1. Cord blood-derived cytokine-induced killer cells combined with blinatumomab as a therapeutic strategy for CD19
- Author
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Benedetta Mazzanti, Riccardo Saccardi, Sabrina Cribioli, Josée Golay, Martino Introna, Elisa Gotti, Simona Martinelli, Rachele Alzani, Clara Albanese, Alessandro Rambaldi, and Bruna Pasini
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Cytotoxicity, Immunologic ,Male ,Cancer Research ,Immunology ,Antigens, CD19 ,Mice, Transgenic ,Mice, SCID ,CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ,Immunotherapy, Adoptive ,CD19 ,03 medical and health sciences ,Mice ,0302 clinical medicine ,Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological ,Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ,Mice, Inbred NOD ,Neoplasms ,Antibodies, Bispecific ,medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Cytotoxic T cell ,Animals ,Humans ,Genetics (clinical) ,Transplantation ,Cytokine-induced killer cell ,biology ,Chemistry ,Infant, Newborn ,CD28 ,Cell Biology ,medicine.disease ,Fetal Blood ,Combined Modality Therapy ,Killer Cells, Natural ,Leukemia ,030104 developmental biology ,Treatment Outcome ,Oncology ,Cord blood ,Cancer research ,biology.protein ,Blinatumomab ,Female ,K562 Cells ,CD8 ,030215 immunology ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Background Cytokine-induced killer cells (CIKs) are an advanced therapeutic medicinal product (ATMP) that has shown therapeutic activity in clinical trials but needs optimization. We developed a novel strategy using CIKs from banked cryopreserved cord blood units (CBUs) combined with bispecific antibody (BsAb) blinatumomab to treat CD19+ malignancies. Methods CB-CIKs were expanded in vitro and fully characterized in comparison with peripheral blood (PB)–derived CIKs. Results CB-CIKs, like PB-CIKs, were mostly CD3+ T cells with mean 45% CD3+CD56+ and expressing mostly TCR(T cell receptor)αβ with a TH1 phenotype. CB-CIK cultures had, however, a larger proportion of CD4+ cells, mostly CD56−, as well as a greater proportion of naive CCR7+CD45RA+ and a lower percentage of effector memory cells, compared with PB-CIKs. CB-CIKs were very similar to PB-CIKs in their expression of a large panel of co-stimulatory and inhibitory/exhaustion markers, except for higher CD28 expression among CD8+ cells. Like PB-CIKs, CB-CIKs were highly cytotoxic in vitro against natural killer (NK) cell targets and efficiently lysed CD19+ tumor cells in the presence of blinatumomab, with 30–60% lysis of target cells at very low effector:target ratios. Finally, both CB-CIKs and PB-CIKs, combined with blinatumomab, showed significant therapeutic activity in an aggressive PDX Ph+ CD19+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia model in NOD-SCID mice, without sign of toxicity or graft-versus-host disease. The improved expansion protocol was finally validated in good manufacturing practice conditions, showing reproducible expansion of CIKs from cryopreserved cord blood units with a median of 28.8 × 106 CIK/kg. Discussion We conclude that CB-CIKs, combined with bispecific T-cell–engaging antibodies, offer a novel, effective treatment strategy for leukemia.
- Published
- 2017