title: Dendritic cells pulsed with Hsp70 and HBxAg induce specific antitumor immune responses in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Previous studies have drawn attention to dendritic cell (DC) vaccines; particularly the application of the tumor-associated antigen-targeted DC vaccine. The present study analyzed DCs derived from a normal individual and pulsed the cells with heat shock protein 70 peptide (Hsp70) and/or hepatitis B virus x antigen (HBxAg), a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated antigen. It was then investigated whether this method of vaccination induced strong therapeutic antitumor immunity. The results revealed that the Hsp70/HBxAg complex-activated phenotype improves the functional maturation of DCs compared with using Hsp70 or HBxAg alone. Compared with either Hsp70 or HBxAg alone, matured DCs pulsed with the Hsp70/HBxAg complex stimulated a high level of autologous T-cell proliferation and induced HCC-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which specifically killed HCC cells through a major histocompatibility complex class I mechanism. These results indicated that a vaccination therapy using DCs co-pulsed with the Hsp70/HBxAg complex is an effective strategy for immunotherapy and may offer a useful approach to protect against HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Rou-Shu
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Min-Gao
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Xiang
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D016923:Cell Death; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016513:Mice, SCID; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014162:Transfection; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015534:Trans-Activators; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C057628:hepatitis B virus X protein; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase