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Genomic information of primary GBM cultures

Purpose:Cellular immunotherapies are currently being explored to eliminate highly invasive and chemoradioresistant glioblastoma (GBM) cells involved in rapid relapse. We recently showed that concomitant stereotactic injections of nonalloreactive allogeneic Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes eradicate zoledronate-primed human GBM cells. In the present study, we investigated the spontaneous reactivity of allogeneic human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes toward primary human GBM cells, in vitro and in vivo, in the absence of any prior sensitization.Experimental Design:Through functional and transcriptomic analyses, we extensively characterized the immunoreactivity of human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes against various primary GBM cultures directly derived from patient tumors.Results:We evidenced that GBM cells displaying a mesenchymal signature are spontaneously eliminated by allogeneic human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes, a reactivity process being mediated by γδ T-cell receptor (TCR) and tightly regulated by cellular stress–associated NKG2D pathway. This led to the identification of highly reactive Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocyte populations, independently of a specific TCR repertoire signature. Moreover, we finally provide evidence of immunotherapeutic efficacy in vivo, in the absence of any prior tumor cell sensitization.Conclusions:By identifying pathways implicated in the selective natural recognition of mesenchymal GBM cell subtypes, accounting for 30% of primary diagnosed and 60% of recurrent GBM, our results pave the way for novel targeted cellular immunotherapies.

Expression of Vγ9VÎ'2 T lymphocyte activation-related molecules in primary GBM cultures.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin with a 5-year overall survival estimated at 40%1 . In 2008, Merkel cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV) integration was identified as the primary oncogenic event of about 80% of MCC cases. Under microscopic examination, MCC appears as a proliferation of basaloid tumor cells invading the dermis and subcutaneous tissues.

T cell receptors (TCRs) are formed by stochastic gene rearrangements, theoretically generating >1019 sequences. They are selected during thymopoiesis, which releases a repertoire of about 108 unique TCRs per individual. How evolution shaped a process that produces TCRs that can effectively handle a countless and evolving set of infectious agents is a central question of immunology. The paradigm is that a diverse enough repertoire of TCRs should always provide a proper, though rare, specificity for any given need. Expansion of such rare T cells would provide enough fighters for an effective immune response and enough antigen-experienced cells for memory. We show here that human thymopoiesis releases a large population of CD8+ T cells harboring α/β paired TCRs that (i) have high generation probabilities and (ii) a preferential usage of some V and J genes, (iii) are shared between individuals and (iv) can each recognize and be activated by multiple unrelated viral peptides, notably from EBV, CMV and influenza. These polyspecific T cells may represent a first line of defense that is mobilized in response to infections before a more specific response subsequently ensures viral elimination. Our results support an evolutionary selection of polyspecific α/β TCRs for broad antiviral responses and heterologous immunity.

Background Patients with SLE show insufficient EBV control with an increased viral load and a decreased cytotoxic T-cell response associated with an abnormal humoral responses which theoretically may be pathogenic. In the present study we proposed an adoptive transfer of EBV-CTL to try to restore patients EBV specific T-cell control, and assess its effect on the humoral responses and the clinical status. Methods Nine patients with SLE were enrolled in a Phase I/II clinical trial to receive autologous EBV-CTL (5.106 cells/kg). The frequency of EBV-specific T cells before and 10 days after injection was evaluated i) by ELISPOT directly on the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and ii) by estimation of IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α production and CD107 expression after pre-amplification of the EBV-specific precursors in vitro. We also monitored anti-VCA, anti-EAD, and anti-EBNA antibodies titers, EBV viral load, and clinical and biological disease activity parameters. Results To date, 6 patients received EBV-CTL treatment. Ten days after injection, the EBV-CTL frequencies observed by ELISPOT increased moderately for 2 out of 3 patients tested. On the pre-amplified cells, increase in the production of IFN-γ after BLCL stimulation was observed for 4 out of 6 patients, and in the CD107 expression for 3 out of 6 patients. Serology titers remained stable during follow-up, with the exception of the anti-EBNA and anti-VCA IgG titers, which decreased in one patient. The viral EBV blood load did not vary significantly. Conclusions The administration of EBV-CTL seems safe and well tolerated in SLE patients. Yet it might not be sufficient to improve the control of the virus by the host (and modify humoral response against EBV) despite a discreet increase in the EBV specific T-cell repertoire after injection. More data still need to be collected to precise the effects of the treatment on anti-EBV response and disease activity.

Randomly generated T cell receptors (TCRs) selected during thymopoiesis form a repertoire of about 108 unique TCRs per individual. How these diverse TCRs can effectively handle a countless and evolving set of infectious agents is a central question of immunology. The paradigm is that a diverse enough repertoire of TCRs should always provide a proper, though rare, specificity for any given need. We analyzed the generation and use of TCR in humans using deep and single-cell sequencing. We found that thymopoiesis releases a large population of CD8+ T cells harboring diverse and polyspecific α/βTCRs that can each recognize and respond to multiple unrelated viral peptides, notably from EBV, CMV and influenza. These TCRs participate in a first-line response to vaccination and infection, including to SARS-CoV-2 for which they predict the infection outcome. Our results support an evolutionary selection of polyspecific α/βTCRs for broad antiviral responses and heterologous immunity. Funding: This work was primarily funded by the TRiPoD ERC-Advanced EU (322856) grant to DK.The LabEx Transimmunom (ANR-11-IDEX-0004-02) and RHU iMAP (ANR-16-RHUS-0001) grants also contributed. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethical Approval: Thirteen human thymus samples were obtained from organ donors undergoing surgery (Department of Cardiac Surgery, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, France) after approval by the Agence de Biomedecine and the Ministry of Research.

International audience; Background aims. To produce an anti-leukemic effect after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation we have long considered the theoretical possibility of using banks of HLA-DP specific T-cell clones transduced with a suicide gene. For that application as for any others, a clonal strategy is constrained by the population doubling (PD) potential of T cells, which has been rarely explored or exploited. Methods. We used clinical-grade conditions and two donors who were homozygous and identical for all HLA-alleles except HLA-DP. After mixed lymphocyte culture and transduction, we obtained 14 HLA-DP–specific T-cell clones transduced with the HSV-TK suicide gene. Clones were then selected on the basis of their specificity and functional characteristics and evaluated for their doubling potential. Results. After these steps of selection the clone NAT-DP4[(TK)], specific for HLA-DPB1*04:01/04:02, which produced high levels of interferon-γ (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), was fully sequenced. It has two copies of the HSV-TK suicide transgene whose localizations were determined. Four billion NAT-DP4[(TK)] cells were frozen after 50 PDs. Thawed NAT-DP4[(TK)] cells retain the potential to undergo 50 additional PDs, a potential very far beyond that required to produce a biological effect. This PD potential was confirmed on 6/16 additional different T-cell clones. This type of well-defined clone can also support a second genetic modification with CAR constructs. Conclusion. The possibility of choosing rare donors and exploiting the natural proliferative potential of T lymphocytes may dramatically reduce the clinical and immunologic complexity of adoptive transfer protocols that rely on the use of third-party T-cell populations.

