Adenoviral-based vaccine promotes neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cell stemness and tumor rejection.

Upon chronic antigen exposure, CD8+ T cells become exhausted, acquiring a dysfunctional state correlated with the inability to control infection or tumor progression. In contrast, stem-like CD8+ T progenitors maintain the ability to promote and sustain effective immunity. Adenovirus (Ad)-vectored vaccines encoding tumor neoantigens have been shown to eradicate large tumors when combined with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (αPD-1) in murine models; however, the mechanisms and translational potential have not yet been elucidated. Here, we show that gorilla Ad vaccine targeting tumor neoepitopes enhances responses to αPD-1 therapy by improving immunogenicity and antitumor efficacy. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated that the combination of Ad vaccine and αPD-1 increased the number of murine polyfunctional neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells over αPD-1 monotherapy, with an accumulation of Tcf1+ stem-like progenitors in draining lymph nodes and effector CD8+ T cells in tumors. Combined T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing analysis highlighted a broader spectrum of neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells upon vaccination compared to αPD-1 monotherapy. The translational relevance of these data is supported by results obtained in the first 12 patients with metastatic deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors vaccinated with an Ad vaccine encoding shared neoantigens. Expansion and diversification of TCRs were observed in post-treatment biopsies of patients with clinical response, as well as an increase in tumor-infiltrating T cells with an effector memory signature. These findings indicate a promising mechanism to overcome resistance to PD-1 blockade by promoting immunogenicity and broadening the spectrum and magnitude of neoantigen-specific T cells infiltrating tumors.

Ruxolitinib for the treatment of patients with steroid-refractory GVHD: an introduction to the REACH trials.

For patients with hematologic malignancies and disorders, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation offers a potentially curative treatment option. Many patients develop graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication and leading cause of nonrelapse mortality. Corticosteroids are the standard first-line treatment for GVHD; however, patients often become steroid-refractory or remain corticosteroid-dependent. New second-line treatment options are needed to improve patient outcomes. Here we review the role of JAK1 and JAK2 in acute and chronic GVHD. We also describe the study designs of the Phase II REACH1 (NCT02953678) and the Phase III REACH2 (NCT02913261) and REACH3 (NCT03112603) clinical trials that are currently recruiting patients to evaluate the JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib in patients with corticosteroid-refractory acute or chronic GVHD.