TCR-engineered neoantigen-specific CD4+ T cells mediate immunotherapy of a class II-negative murine squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract The expansion of neoantigen (NeoAg)-specific T cells often accompanies clinical responses to immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), adoptive cellular therapy (ACT), and personalized cancer vaccines (PCV), highlighting their importance for antitumor immunity. While the functions of NeoAg-specific CD8+ T cells have been characterized, the role of NeoAg-specific CD4+ T cells is less well understood. To study the antitumor mechanisms of NeoAg-specific CD4+ T cells, we sorted single CD4+ T cells specific for a mutated clathrin heavy chain epitope (Cltc H129Q) expressed by the murine squamous cell carcinoma VII (SCC VII) tumor. T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing analysis revealed the presence of four distinct TCR clonotypes and expression of these TCRs in primary cells was sufficient to confer preferential recognition of Cltc H129Q as compared to the corresponding wildtype Cltc epitope. Despite differences in TCR avidity, both low and high avidity CD4+ T cells were capable of proliferating to similar degrees in response to tumor antigen in vivo and enhancing primary tumor immunity in a CD8+ T cell- and CD40L-dependent manner. ACT with Cltc H129Q specific CD4+ T cells also synergized with cyclophosphamide treatment to reduce disease burden in mice with established tumors. Overall, these findings illuminate the mechanistic role of NeoAg-specific CD4+ T cells in tumor immunity, provide insights into the impact of TCR avidity on the helper functions of CD4+ T cells, and highlight the therapeutic potential of ACT with TCR-engineered CD4+ T cells.