// Christelle Retiere 1 , 2, 8 , Catherine Willem 1, 2, 8 , Thierry Guillaume 2, 3, 8 , Henri Vie 1, 2, 8 , Laetitia Gautreau-Rolland 2, 8 , Emmanuel Scotet 2, 8 , Xavier Saulquin 2, 8 , Katia Gagne 1, 2, 4, 8 , Marie C. Bene 5, 8 , Berthe-Marie Imbert 6, 7, 8 , Beatrice Clemenceau 2, 8 , Pierre Peterlin 3 , Alice Garnier 3 and Patrice Chevallier 2, 3, 8 1 Etablissement Francais du Sang, Nantes, France 2 CRCINA, INSERM, CNRS, Universite d’Angers, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France 3 Hematology Department, CHU, Nantes, France 4 LabEx Transplantex, Universite de Strasbourg, France 5 Hematology/Biology Department, CHU, Nantes, France 6 INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Transplantation et Immunologie, UMR1064, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France 7 Service de Virologie, CHU Nantes, Nantes, France 8 LabEx IGO “Immunotherapy, Graft, Oncology”, Nantes, F-44000, France Correspondence to: Christelle Retiere, email: christelle.retiere@efs.sante.fr Keywords: allogeneic bone marrow transplantation; post-transplant cyclophosphamide; immune reconstitution; immunology Received: May 31, 2017 Accepted: November 01, 2017 Published: January 27, 2018 ABSTRACT We have compared prospectively the outcome and immune reconstitution of patients receiving either post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) ( n = 30) or anti-thymocyte globulin ATG ( n = 15) as Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation (allo-SCT). The outcome and immune reconstitution of patients receiving either of these two regimens were compared prospectively. This study allowed also to investigate the impact of PTCY between haplo-identical vs matched donors and of clofarabine as part of the RIC regimen. The γ/δ T-cells, α/β T-cells (CD8 + and CD4 + ), NK T-cells, NK cells, B-cells, Tregs and monocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry from a total of 583 samples. In the PTCY group significant delayed platelets recovery, higher CD3+ donor chimerism, higher HHV-6 and lower EBV reactivations were observed. Early survival advantage for CD4+ T-cells, Tregs and α/β T-cells was documented in the PTCY group while it was the case for α/β T-cells, NK cells and monocytes in the ATG group. Higher counts of NK and monocytes were observed at days +30 and/or day+60 in the ATG group. Both results were retained even in the case of mismatched donors. However, higher percentages of CD4+ T-cells, α/β T-cells and Tregs were observed with haplo-identical donors in the PTCY group. Finally, clofarabine was responsible for early survival advantage of NK T-cells in the PTCY group while it abrogated the early survival advantage of γ/δ T-cells in the ATG group. In conclusion, there are marked differences in the immunological effects of ATG vs PTCY as GVHD prophylaxis for RIC PBSC allo-SCT.

Introduction: Virus-specific humoral and cellular immune responses act synergistically to protect from viral infection. In our recent observational monocentric study of 117 hematopoietic stem cell adult recipients, we found that 54% and 83 % patients achieved a humoral response after two doses of BNT162b2 anti-SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer BioNTech), respectively. Here, we evaluated the T-cell response against the SARS-Cov-2 spike protein after two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in some allografted patients from the same cohort and compared these results to those from healthy controls. Methods: To quantify SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cells, we used an INFg ELISpot assay that detects these cells after activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with 3 peptide pools covering the whole protein sequence of the spike glycoprotein (Prot _S1; _S+ and _S PepTivator peptide pools, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany). EBV and CMV specific T-cells were also quantified as controls. The immunophenotype of PBMC was determined by flow cytometry, after dead cell exclusion, with monoclonal antibodies identifying the following surface antigens: CD45, CD3, CD14, CD19 and HLA-DR. The frequencies of spot-forming units (SFU) were reported as per 10 6 CD3+ T-cells. Results: Samples from 46 allografted patients (acute myeloblastic leukemia, N=27, myelodysplastic syndrome, N=19) and 16 healthy controls were available. Characteristics of the population are given in Table 1. All fully vaccinated healthy donors became seropositive and developed a positive T-cell response to spike peptide pools even though variable frequencies were observed. The median response was 195 SFU/10 6 T-cells. By comparison, the frequency of EBV-specific T-cells was 774 SFU/10 6 T-cells (Figure 1). In the group of patients, 78% (n=36/46) had achieved a humoral response after the second dose of vaccine. Among these humoral responders (HR), 89% (n=32/36) also had a positive anti-spike T-cell response with variable frequencies (median =119 SFU/10 6 T-cells. For 8 patients, this T cell response was higher than that of controls (>800 SFU/10 6 T-cells) (Figure 1), which is equivalent to more than 1 specific T-cell per microliter of blood (Figure 2). The humoral responders (HR) who did not develop a T-cell response (11%, n=4/36) had a median time from transplant to vaccination of 523 days compared to 1032 days for cellular responder patients. Among the 10 patients who were non humoral responders (NHR) (22%, n=10/46), 4 (40%) developed a cellular immunity, including one with a very high T cell response (1333 SFU/10 6 T-cells). As expected, the absence of humoral response was observed in patients who were within one year of the transplant. Of note, somehow unexpectedly, patients often presented a high frequency of EBV- and CMV-specific T cells (Figures 1 & 2). As expected, PBMC immunophenotypic analysis revealed that CD3+ frequencies were lower in patients compared to those of controls but were similar between HR and NHR. NHR had very low frequencies of B cells and interestingly, they had an elevated frequency of CD14+ monocytes with low/neg HLA-DR expression potentially corresponding to myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) (Figure 3). Conclusion: In this series, 89% of allografted patients who developed an anti-spike humoral response also presented an anti-SARS-Cov-2 cellular immunity. Interestingly, anti-SARS-Cov-2 specific T-cells could be detected in 40% of NHR patients. Although a larger group of patients is required to confirm these results, it remains to be determined whether this T-cell response is protective against SARS-Cov-2 infection as previously demonstrated for CMV (Litjens et al, 2017). Finally, the role of potential immunosuppressive MDSCs must be explored in patients who develop no sign of T-cell response after vaccination. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Moreau: Oncopeptides: Honoraria; Celgene BMS: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria.

Within a few years, the success of treatments based on the use of T-cells armed with a chimeric T-receptor for the CD19 molecule (CAR-T CD19) has revolutionized the perception of adoptive transfer approaches. The levels of responses observed in acute leukemias, of the order of 70-90 % are indeed unprecedented. The medical and financial enthusiasm aroused by these results has led to the current situation where more than 300 clinical trials are under way, against some thirty different antigens. This enthusiasm, well justified by the first successes, must however be tempered by the difficulties associated with the use of these cells. Indeed, the management of patients is made very complex both for medical reasons, because the toxicities associated with these treatments are important, and for technical reasons, because the preparation of T lymphocytes for therapeutic use requires dedicated structures. During this same period, knowledge of the mechanisms of regulation of T lymphocytes and the possibilities offered by synthetic biology and techniques of genome engineering have progressed considerably. Combined, they allow envisaging a true "programming" of the T lymphocytes, intended to improve the efficiency of the treatments and the safety of the patients. Medical and industrial perspectives and the role of these approaches in the arsenal of cancer therapies will depend largely on two conditions: the emergence of a robust demonstration of their effectiveness in solid tumors, and the establishment of an acceptable production and distribution model 1.

Purpose: Cellular immunotherapies are currently being explored to eliminate highly invasive and chemoradioresistant glioblastoma (GBM) cells involved in rapid relapse. We recently showed that concomitant stereotactic injections of nonalloreactive allogeneic Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes eradicate zoledronate-primed human GBM cells. In the present study, we investigated the spontaneous reactivity of allogeneic human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes toward primary human GBM cells, in vitro and in vivo, in the absence of any prior sensitization. Experimental Design: Through functional and transcriptomic analyses, we extensively characterized the immunoreactivity of human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes against various primary GBM cultures directly derived from patient tumors. Results: We evidenced that GBM cells displaying a mesenchymal signature are spontaneously eliminated by allogeneic human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes, a reactivity process being mediated by γδ T-cell receptor (TCR) and tightly regulated by cellular stress–associated NKG2D pathway. This led to the identification of highly reactive Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocyte populations, independently of a specific TCR repertoire signature. Moreover, we finally provide evidence of immunotherapeutic efficacy in vivo, in the absence of any prior tumor cell sensitization. Conclusions: By identifying pathways implicated in the selective natural recognition of mesenchymal GBM cell subtypes, accounting for 30% of primary diagnosed and 60% of recurrent GBM, our results pave the way for novel targeted cellular immunotherapies.

