@article{VargasWagnerShaikhetal.2022, author = {Vargas, Juan Gamboa and Wagner, Jennifer and Shaikh, Haroon and Lang, Isabell and Medler, Juliane and Anany, Mohamed and Steinfatt, Tim and Mosca, Josefina Pe{\~n}a and Haack, Stephanie and Dahlhoff, Julia and B{\"u}ttner-Herold, Maike and Graf, Carolin and Viera, Estibaliz Arellano and Einsele, Hermann and Wajant, Harald and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {A TNFR2-Specific TNF fusion protein with improved in vivo activity}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {13}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2022.888274}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-277436}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-2 (TNFR2) has attracted considerable interest as a target for immunotherapy. Indeed, using oligomeric fusion proteins of single chain-encoded TNFR2-specific TNF mutants (scTNF80), expansion of regulatory T cells and therapeutic activity could be demonstrated in various autoinflammatory diseases, including graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). With the aim to improve the in vivo availability of TNFR2-specific TNF fusion proteins, we used here the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)-interacting IgG1 molecule as an oligomerizing building block and generated a new TNFR2 agonist with improved serum retention and superior in vivo activity. Methods Single-chain encoded murine TNF80 trimers (sc(mu)TNF80) were fused to the C-terminus of an in mice irrelevant IgG1 molecule carrying the N297A mutation which avoids/minimizes interaction with Fcγ-receptors (FcγRs). The fusion protein obtained (irrIgG1(N297A)-sc(mu)TNF80), termed NewSTAR2 (New selective TNF-based agonist of TNF receptor 2), was analyzed with respect to activity, productivity, serum retention and in vitro and in vivo activity. STAR2 (TNC-sc(mu)TNF80 or selective TNF-based agonist of TNF receptor 2), a well-established highly active nonameric TNFR2-specific variant, served as benchmark. NewSTAR2 was assessed in various in vitro and in vivo systems. Results STAR2 (TNC-sc(mu)TNF80) and NewSTAR2 (irrIgG1(N297A)-sc(mu)TNF80) revealed comparable in vitro activity. The novel domain architecture of NewSTAR2 significantly improved serum retention compared to STAR2, which correlated with efficient binding to FcRn. A single injection of NewSTAR2 enhanced regulatory T cell (Treg) suppressive activity and increased Treg numbers by > 300\% in vivo 5 days after treatment. Treg numbers remained as high as 200\% for about 10 days. Furthermore, a single in vivo treatment with NewSTAR2 upregulated the adenosine-regulating ectoenzyme CD39 and other activation markers on Tregs. TNFR2-stimulated Tregs proved to be more suppressive than unstimulated Tregs, reducing conventional T cell (Tcon) proliferation and expression of activation markers in vitro. Finally, singular preemptive NewSTAR2 administration five days before allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) protected mice from acute GvHD. Conclusions NewSTAR2 represents a next generation ligand-based TNFR2 agonist, which is efficiently produced, exhibits improved pharmacokinetic properties and high serum retention with superior in vivo activity exerting powerful protective effects against acute GvHD.}, language = {en} } @article{RauertStuehmerBargouetal.2011, author = {Rauert, H. and St{\"u}hmer, T. and Bargou, R. and Wajant, H. and Siegmund, D.}, title = {TNFR1 and TNFR2 regulate the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in myeloma cells by multiple mechanisms}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76092}, year = {2011}, abstract = {The huge majority of myeloma cell lines express TNFR2 while a substantial subset of them failed to show TNFR1 expression. Stimulation of TNFR1 in the TNFR1-expressing subset of MM cell lines had no or only a very mild effect on cellular viability. Surprisingly, however, TNF stimulation enhanced cell death induction by CD95L and attenuated the apoptotic effect of TRAIL. The contrasting regulation of TRAIL- and CD95L-induced cell death by TNF could be traced back to the concomitant NFjBmediated upregulation of CD95 and the antiapoptotic FLIP protein. It appeared that CD95 induction, due to its strength, overcompensated a rather moderate upregulation of FLIP so that the net effect of TNF-induced NFjB activation in the context of CD95 signaling is pro-apoptotic. TRAIL-induced cell death, however, was antagonized in response to TNF because in this context only the induction of FLIP is relevant. Stimulation of TNFR2 in myeloma cells leads to TRAF2 depletion. In line with this, we observed cell death induction in TNFR1-TNFR2-costimulated JJN3 cells. Our studies revealed that the TNF-TNF receptor system adjusts the responsiveness of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in myeloma cells by multiple mechanisms that generate a highly context-dependent net effect on myeloma cell survival.}, subject = {Medizin}, language = {en} }