functional data, half of the CD8+T cells labeled
with PSMB4-H-2Kbtetramers shared clono-
types with the much wider TCR repertoire of
T cells labeled with the TMP1-H-2Kb–specific
tetramers (Fig. 4D and tables S4 and S5), but
not with the negative fraction (fig. S6H). There-
fore, T cells recognizing the TMP1 epitope of
immunogenicE. hiraecan cross-react with a
peptide contained in the oncogenic driver
PSMB4 and vice versa.
Some bacteriophages have the potential to
transfer immunogenic sequences to other
strains in the host ecosystem ( 20 – 22 ). To in-
vestigate the capacity of theE. hirae 13144
prophage to lysogenize other bacterial spe-
cies in vivo, we performed culturomic analy-
ses of the ileal content from C57BL/6 mice
subjected to oral gavage withE. hirae 13144
and systemic CTX therapy, followed by poly-
merase chain reaction (PCR) analyses seek-
ing TMP sequences (fig. S8, A and B). We
tested 7 to 18 bacterial colonies from each ani-
mal and a total of 76 colonies. We only found
lysogenic conversion ofEnterococcus gallinarum
by theE. hirae–temperate phage in vivo, as
confirmed by sequencing of the phage ge-
nome in the second host (Fig. 4E and fig. S8,
B and C). By contrast, none of the 90 colonies
(mostly ofE. gallinarum)isolated from naive
mice harbored the TMP sequence (fig. S8A)
and table S6. Similarly, in vitro coculture of TMP+
E. hirae13144 together with TMP-E. gallinarum
spp. at a 1:1 ratio uncovered a significant (~15%)
rate of lysogenic conversion (fig. S8D). Exam-
ination of a preparation admixingE. hirae
13144 andE. gallinarumat a 1:10 ratio by
Fluckigeret al.,Science 369 , 936–942 (2020) 21 August 2020 5of7
Fig. 4. Phage tail length TMP cross-reacts with
the PSMB4 cancer epitope.(A) Flow cytometry
analysis of CD8+tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes
(from tumors treated as outlined in Fig. 1A) after
costaining with two different tetramers (H-2Kb/
TMP1 and H-2Kb/PSMB4, sequences in Fig. 3A).
Each data point indicates one tumor, and error
bars indicate SEM. The graphs represent compiled
results of three independent experiments with
five mice per group. (BandC) Purified CD3+
T splenocytes from animals treated with CTX and
E. hirae 13144were restimulated ex vivo with
bone marrow–derived DCs (BM-DC) loaded with
TMP1 or PSMB4 peptide. One week after
ex vivo restimulation, peptide-specific CD8+
T cells were purified after staining with the
corresponding tetramer to measure IFNgsecretion
in response to DC loaded with peptides (TMP1,
PSMB4, SIINFEKL as negative control) or heat-
inactivatedE. hirae13144. These results were
performed in parallel on the tetramer-binding
versus nonbinding fraction and were normalized to
the PBS controls (Ctrl). Each dot represents one
culture, and error bars represent SEM. Mann-
Whitney test or ANOVA statistical analyses
(Kruskal-Wallis test) were used: *P< 0.05, ***P<
0.001. (D) Venn diagram of TCRaandbchains
from tetramer-positive CD8+T cells specific for
PSMB4 (yellow) or TMP1 (green). (E) Lysogenic
conversion ofE. gallinarumby theE. hirae
Siphoviridaephage in vivo. Ileal content was
obtained from naive mice or from mice receiving
E. hiraetogether with CTX, followed by cultivation
and isolation of bacterial colonies, MALDI-TOF
identification, and PCR-based detection of TMP.
Results are from five mice per group, and
SEMs within the five ilea are indicated for the
CTX+E. hirae13144 group. (F) Transmission
electron microscopy of the phage produced by
E. hirae13144. (G) Kaplan-Meier survival plots of
76 patients with NSCLC or renal cell cancer
subjected to PD-1–targeting immunotherapy,
stratified according to the presence or absence
of TMP in at least fiveE. faecalisorE. hirae
colonies per patient. Univariate log-rank
(Mantel-Cox) analysis was used. The statistical
report is in the supplementary materials.
mOS, mean overall survival; Neg, TMP phage
negative; Pos, TMP phage positive.
A TMP1+ PSMB4+ TMP1+ PSMB4+
C E
F
D
TCR
β
TCR
α
G
PSMB4-
specific
TMP1-
specific
37 34 13808
64 71 24986
% H-2K
b- TMP1
+ PSMB4
tetramer
+ in CD3
+ CD8
+
% H-2K
b- TMP1
- PSMB4
+
tetramer
+ in CD3
+ CD8
+
% H-2K
b- TMP1
+ PSMB4
+
tetramer
+ in CD3
+ CD8
+
0
0.5
1.5
1.0
0
0.5
1.5
1.0
0
0.5
1.5
1.0
PBS CTX
CTX + E.hirae 13144CTX + E.hirae 13144
PBS CTX
CTX + E.hirae 13144CTX + E.hirae 13144
PBS CTX
CTX + E.hirae 13144CTX + E.hirae 13144
ATB +++ ATB +++ ATB + + +
Naïve Mice treated
E. hirae 13144
44/44
24/53
0/0 0/71
E.hirae
E.gallinarum
0
20
40
60
80
100
% of bacteria withTMP sequence
20
40
60
80
100
% of bacteria withTMP sequence
H-2Kb TMP1
tetramer+
TMP1PSMB4
SIINFEKL
13144
Fold ratio (IFN
γ spots)
0
2
6
4
++++
D0 D4D3
ATB
Gavage
+CTX
CD3+ Splenocytes
Gavage
D5 D11
Spleen
B
Cell sorting
of CD3+
Tetramer-based
cell sorting
D18
In vitro
stimulation
D11
D18
Restimulation
IFNγ ELISpot
assay
D19
CD8+ H-2Kb/TMP1+
CD8+ H-2Kb/TMP1-
CD8+ H-2Kb/PSMB4+
CD8+ H-2Kb/PSMB4-
TMP1-pulsed
BM-DC
PSMB4-pulsed
BM-DC
BM-DC
Ctrl
TMP1
PSMB4
SIINFEKL
E.hirae13144
+
0102030
29
47
24
30
18
18
9
6
logrank P = 0.04
Pos: mOS 27.02 months
Neg: mOS 15.09 months
0
20
40
60
80
100
Overall survival
* * *
*** *** *** *
*
mice with CTX +
100 nm
RESEARCH | RESEARCH ARTICLE