Oncolytic HSV-1 G207 Immunovirotherapy for Pediatric High-Grade Gliomas.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes in children and adolescents with recurrent or progressive high-grade glioma are poor, with a historical median overall survival of 5.6 months. Pediatric high-grade gliomas are largely immunologically silent or "cold," with few tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Preclinically, pediatric brain tumors are highly sensitive to oncolytic virotherapy with genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) G207, which lacks genes essential for replication in normal brain tissue. METHODS: We conducted a phase 1 trial of G207, which used a 3+3 design with four dose cohorts of children and adolescents with biopsy-confirmed recurrent or progressive supratentorial brain tumors. Patients underwent stereotactic placement of up to four intratumoral catheters. The following day, they received G207 (107 or 108 plaque-forming units) by controlled-rate infusion over a period of 6 hours. Cohorts 3 and 4 received radiation (5 Gy) to the gross tumor volume within 24 hours after G207 administration. Viral shedding from saliva, conjunctiva, and blood was assessed by culture and polymerase-chain-reaction assay. Matched pre- and post-treatment tissue samples were examined for tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by immunohistologic analysis. RESULTS: Twelve patients 7 to 18 years of age with high-grade glioma received G207. No dose-limiting toxic effects or serious adverse events were attributed to G207 by the investigators. Twenty grade 1 adverse events were possibly related to G207. No virus shedding was detected. Radiographic, neuropathological, or clinical responses were seen in 11 patients. The median overall survival was 12.2 months (95% confidence interval, 8.0 to 16.4); as of June 5, 2020, a total of 4 of 11 patients were still alive 18 months after G207 treatment. G207 markedly increased the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Intratumoral G207 alone and with radiation had an acceptable adverse-event profile with evidence of responses in patients with recurrent or progressive pediatric high-grade glioma. G207 converted immunologically "cold" tumors to "hot." (Supported by the Food and Drug Administration and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02457845.).

Recurrent Glioblastoma-Molecular Underpinnings and Evolving Treatment Paradigms.

Glioblastoma is the most common and lethal central nervous system malignancy with a median survival after progression of only 6-9 months. Major biochemical mechanisms implicated in glioblastoma recurrence include aberrant molecular pathways, a recurrence-inducing tumor microenvironment, and epigenetic modifications. Contemporary standard-of-care (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and tumor treating fields) helps to control the primary tumor but rarely prevents relapse. Cytoreductive treatment such as surgery has shown benefits in recurrent glioblastoma; however, its use remains controversial. Several innovative treatments are emerging for recurrent glioblastoma, including checkpoint inhibitors, chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, nanoparticle delivery, laser interstitial thermal therapy, and photodynamic therapy. This review seeks to provide readers with an overview of (1) recent discoveries in the molecular basis of recurrence; (2) the role of surgery in treating recurrence; and (3) novel treatment paradigms emerging for recurrent glioblastoma.

Tumor-Associated Macrophages/Microglia in Glioblastoma Oncolytic Virotherapy: A Double-Edged Sword.

Oncolytic virotherapy is a rapidly progressing field that uses oncolytic viruses (OVs) to selectively infect malignant cells and cause an antitumor response through direct oncolysis and stimulation of the immune system. Despite demonstrated pre-clinical efficacy of OVs in many cancer types and some favorable clinical results in glioblastoma (GBM) trials, durable increases in overall survival have remained elusive. Recent evidence has emerged that tumor-associated macrophage/microglia (TAM) involvement is likely an important factor contributing to OV treatment failure. It is prudent to note that the relationship between TAMs and OV therapy failures is complex. Canonically activated TAMs (i.e., M1) drive an antitumor response while also inhibiting OV replication and spread. Meanwhile, M2 activated TAMs facilitate an immunosuppressive microenvironment thereby indirectly promoting tumor growth. In this focused review, we discuss the complicated interplay between TAMs and OV therapies in GBM. We review past studies that aimed to maximize effectiveness through immune system modulation-both immunostimulatory and immunosuppressant-and suggest future directions to maximize OV efficacy.

Multi-institutional analysis of treatment modalities in basal ganglia and thalamic germinoma.

BACKGROUND: Central nervous system (CNS) germinomas are treatment-sensitive tumors with excellent survival outcomes. Current treatment strategies combine chemotherapy with radiotherapy (RT) in order to reduce the field and dose of RT. Germinomas originating in the basal ganglia/thalamus (BGTGs) have proven challenging to treat given their rarity and poorly defined imaging characteristics. Craniospinal (CSI), whole brain (WBI), whole ventricle (WVI), and focal RT have all been utilized; however, the best treatment strategy remains unclear. METHODS: Retrospective multi-institutional analysis has been conducted across 18 institutions in four countries. RESULTS: For 43 cases of nonmetastatic BGTGs, the 5- and 10-year event-free survivals (EFS) were 85.8% and 81.0%, respectively, while the 5- and 10-year overall survivals (OS) were 100% and 95.5%, respectively (one patient fatality from unrelated cause). Median RT doses were as follows: CSI: 2250 cGy/cGy(RBE) (1980-2400); WBI: 2340 cGy/cGy(RBE) (1800-3000); WVI: 2340 cGy/cGy(RBE) (1800-2550); focal: 3600 cGy (3060-5400). Thirty-eight patients (90.5%) received chemotherapy. There was no statistically significant difference in the EFS based on initial field extent (p = .84). Nevertheless, no relapses were reported in patients who received CSI or WBI. Chemotherapy alone had significantly inferior EFS compared to combined therapy (p = .0092), but patients were salvageable with RT. CONCLUSION: Patients with BGTGs have excellent outcomes and RT proved to be an integral component of the treatment plan. This group of patients should be included in future prospective clinical trials and the best RT field should be investigated further.

Treatment of pediatric high-grade central nervous system tumors with high-dose methotrexate in combination with multiagent chemotherapy: A single-institution experience.

BACKGROUND: Effective treatment for pediatric embryonal brain tumors includes dose-intensive multiagent chemotherapy (DIMAC) followed by high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue (HDCSCR). Use of repeated cycles of DIMAC including high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) without HDCSCR has not been described. PROCEDURE: We retrospectively reviewed the responses/toxicities in 13 patients (aged 2-155 months, median 22 months) with central nervous system (CNS) tumors (atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors, CNS embryonal tumors not otherwise specified, pineoblastoma, embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes, and CNS sarcoma) treated over a 12-year period with repeated cycles of HDMTX followed by etoposide, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, and vincristine. RESULTS: Six patients (46.2%) had disseminated disease at presentation and five (38.5%) had gross total resection. A total of 64 courses of therapy were administered with a median of five courses per patient.  Eight patients (61.5%) received radiation therapy (one at relapse). By completion of therapy, 11 patients (84.6%) achieved a response (six complete, five partial).  Six of the 13 patients (46.2%) remain alive with a median follow-up of 48 months (6-146).  Acute toxicities included fever/neutropenia (70.3%), bacteremia (15.6%), and grade 3 mucositis (18.8%).  Long-term complications included learning disability, seizure disorder, and brain necrosis, without treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSIONS: DIMAC with HDMTX without HDCSCR may be an effective treatment option for selected patients with embryonal or high-grade CNS tumors.

Roseomonas gilardii Bacteremia in a Patient With HbSß0-thalassemia: Clinical Implications and Literature Review.

Roseomonas gilardii is a Gram-negative coccobacillus identified in immunocompromised pediatric patients. A 5-year-old male with a history of HbSß thalassemia status postsurgical splenectomy presented to the emergency department with fever. Blood cultures grew R. gilardii at 63 hours, but the patient had been discharged home at 48 hours. The patient was readmitted for repeat cultures and initiated on meropenem for 10 days as Roseomonas spp. are often resistant to third generation cephalosporins. R. gilardii is a rare cause of bacteremia in immunocompromised patients. Clinicians should consider Roseomonas in slow growing Gram-negative rod bacteremias, and consider meropenem as empiric coverage.

Characterization of iPSCs derived from low grade gliomas revealed early regional chromosomal amplifications during gliomagenesis.

