Oncolytic Virus M1 Functions as a Bifunctional Checkpoint Inhibitor To Enhance the Antitumor Activity of DC Vaccine

Authors

Jia Dan
Jing Cai
Yingqian Zhong
Chaoqun Wang
Shanyu Huang
Ying Zeng
Zhen Fan
Cuiying Xu
Linyi Hu
Jiayu Zhang
Jun Hu
Ying Liu
Xingwen Su
Wenbo Zhu
Guangmei Yan
Jiankai Liang
Yuan Lin

Publication Date

10-17-2023

Journal

Cell Reports Medicine

Abstract

Although promising, dendritic cell (DC) vaccines still provide limited clinical benefits, mainly due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and the lack of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). Oncolytic virus therapy is an ideal strategy to overcome immunosuppression and expose TAAs; therefore, they may work synergistically with DC vaccines. In this study, we demonstrate that oncolytic virus M1 (OVM) can enhance the antitumor effects of DC vaccines across diverse syngeneic mouse tumor models by increasing the infiltration of CD8+ effector T cells in the TME. Mechanically, we show that tumor cells counteract DC vaccines through the SIRPα-CD47 immune checkpoint, while OVM can downregulate SIRPα in DCs and CD47 in tumor cells. Since OVM upregulates PD-L1 in DCs, combining PD-L1 blockade with DC vaccines and OVM further enhances antitumor activity. Overall, OVM strengthens the antitumor efficacy of DC vaccines by targeting the SIRPα-CD47 axis, which exerts dominant immunosuppressive effects on DC vaccines.

Keywords

Mice, Animals, Oncolytic Viruses, CD47 Antigen, B7-H1 Antigen, Cell Line, Tumor, Antigens, Neoplasm, Vaccines

Comments

Supplementary Materials

PMID: 37820722