Targeting of cancer neoantigens with donor-derived T cell receptor repertoires

E Strønen, M Toebes, S Kelderman, MM Van Buuren… - Science, 2016 - science.org
E Strønen, M Toebes, S Kelderman, MM Van Buuren, W Yang, N Van Rooij, M Donia
Science, 2016science.org
Accumulating evidence suggests that clinically efficacious cancer immunotherapies are
driven by T cell reactivity against DNA mutation–derived neoantigens. However, among the
large number of predicted neoantigens, only a minority is recognized by autologous patient
T cells, and strategies to broaden neoantigen-specific T cell responses are therefore
attractive. We found that naïve T cell repertoires of healthy blood donors provide a source of
neoantigen-specific T cells, responding to 11 of 57 predicted human leukocyte antigen …
Accumulating evidence suggests that clinically efficacious cancer immunotherapies are driven by T cell reactivity against DNA mutation–derived neoantigens. However, among the large number of predicted neoantigens, only a minority is recognized by autologous patient T cells, and strategies to broaden neoantigen-specific T cell responses are therefore attractive. We found that naïve T cell repertoires of healthy blood donors provide a source of neoantigen-specific T cells, responding to 11 of 57 predicted human leukocyte antigen (HLA)– A*02:01–binding epitopes from three patients. Many of the T cell reactivities involved epitopes that in vivo were neglected by patient autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Finally, T cells redirected with T cell receptors identified from donor-derived T cells efficiently recognized patient-derived melanoma cells harboring the relevant mutations, providing a rationale for the use of such “outsourced” immune responses in cancer immunotherapy.
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