Universal immunotherapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma with exosome vaccines that engage adaptive and innate immune responses

Universal immunotherapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma with exosome vaccines that engage adaptive and innate immune responses

Journal of Hematology & Oncology

10.1186/s13045-022-01266-8

http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13045-022-01266-8

Bingfeng Zuo, Yang Zhang, Kangjie Zhao, Li Wu, Han Qi, Rong Yang, Xianjun Gao, Mengyuan Geng, Yingjie Wu, Renwei Jing, Qibing Zhou, Yiqi Seow, HaiFang Yin

Molecular Biology, Cancer Research, oncology, Hematology

29 April 2022

Zuo, B., Zhang, Y., Zhao, K., Wu, L., Qi, H., Yang, R., Gao, X., Geng, M., Wu, Y., Jing, R., Zhou, Q., Seow, Y., & Yin, H. (2022). Universal immunotherapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma with exosome vaccines that engage adaptive and innate immune responses. Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-022-01266-8

Abstract Background Personalized immunotherapy utilizing cancer vaccines tailored to the tumors of individual patients holds promise for tumors with high genetic heterogeneity, potentially enabling eradication of the tumor in its entirety. Methods Here, we demonstrate a general strategy for biological nanovaccines that trigger tailored tumor-specific immune responses for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dendritic cell (DC)-derived exosomes (DEX) are painted with a HCC-targeting peptide (P47-P), an α-fetoprotein epitope (AFP212-A2) and a functional domain of high mobility group nucleosome-binding protein 1 (N1ND-N), an immunoadjuvant for DC recruitment and activation, via an exosomal anchor peptide to form a “trigger” DEX vaccine (DEXP&A2&N). Results DEXP&A2&N specifically promoted recruitment, accumulation and activation of DCs in mice with orthotopic HCC tumor, resulting in enhanced cross-presentation of tumor neoantigens and de novo T cell response. DEXP&A2&N elicited significant tumor retardation and tumor-specific immune responses in HCC mice with large tumor burdens. Importantly, tumor eradication was achieved in orthotopic HCC mice when antigenic AFP peptide was replaced with the full-length AFP (A) to form DEXP&A&N. Supplementation of Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand greatly augmented the antitumor immunity of DEXP&A&N by increasing immunological memory against tumor re-challenge in orthotopic HCC mice. Depletion of T cells, cross-presenting DCs and other innate immune cells abrogated the functionality of DEXP&A&N. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the capacity of universal DEX vaccines to induce tumor-specific immune responses by triggering an immune response tailored to the tumors of each individual, thus presenting a generalizable approach for personalized immunotherapy of HCC, by extension of other tumors, without the need to identify tumor antigens.

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 82030054 and 81803416) and Tianjin Municipal 13th five-year plan (Tianjin Medical University Talent Project).

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/18723

1756-8722

Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging