Redirected cellular cytotoxicity by infection of effector cells with a recombinant vaccinia virus encoding a tumor-specific monoclonal antibody

Cytotoxicity is an important function of the immune system that results in the destruction of cellular targets by humoral and/or cellular mechanisms. We wanted to assess the possibility of targeting the lytic function of immune cells toward cancer cells, which express the gene coding for a known tumor antigen (Ag) (GA733-2/epithelial cell adhesion molecule), using a viral vector encoding a monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for said tumor Ag (CO17-1A). To this end, we have constructed recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing the sequences corresponding to mAb CO17-1A, which recognizes a specific Ag (GA733-2) that is present on the surface of most gastrointestinal carcinomas. The recombinant vectors encoding either a secreted or membrane-anchored form of CO17-1A mAb were used to infect effector cells, which were subsequently assessed for their cytotoxic activity. The recombinant viruses were able to infect both granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-activated human macrophages and Ag-stimulated murine cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Infected granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-activated macrophages were found to be able to kill GA733-2-expressing tumor cells. Likewise, infected cytotoxic T lymphocytes, although conserving their original alloreactivity, gained the capability of killing GA733-2-expressing cancer cells.