Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-12-01eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf035
Pascal Bouvain, Sebastian Temme, Ulrich Flögel
{"title":"Targeted <sup>19</sup>F MRI for molecular imaging of the immune response and its theranostics.","authors":"Pascal Bouvain, Sebastian Temme, Ulrich Flögel","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf035","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The <i>in vivo</i> visualization of inflammatory processes offers not only the possibility of localizing disease but also of monitoring its progression over time. Among available imaging modalities, combined <sup>1</sup>H/<sup>19</sup>F MRI has emerged as a powerful technique, as it enables the detection of inflammation with minimal background signal. Beyond diagnosis, however, there is increasing interest in using this platform to initiate targeted therapeutic interventions. The integration of these two components-diagnosis and therapy-is commonly referred to as theranostics. In this review, we provide an overview of the potential of fluorine-based MRI and highlight a range of targeted theranostic applications across different disease models. Particular emphasis is placed on recent strategies to manipulate neutrophils during acute colitis, which have demonstrated significant improvements in disease outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"6 1","pages":"ltaf035"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12755923/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145890652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-11-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf032
Sarah Danson, Robert P Jones, Kristina Duggleby, Gillian Rosenberg, Matthew Hallsworth, Maria Koufali
{"title":"The UK vaccine innovation pathway.","authors":"Sarah Danson, Robert P Jones, Kristina Duggleby, Gillian Rosenberg, Matthew Hallsworth, Maria Koufali","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf032","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cancer vaccines offer transformative potential in oncology, especially with advances in mRNA technologies. To accelerate advances in cancer vaccine research and capitalize on its COVID-19 vaccine leadership, the UK Government has launched the UK Vaccine Innovation Pathway (VIP) through a partnership between the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), NHS England, and pharmaceutical partners. Its innovative approaches to trial delivery have enabled a 500% increase in patient recruitment with 33 trials open or recently closed across 85 sites and 11 cancer types. Working alongside the Cancer Vaccine Launchpad (CVLP), which pre-screens patients across 55 NHS sites, VIP offers streamlined trial set-up, decentralized delivery, and equity-focused design. The UK's approach aligns scientific innovation with rapid clinical deployment, creating a scalable, patient-centred model for delivering individualized therapies. This article outlines the strategic framework, outcomes, and lessons from the VIP and CVLP to inform future national strategies in cancer vaccine deployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"6 1","pages":"ltaf032"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12781866/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145953444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-10-06eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf030
Sarah R Verhoeff, Evelien A J van Genugten, Iris A E van der Hoorn, Shoko Vos, Lieke L van der Woude, Francesco Ciompi, Ingrid Jolanda M de Vries, Carla M L van Herpen, Sandra Heskamp, Ad F T M Verhagen, Guus R M van den Heuvel, Berber Piet, Michel M van den Heuvel, Erik H J G Aarntzen
{"title":"[<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab accumulation in resectable non-small cell lung carcinoma indicates a suppressive tumor microenvironment amendable to neoadjuvant avelumab treatment.","authors":"Sarah R Verhoeff, Evelien A J van Genugten, Iris A E van der Hoorn, Shoko Vos, Lieke L van der Woude, Francesco Ciompi, Ingrid Jolanda M de Vries, Carla M L van Herpen, Sandra Heskamp, Ad F T M Verhagen, Guus R M van den Heuvel, Berber Piet, Michel M van den Heuvel, Erik H J G Aarntzen","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf030","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) expands to early stages of disease. The neoadjuvant setting allows to investigate the mechanism-of-action of immune therapy using molecular imaging and tissue analysis. We investigated the safety and feasibility of programed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) PET-imaging with <sup>89</sup>Zr-labeled avelumab and neoadjuvant avelumab treatment in resectable NSCLC. Secondly, [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab accumulation was correlated with features of the tumor immune microenvironment and pathological response.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This Phase I-II study (NCT03514719) enrolled 20 patients with Stage Ia-IIIa NSCLC who received two cycles of avelumab (10 mg/kg Q2W) prior to surgery. In the imaging optimization part, [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab PET was performed with protein doses of 2, 10, or 50 mg avelumab and imaging at Day 2 and 4 postinjection. Subsequent patients were scanned with 10 mg [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab at Day 4. Tracer-accumulation was correlated to PD-L1 expression and immune cell densities on pretreatment biopsies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>[<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab PET/CT was successfully performed in 23/24 patients. 19/20 patients started neoadjuvant avelumab treatment, with no delays or conversions of surgical procedures. Six patients showed pathologic response, including two major pathologic responses. [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab tumor-accumulation was not correlated to PD-L1 expression, but did correlate with regulatory T-cell density (<i>r</i> = 0.72, <i>P</i> = .030) and pathologic response (<i>r</i> = 0.56, <i>P</i> = .036); and was inversely correlated with CD303+ plasmacytoid dendritic cell density (<i>r</i> = -0.72, <i>P</i> = .030). SUV<sub>peak</sub> on baseline [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG-PET correlated with pretreatment PD-L1 expression but not with [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab accumulation nor with pathologic response.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>[<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab PET imaging is a safe and feasible approach in early-stage NSCLC. Higher [<sup>89</sup>Zr]Zr-DFO-avelumab tumor-accumulation at baseline strongly correlates with features of a suppressive tumor immune environment and response to neoadjuvant avelumab.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"6 1","pages":"ltaf030"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12724429/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145829207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-09-10eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf028
{"title":"Correction to: Applying population mechanistic modelling to find determinants of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells dynamics in month-one lymphoma patients.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf028","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf028","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf001.].</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf028"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12421572/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145042351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-08-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf029
Lara V Graham, Ludmila Horehajova, Marco V Haselager, Jack G Fisher, Jamie Lee Roos, Russell B Foxall, Mel John, Kerry L Cox, Robert J Oldham, Martin C Taylor, Margaret Ashton-Key, Ben Sale, Laura G Bartlett, Ali Roghanian, Eric Eldering, Andres F Vallejo, Francesco Forconi, Salim I Khakoo, Mark S Cragg, Matthew D Blunt
{"title":"CD40L and IL-4 suppress NK cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity through the HLA-E:NKG2A axis.","authors":"Lara V Graham, Ludmila Horehajova, Marco V Haselager, Jack G Fisher, Jamie Lee Roos, Russell B Foxall, Mel John, Kerry L Cox, Robert J Oldham, Martin C Taylor, Margaret Ashton-Key, Ben Sale, Laura G Bartlett, Ali Roghanian, Eric Eldering, Andres F Vallejo, Francesco Forconi, Salim I Khakoo, Mark S Cragg, Matthew D Blunt","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf029","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anti-CD20 antibodies are first-line treatments for B cell malignancies. Natural killer (NK) cells are important mediators of anti-CD20 antibody efficacy in humans through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). In B cell malignancies, the lymph nodes are a critical site of pathology and the T cell-derived signals CD40L and IL-4 within the lymph node microenvironment can mediate tumour proliferation, survival and resistance to pro-apoptotic therapy. CD40L and IL-4 have recently been shown to inhibit NK cell activation against chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) cells via the HLA-E:NKG2A immune checkpoint axis. However, the effect of these signals on NK cell-mediated ADCC of malignant B cells is unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a combination of clinical samples, murine models, flow cytometry, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, ELISA, bioinformatics and functional assays, we examined the impact of lymph node-mimicking conditions on NK cell-mediated ADCC against malignant B cells. Exogenous CD40L and IL-4 were used to mimic T-B cell interactions in 2D malignant B cell cultures, in addition to a 3D spheroid model of T cell-dependent CLL proliferation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>CD40L and IL-4 increased HLA-E expression on the surface of primary CLL cells and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cell lines, and this decreased NK cell-mediated ADCC via ligation of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A. High HLA-E surface expression was observed in lymph node FFPE sections of CLL and NHL patients and in a 3D <i>ex vivo</i> lymph node-mimicking model of CLL. NKG2A blockade potentiated NK cell-mediated ADCC against malignant B cells treated with CD40L and IL-4 and improved anti-CD20 antibody therapy in a murine model of B cell lymphoma.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results reveal a novel mechanism of resistance to anti-CD20 therapy in B cell malignancies and demonstrate that the combination of anti-NKG2A with anti-CD20 could improve the treatment of patients with CLL or NHL.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf029"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12448733/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145115133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-07-25eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf024
Katie Coates, Robert J Nibbs, Alasdair R Fraser
