Telomerase (TERT) is overexpressed in 80% to 90% of primary tumors and contributes to sustaining the transformed phenotype. The identification of several TERT epitopes in tumor cells has elevated the status of TERT as a potential universal target for selective and broad adoptive immunotherapy. TERT-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have been detected in the peripheral blood of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) patients, but display low functional avidity, which limits their clinical utility in adoptive cell transfer approaches. To overcome this key obstacle hindering effective immunotherapy, we isolated an HLA-A2-restricted T-cell receptor (TCR) with high avidity for human TERT from vaccinated HLA-A-0201 transgenic mice. Using several relevant humanized mouse models, we demonstrate that TCR-transduced T cells were able to control human BCLL progression in vivo and limited tumor growth in several human, solid transplantable cancers. TERT-based adoptive immunotherapy selectively eliminated tumor cells, failed to trigger a self-MHC-restricted fratricide of T cells, and was associated with toxicity against mature granulocytes, but not toward human hematopoietic progenitors in humanized immune reconstituted mice. These data support the feasibility of TERT-based adoptive immunotherapy in clinical oncology, highlighting, for the first time, the possibility of utilizing a high-avidity TCR specific for human TERT.

doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-2318, hdl.handle.net/1765/82767
Cancer Research
Department of Pulmonology

Sandri, S., Bobisse, S., Moxley, K., Lamolinara, A., De Sanctis, F., Boschi, F., … Ugel, S. (2016). Feasibility of telomerase-specific adoptive T-cell therapy for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and solid malignancies. Cancer Research, 76(9), 2540–2551. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-2318