Person:

Nakashima, Hiroshi

MGH2.1 is a herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) oncolytic virus that expresses two prodrug-activating transgenes: the cyclophosphamide (CPA)-activating cytochrome P4502B1 (CYP2B1) and the CPT11-activating secreted human intestinal carboxylesterase (shiCE). Toxicology and biodistribution of MGH2.1 in the presence/absence of prodrugs was evaluated in mice. MGH2.1 ± prodrugs was cytotoxic to human glioma cells, but not to normal cells. Pharmacokinetically, intracranial MGH2.1 did not significantly alter the metabolism of intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered prodrugs in mouse plasma, brain, or liver. MGH2.1 did not induce an acute inflammatory reaction. MGH2.1 DNA was detected in brains of mice inoculated with 108 pfus for up to 60 days. However, only one animal showed evidence of viral gene expression at this time. Expression of virally encoded genes was restricted to brain. Intracranial inoculation of MGH2.1 did not induce lethality at 108 pfus in the absence of prodrugs and at 106 pfus in the presence of prodrugs. This study provides safety and toxicology data justifying a possible clinical trial of intratumoral injection of MGH2.1 with peripheral administration of CPA and/or CPT11 prodrugs in humans with malignant gliomas.

Reporter gene imaging allows for non-invasive monitoring of molecular processes in living cells, providing insights on the mechanisms underlying pathology and therapy. A lysine-rich protein (LRP) chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI reporter gene has previously been developed and used to image tumor cells, cardiac viral gene transfer, and oncolytic virotherapy. However, the highly repetitive nature of the LRP reporter gene sequence leads to DNA recombination events and the expression of a range of truncated LRP protein fragments, thereby greatly limiting the CEST sensitivity. Here we report the use of a redesigned LRP reporter (rdLRP), aimed to provide excellent stability and CEST sensitivity. The rdLRP contains no DNA repeats or GC rich regions and 30% less positively charged amino-acids. RT-PCR of cell lysates transfected with rdLRP demonstrated a stable reporter gene with a single distinct band corresponding to full-length DNA. A distinct increase in CEST-MRI contrast was obtained in cell lysates of rdLRP transfected cells and in in vivo LRP expressing mouse brain tumors ( p = 0.0275 , n = 10).

T cell exhaustion occurs during chronic infection and cancers. Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) is a major inhibitory checkpoint receptor involved in T cell exhaustion. Blocking antibodies (Abs) against PD-1 or its ligand, PD-L1, have been shown to reverse T cell exhaustion during chronic infection and cancers, leading to improved control of persistent antigen. However, modeling tumor-specific T cell responses in mouse has been difficult due to the lack of reagents to detect and phenotype tumor-specific immune responses. We developed a novel mouse glioma model expressing a viral epitope derived from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), which allowed monitoring of tumor-specific CD8 T-cell responses. These CD8 T cells express high levels of PD-1 and are unable to reject tumors, but this can be reversed by anti-PD-1 treatment. These results suggest the efficacy of PD-1 blockade as a treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive tumor that results in a uniformly lethal outcome. Importantly, this new syngeneic tumor model may also provide further opportunities to characterize anti-tumor T cell exhaustion and develop novel cancer immunotherapies.

Binding of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) to programmed cell death protein-1 (PD1) leads to cancer immune evasion via inhibition of T cell function. One of the defining characteristics of glioblastoma, a universally fatal brain cancer, is its profound local and systemic immunosuppression. Glioblastoma has also been shown to generate extracellular vesicles (EVs), which may play an important role in tumor progression. We thus hypothesized that glioblastoma EVs may be important mediators of immunosuppression and that PD-L1 could play a role. We show that glioblastoma EVs block T cell activation and proliferation in response to T cell receptor stimulation. PD-L1 was expressed on the surface of some, but not of all, glioblastoma-derived EVs, with the potential to directly bind to PD1. An anti-PD1 receptor blocking antibody significantly reversed the EV-mediated blockade of T cell activation but only when PD-L1 was present on EVs. When glioblastoma PD-L1 was up-regulated by IFN-γ, EVs also showed some PD-L1–dependent inhibition of T cell activation. PD-L1 expression correlated with the mesenchymal transcriptome profile and was anatomically localized in the perinecrotic and pseudopalisading niche of human glioblastoma specimens. PD-L1 DNA was present in circulating EVs from glioblastoma patients where it correlated with tumor volumes of up to 60 cm3. These results suggest that PD-L1 on EVs may be another mechanism for glioblastoma to suppress antitumor immunity and support the potential of EVs as biomarkers in tumor patients.