{"title":"Going viral: targeting glioblastoma using oncolytic viruses.","authors":"Katie Coates, Robert J Nibbs, Alasdair R Fraser","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf024","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glioblastoma (GBM) is a devastating malignant disease with a remarkably low 5-year survival rate and invariably poor prognosis. Current conventional treatment options (surgery, targeted radiotherapy, and a limited number of chemotherapies) are rarely entirely effective, leading to the majority of GBM patients experiencing disease recurrence shortly after primary treatment. Thus far, immunotherapeutic approaches towards GBM treatment have been largely unsuccessful due to the tumour site and profoundly immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME). However oncolytic virus therapy (OVT) has been recently developed and licenced for the treatment of cancers and has the potential to switch the TME to become immune-reactive. This has been shown to both directly reduce tumour burden while also enhancing responsiveness to other therapies. In this review, we review the challenges faced by standard immunotherapies in GBM and outline the various approaches to OV treatment of GBM. We highlight the promise of OVT for targeting GBM by critically assessing the outcomes from recent clinical trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf024"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12290287/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144735888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-07-16eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf025
Dimitrios Filioglou, Geovana S F Leite, Helena Batatinha, Nina Santa-Cruz, Dan W Davini, Forrest L Baker, Richard J Simpson, Emmanuel Katsanis
{"title":"Cytokine-induced memory-like NK cells combined with Tafasitamab demonstrate efficacy against B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.","authors":"Dimitrios Filioglou, Geovana S F Leite, Helena Batatinha, Nina Santa-Cruz, Dan W Davini, Forrest L Baker, Richard J Simpson, Emmanuel Katsanis","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf025","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cytokine-induced memory-like natural killer cells (CIMLNK) represent a novel form of adoptive cellular therapy that is easy to manufacture and readily available. These cells are generated after overnight stimulation of purified natural killer (NK) cells with interleukin-12 (IL-12), interleukin-15 (IL-15), and interleukin-18 (IL-18). While CIMLNK has demonstrated efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), its potential application in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) remains unclear. Tafasitamab (TAFA), a monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against CD19, a surface antigen expressed on B-ALL cells, has been developed to augment anti-tumor efficacy through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), a mechanism predominantly mediated by NK cells. Consequently, we sought to assess the susceptibility of B-ALL to the combination of CIMLNK and TAFA using three B-ALL cell lines: NALM6, SUP-B15, and RS4;11. The addition of TAFA significantly augmented the cytotoxic activity, degranulation capacity, and IFN-γ production of CIMLNK. TAFA-induced ADCC was found to be dose-dependent and was abolished after CD16 blockade. Furthermore, TAFA-mediated effects against NALM6 and SUP-B15 were more pronounced in CIMLNK compared to unstimulated NK cells. In vivo, the combination of CIMLNK and TAFA led to a more pronounced survival benefit in leukemia-bearing mice. In summary, our findings suggest that this combination holds promise as a potential alternative treatment option for patients with relapsed refractory B-ALL.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf025"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12264592/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144651326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-07-09eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf026
Samantha Y Liu, Max P M Hulsman, Philipp Leyendecker, Eugena Chang, Katherine A Donovan, Fabian Strobel, James Dougan, Eric S Fischer, Michael Dougan, Stephanie K Dougan, Li Qiang
{"title":"SMAC mimetics induce human macrophages to phagocytose live cancer cells.","authors":"Samantha Y Liu, Max P M Hulsman, Philipp Leyendecker, Eugena Chang, Katherine A Donovan, Fabian Strobel, James Dougan, Eric S Fischer, Michael Dougan, Stephanie K Dougan, Li Qiang","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf026","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Macrophages engulf apoptotic bodies and cellular debris as part of homeostasis, but they can also phagocytose live cells, such as aged red blood cells. Pharmacologic reprogramming with the SMAC mimetic LCL161 in combination with T-cell-derived cytokines can induce macrophages to phagocytose live cancer cells in mouse models. Here we extend these findings to encompass a wide range of monovalent and bivalent SMAC mimetic compounds, demonstrating that live cell phagocytosis is a class effect of these agents. We demonstrate robust phagocytosis of live pancreatic and breast cancer cells by primary human macrophages across a range of healthy donors. Unlike mouse macrophages, where a combination of SMAC mimetics with lymphotoxin enhanced phagocytosis, human macrophages were more efficiently polarized to phagocytose live cells by the combination of SMAC mimetics and IFNg. We profiled phagocytic macrophages by transcriptional and proteomic methodologies, uncovering a positive feedback loop of autocrine TNFa production.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf026"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12314603/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144777079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-06-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf022
