title: DNA vaccines, electroporation and their applications in cancer treatment.
abstract: Numerous animal studies and recent clinical studies have shown that electroporation-delivered DNA vaccines can elicit robust Ag-specific CTL responses and reduce disease severity. However, cancer antigens are generally poorly immunogenic, requiring special conditions for immune response induction. To date, many different approaches have been used to elicit Ag-specific CTL and anti-neoplastic responses to DNA vaccines against cancer. In vivo electroporation is one example, whereas others include DNA manipulation, xenogeneic antigen use, immune stimulatory molecule and immune response regulator application, DNA prime-boost immunization strategy use and different DNA delivery methods. These strategies likely increase the immunogenicity of cancer DNA vaccines, thereby contributing to cancer eradication. However, cancer cells are heterogeneous and might become CTL-resistant. Thus, understanding the CTL resistance mechanism(s) employed by cancer cells is critical to develop counter-measures for this immune escape. In this review, the use of electroporation as a DNA delivery method, the strategies used to enhance the immune responses, the cancer antigens that have been tested, and the escape mechanism(s) used by tumor cells are discussed, with a focus on the progress of clinical trials using cancer DNA vaccines.
authors.affiliation: a BK21 Plus Graduate Program; Department of Microbiology ; School of Medicine; Kangwon National University ; Chuncheon , Gangwon-do , Korea.
authors.forename: Si-Hyeong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sayyed Nilofar
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Danishmalik
authors.forename: Jeong-Im
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Sin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D019444:Vaccines, DNA
keywords: AFP, α-fetoprotein; APCs, antigen presenting cells; CEA, carcinoembryonic antigen; CTLA-4, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4; DCs, dendritic cells; DNA vaccine; EP, electroporation; GITR, glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor family-related gene; HPV, human papillomavirus; HSP, heat shock protein; HSV, herpes simplex virus; ID, intradermal; IM, intramuscular; MAGE, melanoma-associated antigen; MART, melanoma antigen recognized by T cells; PAP, prostatic acid phosphatase; PD, programmed death; PRAME, preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma; PSA, prostate-specific antigen; PSMA, prostate-specific membrane antigen; WT1, Wilm's tumor; anti-tumor immunity; cancer; hTERT, human telomerase reverse transcriptase; tumor immune evasion