Immunogenicity, manufacturing feasibility, and safety of a novel, autologous dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy (AGS-004) was evaluated in ten human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected adults successfully treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Personalized AGS-004 was produced from autologous monocyte-derived DCs electroporated with RNA encoding CD40L and HIV antigens (Gag, Nef, Rev, Vpr) derived from each subjects's pre-ART plasma. Patients received monthly injections of AGS-004 in combination with ART. AGS-004 was produced within a mean of 6 weeks and yielded 4-12 doses/subject Full or partial HIV-specific proliferative immune responses occurred in 7 of 9 evaluable subjects. Responses were specific for the AGS-004 presented HIV antigens and preferentially targeted CD8 + cells. Mild adverse events included flulike symptoms, fatigue, and injection site reactions. No evidence of autoimmunity, changes in viral load, or significant changes in absolute CD4 + and CD8 + T cell counts were observed. This pilot study supports the further clinical investigation of AGS-004.

Latently infected resting CD4+ T cells are a major barrier to HIV cure. Understanding how latency is established, maintained and reversed is critical to identifying novel strategies to eliminate latently infected cells. We demonstrate here that co-culture of resting CD4+ T cells and syngeneic myeloid dendritic cells (mDC) can dramatically increase the frequency of HIV DNA integration and latent HIV infection in non-proliferating memory, but not naïve, CD4+ T cells. Latency was eliminated when cell-to-cell contact was prevented in the mDC-T cell co-cultures and reduced when clustering was minimised in the mDC-T cell co-cultures. Supernatants from infected mDC-T cell co-cultures did not facilitate the establishment of latency, consistent with cell-cell contact and not a soluble factor being critical for mediating latent infection of resting CD4+ T cells. Gene expression in non-proliferating CD4+ T cells, enriched for latent infection, showed significant changes in the expression of genes involved in cellular activation and interferon regulated pathways, including the down-regulation of genes controlling both NF-κB and cell cycle. We conclude that mDC play a key role in the establishment of HIV latency in resting memory CD4+ T cells, which is predominantly mediated through signalling during DC-T cell contact.

Extensive clonal T cell expansion is associated with response to immunotherapy.

Purpose: Immunotherapy has been demonstrably effective against multiple cancers, yet tumor escape is common. It remains unclear how brain tumors escape immunotherapy and how to overcome this immune escape.

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Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) is involved in the biosynthesis of a number of neuropeptides including opioid peptides. A point mutation in this gene results in a loss of enzyme activity, decrease in mature neuroendocrine peptides, and development of late onset obesity as seen in Cpe fat /Cpe fat mice. In this study, we examined the processing of peptides derived from prodynorphin and proenkephalin in various brain regions of these mice during development. At 6 to 8 weeks, an age prior to the onset of obesity, levels of dynorphin peptides are decreased in all brain regions, whereas levels of ir-Met-enkephalin are differentially altered. There is an accumulation of C-terminally extended forms of all three opioid peptides in Cpe fat /Cpe fat mice, consistent with a lack of CPE activity. Thus, it appears that there is no direct correlation between the level of mature opioid peptides and the development of obesity in these mice. Since altered levels of peptides can influence the opioid receptor system, we examined the functional activity of and opioid receptors using [35 S]guanosine-5Ј-O-(␥-thio)-triphosphate binding assays. We find no differences in receptor activity in Cpe fat /Cpe fat compared with control littermate mice. In contrast, the receptor activity is differentially altered in select regions of Cpe fat /Cpe fat mice in response to a -specific ligand. Taken together, these results suggest that the lack of CPE activity leads to alterations in the level of opioid peptides during development and that changes in peptide levels differentially affect opioid receptor activity in vivo.

ObjectiveTo determine the function and phenotype of CD8+ T-cells targeting consensus and autologous sequences of entire HIV-1 Nef protein.MethodsMultiparameter flow cytometry-based analysis was used to evaluate the responses of two treatment naïve HIV-infected individuals, during primary and the chronic phases of infection.ResultsA greater breadth and magnitude of CD8 IFN-γ responses to autologous compared to clade-B consensus peptides was observed in both subjects. Cross recognition between autologous and consensus peptides decreased in both subjects during progression from primary to chronic infection. The frequencies of TEMRA and TEM CD8+ T-cells targeting autologous peptides were higher than those targeting consensus peptides and were more polyfunctional (IFN-γ+ Gr-B+ CD107a+).ConclusionsOur data indicate superior sensitivity and specificity of autologous peptides. The functional and maturational aspects of “real” versus “cross-recognized” responses were also found to differ, highlighting the importance of a sequence-specific approach towards understanding HIV immune response.