Functional differences and similarities in activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells by lipopolysaccharide or phytohemagglutinin stimulation between human and cynomolgus monkeys

BACKGROUND: The monkey is a primary species used in toxicological research. However, the failures of preclinical studies to predict a life-threatening “cytokine storm”, which, for instance, rapidly occurred in six healthy volunteers with the CD28 superagonist monoclonal antibody (mAb) TGN1412 in the first-in-human phase I clinical trial, have emphasized a need to clarify the differences between human and monkey immune systems. METHODS: In the present study, we analyzed and compared the lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine secretion, and gene expression profiles after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from three healthy humans and cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). RESULTS: The results derived from comparison with the corresponding control groups showed that PHA in humans induced a stronger proliferation and wider range of cytokine secretion, along with a greater number of differently expressed genes (DEGs), than when PHA was applied in cynomolgus monkeys. The significant upregulation of genes involved in the mitotic cell cycle, including cyclin B2, TOP2A, TYMS, and CEP55, was observed in human PBMCs with PHA stimulation, while only infrequent or slight upregulation occurred in cynomolgus monkey PBMCs, which may be one of the reasons for a stronger response to PHA in humans. In contrast to PHA, LPS in both species induced a similar proliferation ratio, cytokine profile, and DEG count, suggesting that human and cynomolgus monkeys have a similar response intensity for innate immune responses. Furthermore, 38 and 20 overlapped genes under PHA and LPS stimulation, respectively, were found in both species. These overlapped DEGs were associated with the same biological functions, including DNA replication, mitosis, immune response, chemotaxis, and inflammatory response. Thus, these results might reflect the highly conserved signatures of immune responses to PHA/LPS stimulation across the primates. Moreover, there were some differences in antigen processing and presentation, and the interferon gamma (INF-γ)–mediated signaling pathway in these species detected by gene expression profile study. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this is the first study to compare data on the responses of PBMCs to PHA and LPS in humans versus cynomolgus monkeys, and these findings may provide crucial insights into translating non-human primate (NHP) studies into human trials.