Kristýna Šmilauerová, Martin Štach, Martin Mucha, Šárka Vaníková, Jana Rychlá, Pavel Otáhal
{"title":"Targeting of acute myeloid leukemia by five-gene engineered T cells expressing transgenic T-cell receptor specific to WT1, chimeric antigenic receptor specific to GM-CSF receptor, bispecific T-cell engager specific to CD33, and tEGFR suicide gene system.","authors":"Kristýna Šmilauerová, Martin Štach, Martin Mucha, Šárka Vaníková, Jana Rychlá, Pavel Otáhal","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf022","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cancer immunotherapy with transgenic T-cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-T) enables the targeting of intracellular tumor-specific antigens; in contrast, chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells (CAR-T) mediate tumor cell killing via the recognition of surface antigens. In the case of acute myeloid leukemia, the lack of leukemia-specific surface antigens limits the efficacy of CAR-T cells; therefore, TCR-T cells may represent a more targeted immunotherapy approach. However, the tumor immunosuppressive environment eliminates the best-functioning, high-avidity TCR-T cells, thus creating a need for novel, enhanced TCR-T cells.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The piggyBac transposon vector used for gene modification of T cells expresses a T-cell receptor specific to the WT1 tumour antigen, an NFAT promoter-regulated CAR specific to GM-CSF receptor, a CD3xCD33 bispecific T-cell engager, and a truncated EGFR suicide gene system. The transgenic T cells were generated by electroporation using a single expression vector, and the efficiency of these engineered TCR-T cells was evaluated using models that utilized AML cell lines and primary AML cells.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The NFAT-driven GM-CSF CAR significantly enhances the antileukemic activity of WT1-specific TCR-T cells, which importantly maintain specificity for their HLA/peptide antigenic complex. Next, by inserting the CD3xCD33 bispecific T-cell engager into the transposon vector, both TCR-T cells and recruited non-transfected bystander T cells can efficiently target the CD33 antigen, providing more robust antileukemic effects.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The presented strategy, utilizing a single piggyBac transposon vector, enables the complex redirection of T-cell specificity against acute myeloid leukemia by inserting TCR, CAR, BiTE constructs, along with a tEGFR gene suicide system.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf022"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12306182/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144746375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Immunotherapy advancesPub Date : 2025-06-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltaf023
Amal Alsubaiti, Hanin Alamir, Lan Huynh, Tressan Grant, Abdullah Aljohani, Po Han Chou, Yiwei Shi, Maryam Alismail, Lydia R Mason, Andrew Herman, John S Bridgeman, Christopher J Holland, Christoph Wülfing
{"title":"Tumor cell spheroid-induced suppression of primary human cytotoxic T cells as a scalable <i>in vitro</i> model of exhaustion.","authors":"Amal Alsubaiti, Hanin Alamir, Lan Huynh, Tressan Grant, Abdullah Aljohani, Po Han Chou, Yiwei Shi, Maryam Alismail, Lydia R Mason, Andrew Herman, John S Bridgeman, Christopher J Holland, Christoph Wülfing","doi":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf023","DOIUrl":"10.1093/immadv/ltaf023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are key effectors in the antitumor immune response. However, their function is commonly suppressed in tumors in the form of exhausted CTL. Understanding mechanisms of suppression and of therapeutics to overcome them is of substantial basic and translational importance yet hindered by limited access to large numbers of exhausted CTL in vitro.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Here we use three-dimensional tissue culture to generate primary human CTL with suppressed function. Using functional assays, a 21-antibody flow cytometry panel and determination of calcium signaling and CTL tumor cell couple maintenance, we have characterized their phenotype.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We show that these cells closely resemble exhausted CTL from tumors. For a better understanding of in vitro human primary CTL as key tools in therapeutic development, before and after induction of suppression, we have determined the dependence of CTL function on methodology of generation, antigen dose, and affinity across two T-cell receptors and multiple tumor cell lines. As a further determination of their phenotype, we have investigated the morphology and subcellular F-actin distributions of CTL as key regulators of effector function. Primary human CTL formed cell couples with tumor target cells even in the absence of antigen. Yet, the gradual stabilization of such cell couples was associated with increasing CTL effector function. Induction of suppression substantially destabilized CTL tumor cell couples.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This comprehensive characterization of the phenotype of in vitro primary human CTL, including a suppressed state, should facilitate their use in basic research, the development of CTL-targeting therapeutics and the determination of their mechanism of action.</p>","PeriodicalId":73353,"journal":{"name":"Immunotherapy advances","volume":"5 1","pages":"ltaf023"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12207883/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}