Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy

Background Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) is an immunotherapy that incorporates viral cancer cell lysis with engagement of the recruited immune response against cancer cells. Pediatric solid tumors are challenging targets because they contain both an inert immune environment and a quiet antigenic landsc...

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Main Authors: Chun-Yu Chen, Mohammed G Ghonime, Uksha Saini, Michael C Kelly, Justin C Roth, Pin-Yi Wang, Katherine Miller, Ilse Hernandez-Aguirre, Yeaseul Kim, Xiaokui Mo, Joseph R Stanek, Tim Cripe, Elaine Mardis, Kevin A Cassady
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-10-01
Series:Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Online Access:https://jitc.bmj.com/content/9/10/e002939.full
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author Chun-Yu Chen
Mohammed G Ghonime
Uksha Saini
Michael C Kelly
Justin C Roth
Pin-Yi Wang
Katherine Miller
Ilse Hernandez-Aguirre
Yeaseul Kim
Xiaokui Mo
Joseph R Stanek
Tim Cripe
Elaine Mardis
Kevin A Cassady
author_facet Chun-Yu Chen
Mohammed G Ghonime
Uksha Saini
Michael C Kelly
Justin C Roth
Pin-Yi Wang
Katherine Miller
Ilse Hernandez-Aguirre
Yeaseul Kim
Xiaokui Mo
Joseph R Stanek
Tim Cripe
Elaine Mardis
Kevin A Cassady
author_sort Chun-Yu Chen
collection DOAJ
description Background Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) is an immunotherapy that incorporates viral cancer cell lysis with engagement of the recruited immune response against cancer cells. Pediatric solid tumors are challenging targets because they contain both an inert immune environment and a quiet antigenic landscape, making them more resistant to conventional OV approaches. Further complicating this, herpes simplex virus suppresses host gene expression during virotherapy infection.Methods We therefore developed a multimodal oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) that expresses ephrin A2 (EphA2), a shared tumor-associated antigen (TAA) expressed by many tumors to improve immune-mediated antitumor activity. We verified the virus genotypically and phenotypically and then tested it in an oHSV-resistant orthotopic model (including immunophenotypic analysis), in flank and in T cell-deficient mouse models. We then assessed the antigen-expressing virus in an unrelated peripheral tumor model that also expresses the shared tumor antigen and evaluated functional T-cell response from the treated mice.Results Virus-based EphA2 expression induces a robust acquired antitumor immune responses in both an oHSV-resistant murine brain and peripheral tumor model. Our new multimodal oncolytic virus (1) improves survival in viroimmunotherapy resistant tumors, (2) alters both the infiltrating and peripheral T-cell populations capable of suppressing tumor growth on rechallenge, and (3) produces EphA2-specific CD8 effector-like populations.Conclusions Our results suggest that this flexible viral-based platform enables immune recognition of the shared TAA and improves the immune-therapeutic response, thus making it well suited for low-mutational load tumors.
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spelling doaj-art-000e2ddeb46142639945f4ab424b5abd2025-08-20T01:53:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupJournal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer2051-14262021-10-0191010.1136/jitc-2021-002939Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapyChun-Yu Chen0Mohammed G Ghonime1Uksha Saini2Michael C Kelly3Justin C Roth4Pin-Yi Wang5Katherine Miller6Ilse Hernandez-Aguirre7Yeaseul Kim8Xiaokui Mo9Joseph R Stanek10Tim Cripe11Elaine Mardis12Kevin A Cassady13Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USACenter for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA1Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USACenter for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USAThe University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama, USACenter for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA1Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USACollege of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA1Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USABiostatistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USABiostatistics Resource, Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USACenter for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children`s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA1Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA1Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USABackground Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) is an immunotherapy that incorporates viral cancer cell lysis with engagement of the recruited immune response against cancer cells. Pediatric solid tumors are challenging targets because they contain both an inert immune environment and a quiet antigenic landscape, making them more resistant to conventional OV approaches. Further complicating this, herpes simplex virus suppresses host gene expression during virotherapy infection.Methods We therefore developed a multimodal oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) that expresses ephrin A2 (EphA2), a shared tumor-associated antigen (TAA) expressed by many tumors to improve immune-mediated antitumor activity. We verified the virus genotypically and phenotypically and then tested it in an oHSV-resistant orthotopic model (including immunophenotypic analysis), in flank and in T cell-deficient mouse models. We then assessed the antigen-expressing virus in an unrelated peripheral tumor model that also expresses the shared tumor antigen and evaluated functional T-cell response from the treated mice.Results Virus-based EphA2 expression induces a robust acquired antitumor immune responses in both an oHSV-resistant murine brain and peripheral tumor model. Our new multimodal oncolytic virus (1) improves survival in viroimmunotherapy resistant tumors, (2) alters both the infiltrating and peripheral T-cell populations capable of suppressing tumor growth on rechallenge, and (3) produces EphA2-specific CD8 effector-like populations.Conclusions Our results suggest that this flexible viral-based platform enables immune recognition of the shared TAA and improves the immune-therapeutic response, thus making it well suited for low-mutational load tumors.https://jitc.bmj.com/content/9/10/e002939.full
spellingShingle Chun-Yu Chen
Mohammed G Ghonime
Uksha Saini
Michael C Kelly
Justin C Roth
Pin-Yi Wang
Katherine Miller
Ilse Hernandez-Aguirre
Yeaseul Kim
Xiaokui Mo
Joseph R Stanek
Tim Cripe
Elaine Mardis
Kevin A Cassady
Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
title Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
title_full Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
title_fullStr Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
title_short Eliciting an immune-mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus-based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
title_sort eliciting an immune mediated antitumor response through oncolytic herpes simplex virus based shared antigen expression in tumors resistant to viroimmunotherapy
url https://jitc.bmj.com/content/9/10/e002939.full
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