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Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a hematologic malignancy associated to an unregulated growth of myeloid cells in Bone Marrow (BM) and Peripheral Blood (PB), characterized by the BCR-ABL1 translocation. Given the known cytokine impairment in the leukemic niche of CML, we investigated the impact of this microenvironmental dysregulation on Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs), whose role in cancer has recently emerged. Three ILC subsets are identified based on transcriptional profiles and cytokine secretion. We observed that IL-18 and VEGF-A are increased in CML patients’ sera and that ILC2s are enriched in CML PB and BM. We found that IL-18 drives ILC2 proliferation and that CML ILC2s highly express CXCR4 and CXCR7 BM-homing receptors, potentially explaining their enrichment in PB and BM, respectively. Next, we showed that ILC2s are hyper-activated through a tumor-derived VEGF-A-dependent mechanism, which leads to higher IL-13 secretion. In response to IL-13, leukemic cells increase their clonogenic capacity. Finally, we discovered that the pro-tumoral axis involving VEGF-A, IL-18 and ILC2s was disrupted upon Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors’ (TKIs) treatment, normalizing the levels of all these players in CML patients responding to therapy. Overall, our study uncovers the involvement of ILC2s in CML progression, mediated by VEGF-A and IL-18.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are a family of immune cells that are emerging as potent orchestrators of immune responses. In cancer, ILCs display both pro- and antitumorigenic functions depending on the nature of the tumor and the involved ILC subset. Little is known about the ILC–tumor cross-talk in human melanoma. Here, we showed that ILC1s were enriched but functionally impaired in cytokine secretion in both peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor-infiltrated lymph nodes of melanoma patients. These findings were confirmed in vivo in murine cutaneous melanoma. Multiple immunosuppressive mechanisms are described in the melanoma microenvironment. Among others, adenosine and kynurenines were shown to suppress antitumor immune responses. By exposing ILCs to adenosine and kynurenines, we observed a similar shift toward the ILC1 subset distribution and impairment in proinflammatory cytokine production to that of patient samples studied ex vivo. Thus, we hypothesized that the immunosuppressive microenvironment of malignant melanoma might shape ILC subpopulations. Hence, we provide a rationale for the use of drugs targeting adenosine and kynurenine pathways in melanoma patients.

Supplementary Figures S1-S10

Supplementary Figures and Table S1

Supplementary figures and legends

Supplementary Tables S1, S2 and S3

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies and has poor prognosis for patients with locally advanced, muscle-invasive, disease despite the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade. To develop more effective immunotherapy strategies, we studied a genetic mouse model carrying deletion of Tp53 and Pten in the bladder, which recapitulates bladder cancer tumorigenesis and gene expression patterns found in patients. We discovered that tumor cells became more malignant and the tumor immune microenvironment evolved from an inflammatory to an immunosuppressive state. Accordingly, treatment with anti-PD1 was ineffective, but resistance to anti-PD1 therapy was overcome by combination with a CD40 agonist (anti-CD40), leading to strong antitumor immune responses. Mechanistically, this combination led to CD8+ T-cell recruitment from draining lymph nodes. CD8+ T cells induced an IFNγ-dependent repolarization toward M1-like/IFNβ-producing macrophages. CD8+ T cells, macrophages, IFN I, and IFN II were all necessary for tumor control, as demonstrated in vivo by the administration of blocking antibodies. Our results identify essential cross-talk between innate and adaptive immunity to control tumor development in a model representative of anti-PD1–resistant human bladder cancer and provide scientific rationale to target CD40 in combination with blocking antibodies, such as anti-PD1/PD-L1, for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Table S2. Statistical tests

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PDF file - 2651K, Supp. Fig. 1. Dolastatins induce phenotypic DC maturation in vitro. Supp. Fig. 2. Dolastatins induce phenotypic and functional maturation of BM-DCs in vitro. Supp. Fig. 3. Immuno-stimulatory effect of dolastatin 10 is independent of MyD88 signaling. Supp. Fig. 4. Dolastatin-induced DC homing is limited to tumor-draining LNs. Supp. Fig. 5. Dolastatin 10 treatment requires intact host immunity for full therapeutic efficacy. Supp. Fig. 6. Dolastatin 10 treatment synergizes with tumor-antigen-specific vaccination. Supp. Fig. 7. Combined effects of Dolastatin 10 and anti-CTLA-4/PD-1 treatment on tumor infiltrating lymphocyte subsets. Supp. Fig. 8. MMAE induces phenotypic and functional maturation in murine and human DCs. Supp. Fig. 9. Anti-Thy1.1-MMAE ADC-induced DC homing is limited to tumor-draining LNs. Supp. Table 1. Tumor histology and CD86/MHC-II up-regulation on intratumoral CD11c+ DCs upon treatment with Dolastatin 10, MMAE and LPS.

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADC) are emerging as powerful treatment strategies with outstanding target-specificity and high therapeutic activity in patients with cancer. Brentuximab vedotin represents a first-in-class ADC directed against CD30+ malignancies. We hypothesized that its sustained clinical responses could be related to the stimulation of an anticancer immune response. In this study, we demonstrate that the dolastatin family of microtubule inhibitors, from which the cytotoxic component of brentuximab vedotin is derived, comprises potent inducers of phenotypic and functional dendritic cell (DC) maturation. In addition to the direct cytotoxic effect on tumor cells, dolastatins efficiently promoted antigen uptake and migration of tumor-resident DCs to the tumor-draining lymph nodes. Exposure of murine and human DCs to dolastatins significantly increased their capacity to prime T cells. Underlining the requirement of an intact host immune system for the full therapeutic benefit of dolastatins, the antitumor effect was far less pronounced in immunocompromised mice. We observed substantial therapeutic synergies when combining dolastatins with tumor antigen–specific vaccination or blockade of the PD-1–PD-L1 and CTLA-4 coinhibitory pathways. Ultimately, treatment with ADCs using dolastatins induces DC homing and activates cellular antitumor immune responses in patients. Our data reveal a novel mechanism of action for dolastatins and provide a strong rationale for clinical treatment regimens combining dolastatin-based therapies, such as brentuximab vedotin, with immune-based therapies. Cancer Immunol Res; 2(8); 741–55. ©2014 AACR.

Supplementary Table 1: Clinical characteristics of LUD00-0018 cohort; Supplementary Table 2. Patient characteristics; Supplementary Table 3: Adverse events; Supplementary Figure 1: Ex vivo frequencies of circulating Melan-A-specific CD8 T cell following peptide vaccinations; Supplementary Figure 2: Ex vivo characteriza9on of tumor--�specific CD8 stem cell--�like memory T cells before and after peptide vaccination; Supplementary Figure 3: Gating strategy for functional analyses following recognition of T2 target cells pulsed with native/EAA peptide; Supplementary Figure 4: Impact of peptide vaccinations on tumor antigen-specific CD8 T cell differentiation; Supplementary Figure 5: Gating strategy for single cell sorting of tumor-specific CD8 T cells following early and late native/EAA peptide vaccination time-points; Supplementary Figure 6: Ex vivo TRBV repertoire diversity and clonotype frequency of Melan-A-specific CD8 T cell subsets at early time-points after peptide vaccination.

Supplementary Figure S5: Longitudinal evaluation of vaccine-specific T-cells; Supplementary Figure S6: MAGE-A3-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in each treatment group before vaccination and after 3 and 5 vaccine doses; Supplementary Figure S7: MAGE-A3 specific urine T cells in each treatment group

Purpose: Treatments with cancer vaccines may be delivered as combination therapies for better efficacy. Addition of intravesical immunostimulation with bacteria promotes vaccine-specific T cells in the bladder and tumor-regression in murine bladder cancer models. Here, we determined whether an adjuvanted cancer vaccine can be safely administered with concomitant standard intravesical Bacillus-Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy and how vaccine-specific immune responses may be modulated in patients with non-muscle–invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).Experimental Design: In a nonrandomized phase I open-label exploratory study, 24 NMIBC patients, apportioned in three groups, received 5 injections of a subunit cancer vaccine (recMAGE-A3 protein+AS15) alone or in two combinations of intravesical BCG-instillations. Safety profiles were compared between the three treatment groups, considering single vaccine injections or BCG instillations and concomitant interventions. Immune responses in blood and urine were compared between treatment groups and upon BCG instillations.Results: The mild adverse events (AE) experienced by all the patients were similar to AE previously reported for this vaccine and standard BCG treatment. AEs were not increased by the double interventions, suggesting that BCG did not exacerbate the AE caused by the MAGE-A3 vaccine and vice-versa. All patients seroconverted after MAGE-A3 vaccination. In half of the patients, vaccine-specific T cells were induced in blood, irrespective of BCG treatment. Interestingly, such T cells were only detected in urine upon BCG-induced T-cell infiltration.Conclusions: Cancer vaccines, including strong adjuvants, can be safely combined with intravesical BCG therapy. The increase of vaccine-specific T cells in the bladder upon BCG provides proof-of-principle evidence that cancer vaccines with local immunostimulation may be beneficial. Clin Cancer Res; 23(3); 717–25. ©2016 AACR.

Patients' characteristics and adverse events list

Supplementary Figure 2

Gating strategy of combinatorial tetramer staining

Supplementary FACS and sorting procedures

Supplementary Figure S1: Treatment and sampling schedules; Supplementary Figure S2: Patients-flow diagram

Supplementary Figure S3: Urinary levels of cytokines/chemokines/growth factors in individual patients before and after BCG instillations; Supplementary Figure S4: Serum anti-MAGE-A3 IgG titers in each individual patient

Although mutations drive cancer, it is less clear to what extent genetic defects control immune mechanisms and confer resistance to T-cell-based immunotherapy. Here, we studied the reactions of malignant and benign melanocyte lines to cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTL) using flow cytometry and gene expression analyses. We found rapid and broad upregulation of immune-regulatory genes, essentially triggered by CTL-derived IFNγ and augmented by TNFα. These reactions were predominantly homogenous, independent of oncogenic driver mutations, and similar in benign and malignant cells. The reactions exhibited both pro- and antitumorigenic potential and primarily corresponded to mechanisms that were conserved, rather than acquired, by mutations. Similar results were obtained from direct ex vivo analysis of the tumor microenvironment. Thus, immune regulation in the tumor landscape may often be driven by conserved mechanisms, which may explain why T-cell–based immunotherapy can provide durable benefits with relatively infrequent escape. Cancer Res; 77(7); 1623–36. ©2017 AACR.

Characteristics of UroV1-A and UroV1-B cases

More detailed materials and methods information

Supplementary Materials and Methods. Supplementary Figures: Fig. S1. Sorting strategy and purity. Fig. S2. Comparison of the two batches of NanoString experiments shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4. Fig. S3. Melanoma cells respond to CTL attack with gene expression changes. Fig. S4. CTL-induced gene expression changes are driven by IFNgamma and TNFalpha. Fig. S5. Representative histograms of protein expression regulated by cytokines. Fig. S6. Characterization of untreated and CTL-exposed melanocytes. Supplementary Tables: Table S1. Source of the 17 melanoma cell lines used in this study. Table S2. Antibodies (including isotype-matched controls) used to assess protein expression by flow cytometry. Table S3. Differential expression of genes that are part of the enriched gene sets in Supplementary Figs. S3C and S3E. Table S4. Selection of genes for 181-gene panel. Table S5. Differential expression of genes in melanoma cell lines after 24h treatment. Table S6. Protein expression of melanoma cells after 48h culture in presence or absence of IFNgamma and TNFalpha. Table S7. Differential expression of genes in melanocyte cell lines after 24h treatment. Table S8. Genes that have statistically different fold-changes (MelanA-specific CTLs/untreated) between melanoma cell lines and melanocyte lines. Supplementary References.

Purpose: Cancer vaccines aim to generate and maintain antitumor immune responses. We designed a phase I/IIa clinical trial to test a vaccine formulation composed of Montanide ISA-51 (Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant), LAG-3Ig (IMP321, a non-Toll like Receptor agonist with adjuvant properties), and five synthetic peptides derived from tumor-associated antigens (four short 9/10-mers targeting CD8 T-cells, and one longer 15-mer targeting CD4 T-cells). Primary endpoints were safety and T-cell responses.Experimental Design: Sixteen metastatic melanoma patients received serial vaccinations. Up to nine injections were subcutaneously administered in three cycles, each with three vaccinations every 3 weeks, with 6 to 14 weeks interval between cycles. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 1-week after the third, sixth and ninth vaccination, and 6 months after the last vaccination. Circulating T-cells were monitored by tetramer staining directly ex vivo, and by combinatorial tetramer and cytokine staining on in vitro stimulated cells.Results: Side effects were mild to moderate, comparable to vaccines with Montanide alone. Specific CD8 T-cell responses to at least one peptide formulated in the vaccine preparation were found in 13 of 16 patients. However, two of the four short peptides of the vaccine formulation did not elicit CD8 T-cell responses. Specific CD4 T-cell responses were found in all 16 patients.Conclusions: We conclude that vaccination with IMP321 is a promising and safe strategy for inducing sustained immune responses, encouraging further development for cancer vaccines as components of combination therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 22(6); 1330–40. ©2015 AACR.

Purpose:Characterization of tumor antigen–specific CD4 T-cell responses in healthy donors and malignant melanoma patients using an in vitro amplified T-cell library screening procedure.Patients and Methods:A high-throughput, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-independent approach was used to estimate at unprecedented high sensitivity level precursor frequencies of tumor antigen- and neoantigen-specific CD4 T cells in healthy donors and patients with cancer. Frequency estimation was combined with isolation and functional characterization of identified tumor-reactive CD4 T-cell clones.Results:In healthy donors, we report frequencies of naïve tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific CD4 T cells comparable with those of CD4 T cells specific for infectious agents (Tetanus toxoid). Interestingly, we also identified low, but consistent numbers of memory CD4 T cells specific for several TAAs. In patients with melanoma, low frequencies of circulating TAA-specific CD4 T cells were detected that increased after peptide-based immunotherapy. Such antitumor TAA-specific CD4 T-cell responses were also detectable within the tumor-infiltrated tissues. TAA-specific CD4 T cells in patients displayed a highly polyfunctional state, with partial skewing to Type-2 polarization. Finally, we report the applicability of this approach to the detection and amplification of neoantigen-specific CD4 T cells.Conclusions:This simple, noninvasive, high-throughput screening of tumor- and neoantigen-specific CD4 T cells requires little biologic material, is HLA class II independent and allows the concomitant screening for a large number of tumor antigens of interest, including neoantigens. This approach will facilitate the immunomonitoring of preexisting and therapy-induced CD4 T-cell responses, and accelerate the development of CD4 T-cell–based therapies.

We have previously shown that vaccination of HLA-A2 metastatic melanoma patients with the analogue Melan-A26-35(A27L) peptide emulsified in a mineral oil induces ex vivo detectable specific CD8 T cells. These are further enhanced when a TLR9 agonist is codelivered in the same vaccine formulation. Interestingly, the same peptide can be efficiently recognized by HLA-DQ6–restricted CD4 T cells. We used HLA-DQ6 multimers to assess the specific CD4 T-cell response in both healthy individuals and melanoma patients. We report that the majority of melanoma patients carry high frequencies of naturally circulating HLA-DQ6–restricted Melan-A–specific CD4 T cells, a high proportion of which express FOXP3 and proliferate poorly in response to the cognate peptide. Upon vaccination, the relative frequency of multimer+ CD4 T cells did not change significantly. In contrast, we found a marked shift to FOXP3-negative CD4 T cells, accompanied by robust CD4 T-cell proliferation upon in vitro stimulation with cognate peptide. A concomitant reduction in TCR diversity was also observed. This is the first report on direct ex vivo identification of antigen-specific FOXP3+ T cells by multimer labeling in cancer patients and on the direct assessment of the impact of peptide vaccination on immunoregulatory T cells. [Cancer Res 2009;69(20):8085–93]

Supplementary Figure S5. Impact of rapid association on-rates on cell surface dissociation kinetics by reversible NTAmers.

The avidity of the T-cell receptor (TCR) for antigenic peptides presented by the peptide–MHC (pMHC) on cells is a key parameter for cell-mediated immunity. Yet a fundamental feature of most tumor antigen-specific CD8+ T cells is that this avidity is low. In this study, we addressed the need to identify and select tumor-specific CD8+ T cells of highest avidity, which are of the greatest interest for adoptive cell therapy in patients with cancer. To identify these rare cells, we developed a peptide–MHC multimer technology, which uses reversible Ni2+-nitrilotriacetic acid histidine tags (NTAmers). NTAmers are highly stable but upon imidazole addition, they decay rapidly to pMHC monomers, allowing flow-cytometric–based measurements of monomeric TCR–pMHC dissociation rates of living CD8+ T cells on a wide avidity spectrum. We documented strong correlations between NTAmer kinetic results and those obtained by surface plasmon resonance. Using NTAmers that were deficient for CD8 binding to pMHC, we found that CD8 itself stabilized the TCR–pMHC complex, prolonging the dissociation half-life several fold. Notably, our NTAmer technology accurately predicted the function of large panels of tumor-specific T cells that were isolated prospectively from patients with cancer. Overall, our results demonstrated that NTAmers are effective tools to isolate rare high-avidity cytotoxic T cells from patients for use in adoptive therapies for cancer treatment. Cancer Res; 75(10); 1983–91. ©2015 AACR.

