The Identification of Tumour Antigens Recognized by Patients with Duke's B
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Title: The identification of tumour antigens recognized by patients with Duke’s B (Stage II) reactive colorectal cancers using SEREX Name: Viktoriya Bogdanova Boncheva This is a digitised version of a dissertation submitted to the University of Bedfordshire. It is available to view only. This item is subject to copyright. The identification of tumour antigens recognized by patients with Duke’s B (Stage II) reactive colorectal cancers using SEREX by Viktoriya Bogdanova Boncheva A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies & Science, University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy. Submitted December 2013 ABSTRACT Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in both men and women, posing a serious demographic and economic burden worldwide. In the UK, CRC affects one in every twenty people and it is often detected once well-established and after it has spread beyond the bowel (Stage IIA-C and Stage IIIA-C). A diagnosis at such advanced stages is associated with poor treatment response and survival. However, studies have identified two sub-groups of post-treatment CRC patients – those with good outcome (reactive disease) and those with poor outcome (non- reactive disease). Evidence indicates the presence of an effective immune response differentiates between those patients who respond well to treatment and those who do not. To investigate these underlying mechanisms we used the serological analysis of cDNA recombinant libraries (SEREX) technique to determine which antigens are recognised by patients in each group. Immunoscreening a healthy donor testes cDNA library with sera from three patients with Duke’s B reactive disease led to the identification of five antigens. These were (1) the immunoglobulin heavy constant gamma 3 (G3m marker), IGHG3 gene, located on chromosome 14 at 14q32.33, which encodes IgG3, and was recognised by sera from patients CC005 and CC014; (2) the immunoglobulin heavy constant gamma 2, IGHG2 gene, located on chromosome 14 at 14q32.33 and recognised by CC014 sera; while (3) CYB5R3, (4) RPL37A and (5) SLC34A2 were recognised by CC005, CC014 and CC014 sera respectively. CYB5R3 is a NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase 3 protein which has been shown to be upregulated in lung tissue with a RAS mutation in mice. Ribosomal protein L37a (RPL37A) has previously been shown to be upregulated in astrocytomas and to have a general association with lifetime glioblastoma survival and overall glioblastoma survival. Solute carrier family 34 member 2 (SLC34A2) encodes a protein which acts as a pH-sensitive sodium-dependent phosphate II transporter. SLC34A2 has been shown to be upregulated in breast and ovarian cancers and it is suggested that SLC34A2 is involved in the process of carcinogenesis, making it an attractive target in therapeutic strategies and also as a diagnostic biomarker. Although other antigens were found, and their sequences identified, all were unknown and not found in the databases. RT-PCR analysis of the Duke’s B colon cancer cell line SW480 showed consistent expression of BCP-20. Although, expression of SSX2, NY-ESO-1, TSP50, HAGE and RAGE were detected, the data was not easily reproductible. Further optimisation of the PCR conditions and primer pairs would be necessary to confirm these findings. We hope in the future we can disern the role of these antigens in the inflammatory immune responses associated with reactive Dukes’ B colon cancer which would help us better understand the mechanisms which underlie effective anti-tumour responses post-surgery. It may also be that RPL37A is a biomarker for patient survival in colorectal cancer and this would be worthy of further investigation. III DEDICATIONS In memory of my beloved grandmother who always believed in me and inspired me to pursue my dreams no matter how impossible they seemed. To Dr Barbara Guinn who is a true inspiration as a scientist, a role model and a friend. With a never-ending enthusiasm, positive energy and support she turned this research project into an unforgettable journey. Thank you for every moment. To my best friends and colleagues Emma and Kay who stood by me at all times. Thank you for always encouraging me to keep going when science and faith would fail. To Simon who reminded me that it is possible to have it all. To all my friends and colleagues from the University of Bedfordshire. Thank you for your support and friendship throughout my research degree. IV QUOTE “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney V PUBLICATIONS TO DATE Peer-reviewed publications 1. Hofmann, S., Khan, G., Boncheva, V., Greiner, J. & Guinn, B.A. (2014) Vaccination against myeloid leukaemias using newly defined antigens. In Press, Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy. (Ed. by Rees, R.) Oxford University Press. 2. Liberante, F.G., Pellagatti, A., Boncheva, V., Bowen, D.T., Mills, K.I., Boultwood, J. & Guinn, B.A. (2013). High and low, but not intermediate, PRAME expression levels are poor prognostic markers in myelodysplastic syndrome at disease presentation. British Journal of Haematology, 162, 282-284. 3. Boncheva, V., Bonney, S.A., Brooks, S.E., Tangney, M., O’Sullivan, G., Mirnezami, A. & Guinn, B.A. (2013) New targets for the immunotherapy of colon cancer – does reactive disease hold the answer? Cancer Gene Therapy, 20, 157-168. Conference presentations - Abstracts 1. Bonney, S.A., Brooks, S.E., Boncheva, V., Sigurdardottir, D., Tangney, M., Li, D., Patel, S., Pulford, K., Banham, A.H., Rammensee, H.G., O’Sullivan, G., Mirnezami, A. & Guinn, B.A. (2012) The identification of tumour-specific T cell populations recognized by colon cancer patients using the pMHC array. Orl presentation at the International Society for the Cell and Gene Therapy of Cancer annual conference, Singapore. 2. Khan, G., Boncheva, V., Mirnezami, A. & Guinn, B.A. (2013) Characterisation of SSX2 and SSX2IP expression in colon cancer. Poster presentation at the National Cancer Research Institute Annual Meeting. VI LIST OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... II DEDICATIONS .................................................................................................................................... IV QUOTE .................................................................................................................................................. V PUBLICATIONS TO DATE ................................................................................................................ VI LIST OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. X ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. XI ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................................. XII CHAPTER 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 13 1.1 The Global Challenge ................................................................................................... 13 1.2 Colorectal Cancer (CRC).............................................................................................. 14 1.3 The Search for Tumour Antigens Specific for CRC .................................................... 18 1.4 Tumour profiling in patients with CRC ........................................................................ 26 1.5 Potential biomarkers for discerning reactive from non-reactive disease ...................... 31 1.6 Potential biomarkers for survival prognosis ................................................................. 32 1.7 Potential biomarkers for discerning aggressive from non-aggressive disease............. 33 1.8 Potential immunotherapeutic targets ........................................................................... 34 1.9 Non-reactive disease – overcoming the underlying issues ........................................... 34 1.10 Infiltrating T lymphocytes ............................................................................................ 36 1.11 Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) ...................................................................... 39 1.12 Study Aims ................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 2 Materials and Methods .......................................................................................... 43 2.1 First round of primary immunoscreening of a testes cDNA library (SEREX) ............. 43 2.2 Determination of serum reactivity and testis cDNA library efficiency ........................ 49 2.3 Construction of a new testis cDNA library................................................................... 53 2.4 Second round of primary immunoscreening with SEREX – optimised protocol ......... 56 2.5 Secondary