title: Combination of a poxvirus-based vaccine with a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) elicits antitumor immunity and long-term survival in CEA.Tg/MIN mice.
abstract: The present study was designed to determine whether: (a) chronic administration of dietary celecoxib (Celebrex), a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which targets the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme, negatively impacts host immunity; and (b) celecoxib can be coupled with a poxvirus-based vaccine to impact tumor burden in a murine tumor model of spontaneous adenomatous polyposis coli. Naive mice fed the celecoxib-supplemented diets developed eosinophilia with lowered plasma prostaglandin E(2) levels and reduced COX-2 mRNA expression levels in their splenic T cells. Responses of splenic T, B, and natural killer cells to broad-based and antigen-specific stimuli were, for the most part, unchanged in those mice as well as COX-2 knockout mice; exceptions included: (a) reduced IFN-gamma production by concanavalin A- or antigen-stimulated T cells; and (b) heightened lipopolysaccharide response of naive B cells from mice fed a diet supplemented with 1000 ppm of celecoxib. When transgenic mice that express the human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene (CEA transgenic) were bred with mice bearing a mutation in the Apc(Delta850) gene (multiple intestinal neoplasia mice), the progeny (CEA transgenic/multiple intestinal neoplasia) spontaneously develop multiple intestinal neoplasms that overexpress CEA and COX-2. Beginning at 30 days of age, the administration of a diversified prime/boost recombinant CEA-poxvirus-based vaccine regimen or celecoxib (1000 ppm)-supplemented diet reduced the number of intestinal neoplasms by 54% and 65%, respectively. Combining the CEA-based vaccine with the celecoxib-supplemented diet reduced tumor burden by 95% and significantly improved overall long-term survival. Both tumor reduction and improved overall survival were achieved without any evidence of autoimmunity directed at CEA-expressing or other normal tissues. Celecoxib is prescribed for the treatment of familial adenomatous polyposis in humans, and the CEA-based vaccines have been well tolerated and capable of eliciting anti-CEA host immune responses in early clinical studies. The results suggest that the administration of a recombinant poxvirus-based vaccine is compatible with celecoxib, and this combined chemoimmuno-based approach might lead to an additive therapeutic antitumor benefit not only in patients diagnosed with familial adenomatous polyposis but, perhaps, in other preventive settings in which COX-2 overexpression is associated with progression from premalignancy to neoplasia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratories of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Hasan E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Zeytin
authors.forename: Arti C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Connie J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Canter
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Hursting
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlom
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Greiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000068579:Celecoxib; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004032:Diet; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011212:Poxviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D011720:Pyrazoles; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D000939:Epitopes; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011720:Pyrazoles; D013449:Sulfonamides; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D000068579:Celecoxib