1. Blinatumomab-induced T cell activation at single cell transcriptome resolution
- Author
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Yi Huo, Zhen Sheng, Daniel R. Lu, Daniel C. Ellwanger, Chi-Ming Li, Oliver Homann, Songli Wang, Hong Yin, and Ruibao Ren
- Subjects
Bi-specific T-cell engager antibody ,Acute B cell lymphoblastic leukemia ,Blinatumomab ,T cell activation ,Single-cell RNA-Seq ,TNFRSF4 ,Biotechnology ,TP248.13-248.65 ,Genetics ,QH426-470 - Abstract
Abstract Background Bi-specific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody is a class of bispecific antibodies designed for cancer immunotherapy. Blinatumomab is the first approved BiTE to treat acute B cell lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). It brings killer T and target B cells into close proximity, activating patient’s autologous T cells to kill malignant B cells via mechanisms such as cytolytic immune synapse formation and inflammatory cytokine production. However, the activated T-cell subtypes and the target cell-dependent T cell responses induced by blinatumomab, as well as the mechanisms of resistance to blinatumomab therapy are largely unknown. Results In this study, we performed single-cell sequencing analysis to identify transcriptional changes in T cells following blinatumomab-induced T cell activation using single cells from both, a human cell line model and a patient-derived model of blinatumomab-mediated cytotoxicity. In total, the transcriptome of 17,920 single T cells from the cell line model and 2271 single T cells from patient samples were analyzed. We found that CD8+ effector memory T cells, CD4+ central memory T cells, naïve T cells, and regulatory T cells were activated after blinatumomab treatment. Here, blinatumomab-induced transcriptional changes reflected the functional immune activity of the blinatumomab-activated T cells, including the upregulation of pathways such as the immune system, glycolysis, IFNA signaling, gap junctions, and IFNG signaling. Co-stimulatory (TNFRSF4 and TNFRSF18) and co-inhibitory (LAG3) receptors were similarly upregulated in blinatumomab-activated T cells, indicating ligand-dependent T cell functions. Particularly, B-ALL cell expression of TNFSF4, which encodes the ligand of T cell co-stimulatory receptor TNFRSF4, was found positively correlated with the response to blinatumomab treatment. Furthermore, recombinant human TNFSF4 protein enhanced the cytotoxic activity of blinatumomab against B-ALL cells. Conclusion These results reveal a target cell-dependent mechanism of T-cell activation by blinatumomab and suggest that TNFSF4 may be responsible for the resistant mechanism and a potential target for combination therapy with blinatumomab, to treat B-ALL or other B-cell malignancies.
- Published
- 2021
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