Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

There is considerable interest in the development of vaccination strategies that would elicit strong tumor-specific CTL responses in cancer patients. One strategy consists of using recombinant viruses encoding amino acid sequences corresponding to natural CTL-defined peptide from tumor Ags as immunogens. However, studies with synthetic tumor antigenic peptides have demonstrated that introduction of single amino acid substitutions may dramatically increase their immunogenicity. In this study we have used a well-defined human melanoma tumor Ag system to test the possibility of translating the immunological potency of synthetic tumor antigenic peptide analogues into recombinant vaccinia viruses carrying constructs with the appropriate nucleotide substitutions. Our results indicate that the use of a mutated minigene construct directing the expression of a modified melanoma tumor Ag leads to improved Ag recognition and, more importantly, to enhanced immunogenicity. Thus, recombinant vaccinia viruses containing mutated minigene sequences may lead to new strategies for the induction of strong tumor-specific CTL responses in cancer patients.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Immunol

Publication Date

15/01/2000

Volume

164

Pages

1125 - 1131

Keywords

Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Antigen-Presenting Cells, Antigens, Neoplasm, Cancer Vaccines, Cytotoxicity, Immunologic, Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte, Genes, Synthetic, Genetic Vectors, Humans, Injections, Intraperitoneal, Lymphocyte Activation, MART-1 Antigen, Melanoma, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Neoplasm Proteins, Peptides, T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Ubiquitins, Vaccines, Synthetic, Vaccinia virus, Viral Vaccines