11 results on '"Kühnel, Ines"'
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2. Bispecific killer cell engagers employing species crossreactive NKG2D binders redirect human and murine lymphocytes to ErbB2/HER2- positive malignancies.
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Serrahima, Jordi Pfeifer, Schoenfeld, Katrin, Kühnel, Ines, Harwardt, Julia, Palacios, Arturo Macarrón, Prüfer, Maren, Kolaric, Margareta, Oberoi, Pranav, Kolmar, Harald, and Wels, Winfried S.
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KILLER cells ,BISPECIFIC antibodies ,CELLULAR recognition ,KILLER cell receptors ,CHIMERIC antigen receptors ,GRANZYMES - Abstract
NKG2D is an activating receptor expressed by natural killer (NK) cells and other cytotoxic lymphocytes that plays a pivotal role in the elimination of neoplastic cells through recognition of different stress-induced cell surface ligands (NKG2DL). To employ this mechanism for cancer immunotherapy, we generated NKG2D-engaging bispecific antibodies that selectively redirect immune effector cells to cancer cells expressing the tumor-associated antigen ErbB2 (HER2). NKG2D-specific single chain fragment variable (scFv) antibodies cross-reactive toward the human and murine receptors were derived by consecutive immunization of chicken with the human and murine antigens, followed by stringent screening of a yeast surface display immune library. Four distinct species cross-reactive (sc) scFv domains were selected, and reformatted into a bispecific engager format by linking them via an IgG4 Fc domain to a second scFv fragment specific for ErbB2. The resulting molecules (termed scNKAB-ErbB2) were expressed as disulfide-linked homodimers, and demonstrated efficient binding to ErbB2-positive cancer cells as well as NKG2D-expressing primary human and murine lymphocytes, and NK-92 cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors derived from human and murine NKG2D (termed hNKAR and mNKAR). Two of the scNKAB-ErbB2 molecules were found to compete with the natural NKG2D ligand MICA, while the other two engagers interacted with an epitope outside of the ligand binding site. Nevertheless, all four tested scNKAB-ErbB2 antibodies were similarly effective in redirecting the cytotoxic activity of primary human and murine lymphocytes as well as hNKAR-NK-92 and mNKAR-NK-92 cells to ErbB2-expressing targets, suggesting that further development of these species cross-reactive engager molecules for cancer immunotherapy is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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3. The activating receptor NKp65 is selectively expressed by human ILC3 and demarcates ILC3 from mature NK cells
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Kühnel, Ines, primary, Vogler, Isabel, additional, Spreu, Jessica, additional, Bonig, Halvard, additional, Döring, Claudia, additional, and Steinle, Alexander, additional
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- 2023
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4. The activating receptor NKp65 is selectively expressed by human ILC3 and demarcates ILC3 from mature NK cells.
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Kühnel, Ines, Vogler, Isabel, Spreu, Jessica, Bonig, Halvard, Döring, Claudia, and Steinle, Alexander
- Abstract
Innate lymphocytes comprise cytotoxic natural killer (NK) cells and tissue‐resident innate lymphoid cells (ILC) that are subgrouped according to their cytokine profiles into group 1 ILC (ILC1), ILC2, and ILC3. However, cell surface receptors unambiguously defining or specifically activating such ILC subsets are scarcely known. Here, we report on the physiologic expression of the human activating C‐type lectin‐like receptor (CTLR) NKp65, a high‐affinity receptor for the CTLR keratinocyte‐associated C‐type lectin (KACL). Tracking rare NKp65 transcripts in human blood, we identify ILC3 to selectively express NKp65. NKp65 expression not only demarcates "bona fide" ILC3 from likewise RORγt‐expressing ILC precursors and lymphoid tissue inducer cells but also from mature NK cells which acquire the NKp65‐relative NKp80 during a Notch‐dependent differentiation from NKp65+ precursor cells. Hence, ILC3 and NK cells mutually exclusively and interdependently express the genetically coupled sibling receptors NKp65 and NKp80. Much alike NKp80, NKp65 promotes cytotoxicity by innate lymphocytes which may become relevant during pathophysiological reprogramming of ILC3. Altogether, we report the selective expression of the activating immunoreceptor NKp65 by ILC3 demarcating ILC3 from mature NK cells and endowing ILC3 with a dedicated immunosensor for the epidermal immune barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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5. Dual Targeting of Glioblastoma Cells with Bispecific Killer Cell Engagers Directed to EGFR and ErbB2 (HER2) Facilitates Effective Elimination by NKG2D-CAR-Engineered NK Cells.
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Kiefer, Anne, Prüfer, Maren, Röder, Jasmin, Pfeifer Serrahima, Jordi, Bodden, Malena, Kühnel, Ines, Oberoi, Pranav, and Wels, Winfried S.
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BISPECIFIC antibodies ,KILLER cells ,KILLER cell receptors ,EPIDERMAL growth factor receptors ,CHIMERIC antigen receptors ,GLIOBLASTOMA multiforme ,CANCER cells - Abstract
NKG2D is an activating receptor of natural killer cells that recognizes stress-induced ligands (NKG2DL) expressed by many tumor cells. Nevertheless, NKG2DL downregulation or shedding can still allow cancer cells to evade immune surveillance. Here, we used lentiviral gene transfer to engineer clinically usable NK-92 cells with a chimeric antigen receptor (NKAR) which contains the extracellular domain of NKG2D for target recognition, or an NKAR, together with the IL-15 superagonist RD-IL15, and combined these effector cells with recombinant NKG2D-interacting bispecific engagers that simultaneously recognize the tumor-associated antigens epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or ErbB2 (HER2). Applied individually, in in vitro cell-killing assays, these NKAB-EGFR and NKAB-ErbB2 antibodies specifically redirected NKAR-NK-92 and NKAR_RD-IL15-NK-92 cells to glioblastoma and other cancer cells with elevated EGFR or ErbB2 levels. However, in mixed glioblastoma cell cultures, used as a model for heterogeneous target antigen expression, NKAR-NK cells only lysed the EGFR- or ErbB2-expressing subpopulations in the presence of one of the NKAB molecules. This was circumvented by applying NKAB-EGFR and NKAB-ErbB2 together, resulting in effective antitumor activity similar to that against glioblastoma cells expressing both target antigens. Our results demonstrate that combining NK cells carrying an activating NKAR receptor with bispecific NKAB antibodies allows for flexible targeting, which can enhance tumor-antigen-specific cytotoxicity and prevent immune escape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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6. Co-Expression of an IL-15 Superagonist Facilitates Self-Enrichment of GD2-Targeted CAR-NK Cells and Mediates Potent Cell Killing in the Absence of IL-2
- Author
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Bodden, Malena, primary, Häcker, Aline, additional, Röder, Jasmin, additional, Kiefer, Anne, additional, Zhang, Congcong, additional, Bhatti, Anita, additional, Pfeifer Serrahima, Jordi, additional, Ullrich, Evelyn, additional, Kühnel, Ines, additional, and Wels, Winfried S., additional
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- 2023
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7. Co-Expression of an IL-15 Superagonist Facilitates Self-Enrichment of GD 2 -Targeted CAR-NK Cells and Mediates Potent Cell Killing in the Absence of IL-2.
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Bodden, Malena, Häcker, Aline, Röder, Jasmin, Kiefer, Anne, Zhang, Congcong, Bhatti, Anita, Pfeifer Serrahima, Jordi, Ullrich, Evelyn, Kühnel, Ines, and Wels, Winfried S.
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TUMOR treatment ,INTERLEUKINS ,CYTOKINES ,IMMUNIZATION ,NEUROBLASTOMA ,KILLER cells ,APOPTOSIS ,IMMUNOLOGIC receptors ,BIOMEDICAL engineering ,CANCER patients ,CELLULAR signal transduction ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,RESEARCH funding ,HEMATOPOIETIC stem cell transplantation ,LIPIDS ,CELL death ,IMMUNOTHERAPY - Abstract
Simple Summary: The disialoganglioside GD
2 is produced at high levels by neuroblastomas and other tumors of neuroectodermal origin, where its expression correlates with increased tumor progression and poor prognosis. Although established therapies with GD2 -specific antibodies can be efficacious, more effective treatment options are needed for advanced and relapsed tumors. The aim of this work was the generation and functional evaluation of natural killer cells engineered with a GD2 -specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) as a novel off-the-shelf adoptive immunotherapy approach. In preclinical in vitro models, these CAR-NK cells displayed high and selective cytotoxicity against GD2 -expressing tumor cells. Moreover, GD2 -CAR NK cells further modified to express an interleukin (IL)-15 superagonist displayed enhanced functionality also in the absence of exogenous cytokines and modulated proliferation and antitumor activity of surrounding innate immune cells and T lymphocytes. In