Abstract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccination with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A24-restricted human vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1)-1084 and VEGFR2-169 combined with chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. HLA-A * 2402-positive patients with advanced or recurrent adenocarcinoma of the stomach were vaccinated with VEGFR1-1084 and VEGFR2-169 combined with S-1 and cisplatin. The study included 22 patients (median age 60.5 years) who received at least one cycle of the combination therapy. No severe adverse effects caused by the vaccine therapy were observed except for an inflammatory reaction at the site of injection in 6 patients. Twelve patients (55%) showed partial response and 10 had stable disease after two cycles of the combination therapy. The disease control rate (partial response and stable disease) was 100% after two cycles. The median time to progression was 9.6 months and median overall survival was 14.2 months. VEGFR1-1084-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response was induced in 18 (82%) of the 22 patients and VEGFR2-169-specific CTL response was induced in 18 (82%) of the 22 patients. Patients showing CTL response to VEGFR2-169 peptide had significantly better prognosis than those without, as demonstrated by the overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) (OS, p=0.028, TTP, p=0.006). The combination therapy was well tolerated and highly effective in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer. Substantial specific CTL for both peptides was frequently induced even under chemotherapy. Thus, cancer vaccination combined with standard chemotherapy warrants further analysis as a promising strategy for the treatment of advanced cancer.
We recently identified a novel cancer-testis antigen, cell division cycle associated 1 (CDCA1) using genome-wide cDNA microarray analysis, and CDCA1-derived cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-epitopes. In this study, we attempted to identify CDCA1-derived long peptides (LPs) that induce both CD4 1 helper T (Th) cells and CTLs. We combined information from a recently developed computer algorithm predicting HLA class II-binding peptides with CDCA1-derived CTL-epitope sequences presented by HLA-A2 (A*02:01) or HLA-A24 (A*24:02) to select candidate CDCA1-LPs encompassing both Th cell epitopes and CTLepitopes. We studied the immunogenicity of CDCA1-LPs and the cross-priming potential of LPs bearing CTL-epitopes in both human in vitro and HLA-class I transgenic mice in vivo. Then we analyzed the Th cell response to CDCA1 in head-and-neck cancer (HNC) patients before and after vaccination with a CDCA1-derived CTL-epitope peptide using IFN-c enzyme-linked immunospot assays. We identified two CDCA1-LPs, CDCA1 39-64 -LP and CDCA1 55-78 -LP, which encompass naturally processed epitopes recognized by Th cells and CTLs. CDCA1-specific CTLs were induced through cross-presentation of CDCA1-LPs in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CDCA1-specific Th cells enhanced induction of CDCA1-specific CTLs. Furthermore, significant frequencies of CDCA1-specific Th cell responses were detected after short-term in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with CDCA1-LPs in HNC patients (CDCA1 39-64 -LP, 74%; CDCA1 55-78 -LP, 68%), but not in healthy donors. These are the first results demonstrating the presence of CDCA1-specific Th cell responses in HNC patients and underline the possible utility of CDCA1-LPs for propagation of both CDCA1-specific Th cells and CTLs.We recently used genome-wide cDNA microarray analysis to identify a novel cancer testis antigen, cell division cycle associated 1 (CDCA1), which is frequently overexpressed in lung cancer, head-and-neck cancer (HNC), and various other malignancies. 1,2 We also identified highly immunogenic CDCA1-derived short peptides (SPs) that can induce HLA-A2 (A*02:01)-restricted CTLs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of lung cancer patients. 1 It is known
We here identified human leukocyte antigen-(HLA-)A∗2402-restricted epitope peptides from Cadherin 3, type 1, P-cadherin (CDH3) and kinesin family member 20A (KIF20A) that were found to be specifically expressed in cancer cells through genome-wide expression profile analysis. CDH3-10-807 peptide and KIF20A-10-66 peptide successfully induced specific CTL clones, and these selectively responded to COS7 cells expressing both HLA-A∗2402 and respective protein while did not respond to parental cells or COS7 cells expressing either HLA-A∗2402 or respective protein. Furthermore, CTL clones responded to cancer cells that endogenously express HLA-A∗2402 and respective protein, suggesting that CDH3-10-807 peptide and KIF20A-10-66 peptide are naturally presented on HLA-A∗2402 molecule of human cancer cells. Our results demonstrated that CDH3-10-807 peptide and KIF20A-10-66 peptide are novel HLA-A24-restricted tumor-associated antigens and would be applicable for CTL-inducing cancer therapies.
We herein report the identification of an HLA-A2 supertype-restricted epitope peptide derived from hypoxia-inducible protein 2 (HIG2), which is known to be a diagnostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for renal cell carcinoma. Among several candidate peptides predicted by the HLA-binding prediction algorithm, HIG2-9-4 peptide (VLNLYLLGV) was able to effectively induce peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The established HIG2-9-4 peptide-specific CTL clone produced interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in response to HIG2-9-4 peptide-pulsed HLA-A*02:01-positive cells, as well as to cells in which HLA-A*02:01 and HIG2 were exogenously introduced. Moreover, the HIG2-9-4 peptide-specific CTL clone exerted cytotoxic activity against HIG2-expressing HLA-A*02:01-positive renal cancer cells, thus suggesting that the HIG2-9-4 peptide is naturally presented on HLA-A*02:01 of HIG-2-expressing cancer cells and is recognized by CTLs. Furthermore, we found that the HIG2-9-4 peptide could also induce CTLs under HLA-A*02:06 restriction. Taken together, these findings indicate that the HIG2-9-4 peptide is a novel HLA-A2 supertype-restricted epitope peptide that could be useful for peptide-based immunotherapy against cancer cells with HIG2 expression.
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