Person: Ritz, Jerome
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Ritz
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Jerome
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Ritz, Jerome
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Publication Long-Term Follow-up of Reduced Intensity Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Prognostic Model to Predict Outcome(2012) Brown, Jennifer; Kim, Haesook T.; Armand, Philippe; Cutler, Corey; Fisher, David; Ho, Vincent; Koreth, John; Ritz, Jerome; Wu, Catherine; Antin, Joseph; Soiffer, Robert; Gribben, John G.; Alyea, Edwin P.CLL remains incurable with chemoimmunotherapy, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers potential for cure. We assessed the outcomes of 108 CLL patients undergoing first allogeneic HSCTs, 76 with reduced intensity (RIC) and 32 with myeloablative (MAC) conditioning between 1998 and 2009 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. With median follow-up 5.9 years in surviving patients, the 5 year OS for the entire cohort is 63% for RIC regimens and 49% for MAC regimens (p=0.18). The risk of death declined significantly starting in 2004 and we found that 5 year OS for HSCT between 2004–2009 was 83% for RIC regimens compared to 47% for MAC regimens (p=0.003). For RIC transplantation, we developed a prognostic model based on predictors of PFS, specifically remission status, LDH, comorbidity score and lymphocyte count, and found 5-year PFS 83% for score 0, 63% for score 1, 24% for score 2, and 6% for score >= 3 (p<0.0001). We conclude that RIC HSCT for CLL in the current era is associated with excellent long-term PFS and OS, and, as potentially curative therapy, should be considered early in the disease course of relapsed high-risk CLL patients.Publication Interferon-γ-induced activation of JAK1 and JAK2 suppresses tumor cell susceptibility to NK cells through upregulation of PD-L1 expression(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Bellucci, Roberto; Martin, Allison; Bommarito, Davide; Wang, Kathy; Hansen, Steen; Freeman, Gordon; Ritz, JeromeInhibition of JAK1 or JAK2 in human tumor cells was previously shown to increase susceptibility of these cells to NK cell lysis. In the present study, we examined the cellular mechanisms that mediate this effect in hematopoietic tumor cell lines and primary tumor cells. Incubation of tumor cells with supernatant from activated NK cells or interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-induced activation of pSTAT1 and increased expression of PD-L1 without altering expression of other activating or inhibitory NK cell ligands. These functional effects were blocked by chemical JAK inhibition or shRNAs targeting JAK1, JAK2 or STAT1. Inhibition of IFNγ signaling also prevented the upregulation of PD-L1 and blocking PD-L1 resulted in increased tumor lysis by NK cells. These results show that NK cell activation and secretion of IFNγ results in activation of JAK1, JAK2 and STAT1 in tumor cells, resulting in rapid up-regulation of PD-L1 expression. Increased expression of PD-L1 results in increased resistance to NK cell lysis. Blockade of JAK pathway activation prevents increased PD-L1 expression resulting in increased susceptibility of tumor cells to NK cell activity. These observations suggest that JAK pathway inhibitors as well as PD-1 and PD-L1 antibodies may work synergistically with other immune therapies by preventing IFN-induced inhibition of NK cell-mediated tumor cell lysis.Publication Detecting T-cell Reactivity to Whole Cell Vaccines(Landes Bioscience, 2012) Brusic, Ana; Hainz, Ursula; Wadleigh, Martha; Neuberg, Donna; Su, Mei; Canning, Christine M.; DeAngelo, Daniel; Stone, Richard; Lee, Jeng-Shin; Mulligan, Richard; Ritz, Jerome; Dranoff, Glenn; Sasada, Tetsuro; Wu, CatherineBCR-ABL\(^+\) K562 cells hold clinical promise as a component of cancer vaccines, either as bystander cells genetically modified to express immunostimulatory molecules, or as a source of leukemia antigens. To develop a method for detecting T-cell reactivity against K562 cell-derived antigens in patients, we exploited the dendritic cell (DC)-mediated cross-presentation of proteins generated from apoptotic cells. We used UVB irradiation to consistently induce apoptosis of K562 cells, which were then fed to autologous DCs. These DCs were used to both stimulate and detect antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell reactivity. As proof-of-concept, we used cross-presented apoptotic influenza matrix protein-expressing K562 cells to elicit reactivity from matrix protein-reactive T cells. Likewise, we used this assay to detect increased anti-CML antigen T-cell reactivity in CML patients that attained long-lasting clinical remissions following immunotherapy (donor lymphocyte infusion), as well as in 2 of 3 CML patients vaccinated with lethally irradiated K562 cells that were modified to secrete high levels of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). This methodology can be readily adapted to examine the effects of other whole tumor cell-based vaccines, a scenario in which the precise tumor antigens that stimulate immune responses are unknown.Publication Identification of Cytolytic CD161\(^−\)CD56\(^+\) Regulatory CD8 T Cells in Human Peripheral Blood(Public Library of Science, 2013) Hu, Dan; Weiner, Howard; Ritz, JeromeWe previously developed methods for establishing CD8 regulatory T cell (Treg) clones from normal human peripheral blood and demonstrated that these clones were capable of killing T cell receptor (TCR)-activated autologous CD4 T cells. Based on phenotypic and functional characterization of the CD8 Treg clones, we have identified a corresponding population of endogenous CD8 Treg in normal human peripheral blood. These cells appear morphologically as large lymphocytes with abundant cytoplasm and have the following unique phenotype: CD3\(^+\)CD8\(^+\)CD161\(^−\)CD56\(^+\). The majority of CD8 Treg express CD45RA and CD62L with low or negative expression of CD45RO, CD25, CD27, CD28 and CCR7. The expression of CD94 and NKG2a on CD8 Treg was elevated compared to conventional CD8 T cells. Following in vitro activation, this T cell subset is capable of killing TCR-activated CD4 T cells. These studies identify an endogenous CD8 Treg population in humans and it will now be possible to characterize these cells in a variety of clinical conditions.Publication Mechanism of EBV Inducing Anti-Tumour Immunity and Its Therapeutic Use(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020-12-23) Choi, Il-Kyu; Wang, Zhe; Ke, Qiang; Hong, Min; Paul, Dereck W.; Fernandes, Stacey M.; Hu, Zhuting; Stevens, Jonathan; Guleria, Indira; Kim, Hye-Jung; Cantor, Harvey; Wucherpfennig, Kai; Brown, Jennifer R.; Ritz, Jerome; Zhang, BaochunTumour-associated antigens (TAAs) comprise a large collection of non-mutated cellular antigens recognized by T cells in human and murine cancers. Their potential as immunotherapy targets has been explored for over two decades, yet the genesis of TAA-specific T cells remains elusive. While tumour cells may be an important source of TAAs for T cell priming, several recent studies suggest that infection with some viruses including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and influenza virus can elicit T cell responses against abnormally expressed cellular antigens that function as TAAs. However, the cellular and molecular basis of such responses remains undefined. Here, we show that expression of the EBV signaling protein LMP1 in B cells provokes T cell responses to multiple TAAs. LMP1 signaling leads to overexpression of many cellular antigens previously shown to be TAAs, their presentation on MHC-I and -II (mainly through the endogenous pathway), and the upregulation of costimulatory ligands CD70 and OX40L, thereby inducing potent cytotoxic CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. These findings delineate a novel mechanism of infection-induced anti-tumour immunity. Furthermore, by ectopically expressing LMP1 in patient tumour B cells and thereby empowering them to prime T cells, we develop a general approach for rapid production of autologous cytotoxic CD4+ T cells against a broad array of endogenous tumour antigens, such as TAAs and neoantigens, for treating B-cell malignancies. This work stresses the need to revisit classical concepts concerning viral and tumour immunity, which will be critical to fully understand the impact of common infections on human health and to improve the rational design of immune approaches for cancers.Publication Bortezomib-based immunosuppression after reduced-intensity conditioning hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: randomized phase II results(Ferrata Storti Foundation, 2018) Koreth, John; Kim, Haesook; Lange, Paulina B.; Poryanda, Samuel J.; Reynolds, Carol G.; Rai, Sharmila Chamling; Armand, Philippe; Cutler, Corey; Ho, Vincent; Glotzbecker, Brett; Yusuf, Rushdia; NIkiforow, Sarah; Chen, Yi-Bin; Dey, Bimalangshu; McMasters, Malgorzata; Ritz, Jerome; Blazar, Bruce R.; Soiffer, Robert; Antin, Joseph; Alyea, Edwin P.Aprior phase I/II trial of bortezomib/tacrolimus/methotrexate prophylaxis after human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation documented low acute graft-versus-host disease incidence, with promising overall and progression-free survival. We performed an open-label three-arm 1:1:1 phase II randomized controlled trial comparing grade II–IV acute graft-versus-host disease between conventional tacrolimus/methotrexate (A) versus bortezomib/tacrolimus/methotrexate (B), and versus bortezomib/sirolimus/tacrolimus (C), in reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic transplantation recipients lacking HLA-matched related donors. The primary endpoint was grade II–IV acute graft-versus-host disease incidence rate by day +180. One hundred and thirty-eight patients (A 46, B 45, C 47) with a median age of 64 years (range: 24–75), varying malignant diagnoses and disease risk (low 14, intermediate 96, high/very high 28) received 7–8/8 HLA-mismatched (40) or matched unrelated donor (98) grafts. Median follow up in survivors was 30 months (range: 14–46). Despite early immune reconstitution differences, day +180 grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease rates were similar (A 32.6%, B 31.1%, C 21%; P=0.53 for A vs. B, P=0.16 for A vs. C). The 2-year non-relapse mortality incidence was similar (A 14%, B 16%, C 6.4%; P=0.62), as were relapse (A 32%, B 32%, C 38%; P=0.74), chronic graft-versus-host disease (A 59%, B 60% C 55%; P=0.66), progression-free survival (A 54%, B 52%, C 55%; P=0.95), and overall survival (A 61%, B 62%, C 62%; P=0.98). Overall, the bortezomib-based regimens evaluated did not improve outcomes compared with tacrolimus/methotrexate therapy. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: 01754389