Intratumoral delivery of dendritic cells plus anti-HER2 therapy triggers both robust systemic antitumor immunity and complete regression in HER2 mammary carcinoma

Background Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) targeted antibodies in combination with chemotherapy has improved outcomes of HER2 positive (pos) breast cancer (BC) but toxicity of therapy remains a problem. High levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are associated with increased pathologic complete responses for patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy. Here we sought to investigate whether delivery of intratumoral (i.t.) multiepitope major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II HER2 peptides-pulsed type I polarized dendritic cells (HER2-DC1) in combination with anti-HER2 antibodies without chemotherapy could enhance tumor regression by increasing anti-HER2 lymphocyte infiltration into the tumor. Methods BALB/c mice bearing orthotopic TUBO tumors, BALB/c mice bearing subcutaneous (s.c.) CT26 hHER2 tumors, or BALB-HER2/neu transgenic mice were all treated with i.t. or s.c. HER2-DC1, anti-HER2 antibodies, paclitaxel, T-DM1 or in combination. Immune response, host immune cells and effector function were analyzed using flow cytometry, interferon-gamma ELISA and cytokine/chemokine arrays. The contributions of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) were assessed using depleting antibodies and Fc gamma R KO mice. Molecular changes were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and western blot. Results HER2-DC1 combined with anti-HER2 antibodies delivered i.t. compared to s.c. induced complete tumor regression in 75-80% of treated mice, with increased tumor infiltrating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T, B, natural killer T cells (NKT) and natural killer cells, and strong anti-HER2 responses in all HER2(pos) BC models tested. The therapy caused regression of untreated distant tumors. Labeled HER2-DC1 migrated prominently into the distant tumor and induced infiltration of various DC subsets into tumors. HER2-DC1 i.t. combined with anti-HER2 antibodies displayed superior antitumor response compared to standard chemotherapy with anti-HER2 antibodies. Lasting immunity was attained which prevented secondary tumor formation. The presence of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and ADCC were required for complete tumor regression. In the HER2(pos) BC models, HER2-DC1 i.t. combined with anti-HER2 antibodies effectively diminished activation of HER2-mediated oncogenic signaling pathways. Conclusions HER2-DC1 i.t. with anti-HER2 antibodies mediates tumor regression through combined activation of T and B cell compartments and provides evidence that HER2-DC1 i.t. in combination with anti-HER2 antibodies can be tested as an effective alternative therapeutic strategy to current chemotherapy and anti-HER2 antibodies in HER2(pos) BC.