INTRODUCTION: IDH1 mutation has been identified as an early genetic event driving low grade gliomas (LGGs) and it has been proven to exerts a powerful epigenetic effect. Cells containing IDH1 mutation are refractory to epigenetical reprogramming to iPSC induced by expression of Yamanaka transcription factors, a feature that we employed to study early genetic amplifications or deletions in gliomagenesis. METHODS: We made iPSC clones from freshly surgically resected IDH1 mutant LGGs by forced expression of Yamanaka transcription factors. We sequenced the IDH locus and analyzed the genetic composition of multiple iPSC clones by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). RESULTS: We hypothesize that the primary cell pool isolated from LGG tumor contains a heterogeneous population consisting tumor cells at various stages of tumor progression including cells with early genetic lesions if any prior to acquisition of IDH1 mutation. Because cells containing IDH1 mutation are refractory to reprogramming, we predict that iPSC clones should originate only from LGG cells without IDH1 mutation, i.e. cells prior to acquisition of IDH1 mutation. As expected, we found that none of the iPSC clones contains IDH1 mutation. Further analysis by aCGH of the iPSC clones reveals that they contain regional chromosomal amplifications which are also present in the primary LGG cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that there exists a subpopulation of cells harboring gene amplification but without IDH1 mutation in the LGG primary cell pool. Further analysis of TCGA LGG database demonstrates that these regional chromosomal amplifications are also present in some cases of low grade gliomas indicating they are reoccurring lesions in glioma albeit at a low frequency. Taken together, these data suggest that regional chromosomal alterations may exist prior to the acquisition of IDH mutations in at least some cases of LGGs.

SUMOylation in Glioblastoma: A Novel Therapeutic Target.

Protein SUMOylation is a dynamic post-translational modification which is involved in a diverse set of physiologic processes throughout the cell. Of note, SUMOylation also plays a role in the pathobiology of a myriad of cancers, one of which is glioblastoma (GBM). Accordingly, herein, we review core aspects of SUMOylation as it relates to GBM and in so doing highlight putative methods/modalities capable of therapeutically engaging the pathway for treatment of this deadly neoplasm.

UAB30, a novel RXR agonist, decreases tumorigenesis and leptomeningeal disease in group 3 medulloblastoma patient-derived xenografts.

BACKGROUND: Group 3 tumors account for approximately 25-30% of medulloblastomas and have the worst prognosis. UAB30 is a novel synthetic rexinoid shown to have limited toxicities in humans and significant efficacy in the pediatric neuroectodermal tumor, neuroblastoma. We hypothesized that treatment with UAB30 would decrease tumorigenicity in medulloblastoma patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). METHODS: Three group 3 medulloblastoma PDXs (D341, D384 and D425) were utilized. Cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion assays were performed after treatment with UAB30 or 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA). Cell cycle analysis was completed using flow cytometry. A flank model, a cerebellar model, and a model of leptomeningeal metastasis using human medulloblastoma PDX cells was used to assess the in vivo effects of UAB30 and RA. RESULTS: UAB30 treatment led to cell differentiation and decreased medulloblastoma PDX cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion and G1 cell cycle arrest in all three PDXs similar to RA. UAB30 and RA treatment of mice bearing medulloblastoma PDX tumors resulted in a significant decrease in tumor growth and metastasis compared to vehicle treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: UAB30 decreased viability, proliferation, and motility in group 3 medulloblastoma PDX cells and significantly decreased tumor growth in vivo in a fashion similar to RA, suggesting that further investigations into the potential therapeutic application of UAB30 for medulloblastoma are warranted.

Complete durable response of a pediatric anaplastic oligodendroglioma to temozolomide alone: Case report and review of literature.

Anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) is rare in children. Treatment typically consists of varying combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. We present a pediatric case of frontal lobe AO with periventricular subcallosal extension and local leptomeningeal involvement. The isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type tumor was MGMT methylated and contained an ATRX mutation, BRAF alteration, and 1p/19q co-deletion; a combination of alterations mostly encountered in pediatric oligodendrogliomas. The patient underwent a near total resection and had a complete, durable response to temozolomide alone, suggesting that conservative management without radiation may be appropriate in some cases. We review the literature of this uncommon subtype of glioma in children.

