Construction and molecular characterization of a T-cell receptor-like antibody and CAR-T cells specific for minor histocompatibility antigen HA-1H.

The genetic transfer of T-cell receptors (TCRs) directed toward target antigens into T lymphocytes has been used to generate antitumor T cells efficiently without the need for the in vitro induction and expansion of T cells with cognate specificity. Alternatively, T cells have been gene-modified with a TCR-like antibody or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). We show that immunization of HLA-A2 transgenic mice with tetramerized recombinant HLA-A2 incorporating HA-1 H minor histocompatibility antigen (mHag) peptides and ß2-microglobulin (HA-1 H/HLA-A2) generate highly specific antibodies. One single-chain variable region moiety (scFv) antibody, #131, demonstrated high affinity (KD=14.9 nM) for the HA-1 H/HLA-A2 complex. Primary human T cells transduced with #131 scFV coupled to CD28 transmembrane and CD3ζ domains were stained with HA-1 H/HLA-A2 tetramers slightly more intensely than a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clone specific for endogenously HLA-A2- and HA-1 H-positive cells. Although #131 scFv CAR-T cells required >100-fold higher antigen density to exert cytotoxicity compared with the cognate CTL clone, they could produce inflammatory cytokines against cells expressing HLA-A2 and HA-1 H transgenes. These data implicate that T cells with high-affinity antigen receptors reduce the ability to lyse targets with low-density peptide/MHC complexes (~100 per cell), while they could respond at cytokine production level.

Preparation of three positional isomers of diglucosyl-cyclomaltohexaose.

Three positional isomers of diglucosyl-cyclomaltohexaose (diglucosyl-cG6) were chemically synthesized via 6(1),6(2)-, 6(1),6(3)-, and 6(1),6(4)-di-O-(TERT-butyldimethylsilyl)-cG6S (1, 2, and 3) prepared regiospecifically. Glucosylation of bis(2,3-di-O-acetyl)tetrakis(2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl)-CG6S obtained from the three regioisomeric compounds 1, 2, and 3 with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-1-O-trichloroacetimidoyl-alpha-D-glucopyran ose, followed by debenzylation and then deacetylation, afforded 6(1),6(2)-, 6(1),6(3)-, and 6(1),6(4)-di-O-(alpha-D-glucopyranosyl)-cG6S (10, 11, and 12) together with configurational isomers. The desired compounds 10, 11, and 12 containing two (1----6)-alpha-linkages were isolated from the mixtures of their configurational isomers by high performance liquid chromatography. The three diglucosyl-cG6S synthesized chemically were used as authentic samples to identify the components in a mixture of diglucosyl-cG6S produced by an enzymatic process.