Biology subjects

Strietz, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Strietz, J..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Breast cancer stem cell-derived tumors escape from γδ T cell immunosurveillance in vivo by modulating γδ T cell ligands

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks targeted therapy options. TNBC is enriched in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), which play a key role in metastasis, chemoresistance, relapse and mortality. {gamma}{delta} T cells hold great potential in immunotherapy against cancer, and might be an alternative to target TNBC. {gamma}{delta} T cells are commonly observed to infiltrate solid tumors and have an extensive repertoire of tumor sensing, recognizing stress-induced molecules and phosphoantigens (pAgs) on transformed cells. We show that patient-derived triple negative BCSCs are efficiently recognized and killed by ex vivo expanded {gamma}{delta} T cells from healthy donors. Orthotopically xenografted BCSCs, however, were refractory to {gamma}{delta} T cell immunotherapy. Mechanistically, we unraveled concerted differentiation and immune escape: xenografted BCSCs lost stemness, expression of {gamma}{delta} T cell ligands, adhesion molecules and pAgs, thereby evading immune recognition by {gamma}{delta} T cells. Indeed, neither pro-migratory engineered {gamma}{delta} T cells, nor anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade significantly prolonged overall survival of tumor-bearing mice. BCSC immune escape was independent of the immune pressure exerted by the {gamma}{delta} T cells, and could be pharmacologically reverted by Zoledronate or IFN- treatment. These results pave the way for novel combinatorial immunotherapies for TNBC.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2021

Engineered chimeric T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC)-expressing T cells prevent translational shutdown in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, is known to evade the immune system by several mechanisms. This includes the shutdown of the host cellular protein synthesis, which abrogates the induction of antiviral interferon responses. The virus initiates the infection of susceptible cells by binding with its spike protein (S) to the host angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here we applied the T cell receptor fusion construct (TRuC) technology to engineer T cells against such infected cells. In our TRuCs an S-binding domain is fused to the CD3{varepsilon} component of the T cell receptor (TCR) complex, enabling recognition of S-containing cells in an HLA independent manner. This domain either consists of the S-binding part of ACE2 or a single-chain variable fragment of an anti-S antibody. We show that the TRuC T cells are activated by and kill cells that express S of SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) variants at the cell surface. Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells with our engineered T cells did not lead to massive cytotoxicity towards the infected cells, but resulted in a complete rescue of the translational shutdown despite ongoing viral replication. Our data show that engineered TRuC T cell products might be used against SARS-CoV-2 by exposing infected cells to the host innate immune system.

bioengineering↗