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Induction of PSA‐specific CTLs and anti‐tumor immunity by a genetic prostate cancer vaccine
Author(s) -
Roos AnnaKarin,
Pavlenko Maxim,
Charo Jehad,
Egevad Lars,
Pisa Pavel
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the prostate
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.295
H-Index - 123
eISSN - 1097-0045
pISSN - 0270-4137
DOI - 10.1002/pros.20135
Subject(s) - prostate cancer , dna vaccination , immune system , medicine , immunology , immunotherapy , cellular immunity , cytotoxic t cell , immunity , antigen , cancer , cancer research , prostate , prostate specific antigen , immunization , biology , in vitro , biochemistry
BACKGROUND Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in Swedish and American men. Effective curative treatment modalities are debilitating and available only for localized disease. As an immunotherapy approach, DNA encoding prostate‐specific antigen (PSA), was used to immunize mice and induce PSA‐specific cellular immunity. METHODS A plasmid expressing PSA, alone or in combination with plasmids coding for GM‐CSF and/or IL‐2, was used for DNA immunization. Cr‐release, intracellular IFN‐γ cytokine staining, and tumor challenge assays were used to evaluate the immune response. RESULTS The DNA vaccine induces PSA‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and when co‐injected with IL‐2 and GM‐CSF it protects four of five mice against a PSA‐expressing tumor challenge. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate that immunization with a PSA DNA vaccine can evoke PSA‐specific cellular immune responses. We also show, for the first time, that a PSA DNA vaccine can induce anti‐tumor immunity in vivo. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.