Cell-free tumor antigen peptide-based cancer vaccines

The central role that tumor antigen-derived peptides play in induction of antitumor immunity makes them ideal candidates for peptide-based cancer vaccines. We have demonstrated that “transloading” is an efficient strategy for importing short peptide ligands into antigen-presenting cellsin vitro . Postulating that the transloading procedure might effect peptide uptake by antigen-presenting cellsin vivo as well, we tested this approach for the generation of peptide-based cancer vaccines. In the P815 mastocytoma system, we vaccinated mice by s.c. injection of a single, known natural peptide derived from JAK-1 kinase. Whereas vaccination with peptide alone or mixed with incomplete Freund’s adjuvant was ineffective, application of the peptide in conjunction with the polycation poly-l -lysine protected a significant number of animals against tumor challenge. Dependent upon the type of poly-l -lysine applied, protection against tumor take was comparable to that achieved with irradiated whole-cell vaccines, genetically modified to secrete granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor. In the murine melanoma M-3, a combination of four putative tumor antigen-derived peptides was tested as a cancer vaccine. Administered in combination with polycations, these peptides evoked potent antitumor immunity that could not be obtained with the peptides alone or peptides emulsified in incomplete Freund’s adjuvant. However, peptide–polycation vaccines applied to the M-3 model were not as efficient as cellular control vaccines, consisting of irradiated interleukin 2 or granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor-secreting tumor cells.