Protocol for Reducing Time to Antibiotics in Pediatric Patients Presenting to an Emergency Department With Fever and Neutropenia: Efficacy and Barriers.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with febrile neutropenia are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from infectious causes. Decreasing time to antibiotic (TTA) administration is associated with improved patient outcomes. We sought to reduce TTA for children presenting to the emergency department with fever and neutropenia. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study with historical comparison, TTA administration was evaluated in patients with neutropenia presenting to the Children's of Alabama Emergency Department. A protocol was established to reduce delays in antibiotic administration and increase the percentage of patients who receive treatment within 60 minutes of presentation. One hundred pre-protocol patient visits between August 2010 and December 2011 were evaluated and 153 post-protocol visits were evaluated between August 2012 and September 2013. We reviewed individual cases to determine barriers to rapid antibiotic administration. RESULTS: Antibiotics were administered in 96.9 ± 57.8 minutes in the pre-protocol patient group, and only 35% of patients received antibiotics within 60 minutes of presentation and 70% received antibiotics within 120 minutes. After implementation of the protocol, TTA for neutropenic patients was decreased to 64.3 ± 28.4 minutes (P < 0.0001) with 51.4% receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes and 93.2% within 120 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a standard approach to patients at risk for neutropenia decreased TTA. There are numerous challenges in providing timely antibiotics to children with febrile neutropenia. Identified delays included venous access (time to effect of topical anesthetics, and difficulty obtaining access), physicians waiting on laboratory results, and antibiotic availability.

Prolonged treatment with bevacizumab is associated with brain atrophy: a pilot study in patients with high-grade gliomas.

Bevacizumab is widely used for treatment of high-grade gliomas and other malignancies. Because bevacizumab has been shown to be associated with neurocognitive decline, this study is designed to investigate whether prolonged treatment with bevacizumab is also associated with brain atrophy. We identified 12 high-grade glioma patients who received bevacizumab for 12 months at the first recurrence and 13 matched controls and blindly compared the volumes of the contralateral hemispheres and contralateral ventricle in these two groups at baseline and after 12 ± 2 months of the baseline scan by two independent analyses. The volumes of the contralateral hemispheres and ventricles did not differ significantly between the two groups at baseline. Whereas, in the control group the volumes of the contralateral hemisphere changed subtly from baseline to follow-up (p = 0.23), in the bevacizumab-treated group the volumes significantly decreased from baseline to follow-up (p = 0.03). There was significant increase in the contralateral ventricle volume from base line to follow-up scans in both the control group (p = 0.01) and in the bevacizumab group (p = 0.005). Both the absolute and the percentage changes of contralateral hemisphere volumes and contralateral ventricular volumes between the two patient groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Results of this study demonstrate prolonged treatment with bevacizumab is associated with atrophy of the contralateral brain hemisphere.

Expression of PRMT5 correlates with malignant grade in gliomas and plays a pivotal role in tumor growth in vitro.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) catalyzes the formation of ω-NG,N'G-symmetric dimethylarginine residues on histones as well as other proteins. These modifications play an important role in cell differentiation and tumor cell growth. However, the role of PRMT5 in human glioma cells has not been characterized. In this study, we assessed protein expression profiles of PRMT5 in control brain, WHO grade II astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by immunohistochemistry. PRMT5 was low in glial cells in control brain tissues and low grade astrocytomas. Its expression increased in parallel with malignant progression, and was highly expressed in GBM. Knockdown of PRMT5 by small hairpin RNA caused alterations of p-ERK1/2 and significantly repressed the clonogenic potential and viability of glioma cells. These findings indicate that PRMT5 is a marker of malignant progression in glioma tumors and plays a pivotal role in tumor growth.

Elucidating cellular response to treatment with viral immunotherapies in pediatric high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma.

HSV G207, a double-stranded, DNA virus, and the polio:rhinovirus chimera, PVSRIPO, a single positive-strand RNA virus, are viral immunotherapies being used to treat pediatric malignant brain tumors in clinical trials. The purpose of this work is to elucidate general response patterns and putative biomarkers of response. Multiple pediatric high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma cell lines were treated with various multiplicities of infection of G207 or PVSRIPO. There was a significant inverse correlation between expression of one HSV cellular receptor, CD111, and the lethal dose of 50% of cells (LD50) of cells treated with G207 (r = -0.985, P<0.001) but no correlation between PVSRIPO cellular receptor expression (CD155) and LD50. RNA sequencing of control cells and cells treated for 8 and 24 h revealed that there were few shared differentially expressed (DE) genes between cells treated with PVSRIPO and G207: GCLM, LANCL2, and RBM3 were enriched whilst ADAMTS1 and VEGFA were depleted. Likewise, there were few shared DE genes enriched between medulloblastoma and high-grade glioma cell lines treated with G207: GPSM2, CHECK2, SEPTIN2, EIF4G2, GCLM, GDAP1, LANCL2, and PWP1.  Treatment with G207 and PVSRIPO appear to cause disparate gene enrichment and depletion suggesting disparate molecular mechanisms in malignant pediatric brain tumors.

Effective re-induction regimen for children with recurrent medulloblastoma.

Background: There is no standard treatment for the recurrence of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant childhood brain tumor, and prognosis remains dismal. In this study, we introduce a regimen that is well-tolerated and effective at inducing remission. Methods: The primary objectives of this study were to assess tolerability of the regimen and overall response rate (ORR). A retrospective chart review of patients with recurrent medulloblastoma, treated at two institutions with a re-induction regimen of intravenous irinotecan and cyclophosphamide with oral temozolomide and etoposide, was performed. Demographic, clinicopathologic, toxicity, and response data were collected and analyzed. Results: Nine patients were identified. Median age was 5.75 years. Therapy was well-tolerated with no therapy-limiting toxicities and no toxic deaths. Successful stem cell collection was achieved in all 5 patients in whom it was attempted. ORR after 2 cycles was 78%. Three patients had a complete response, 4 patients had a partial response, 1 patient had stable disease, and 1 patient had progressive disease. Four patients are alive with no evidence of disease (NED), 2 patients are alive with disease, 2 patients have died of disease, and 1 patient died of toxicity related to additional therapy (NED at time of death). Conclusions: This regimen is well-tolerated and effective. Tumor response was noted in the majority of cases, allowing patients to proceed to additional treatment with no or minimal disease. Further study of this regimen in a clinical trial setting is an important next step.

Case Report: Low-grade glioma with NF1 loss of function mimicking diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Intrinsic, expansile pontine tumors typically occur in the pediatric population. These tumors characteristically present as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), which is now considered as diffuse midline glioma (DMG), H3K27-mutated of the pons. DIPG has limited treatment options and a poor prognosis, and the value of tissue diagnosis from an invasive biopsy remains controversial. This study presents the case of a 19-year-old female with clinical and imaging hallmarks of DIPG, who underwent a biopsy of a tumor in the region of the right middle cerebellar peduncle. Her lesional cells were negative for H3K27M alterations and had low-grade histologic features. Next-generation sequencing revealed a frameshift mutation in the NF1 gene as the likely driver mutation. These features suggest a diagnosis of a low-grade glioma associated with NF1 loss of function, with far-reaching consequences regarding both treatment strategy and prognosis. This case provides support for the utility of diagnostic tissue biopsy in cases of suspected DIPG.

Understanding and therapeutically exploiting cGAS/STING signaling in glioblastoma.

Since the discovery that cGAS/STING recognizes endogenous DNA released from dying cancer cells and induces type I interferon and antitumor T cell responses, efforts to understand and therapeutically target the STING pathway in cancer have ensued. Relative to other cancer types, the glioma immune microenvironment harbors few infiltrating T cells, but abundant tumor-associated myeloid cells, possibly explaining disappointing responses to immune checkpoint blockade therapies in cohorts of patients with glioblastoma. Notably, unlike most extracranial tumors, STING expression is absent in the malignant compartment of gliomas, likely due to methylation of the STING promoter. Nonetheless, several preclinical studies suggest that inducing cGAS/STING signaling in the glioma immune microenvironment could be therapeutically beneficial, and cGAS/STING signaling has been shown to mediate inflammatory and antitumor effects of other modalities either in use or being developed for glioblastoma therapy, including radiation, tumor-treating fields, and oncolytic virotherapy. In this Review, we discuss cGAS/STING signaling in gliomas, its implications for glioma immunobiology, compartment-specific roles for STING signaling in influencing immune surveillance, and efforts to target STING signaling - either directly or indirectly - for antiglioma therapy.

The safety and accuracy of intratumoral catheter placement to infuse viral immunotherapies in children with malignant brain tumors: a multi-institutional study.

