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Upon chronic antigen exposure, CD8+ T cells become exhausted, acquiring a dysfunctional state correlated with the inability to control infection or tumor progression. In contrast, stem-like CD8+ T progenitors maintain the ability to promote and sustain effective immunity. Adenovirus (Ad)–vectored vaccines encoding tumor neoantigens have been shown to eradicate large tumors when combined with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (αPD-1) in murine models; however, the mechanisms and translational potential have not yet been elucidated. Here, we show that gorilla Ad vaccine targeting tumor neoepitopes enhances responses to αPD-1 therapy by improving immunogenicity and antitumor efficacy. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated that the combination of Ad vaccine and αPD-1 increased the number of murine polyfunctional neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells over αPD-1 monotherapy, with an accumulation of Tcf1+ stem-like progenitors in draining lymph nodes and effector CD8+ T cells in tumors. Combined T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing analysis highlighted a broader spectrum of neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells upon vaccination compared to αPD-1 monotherapy. The translational relevance of these data is supported by results obtained in the first 12 patients with metastatic deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors vaccinated with an Ad vaccine encoding shared neoantigens. Expansion and diversification of TCRs were observed in post-treatment biopsies of patients with clinical response, as well as an increase in tumor-infiltrating T cells with an effector memory signature. These findings indicate a promising mechanism to overcome resistance to PD-1 blockade by promoting immunogenicity and broadening the spectrum and magnitude of neoantigen-specific T cells infiltrating tumors. Immunotherapy that is not monkeying around: Adenoviral vaccines encoding for tumor neoantigens have shown promise treating solid tumors when combined with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (αPD-1) preclinically; however, the mechanism is not well understood. To elucidate this, Chen et al. generated Great Ape adenovirus (GAd) vaccines and treated tumor-bearing mice in combination with αPD-1 to elicit an accumulation of Tcf1+ stem-like CD8+ T cell progenitors, improving immunogenicity and antitumor efficacy. In addition, they performed a first-in-human trial on patients with metastatic mismatch repair–deficient tumors and saw a clinical response, suggesting this as a promising therapy to overcome resistance to αPD-1 treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon chronic antigen exposure, CD8 + T cells become exhausted, acquiring a dysfunctional state correlated with the inability to control infection or tumor progression. In contrast, stem-like CD8 + T progenitors maintain the ability to promote and sustain effective immunity. Adenovirus (Ad)-vectored vaccines encoding tumor neoantigens have been shown to eradicate large tumors when combined with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (αPD-1) in murine models; however, the mechanisms and translational potential have not yet been elucidated. Here, we show that gorilla Ad vaccine targeting tumor neoepitopes enhances responses to αPD-1 therapy by improving immunogenicity and antitumor efficacy. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated that the combination of Ad vaccine and αPD-1 increased the number of murine polyfunctional neoantigen-specific CD8 + T cells over αPD-1 monotherapy, with an accumulation of Tcf1 + stem-like progenitors in draining lymph nodes and effector CD8 + T cells in tumors. Combined T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing analysis highlighted a broader spectrum of neoantigen-specific CD8 + T cells upon vaccination compared to αPD-1 monotherapy. The translational relevance of these data is supported by results obtained in the first 12 patients with metastatic deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors vaccinated with an Ad vaccine encoding shared neoantigens. Expansion and diversification of TCRs were observed in post-treatment biopsies of patients with clinical response, as well as an increase in tumor-infiltrating T cells with an effector memory signature. These findings indicate a promising mechanism to overcome resistance to PD-1 blockade by promoting immunogenicity and broadening the spectrum and magnitude of neoantigen-specific T cells infiltrating tumors.