ANTITUMOR IMMUNITY AND VACCINE EFFECT INDUCED BY IL-12 SYNERGIZES B7-1 GENE TRANSFECTED CELLS

Objective: To study the synergic effects of IL-12 and B7-1 transfectant on antitumor immunity in vivo. Methods: The retrovirus vector encoding mIL-12 and mB7-1 gene was tranfected into EL-4 thymic lymphoma cells respectively.The cells were used as tumor vaccine and the therapeutic effect was observed. Results: In contrast to the miceimmunized with EL-4/Wt or EL-4/Neo groups, thetumorigenicity of EL-4/IL-12 transfectant was decreased(P<0.001). The EL-4/IL-12 and EL-4/B7-1 cells irradiatedwith 60Co showed significant systematic protective effectsagainst the rechallenge of EL-4/Wt. 60Co irradiatedEL-4/IL-12 cells delayed the occurrence of tumor andprolonged the survival period of tumor bearing mice.Combination of the vaccines of EL-4/IL-12 and EL-4/B7-1 resulted in the enhanced therapeutic effect compared witheach single transfectant group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that IL-12 transduced cells could enhancethe antitumor immunity of host as cancer vaccine.Combination of the EL-4/IL-12 and EL-4/B7-1 transfectant could improve immunity of host and is a prospect cancervaccine.

STUDY ON SOLIDIFIED TUMOR VACCINE PREPARED FROM AUTOGENOUS CANCEROUS TISSUE

In order to evaluate the immune effects of hyperthermically solidified tumor vaccine (STV) prepared from autogenous caucerous tissue,experimental study on mice and clinical application were performed. It was found that Balb/c mice immunized with STV could resist the attack of 3×108 cells of H22 liver cancer with an survival rate of 93.3% (28/30) and the 2-year survival rate of the patients treated with STV prepared from autogenous cancerous tissue was 60%(18/30)as compared with 13.5% (5/37)of the control(P<0.01).

Enhancement of antitumor vaccine in ablated hepatocellular carcinoma by high-intensity focused ultrasound

AIM:To investigate whether tumor debris created by high-intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU)could trigger antitumor immunity in a mouse hepatocellular carcinoma model. METHODS:Twenty C57BL/6J mice bearing H22 hepatocellular carcinoma were used to generate antitumor vaccines.Ten mice underwent HIFU ablation,and the remaining 10 mice received a sham-HIFU procedure with no ultrasound irradiation.Sixty normal mice were randomly divided into HIFU vaccine,tumor vaccine and control groups.These mice were immunized with HIFU-generated vaccine,tumor-generated vaccine,and saline,respectively.In addition,20 mice bearing H22 tumors were successfully treated with HIFU ablation. The protective immunity of the vaccinated mice was investigated before and after a subsequent H22 tumor challenge.Using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay,the cytotoxicity of splenic lymphocytes co-cultured with H22 cells wasdetermined in vitro before the tumor challenge,and tumor volume and survival were measured in vivo after the challenge in each group.The mechanism was also explored by loading the vaccines with bone marrowderived dendritic cells(DCs). RESULTS:Compared to the control,HIFU therapy, tumor-generated and HIFU-generated vaccines significantly increased cytolytic activity against H22 cells in the splenocytes of the vaccinated mice(P<0.001). The tumor volume was significantly smaller in the HIFU vaccine group than in the tumor vaccine group(P <0.05)and control group(P<0.01).However,there was no tumor growth after H22 rechallenge in the HIFU therapy group.Forty-eight-day survival rate was 100%in mice in the HIFU therapy group,30%in both the HIFU vaccine and tumor vaccine groups,and 20% in the control group,indicating that the HIFU-treated mice displayed significantly longer survival than the vaccinated mice in the remaining three groups(P< 0.001).After bone marrow-derived DCs were incubated with HIFU-generated and tumor-generated vaccines, the number of mature DCs expressing MHC-Ⅱ + ,CD80 + and CD86 + molecules was significantly increased,and interleukin-12 and interferon-γlevels were significantly higher in the supernatants when compared with immature DCs incubated with mouse serum(P<0.001). However,no differences of the number of mature DCs and cytokine levels were observed between the HIFU- generated and tumor-generated vaccines(P>0.05). CONCLUSION:Tumor debris remaining after HIFU can improve tumor immunogenicity.This debris releases tumor antigens as an effective vaccine to develop host antitumor immune response after HIFU ablation.

Revolutionizing gastric cancer treatment:The potential of immunotherapy

Gastric cancer,a prevalent malignancy worldwide,ranks sixth in terms of frequency and third in fatality,causing over a million new cases and 769000 annual deaths.Predominant in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia,risk factors include family medical history,dietary habits,tobacco use,Helicobacter pylori,and Epstein-Barr virus infections.Unfortunately,gastric cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage,leading to a grim prognosis,with a 5-year overall survival rate below 5%.Surgical intervention,particularly with D2 Lymphadenectomy,is the mainstay for early-stage cases but offers limited success.For advanced cases,the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends chemotherapy,radiation,and targeted therapy.Emerging immunotherapy presents promise,especially for unresectable or metastatic cases,with strategies like immune checkpoint inhibitors,tumor vaccines,adoptive immunotherapy,and nonspecific immunomodulators.In this Editorial,with regards to the article“Advances and key focus areas in gastric cancer immunotherapy:A comprehensive scientometric and clinical trial review”,we address the advances in the field of immunotherapy in gastric cancer and its future prospects.

Personalized pancreatic cancer therapy:from the perspective of mRNA vaccine

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by inter-tumoral and intra-tumoral heterogeneity,especially in genetic alteration and microenvironment.Conventional therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer usually suffer resistance,highlighting the necessity for personalized precise treatment.Cancer vaccines have become promising alternatives for pancreatic cancer treatment because of their multifaceted advantages including multiple targeting,minimal nonspecific effects,broad therapeutic window,low toxicity,and induction of persistent immunological memory.Multiple conventional vaccines based on the cells,microorganisms,exosomes,proteins,peptides,or DNA against pancreatic cancer have been developed;however,their overall efficacy remains unsatisfactory.Compared with these vaccine modalities,messager RNA(mRNA)-based vaccines offer technical and conceptional advances in personalized precise treatment,and thus represent a potentially cutting-edge option in novel therapeutic approaches for pancreatic cancer.This review summarizes the current progress on pancreatic cancer vaccines,highlights the superiority of mRNA vaccines over other conventional vaccines,and proposes the viable tactic for designing and applying personalized mRNA vaccines for the precise treatment of pancreatic cancer.

mRNA vaccine development for cholangiocarcinoma:a precise pipeline

Cholangiocarcinoma(CHOL)is one of the most aggressive tumors worldwide and cannot be effectively treated by conventional and novel treatments,including immune checkpoint blockade therapy.The mRNA vaccine-based immunotherapeutic strategy has attracted much attention for various diseases,however,its application in CHOL is limited due to the thoughtlessness in the integration of vaccine design and patient selection.A recent study established an integrated path for identifying potent CHOL antigens for mRNA vaccine development and a precise stratification for identifying CHOL patients who can benefit from the mRNA vaccines.In spite of a promising prospect,further investigations should identify immunogenic antigens and onco-immunological characteristics of CHOL to guide the clinical application of CHOL mRNA vaccines in the future.

RNA vaccines for anti-tumor therapy

The immune system is able to recognize tumor antigens and this has been the basis for the development of cancer immunotherapies. The immune system can be instructed to recognize and attack tumor cells by means of vaccination strategies. One such strategy involves the delivery of tumor antigen as genetic material. Herewith we describe the use of RNA encoding tumor antigens for vaccination purposes in tumor settings. RNA has features that are interesting for vaccination. Upon transfection, the RNA has no possibility of integration into the genome, and the tumor translated proteins enter the intrinsic antigen processing pathway thus enabling presentation by MHC-I molecules. This can specifically activate cytotoxic CD8 T cells that can attack and kill tumor cells. RNA can be delivered as a naked molecule for vaccination purposes or can be used to transfect dendritic cells. The combination of RNA technology with dendritic cell vaccination provides a powerful tool for cancer immunotherapies.

Cocktail nano-adjuvant enhanced cancer immunotherapy based on NIR-Ⅱ-triggered in-situ tumor vaccination

Second near-infrared(NIR-Ⅱ)light triggered in-situ tumor vaccination(ISTV)represents one of the most promising strategies in boosting the whole-body antitumor immunity.While most of previously developed nano-adjuvants for NIR-Ⅱ-triggered ISTV are“all-in-one”formulations,which may indiscriminately damage both the tumor cells and the immune cells,limiting the overall effect of immune response.To overcome this obstacle,we designed a“cocktail”nano-adjuvant by physically mixing hyaluronidases(HAase)-decorated gold nanostars(HA)for NIR-Ⅱlight triggered in situ production of tumor-associated antigens and CpG functionalized gold nanospheres(CA)for immune cells activation.Compared to“all-in-one”formulation,the“cocktail”nano-adjuvants displayed a significantly stronger immune response on NIR-Ⅱlight induced dendritic cells(DCs)mutation and T cells differentiation,greater effect on tumor-growth inhibition,and higher efficacy in inhibition of pulmonary metastases.What is more,increasing the molar ratio of HA to CA led to an enhanced anticancer immune responses.This study highlight the nano-adjuvant formulation effects on the treatment of tumors with multiple targets.