OBJECTIVE: Relatively little is known about the safety and accuracy of catheter placement for oncolytic viral therapy in children with malignant brain tumors. Accordingly, this study combines data from two phase I clinical trials that employed viral immunotherapy across two institutions to describe the adverse event profile, safety, and accuracy associated with the stereotactic placement and subsequent removal of intratumoral catheters. METHODS: Children with progressive/recurrent supratentorial malignant tumors were enrolled in two clinical trials (NCT03043391 and NCT02457845) and treated with either the recombinant polio:rhinovirus (lerapolturev) or the genetically modified oncolytic herpesvirus (G207). Age, sex, race, tumor diagnosis, and tumor location were analyzed. Events related to the catheter placement or removal were categorized. A catheter that was either pulled back or could not be used was defined as "misplaced." Neuronavigation software was used to analyze the accuracy of catheter placement for NCT03043391. Descriptive statistics were performed. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were treated across the two completed trials with a total of 49 catheters. The mean ± SD (range) age was 14.1 ± 3.6 (7-19) years. All tumors were grade 3 or 4 gliomas. Nonlobar catheter tip placement included the corpus callosum, thalamus, insula, and cingulate gyrus. Six of 19 patients (31.6%) had minor hemorrhage noted on CT; however, no patients were symptomatic and/or required intervention related to these findings. One of 19 patients had a delayed CSF leak after catheter removal that required oversewing of the surgical site. No patients developed infection or a neurological deficit. In 7 patients with accuracy data, the mean ± SD distance of the planned trajectory (PT) to the catheter tip was 1.57 ± 1.6 mm, the mean angle of the PT to the catheter was 2.43° ± 2.1°, and the greatest distance of PT to the catheter in the parallel plane was 1.54 ± 1.5 mm. Three of 49 (6.1%) catheters were considered misplaced. CONCLUSIONS: Although instances of minor hemorrhage were encountered, they were clinically asymptomatic. One of 49 catheters required intervention for a CSF leak. Congruent with previous studies in the literature, the stereotactic placement of catheters in these pediatric tumor patients was accurate with approximately 95% of catheters having been adequately placed.

Combination immunotherapy with vaccine and oncolytic HSV virotherapy is time dependent.

PURPOSE: Oncolytic virotherapy or immunovirotherapy is a strategy that utilizes viruses to selectively infect and kill tumor cells while also stimulating an immune response against the tumor. Early clinical trials in both pediatric and adult patients using oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (oHSVs) have demonstrated safety and promising efficacy; however, combinatorial strategies designed to enhance oncolysis while also promoting durable T cell responses for sustaining disease remission are likely required. We hypothesized that combining the direct tumor cell killing and innate immune stimulation by oHSV with a vaccine that promotes T cell mediated immunity may lead to more durable tumor regression. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To this end, we investigated the preclinical efficacy and potential synergy of combining oHSV with a self-assembling nanoparticle vaccine co-delivering peptide antigens and Toll-like receptor-7 and -8 agonists (TLR-7/8a) (referred to as SNAPvax™), that induces robust tumor specific T cell immunity. We then assessed how timing of the treatments (i.e., vaccine before or after oHSV) impacts T cell responses, viral replication, and preclinical efficacy. RESULTS: The sequence of treatments was critical, as survival was significantly enhanced when the SNAPvax™ vaccine was given prior to oHSV. Increased clinical efficacy was associated with reduced tumour volume and increases in virus replication and tumor antigen specific CD8+ T cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings substantiate the criticality of combination immunotherapy timing and provide preclinical support for combining SNAPvax with oHSV as a promising treatment approach for both pediatric and adult tumors.

CHD2 Regulates Neuron-glioma Interactions in Pediatric Glioma.

High-grade gliomas (HGG) are deadly diseases for both adult and pediatric patients. Recently, it has been shown that neuronal activity promotes progression of multiple subgroups of HGG. However, epigenetic mechanisms that govern this process remain elusive. Here we report that the chromatin remodeler CHD2 regulates neuron-glioma interactions in diffuse midline glioma (DMG) characterized by onco-histone H3.1K27M. Depletion of CHD2 in H3.1K27M DMG cells compromises cell viability and neuron-to-glioma synaptic connections in vitro, neuron-induced proliferation of H3.1K27M DMG cells in vitro and in vivo, activity-dependent calcium transients in vivo, and extends the survival of H3.1K27M DMG-bearing mice. Mechanistically, CHD2 coordinates with the transcription factor FOSL1 to control the expression of axon-guidance and synaptic genes in H3.1K27M DMG cells. Together, our study reveals a mechanism whereby CHD2 controls the intrinsic gene program of the H3.1K27M DMG subtype, which in turn regulates the tumor growth-promoting interactions of glioma cells with neurons.