Genetic Engineering of T Cells to Target HERV-K, an Ancient Retrovirus on Melanoma.
Genetic Engineering of T Cells to Target HERV-K, an Ancient Retrovirus on Melanoma.
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DOI:
10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-14-3197
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发表时间:
2015-07-15
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影响因子:
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通讯作者:
Cooper LJ
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文献类型:
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作者:
Krishnamurthy J;Rabinovich BA;Mi T;Switzer KC;Olivares S;Maiti SN;Plummer JB;Singh H;Kumaresan PR;Huls HM;Wang-Johanning F;Cooper LJ
The human endogenous retrovirus (HERV-K) envelope (env) protein is a tumor- associated antigen expressed on melanoma, but not normal cells. This study was designed to engineer a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on T cell surface, such that they target tumors in advanced stages of melanoma. Expression of HERV-K protein was analyzed in 220 melanoma samples (with various stages of disease) and 139 normal organ donor tissues using immuno-histochemical (IHC) analysis. HERV-K env-specific CAR derived from mouse monoclonal antibody was introduced into T cells using the transposon-based Sleeping Beauty (SB) system. HERV-K env-specific CAR+ T cells were expanded ex vivo on activating and propagating cells (AaPC), and characterized for CAR expression and specificity. This includes evaluating the HERV-K-specific CAR+ T cells for their ability to kill A375-SM metastasized tumors in a mouse xenograft model. We detected HERV-K env protein on melanoma, but not in normal tissues. After electroporation of T cells and selection on HERV-K+ AaPC, over 95% of genetically-modified T cells expressed the CAR with an effector memory phenotype and lysed HERV-K env+ tumor targets in an antigen specific manner. Even though there is apparent shedding of this TAA from tumor cells which can be recognized by HERV-K env-specific CAR+ T cells, we observed a significant anti-tumor effect. Adoptive cellular immunotherapy with HERV-K env-specific CAR+ T cells represents a clinically-appealing treatment strategy for advanced-stage melanoma and provides an approach for targeting this TAA on other solid tumors.