Chemoradiotherapy efficacy is predicted by intra-tumour CD8+/FoxP3+ double positive T cell density in locally advanced N2 non-small-cell lung carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy is a standard of care for locally advanced stage III N2 non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) combined with surgery/chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is hypothesised to induce tumour immunogenic cell death, to release neoantigen resulting in intra-tumoural immune infiltration and abscopal effect. Conversely, it has not been demonstrated if immune cells are necessary to drive radiotherapy efficacy and predict patient's survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analysed tumour samples and clinical data from 113 patients, 89 resected (PORT) and 24 non-resected (DRC) N2-NSCLC treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy (same radiotherapy department from 2002 to 2015). The immune environment was characterised with in situ multiplex staining (CD8, FoxP3, PD-L1 and cytokeratin) and correlated with clinical data and survival. RESULTS: High density of CD8+ T cells was associated with OS (p = 0.04, HR = 1.93 [0.99-3.78]) and DFS (p = 0.003, HR = 2.42 [1.31-4.47]) in the PORT. High density of CD8+/FoxP3+ double positive cells was associated with OS (p = 0.01, HR = 1.97 [1.11-3.48]) in the whole population, with OS (p = 0.05, HR = 1.92 [0.98-3.74]) and PFS (p = 0.03, HR = 1.83 [1.03-3.23]) in the PORT without reaching significance for the DRC. Intermediate PD-L1 expression in tumour cells (TPS = 1-49%) was associated with a higher survival in the PORT. CONCLUSIONS: Intra-tumoural CD8+ T cell and particularly CD8+/FoxP3+ double positive T cell densities predict survival in stage III N2-NSCLC suggesting the need for a pre-existing intra-tumour immunity to mediate the action of radiotherapy. Density of CD8+/FoxP3+ cells was the best predictor of patient's survival in multivariate analysis and could represent a biomarker of radiotherapy efficacy.

Intervention strategies for microbial therapeutics in cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapies have drastically improved clinical outcomes in a wide range of malignancies. Nevertheless, patient responses remain highly variable, and reliable biomarkers that predict responses accurately are not yet fully understood. Compelling evidence from preclinical studies and observational data from clinical cohorts have shown that commensal microorganisms that reside in the human gastrointestinal tract, collectively termed the 'microbiome', can actively modify responses to chemotherapeutic agents and immunotherapies by influencing host immunosurveillance. Notably, microbial correlates are largely context specific, and response signatures may vary by patient population, geographic location and type of anticancer treatment. Therefore, the incongruence of beneficial microbiome signatures across studies, along with an emerging understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interactions between the microbiome, metabolome and host immune system, highlight a critical need for additional comprehensive and standardized multi-omics studies. Future research should consider key host factors, such as diet and use of medication, in both preclinical animal models and large-scale, multicenter clinical trials. In addition, there is a strong rationale to evaluate the microbiome as a tumor-extrinsic biomarker of clinical outcomes and to test the therapeutic potential of derived microbial products (e.g. defined microbial consortia), with the eventual goal of improving the efficacy of existing anticancer treatments. This review discusses the importance of the microbiome from the perspective of cancer immunotherapies, and outlines future steps that may contribute to wide-ranging clinical and translational benefits that may improve the health and quality of life of patients with cancer.

Multiple RNA splicing and the presence of cryptic RNA splice donor and acceptor sites may contribute to low expression levels and poor immunogenicity of potential DNA vaccines containing the env gene of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV).

The env gene is an excellent candidate for inclusion in any DNA-based vaccine approach against equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Unfortunately, this gene is subjected to mutational pressure in E. coli resulting in the introduction of stop codons at the 5' terminus unless it is molecularly cloned using very-low-copy-number plasmid vectors. To overcome this problem, a mammalian expression vector was constructed based on the low-copy-number pLG338-30 plasmid. This permitted the production of full-length EIAV env gene clones (plcnCMVenv) from which low-level expression of the viral surface unit glycoprotein (gp90) was detected following transfection into COS-1 cells. Although this suggested the nuclear export of complete env mRNA moieties at least two additional polypeptides of 29 and 20kDa (probably Rev) were produced by alternative splicing events as demonstrated by the fact that their synthesis was prevented by mutational inactivation of EIAV env splice donor 3 (SD3) site. The plcnCMVenv did not stimulate immune responses in mice or in horses, whereas an env construct containing an inactivated SD3 site (plcnCMVDeltaSD3) did induce weak humoral responses against gp90 in mice. This poor immunogenicty in vivo was probably not related to the inherent antigenicity of the proteins encoded by these constructs but to some fundamental properties of EIAV env gene expression. Attempts to modify one of these properties by mutational inactivation of known viral RNA splice sites resulted in activation of previously unidentified cryptic SD and slice acceptor sites.

Immune responses and viral replication in long-term inapparent carrier ponies inoculated with equine infectious anemia virus.

Persistent infection of equids by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is typically characterized by a progression during the first year postinfection from chronic disease with recurring disease cycles to a long-term asymptomatic infection that is maintained indefinitely. The goal of the current study was to perform a comprehensive longitudinal analysis of the course of virus infection and development of host immunity in experimentally infected horses as they progressed from chronic disease to long-term inapparent carriage. We previously described the evolution of EIAV genomic quasispecies (C. Leroux, C. J. Issel, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 71:9627-9639, 1997) and host immune responses (S. A. Hammond, S. J. Cook, D. L. Lichtenstein, C. J. Issel, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 71:3840-3852, 1997) in four experimentally infected ponies during sequential disease episodes associated with chronic disease during the first 10 months postinfection. In the current study, we extended the studies of these experimentally infected ponies to 3 years postinfection to characterize the levels of virus replication and development of host immune responses associated with the progression from chronic disease to long-term inapparent infection. The results of these studies revealed over a 10(3)-fold difference in the steady-state levels of plasma viral RNA detected during long-term inapparent infection that correlated with the severity of chronic disease, indicating different levels of control of virus replication during long-term inapparent infections. Detailed analyses of antibody and cellular immune responses in all four ponies over the 3-year course of infection revealed a similar evolution during the first year postinfection of robust humoral and cellular immunity that then remained relatively constant during long-term inapparent infection. These observations indicate that immune parameters that have previously been correlated with EIAV vaccine protection fail to provide reliable immune correlates of control of virus replication or clinical outcome in experimental infections. Thus, these data emphasize the differences between immunity to virus exposure and immune control of an established viral infection and further emphasize the need to develop and evaluate novel immunoassays to define reliable immune correlates to vaccine and infection immunity, respectively.

Functional characterization of equine dendritic cells propagated ex vivo using recombinant human GM-CSF and recombinant equine IL-4.

Naive T cells can be activated both in vivo and in vitro by specialized antigen presenting cells, dendritic cells (DC), with potent antigen-specific, immunostimulatory activity. Indeed, DC can provide an extremely powerful and important immunological tool by which to potentiate the immune response for specific recognition of foreign antigens. Until recently, the direct isolation of DC from PBMC required laborious procedures with extremely poor yields (<0.1%). Methods have been developed for the human, lower primate, and murine model systems to propagate large numbers of DC from PBMC or bone marrow ex vivo with various cytokines. However, all other model systems, including equine, still require the laborious isolation procedures to obtain DC. In this study, we have adapted the methods developed for the human system to generate large numbers of equine DC from PBMC precursors using recombinant human GM-CSF and recombinant equine IL-4. Our report is the first documentation of ex vivo generated DC from PBMC in a domesticated animal model system. Equine DC derived from PBMC were rigorously characterized by analyzing morphological, phenotypic, and functional properties and were determined to have similar attributes as DC generated from human PBMC. Equine DC appeared stellate with large projectiles and veils and had cell surface antigens at similar levels as those defined on human and murine DC. Furthermore, functional attributes of the DC included rapidly capturing antigens by pinocytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and phagocytosis, activating naive T cells in a mixed leukocyte reaction to a much greater extent than macrophage or lymphoblasts, presenting soluble and particulate antigen 10-100 fold more effectively to T cells on a per cell basis than macrophage or lymphoblasts, and presenting soluble and particulate antigen to both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Taken together, our study provides a framework by which equine DC can now be readily produced from PBMC precursors and presents an impetus for and model by which DC can be simply generated in other animal model systems.

