Martin et al. utilized a “mini-line” method of screening CD8+ T cells from a patient with high-grade serous ovarian cancer to identify neoantigen-specific T cells from small volumes of peripheral blood collected prior to clinical relapse. Screening against all 37 mutations for this tumor revealed T cells reactive against 5 neoantigens, one of which produced three independent T cell clones that recognized the tumor. This supports the possibility of generating adoptive cell transfer therapy for preemptive treatment prior to relapse.

Mutated cancer antigens, or neoantigens, represent compelling immunological targets and appear to underlie the success of several forms of immunotherapy. While there are anecdotal reports of neoantigen-specific T cells being present in the peripheral blood and/or tumors of cancer patients, effective adoptive cell therapy (ACT) against neoantigens will require reliable methods to isolate and expand rare, neoantigen-specific T cells from clinically available biospecimens, ideally prior to clinical relapse. Here, we addressed this need using "mini-lines", large libraries of parallel T cell cultures, each originating from only 2,000 T cells. Using small quantities of peripheral blood from multiple time points in an ovarian cancer patient, we screened over 3.3 x 10(6) CD8(+) T cells by ELISPOT for recognition of peptides corresponding to the full complement of somatic mutations (n = 37) from the patient's tumor. We identified ten T cell lines which collectively recognized peptides encoding five distinct mutations. Six of the ten T cell lines recognized a previously described neoantigen from this patient (HSDL1(L25V)), whereas the remaining four lines recognized peptides corresponding to four other mutations. Only the HSDL1(L25V)-specific T cell lines recognized autologous tumor. HSDL1(L25V)-specific T cells comprised at least three distinct clonotypes and could be identified and expanded from peripheral blood 3-9 months prior to the first tumor recurrence. These T cells became undetectable at later time points, underscoring the dynamic nature of the response. Thus, neoantigen-specific T cells can be expanded from small volumes of blood during tumor remission, making pre-emptive ACT a plausible clinical strategy.

Author Info: (1) Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vict

Author Info: (1) Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Michael Smith's Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (2) Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (3) Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (4) Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (5) Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Michael Smith's Genome Sciences Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. (6) Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.