CD4 T cells transduced with CD80 and 4-1BBL mRNA induce long-term CD8 T cell responses resulting in potent antitumor effects

Therapeutic cancer vaccines are an attractive alternative to conventional therapies to treat malignant tumors, and more importantly, to prevent recurrence after primary therapy. However, the availability of professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) has been restricted by difficulties encountered in obtaining sufficient professional APCs for clinical use. We have prepared an alternative cellular vaccine with CD4 T cells that can be expanded easily to yield a pure and homogeneous population in vitro. To enhance their potency as a therapeutic vaccine, in vitro expanded CD4 T cells were transfected with RNAs encoding the costimulatory ligands CD80, 4-1BBL, or both (CD80-T, 4-1BBL-T, and CD80/4-1BBL-T cells, respectively). We observed augmented cell vitality in CD80/4-1BBL-T cells in vitro and in vivo. Significant CD8 T cell responses eliciting in vivo proliferation and cytotoxicity were obtained with CD80/4-1BBL-T cell vaccination compared to CD80-T and 4-1BBL-T cell vaccinations. Furthermore, CD80/4-1BBL-T cell immunization resulted in curing established EG7 tumors, resulting in the generation of memory CD8 T cell responses, and elicited therapeutic antitumor responses against B16 melanoma. These results suggest that CD4 T cells endowed with costimulatory ligands allow the design of effective vaccination strategies against cancer.