Evaluation of antibody parameters as potential correlates of protection or enhancement by experimental vaccines to equine infectious anemia virus.

We previously demonstrated in trials of a variety of experimental vaccines to equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) a remarkable spectrum of efficacy ranging from sterilizing protection to severe enhancement of virus replication and disease, depending on the immunization strategy used. This range of vaccine efficacy observed in vivo offers a unique opportunity for evaluating potential in vitro immune correlates of protection and enhancement. We describe here a comprehensive analysis and comparison of EIAV envelope-specific antibody responses elicited by attenuated, inactivated whole virus and envelope subunit vaccines to EIAV, and we evaluate the potential of in vitro antibody assays as correlates of protection or enhancement. Thus vaccine-induced serum antibody responses in experimentally immunized ponies at the day of challenge were assayed using a panel of quantitative, qualitative, and functional in vitro assays, including end-point titer of total and isotypic IgG, serum antibody avidity, conformational dependence, and serum neutralization. The results of these studies revealed substantial differences in the EIAV envelope-specific antibody responses elicited by the different vaccines, indicating the importance of envelope glycoprotein antigen presentation in determining the specificity of vaccine immunity. Although no single in vitro parameter provided a statistically significant correlate of protection or enhancement, the use of multiple parameters (titer, avidity index, and conformation ratio) could be used as a reliable correlate of vaccine protection and that the level of vaccine protection was closely associated with the development of mature antibody responses. These studies demonstrate the importance of using multiple antibody assays to evaluate lentiviral vaccine responses and emphasize the need for the development of new in vitro antibody assays that may provide more insight into vaccine protection and enhancement.

Class I-restricted presentation of an HIV-1 gp41 epitope containing an N-linked glycosylation site. Implications for the mechanism of processing of viral envelope proteins.

Uncertainty exists over the site of processing of viral envelope (env) proteins for recognition by CTL. The extracellular domains of env proteins are not present in the cytosol, the site where the class I Ag processing pathway begins. Rather, the ecto-domains of env proteins are cotranslationally translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum during biosynthesis. To clarify the site of processing of viral env proteins, we examined the processing of an HLA B*3501-restricted epitope in the extracellular domain of the HIV-1 env protein. Although this epitope contains an N-linked glycosylation signal sequence, CTL specific for this epitope recognize a nonameric peptide that has not been previously modified by attachment of oligosaccharide. This was demonstrated in two ways. First, an env-specific B*3501-restricted CTL clone recognized a nonglycosylated, synthetic nonamer representing the minimal B*3501-restricted epitope, but not the glycosylated or deglycosylated forms. Second, the naturally processed, B*3501-restricted, env peptide is identical with a nonglycosylated, synthetic nonamer. Thus, the naturally processed form of an env epitope containing an N-linked glycosylation site is derived from env protein that is not glycosylated at the relevant asparagine during biosynthesis. Since the addition of N-linked oligosaccharides occurs only after the glycosylation signal sequence (N-X-S/T) is translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum, the initial processing reaction for this epitope may take place in the cytosol. Low-frequency failure of signal sequence containing polypeptides to engage the translocation apparatus, resulting in synthesis and degradation in the cytosol, may represent an important mechanism for the generation of class I-restricted CTL responses.

An epitope-selective, transporter associated with antigen presentation (TAP)-1/2-independent pathway and a more general TAP-1/2-dependent antigen-processing pathway allow recognition of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein by CD8+ CTL.

The lysis of virally infected cells by CTLs requires the recognition of processed fragments of viral proteins presented in association with class I MHC molecules on the surfaces of infected cells. Processing begins in the cytosol with the degradation of viral proteins into peptides that are then transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for association with newly synthesized class I molecules. Transport is mediated by a heterodimer of the MHC-encoded proteins, transporter associated with Ag presentation (TAP)-1 and TAP-2. Uncertainty exists over the site of processing of viral envelope (env) proteins. The extracellular domains of env proteins are not present in the cytosol, the site in which the class I-restricted Ag-processing pathway begins. Rather, the ecto-domains of env proteins are cotranslationally translocated into the ER during biosynthesis. We have analyzed the processing of the HIV-1 env protein by using a large series of env-specific human CD8+ CTL clones. These studies have led to the delineation of two distinct processing pathways. The first pathway permits a subset of class I-restricted epitopes in the ecto-domain of the env protein to be generated efficiently by a TAP-1/2-independent mechanism localized to the ER or a premedial Golgi compartment. A second, more general pathway that is capable of generating all env epitopes uses as a substrate env protein mislocalized to the cytosol and produces peptides that are transported from the cytoplasm to the ER in a TAP-1/2-dependent fashion.

