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Immune competence after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.

ABSTRACT: To determine the immunocompetency of patients with multiple sclerosis treated with the lymphodepleting humanized monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab.In this pilot case-control study, we assessed immunocompetence in 24 patients after alemtuzumab treatment by measuring antibody responses to 3 vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, and poliomyelitis vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type b and meningococcal group C conjugate vaccine, and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine). In 20 patients, antibodies to common viruses (mumps, rubella, varicella-zoster, and Epstein-Barr virus) were measured before alemtuzumab treatment, then at 1 and 9-11 months after treatment. Results were compared with well-defined historical controls.Serum antibodies against common viruses remained detectable after treatment, and vaccine responses were normal to T-cell-dependent recall antigens (tetanus, diphtheria, and polio), a T-cell-dependent novel antigen (meningococcus C), and T-cell-independent antigens (pneumococcal). There was no evidence for a diminished response to vaccinations in 5 patients studied within 6 months of alemtuzumab treatment.In this small historically controlled pilot study, we demonstrated i) retained humoral immunologic memory (in the form of antibodies against common viruses and response to recall antigens), and ii) the retained ability to mount a humoral immune response against a novel antigen after treatment with alemtuzumab.This pilot study provides Class III evidence that patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis appear immunocompetent after treatment with alemtuzumab.

SUBMITTER: McCarthy CL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3885219 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Immune competence after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.

McCarthy Claire L CL Tuohy Orla O Compston D Alastair S DA Kumararatne Dinakantha S DS Coles Alasdair J AJ Jones Joanne L JL

Neurology 20130807 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To determine the immunocompetency of patients with multiple sclerosis treated with the lymphodepleting humanized monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab.<h4>Methods</h4>In this pilot case-control study, we assessed immunocompetence in 24 patients after alemtuzumab treatment by measuring antibody responses to 3 vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, and poliomyelitis vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type b and meningococcal group C conjugate vaccine, and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine). In ...[more]

PMID: 23925762

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Project description:Alemtuzumab is a highly effective treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It selectively targets the CD52 antigen to induce profound lymphocyte depletion, followed by recovery of T and B cells with regulatory phenotypes. We previously showed that regulatory T cell function is restored with cellular repletion, but little is known about the functional capacity of regulatory B-cells and peripheral blood monocytes during the repletion phase. In this study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID# NCT03647722) we simultaneously analyzed the change in composition and function of both regulatory lymphocyte populations and distinct monocyte subsets in cross-sectional cohorts of MS patients prior to or 6, 12, 18, 24 or 36 months after their first course of alemtuzumab treatment. We found that the absolute number and percentage of cells with a regulatory B cell phenotype were significantly higher after treatment and were positivity correlated with regulatory T cells. In addition, B cells from treated patients secreted higher levels of IL-10 and BDNF, and inhibited the proliferation of autologous CD4+CD25- T cell targets. Though there was little change in monocytes populations overall, following the second annual course of treatment, CD14+ monocytes had a significantly increased anti-inflammatory bias in cytokine secretion patterns. These results confirmed that the immune system in alemtuzumab-treated patients is altered in favor of a regulatory milieu that involves expansion and increased functionality of multiple regulatory populations including B cells, T cells and monocytes. Here, we showed for the first time that functionally competent regulatory B cells re-appear with similar kinetics to that of regulatory T-cells, whereas the change in anti-inflammatory bias of monocytes does not occur until after the second treatment course. These findings justify future studies of all regulatory cell types following alemtuzumab treatment to reveal further insights into mechanisms of drug action, and to identify key immunological predictors of durable clinical efficacy in alemtuzumab-treated patients.

Project description:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is among the most common chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. Although not curable, the constantly increasing armamentarium of disease-modifying drugs now allows control of disease activity in many patients. The humanized monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab is a powerful drug licensed for the treatment of MS. Upon binding to the CD52 surface protein on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, B cells, and monocytes, circulating CD52+ cells are eliminated via antibody- and complement-mediated lysis, and a less autoreactive adaptive immune system is reconstituted. The efficacy of alemtuzumab in terms of both clinical and magnetic resonance imaging outcomes has been demonstrated in several phase II/III trials including long-term extensions and follow-up studies. Treatment response to alemtuzumab is strongest as long as active inflammation is the predominant pathophysiological feature, and it is becoming less efficacious in neurodegeneration-dominated later stages of the disease. Thus, the optimal placement of alemtuzumab within treatment algorithms of MS is crucial. The impressive efficacy of alemtuzumab is counteracted by a less favorable safety profile. Besides usually manageable infusion-associated side effects, development of secondary autoimmunity in almost half of treated patients is the most disconcerting risk of alemtuzumab. The high frequency, the delayed occurrence, and the potentially severe course of secondary autoimmune diseases require awareness and a close long-term monitoring of patients treated with alemtuzumab. Biomarkers that would allow prediction of treatment response to alemtuzumab on the one hand and identification of patients at risk for the development of secondary autoimmune diseases on the other are not yet available. Thus, the overall success of alemtuzumab treatment critically depends on the patient selection. The aim of this article is therefore, to characterize the significance of alemtuzumab in the treatment of MS with a focus on the selection of the optimal patient.

Project description:ObjectiveTo characterize long-term repopulation of peripheral immune cells following alemtuzumab-induced lymphopenia in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), with a focus on regulatory cell types, and to explore associations with clinical outcome measures.MethodsThe project was designed as a multicenter add-on longitudinal mechanistic study for RRMS patients enrolled in CARE-MS II, CARE-MS II extension at the University of Southern California and Stanford University, and an investigator-initiated study conducted at the Universities of British Columbia and Chicago. Methods involved collection of blood at baseline, prior to alemtuzumab administration, and at months 5, 11, 17, 23, 36, and 48 post-treatment. T cell, B cell, and natural killer (NK) cell subsets, chemokine receptor expression in T cells, in vitro cytokine secretion patterns, and regulatory T cell (Treg) function were assessed. Clinical outcomes, including expanded disability status score (EDSS), relapses, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures, and incidents of secondary autoimmunity were tracked.ResultsVariable shifts in lymphocyte populations occurred over time in favor of CD4+ T cells, B cells, and NK cells with surface phenotypes characteristic of regulatory subsets, accompanied by reduced ratios of effector to regulatory cell types. Evidence of increased Treg competence was observed after each treatment course. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that express CXCR3 and CCR5 and CD8+ T cells that express CDR3 and CCR4 were also enriched after treatment, indicating heightened trafficking potential in activated T cells. Patterns of repopulation were not associated with measures of clinical efficacy or secondary autoimmunity, but exploratory analyses using a random generalized estimating equation (GEE) Poisson model provide preliminary evidence of associations between pro-inflammatory cell types and increased risk for gadolinium (Gd+) enhancing lesions, while regulatory subsets were associated with reduced risk. In addition, the risk for T2 lesions correlated with increases in CD3+CD8+CXCR3+ cells.ConclusionsLymphocyte repopulation after alemtuzumab treatment favors regulatory subsets in the T cell, B cell, and NK cell compartments. Clinical efficacy may reflect the sum of interactions among them, leading to control of potentially pathogenic effector cell types. Several immune measures were identified as possible biomarkers of lesion activity. Future studies are necessary to more precisely define regulatory and effector subsets and their contributions to clinical efficacy and risk for secondary autoimmunity in alemtuzumab-treated patients, and to reveal new insights into mechanisms of immunopathogenesis in MS.Trial registrationParent trials for this study are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: CARE-MS II: NCT00548405, CARE-MS II extension: NCT00930553 and ISS: NCT01307332.

Dataset Information

Immune competence after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.

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Immune competence after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.

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