title: Peptides as tools and drugs for immunotherapies.
abstract: Peptides are essential tools for discovery and pre-clinical and pharmaceutical development of viral and cancer vaccines ('active immunotherapies') as well as for therapeutic antibodies ('passive immunotherapies'). They help to trigger and analyze immune responses at a molecular level (B-cell, T-helper and CTL epitopes). They contribute largely to the design of new vaccine candidates and to the generation of monoclonal antibodies. They are also valuable analytical reference compounds for the structural characterisation by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry of recombinant proteins used as biopharmaceuticals. As for other therapeutic applications, formulation, solubilisation, batch consistency and stability, issues have to be addressed to allow the pre-clinical and clinical development of this class of compounds as immunotherapeutic drugs. In the present review, three case studies dealing with (i) the design and the characterisation of Respiratory Syntycial Virus subunit vaccines, (ii) peptide-based melanoma vaccines, and (iii) therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, all investigated in clinical trials, are reported and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie Pierre Fabre, 5 Avenue Napoléon III, F74164 Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, Cedex, France. alain.beck@pierre-fabre.com
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Klinguer-Hamour
authors.forename: Marie-Claire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Bussat
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Haeuw
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goetsch
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wurch
authors.forename: Masae
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milon
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Dorsselaer
authors.forename: Thien
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Corvaïa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000235:genetics; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D022261:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000956:Antigens, Viral; C472186:BBG2Na vaccine; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D010455:Peptides; D022261:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines