MALT1 inhibition suppresses antigen-specific T cell responses.

The aim of this study was to assess the potential use of a selective small molecule MALT1 inhibitor in solid tumor treatment as an immunotherapy targeting regulatory T-cells (Tregs). In vitro, MALT1 inhibition suppressed the proteolytic cleavage of the MALT1-substrate HOIL1 and blocked IL-2 secretion in Jurkat cells. It selectively suppressed the proliferation of PBMC-derived Tregs, with no effect on conventional CD4+T-cells. In vivo, however, no evident anti-tumor effect was achieved by MALT1 inhibition monotherapy or in combination with anti-CTLA4 in the MB49 cancer model. Despite decreased Treg-frequencies in lymph nodes of tumor-bearing animals, intratumoral Treg depletion was not observed. We also showed that MALT1-inhibition caused a reduction of antigen-specific CD8+T-cells in an adoptive T-cell transfer model. Thus, selective targeting of Tregs would be required to improve the immunotherapeutic effect of MALT1-inhibition. Also, various dosing schedules and combination therapy strategies should be carefully designed and evaluated further.

Bridging responses to a human telomerase reverse transcriptase-based peptide cancer vaccine candidate in a mechanism-based model.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines are novel immuno-therapeutics, aiming to improve clinical outcomes with other immunotherapies. However, obstacles to their successful clinical development remain, which model-informed drug development approaches may address. UV1 is a telomerase based therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate being investigated in phase I clinical trials for multiple indications. We developed a mechanism-based model structure, using a nonlinear mixed-effects modeling techniques, based on longitudinal tumor sizes (sum of the longest diameters, SLD), UV1-specific immunological assessment (stimulation index, SI) and overall survival (OS) data obtained from a UV1 phase I trial including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and a phase I/IIa trial including malignant melanoma (MM) patients. The final structure comprised a mechanistic tumor growth dynamics (TGD) model, a model describing the probability of observing a UV1-specific immune response (SI ≥ 3) and a time-to-event model for OS. The mechanistic TGD model accounted for the interplay between the vaccine peptides, immune system and tumor. The model-predicted UV1-specific effector CD4+ T cells induced tumor shrinkage with half-lives of 103 and 154 days in NSCLC and MM patients, respectively. The probability of observing a UV1-specific immune response was mainly driven by the model-predicted UV1-specific effector and memory CD4+ T cells. A high baseline SLD and a high relative increase from nadir were identified as main predictors for a reduced OS in NSCLC and MM patients, respectively. Our model predictions highlighted that additional maintenance doses, i.e. UV1 administration for longer periods, may result in more sustained tumor size shrinkage.

Elevated levels of MMP12 sourced from macrophages are associated with poor prognosis in urothelial bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial bladder cancer is most frequently diagnosed at the non-muscle-invasive stage (NMIBC). However, recurrences and interventions for intermediate and high-risk NMIBC patients impact the quality of life. Biomarkers for patient stratification could help to avoid unnecessary interventions whilst indicating aggressive measures when required. METHODS: In this study, immuno-oncology focused, multiplexed proximity extension assays were utilised to analyse plasma (n = 90) and urine (n = 40) samples from 90 newly-diagnosed and treatment-naïve bladder cancer patients. Public single-cell RNA-sequencing and microarray data from patient tumour tissues and murine OH-BBN-induced urothelial carcinomas were also explored to further corroborate the proteomic findings. RESULTS: Plasma from muscle-invasive, urothelial bladder cancer patients displayed higher levels of MMP7 (p = 0.028) and CCL23 (p = 0.03) compared to NMIBC patients, whereas urine displayed higher levels of CD27 (p = 0.044) and CD40 (p = 0.04) in the NMIBC group by two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Random forest survival and multivariable regression analyses identified increased MMP12 plasma levels as an independent marker (p < 0.001) associated with shorter overall survival (HR = 1.8, p < 0.001, 95% CI:1.3-2.5); this finding was validated in an independent patient OLINK cohort, but could not be established using a transcriptomic microarray dataset. Single-cell transcriptomics analyses indicated tumour-infiltrating macrophages as a putative source of MMP12. CONCLUSIONS: The measurable levels of tumour-localised, immune-cell-derived MMP12 in blood suggest MMP12 as an important biomarker that could complement histopathology-based risk stratification. As MMP12 stems from infiltrating immune cells rather than the tumor cells themselves, analyses performed on tissue biopsy material risk a biased selection of biomarkers produced by the tumour, while ignoring the surrounding microenvironment.

Epitopes Displayed in a Cyclic Peptide Scaffold Bind SARS-COV-2 Antibodies.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is a global health issue. The spread of the virus has resulted in seven million deaths to date. The emergence of new viral strains highlights the importance of continuous surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by using timely and accurate diagnostic tools. Here, we used a stable cyclic peptide scaffolds to present antigenic sequences derived from the spike protein that are reactive to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Using peptide sequences from different domains of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, we grafted epitopes on the peptide scaffold sunflower trypsin inhibitor 1 (SFTI-1). These scaffold peptides were then used to develop an ELISA to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum. We show that displaying epitopes on the scaffold improves reactivity overall. One of the scaffold peptides (S2_1146-1161_c) has reactivity equal to that of commercial assays, and shows diagnostic potential.

Characterization of the T cell receptor repertoire and melanoma tumor microenvironment upon combined treatment with ipilimumab and hTERT vaccination.

BACKGROUND: This clinical trial evaluated a novel telomerase-targeting therapeutic cancer vaccine, UV1, in combination with ipilimumab, in patients with metastatic melanoma. Translational research was conducted on patient-derived blood and tissue samples with the goal of elucidating the effects of treatment on the T cell receptor repertoire and tumor microenvironment. METHODS: The trial was an open-label, single-center phase I/IIa study. Eligible patients had unresectable metastatic melanoma. Patients received up to 9 UV1 vaccinations and four ipilimumab infusions. Clinical responses were assessed according to RECIST 1.1. Patients were followed up for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Whole-exome and RNA sequencing, and multiplex immunofluorescence were performed on the biopsies. T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing was performed on the peripheral blood and tumor tissues. RESULTS: Twelve patients were enrolled in the study. Vaccine-specific immune responses were detected in 91% of evaluable patients. Clinical responses were observed in four patients. The mPFS was 6.7 months, and the mOS was 66.3 months. There was no association between baseline tumor mutational burden, neoantigen load, IFN-γ gene signature, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and response to therapy. Tumor telomerase expression was confirmed in all available biopsies. Vaccine-enriched TCR clones were detected in blood and biopsy, and an increase in the tumor IFN-γ gene signature was detected in clinically responding patients. CONCLUSION: Clinical responses were observed irrespective of established predictive biomarkers for checkpoint inhibitor efficacy, indicating an added benefit of the vaccine-induced T cells. The clinical and immunological read-out warrants further investigation of UV1 in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02275416. Registered October 27, 2014. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02275416?term=uv1&draw=2&rank=6.

Durable and dynamic hTERT immune responses following vaccination with the long-peptide cancer vaccine UV1: long-term follow-up of three phase I clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic cancer vaccines represent a promising approach to improve clinical outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibition. UV1 is a second generation telomerase-targeting therapeutic cancer vaccine being investigated across multiple indications. Although telomerase is a near-universal tumor target, different treatment combinations applied across indications may affect the induced immune response. Three phase I/IIa clinical trials covering malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and prostate cancer have been completed, with patients in follow-up for up to 8 years. METHODS: 52 patients were enrolled across the three trials. UV1 was given as monotherapy in the lung cancer trial and concurrent with combined androgen blockade in the prostate cancer trial. In the melanoma study, patients initiated ipilimumab treatment 1 week after the first vaccine dose. Patients were followed for UV1-specific immune responses at frequent intervals during vaccination, and every 6 months for up to 8 years in a follow-up period. Phenotypic and functional characterizations were performed on patient-derived vaccine-specific T cell responses. RESULTS: In total, 78.4% of treated patients mounted a measurable vaccine-induced T cell response in blood. The immune responses in the malignant melanoma trial, where UV1 was combined with ipilimumab, occurred more rapidly and frequently than in the lung and prostate cancer trials. In several patients, immune responses peaked years after their last vaccination. An in-depth characterization of the immune responses revealed polyfunctional CD4+ T cells producing interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α on interaction with their antigen. CONCLUSION: Long-term immunomonitoring of patients showed highly dynamic and persistent telomerase peptide-specific immune responses lasting up to 7.5 years after the initial vaccination, suggesting a plausible functional role of these T cells in long-term survivors. The superior immune response kinetics observed in the melanoma study substantiate the rationale for future combinatorial treatment strategies with UV1 vaccination and checkpoint inhibition for rapid and frequent induction of anti-telomerase immune responses in patients with cancer.

An evaluation of a FluoroSpot assay as a diagnostic tool to determine SARS-CoV-2 specific T cell responses.

Numerous assays evaluating serological and cellular responses have been developed to characterize immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Serological assays are both cost- and time-effective compared to cellular assays, but cellular immune responses may provide a diagnostic value to determine previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in seronegative individuals. However, potential cross-reactive T cell responses stemming from prior encounters with human coronaviruses (HCoVs) may affect assay specificity. In this study, we evaluated the specificity and sensitivity of a SARS-CoV-2 IFN-γ Release Assay (IGRA) based on the FluoroSpot method employing commercially available SARS-CoV-2-specific peptide pools, as well as an in-house designed SARS-CoV-2 peptide pool restricted to 5 amino acid stretches or less aligning with endemic HCoVs. Blood samples were obtained from healthcare workers (HCW) 5-6 months post SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) IgG and nucleocapsid (N) IgG dual seroconversion (n = 187) and HCW who had been S IgG and N IgG dual seronegative at repeated occasions, including the current sampling time point (n = 102). In addition, samples were obtained 4 to 5 months post infection from 55 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 patients. Assay specificity and sensitivity were calculated with serology as a reference standard for HCW. The in-house generated peptide pool displayed a specificity of 96.1%, while the commercially available peptide pools displayed specificities of 80.4% and 85.3%, respectively. Sensitivity was higher in a cohort of previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients (96.4% and 84.0% for the commercially available peptide pools and 92.7% for the in-house generated peptide pool) compared to the HCW cohort (92.0% and 66.8% for the commercially available peptide pools and 76.0% for the in-house generated peptide pool). Based on these findings, the individual diagnostic value of T cell immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 currently appears to be limited but remain an important research tool ahead.

Plasma Proteomic Analysis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with PD-1/PD-L1 Blockade.

Checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, only a minority of patients demonstrate a durable clinical response. PD-L1 scoring is currently the only biomarker measure routinely used to select patients for immunotherapy, but its predictive accuracy is modest. The aim of our study was to evaluate a proteomic assay for the analysis of patient plasma in the context of immunotherapy. Pretreatment plasma samples from 43 NSCLC patients who received anti-PD-(L)1 therapy were analyzed using a proximity extension assay (PEA) to quantify 92 different immune oncology-related proteins. The plasma protein levels were associated with clinical and histopathological parameters, as well as therapy response and survival. Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two patient groups with distinct protein profiles associated with high and low immune protein levels, designated as "hot" and "cold". Further supervised cluster analysis based on T-cell activation markers showed that higher levels of T-cell activation markers were associated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) (p < 0.01). The analysis of single proteins revealed that high plasma levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 and low ADA levels were associated with better response and prolonged PFS (p < 0.05). Moreover, in an explorative response prediction model, the combination of protein markers (CXCL9, CXCL10, IL-15, CASP8, and ADA) resulted in higher accuracy in predicting response than tumor PD-L1 expression or each protein assayed individually. Our findings demonstrate a proof of concept for the use of multiplex plasma protein levels as a tool for anti-PD-(L)1 response prediction in NSCLC. Additionally, we identified protein signatures that could predict the response to anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.

Agonistic CD40 therapy induces tertiary lymphoid structures but impairs responses to checkpoint blockade in glioma.

Gliomas are brain tumors characterized by an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Immunostimulatory agonistic CD40 antibodies (αCD40) are in clinical development for solid tumors, but are yet to be evaluated for glioma. Here, we demonstrate that systemic delivery of αCD40 in preclinical glioma models induces the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in proximity of meningeal tissue. In treatment-naïve glioma patients, the presence of TLS correlates with increased T cell infiltration. However, systemic delivery of αCD40 induces hypofunctional T cells and impairs the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in pre-clinical glioma models. This is associated with a systemic induction of suppressive CD11b+ B cells post-αCD40 treatment, which accumulate in the tumor microenvironment. Our work unveils the pleiotropic effects of αCD40 therapy in glioma and reveals that immunotherapies can modulate TLS formation in the brain, opening up for future opportunities to regulate the immune response.

Single-cell RNAseq and longitudinal proteomic analysis of a novel semi-spontaneous urothelial cancer model reveals tumor cell heterogeneity and pretumoral urine protein alterations.

Bladder cancer, one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, remains hard to classify due to a staggering molecular complexity. Despite a plethora of diagnostic tools and therapies, it is hard to outline the key steps leading up to the transition from high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) to muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). Carcinogen-induced murine models can recapitulate urothelial carcinogenesis and natural anti-tumor immunity. Herein, we have developed and profiled a novel model of progressive NMIBC based on 10 weeks of OH-BBN exposure in hepatocyte growth factor/cyclin dependent kinase 4 (R24C) (Hgf-Cdk4R24C) mice. The profiling of the model was performed by histology grading, single cell transcriptomic and proteomic analysis, while the derivation of a tumorigenic cell line was validated and used to assess in vivo anti-tumor effects in response to immunotherapy. Established NMIBC was present in females at 10 weeks post OH-BBN exposure while neoplasia was not as advanced in male mice, however all mice progressed to MIBC. Single cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed an intratumoral heterogeneity also described in the human disease trajectory. Moreover, although immune activation biomarkers were elevated in urine during carcinogen exposure, anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD1) monotherapy did not prevent tumor progression. Furthermore, anti-PD1 immunotherapy did not control the growth of subcutaneous tumors formed by the newly derived urothelial cancer cell line. However, treatment with CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) significantly decreased tumor volume, but only in females. In conclusion, the molecular map of this novel preclinical model of bladder cancer provides an opportunity to further investigate pharmacological therapies ahead with regards to both targeted drugs and immunotherapies to improve the strategies of how we should tackle the heterogeneous tumor microenvironment in urothelial bladder cancer to improve responses rates in the clinic.

Telomerase as a Target for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines and Considerations for Optimizing Their Clinical Potential.

Telomerase-based therapeutic cancer vaccines (TCVs) have been under clinical investigation for the past two decades. Despite past failures, TCVs have gained renewed enthusiasm for their potential to improve the efficacy of checkpoint inhibition. Telomerase stands as an attractive target for TCVs due to its almost universal presence in cancer and its essential function promoting tumor growth. Herein, we review tumor telomerase biology that may affect the efficacy of therapeutic vaccination and provide insights on optimal vaccine design and treatment combinations. Tumor types possessing mechanisms of increased telomerase expression combined with an immune permissive tumor microenvironment are expected to increase the therapeutic potential of telomerase-targeting cancer vaccines. Regardless, rational treatment combinations, such as checkpoint inhibitors, are likely necessary to bring out the true clinical potential of TCVs.

Tumor endothelial cell up-regulation of IDO1 is an immunosuppressive feed-back mechanism that reduces the response to CD40-stimulating immunotherapy.

CD40-stimulating immunotherapy can elicit potent anti-tumor responses by activating dendritic cells and enhancing T-cell priming. Tumor vessels orchestrate T-cell recruitment during immune response, but the effect of CD40-stimulating immunotherapy on tumor endothelial cells has not been evaluated. Here, we have investigated how tumor endothelial cells transcriptionally respond to CD40-stimulating immunotherapy by isolating tumor endothelial cells from agonistic CD40 mAb- or isotype-treated mice bearing B16-F10 melanoma, and performing RNA-sequencing. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that agonistic CD40 mAb therapy increased interferon (IFN)-related responses in tumor endothelial cells, including up-regulation of the immunosuppressive enzyme Indoleamine 2, 3-Dioxygenase 1 (IDO1). IDO1 was predominantly expressed in endothelial cells within the tumor microenvironment, and its expression in tumor endothelium was positively correlated to T-cell infiltration and to increased intratumoral expression of IFNγ. In vitro, endothelial cells up-regulated IDO1 in response to T-cell-derived IFNγ, but not in response to CD40-stimulation. Combining agonistic CD40 mAb therapy with the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat delayed tumor growth in B16-F10 melanoma, associated with increased activation of tumor-infiltrating T-cells. Hereby, we show that the tumor endothelial cells up-regulate IDO1 upon CD40-stimulating immunotherapy in response to increased IFNγ-secretion by T-cells, revealing a novel immunosuppressive feedback mechanism whereby tumor vessels limit T-cell activation.

Formation of Immune Complexes with a Tetanus-Derived B Cell Epitope Boosts Human T Cell Responses to Covalently Linked Peptides in an Ex Vivo Blood Loop System.

Enhancing T cell responses against both viral and tumor Ags requires efficient costimulation and directed delivery of peptide Ags into APCs. Long peptide vaccines are considered favorable vaccine moieties from a clinical perspective, as they can harbor more than one immunogenic epitope enabling treatment of a broader target population. In addition, longer peptides are not extracellularly loaded on MHC class I; rather, they require intracellular processing and will thereby be presented to T cells mainly by professional APCs, thereby avoiding the risk of tolerance induction. The drawback of peptide vaccines regardless of peptide length is that naked peptides are not actively targeted to and taken up by APCs, and the standard nonconjugated adjuvant-peptide mixtures do not ensure cotargeting of the two to the same APC. We have identified a tetanus toxin-derived B cell epitope that can mediate the formation of immune complexes in the presence of circulating Abs. In this study, we show that these immune complexes improve both Ag uptake by APCs (blood monocytes and CD1c+ dendritic cells) and consequently improve CD8+ T cell recall responses in a human ex vivo blood loop system. The uptake of the peptide conjugate by blood monocytes is dependent on Abs and the complement component C1q. We envision that this strategy can be used to facilitate active uptake of Ags into APCs to improve T cell responses against pathogens or cancer.

Linking T cell epitopes to a common linear B cell epitope: A targeting and adjuvant strategy to improve T cell responses.

Immune complexes are potent mediators of cellular immunity and have been extensively studied for their disease mediating properties in humans and for their role in anti-cancer immunity. However, a viable approach to use antibody-complexed antigen as vehicle for specific immunotherapy has not yet reached clinical use. Since virtually all people have endogenous antibodies against tetanus toxoid (TTd), such commonly occurring antibodies are promising candidates to utilize for immune modulation. As an initial proof-of-concept we investigated if anti-tetanus IgG could induce potent cross-presentation of a conjugate with SIINFEKL, a MHC class I presented epitope of ovalbumin (OVA), to TTd. This protein conjugate enhanced OVA-specific CD8+ T cell responses when administrated to seropositive mice. Since TTd is poorly defined, we next investigated whether a synthetic peptide-peptide conjugate, with a chemically defined linear B cell epitope of tetanus toxin (TTx) origin, could improve cellular immune responses. Herein we identify one linear B cell epitope, here after named MTTE thru a screening of overlapping peptides from the alpha and beta region of TTx, and by assessment of the binding of pooled IgG, or individual human IgG from high-titer TTd vaccinated donors, to these peptides. Subsequently, we developed a chemical protocol to synthesize defined conjugates containing multiple copies of MTTE covalently attached to one or more T cell epitopes of choice. To demonstrate the potential of the above approach we showed that immune complexes of anti-MTTE antibodies with MTTE-containing conjugates are able to induce DC and T cell activation using model antigens.

Extracorporeal human whole blood in motion, as a tool to predict first-infusion reactions and mechanism-of-action of immunotherapeutics.

First infusion reactions along with severe anaphylactic responses can occur as a result of systemic administration of therapeutic antibodies. The underlying mechanisms by which monoclonal antibodies induce cytokine release syndrome (CRS) can involve direct agonistic effects via the drug target, or a combination of target-engagement along with innate receptor interactions. Despite the wide variety of pathways and cells that can play a role in CRS, many currently used assays are devoid of one or more components that must be present for these responses to occur. One assay that has not been assessed for its capacity to predict CRS is the modified Chandler loop model. Herein we evaluate a plethora of commercially available monoclonal antibodies to evaluate the modified Chandler loop model's potential in CRS prediction. We demonstrate that in a 4-hour loop assay, both the superagonistic antibodies, anti-CD3 (OKT3) and anti-CD28 (ANC28.1), display a clear cytokine response with a mixed adaptive/innate cytokine source. OKT3 induce TNFα and IFN-γ release in 20 out of 23 donors tested, whereas ANC28.1 induce TNF-α, IL-2 and IFN-γ release in all donors tested (n=18-22). On the other hand, non-agonistic antibodies associated with no or low infusion reactions in the clinic, namely cetuximab and natalizumab, neither induce cytokine release nor cause false positive responses. A TGN1412-like antibody also display a clear cytokine release with an adaptive cytokine profile (IFN-γ and IL-2) and all donors (n=9) induce a distinct IL-2 response. Additionally, the value of an intact complement system in the assay is highlighted by the possibility to dissect out the mechanism-of-action of alemtuzumab and rituximab. The loop assay can either complement lymph node-like assays or stand-alone to investigate drug/blood interactions during preclinical development, or for individual safety screening prior to first-in-man clinical trial.

