title: Improving Multi-Epitope Long Peptide Vaccine Potency by Using a Strategy that Enhances CD4+ T Help in BALB/c Mice.
abstract: Peptide-based vaccines are attractive approaches for cancer immunotherapy; but the success of these vaccines in clinical trials have been limited. Our goal is to improve immune responses and anti-tumor effects against a synthetic, multi-epitope, long peptide from rat Her2/neu (rHer2/neu) using the help of CD4+ T cells and appropriate adjuvant in a mouse tumor model. Female BALB/c mice were vaccinated with P5+435 multi-epitope long peptide that presents epitopes for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in combination with a universal Pan DR epitope (PADRE) or CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) as a Toll-like receptor agonist adjuvant. The results show that vaccination with the multi-epitope long peptide in combination with the PADRE peptide and CpG-ODN induced expansion of subpopulations of CD4+ and CD8+ cells producing IFN-γ, the average tumor size in the vaccinated mice was less than that of the other groups, and tumor growth was inhibited in 40% of the mice in the vaccinated group. The mean survival time was 82.6 ± 1.25 days in mice vaccinated with P5+435 + CpG+ PADRE. Our results demonstrate that inclusion of PADRE and CpG with the peptide vaccine enhanced significant tumor specific-immune responses in vaccinated mice.
authors.affiliation: Immunogenetic and Cell Culture Department, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Haniyeh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghaffari-Nazari
authors.affiliation: Immunogenetic and Cell Culture Department, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Jalil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tavakkol-Afshari
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Nanotechnology Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Jaafari
authors.affiliation: Immunogenetic and Cell Culture Department, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tahaghoghi-Hajghorbani
authors.affiliation: Immunogenetic and Cell Culture Department, Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masoumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Amir
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Jalali
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D022223:Vaccines, Subunit