title: Coadministration of the fungal immunomodulatory protein FIP-Fve and a tumour-associated antigen enhanced antitumour immunity.
abstract: Fve is a fungal protein isolated from the golden needle mushroom Flammulina velutipes and has previously been reported to trigger immunological responses in both mouse and human lymphocytes. In this study, we evaluated the potential application of Fve as an adjuvant for tumour immunotherapy and examined the underlying mechanism(s). When the human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 E7 oncoprotein was used as a model antigen, mice coimmunized with HPV-16 E7 and Fve showed enhanced production of HPV-16 E7-specific antibodies as well as expansion of HPV-16 E7-specific interferon (IFN)-gamma-producing CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells as compared with mice immunized with HPV-16 E7 alone. Tumour protection assays showed that 60% of mice coimmunized with HPV-16 E7 plus Fve, as compared with 20% of those immunized only with HPV-16 E7, remained tumour-free for up to 167 days after challenge with the tumour cells. Tumour therapeutic assays showed that HPV-16 E7 plus Fve treatment significantly prolonged the survival of tumour-bearing mice as compared with those treated only with HPV-16 E7. In vivo cell depletion and adoptive T-cell transfer assays showed that CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and IFN-gamma played critical roles in conferring the antitumour effects. Interestingly, Fve could stimulate the maturation of splenic dendritic cells in vivo and induce antigen-specific CD8(+) T-cell immune responses. In summary, Fve has potent adjuvant properties that enhance T helper type 1 antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses which confer strong antitumour effects. The use of Fve as an adjuvant could be an attractive alternative to the current vaccination strategy for cancer immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: See Voon
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Seow
authors.forename: Chiung Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lee Mei
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Liew
authors.forename: Yaw Chyn
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: I Chun
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Kaw Yan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chua
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D055393:Flammulina / Q000276:immunology*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16; D006801:Humans; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active / Q000379:methods*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral; D050725:Papillomavirus E7 Proteins; C059731:oncogene protein E7, Human papillomavirus type 16; D007371:Interferon-gamma