Local irradiation does not enhance the effect of immunostimulatory AdCD40L gene therapy combined with low dose cyclophosphamide in melanoma patients.

BACKGROUND: AdCD40L is an immunostimulatory gene therapy under evaluation for advanced melanoma, including ocular melanoma. Herein, we present the final data of a Phase I/IIa trial using AdCD40L alone or in combination with low dose cyclophosphamide +/- radiation therapy. METHODS: AdCD40L is a replication-deficient adenovirus carrying the gene for CD40 ligand (CD40L). Twenty-four patients with advanced melanoma were enrolled and treated with AdCD40L monotherapy, or combined with cyclophosphamide +/- single fraction radiotherapy. The patients were monitored for 10 weeks using immunological and radiological evaluations and thereafter for survival. RESULTS: AdCD40L treatment was safe and well tolerated both alone and in combination with cyclophosphamide as well as local radiotherapy. Four out of twenty-four patients had >1 year survival. Addition of cyclophosphamide was beneficial but adding radiotherapy did not further extend survival. High initial plasma levels of IL12 and MIP3b correlated to overall survival, whereas IL8 responses post-treatment correlated negatively with survival. Interestingly, antibody reactions to the virus correlated negatively with post IL6 and pre IL1b levels in blood. CONCLUSIONS: AdCD40L was safely administered to patients and effect was improved by cyclophosphamide but not by radiotherapy. Immune activation profile at baseline may predict responders better than shortly after treatment.

Local checkpoint inhibition of CTLA-4 as a monotherapy or in combination with anti-PD1 prevents the growth of murine bladder cancer.

Checkpoint blockade of CTLA-4 results in long-lasting survival benefits in metastatic cancer patients. However, patients treated with CTLA-4 blockade have suffered from immune-related adverse events, most likely due to the breadth of the induced T-cell activation. Here, we investigated the efficacy of a local low-dose anti-CTLA-4 administration for treatment of subcutaneous or orthotopic murine bladder 49 (MB49) bladder carcinoma in C57BL/6 mice. When MB49 tumors were grown s.c., peritumoral (p.t.) injection of anti-CTLA-4 treatment was equally effective as intravenous or s.c. (nontumor bearing flank) administration. Notably, p.t. injection was associated with lower circulating antibody levels and decreased IL-6 serum levels as compared to systemic treatment. Ultrasound-guided intratumoral anti-CTLA-4 antibody treatment of orthotopically growing MB49 tumors resulted in tumor regression, with more than tenfold reduction in systemic antibody levels as compared to i.v. or s.c. administration, in line with the compartmentally restrained nature of the bladder. Local anti-CTLA-4 therapy in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy resulted in complete responses, superior to each therapy alone. In addition, p.t. anti-CTLA-4 therapy was potentiated by depletion of regulatory T cells. Our results demonstrate that local anti-CTLA-4 antibody therapy is equally effective as systemic administration, but reduces systemic antibody levels and cytokine release, and enhances the response to anti-PD1 therapy.

Tumor-directed immunotherapy can generate tumor-specific T cell responses through localized co-stimulation.

The most important goals for the field of immuno-oncology are to improve the response rate and increase the number of tumor indications that respond to immunotherapy, without increasing adverse side effects. One approach to achieve these goals is to use tumor-directed immunotherapy, i.e., to focus the immune activation to the most relevant part of the immune system. This may improve anti-tumor efficacy as well as reduce immune-related adverse events. Tumor-directed immune activation can be achieved by local injections of immune modulators in the tumor area or by directing the immune modulator to the tumor using bispecific antibodies. In this review, we focus on therapies targeting checkpoint inhibitors and co-stimulatory receptors that can generate tumor-specific T cell responses through localized immune activation.