International Reviews of Immunology, 33:365–366, 2014 C Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. Copyright ISSN: 0883-0185 print / 1563-5244 online DOI: 10.3109/08830185.2014.941239
EDITORIAL
Editorial: International Reviews of Immunology Maurizio Chiriva Internati,1,2 Leonardo Mirandola,2 and Adrian Bot3 1
Kiromic LLC, 6104 45th St., Lubbock, TX; 2 Division of Hematology & Oncology, Texas Tech University HSC, School of Medicine, 3601 4th St., Lubbock, TX; 3 Kitepharma, Santa Monica, CA
IN THIS ISSUE: UNLOCKING THE POWER OF CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY The immune system constantly patrols the body and, under steady-state conditions, it can generally eliminate abnormal, “transformed” cells before they can give rise to a tumor. This happens continuously and without such immune-mediated surveillance, we would be subject to a variety of lethal tumors starting at a very young age. The relevance of the immune system in protecting us not only from external “pathogens,” such as viruses, bacteria and parasites, but also from our own aberrant cells is dramatically evidenced when considering the higher incidence of neoplasia of various histological origins in immune-compromised subjects, or in the elderly, whose immune system is weakened because of the senescence process. In light of these, it appears that exploiting the immune system to treat or even prevent cancer from arising could be quite feasible. And yet, the immunologic alternative to conventional surgical and chemo-radiotherapy treatments is yet to be fully realized within the context of the anti-neoplastic armamentarium. This is not due to lack of experimental evidences since in the past decade, a number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have proven that immunotherapy approaches for cancer can be effective under certain circumstances. Hence, what are the main obstacles that still prevent a “burst” of immunotherapy products and protocols in oncology? One of the significant problems is that tumors can adopt and deploy a variety of mechanisms to evade from the immune surveillance. Indeed cancer cells originate from “self” tissues and therefore share a number of characteristics with normal healthy cells, toward which the immune system does not react due to homeostatic mechanisms and checkpoints that protect against autoimmunity in steady-state conditions. Another hurdle consists in the difficulty of discovering and validating antigens optimal for immunotherapy. Ideally, they should be expressed exclusively or predominantly in tumor cells, highly immunogenic, and essential for tumor cell biology, so they are not down-regulated in the process of immunoediting. Crucial progress in discovering and translating novel targets and immune therapeutic technologies during the last decade resulted in significant breakthroughs represented by novel immune interventions for cancer widely available in clinic. This issue is entirely dedicated to exploring the potential of immunology as a consistent and effective medical therapeutic strategy in oncology. This special issue will discuss the relevance of novel tumor antigens, including Cancer/Testis Antigens (CTA), and of viral antigens as immunotherapeutic targets for vaccines, along with a different
M. C. Internati et al.
approach to target antigens, through adoptive transfer of chimeric antigen-receptor redirected T-cells, and the alteration of tumor microenvironment. Arnaboldi, Gabai and Cobos, focus on specific tumor antigens amenable to immunotherapy: (i) Arnaboldi et al. focus on a particular CTA, SP17, and describe its relevance as immunotherapeutic target as well as its role in the pathobiology of cancer, demonstrating that SP17 is an ideal tumor antigen; (ii) Gabai et al. propose a DNAbased vaccine targeting the tumor antigen p62, and show its effectiveness and lack of toxicity in a number of pre-clinical animal models; (iii) Cobos et al. explore tumor antigens of viral origin as targets for therapeutic and prophylactic anti-cancer vaccines, in context of Human Papilloma Virus-induced anogenital cancers and (iv) Bonamino et al. discuss an immunotherapy approach different from vaccination, based on the adoptive transfer of T-cells genetically engineered to respond to and kill tumor cells in a selective and efficient fashion. Mirandola et al. explore the efficacy and the mechanisms of action of a new small molecule, namely, Galectin-3C, which is able to alter the tumor microenvironment and could potentially be utilized as an adjuvant for anti-tumor vaccines. Finally, T. Sree Latha and collaborators discuss general biology and immunology aspects related to ovarian cancer, as they translate to modelling and therapeutic design opportunities. In conclusion, this issue is largely devoted to cancer immunotherapy, with an emphasis on the relevance of cancer testis antigens as an optimal class of targets for immunotherapy. In one of the upcoming issues of the journal, we will continue the exploration of immune interventions for cancer, as this therapeutic modality is becoming a mainstream approach in cancer. Declaration of Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
International Reviews of Immunology
