Extracellular Targeting of Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone Glucose-Regulated Protein 170 Enhances Tumor Immunity to a Poorly Immunogenic Melanoma

We have demonstrated previously that immunization with tumor-derived endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone glucose-regulated protein 170 (grp170) elicits potent antitumor immunity. In the present study, we determine the impact of extracellular targeting grp170 by molecular engineering on tumor immunogenicity and potential use of grp170-secreting tumor cells as a cancer vaccine. grp170 depleted of ER retention sequence “KNDEL,” when secreted by B16 tumor cells, maintained its highly efficient chaperoning activities and was significantly superior to both hsp70 and gp96. The continued secretion of grp170 dramatically reduced the tumorigenicity of B16 tumor cells in vivo, although the modification did not alter its transformation phenotype and cell growth rate. C57BL/6 mice that rejected grp170-secreting B16 tumor cells (B16-sgrp170) developed a strong CTL response recognizing melanocyte differentiation Ag TRP2 and were resistant to subsequent tumor challenge. B16-sgrp170 cells also stimulated the production of proinflammatory cytokines by cocultured dendritic cells. Depletion studies in vivo indicate that NK cells play a primary role in elimination of viable B16-sgrp170 tumor cells inoculated into the animals, whereas both NK cells and CD8+ T cells are required for a long-term protection against wild-type B16 tumor challenge. Both the secreted and endogenous grp170, when purified from the B16 tumor, exhibited potent tumor-protective activities. However, the B16-sgrp170 cell appears to be more effective than tumor-derived grp170. Thus, molecular engineering of tumor cell to release the largest ER chaperone grp170 is capable of eliciting innate as well as adaptive immune responses, which may provide an effective cell-based vaccination approach for cancer immunotherapy.