Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes genetically engineered with an inducible gene encoding interleukin-12 for the immunotherapy of metastatic melanoma.

Purpose: Infusion of interleukin-12 (IL12) can mediate antitumor immunity in animal models, yet its systemic administration to patients with cancer results in minimal efficacy and severe toxicity. Here, we evaluated the antitumor activity of adoptively transferred human tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) genetically engineered to secrete single-chain IL12 selectively at the tumor site.

Experimental Design: Thirty-three patients with metastatic melanoma were treated in a cell dose-escalation trial of autologous TILs transduced with a gene encoding a single-chain IL12 driven by a nuclear factor of the activated T cells promoter (NFAT.

Evaluation of γ-retroviral vectors that mediate the inducible expression of IL-12 for clinical application.

The clinical application of interleukin-12 (IL-12) has been hindered by the toxicity associated with its systemic administration. To potentially overcome this problem, we developed a promoter designed to direct IL-12 expression within the tumor environment using an inducible composite promoter containing binding motifs for the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) linked to a minimal IL-2 promoter. In this study, the NFAT promoter was coupled to a single-chain human IL-12 gene and inserted into 2 γ-retroviral self-inactivating vectors (SERS.

Tumor regression in patients with metastatic synovial cell sarcoma and melanoma using genetically engineered lymphocytes reactive with NY-ESO-1.

Purpose: Adoptive immunotherapy using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes represents an effective cancer treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma. The NY-ESO-1 cancer/testis antigen, which is expressed in 80% of patients with synovial cell sarcoma and approximately 25% of patients with melanoma and common epithelial tumors, represents an attractive target for immune-based therapies. The current trial was carried out to evaluate the ability of adoptively transferred autologous T cells transduced with a T-cell receptor (TCR) directed against NY-ESO-1 to mediate tumor regression in patients with metastatic melanoma and synovial cell sarcoma.

Relationship of p53 overexpression on cancers and recognition by anti-p53 T cell receptor-transduced T cells.

Tumor suppressor p53 is reported to be an attractive immunotherapy target because it is mutated in approximately half of human cancers, resulting in inactivation and often an accumulation of the protein in the tumor cells. Only low amounts of protein are detectable in normal tissues. The differential display of antigen in normal versus tumor tissues has been reported to create an opportunity to target p53 by immunotherapy.