Copyright of International Reviews of Immunology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
EDITORIAL
Editorial: International Reviews of Immunology Maurizio Chiriva Internati,1,2 Leonardo Mirandola,2 and Adrian Bot3 1
Kiromic LLC, 6104 45th St., Lubbock, TX; 2 Division of Hematology & Oncology, Texas Tech University HSC, School of Medicine, 3601 4th St., Lubbock, TX; 3 Kitepharma, Santa Monica, CA
IN THIS ISSUE: UNLOCKING THE POWER OF CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY The immune system constantly patrols the body and, under steady-state conditions, it can generally eliminate abnormal, “transformed” cells before they can give rise to a tumor. This happens continuously and without such immune-mediated surveillance, we would be subject to a variety of lethal tumors starting at a very young age. The relevance of the immune system in protecting us not only from external “pathogens,” such as viruses, bacteria and parasites, but also from our own aberrant cells is dramatically evidenced when considering the higher incidence of neoplasia of various histological origins in immune-compromised subjects, or in the elderly, whose immune system is weakened because of the senescence process. In light of these, it appears that exploiting the immune system to treat or even prevent cancer from arising could be quite feasible. And yet, the immunologic alternative to conventional surgical and chemo-radiotherapy treatments is yet to be fully realized within the context of the anti-neoplastic armamentarium. This is not due to lack of experimental evidences since in the past decade, a number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have proven that immunotherapy approaches for cancer can be effective under certain circumstances. Hence, what are the main obstacles that still prevent a “burst” of immunotherapy products and protocols in oncology? One of the significant problems is that tumors can adopt and deploy a variety of mechanisms to evade from the immune surveillance. Indeed cancer cells originate from “self” tissues and therefore share a number of characteristics with normal healthy cells, toward which the immune system does not react due to homeostatic mechanisms and checkpoints that protect against autoimmunity in steady-state conditions. Another hurdle consists in the difficulty of discovering and validating antigens optimal for immunotherapy. Ideally, they should be expressed exclusively or predominantly in tumor cells, highly immunogenic, and essential for tumor cell biology, so they are not down-regulated in the process of immunoediting. Crucial progress in discovering and translating novel targets and immune therapeutic technologies during the last decade resulted in significant breakthroughs represented by novel immune interventions for cancer widely available in clinic. This issue is entirely dedicated to exploring the potential of immunology as a consistent and effective medical therapeutic strategy in oncology. This special issue will discuss the relevance of novel tumor antigens, including Cancer/Testis Antigens (CTA), and of viral antigens as immunotherapeutic targets for vaccines, along with a different
M. C. Internati et al.
approach to target antigens, through adoptive transfer of chimeric antigen-receptor redirected T-cells, and the alteration of tumor microenvironment. Arnaboldi, Gabai and Cobos, focus on specific tumor antigens amenable to immunotherapy: (i) Arnaboldi et al. focus on a particular CTA, SP17, and describe its relevance as immunotherapeutic target as well as its role in the pathobiology of cancer, demonstrating that SP17 is an ideal tumor antigen; (ii) Gabai et al. propose a DNAbased vaccine targeting the tumor antigen p62, and show its effectiveness and lack of toxicity in a number of pre-clinical animal models; (iii) Cobos et al. explore tumor antigens of viral origin as targets for therapeutic and prophylactic anti-cancer vaccines, in context of Human Papilloma Virus-induced anogenital cancers and (iv) Bonamino et al. discuss an immunotherapy approach different from vaccination, based on the adoptive transfer of T-cells genetically engineered to respond to and kill tumor cells in a selective and efficient fashion. Mirandola et al. explore the efficacy and the mechanisms of action of a new small molecule, namely, Galectin-3C, which is able to alter the tumor microenvironment and could potentially be utilized as an adjuvant for anti-tumor vaccines. Finally, T. Sree Latha and collaborators discuss general biology and immunology aspects related to ovarian cancer, as they translate to modelling and therapeutic design opportunities. In conclusion, this issue is largely devoted to cancer immunotherapy, with an emphasis on the relevance of cancer testis antigens as an optimal class of targets for immunotherapy. In one of the upcoming issues of the journal, we will continue the exploration of immune interventions for cancer, as this therapeutic modality is becoming a mainstream approach in cancer. Declaration of Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
International Reviews of Immunology
Copyright of International Reviews of Immunology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
