• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.312-316
• /
• 2022

We have previously reported that genetically modified tumor cells with 4-1BBL have anti-cancer effects in a CT26 mouse colorectal tumor model. In this study, genetically modified tumor cells with 4-1BBL were evaluated for their potential as candidates for preventive and therapeutic cancer vaccine. To identify the effect of preventive and therapeutic vaccine of genetically modified tumor cells with 4-1BBL, tumor growth pattern of CT26-4-1BBL as a cancer vaccine was examined compared to CT26-beta-gal. In therapeutic vaccination, CT26-WT was inoculated into mice and then vaccinated mice with doxorubicin (Dox)-treated CT26-beta-gal and CT26-4-1BBL (single or three times). Triple vaccination with Dox-treated tumor cell inhibited tumor growth compared to single vaccination. Vaccination with CT26-4-1BBL showed an efficient tumor growth inhibition compared to vaccination with CT26-beta-gal. For preventive vaccination, Dox-treated CT26-beta-gal and CT26-4-1BBL was vaccinated into mice with three times and then administered mice with CT26-WT. Preventive vaccination with CT26-4-1BBL showed no tumor growth. Preventive vaccination with CT26-beta-gal also led to tumor-free mice. These results suggest that genetically modified tumor cells with 4-1BBL can be used as therapeutic or preventive cancer vaccine.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.55-67
• /
• 2005

Cancer vaccine is an active immunotherapy to stimulate the immune system to mount a response against the tumor specific antigen. Working as a stimulant to the body's own immune system, cancer vaccines help the body recognize and destroy targeted cancers and may help to shrink advanced tumors. Research is currently underway to develop therapeutic cancer vaccines. It is also possible to develop prophylactic vaccines in the future. The whole cell approach to eradicate cancer has used whole cancer cells to make vaccine. In an early stage of this approach, whole cell lysate or a mixture of immunoadjuvant and inactivated cancer cells has been used. Improved vaccines are being developed that utilize cytokines or costimulatory molecules to mount an attack against cancer cells. In case of melanoma, these vaccines are expected to have a therapeutic effect of vaccine. Furthermore, it is attempting to treat stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer. Other vaccines are being developing that are peptide vaccine, recombinant vaccine and dendritic cell vaccine. Out of them, reintroduction of antigen-specific dendritic cells into patient and DNA vaccine are mostly being conducted. Currently, research and development efforts are underway to develop therapeutic cancer vaccine such as DNA vaccine for the treatment of multiple forms of cancers.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.215-220
• /
• 2014

Molecular-targeted therapy has gained attention because of its high efficacy and weak side effects. Previously, we confirmed that transmembrane 4 superfamily member 5 protein (TM4SF5) can serve as a molecular target to prevent or treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We recently extended the application of the peptide vaccine, composed of CpG-DNA, liposome complex, and TM4SF5 peptide, to prevent colon cancer in a mouse model. Here, we first implanted mice with mouse colon cancer cells and then checked therapeutic effects of the vaccine against tumor growth. Immunization with the peptide vaccine resulted in robust production of TM4SF5-specific antibodies, alleviated tumor growth, and reduced survival rate of the tumor-bearing mice. We also found that serum levels of VEGF were markedly reduced in the mice immunized with the peptide vaccine. Therefore, we suggest that the TM4SF5-specific peptide vaccine has a therapeutic effect against colon cancer in a mouse model.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.345-353
• /
• 2017

Plant expression systems have been developed to produce anti-cancer vaccines. Plants have several advantages as bioreactors for the production of subunit vaccines: they are considered safe, and may be used to produce recombinant proteins at low production cost. However, several technical issues hinder large-scale production of anti-cancer vaccines in plants. The present review covers design strategies to enhance the immunogenicity and therapeutic potency of anti-cancer vaccines, methods to increase vaccine-expressing plant biomass, and challenges facing the production of anti-cancer vaccines in plants. Specifically, the issues such as low expression levels and plant-specific glycosylation are described, along with their potential solutions.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.161-165
• /
• 2017

It has well reported that host immune system is closely related to cancer growth and eradication. Among cancer immunotherapy, cancer vaccine is focused on this review. Cancer vaccine is using host immune system against various tumor antigens to treat cancer. We discuss the classification and characteristics of the preventive vaccine, therapeutic vaccine and combination cancer immunotherapy.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.207-218
• /
• 2014

Chronic virus infection leads to the functional impairment of dendritic cells (DCs) as well as T cells, limiting the clinical usefulness of DC-based therapeutic vaccine against chronic virus infection. Meanwhile, B cells have been known to maintain the ability to differentiate plasma cells producing antibodies even during chronic virus infection. Previously, ${\alpha}$-galactosylceramide (${\alpha}GC$) and cognate peptide-loaded B cells were comparable to DCs in priming peptide-specific $CD8^+$ T cells as antigen presenting cells (APCs). Here, we investigated whether B cells activated by ${\alpha}GC$ can improve virus-specific T cell immune responses instead of DCs during chronic virus infection. We found that comparable to B cells isolated from naïve mice, chronic B cells isolated from chronically infected mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) clone 13 (CL13) after ${\alpha}GC$-loading could activate CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells to produce effector cytokines and upregulate co-stimulatory molecules in both naïve and chronically infected mice. Similar to naïve B cells, chronic B cells efficiently primed LCMV glycoprotein (GP) 33-41-specific P14 $CD8^+$ T cells in vivo, thereby allowing the proliferation of functional $CD8^+$ T cells. Importantly, when ${\alpha}GC$ and cognate epitope-loaded chronic B cells were transferred into chronically infected mice, the mice showed a significant increase in the population of epitope-specific $CD8^+$ T cells and the accelerated control of viremia. Therefore, our studies demonstrate that reciprocal activation between ${\alpha}GC$-loaded chronic B cells and iNKT cells can strengthen virus-specific T cell immune responses, providing an effective regimen of autologous B cell-based therapeutic vaccine to treat chronic virus infection.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.47 no.7
• /
• pp.399-404
• /
• 2014