Induction of a major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to a highly conserved region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 in seronegative humans immunized with a candidate HIV-1 vaccine.

Efforts to induce broadly reactive immunity against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) have been impaired by the extent of sequence variation exhibited by this lentivirus. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specific for other viruses such as influenza virus have been shown to mediate immunity against divergent viral strains, a property that is related to the ability of CTL to recognize processed antigen derived from conserved viral proteins. A recent candidate HIV-1 vaccine regimen has been described in which subjects receive a primary immunization with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing gp160 and then a booster immunization with recombinant gp160. Volunteers immunized with this regimen have exhibited augmented humoral responses and have also developed CD4+ and CD8+ CTL specific for gp160. In this report, we have identified the epitopes recognized by CD4+ and CD8+ CTL obtained from two vaccines. An immunodominant CD8+ CTL response was HLA-A3.1 restricted and recognized a 10-amino-acid epitope (gp120/38-47) in a highly conserved region of gp120. CTL specific for the epitope gp120/38-47 were able to lyse targets sensitized with peptides corresponding to all known natural sequence variants in this region. In addition, other HLA class I-restricted CTL epitopes were identified in relatively conserved regions of gp120 and gp41, and CD4+ CTL were shown to recognize two different regions of gp120. Thus, in these two volunteers, immunization with a single strain of HIV-1 induced CD4+ and CD8+ CTL that are specific for multiple conserved regions of HIV-1 and would be expected to recognize a broad range of viral isolates.

Cytokines from vaccine-induced HIV-1 specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes: effects on viral replication.

Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) envelope glycoproteins have been cloned from HIV-1-seronegative human volunteers immunized with HIV-1 gp160-based candidate vaccines. Although vaccine-induced CTLs can potentially contribute to the antiviral response by direct lysis of infected cells, these CTLs may also produce cytokines that alter HIV-1 gene expression in other infected cells present in the microenvironment where CTL-target cell interactions occur. Vaccine-induced CTL clones were therefore examined for production of cytokines that affect HIV-1 gene expression in chronically infected T lymphocytic and promonocytic cell lines. Enhancement of HIV-1 gene expression was observed with supernatants from CD4+ CTL clones and with supernatants from a subset of CD8+ CTL clones. For each clone studied, upregulation of HIV-1 gene expression in chronically infected T cell lines resulted from the antigen-specific release by CTLs of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). CD4+ and CD8+ CTLs that released TNF-alpha on antigen stimulation were also shown to express a biologically active 26-kDa transmembrane form of TNF-alpha, which was sufficient to induce upregulation of HIV-1 gene expression in chronically infected T cells placed in direct contact with the CTLs. Supernatants from antigen-activated, vaccine-induced CD4+ and CD8+ CTLs also caused upregulation of HIV-1 gene expression in chronically infected promonocytic cells. A subset of CD8+ CTL clones also produced a soluble factor(s) that inhibited HIV-1 replication in acutely infected autologous CD4+ blasts. Supernatants from CD4+ CTLs had no effect on HIV-1 replication in acutely infected CD4+ blasts. These results suggest that cytokine production as well as cytolytic activity should be evaluated in the analysis of the potential antiviral effects of vaccine-induced CTLs.

Comparative clonal analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific CD4+ and CD8+ cytolytic T lymphocytes isolated from seronegative humans immunized with candidate HIV-1 vaccines.

The lysis of infected host cells by virus-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) is an important factor in host resistance to viral infection. An optimal vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) would elicit virus-specific CTL as well as neutralizing antibodies. The induction by a vaccine of HIV-1-specific CD8+ CTL in humans has not been previously reported. In this study, CTL responses were evaluated in HIV-1-seronegative human volunteers participating in a phase I acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) vaccine trial involving a novel vaccine regimen. Volunteers received an initial immunization with a live recombinant vaccinia virus vector carrying the HIV-1 env gene and a subsequent boost with purified env protein. An exceptionally strong env-specific CTL response was detected in one of two vaccine recipients, while modest but significant env-specific CTL activity was present in the second vaccinee. Cloning of the responding CTL gave both CD4+ and CD8+ env-specific CTL clones, permitting a detailed comparison of critical functional properties of these two types of CTL. In particular, the potential antiviral effects of these CTL were evaluated in an in vitro system involving HIV-1 infection of cultures of normal autologous CD4+ lymphoblasts. At extremely low effector-to-target ratios, vaccine-induced CD8+ CTL clones lysed productively infected cells present within these cultures. When tested for lytic activity against target cells expressing the HIV-1 env gene, CD8+ CTL were 3-10-fold more active on a per cell basis than CD4+ CTL. However, when tested against autologous CD4+ lymphoblasts acutely infected with HIV-1, CD4+ clones lysed a much higher fraction of the target cell population than did CD8+ CTL. CD4+ CTL were shown to recognize not only the infected cells within these acutely infected cultures but also noninfected CD4+ T cells that had passively taken up gp120 shed from infected cells and/or free virions. These results were confirmed in studies in which CD4+ lymphoblasts were exposed to recombinant gp120 and used as targets for gp120-specific CD4+ and CD8+ CTL clones. gp120-pulsed, noninfected targets were lysed in an antigen-specific fashion by CD4+ but not CD8+ CTL clones. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that in an in vitro HIV-1 infection, sufficient amounts of gp120 antigen are produced and shed by infected cells to enable uptake by cells that are not yet infected, resulting in the lysis of these noninfected cells by gp120-specific, CD4+ CTL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Clonal analysis of T-cell responses to the HIV-1 envelope proteins in AIDS vaccine recipients.

Both CD4+ and CD8+ CTL responses specific for the HIV-1 envelope proteins can be elicited in seronegative humans by candidate AIDS vaccines. The phenotype of the responding CTL depends upon the nature of the vaccine, with CD8+ CTL being found exclusively in recipients of live virus vaccines. Both types of CTL are active against HIV-1-infected cells in vitro. However, the potential efficacy of vaccine-induced CTL in preventing infection in vaccinated individuals exposed to HIV-1 is unknown and is likely to be dependent upon complex factors including lytic activity against divergent strains, cytokines produced, and the lysis of noninfected CD4+ T cells.

The contractile basis of ameboid movement. II. Structure and contractility of motile extracts and plasmalemma-ectoplasm ghosts.

The role of calcium and magnesium-ATP on the structure and contractility in motile extracts of Amoeba proteus and plasmalemma-ectoplasm "ghosts" of Chaos carolinensis has been investigated by correlating light and electron microscope observations with turbidity and birefringence measurements. The extract is nonmotile and contains very few F-actin filaments and myosin aggregates when prepared in the presence of both low calcium ion and ATP concentrations at an ionic strength of I = 0.05, pH 6.8. The addition of 1.0 mM magnesium chloride, 1.0 mM ATP, in the presence of a low calcium ion concentration (relaxation solution) induced the formation of some fibrous bundles of actin without contracting, whereas the addition of a micromolar concentration of calcium in addition to 1.0 mM magnesium-ATP (contraction solution) (Taylor, D. L., J. S. Condeelis, P. L. Moore, and R. D. Allen. 1973. J. Cell Biol. 59:378-394) initiated the formation of large arrays of F-actin filaments followed by contractions. Furthermore, plasmalemma-ectoplasm ghosts prepared in the relaxation solution exhibited very few straight F-actin filaments and myosin aggregates. In contrast, plasmalemmaectoplasm ghosts treated with the contraction solution contained many straight F-actin filaments and myosin aggregates. The increase in the structure of ameba cytoplasm at the endoplasm-ectoplasm interface can be explained by a combination of the transformation of actin from a less filamentous to a more structured filamentous state possibly involving the cross-linking of actin to form fibrillar arrays (see above-mentioned reference) followed by contractions of the actin and myosin along an undetermined distance of the endoplasm and/or ectoplasm.