Expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in metastatic and postchemotherapy viable testicular germ cell tumors.
Abstract Introduction Chemotherapy for testicular germ cell tumors (GCT) is highly effective, with few patients who do not respond. Clinical studies to evaluated novel treatments are challenging given the rarity of these patients. Therefore, we sought to evaluate PD-L1 staining on metastatic and postchemotherapy viable testicular GCTs as a surrogate for potential benefit for immunotherapy targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis. Methods Ethics research committee approval for this retrospective study was obtained by four participating institutions (CHU de Quebec, St. Joseph's Health Care, Halifax Health Science Centre, Johannes Gutenberg University). Patients with viable metastatic testicular GCTs pat…
Cross-reactivity between tumor MHC class I-restricted antigens and an enterococcal bacteriophage
International audience; Intestinal microbiota have been proposed to induce commensal-specific memory T cells that cross-react with tumor-associated antigens. We identified major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-binding epitopes in the tail length tape measure protein (TMP) of a prophage found in the genome of the bacteriophage Enterococcus hirae Mice bearing E. hirae harboring this prophage mounted a TMP-specific H-2Kb-restricted CD8+ T lymphocyte response upon immunotherapy with cyclophosphamide or anti-PD-1 antibodies. Administration of bacterial strains engineered to express the TMP epitope improved immunotherapy in mice. In renal and lung cancer patients, the presence of the ent…