Allogenicity Boosts Extracellular Vesicle-Induced Antigen-Specific Immunity and Mediates Tumor Protection and Long-Term Memory In Vivo

J Immunol. 2019 Aug 15;203(4):825-834. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801628. Epub 2019 Jul 10.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are candidates for cancer immunotherapy because of their capacity to stimulate tumor-specific activity in vivo. However, clinical trials using peptide-loaded autologous EVs have so far only showed moderate T cell responses, suggesting a need for optimization of EV-induced immunity in humans. We previously demonstrated that induction of Ag-specific CD8+ T cells and antitumor responses to whole Ag were independent of MHC class I on EVs and hypothesized that multiple injections of allogeneic EVs could potentiate Ag-specific responses. In this study, we show that the allogeneic EV from mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells enhances Ag-specific CD8+ T cell, follicular helper T cell, and Ag-specific Ab responses. EV-injected mice demonstrated Ag-specific memory after 4 mo, with the highest Ab avidity in mice receiving double allogeneic EV injections. Reduced B16mOVA melanoma tumor growth was shown in all EV-injected groups. Our findings support the application of allogeneic EVs for therapeutic use in clinical studies in which an adaptive immune response is desired.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allografts
  • Animals
  • Bone Marrow Cells / immunology
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Extracellular Vesicles / immunology
  • Extracellular Vesicles / transplantation*
  • Immunologic Memory / immunology*
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Isografts
  • Melanoma, Experimental / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL