<p>Cancer immunotherapy aims at reversing the immunosuppressive tumor environment and enhancing anti-tumor immunity. This thesis comprises studies on murine models for prostate (TRAMP-C2) and bladder (MB49) cancer with the aim to explore if the introduction of an adenoviral vector expressing CD40 ligand (AdCD40L) can induce anti-tumor immune responses.</p><p>We show in subcutaneous mouse models that AdCD40L treatment suppresses tumor growth. Bladder cancer is known to secrete immunosuppressive IL-10 which may inhibit T cell function. We show that introducing AdCD40L into mouse bladder tumors inhibits IL-10 production and reverses immunosuppression. AdCD40L-transduced mouse prostate cancer cells showed caspase activation and reduced cell viability. Vaccination with CD40L-modified prostate cancer cells induces anti-tumor responses and protects mice against rechallenge with native TRAMP-C2 cells. In order to enhance AdCD40L therapy, we explored the possibility of combining it with the histone deacetylase inhibitor FK228, also known as depsipeptide. We show that FK228 upregulates coxsackie and adenovirus receptor expression and thereby enhances adenoviral-mediated CD40L expression in both murine and human prostate cancer cells. Increasing amounts of FK228 or AdCD40L reduces prostate cancer cell viability, while the combined treatment gives at least an additive therapeutic effect. Moreover, we show that AdCD40L transduction of prostate cancer cells induces endogenous CD40 expression and sensitize them for CD40L-mediated therapy.</p><p>In order to conduct prostate-specific gene therapy, prostate-specific promoters can be used to drive transgene expression. However, there are no reports on prostate-specific promoters that are transcriptionally active in mouse cells. Here we show that by using the two-step transcription activation system (TSTA), we can enhance the activity of a recombinant human promoter sequence and obtain activity in mouse prostate cancer cells as well. This finding paves the way for future studies of prostate-specific gene therapy in immunocompetent mouse models.</p>

Cancer immunotherapy aims at reversing the immunosuppressive tumor environment and enhancing anti-tumor immunity. This thesis comprises studies on murine models for prostate (TRAMP-C2) and bladder (MB49) cancer with the aim to explore if the introduction of an adenoviral vector expressing CD40 ligand (AdCD40L) can induce anti-tumor immune responses. We show in subcutaneous mouse models that AdCD40L treatment suppresses tumor growth. Bladder cancer is known to secrete immunosuppressive IL-10 which may inhibit T cell function. We show that introducing AdCD40L into mouse bladder tumors inhibits IL-10 production and reverses immunosuppression. AdCD40L-transduced mouse prostate cancer cells showed caspase activation and reduced cell viability. Vaccination with CD40L-modified prostate cancer cells induces anti-tumor responses and protects mice against rechallenge with native TRAMP-C2 cells. In order to enhance AdCD40L therapy, we explored the possibility of combining it with the histone deacetylase inhibitor FK228, also known as depsipeptide. We show that FK228 upregulates coxsackie and adenovirus receptor expression and thereby enhances adenoviral-mediated CD40L expression in both murine and human prostate cancer cells. Increasing amounts of FK228 or AdCD40L reduces prostate cancer cell viability, while the combined treatment gives at least an additive therapeutic effect. Moreover, we show that AdCD40L transduction of prostate cancer cells induces endogenous CD40 expression and sensitize them for CD40L-mediated therapy. In order to conduct prostate-specific gene therapy, prostate-specific promoters can be used to drive transgene expression. However, there are no reports on prostate-specific promoters that are transcriptionally active in mouse cells. Here we show that by using the two-step transcription activation system (TSTA), we can enhance the activity of a recombinant human promoter sequence and obtain activity in mouse prostate cancer cells as well. This finding paves the way for future studies of prostate-specific gene therapy in immunocompetent mouse models.

<p>Prostate cancer is one leading cause of cancer-related death among men in Western countries. The standard therapies for localized prostate cancer include radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy. Such measures are relatively effective in the short term, but many patients ultimately relapse. These patients may benefit from a combination of standard therapy and oncolytic virus therapy. My work aimed to develop viruses for this purpose.</p><p>TARP is a protein that in males is specifically expressed in prostate epithelial and cancer cells. In my thesis, I characterized the TARP promoter and showed that TARP expression is regulated at the transcriptional level by testosterone through binding of the androgen receptor in the proximal TARP promoter. I further developed TARP promoter-based regulatory sequences for prostate-specific gene expression. A sequence comprising a PSA enhancer, a PSMA enhancer and the TARP promoter was constructed and designated PPT. An adenoviral vector containing the PPT sequence shielded from transcriptional interference by an H19 insulator showed high prostate-specific transcriptional activity in human cells both in the presence and absence of testosterone. However, in experimental murine prostate cancer the PPT sequence is not active. Therefore, a two-step transcriptional amplification (TSTA) system was used together with the PPT sequence to develop an adenovirus that confers prostate-specific transgene expression also in murine cells.</p><p>I constructed a conditionally replicating adenovirus where the E1A gene expression is controlled by an H19 insulator-shielded PPT regulatory sequence, Ad[I/PPT-E1A]. This virus exhibited absolute prostate specificity in terms of E1A expression, viral replication and cytolysis <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. Importantly, our virus is active both in the presence and absence of testosterone, which may prove beneficial for patients treated by hormonal withdrawal. </p><p>Hopefully, my work will improve existing gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer and in the long term improve the prognosis for patients with prostate cancer.</p>

Prostate cancer is one leading cause of cancer-related death among men in Western countries. The standard therapies for localized prostate cancer include radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy. Such measures are relatively effective in the short term, but many patients ultimately relapse. These patients may benefit from a combination of standard therapy and oncolytic virus therapy. My work aimed to develop viruses for this purpose. TARP is a protein that in males is specifically expressed in prostate epithelial and cancer cells. In my thesis, I characterized the TARP promoter and showed that TARP expression is regulated at the transcriptional level by testosterone through binding of the androgen receptor in the proximal TARP promoter. I further developed TARP promoter-based regulatory sequences for prostate-specific gene expression. A sequence comprising a PSA enhancer, a PSMA enhancer and the TARP promoter was constructed and designated PPT. An adenoviral vector containing the PPT sequence shielded from transcriptional interference by an H19 insulator showed high prostate-specific transcriptional activity in human cells both in the presence and absence of testosterone. However, in experimental murine prostate cancer the PPT sequence is not active. Therefore, a two-step transcriptional amplification (TSTA) system was used together with the PPT sequence to develop an adenovirus that confers prostate-specific transgene expression also in murine cells. I constructed a conditionally replicating adenovirus where the E1A gene expression is controlled by an H19 insulator-shielded PPT regulatory sequence, Ad[I/PPT-E1A]. This virus exhibited absolute prostate specificity in terms of E1A expression, viral replication and cytolysis in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, our virus is active both in the presence and absence of testosterone, which may prove beneficial for patients treated by hormonal withdrawal. Hopefully, my work will improve existing gene therapy strategies for prostate cancer and in the long term improve the prognosis for patients with prostate cancer.