The online version of this article ( https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-018-2176-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.; International audience; The recent success of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) confirms that MCC tumors can be immunogenic. However, no treatment directly targeting the tumor is available for use in combination with these checkpointinhibitors to enhance their efficacity. This study was carried out to characterize MCC line sensitivity to cellular lysis and to identify cell surface antigens that could be used for direct targeting of this tumor. For five representative MCC lines, the absence or low expression of MICA, MICB, HLA-I, and ICAM-1 was associated with low level of recognition by NK cells and T lymphocytes. However, expression of HLA-I and ICAM-1 and sensitivity to cellular lysis could be restored or increased after exposure to INFγ. We tested 41 antibodies specific for 41 different antigens using a novel antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) screening system for target antigens. Anti-CD326 (EpCAM) was the only antibody capable of inducing ADCC on the five MCC lines tested. Because MCC tumors are often directly accessible, local pharmacologic manipulation to restore HLA class-I and ICAM-1 cell surface expression (and thus sensitivity to cell lysis) can potentially benefit immune therapeutic intervention. In line with this, our observation that ADCC against EpCAM can induce lysis of MCC lines and suggests that therapeutic targeting of this antigen deserves to be explored further.

To combine the immune potential of T cells and Ab therapy, we and others have previously shown that T cells transduction with a fusion receptor that binds the Fc portion of human Ig enable them to mediate Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The fusion receptors previously described included the FcγRIIIa (CD16) receptor coupled to different chains intended to translate the signal. In this work, we questioned whether the transfection of CD16 alone into T human lymphocytes and NK cells could be sufficient for CD16 expression and function, or whether the cotransfection of a transducing chain was mandatory. Our results demonstrated that: 1) transfection of CD16 alone into a human NK cell line and primary T cells can be sufficient for CD16 expression and function; 2) cotransfection of CD3ζ or FcεRIγ increased CD16 expression; 3) yet this increased CD16 expression increased the ADCC score only for trastuzumab, not for rituximab or cetuximab; and 4) compared with that of peripheral NK cells, ADCC scores by autologous CD16-transfected T cells ranked differently according to the opsonized target cell. Together, these results showed that neither the use of a fusion receptor nor the cotransfection of a transducing chain is mandatory to transfer the ADCC function to human lymphocytes. Thus, depending on the effector/Ab/target combination considered, transfection of CD16 alone can be sufficient to enable T cells to mediate ADCC. In the context of immunotherapy, such a strategy is by nature safer than the use of a chimeric receptor, and is freely available.

International audience; Standardized and biologically relevant potency assays are required by the regulatory authorities for the characterization and quality control of therapeutic antibodies. As critical mechanisms of action (MoA) of antibodies, the antibody-dependent cell-meditated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) must be characterized by appropriate potency assays. The current reference method for measuring cytotoxicity is the 51Cr-release method. However, radioactivity handling is difficult to implement in an industrial context because of environmental and operator protection constraints. Alternative non-radioactive methods suffer from poor validation performances and surrogate assays that measure FcγR-dependent functions do not comply with the regulatory requirement of biological relevance. Starting from these observations, we developed a non-radioactive luminescent method that is specific for target cell cytolysis. In adherent and non-adherent target cell models, the ADCC (using standardized effector cells) or CDC activities of rituximab, trastuzumab and adalimumab were compared in parallel using the 51Cr or luminescent methods. We demonstrated that the latter method is highly sensitive, with validation performances similar or better than the 51Cr method. This method also detected apoptosis following induction by a chemical agent or exposure to ultraviolet light. Moreover, it is more accurate, precise and specific than the concurrent non-radioactive calcein- and TR-FRET-based methods. The method is easy to use, versatile, standardized, biologically relevant and cost effective for measuring cytotoxicity. It is an ideal candidate for developing regulatory-compliant cytotoxicity assays for the characterization of the ADCC, CDC or apoptosis activities from the early stages of development to lot release.

Dendritic cells (DCs) cross-present antigen (Ag) to initiate T-cell immunity against most infections and tumors. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate cytolytic lymphocytes that have emerged as key modulators of multiple DC functions. Here, we show that human NK cells promote cross-presentation of tumor cell-derived Ag by DC leading to Ag-specific CD8(+) T-cell activation. Surprisingly, cytotoxic function of NK cells was not required. Instead, we highlight a critical and nonredundant role for IFN-γ and TNF-α production by NK cells to enhance cross-presentation by DC using two different Ag models. Importantly, we observed that NK cells promote cell-associated Ag cross-presentation selectively by monocytes-derived DC (Mo-DC) and CD34-derived CD11b(neg) CD141(high) DC subsets but not by myeloid CD11b(+) DC. Moreover, we demonstrate that triggering NK cell activation by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)-coated tumor cells leads to efficient DC cross-presentation, supporting the concept that NK cells can contribute to therapeutic mAbs efficiency by inducing downstream adaptive immunity. Taken together, our findings point toward a novel role of human NK cells bridging innate and adaptive immunity through selective induction of cell-associated Ag cross-presentation by CD141(high) DC, a process that could be exploited to better harness Ag-specific cellular immunity in immunotherapy.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are used to prepare human EBV-specific T lymphocytes (EBV-CTL) in vitro. Within an LCL, up to 5-7% the cells release infectious EBV, and this has fostered safety concerns for therapeutic applications because of the exposure of T cells to EBV. The release of infectious viruses can be prevented by ganciclovir, but this drug may seriously affect LCL growth. In the wake of these concerns, the present work was designed to compile safety data on EBV-CTL preparation for the purpose of submission to a regulatory agency. We showed that further to supernatant exclusion, the number of EBV genome copies (EBVc) associated with the EBV-CTL always made up a constant proportion of the EBVc number detected in the culture supernatant. In addition, such was the case whether infectious virus could be produced by the LCL or not, suggesting that the EBV signal detected was due to a DNA contamination rather than an infection. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the number of EBVc associated with the EBV-CTL was highly sensitive to DNAse treatment, and finally that EBVc could no longer be detected after the EBV-CTL had been amplified in the absence of LCL. Consequently, during in vitro EBV-CTL preparation, either T cells cannot be infected or they die rapidly after EBV infection.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) represent the fastest growing class of therapeutic proteins. The increasing demand for mAb manufacturing and the associated high production costs call for the pharmaceutical industry to improve its current production processes or develop more efficient alternative production platforms. The experimental control of IgG fucosylation to enhance antibody dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity constitutes one of the promising strategies to improve the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies and to potentially reduce the therapeutic cost. We report here that the EB66 cell line derived from duck embryonic stem cells can be efficiently genetically engineered to produce mAbs at yields beyond a 1 g/L, as suspension cells grown in serum-free culture media. EB66 cells display additional attractive grown characteristics such as a very short population doubling time of 12 to 14 hours, a capacity to reach very high cell density (> 30 million cells/mL) and a unique metabolic profile resulting in low ammonium and lactate accumulation and low glutamine consumption, even at high cell densities. Furthermore, mAbs produced on EB66 cells display a naturally reduced fucose content resulting in strongly enhanced ADCC activity. The EB66 cells have therefore the potential to evolve as a novel cellular platform for the production of high potency therapeutic antibodies.

