does not cytokines. In support of this concept, some nonimmu- require recombinant gene transfection or long-term cell nogenic transplantable tumor cells were shown to be- culture and selection procedures. It is a new, quick, and economic procedure involving only two steps that are Received April 16, 1998; accepted August 16, 1998. easy to perform: virus infection and bsAb attachment. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Prof. Volker Schirrma- For virus infection, we used a low dose of Newcastle 10,11 cher, Deutsches Krebsforschungs-zentrum, Abteilung 0710, Im Neuenhei- disease virus (NDV), an antineoplastic agent that mer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. E-mail address: V. was shown to potentiate tumor vaccine T-cell stimula- Schirrmacher@dkfz-heidelberg-de tory capacity without changing the tumor specificity of © 1999 Stockton Press 0929-1903/99/$12.00/10 the response.12 Postoperative vaccination with NDV- 254 Cancer Gene Therapy, Vol 6, No 3, 1999: pp 254–262 HAAS, HEROLD-MENDE, GERHARDS, ET AL: T-CELL ACTIVATION VIA BISPECIFIC CANCER VACCINE 255 modified autologous tumor cell vaccine (ATV-NDV) Production of bsCD28 vaccine and bsCD3 vaccine was effective in vivo in various animal tumor models to g 13,14 Tumor cells were inactivated with 200 Gy -irradiation via a prevent metastatic spread and to increase survival. 137Cs source (Gammacell 1000, Atomic Energy of Canada), The mechanism of the immunopotentiating effect of this washed, and resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (1 3 15–17 7 virus was analyzed in detail. Since 1988, a compara- 10 /mL). The cells were incubated for 1 hour at 37°C in a CO2 ble ATV-NDV was developed for clinical application.18,19 incubator in the presence of NDV Ulster (100 hemagglutinat- To obtain a high-quality product with potential clinical ing units) and washed. A total of 1 3 106 NDV-modified tumor efficacy, a number of procedures were developed: mechan- cells (TuN) were incubated with a predetermined saturating m ical dissection and enzymatic digestion to obtain single cells dose of 1 g/mL of the indicated bsAb or mAb and incubated from freshly operated tumors, removal of debris by Percoll for 20 minutes on ice. After washing, the bs vaccine was centrifugation, and removal of tumor-infiltrating leuko- adjusted to the required cell concentration. 20,21 cytes by immunomagnetic beads. Preparation of responder cells The present report summarizes .3 years of work toward the production, purification, and successful func- Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were tional testing in vitro of two new bsAbs. These bsAbs isolated from the heparinized blood of healthy donors or from allow for the production of a bsAb-modified, second- the HNO33, NCH92, and DaT45 patients by Ficoll-Hypaque generation vaccine (bs vaccine), because one arm of the (Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden) density gradient centrifugation. For enrichment of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), the bsAb is directed against the viral hemagglutinin-neura- isolated PBMCs were adjusted to 2 3 106 cells/mL in RPMI minidase (HN) molecule that serves as a universal 1640 and incubated for 1 hour at 37°C in tissue culture flasks anchoring molecule of the ATV-NDV vaccine. The to remove adherent cells. The nonadherent lymphocytes were second specificity is directed either against CD28 to carefully washed twice with prewarmed (37°C) complete me- deliver costimulatory signals via CD28 or against CD3 dium. T cells were separated by the sheep red blood cell (as a positive control) to deliver T-cell receptor (TCR) rosetting technique. The purity of the isolated T cells was complex-mediated signals and to achieve maximal stim- .95% as determined by immunofluorescence. ulation in combination with anti-CD28. Our data dem- onstrate potent stimulatory capacity on T cells of human Mixed lymphocyte-tumor cell culture (MLTC) carcinoma cells that are cell surface-modified by agonis- PBMCs and bs vaccine were mixed at a 10:1 ratio and seeded tic anti-CD28 and/or anti-CD3 Abs. into 12- or 6-well plates. After the indicated time interval, cells were washed and stained for FACS analysis. For whole blood cultures, the heparinized blood of the HNO33 patient was MATERIALS AND METHODS diluted 1/5 with complete medium plus 2% FCS. Cell lines and production of bsAbs Cytotoxicity test The parental hybridomas for the generation of quadromas For the generation of CTLs, purified T cells were mixed with were OKT3 (anti-CD3),22 15E8 (anti-CD28),22 and HN 1.4 c 23 the bs vaccine at a 10:1 ratio and incubated for 5 days in (anti-HN) . BsAb were produced by fusing 8-azaguanine- complete medium with 2% FCS without interleukin-2 (IL-2) in resistant hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase-negative an- 24-well plates in a 37°C incubator. Next, T cells were washed ti-CD3 or anti-CD28 hybridomas with iodoacetamide-treated three times, counted, and used as effector cells in a 4-hour (5 mM, 30 minutes, 4°C) anti-HN hybridomas via polyethylene cytotoxicity assay. For target cells, NDV-modified Colo205 glycol and then by selecting quadromas in hypoxanthine/ tumor cells were incubated for 1 hour at 37°C with 100 mCi aminopterin/thymidine medium. Supernatants were tested by 51 Na2 CrO4 (DuPont-New England Nuclear, Bad Homburg, fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis for the Germany). The cells were then washed twice in RPMI 1640 presence of both parental immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes. and counted. The target cells were added to the preactivated Quadromas were grown in miniperm production modules lymphocytes at the indicated effector to target ratio in round- (Heraeus, Osterode, Germany), harvested Abs were purified bottom microtiter plates. The final volume was 200 mL. The over a protein G column, and bsAbs were separated from plates were incubated for 4 hours at 37°C in a CO2 incubator. parental monoclonal Abs (mAbs) by high-performance liquid The mean percentage of specific 51Cr release was calculated chromatography. The mAbs used in this study for FACS from triplicates as described previously.15 analysis were: anti-CD4 phycoerythrin (PE), anti-CD8 PE, anti-CD25 fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), and anti-CD69 Tumor cytostasis test FITC (all from PharMingen, Hamburg, Germany).