Significant advances have been made in clinical cancer immunotherapy. Nevertheless, precursor frequency of antigen-reactive T cells remains an important limiting factor in achieving higher clinical response rates. We propose a translational investigation in which a high affinity MART-1 T cell receptor (TCR) and the HSVsr39tk PET reporter/imaging gene are introduced into CDS T cells from metastatic melanoma patients using a lentiviral vector. This vector will be manufactured at the Indiana University National Gene Vector Laboratory. These TCR/tk-engineered T cells will be reintroduced to the patient after a lymphodepleting, but nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen. These adoptively transferred cells will be supported in vivo by systemic interleukin-2 and MART26-35 peptide pulsed dendritic cell vaccines. In this dose-escalation phase I clinical trial, already approved by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, safety and feasibility will be primary end-points, transgenic T cell persistence and in vivo PET imaging will be secondary end-points and clinical response the tertiary end-point.
Two specific aims are proposed. In the first, the phase I trial will be conducted with safety, immunological and clinical response end-points.
The second aim will focus on biological imaging: clinical trial imaging, quantitative animal modeling using engineered human T cells and assessment of sr39tk-specific immune responses. In this first-in-human clinical investigation, we will utilize a lentiviral vector encoding three transgenes (a, p MART TCR chains, HSV sr39tk) to noninvasively and serially image antitumor immune responses in man. This application is the byproduct of an ongoing collaboration between investigators from UCLA, Caltech, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and USC. Although the trial will be conducted at UCLA, it takes advantage of the science and infrastructure of 3 research universities, 8 academic departments, 2 gene medicine programs, 3 cancer centers and 4 institutes (Molecular Imaging, Stem Cell, Molecular Medicine, AIDS). Lay summary. We propose to conduct a clinical gene therapy trial in patients with metastatic melanoma. We will use a crippled viral vector to introduce three genes into white blood cells isolated from the patients. Two of these genes will cause these white blood cells to produce a receptor on their surface that will recognize melanoma cells in patients, allowing them to be killed. The third gene will allow these white blood cells to be visualized in patients using a noninvasive PET scan.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA129816-05
Application #
8117632
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-CII-V (01))
Program Officer
Song, Min-Kyung H
Project Start
2007-08-13
Project End
2013-07-31
Budget Start
2011-08-01
Budget End
2013-07-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$283,822
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Surgery
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Jazirehi, Ali R; Kurdistani, Siavash K; Economou, James S (2014) Histone deacetylase inhibitor sensitizes apoptosis-resistant melanomas to cytotoxic human T lymphocytes through regulation of TRAIL/DR5 pathway. J Immunol 192:3981-9
Chodon, Thinle; Comin-Anduix, BegoƱa; Chmielowski, Bartosz et al. (2014) Adoptive transfer of MART-1 T-cell receptor transgenic lymphocytes and dendritic cell vaccination in patients with metastatic melanoma. Clin Cancer Res 20:2457-65
Jazirehi, Ali R; Torres-Collado, Antoni X (2013) Epigenetic fine-tuning of NF-?B-Sox9 circuitry in cancer stem cells. Epigenomics 5:363-64
Jazirehi, Ali R; Torres-Collado, Antoni X; Nazarian, Ramin (2013) Epigenetic regulation of melanoma tumor suppressor miRNA-124a. Epigenomics 5:251-52
Jazirehi, Ali R; Economou, James S (2012) Proteasome inhibition blocks NF-?B and ERK1/2 pathways, restores antigen expression, and sensitizes resistant human melanoma to TCR-engineered CTLs. Mol Cancer Ther 11:1332-41
Kachikwu, Evelyn L; Iwamoto, Keisuke S; Liao, Yu-Pei et al. (2011) Radiation enhances regulatory T cell representation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 81:1128-35
Jazirehi, Ali R; Baritaki, Stavroula; Koya, Richard C et al. (2011) Molecular mechanism of MART-1+/A*0201+ human melanoma resistance to specific CTL-killing despite functional tumor-CTL interaction. Cancer Res 71:1406-17
Quatromoni, Jon G; Morris, Lilah F; Donahue, Timothy R et al. (2011) T cell receptor transgenic lymphocytes infiltrating murine tumors are not induced to express foxp3. J Hematol Oncol 4:48
Ray, Swagatam; Chhabra, Arvind; Chakraborty, Nitya G et al. (2010) MHC-I-restricted melanoma antigen specific TCR-engineered human CD4+ T cells exhibit multifunctional effector and helper responses, in vitro. Clin Immunol 136:338-47
Baritaki, Stavroula; Huerta-Yepez, Sara; Sahakyan, Anna et al. (2010) Mechanisms of nitric oxide-mediated inhibition of EMT in cancer: inhibition of the metastasis-inducer Snail and induction of the metastasis-suppressor RKIP. Cell Cycle 9:4931-40

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