Adoptive transfer of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and Cytokine Induced Killer Cells (CIK) following genetic engineering of T-cell receptor zeta hold promising perspective in immunotherapy. In the present work we focused on the mechanisms of anti-tumor action of effectors transduced with an anti-CD19 chimaeric receptor in the context of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Primary B-ALL blasts were efficiently killed by both z-CD19 CTL and z-CD19 CIK effectors. The use of death receptor mediated apoptosis of target cells was excluded since agonists molecules of Fas and TRAIL-receptors failed to induce cell death. Perforin/granzyme pathway was found to be the mechanism of chimaeric effectors mediated killing. Indeed, cytolytic effector molecules perforin as well as granzymes were highly expressed by CTL and CIK. CD19 specific stimulation of transduced effectors was associated with degranulation as attested by CD107 membrane expression and high IFN- and TNF- release. Moreover inhibitors of the perforin-based cytotoxic pathway, Ca 2+-chelating agent EGTA and Concanamycin A, almost completely abrogated B-ALL blast killing. In conclusion we show that the cytolysis response of z-CD19 chimaeric effectors is predominantly mediated via perforin/granzyme pathway and is independent of death receptors signaling in primary B-ALL. Copyright © 2010 David Laurin et al.

International audience; In a patient with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection associated with vasculitis and fulminant CD4+ T cell lymphoproliferative disorder, we probed the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for the presence of an EBV-specific T cell repertoire and tested the possible relationship between the lymphocytic infiltrate and the EBV-specific T cell response. Our results give credence to the presence of an apparently normal EBV-specific memory T cell response after in vitro reactivation of the patient's PBMC with autologous infected B lymphoblastoid cell lines. In keeping with the characterization of the vasculitis, certain T cell subsets were detected after expansion of skin lesion-infiltrating lymphocytes and were found to be infected with EBV. These particular T cell expansions were neither the effectors nor the targets of the in vitro reactivated EBV-specific T cells, thus excluding a simple relationship between EBV, the skin lesions, and the T cell expansions frequently observed in these patients.

Twenty percent of breast cancer adenocarcinomas overexpress the oncogene c-erb-2 that is recognized by the humanized anti-Her2/neu monoclonal antibody Herceptin. Results from clinical studies suggest that antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is involved in the clinical response of Herceptin-treated patients. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the possibility of amplifying in vitro the CD3-/CD16+ natural killer (NK) cell subset that mediates ADCC from breast cancer patients after chemotherapy. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from six breast cancer patients taken 2 months after chemotherapy completion were co-cultured with an autologous irradiated Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) for 4-6 weeks. These LCL + IL2 activated cultures (ACs) were tested for ADCC potential, and their CD3/CD16 NK proportion was quantified. Among the ACs, the proportion of CD3-/CD16+ NK cells increased up to 64% over the first 2 weeks of culture and the ACs continued to expand for 1 month thereafter. Control and patient ACs displayed ADCC activity (tested in the presence of Rituximab against the autologous LCL to take into account any possible effect of inhibitory NK receptors) as well as against the MCF-7(Her2/neu) breast cancer cell line in the presence of Herceptin. This ADCC activity was maintained during the entire culture period. In conclusion, chemotherapy in breast cancer patients does not obviate the possibility of amplifying in vitro the NK cell subset that mediates ADCC. Consequently, adoptive transfer of lymphocytes mediating ADCC can be considered using this protocol to test its benefit in patients under Herceptin treatment.

Background T-cells expressing the HSV1-TK suicide gene can be used for the control of graft-versus-host disease following allogeneic stem cell transplantation. To develop clinical trials based on such a strategy, we have generated under good manufacturing procedures a novel ‘split genome’ human packaging cell line (1704 cells). Methods To minimize the risk of generating replication-competent retroviruses, pol was truncated to remove sequences overlapping with env. To improve retroviral infection and selection of transduced T-cells, high titers of GALV-pseudotyped retroviral particles harboring a bicistronic Thy1-IRES-TK vector coding for the CD90 GPI-anchored membrane molecule were produced by 1704 cells. Results Using 1704 cell supernatant and an optimized transduction protocol, approximately 50% of primary T-cells were transduced and could then be purified (∼95%) using clinical-grade immunomagnetic beads directed against CD90. Over 96% of these OKT3/IL-2-activated CD90+-selected T-cells were killed by ganciclovir. Cell proliferation and cytokine production of transduced T-cells and HLA-restricted cytotoxicity of transduced T-cell clones were identical to those of their non-transduced counterparts cultured under the same conditions. Conclusions GALV-pseudotyped retroviral particles harboring a bicistronic Thy1-IRES-TK vector allow efficient transduction and rapid selection of human T-cells under conditions applicable for clinical trials using the new human 1704 packaging cell line. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

To the editor: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)–DPB1 functions as a classic transplantation antigen.[1][1] In the context of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), when donor T cells recognize host HLA-DP, they can induce a graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and/or a graft-versus-leukemia (

lines are widely used in laboratories for in vitro experi-ments, especially for investigating abnormal hallmarks in can-cer cells and identifying therapeutic targets. Human cell linesare typically derived in academic laboratories from a widerange of cancer samples. To achieve a representation of intra-cancer heterogeneity, several laboratories, including ours, haveestablished cell line collections. However, the establishmentand maintenance of such collections significantly increase therisk of cross-contaminations and misidentification of celllines, leading to the publication of false data/interpretation(1). In addition to the risk of cross-contamination, widelyused cell lines can be described in contrasting manners for aparticular feature (e.g., the JJN3 myeloma cell line appearseither TP53

International audience; We report herein the results we obtained and the limitations we experienced during the production and use of a bank of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed human cytotoxic T lymphocytes (EBV-CTLs). To assess the feasibility and toxicity of this strategy, we selected and stored, in liquid nitrogen, 4 billion EBV-CTLs from each of the 13 selected donors. Subsequently, in a multicenter phase I/II study, 11 patients with EBV-associated lymphoma resistant to conventional treatments received 1-3 doses of 5 million EBV-CTLs/kg with 1-3 and 0-4 compatibilities for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-I and HLA-II, respectively. Except for one event of fever after injection, no immediate or delayed toxicity, no graft versus host disease, and no graft rejection attributable to CTL infusion were observed. Three patients presented complete remission and 1 partial remission after treatment. Considering the clinical options currently available, and the constrains associated with CTL preparation and implementation, we conclude that CTL banks should consist of a reasonably small number of cell lines with documented specificities. This objective could be more easily achieved if the few homozygous donors for the most frequent HLA alleles of the targeted population could be made available for such a project.

FcγRIIIA/CD16A, the low-affinity receptor for the IgG Fc portion expressed on human CD56dim NK cells and involved in Ab-dependent cell cytotoxicity, is shed upon NK cell activation. We found that recombinant a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 17 cleaved the ectodomain of FcγRIIIA/CD16A and a peptide for which the sequence encompasses aa 191–201 of the FcγRIIIA/CD16A stalk region but not ADAM10. MALDI-TOF analysis revealed that the peptide was cleaved between Ala195 and Val196 (i.e., 1 aa upstream of the expected position). This location of the cleavage site was confirmed by the finding that ADAM17 failed to cleave a peptide in which Ala and Val were reversed. ADAM17 was found to be expressed on NK cells, and stimulation with PMA or N-ethyl-maleimide resulted in the shedding of FcγRIIIA/CD16A and CD62L, a specific substrate of ADAM17. Selective inhibition of ADAM17 prevented the shedding of both molecules. Moreover, the shedding of FcγRIIIA/CD16A was strongly correlated with degranulation when a wide range of CD56dim NK cell activating receptors were stimulated, whereas both ADAM17-dependent shedding and internalization were involved in FcγRIIIA/CD16A downmodulation when the latter was engaged. Finally, the shedding of FcγRIIIA/CD16A was restricted to activated cells, suggesting that ADAM17 acts mainly, if not exclusively, in cis. Taken together, our results demonstrated for the first time, to our knowledge, at the molecular level that ADAM17 cleaves the stalk region of FcγRIIIA/CD16A and identified its cleavage site. The shedding of FcγRIIIA/CD16A was at least partially ADAM17 dependent, and it may be considered as a marker of FcγRIIIA/CD16A-independent NK cell activation highly correlated with degranulation.

International audience; Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among gynecologic malignancies. The monoclonal antibody 12G4 specifically recognizes the human Mullerian inhibiting substance type II receptor (MISRII) that is strongly expressed in human granulosa cell tumors (GCT) and in the majority of human epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC). To determine whether MISRII represents an attractive target for antibody-based tumor therapy, we first confirmed by immunohistochemistry with 12G4 its expression in all tested GCT samples (4/4) and all, but one, EOC human tissue specimens (13/14). We then demonstrated in vitro the internalization of 12G4 in MISRII(high)COV434 cells after binding to MISRII and its ability to increase the apoptosis rate (FACS, DNA fragmentation) in MISRII(high)COV434 (GCT) and MISRII(medium)NIH-OVCAR-3 (EOC) cells that express different levels of MISRII. A standard (51)Cr release assay showed that 12G4 mediates antibody-dependent cell-meditated cytotoxicity. Finally, in vivo assessment of 12G4 anti-tumor effects showed a significant reduction of tumor growth and an increase of the median survival time in mice xenografted with MISRII(high)COV434 or MISRII(medium)NIH-OVCAR-3 cells and treated with 12G4 in comparison to controls treated with an irrelevant antibody. Altogether, our data indicate that MISRII is a new promising target for the control of ovarian GCTs and EOCs. A humanized version of the 12G4 antibody, named 3C23K, is in development for the targeted therapy of MISRII-positive gynecologic cancers.

Knowledge of the immunodominant responses to Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) should help to generate cytotoxic T cell lines to these herpesviruses. Here we report on the analysis of CD8 T cell responses to EBV and HCMV in the blood of kidney transplant recipients undergoing viral reactivation (n = 16) and in healthy virus carriers (n = 10). We used a transient COS transfection assay that permits semi-quantitative estimation of CD8+ T cell responses against a larger number of HLA/viral protein combinations within polyclonal T cell lines and thus allows a rapid identification of major epitopes. From the comparison of these responses to those that we previously described in the synovial fluid of patients suffering from various forms of chronic arthritis (n = 32), it appears that EBV-specific T cells are mainly directed against a restricted set of immunodominant epitopes, primarily generated during the early lytic cycle and that both IE1 and pp65 are targets of the anti-HCMV response. We suggest that this method could be generally applied to the rapid identification of immunodominant T cell epitopes in viral and tumor immunity, and could help selecting HLA-peptide complexes that could be used to detect and sort specific T cell populations.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play a central role in the control of persistent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in healthy virus carriers. Previous analyses of the specificity of HCMV-reactive CD8+CTLs drawn from in vitro models in which antigen-presenting cells were autologous fibroblasts infected with laboratory HCMV strains have shown focusing of CTL responses against the major tegument protein, pp65. By contrast, the 72-kDa major immediate-early protein (IE1) was identified as a minor target for this response. Here we have studied the fine specificity and T-cell-receptor features of T-cell clones generated against autologous B lymphoblastoid cell lines stably transfected with HCMV cDNA coding for either pp65 or a natural variant of IE1. This strategy allowed efficient generation of T-cell clones against IE1 and pp65 and led to the identification of several new IE1 and pp65 epitopes, including some located in polymorphic regions of IE1. Such an approach may provide relevant information about the characteristics of the CTL response to IE1 and the effect of viral polymorphism on the immune response against HCMV.

To take advantage of the large number of well-characterized mouse immunoglobulins (IgGs) for the study of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) in human cells, we armed human cytotoxic lymphocytes with a mouse receptor for the Fc portion of IgG antibodies. The human ΝΚ-92 natural killer cell line was transduced with a mouse receptor gene (mCD16), which was stably expressed on the cell surface (referred to as NK-92 (mCD16) ). When tested against a B-lymphoblastoid cell line (BLCL) coated with mouse anti-CD20 IgG1, IgG2a or IgG2b monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), the newly expressed mouse Fc receptor enabled the NK-92 (mCD16) cells to kill the BLCL by ADCC. Next, using the NK-92 (mCD16) we compared mouse mAbs directed at B lineage specific CD antigens for their ability to induce ADCC against human Epstein-Barr virus- infected B lymphoblastoid (for anti-CD19, -CD20 and -CD21) or against myeloma (for anti-CD38 and -CD138) target cells. Our results demonstrated that the "NK-92 (mCD16) assay" allows convenient and sensitive discrimination of mouse mAbs for their ability to mediate ADCC in a human cellular system. In addition, our results provide examples of dissociation between opsonization and target cell killing through ADCC. These "murinized" human effector cells thus represent a convenient cellular tool for the study of ADCC.

Herceptin (Trastuzumab), a monoclonal antibody targeting HER2 has been demonstrated to improve survival of HER2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. However, half of patients who initially respond to Herceptin develop resistance within one year of treatment initiation, and in the adjuvant setting 15% of patients still relapse after one year of treatment despite Herceptin-based therapy. Alteration of Antibodies Dependant Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC) is one of the rational mechanisms for resistance to therapeutic Mab. The goal of this project is to overcome this resistance by adoptive transfer using genetically engineered optimized NK cells. We thus compare efficacy of two different approaches : (i) NK cells armed with a high affinity Fc domain (FcγRIIIα, CD16) linked to its transduction chain FCeRIγ (CD16/γ) to allow recognition and interaction with Mab, inducing ADCC and (ii) NK cells expressing Herceptin sequence fused to the transduction chain FCeRIγ(CD16/γ) to directly kill the HER2 positively cells. Results obtained in vitro demonstrated higher direct killing efficacy of NK expressing Herceptin/γ against HER2 amplified breast carcinoma cells. However, abnormal reactivity against cells with undetectable HER2 expression by FACS analysis was observed. This last point might represent an important limitation point for clinical use. On the other hand, “two step killing by ADCC” with NK-CD16/γ demonstrated a very specific cytotoxicity against HER2 positive cells through ADCC only in the presence of antibody. We demonstrated that efficacy of specific lysis is linked (i) to effector dose, (ii) levels of CD16/γ expression on effectors cells, (iii) HER2 expression but not level on target cells In Herceptin resistant HER2+ xenograft immunodeficient NSG mice model, complete regression was obtained only with NK- CD16/γ in the presence of Herceptin. Our last results will be discussed. Restoration or improvement of effectors cells might be considerate as an issue in therapeutic humanized Mab resistance treatment. Successful immune-based therapies will likely ultimately integrate strategies that combine immunotherapy approaches and immune-modulating drugs, in order to maximize their antitumor activity.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is still limited by the morbidity and mortality caused by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), resulting from host recognition by donor T lymphocytes. It is possible to drastically reduce the T-cell content of the graft. However, transplanted T cells can also have a beneficial effect by graft enhancement and the graft-versus-leukemia effect. How can we keep the beneficial GVL effect while protecting the patient from possible GVHD? A recent report proposed the ex vivo transfer of the herpes simplex thymidine kinase (HSv-tk) gene into donor T cells before their infusion with hematopoietic stem cells. This procedure is expected to allow selective donor T-cell depletion with ganciclovir should GVHD occur, but it has two major drawbacks: reinjection of a fraction of untransfected T cells cannot be avoided and heterogeneity of the transfected population results in increased risks such as HSv-tk gene instability or dysfunction of some of the transfected T cell. Alternative approaches must be considered. We demonstrate here the feasibility of generating HSv-tk transfected HLA-specific CD4+ cytotoxic T-cell clonal populations, in which 100% of the cells have the HSv-tk gene inserted at a single site within their genome. These clones retained their specificity, their function, and their sensitivity to ganciclovir treatment. Our approach is not limited to bone marrow transplantation. Indeed, this procedure represents a useful alternative to retroviral gene transduction and is applicable to every circumstance where clinical use of gene modified T-cell clones is to be considered.

Introduction: Prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults remains dismal. Recent advances have consisted of targeted therapies with monoclonal antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T lymphocytes (anti-CD19 CAR T cells), showing very encouraging results. However, relapse still occur after this new therapeutics and increasing the armamentarium for ALL is still required. Her2 is expressed in above one third of adult B-ALL (Chevallier,Haematologica 2009). The anti-HER2 antibodytrastuzumab has been tested prospectively in such patients, showing a low efficacy (Chevallier, Blood 2012).The present work was designed to compare, in vitro, thelysis sensibility of B-ALL HER2+ mediated by two mechanisms of HER2 recognition based on antibody (Ab) specificity: firstly, when the anti-HER2 monoclonalAbtrastuzumab bridges target cells and cytotoxic lymphocytes armed with a Fc receptor (antibodydependant cellular cytotoxicity, ADCC) andsecondly, when HER2-positive target cells are directly recognized by cytotoxic lymphocytes armed with a chimeric antigen receptor (anti-HER2 CAR). Methods: Frozen samples from 7 HER2+ B-ALL adults were available, including onesample expressing also CD20. Characteristics of Patients and controls are presented in Table 1. Three human breast-cancer cell lines (BCCL) expressing different validated (HercepTest, Dako) levels of HER2 (BT474 (HER2 3+), MCF-7 (HER2 0-/1+) and MDA-MB-231 (HER2 0-/1+) were used as positive control. Leukemic HER2-negative B-ALL cells from two patients were used as negative control, including one patient with CD20+ expression. The level of HER2 expression by HER2+ B-ALL was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) and compared to the HER2 expressing BCCL.Cytotoxic activity was assessed at a 30-to-1 effector-to-target ratio in a 4 hours 51Cr-release assay.We used the same cytotoxic effector lymphocytes (the human NK cell line NK-92), armed with eitheraFcγRIIIa/FcεRIγ receptor (referred to as NK-92CD16) or with an anti-HER2/FcεRIγ CAR receptor (referred to as NK-92CAR) as previously described (Clémenceau, JImmunol Research 2015). For ADCC/CAR assays, target cells were pre-incubated withtrastuzumab and /or rituximab at 10µg/ml each. The study was approved by our local review board and twoalivepatients gave informed consent. Results: The level of HER2 expression by HER2+ B-ALL (n=7) was highly variable with a mean relative fluorescence intensity ratio (RFI) of 13 (range 5 to 30). According to the HercepTestranking used for BCCL lines (see above) all B-ALL would be classified as HER2 0-/1+. In vitro HER2+ BCCL were efficiently lysed by anti-HER2 NK-92CAR in this 4 hours 51Cr-release assay and this direct pathway of killing by CAR was always more efficient than the indirect pathway mediated by ADCC. In addition, thelysis level was correlated to HER2 level expression. Trastuzumabalone has no effect on the spontaneous 51Cr-release of B-ALL cells (not shown). Anti-HER2 CAR mediatedlysis was observed for 5 out of 6 HER2+ B-ALL cells (83%, 1 case (#5) non interpretable). Although lysis levels were low, they werespecificsince the CAR mediatedlysis was inhibited when the B-ALL were pre-incubated with 10 µg/mltrastuzumab (not shown). In contrast, for these 5 HER2+ B-ALL, no anti-HER2 ADCClysis was observed. These results confirmed that in these experimental conditions, HER2 targeting by CAR is more efficient than by ADCC. For the two HER2- B-ALL, no ADCC or CARlysis were observed. Finally, for the two B-ALL expressing CD20, anti-CD20 ADCClysiscan be observed demonstrating that B-ALL cells are not intrinsically resistant to ADCCcytoxicity. Regarding the unique case of B-ALL expressing both CD20/HER2 antigens, only anti-CD20 ADCClysiswas observed. Results are presented in Table 2. Conclusion: Together, these preliminary results suggest that for the CD20-negative and HER2-positive B-ALLs, one cannot rely on ADCC as a mechanism of target celllysis, while the interest of an anti-HER2-CAR approach deserve further studies to better correlate the level of HER2 expression and the sensitivity tolysisby HER2-specific CAR. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

International audience; Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most frequent and deadliest primary brain tumor.Aggressive treatment still fails to eliminate deep brain infiltrative and highly resistant tumor cells.Human Vg9Vd2 T cells, the major peripheral blood gd T cell subset, react against a wide array oftumor cells and represent attractive immune effector T cells for the design of antitumor therapies.This study aims at providing a preclinical rationale for immunotherapies in GBM based on stereotaxicadministration of allogeneic human Vg9Vd2 T cells. The feasibility and the antitumor efficacy ofstereotaxic Vg9Vd2 T cell injections have been investigated in orthotopic GBM mice model usingselected heterogeneous and invasive primary human GBM cells. Allogeneic human Vg9Vd2 T cellssurvive and patrol for several days within the brain parenchyma following adoptive transfer and cansuccessfully eliminate infiltrative GBM primary cells. These striking observations pave the way foroptimized stereotaxic antitumor immunotherapies targeting human allogeneic Vg9Vd2 T cells in GBMpatients.

Virus-associated hematologic malignancies (EBV lymphoproliferative disease) and opportunistic infections (CMV) represent a major cause of hematopoietic stem cell and solid organ transplantation failure. Adoptive transfer of antigen-specific T lymphocytes appears to be a major and successful immunotherapeutic strategy, but improvements are needed to reliably produce high numbers of virus-specific T cells with appropriate requirements for adoptive immunotherapy that would allow extensive clinical use. Since plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are crucial in launching antiviral responses, we investigated their capacity to elicit functional antiviral T-cell responses for adoptive cellular immunotherapy using a unique pDC line and antigens derived from Influenza, CMV and EBV viruses. Stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HLA-A*0201(+) donors by HLA-A0201 matched pDCs pulsed with viral-derived peptides triggered high levels of multi-specific and functional cytotoxic T-cell responses (up to 99% tetramer(+) CD8 T cells) in vitro. Furthermore, the central/effector memory cytotoxic T cells elicited by the pDCs strongly display antiviral activity upon adoptive transfer into a humanized mouse model that mimics a virus-induced malignancy. We provide a simple and potent method to generate virus-specific CTL with the required properties for adoptive cellular immunotherapy of post-transplant diseases.

During serial assays designed to amplify natural killer (NK) cells in vitro, we observed that when peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV+) patients were stimulated for 2 weeks with an Epstein-Barr virus-infected B lymphoblastic cell line and interleukin-2, a well known procedure to amplify NK cells in vitro, 44.4 ± 18% CD3CD16 T lymphocytes were recovered together with NK cells, of which 78.2% expressed an αβ T-cell receptor (TCR). To identify the T-cell compartment from which they originated (naive, antigen experienced, CD16, or CD16), we first compared the results obtained with HIV+ patients' PBMCs (where essentially all CD8 cells are antigen experienced) with those obtained from cord blood lymphocytes (essentially naive) and PBMC from healthy donors (with variable antigen experience). Two weeks after stimulation, αβ TCR CD16 T lymphocytes increased from 0.3%, 2.2%, and 8.2% to 2.5%, 7.7%, and 36.3%, for cord blood, healthy donors, and HIV+ patients, respectively. Second, using cell-sorting experiments for CD16 cells and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity assays, we demonstrated that a functional CD16 receptor could also be induced at the cell surface of αβ TCR CD16 T lymphocytes. Together, these results demonstrate that under stimulation conditions known to induce NK cell proliferation, a subset of αβ TCR CD16 T cells arises from antigen-experienced CD16 cells but also from antigen-experienced CD16 T lymphocytes, revealing the possibility to increase a patient's antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity potential through simple stimulation of this particular memory compartment.

