After more than 15 years of experimentation, DNA vaccines have become a promising perspective for tumour diseases, and animal models are widely used to study the biological features of human cancer progression and to test the eYcacy of vaccination protocols. In recent years, immunisation with naked plasmid DNA encoding tumour-associated antigens or tumour-speciWc antigens has revealed a number of advantages: antigen-speciWc DNA vaccination stimulates both cellular and humoral immune responses; multiple or multi-gene vectors encoding several antigens/determinants and immune-modulatory molecules can be delivered as single administration; DNA vaccination does not induce autoimmune disease in normal animals; DNA vaccines based on plasmid vectors can be produced and tested rapidly and economically. However, DNA vaccines have shown low immunogenicity when tested in human clinical trials, and compared with traditional vaccines, they induce weak immune responses. Therefore, the improvement of vaccine eYcacy has become a critical goal in the development of eVective DNA vaccination protocols for anti-tumour therapy. Several strategies are taken into account for improving the DNA vaccination eYcacy, such as antigen optimisation, use of adjuvants and delivery systems like electroporation, co-expression of cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules in the same vector, diVerent vaccination protocols. In this review we discuss how the combination of these approaches may contribute to the development of more eVective DNA vaccination protocols for the therapy of lymphoma in a mouse model.
DNA vaccination strategies for anti-tumour effective gene therapy protocols
FAZIO V. M.
2010-01-01
Abstract
After more than 15 years of experimentation, DNA vaccines have become a promising perspective for tumour diseases, and animal models are widely used to study the biological features of human cancer progression and to test the eYcacy of vaccination protocols. In recent years, immunisation with naked plasmid DNA encoding tumour-associated antigens or tumour-speciWc antigens has revealed a number of advantages: antigen-speciWc DNA vaccination stimulates both cellular and humoral immune responses; multiple or multi-gene vectors encoding several antigens/determinants and immune-modulatory molecules can be delivered as single administration; DNA vaccination does not induce autoimmune disease in normal animals; DNA vaccines based on plasmid vectors can be produced and tested rapidly and economically. However, DNA vaccines have shown low immunogenicity when tested in human clinical trials, and compared with traditional vaccines, they induce weak immune responses. Therefore, the improvement of vaccine eYcacy has become a critical goal in the development of eVective DNA vaccination protocols for anti-tumour therapy. Several strategies are taken into account for improving the DNA vaccination eYcacy, such as antigen optimisation, use of adjuvants and delivery systems like electroporation, co-expression of cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules in the same vector, diVerent vaccination protocols. In this review we discuss how the combination of these approaches may contribute to the development of more eVective DNA vaccination protocols for the therapy of lymphoma in a mouse model.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.