Administration of a vasoactive intestinal peptide antagonist enhances the autologous anti-leukemia T cell response in murine models of acute leukemia.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuroendocrine peptide hormone that has potent anti-inflammatory activities. VIP signaling through its receptor VPAC1 on T cells leads to reduced proliferation and a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. We report here that inhibition of the VIP pathway with a peptide antagonist significantly enhances a T-cell-dependent, autologous anti-leukemia response in murine models of acute myeloid leukemia and T lymphoblastic leukemia. Subcutaneous administration of the VIP antagonist, VIPhyb, resulted in reduced tumor burden and significantly enhanced survival (30-50% survival) over vehicle-treated controls (0-20% survival). The T cells in mice treated with VIPhyb expressed lower levels of the co-inhibitory PD-1 and secreted higher levels of IFNγ. Furthermore, T cells from VIPhyb-treated survivors were protective against C1498 following adoptive transfer. These data highlight the potential for the VIP pathway as a novel target for immunomodulation in settings of hematological malignancies.