Vaccination with human amniotic epithelial cells confer effective protection in a murine model of Colon adenocarcinoma

Abstract

As a prophylactic cancer vaccine, human amniotic membrane epithelial cells (hAECs) conferred effective protection in a murine model of colon cancer. The immunized mice mounted strong cross-protective CTL and antibody responses. Tumor burden was significantly reduced in tumor-bearing mice after immunization with hAECs. Placental cancer immunotherapy could be a promising approach for primary prevention of cancer. In spite of being the star of therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment, the results of immunotherapeutic approaches are still far from expectations. In this regard, primary prevention of cancer using prophylactic cancer vaccines has gained considerable attention. The immunologic similarities between cancer development and placentation have helped researchers to unravel molecular mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis and to take advantage of stem cells from reproductive organs to elicit robust anti-cancer immune responses. Here, we showed that vaccination of mice with human amniotic membrane epithelial cells (hAECs) conferred effective protection against colon cancer and led to expansion of systemic and splenic cytotoxic T cell population and induction of cross-protective cytotoxic responses against tumor cells. Vaccinated mice mounted tumor-specific Th1 responses and produced cross-reactive antibodies against cell surface markers of cancer cells. Tumor burden was also significantly reduced in tumor-bearing mice immunized with hAECs. Our findings pave the way for potential future application of hAECs as an effective prophylactic cancer vaccine.

Characteristics and Therapeutic Potential of Human Amnion-Derived Stem Cells

“…Liver fibrosis, the precursor to cirrhosis, is a complex inflammatory and fibrogenic condition caused by chronic liver injury and an imbalance in extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and degradation mediated primarily by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) [146]. hAMSCs and hAMSC-CM were observed to inhibit the activation of HSCs and in turn, to improve liver fibrosis along with reductions of fibrosis markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and collagen I [147,148] and the infiltration of KC cells [149].…”

Expression levels of a gene signature in hiPSC associated with lung adenocarcinoma stem cells and its capability in eliciting specific antitumor immune‐response in a humanized mice model

“…Tabatabaei et al . demonstrated that vaccination using human amniotic epithelial cells induced effective protection against colon adenocarcinoma in a murine model . Other previous studies have also suggested that pluripotent cells share tumor‐specific antigens with cancer cells and may induce antitumor immunity in vivo.…”

“…Therefore, the application of whole‐cell vaccines provides an alternative in which the vaccine is directed against a broad range of antigens . Immunization with embryonic materials to generate antitumor responses has been developed for some time, but the lack of suitable materials and ethical challenges limits its application . Previous studies have proved that CSC‐based vaccines elicit more effective antitumor responses compared with unselected tumor cells .…”

Crescentic Glomerulonephritis: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Potential of Human Amniotic Stem Cells

“…Moreover, hAECs supress cancers directly by inducing apoptosis and reducing motility of malignant cells (Niknejad et al, 2014). They also suppress tumor development indirectly by promoting anti-tumor cytotoxic T cell immunity in vivo, as shown in a mouse model of colon adenocarcinoma (Tabatabaei et al, 2018).…”