RESUMO
DNA vaccines assisted by electroporation efficiently trigger antitumor cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses in preclinical cancer models and hold potential for human use. They can be easily engineered to express either tumor-associated self-antigens, which are broadly expressed among tumor patients but also in healthy tissue, or tumor-specific neoantigens, which are uniquely expressed in tumors and differ among patients. Recently, it has been demonstrated that DNA vaccination generates both circulating and tissue-resident compartments of CD8+ T cells, which act concertedly against tumors. Here we describe the steps to obtain and test DNA vaccines against models of self-antigens and neoantigens in mice. It includes the evaluation of effector and memory CD8+ T cell responses, as well as assessing the antitumor potential in vivo using transplantable syngeneic tumor models.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Neoplasias/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Vacinas Anticâncer/imunologia , Especificidade do Receptor de Antígeno de Linfócitos T/imunologia , Vacinas de DNA/imunologia , Transferência Adotiva , Animais , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/metabolismo , Vacinas Anticâncer/administração & dosagem , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Humanos , Imunização , Memória Imunológica , Imunofenotipagem , Camundongos , Neoplasias/imunologia , Neoplasias/terapia , Resultado do Tratamento , Vacinação , Vacinas de DNA/administração & dosagem , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Tissue-resident memory CD8+ T (Trm) cells mediate potent local innate and adaptive immune responses and play a central role against solid tumors. However, whether Trm cells cross-talk with dendritic cells (DCs) to support anti-tumor immunity remains unclear. Here we show that antigen-specific activation of skin Trm cells leads to maturation and migration to draining lymph nodes of cross-presenting dermal DCs. Tumor rejection mediated by Trm cells triggers the spread of cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses against tumor-derived neo- and self-antigens via dermal DCs. These responses suppress the growth of intradermal tumors and disseminated melanoma lacking the Trm cell-targeted epitope. Moreover, analysis of RNA sequencing data from human melanoma tumors reveals that enrichment of a Trm cell gene signature associates with DC activation and improved survival. This work unveils the ability of Trm cells to amplify the breath of cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses through DCs, thereby strengthening anti-tumor immunity.