Enhancing Antitumor by Immunization with Fusion of Dendritic Cells and Engineered Tumor Cells

A novel approach for a dentritic cells (DCs) based tumor vaccine was developed for the formation of hybrid engineered J558 after fusion with DCs. To make the hybrid tumor vaccine generate more efficient specific CTL cytotoxicity against wild type tumor cells, we genetically engineered tumor cells with mIL 12 gene prior to the cell fusion. mIL 12 was detected at 870±60 pg/(10 5 cells/ml) in the culture supernatants and the fusion ratio was about 30 % by the co focal microscopic analysis. Vaccination of mice with DCs fused with engineered J558 induced more efficient tumor specific CTL cytotoxicity against wild type tumor cells in vitro and with efficient antitumor immunity in vivo . These results suggest that this approach of using DCs fused with engineered tumor cells could be applied in clinical settings of DCs based cancer vaccines.

Immunotherapy for advanced or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is associated with high morbidity and mortality,and is prone to intra-and extrahepatic metastasis due to the anatomical and functional characteristics of the liver.Due to the complexity and high relapse rate associated with radical surgery or radiofrequency ablation,immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)are increasingly being used to treat HCC.Several immunotherapeutic agents,along with their combinations,have been clinically approved to treat advanced or recurrent HCC.This review discusses the leading ICIs in practice and those currently undergoing randomized phase 1-3 trials as monotherapy or combination therapy.Furthermore,we summarize the rapidly developing alternative strategies such as chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T cell therapy and tumor vaccines.Combination therapy is a promising potential treatment option.These immunotherapies are also summarized in this review,which provides insights into the advantages,limitations,and novel angles for future research in establishing viable and alternative therapies against HCC.

Therapeutic MUC1-Based Cancer Vaccine Expressed in Flagella-Efficacy in an Aggressive Model of Breast Cancer

MUC1, a tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in many carcinomas, represents a candidate of choice for cancer immunotherapy. Flagella-based MUC1 vaccines were tested in therapeutic setting in two aggressive breast cancer models, comprising the implantation of the 4T1-MUC1 cell line in either Balb/c, or Human MUC1 transgenic mice in which spontaneous metastases occurs. Recombinant flagella carrying only 7 amino acid of MUC1 elicited therapeutic activity, affecting both the growth of established growing tumors and the number of metastases. Higher therapeutic activity was achieved with an additional recombinant flagella designed with the SYFPEITHI algorithm. The vaccines triggered a Th1 response against MUC1 with no evident autoimmune response towards healthy MUC1-expressing tissues. Recombinant flagella carrying a 25-residue fragment of MUC1, induced the most effective response, as evidenced by a significant reduction of both the size and growth rate of the tumor as well as by the lower number of metastases, and expanding life span of vaccinated mice.

胃癌免疫治疗的临床研究进展

晚期胃癌治疗选择有限,易发生化疗耐药。目前,包括免疫检查点抑制剂、过继细胞疗法、肿瘤疫苗、非特异免疫增强剂及细胞因子疗法在内的免疫疗法对胃癌显示出了良好的疗效。载体药物及3D打印技术也在临床前实验中取得了疗效。临床试验采用免疫肿瘤学单一疗法或联合免疫化学疗法来提高胃癌病人的总体生存时间和客观反应率。根据初步证据,我们相信免疫治疗可以积极影响自然病史,改善胃癌病人的预后。

Hyperthermia based individual in situ recombinant vaccine enhances lymph nodes drainage for de novo antitumor immunity

The continuing challenges that limit effectiveness of tumor therapeutic vaccines were high heterogeneity of tumor immunogenicity, low bioactivity of antigens, as well as insufficient lymph nodes(LNs) drainage of antigens and adjuvants. Transportation of in situ neoantigens and adjuvants to LNs may be an effective approach to solve the abovementioned problems. Therefore, an FA-TSL/AuNCs/SV nanoplatform was constructed by integrating simvastatin(SV) adjuvant loaded Au nanocages(AuNCs)as cores(AuNCs/SV) and folic acid modified thermal-sensitive liposomes(FA-TSL) as shells to enhance de novo antitumor immunity. After accumulation in tumor guided by FA, AuNCs mediated photothermal therapy(PTT) induced the release of tumor-derived protein antigens(TDPAs) and the shedding of FATSL. Exposed AuNCs/SV soon captured TDPAs to form in situ recombinant vaccine(AuNCs/SV/TDPAs). Subsequently, AuNCs/SV/TDPAs could efficiently transport to draining LNs owing to the hyperthermia induced vasodilation effect and small particle size, achieving co-delivery of antigens and adjuvant for initiation of specific T cell response. In melanoma bearing mice, FA-TSL/AuNCs/SV and laser irradiation effectively ablated primary tumor, against metastatic tumors and induced immunological memory. This approach served a hyperthermia enhanced platform drainage to enable robust personalized cancer vaccination.

T细胞免疫反应载体疫苗在人类疾病预防和治疗中的应用

人类疾病,特别是传染病和癌症,对公共卫生安全和全球经济构成前所未有的挑战。预防和治疗性疫苗的开发是应对人类疾病的优先对策。本文综述了疫苗载体的免疫学原理、T细胞载体疫苗设计策略及疫苗研究进展,为新型疫苗的设计提供新的思路。T细胞可以在机体发生感染后分化成不同的效应T细胞群,它们可以起到清除病原体的作用,关于效应T细胞功能和机制的研究对于设计能够引发基于T细胞免疫的疫苗至关重要。目前很多病毒(例如HIV、HCMV感染)和肿瘤疫苗的研发都侧重于T细胞类疫苗,在所有疫苗种类中,激活T细胞免疫反应的载体疫苗具有显著优势。许多来源的载体,包括病毒载体、细菌载体和核酸载体,它们在抗原提呈能力、免疫原性和保护效力方面都有良好的表现。此外,还总结了T细胞载体疫苗设计的策略,包括确定适当的抗原提呈途径和载体递送途径、确保生物安全性、如何选择合适的疫苗的载体、各种载体疫苗的优缺点等,尤其是mRNA疫苗在应对新冠疫情中发挥了重要的作用。疫苗载体的技术进步将会加速新型疫苗的研发,并且能促进人们对突发公共卫生事件的应对。

基于肿瘤抗原PBK的融合蛋白疫苗的设计制备及抗肿瘤活性

PBK是一种癌症/睾丸抗原,其在人类的多种正常组织中不表达,而在癌变后的组织细胞中异常过表达,促进癌症的发生、转移甚至耐药性,为肿瘤免疫治疗提供了新靶点。本研究将硝基化T细胞表位与PBK蛋白融合表达,构建了以PBK为靶点的蛋白疫苗PBK-Nitrath;采用IFN-γ ELISpot法评估免疫小鼠脾脏中PBK抗原特异性T细胞的激活水平,并在体外进行细胞毒性T细胞杀伤效应检测评估其对H22肝癌细胞的杀伤能力;在此基础上采用H22肝癌皮下移植瘤模型对其抗肿瘤活性进行评价,并通过流式细胞术对外周血和脾脏T淋巴细胞的分化情况与肿瘤的免疫浸润情况进行分析。结果显示,PBK-Nitrath能够显著地诱导PBK抗原特异性T细胞的激活,增强细胞毒性T淋巴细胞的杀伤能力,并可显著抑制小鼠肝癌肿瘤生长,提高外周血与脾脏中CD8~+CD107a~+T细胞的比例,同时可促进肿瘤淋巴细胞的浸润。研究结果提示PBK-Nitrath是有潜力的肿瘤疫苗候选分子。

免疫治疗在胃癌中的应用研究进展

胃癌是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,由于胃癌筛查率低和早期症状轻微,多数患者在晚期才被确诊,影响预后。近年来,随着研究深入,胃癌的免疫治疗取得显著进展,尤其对不可切除和转移性病例效果显著,使其成为继手术、化疗、放疗和靶向治疗后的有效治疗方法。免疫治疗通过人为调控免疫系统生效,包括过继细胞疗法、免疫检查点抑制剂和肿瘤疫苗等。目前,免疫治疗虽然前景广阔,但在临床应用中仍面临诸多挑战和问题。本文就胃癌免疫治疗的临床应用以及存在的问题进行综述。

MHSP65-TCL疫苗对不同病理类型三阴性乳腺癌治疗效果的差异

目的评估及比较改良后的结核分枝杆菌热休克蛋白65-肿瘤细胞裂解物(MHSP65-TCL)疫苗对不同类型三阴性乳腺癌的疗效和差异。方法首先,生物信息学分析不同病理类型三阴性乳腺癌肿瘤微环境中免疫细胞浸润活化情况;其次,分析三阴性乳腺癌细胞中RACK1、Bcl-2、CTNNBL1等细胞活化因子,及细胞凋亡诱导因子PDL1、HMGB1、Fas-L在三阴性乳腺细胞中的丰度及其影响免疫细胞活化的信号通路。进而,在制备MHSP65-TCL去除TCL中的PDL1或增加TCL中Bcl-2,再通过体内外抗肿瘤实验,检测、比较两种方法治疗不同类型三阴性乳腺癌效果的差异。结果蛋白表达丰度的检测,MDA-MB-453细胞中HMGB1的表达量是最高的,但Bcl-2表达最低,结合各类型三阴性乳腺癌淋巴浸润,体外杀伤实验以及体内动物实验,3种不同类型的三阴性乳腺癌细胞尤其是LAR型细胞系MDA-MB-453,主要依赖HMGB1抑制免疫细胞。从TCL中去除HMGB1可以更为有效地提高MHSP65-TCL的抗肿瘤效果。结论阐明MHSP65-TCL疫苗对各类型三阴性乳腺癌疗效差异及机制,并建立起一种三阴性乳腺癌治疗的新方法。

新抗原肿瘤疫苗临床试验的研究现状与展望

近年来,新抗原肿瘤疫苗的蓬勃发展开启了肿瘤免疫治疗的新篇章。随着各种组学和生物信息学等技术的不断进步,新抗原肿瘤疫苗的研发和临床转化成为了最令人瞩目的研究方向。肿瘤疫苗在实体瘤的临床前研究及相关临床试验均显示出了抗肿瘤潜力,可分为预防性疫苗和治疗性疫苗。本文主要从新抗原肿瘤治疗性疫苗中的信使RNA疫苗、树突状细胞疫苗、合成肽疫苗和病毒载体疫苗等角度,论述2021—2024年国内外新抗原肿瘤疫苗相关的临床试验,并归纳研究现状、存在问题、应对措施和展望未来研究方向。

结肠癌细胞膜仿生铜基金属有机框架对DC的激活和促血管新生作用

目的:探讨结肠癌细胞膜包裹的铜基金属有机框架(MOF@CCM)的DC激活和促进血管新生的潜力。方法:首先构建1,3,5-苯三甲酸铜(Ⅱ)铜基金属有机框架(HKUST-1),在其外层包覆结肠癌CT26细胞膜,获得MOF@CCM,对其进行物理表征。用CCK-8法研究MOF@CCM的生物相容性,流式细胞术分析MOF@CCM对DC2.4成熟比例的影响,以验证MOF@CCM激活免疫细胞的潜力。通过血管生成实验验证MOF@CCM促人脐静脉内皮细胞(HUVEC)形成血管的能力。结果:成功制备了MOF@CCM,透射电镜观察显示其形状近似圆形,具有明显的核壳结构。MOF@CCM的平均粒径为(150.5±7.89)nm,平均Zeta电位为-(5.12±1.67)mV。体外实验结果显示,与对照组相比,MOF@CCM能够显著提高DC2.4成熟的比例(P<0.01)。此外,MOF和MOF@CCM均能促进HUVEC形成管状结构(P<0.05或P<0.01),且细胞膜修饰对MOF的促血管新生作用没有影响。结论:制备的MOF@CCM在所使用的剂量下具有良好的细胞相容性,能够显著促进DC2.4的成熟和促进HUVEC血管生成,有望成为抗结肠癌和促进组织修复的双功能治疗平台。

免疫治疗在前列腺癌中应用的现状及展望

免疫治疗作为一种新兴的癌症治疗方式,目前已经在多种实体肿瘤的治疗中表现出了良好的疗效,但在前列腺癌中该治疗方式未得到突破。本文旨在概述前列腺癌免疫治疗的应用现状,简述各种免疫治疗方法包括免疫检查点抑制剂、肿瘤疫苗及嵌合抗原受体T细胞(CAR-T)的原理和机制,总结临床试验的结果,并探讨免疫治疗在前列腺癌中所面临的挑战以及未来的应用展望。