The availability of soluble forms of T-cell antigen receptors (sTCR) should be of great use in the detailed characterization of their interactions with ligands, for the generation of anti-TCR monoclonal antibodies (mAb), and for the eventual determination of their three-dimensional structures by x-ray crystallography. Here, we show that efficient secretion of nonchimeric disulfide-linked human gamma delta TCR could be achieved by simply introducing translational termination codons upstream from the sequences encoding TCR chain transmembrane regions. This recombinant protein appeared to be correctly folded, as judged by its reactivity with a panel of anti-gamma and anti-delta mAbs, and proved to be a powerful immunogen, allowing generation of mAb that are able to recognize both soluble- and membrane-bound gamma delta TCR. While variable and constant domains of gamma delta sTCR seem to be folded into compact conformations, the extreme sensitivity of its interchain disulfide bridge to digestion with papain suggests that sTCR C-terminal portions are in a more extended configuration than the corresponding region in immunoglobulins. Finally, the gamma delta heterodimer remains stable even after removal of the interchain disulfide link, suggesting the existence of strong noncovalent forces holding the two chains together.

The mechanisms responsible for skin lesions during acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) are poorly understood. The exact role of various effector cell populations and "major" (particularly HLA-DP) or "minor" antigens as target molecules is not known. To investigate the nature of cells responsible for tissue injury, we cultured T cells from skin biopsy first with interleukin 2 (IL-2) alone and then in polyclonal activation conditions to avoid in vitro antigenic sensitization before specificity testing. We applied this method to two biopsies performed during aGVHD after semiallogeneic BMT and obtained cytotoxic T cells against four graft mismatches: CD8+ T cells against HLA-A2.2 and HLA-B27 and CD4+ T cells against HLA-DP101 and HLA-DP401. This demonstrates that T cells with documented specificity can be obtained from an aGVHD lesion without antigenic selection. Moreover, these data directly implicate DP as a potential target antigen for aGVHD.

Intercellular transfer of cell surface proteins by trogocytosis is common and could affect T cell responses. Yet, the role of trogocytosis in T cell function is still elusive, and it is unknown whether a molecule, once captured by T cells, harbors the same biological properties as in donor APC. In this study, we showed that FcγR as well as the associated FcRγ subunit could be detected at high levels on murine and human T cells after their intercellular transfer from FcγR-expressing APC. Capture of FcγR occurred during coculture of T cells with FcγR-expressing APC upon Ab- or Ag-mediated T cell stimulation. Once captured by T cells, FcγR were expressed in a conformation compatible with physiological function and conferred upon T cells the ability to bind immune complexes and to provision B cells with this source of Ag. However, we were unable to detect downstream signal or signaling-dependent function following the stimulation of FcγR captured by T cells, and biochemical studies suggested the improper integration of FcγR in the recipient T cell membrane. Thus, our study demonstrates that T cells capture FcγR that can efficiently exert ligand-binding activity, which, per se, could have functional consequences in T cell-B cell cooperation.

Macrophage colony stimulating factor (CSF-1) is one of several cytokines that control the differentiation, survival, and proliferation of monocytes and macrophages. A set of 11 human T-cell clones, chosen for their phenotypic diversity, were tested for their ability to express CSF-1 mRNA. After 5 hours of stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) + calcium ionophore (Cal), all T-cell clones expressed a major 4-kb transcript, a less abundant 2-kb transcript, and several other minor species. This pattern of expression is typical for CSF-1 mRNAs. Furthermore, of the two alloreactive T-cell clones analyzed, only one showed a definitive message for CSF-1 on specific antigenic stimulation, but with delayed kinetics and less efficiency. Both conditions of stimulation induced the release of CSF-1 protein by T cells in the culture medium. Together, these findings demonstrate for the first time that normal T cells are able to produce CSF-1, previous reports being limited to two cases of tumoral cells of the T-cell lineage.

Human memory T cells are comprised of distinct populations with different homing potential and effector functions: central memory T cells that mount recall responses to Ags in secondary lymphoid organs, and effector memory T cells that confer immediate protection in peripheral tissues. In the present study we demonstrate that a proportion of effector memory T cells express FcγRIIIa (CD16), are perforin positive, and directly mediate Ab-dependent cytotoxicity ex vivo. This particular αβ T lymphocyte subset has the morphology of large granular lymphocytes, increases proportionately in vivo during reactive lymphocytosis, and can be detected in vitro among EBV-specific T lymphocytes after stimulation with EBV Ags. Consequently, during a normal immune response, amplification of these effector memory T lymphocytes that are capable of Ab-dependent cytotoxicity may have beneficial or harmful consequences depending on the presence of pathogen- or tissue-specific Abs, respectively.

The immunosuppressive effect of kidney graft recipient sera was studied on T-lymphocyte alloreactive line (4H) proliferation and compared to native cyclosporin A (CyA) and CyA metabolite concentrations determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) using specific or nonspecific monoclonal antibodies. Three clinical groups were studied: (1) patients experiencing acute renal rejection episodes (CyA-R), (2) patients experiencing CyA-dependent nephrotoxicity episodes (CyA-TOX) and (3) patients in a clinically steady state (CyA-ST), according to their therapeutic regimen i.e., monotherapy (CyA alone) or polytherapy (CyA associated with prednisolone and/or azathioprine). Regardless of the clinical state, sera of patients in polytherapy displayed more inhibitory activity than those of monotherapy patients (24% and 40% inhibition of 4H proliferation, respectively, at sera dilution of 1:2), something which was no doubt due to the inhibitory activity of prednisolone on T-lymphocyte growth. In the two therapeutic regimens, CyA-ST patient sera exhibited the lowest inhibitory activity on the 4H line (45% and 65% inhibition of 4H proliferation in mono-and polytherapy, respectively, at sera dilution of 1:2). Sera from CyA-TOX patients were highly inhibitory (74% and 86% inhibition of 4H proliferation in mono-and polytherapy, respectively, at sera dilution of 1:2), in agreement with RIA assays showing increased native circulating CyA and CyA metabolites and daily CyA intake in this group as compared to CyA-St. Surprisingly, CyA-R patient sera were no less inhibitory than those of CyA-ST patients on 4H-line, antigen-induced proliferation. This clinical group did not differ from others for CyA intake or level of circulating immunosuppressive molecules, suggesting that rejection could be associated with a state of interindividual variation in sensitivity to CyA. In addition, a polytherapeutic regimen seemed to modify CyA bioavailability in CyA-ST group patients, with a decreased CyA metabolite level as compared to their monotherapy counterparts (native CyA plus metabolite/native CyA ratio being 2.73 and 3.73, respectively). In contrast, in the CyA-R patient group, polytherapy appeared to be associated with an increase in CyA metabolite circulating levels (ratio 4.79). In view of the low inhibitory activity of CyA metabolites, this profile might lead to rejection.

