Selective elimination of human regulatory T lymphocytes in vitro with the recombinant immunotoxin LMB-2

CD4(+)CD25(+) T-regulatory cells (T-reg) can inhibit the proliferation and cytokine secretion of CD4(+)CD25(-) helper T cells in mice and humans. In murine tumor models, the presence of these T-reg cells can inhibit the antitumor effectiveness of T-cell transfer and active immunization approaches. We have thus initiated efforts to eliminate T-reg cells selectively from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to potentially bolster antitumor responses. LMB-2 is a recombinant immunotoxin that is a fusion of a single-chain Fv fragment of the anti-Tac anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody to a truncated form of the bacterial Pseudomonas exotoxin A. In vitro incubation of human PBMCs with LMB-2 reduced the levels of CD4(+)CD25(+) and Foxp3-expressing cells without impairing the function of the remaining lymphocytes. The short in vivo half-life of LMB-2 makes it an attractive candidate for reducing human T-reg cells in vivo before the administration of cancer vaccine or cell transfer immunotherapy approaches.