Supplementary Figure Legends. Legend for Supplementary Figures S1-S5. Also includes Supplementary References.

Supplementary Figure 3 from Tumor Antigen–Specific FOXP3+ CD4 T Cells Identified in Human Metastatic Melanoma: Peptide Vaccination Results in Selective Expansion of Th1-like Counterparts

Supplementary Figure 2 from Tumor Antigen–Specific FOXP3+ CD4 T Cells Identified in Human Metastatic Melanoma: Peptide Vaccination Results in Selective Expansion of Th1-like Counterparts

CD8 T cells have multiple functional properties that mediate acute phase and long-term immune protection. Several effector and memory CD8 T cell subsets have been described with diverse functionalities and marker profiles. In contrast to the many comprehensive mouse studies, most human studies lack samples from the acute infection phase, a major reason why current knowledge of human T cell subsets and differentiation remains incomplete, particularly with regard to the T cell heterogeneity early during the immune response. Here we analysed the human CD8 T cell response to yellow fever vaccination as the best-known model to study the human immune response to acute viral infection. We performed flow cytometry on 21 markers conventionally used in mice and in humans to describe differentiation, activation, cycling, and so-called effector functions. We found clearly distinct ‘acute traits’ at the peak of the response that are shared amongst all non-naïve antigen-specific subsets, including memory-differentiated cells. These acute traits were low BCL-2 and high KI67, CD38, HLA-DR, as well as increased Granzyme B and Perforin, previously attributed only to effector cells at the peak of the response. Furthermore, analysis of chromatin accessibility at the single cell level revealed that memory- and effector-differentiated cells clustered together specifically in the acute phase. Altogether, we demonstrate ‘acute traits’ across differentiation subsets, and point out the need to discriminate the differentiation states when studying human CD8 T cells that undergo an acute response.

Background SARS‐CoV‐2 caused one of the most devastating pandemics in the recent history of mankind. Due to various countermeasures, including lock‐downs, wearing masks, and increased hygiene, the virus has been controlled in some parts of the world. More recently, the availability of vaccines, based on RNA or adenoviruses, has greatly added to our ability to keep the virus at bay; again, however, in some parts of the world only. While available vaccines are effective, it would be desirable to also have more classical vaccines at hand for the future. Key feature of vaccines for long‐term control of SARS‐CoV‐2 would be inexpensive production at large scale, ability to make multiple booster injections, and long‐term stability at 4℃. Methods Here, we describe such a vaccine candidate, consisting of the SARS‐CoV‐2 receptor‐binding motif (RBM) grafted genetically onto the surface of the immunologically optimized cucumber mosaic virus, called CuMVTT‐RBM. Results Using bacterial fermentation and continuous flow centrifugation for purification, the yield of the production process is estimated to be >2.5 million doses per 1000‐litre fermenter run. We demonstrate that the candidate vaccine is highly immunogenic in mice and rabbits and induces more high avidity antibodies compared to convalescent human sera. The induced antibodies are more cross‐reactive to mutant RBDs of variants of concern (VoC). Furthermore, antibody responses are neutralizing and long‐lived. In addition, the vaccine candidate was stable for at least 14 months at 4℃. Conclusion Thus, the here presented VLP‐based vaccine may be a good candidate for use as conventional vaccine in the long term., In this study, we describe a novel conventional COVID‐19 vaccine that consists of the RBM of SARS‐CoV‐2 genetically grafted onto the surface of our optimized cucumber‐mosaic virus‐like particles. We demonstrate that the vaccine candidate (mCuMVTT‐RBM) is highly immunogenic in mice and rabbits, can efficiently neutralize SARS‐CoV‐2, and is stable and highly scalable. The induced antibodies show cross‐reactivity with VoC.