contrast to T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells do not require prior sensitization but are rapidly activated upon encountering virally infected or neoplastic cells. In addition, NK cells can be safely applied in an allogeneic setting, making them important effector cells for the development of off-the-shelf therapeutics for adoptive cancer immunotherapy. To further enhance their therapeutic potential, here, we engineered continuously expanding NK-92 cells as a clinically relevant model to express a humanized second-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) with a composite CD28-CD3ζ signaling domain (hu14.18.28.z) that targets the disialoganglioside GD2 , which is expressed at high levels by neuroblastoma cells and other tumors of neuroectodermal origin. In a separate approach, we fused an IL-15 superagonist (RD-IL15) to the GD2 -CAR via a P2A processing site. Lentivirally transduced NK-92/hu14.18.28.z and NK-92/hu14.18.28.z_RD-IL15 cells both displayed high and stable CAR surface expression and specific cytotoxicity toward GD2 -positive tumor cells. GD2 -CAR NK cells carrying the RD-IL15 construct in addition expressed the IL-15 superagonist, resulting in self-enrichment and targeted cell killing in the absence of exogenous IL-2. Furthermore, co-culture with RD-IL15-secreting GD2 -CAR NK cells markedly enhanced proliferation and cytotoxicity of bystander immune cells in a paracrine manner. Our results demonstrate that GD2 -CAR NK cells co-expressing the IL-15 superagonist mediate potent direct and indirect antitumor effects, suggesting this strategy as a promising approach for the further development of functionally enhanced cellular therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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8. Function and expression of the human immunoreceptor NKp65 on innate lymphocytes
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Kühnel, Ines
- Subjects
ddc:570 ,ddc:610 - Abstract
In the past decade, tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILC) have become a central field of immunological research. ILC are a family of innate immune cells comprising cytotoxic Natural Killer (NK) cells and the non-cytotoxic helper like ILC1, ILC2 and ILC3. They mirror the functions and phenotypes of T cells, but do not require rearranged antigen-specific receptors for their rapid response to signals from injured or infected tissue. As potent cytokine producers being enriched in mucosal tissue, ILC play an essential role in tissue maintenance and regulating immunity to chronic inflammation and infection (Vivier et al., 2018). Although heterogeneity and plasticity of ILC complicates their classification, the pathophysiology of a broad variety of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases have been associated with dysregulations in ILC subset distribution and functions (Dzopalic et al., 2019). This highlights their importance in human health and disease and accounts for the need for markers unambiguously describing the different ILC subtypes. This work introduces NKp65, a C-type lectin-like receptor (CTLR) encoded in the natural killer gene complex by the KLRF2 gene, as an exclusive marker for human ILC3. NKp65 expression especially discerns ILC3-like NK cell precursor from mature NK cells which express the NKp65-relative NKp80. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis of NKp65 expression aids in the demarcation of natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR) expressing ILC3, from the closely related but functionally distinct RORt+ LTi cells and NCR- ILC3. This work further provides insights into NK cell development by in vitro differentiation studies in which NKp65 expressing cells are generated in presence of OP9 feeder cells and cytokines to support development. In such cultures, NKp65 expressing in vitro ILC (ivILC) acquire NKp80 expression in a Notch-dependent manner indicating their differentiation into mature NK cells. Acquisition of NK cell phenotypic markers is accompanied by NKp65 downregulation which leads to the mutually exclusive expression of NKp80 on NK cells and NKp65 on ILC3-like cells. Further insights are provided into the functional consequences of NKp65 engagement by its cognate high affinity ligand ‘keratinocyte-associated C-type lectin’ (KACL) which is selectively expressed on human keratinocytes (Bauer et al., 2015; Spreu et al., 2010). Expressed on ivILC, NKp65 mediates killing of KACL expressing target cells, suggesting that NKp65-KACL interaction promotes cellular cytotoxicity. In this context, the observed metalloproteinase dependent shedding of NKp65 might play a role in the termination of the cellular interaction. The findings on the regulation of NKp65 expression demonstrate the presence of a functional STAT5 response element in the KLRF2 promoter endowing a transcriptional control of NKp65 expression by IL-7 signaling. This provides an interesting link between the dependency of ILC3 on IL-7 signaling for their maintenance and the specific expression of NKp65 on these cells. In summary, this study provides new insights into the physiologic expression of the CTLR NKp65 on human ILC3. The dependency of NKp65 surface expression on sustained STAT5 signaling provided by IL-7 underlines the connection of NKp65 expression and an ILC3 phenotype which might contribute to promote future research in discerning the interspersed pathways of ILC3 and NK cell development. The tissue and cell specific expression of NKp65 on ILC3 and its ligand KACL on keratinocytes of the human skin further suggests an important role of this genetically coupled receptor-ligand pair in tissue specific immunosurveillance. Eine erstmalig vor circa zehn Jahren beschriebene Gruppe angeborener lymphoider Zellen (innate lymphoid cells, ILC) ist wichtiger Akteur des angeborenen Immunsystems und Gegenstand aktueller Forschung (Klose and Artis, 2020; Vivier et al., 2018). ILC spielen eine essenzielle Rolle bei der Abwehr von Pathogenen und in der Aufrechterhaltung der Gewebshomöostase. Die Gruppe der ILC besteht aus den bereits intensiv erforschten zytotoxischen Natürlichen Killer (NK) Zellen sowie ILC1, ILC2 und ILC3. Aufgrund ihres Zytokinprofils und der Expression von für Differenzierung und Funktion relevanter Transkriptionsfaktoren (TF), werden ILC auch als die angeborenen Gegenspieler der T Zellen angesehen. NK Zellen entsprechen dabei den zytotoxischen CD8 T Zellen, während ILC1, ILC2 und ILC3 den CD4+ T Helfer-1 (Th1), Th2 und Th17 Zellen entsprechen (Diefenbach et al., 2014; Spits et al., 2013; Sun and Lanier, 2011). Im Gegensatz zu den adaptiven T Zellen, exprimieren ILC jedoch keine antigenspezifischen Rezeptoren. Weiterhin zirkulieren sie nicht kontinuierlich im Blutkreislauf, sondern werden als Gewebe-ständige (tissue resident) Zellen beschrieben. Ansässig im Gewebe, können ILC schnell auf Veränderungen der Umgebung reagieren und initiieren eine Immunantwort, die häufig mit der Sezernierung großer Mengen an Zytokinen einhergeht, lange bevor die adaptive Immunität einsetzt (Artis and Spits, 2015; Colonna, 2018; Mjosberg and Spits, 2016; Vivier et al., 2018). ILC weisen auch innerhalb ihrer Subklasse eine hohe Heterogenität auf. Die Zuweisung zu einer bestimmten Untergruppe ist daher meist nicht ausschließlich anhand eines Merkmals möglich, sondern erfolgt durch die gleichzeitige Analyse mehrerer Faktoren. Darunter zählen die Analyse des Zytokinprofils sowie die verschiedener, intrazellulär und oberflächenexprimierter Moleküle, so genannter „Marker“. Allen ILC ist gemein, dass sie keine charakteristischen Oberflächenmarker anderer hämatopoetischer Entwicklungslinien, so genannte lineage-Marker (lin) exprimieren. Darunter fallen die Marker von T Zellen (cluster of differentiation (CD) 3), B Zellen (CD19) und Monozyten (CD14) (Simoni and Newell, 2018). NK Zellen kennzeichnen sich zusätzlich typischerweise durch die Expression des TF Eomesodermin (EOMES) und der Oberflächenmarker CD56, CD94, CD16, NKp80 sowie den Natürlichen Zytotoxizitätsrezeptoren (natural cytotoxicity receptors, NCR) NKp30, NKp46 und NKp44 (Moretta et al., 2001; Vitale et al., 2001). NK Zellen vermitteln weiterhin Zytotoxizität und sezernieren Interferon gamma (IFN-y) als Antwort auf die Stimulation mit den Interleukinen (IL)-12 und IL-18 (Montaldo et al., 2016). Im Gegensatz zu den NK Zellen, exprimieren alle Helfer-ILC (ILC1, ILC2 und ILC3) den IL-7 Rezeptor (IL-7R). ILC1 werden weitestgehend durch die Expression des TF T-box expressed in T cells (T-bet) sowie das Fehlen spezifischer Marker der anderen Subklassen beschrieben und gelten als der nicht zytotoxische Gegenspieler der NK Zellen. Die Abgrenzung der ILC2 erfolgt hauptsächlich durch den TF GATA-3, die Expression des Prostaglandin D2 Rezeptors (chemotractant receptor homologuos molecule expressed on Th2 cells, CRTH2) und ihre Immunantwort auf die Stimulation mit IL 33 und IL-25 in Form von Sezernierung der Zytokine IL-5, IL-13 and