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Transposable elements (TEs) are often expressed at higher levels in tumor cells than normal cells, implicating these genomic regions as an untapped pool of tumor-associated antigens. In ovarian cancer (OC), protein from the TE ERV-K is frequently expressed by tumor cells. Here we determined whether the targeting of previously identified epitope in the envelope gene (env) of ERV-K resulted in target antigen specificity against cancer cells. We found that transducing healthy donor T cells with an ERV-K-Env-specific T cell receptor construct resulted in antigen specificity only when co-cultured with HLA-A*03:01 B lymphoblastoid cells. Furthermore, in vitro priming of several healthy donors with this epitope of ERV-K-Env did not result in target antigen specificity. These data suggest that the T cell receptor is a poor candidate for targeting this specific ERV-K-Env epitope and has limited potential as a T cell therapy for OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells are attractive effector cells of the innate immune system against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cancer. However, NK cell therapies are limited by the fact that target cells evade NK cells, for example, in latent reservoirs (in HIV) or through upregulation of inhibitory signals (in cancer). To address this limitation, we describe a biodegradable nanoparticlebased "priming" approach to enhance the cytotoxic efficacy of peripheral blood mononuclear cell-derived NK cells. We present poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanodepots (NDs) that co-encapsulate prostratin, a latency-reversing agent, and anti-CD25 (aCD25), a cell surface binding antibody, to enhance primary NK cell function against HIV and cancer. We utilize a nanoemulsion synthesis scheme to encapsulate both prostratin and aCD25 within the PLGA NDs (termed Pro-aCD25-NDs). Physicochemical characterization studies of the NDs demonstrated that our synthesis scheme resulted in stable and monodisperse Pro-aCD25- NDs. The NDs successfully released both active prostratin and anti-CD25, and with controllable release kinetics. When Pro-aCD25-NDs were administered in an in vitro model of latent HIV and acute T cell leukemia using J-Lat 10.6 cells, the NDs were observed to prime J-Lat cells resulting in significantly increased NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity compared to free prostratin plus anti-CD25, and other controls. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using our Pro-aCD25-NDs to prime target cells for enhancing the cytotoxicity of NK cells as antiviral or antitumor agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at a study regarding adoptive transfer of cytomegalovirus (CMV)–specific T cells which can restore antiviral immunity after transplantation. It mentions availability of virus-specific T cells for immunoprophylaxis and CMV-seropositive individuals also had T cells recognizing these atypical epitopes and recipients of cord blood (CB) grafts. It also mentions naïve donor– derived virus-specific T cells recognized atypical epitopes were associated with prolonged periods of CMV.