Targeted Vaccination against Human α-Lactalbumin for Immunotherapy and Primary Immunoprevention of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
We have proposed that safe and effective protection against the development of adult onset cancers may be achieved by vaccination against tissue-specific self-proteins that are "retired" from expression at immunogenic levels in normal tissues as we age, but are overexpressed in emerging tumors. α-Lactalbumin is an example of a "retired" self-protein because its expression in normal tissues is confined exclusively to the breast during late pregnancy and lactation, but is also expressed in the vast majority of human triple negative breast cancers (TNBC)-the most aggressive and lethal form of breast cancer and the predominant form that occurs in women at high genetic risk including those with mutated BRCA1 genes. In anticipation of upcoming clinical trials, here we provide preclinical data indicating that α-lactalbumin has the potential as a vaccine target for inducing safe and effective primary immunoprevention as well as immunotherapy against TNBC.
Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. tuohyv@ccf.org.|Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. tuohyv@ccf.org.
Vincent K
VK
Tuohy
Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. jainir@ccf.org.|Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. jainir@ccf.org.
Ritika
R
Jaini
Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. johnsoj1@ccf.org.
Justin M
JM
Johnson
Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. loyam@ccf.org.|Shield Biotech, Inc., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. loyam@ccf.org.
Matthew G
MG
Loya
Shield Biotech, Inc., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. dwilk@shieldbio.com.
Dennis
D
Wilk
Department of Anatomical and Clinical Pathology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. erinn.downs-kelly@path.utah.edu.
Erinn
E
Downs-Kelly
Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. mazumds@ccf.org.|Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. mazumds@ccf.org.
Suparna
S
Mazumder
cancer vaccine; immunoprevention; immunotherapy; triple negative breast cancer; α-lactalbumin