An adenoviral vector cancer vaccine that delivers a tumor-associated antigen/CD40-ligand fusion protein to dendritic cells.

Abstract

To develop a method to overcome the anergy that exists in tumor hosts to cancer, we have designed an adenoviral vector for the in vivo activation and tumor antigen loading of dendritic cells. This adenoviral vector encodes a fusion protein composed of an amino-terminal tumor-associated antigen fragment fused to the CD40 ligand (CD40L). Subcutaneous injection of an adenoviral vector encoding a fusion protein of the human papillomavirus E7 foreign antigen linked to the CD40L generates CD8+ T cell-dependent immunoresistance to the growth of the E7-positive syngeneic TC-1 cancer cells in C57BL/6 mice for up to 1 year. We also studied the s.c. injection of a vector carrying the gene for the human MUC-1 (hMUC-1) self-antigen fused to the CD40L. When this vector was injected into hMUC-1.Tg mice, which are transgenic for the hMUC-1 antigen, the growth of syngeneic hMUC-1-positive LL1/LL2hMUC-1 mouse cancer cells was suppressed in 100% of the injected animals. The hMUC-1.Tg mice are anergic to the hMUC-1 antigen before the injection of the vector. These experimental results show that it is possible to use vector injection to activate a long-lasting cellular immune response against self-antigens in anergic animals. The vector-mediated in vivo activation, and tumor-associated antigen loading of dendritic cells does not require additional cytokine boosting to induce the immune response against the tumor cells. This vector strategy may therefore be of use in the development of immunotherapy for the many carcinomas in which the hMUC-1 antigen is overexpressed.

• Authors: Lixin Zhang, Yucheng Tang, Hakan Akbulut, Daniel Zelterman, Phyllis-Jean Linton, Albert B Deisseroth
• Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A) Vol. 100 Issue 25 Pg. 15101-6 (Dec 09 2003) ISSN: 0027-8424 [Print] United States
• PMID: 14645711 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antigens
• Antigens, Neoplasm
• Cancer Vaccines
• Mucin-1
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins
• CD40 Ligand

Topics

• Adenoviridae (genetics)
• Animals
• Antigens (metabolism)
• Antigens, Neoplasm (chemistry)
• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes (immunology)
• CD40 Ligand (metabolism)
• CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes (immunology, metabolism)
• Cancer Vaccines
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Dendritic Cells (metabolism)
• Female
• Genetic Vectors
• Immunotherapy (methods)
• Lymphocytes (metabolism)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mice, Nude
• Mice, Transgenic
• Mucin-1 (chemistry, immunology)
• Papillomaviridae (metabolism)
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins (metabolism)
• Time Factors