PUBLICATION OF A NEW SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE in the "International Journal of Molecular Sciences"
We are very pleased to inform you about the publication of a new scientific article in the "International Journal of Molecular Sciences" in a special issue entitled "Dendritic Cell and Cancer Therapy 2.0"!
Article is entitled: A New Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Expands the Tumor-Specific CD8+ T Cells of Lung Cancer Patients!
The paper shows the ability of our PDC*line platform to amplify cytotoxic antitumor CD8-T cells directed against many tumor antigens, from the blood cells of lung cancer patients. We have shown that the combination of our platform with an anti-PD1 antibody allows for an even greater amplification of these antitumor cytotoxic cells, which are essential for the elimination of cancer cells.
Abstract:
The purpose of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies is to help the patient’s immune systemto combat tumors by restoring the immune response mediated by CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. Despite impressive clinical responses, most patients do not respond to ICIs. Therapeutic vaccines with autologous professional antigen-presenting cells, including dendritic cells, do not show yet significant clinical benefit. To improve these approaches, we have developed a new therapeutic vaccine based on an allogeneic plasmacytoid dendritic cell line (PDC*line), which efficiently activates the CD8+ T-cell response in the context of melanoma. The goal of the study is to demonstrate the potential of this platform to activate circulating tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in patients with lung cancer, specifically non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PDC*line cells loaded with peptides derived from tumor antigens are used to stimulate the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of NSCLC patients. Very interestingly, we demonstrate an efficient activation of specific T cells for at least two tumor antigens in 69% of patients irrespective of tumor antigen mRNA overexpression and NSCLC subtype. We also show, for the first time, that the antitumor CD8+ T-cell expansion is considerably improved by clinical-grade anti-PD-1 antibodies. Using PDC*line cells as an antigen presentation platform, we show that circulating antitumor CD8+ T cells from lung cancer patients can be activated, and we demonstrate the synergistic effect of anti-PD-1 on this expansion. These results are encouraging for the development of a PDC*line-based vaccine in NSCLC patients, especially in combination with ICIs.
Please find below the link for the full article in PDF version:
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/1897/pdf