B7-H4 is a member of B7 family of co-inhibitory molecules and B7-H4 protein is found to be overexpressed in many human cancers and which is usually associated with poor survival. In this study, we developed a therapeutic vaccine made from a fusion protein composed of a tetanus toxoid (TT) T-helper cell epitope and human B7-H4IgV domain (TT-rhB7-H4IgV). We investigated the anti-tumor effect of the TT-rhB7-H4IgV vaccine in BALB/c mice and SP2/0 myeloma growth was significantly suppressed in mice. The TT-rhB7-H4IgV vaccine induced high-titer specific antibodies in mice. Further, the antibodies induced by TT-rhB7-H4IgV vaccine were capable of depleting SP2/0 cells through complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) in vitro. On the other hand, the poor cellular immune response was irrelevant to the therapeutic efficacy. These results indicate that the recombinant TT-rhB7-H4IgV vaccine might be a useful candidate of immunotherapy for the treatment of some tumors associated with abnormal expression of B7-H4.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.235-241
• /
• 2006

Streptococus pneumoniae is an important cause of invasive infections as well as non-invasive infections such as acute otitis media and sinusitis both in children and adults. Resistance of S. pneumoniae to multiple antimicrobials is increasing and poses therapeutic challenges, and prevention became more important. 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine has been used for the last several decades, but is not effective in children <2 years of age, the highest risk group of invasive diseases. Recently, a 7-valent pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccine(PCV) which is effective in infants and young children has been developed. The efficacy of PCVs against invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia is well established and is documented in several well-conducted studies. However, the effect of PCVs on otitis media is less obvious and more complex. PCVs clearly reduce diseases caused by vaccine-type(VT) pneumococci, but replacement of VT serotypes by non-VT serotypes in nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae is responsible for the increase in acute otitis media caused by non-VT serotypes. Three years after introduction of PCV in the US, some increase of invasive infections with serotype 19A possibly due to serotype switching within certain vaccine type strains has been noted. Since most antibiotic-resistance in S. pneumoniae is confined to VT serotypes, vaccine use also reduces antibiotic resistance. With development of PCV, there was a great advance in the prevention of pneumococcal diseases, but replacement with potential virulent organisms and development of antibiotic resistance in non-VT pneumococci is a possibility that needs careful monitoring.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.114-120
• /
• 2022

Objectives: Antivenom serums have been used extensively for over a century and are the only effective treatment option for snake bites and other dangerous animal envenomations. In therapeutic serum centers, a wide range of antivenoms is made from animal serum, mainly equine and sheep, that are immunized with single or multiple venoms. This work aimed to use caprylic acid (CA) to purify therapeutic snake antivenom. Methods: Plasma was obtained from equine immunized with a mixture of venoms. Immunized plasma was obtained by precipitation of different concentrations (2-5%) of CA. This methodology was compared to that based on ammonium sulfate (AS) precipitation. Sediment plasma proteins were purified by ion-exchange chromatography. Protein assay, SDSPAGE, and agar gel diffusion were performed. Results: The total protein precipitation with AS was higher than precipitation with CA, but the best results were obtained when CA was added to the plasma until a final CA concentration of 5% was reached. Chromatography and electrophoresis indicated a stronger band for the 5% CA, and the gel diffusion assay showed antigen-antibody interaction in the purified serum. Conclusion: The use of CA compared to the routine method for purifying hyperimmune serums is a practical and cost-effective method for preparing and producing therapeutic serums. It constitutes a potentially valuable technology for alleviating the critical shortage of antivenom in Iran.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2447-2451
• /
• 2014

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary etiologic agent of cervical cancer. Consideration of safety and non human leukocyte antigen restriction, protein vaccine has become the most likely form of HPV therapeutic vaccine, although none have so far been reported as effective. Since tumor cells consistently express the two proteins E6 and E7, most therapeutic vaccines target one or both of them. In this study, we fabricated DC vaccines by transducing replication-defective recombinant adenoviruses expressing E6/E7 fusion gene of HPV-16, to investigate the lethal effects of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) against CaSki cells in vitro. Mouse immature dendritic cells (DC) were generated from bone marrow, and transfected with pAd-E6/E7 to prepare a DC vaccine and to induce specific CTL. The surface expression of CD40, CD68, MHC II and CD11c was assessed by flow cytometry (FCM), and the lethal effects of CTL against CaSki cells were determined by DAPI, FCM and CCK-8 methods. Immature mouse DC was successfully transfected by pAd-E6/E7 in vitro, and the transfecting efficiency was 40%-50%. A DC vaccine was successfully prepared and was used to induce specific CTL. Experimental results showed that the percentage of apoptosis and killing rate of CaSki cells were significantly increased by coculturing with the specific CTL (p <0.05). These results illustrated that a DC vaccine modified by HPV-16 E6/E7 gene can induce apoptosis of CaSki cells by inducing CTL, which may be used as a new strategy for biological treatment of cervical cancer.