Introduction: The influence of PTCY on early immune reconstitution after allo-SCT has been poorly studied so far, especially in comparison to standard use of ATG as GVHD prophylaxis. Patients and Methods: A prospective study was conducted at the CHU of Nantes with the aim to compare early immune recovery between patients receiving PTCY or ATG as GVHD prophylaxis after a RIC allo-SCT. Secondary objectives were to study the impact of 1 vs 2 days of PTCY (CY1 vs CY2) or ATG (A1 vs A2), and of fludarabine (Flu) vs clofarabine (Clo) as part of the RIC regimen. As such, 3 RIC regimens were considered in both groups: FluCY2 (Baltimore regimen, Luznic, BBMT 2008), FluCY1, CloCY2 (where Clo replaces Flu), on one hand, and FluB2A2, CloB2A2, CloB2A1 (Chevallier, Haematologica, 2014), on the other hand. FluCY2 and FluB2A2 are currently standard of care RIC regimens for patients with haplo-identical and matched donors, respectively. Five patients had to be included in each RIC subgroup, depending on the type of disease and donor (/): FB2A2 (lymphoid/matched); FluCY2 (lymphoid/haplo); CloB2A2 or CloB2A1 (myeloid/matched); CloCY2 (myeloid/haplo), FluCY1 (myeloid or lymphoid/matched). The source of graft was peripheral blood stem cells for all cases. Blood samples were collected before starting the conditioning regimen then 3 times per week from day +0 until day+30, and at days +60 and +90. The following cell subsets were studied: a/b and g/d CD3+, CD8+ and regulatory (Tregs) T cells, B and NK cells and monocytes. The median percentage (%) compared to total lymphocytes was considered for all lymphocytes subsets between days 0-30. Thereafter, median absolute numbers (AN)/mm3 were considered for samples collected at days +30, +60 and +90. The study was approved by the IRB of the CHU of Nantes and all patients provided informed consent. Results: Between August 2014 and May 2015, thirty patients were included, including 15 in both groups and 5 in each RIC subgroups. Median age was 61 years. There were more patients with active disease at transplant (47% vs 7%) and more haplo-identical donors (67% vs 0%) in the PTCY group. All patients engrafted and were alive at day +90. However, 1 PTCY patient with T-ALL relapsed before day+100. Within the first month post-transplant, PTCY group had a significantly higher median % of a/b T cells (69.1 vs 18.9, p Between day+30 and day+90, ATG group had significant higher median counts of a/b T cells at days +60 (1316 vs 79.6, p=0.0001) and +90 (795.8 vs 151.6, p=0.03); g/d T cells at day+60 (27.6 vs 1.26, p=0.002); CD8 T cells at day+60 (735 vs 29.6, p=0.008); NK cells at day+30 (203.7 vs 89, p=0.04) and monocytes at days +30 (455.5 vs 221.7, p=0.009) and +60 (832.5 vs 247.2, p=0.004). Compared to the standard FluCY2 regimen, although not significant, FluCY1 was associated with higher median %, between days 0-30 of g/d T cells (2.32 vs 0.8) and higher median AN of g/d T cells at days +30 (9.2 vs 1.02) and +60 (9.22 vs 1.05), of B cells at days +30 (0.4 vs 0.14) and +60 (1.6 vs 0.39) and of NK cells at day+30 (213.9 vs 82.7). Compared to the standard FB2A2 regimen, although not always significant, CloB2A1 was associated with higher median % between days 0-30 of Tregs (0.97 vs 0.25, p=0.002) and higher median AN of g/d T cells at day+30 (6.8 vs 2), B cells at days +30 (2.35 vs 0) and +60 (43.7 vs 0.19), NK cells at day +30 (288 vs 62.1) and Tregs at days +30 (4.3 vs 0.2), +60 (8.8 vs 1.14) and +90 (8.96 vs 3.45). Compared to the standard FB2A2 regimen, although not always significant, CloB2A2 was associated with higher median % between days 0-30 of a/b T cells (28.87 vs 3.78, p=0.01) and B cells (0.76 vs 0.5, p=0.02) and higher median AN of a/b T cells at days +30 (324.3 vs 125.8) and +90 (1594 vs 604.3), of g/d T cells at day +30 (7.35 vs 2), of CD8 + T cells at days +30 (209.7 vs 38.9) and +90 (1211.7 vs 504.6), of B cells at day +30 ( 1.41 vs 0), of NK cells at days +30 (303 vs 62.1), +60 (514.5 vs 225.7) and +90 (647 vs 102.8, p=0.03) and of monocytes at days +30 (688.9 vs 257.4, p=0.03) and +90 (2157.4 vs 611.2). Conclusion: Strong differences exist in term of early immune recovery when using PTCY or ATG as part of the GHVD prophylaxis for RIC allo-SCT. Dose or drug modifications within the standard RIC regimen in both groups may be envisaged to favor some cell population recoveries after allo-SCT in order to increase outcome in patients. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting HER2 has been demonstrated to improve survival of HER2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. However, half of patients who initially respond to Trastuzumab develop resistance within one year of treatment initiation. Alteration of Antibodies Dependant Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC) mechanisms is one of the rational mechanisms for resistance to therapeutic Mab. The goal of this project is to overcome this resistance by adoptive transfer using genetically engineered optimized NK cells. We thus compare efficacy of two different approaches: (i) NK cells armed with a high affinity Fc domain (FcγRIIIα/CD16) linked to its transduction chain FCεRIγ to generate NK-CD16/γ cells that allow recognition and interaction with Mab, inducing ADCC and (ii) NK cells expressing Trastuzumab sequence fused to the transduction chain FCεRIγ to generate NK-Her/γ that directly kill the HER2 positively cells. In vitro, both strategies demonstrated high cytotoxic efficacy against HER2 positive cells, with direct killing systematically more efficient (reaching up to 95% with ratio E:T 5:1). Interestingly, two steps killing with NK-CD16/γ enabled a very specific cytotoxicity only in the presence of specific antibody. We demonstrated that efficacy of lysis is linked (i) to effector dose, (ii) levels of CD16/γ expression on effectors cells, (iii) HER2 expression but not level on target cells In vivo, in Trastuzumab resistant HER2+ xenograft immunodeficient NSG mice model, complete regression was obtained only when using NK-CD16/γ in the presence of Trastuzumab. Even if the NK-Her/γ was found by IF or FACS in the tumor after IV or IP injection, they could not induce tumor regression. Analyses of NK dysfunction will be presented. Restoration or improvement of effectors cells might be considerate as an issue in therapeutic Mab resistance treatment. Successful immune-based therapies will likely ultimately integrate strategies that combine immunotherapy approaches and immune-modulating drugs, in order to maximize their antitumor activity. Citation Format: Sandrine Valsesia-Wittmann, Beatrice Clemenceau, Anne-Catherine Jallas, Jean-Yves Blay, Aurelien Marabelle, Christophe Caux, Henri Vie. Overcoming therapeutic MAb resistance in agressive HER2 positive breast carcinomas by adoptive immunotherapy using optizimed effectors cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy: A New Chapter; December 1-4, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2015;3(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A14.

SummaryEpstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-transformed B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCL) are currently used for numerous applications in cellular immunology. Where protocols destined for clinical application are concerned, the final choice of assay is made according to a risk/benefit ratio analysis. In this balance the use of xenogenic or allogenic serum has always been a major concern, as it carries both an infectious and an immunological risk. So far, it is unknown whether serum can be omitted from the entire BLCL selection procedure. In addition, as BLCL have been described as heterogeneous, serum deprivation may affect their antigen-presenting capacity. In the present study, BLCL were generated in the absence or presence of fetal calf serum (referred to as BLCL0 or BLCLFCS, respectively). Next, in order to assess the antigen-presenting capacity of these cells, we compared the ability of BLCL0 and BLCLFCS cells to stimulate the EBV-specific repertoire of the corresponding donor’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. Our results showed that addition of serum was not essential for BLCL infection and culture, and that as far as we could determine, BLCL0 cells were as effective as BLCLFCS in reactivating the EBV-specific T-cell repertoire in vitro. Notably, FCS-specific T-lymphocytes can be detected among the BLCLFCS-specific CD4+-CTL. Not only was this latter observation unexpected for an EBV-seropositive donor, but it implied that the BLCL had captured and processed the corresponding FCS-derived solubles antigens; taken together our results emphasized the interest of the possibility to generate BLCL0, both for research and for clinical applications.