IL-9. Zellen der Gruppe der RAR-related orphan receptor gamma-t (RORyt) exprimierenden ILC3 reagieren auf die Stimulation mit IL-1ß und IL-23 mit der Sekretion von IL-17 und IL 22 (Montaldo et al., 2016). Innerhalb der Gruppe der ILC3 wird weiterhin zwischen den „Lymphoid-Tissue-inducer“ (LTi) Zellen und den NCR+ oder NCR- ILC3 unterschieden. Die Subklasse der NCR-/NCR+ ILC3 zeichnet sich dabei vor allem durch die Expression des Oberflächenmarkers CD117 aus, wohingegen LTi Zellen meist durch die zusätzliche Expression des C-C-Chemokin Rezeptors 6 (CCR6) charakterisiert werden (Melo-Gonzalez and Hepworth, 2017). Obwohl ILC durch die beschriebenen Marker formal in die einzelnen Subklassen unterteilt werden können, wird ihre Klassifizierung durch die hohe Heterogenität auch innerhalb der einzelnen Untergruppen erschwert. Zusätzlich haben ILC keinen starren Phänotyp, sondern weisen sich durch die Eigenschaft der sogenannten Plastizität aus. Diese beschreibt einen Vorgang, bei dem ILC durch bestimmte Umwelteinflüsse den Phänotyp bezüglich der Zytokinproduktion und funktionelle Eigenschaften einer anderen Untergruppe annehmen (Bal et al., 2020). Trotzdem wurde in einigen Studien ein Zusammenhang zwischen unterschiedlichen Autoimmun- und chronischen Entzündungs-Krankheiten und einer Veränderung der Verteilung und Funktion der ILC Untergruppen hergestellt (Dzopalic et al., 2019). Für die weitere Forschung auf diesem Gebiet sind Marker, durch deren alleinige Analyse eine spezifische Charakterisierung der Zellen erfolgen kann, ein essenzielles Hilfsmittel. Bisher sind solche Marker jedoch kaum bekannt. Die Etablierung solcher Marker würde nicht nur zur einfacheren Detektion der ILC beitragen, sondern könnte auch die Erforschung ihrer Entstehung erleichtern. ...
- Published
- 2021
9. Empowering Natural Killer Cells to Combat Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Perspective on CAR-NK Cell Therapy.
- Author
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Gierschek, Fenja, Schlueter, Juliane, Kühnel, Ines, Feigl, Frederik Fabian, Schmiedel, Dominik, Prüfer, Maren, Buchinger, Leon, Cerwenka, Adelheid, Cappel, Claudia, Huenecke, Sabine, Köhl, Ulrike, Wels, Winfried S., and Ullrich, Evelyn
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KILLER cells , *ACUTE myeloid leukemia , *CHIMERIC antigen receptors , *HEMATOLOGIC malignancies , *GENETIC translation - Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy with a high relapse rate and still limited therapeutic options. Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with AML.Background: Recent preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials aim to enhance the intrinsic anti-leukemic properties of NK cells by selectively targeting AML cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Furthermore, NK and CAR-NK cells can be combined with other therapeutic modalities or engineered further to overcome the immunosuppressive microenvironment, and treatment resistance of AML blasts and leukemia-initiating cells (LIC).Summary: In this review, we summarize preclinical studies with cytokine-stimulated or genetically engineered NK cells derived from different cell sources for the treatment of AML and their translation into early-phase clinical trials. We also provide an overview of promising recent developments toward innovative NK cell-based therapies that may be implemented in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]Key Messages: - Published
- 2024
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10. Literarisierung von Verfolgungserfahrungen bei Edgar Hilsenrath
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Kühnel, Ines Juliana
- Abstract
Meine Arbeit befasst sich mit der Literarisierung von Verfolgungserlebnissen bei Edgar Hilsenrath. Dabei untersuche ich die beiden ersten Romane Hilsenraths Nacht und Der Nazi & der Friseur insbesondere nach Fragen zur Identität. Hilsenrath selbst ist jüdischer Herkunft und war von 1941-1944 in einem rumänischen Ghetto interniert. Nach seiner Befreiung schreibt er sein Erstlingswerk Nacht, ein Ghettoroman der seine Erfahrungen fiktiv verarbeitet. Er beschreibt darin wie die Menschen stückchenweise ihre Identität, die an ihre Herkunft und ihr soziales Umfeld gekoppelt war, verlieren. Die Menschen vertieren zunehmend und werden um zu Überleben zu Tätern. Die Regeln des Ghettos verdrängen ehemals verbindliche Werte des Zusammenlebens. Ausnahmen bilden eine Handvoll Personen. In Der Nazi & der Friseur liegt die Brisanz in der Täterperspektive unter Annahme einer Opferidentität. Der nationalsozialistische Massenmörder Max Schulz, schlüpft nach dem Krieg in die Haut seines toten jüdischen Freundes Itzig Finkelstein und gründet in Israel eine neue Existenz. Hilsenrath beschreibt die strukturellen Bedingungen auf deren Grundlage Faschismus, Rassismus und Gewalt gedeihen und deren Zusammenhang mit der Identität. Beide Romane verweigern weitestgehend eine Erklärung für die Ereignisse. Hilsenrath stattet seine handelnden Figuren egal ob es sich in erster Linie um Opfer oder Täter handelt mit ambivalenten Zügen aus. Er zeigt, dass rassistische Tendenzen bei allen Menschen, unabhängig von ihrer Herkunft zu finden sind. Die Frage nach der Schuld gestaltet sich vielschichtig wie Hilsenrath anhand der Kategorien Opfer und Täter, die sich häufig überlappen transparent macht. Mit seinen ersten beiden Romanen Nacht und Der Nazi & der Friseur stößt Hilsenrath vor allem innerhalb der deutschen Bevölkerung auf Ablehnung und Unverständnis. Er bricht, durch seine provokative Darstellung der Juden, mit dem in Deutschland üblich gewordenen Nachkriegsphilosemitismus aber auch mit der Tradition innerhalb der Literatur dem Geschehenen nachträglich einen Sinn zu verleihen.
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- 2011
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11. Bispecific killer cell engagers employing species cross-reactive NKG2D binders redirect human and murine lymphocytes to ErbB2/HER2-positive malignancies.
- Author
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Pfeifer Serrahima J, Schoenfeld K, Kühnel I, Harwardt J, Macarrón Palacios A, Prüfer M, Kolaric M, Oberoi P, Kolmar H, and Wels WS
- Subjects
- Animals, Humans, Mice, Single-Chain Antibodies immunology, Single-Chain Antibodies genetics, Cell Line, Tumor, Neoplasms immunology, Neoplasms therapy, Immunotherapy methods, Receptor, ErbB-2 immunology, NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K immunology, NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K metabolism, Killer Cells, Natural immunology, Killer Cells, Natural metabolism, Cross Reactions immunology, Antibodies, Bispecific immunology, Antibodies, Bispecific pharmacology
- Abstract
NKG2D is an activating receptor expressed by natural killer (NK) cells and other cytotoxic lymphocytes that plays a pivotal role in the elimination of neoplastic cells through recognition of different stress-induced cell surface ligands (NKG2DL). To employ this mechanism for cancer immunotherapy, we generated NKG2D-engaging bispecific antibodies that selectively redirect immune effector cells to cancer cells expressing the tumor-associated antigen ErbB2 (HER2). NKG2D-specific single chain fragment variable (scFv) antibodies cross-reactive toward the human and murine receptors were derived by consecutive immunization of chicken with the human and murine antigens, followed by stringent screening of a yeast surface display immune library. Four distinct species cross-reactive (sc) scFv domains were selected, and reformatted into a bispecific engager format by linking them via an IgG4 Fc domain to a second scFv fragment specific for ErbB2. The resulting molecules (termed scNKAB-ErbB2) were expressed as disulfide-linked homodimers, and demonstrated efficient binding to ErbB2-positive cancer cells as well as NKG2D-expressing primary human and murine lymphocytes, and NK-92 cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors derived from human and murine NKG2D (termed hNKAR and mNKAR). Two of the scNKAB-ErbB2 molecules were found to compete with the natural NKG2D ligand MICA, while the other two engagers interacted with an epitope outside of the ligand binding site. Nevertheless, all four tested scNKAB-ErbB2 antibodies were similarly effective in redirecting the cytotoxic activity of primary human and murine lymphocytes as well as hNKAR-NK-92 and mNKAR-NK-92 cells to ErbB2-expressing targets, suggesting that further development of these species cross-reactive engager molecules for cancer immunotherapy is warranted., Competing Interests: KS, JH, AM, PO, HK and WW are named as inventors on patents and patent applications in the field of cancer immunotherapy owned by their respective academic institutions. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Pfeifer Serrahima, Schoenfeld, Kühnel, Harwardt, Macarrón Palacios, Prüfer, Kolaric, Oberoi, Kolmar and Wels.)
- Published
- 2024
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