title: Listeria-based vaccines for cancer treatment.
abstract: Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular bacterium that enters professional antigen-presenting cells by active phagocytosis. As a live bacterium, it induces antigen-presenting cell maturation and strong innate immunity which may assist in the immune response to poorly immunogenic antigens, such as tumor-associated antigens. Listeria produces virulence factors that allow it to escape from the phagolysosome and colonize the cytosol of the host cell. It is thus a potent vaccine vector for the presentation of passenger antigens to the major histocompatibility complex class I and II pathways of antigen processing and presentation. Recent progress in developing this bacterium as a vaccine vector for tumor-associated antigens is reviewed. In mouse models, recombinant Listeria carrying a number of such antigens has provided therapeutic immunity directed towards established tumors. Safety issues associated with live bacterial vaccine vectors and problems to be overcome in developing Listeria as a cancer immunotherapeutic for human use are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Department of Microbiology, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6076, USA. yvonne@mail.med.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: Paulo Cesar
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Maciag
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines