Distinct immune stimulatory effects of anti-human VISTA antibodies are determined by Fc-receptor interaction

VISTA (PD-1H) is an immune regulatory molecule considered part of the next wave of immuno-oncology targets. VISTA is an immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily cell surface molecule mainly expressed on myeloid cells, and to some extent on NK cells and T cells. In previous preclinical studies, some VISTA-tar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in immunology Vol. 13; p. 862757
Main Authors: Mostböck, Sven, Wu, Helen Haixia, Fenn, Timothy, Riegler, Bettina, Strahlhofer, Susanne, Huang, Yining, Hansen, Gale, Kroe-Barrett, Rachel, Tirapu, Iñigo, Vogt, Anne B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A 28-07-2022
Subjects:
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:VISTA (PD-1H) is an immune regulatory molecule considered part of the next wave of immuno-oncology targets. VISTA is an immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily cell surface molecule mainly expressed on myeloid cells, and to some extent on NK cells and T cells. In previous preclinical studies, some VISTA-targeting antibodies provided immune inhibitory signals, while other antibodies triggered immune stimulatory signals. Importantly, for therapeutic antibodies, the isotype backbone can have a strong impact on antibody function. To elucidate the mode of action of immune stimulatory anti-VISTA antibodies, we studied three different anti-human VISTA antibody clones, each on three different IgG isotypes currently used for therapeutic antibodies: unaltered IgG1 (IgG1-WT), IgG1-KO (IgG1-LL234,235AA-variant with reduced Fc-effector function), and IgG4-Pro (IgG4- S228P-variant with stabilized hinge region). Antibody functionality was analysed in mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as a model system for ongoing immune reactions, on unstimulated human PBMCs, as a model system for a resting immune system, and also on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient samples to evaluate anti-VISTA antibody effects on primary tumor material. The functions of three anti-human VISTA antibodies were determined by their IgG isotype backbones. An MLR of healthy donor PBMCs was effectively augmented by anti-VISTA-IgG4-Pro and anti-VISTA-IgG1-WT antibodies, as indicated by increased levels of cytokines, T cell activation markers and T cell proliferation. However, in a culture of unstimulated PBMCs of single healthy donors, only anti-VISTA-IgG1-WT antibodies increased the activation marker HLA-DR on resting myeloid cells, and chemokine levels. Interestingly, interactions with different Fc-receptors were required for these effects, namely CD64 for augmentation of MLR, and CD16 for activation of resting myeloid cells. Furthermore, anti-VISTA-IgG1-KO antibodies had nearly no impact in any model system. Similarly, in AML patient samples, anti-VISTA-antibody on IgG4-Pro backbone, but not on IgG1-KO backbone, increased interactions, as a novel readout of activity, between immune cells and CD34+ AML cancer cells. In conclusion, the immune stimulatory effects of antagonistic anti-VISTA antibodies are defined by the antibody isotype and interaction with different Fc-gamma-receptors, highlighting the importance of understanding these interactions when designing immune stimulatory antibody therapeutics for immuno-oncology applications.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Present address: Timothy Fenn, LEXEO Therapeutics, New York, NY, United States
Edited by: Pedro Berraondo, Cima Universidad de Navarra, Spain
Reviewed by: Felipe Galvez-Cancino, University College London, United Kingdom; Fernando Aranda, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Spain; J. Louise Lines, Dartmouth College, United States
This article was submitted to Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy, a section of the journal Frontiers in Immunology
ISSN:1664-3224
1664-3224
DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2022.862757