title: TCR vaccines against T cell lymphoma: QS-21 and IL-12 adjuvants induce a protective CD8+ T cell response.
abstract: Tumor-specific TCR can serve as an effective target for active immunotherapy of T cell malignancies. Using the murine T cell tumor model C6VL, vaccination with C6VL TCR protected mice from a subsequent lethal dose of tumor cells. This study characterizes the immune mechanisms involved in the tumor protection, and the influence of immunologic adjuvants in inducing a protective immune response. Immune responses induced by TCR vaccines formulated with various adjuvants: QS-21, IL-12, SAF-1, CD40L, and GM-CSF were compared. QS-21, IL-12, and SAF-1 biased the humoral immune response toward Th1-type, reflected by the induction of IgG2a and IgG2b anti-C6VL TCR Abs. CD40L and GM-CSF exclusively produced IgG1 Abs, reflecting a Th2-type immune response. In our tumor model system, only vaccines containing adjuvants that induced a Th1-type immune response favored tumor protection. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CD8+ T cells were necessary and sufficient for tumor protection using anti-CD8 mAb depletion and adoptive cell transfer experiments. Transfer of hyperimmune serum containing anti-C6VL TCR Abs into na ive mice had modest anti-tumor effects and was not sufficient to prevent tumor growth. TCR-vaccinated B cell-deficient mice were not protected against C6VL tumor, and tumor protection was not completely restored after hyperimmune serum transfer. Thus, B cells may serve as important APCs in inducing a protective immune response. Based on these results future TCR vaccines should be designed to maintain native TCR conformation, as well as induce a strong Th1-type immune response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305, USA. pscarmen@leland.stanford.edu
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000276:immunology*; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012503:Saponins / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured