title: Circumventing T-cell tolerance to tumour antigens.
abstract: During past decades, many attempts have been made to induce or enhance tumour-specific T-cell immunity in cancer patients by vaccination. However, it has become apparent that in a large number of cases the naturally occurring tumour-specific T-cell repertoire is of low affinity and therefore inefficient in mediating tumour rejection. Because of the potential therapeutic value of high affinity TCRs with tumour/lineage specificities, we set out to develop a number of new technologies that can be used to create improved tumour-specific T-cell immunity. These strategies entail: (i) the efficient expansion of low affinity T cells specific for self antigens through the use of variant peptides with improved TCR-binding characteristics; (ii) a retroviral library-based technology to improve the affinity of (self-specific) T-cell receptors in vitro, and (iii) proof of principle for the feasibility of TCR gene transfer as a means to generate T-cell populations with a desired antigen-specificity in vivo. Collectively this toolbox should allow us to create improved T-cell receptors for human tumour antigens, which can subsequently be used to impose tumour-reactivity on to peripheral T cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: de Visser
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kruisbeek
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Schumacher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell