mRNA技术应对病毒传染病的研究进展

信使核糖核酸(messenger RNA,mRNA)疫苗和抗体是近年来兴起的一种新型疫苗和抗体技术。与传统疫苗相比,mRNA疫苗具有安全性高、均衡免疫性好、研发周期短、生产成本低等优势,mRNA抗体比其他形式递送的抗体在体内发挥生物学效应的时间更早也更持久。随着mRNA修饰与递送技术的快速发展,mRNA技术迅速走向成熟,在肿瘤治疗、病毒传染疾病的预防和治疗等方面展现出广阔的应用前景,特别是新型冠状病毒mRNA疫苗以创纪录的速度完成研发并成功应用,为未来mRNA技术的推广铺平了道路。本文综述了mRNA技术领域的重要突破,重点关注mRNA疫苗和抗体在应对病毒传染病中的重大进展,并展望了未来该技术在抗病毒感染领域的研究趋势。     

mRNA疫苗非病毒载体递送系统研究进展*

新型冠状病毒肺炎(Corona Virus Disease 2019,COVID-19)疫情的暴发导致全球迫切需要大量有效的疫苗来应对。mRNA疫苗具有良好的安全性,且研发周期短,成为目前最有潜力的疫苗之一,在传染病和肿瘤研究领域也引发了更多关注。随着技术创新,mRNA不稳定性、翻译效率低等缺点得到较大改善。如何安全高效地将mRNA递送至靶细胞仍是阻碍mRNA研究的一大挑战。综述目前应用于mRNA疫苗体内递送的非病毒载体递送系统,以及mRNA在传染病疫苗和肿瘤疫苗中的应用现状,旨在为mRNA疫苗研发提供参考。     

树突状细胞在肿瘤免疫治疗中的应用研究进展

树突状细胞（DC）是人体内最强的抗原提呈细胞。未成熟的DC可摄取抗原并迁移至淋巴器官,将抗原信息传递给免疫系统,引发免疫应答。研究表明,DC在启动抗肿瘤免疫中发挥着强大的功能。近年来,以DC为基础的肿瘤疫苗已成为肿瘤免疫治疗的热点。简要综述了各种DC疫苗的制备和临床应用。     

纳米疫苗在肿瘤免疫疗法中的应用

近年来肿瘤免疫疗法成为癌症治疗领域的热点,其中结合肿瘤疫苗和纳米技术的纳米疫苗为肿瘤免疫疗法提供了新思路.纳米疫苗可以实现疫苗和佐剂的共载,且智能化的纳米载体进一步实现了抗原有效的靶向递送,促进了抗原的摄取和递呈,激活抗原特异性免疫应答,有效杀伤肿瘤细胞.本文就纳米疫苗的原理、优势、纳米材料的类型、临床疗效进行综述,为后期纳米疫苗的设计提供更可靠的参考依据.     

用于疫苗的免疫增强剂和递送系统

疫苗是抵抗传染病的最重要的预防性手段。在开发有效疫苗的过程中,人们面临的挑战一方面是要鉴定最为相关的免疫原及有效的免疫接种程序,另一方面则是免疫原用不同的能够影响抗体应答亲和性成熟和细胞介导的免疫应答的佐剂配成制剂。因此,有必要开发既能激发天然免疫应答,又能激发适应性免疫应答的有效佐剂和递送系统。主要阐述了不同免疫增强剂以及可利用于新一代疫苗的递送系统的研制进展情况。     

细菌与免疫疗法联用的抗肿瘤策略

利用细菌作为一种癌症治疗手段已有较长的历史。随着对肿瘤微环境和免疫机制等相关问题的不断探究,细菌疗法已逐渐发展成为一种平台技术,为肿瘤的免疫治疗开辟了新策略、新潜能。某些细菌依靠其自身特性,能够特异性靶向肿瘤组织,不仅对肿瘤生长产生直接抑制作用,还能刺激机体产生固有和适应性免疫应答,从而显著提升抗肿瘤治疗的疗效,甚至有助于解决转移性肿瘤等难题。通过基因工程技术,从基因水平上调控细菌的分子机制来定制其生物功能,高效递送各种免疫治疗剂至肿瘤病灶处而发挥作用,达到精确调控、有效激活的目的,这是其他药物传递系统所无法比拟的。此外,肿瘤靶向型细菌介导的治疗方案既可作为单一疗法应用,也可与其他治疗方式如化疗、放疗和光热治疗等联合,以获得更佳的临床治疗结果。因此,该文主要讨论了活细菌发挥肿瘤靶向性和抗肿瘤免疫作用的关键,总结了生物工程菌用于免疫治疗的相关研究及其与其他治疗方式联合应用的优势,为细菌疗法的进一步研究与发展提供依据。     

基于纳米递药系统的肿瘤免疫检查点联合治疗研究进展

免疫治疗已成为继手术治疗、化疗、放疗之外的重要肿瘤治疗手段.在肿瘤免疫疗法中,免疫检查点阻断疗法临床疗效显著,受到广泛关注.但是,由于患者肿瘤组织免疫原性低、存在免疫抑制微环境和免疫细胞瘤内浸润缺乏等问题,免疫检查点阻断治疗仍存在临床响应率低等局限性.近年来,科研人员利用肿瘤区别于正常组织的生理和病理特性,联合物理、化学等刺激手段,发展了多种基于纳米递药系统的免疫检查点联合治疗策略,显著提高了免疫检查点阻断治疗的疗效并有望降低其毒副作用.本文简要综述了本团队及国内外同行利用纳米递药系统高效递送免疫治疗药物,将免疫检查点抑制剂与化疗、放疗和光疗等方法联合,改善免疫检查点阻断疗法的疗效方面的研究进展,并对该领域面临的挑战及未来发展趋势进行了探讨与展望.     

纳米药物递送系统在基于化疗的联合治疗中的研究进展

肿瘤是一种病理过程复杂的疾病。大多数肿瘤患者接受化疗和放疗，但这些治疗通常只对部分有效，并产生各种严重的副作用。因此，有必要开发新的治疗策略。联合治疗是目前肿瘤治疗的热点，联合用药引起的多种协同作用是提高抗肿瘤活性的关键。纳米药物递送系统的出现对临床治疗产生了深远的影响。药物的体内递送常不能达到令人满意的治疗效果，而纳米药物递送系统可以实现肿瘤靶向给药，在提高抗肿瘤效果的同时降低药物的毒副作用。本文介绍了多种基于化疗的联合治疗方法，重点阐述了纳米药物递送系统在基于化疗的联合治疗中的运用，并对该领域面临的挑战和未来发展方向进行了展望。     

mRNA疫苗在疾病预防与治疗中的研究进展与展望

基于信使RNA(messenger RNA, mRNA)的核酸疫苗是近年来兴起的一种mRNA技术。mRNA疫苗比传统疫苗有许多优点,能够实现快速、经济、高效的生产。单个mRNA疫苗可以编码多种抗原,增强对特定病原体的免疫反应,提高疾病的治疗效率,以单一配方针对多种病原微生物或疾病。mRNA疫苗相关技术在新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情防控中被视作一种革命性的疫苗技术,以创纪录的速度完成研发并成功应用。由于mRNA自身稳定性差,新型递送系统的开发与应用至关重要。随着mRNA相关药理学的深入研究,mRNA疫苗的临床应用进入了一个崭新的阶段。近年来。mRNA疫苗在传染性疾病预防、肿瘤治疗等方面获得充分发展并取得了一定的研究成果,对其进行概述并进行一定程度的展望。     

电脉冲和布吡卡因增强A型肉毒毒素DNA核酸疫苗的免疫效果

目的：考查DNA疫苗注射免疫后电脉冲和布吡卡因佐剂化DNA疫苗递送方式对A型肉毒毒素DNA核酸疫苗免疫效果的影响。方法：A型肉毒毒素DNA复制子疫苗和传统DNA疫苗肌肉注射免疫小鼠后电脉冲和布吡卡因佐剂化DNA后再肌肉注射免疫小鼠;检测免疫小鼠的抗体和细胞水平,并分析抗体亚类。结果：电脉冲和布吡卡因这二种递送方式均增强DNA复制子疫苗和传统DNA疫苗的体液免疫和细胞免疫效果;电脉冲提高DNA疫苗免疫效果更为明显,并且电脉冲和布吡卡因组合这种递送方式增强DNA疫苗体液免疫和细胞免疫水平最高;与传统DNA疫苗相比,A型肉毒毒素DNA复制子疫苗在这些递送方式下均诱导产生了更好的特异性体液免疫和细胞免疫应答,并且这些递送方式没有改变DNA疫苗的Th1/Th2免疫应答特性,即DNA复制子疫苗诱导产生Th1/Th2混合免疫应答但偏向于Th2途经,而传统DNA疫苗则完全偏向于Th2途经。结论：电脉冲和布吡卡因增强DNA复制子疫苗和传统DNA疫苗的免疫效果,是提高DNA疫苗免疫原性的良好策略。     

HER-2/neu Cancer Vaccines: Present Status and Future Prospects

Immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer should focus on novel undertakings that modulate immune responses by synergistic enhancement of anti-tumor immunological parameters. Cancer vaccines should preferably be composed of multiple defined tumor antigen specific B- and T-cell epitopes. The main focus of this article is to briefly review the present status of Her-2/neu vaccine strategies and to describe the innovative strategies developed in my laboratory for a vaccine against HER-2/neu (ErbB-2) with emphasis on the humoral arm of the immune response. Elucidating the underlining mechanisms of anti-tumor effects elicited by peptide vaccines against a self-protein is a requirement for developing an immunotherapeutic strategy that might be effective in human cancer vaccines. Our approach entails the identification of biologically relevant epitopes, establishing relevant in vitro assays for monitoring vaccine efficacy, devising strategies to engineer conformationally dependent sequences, developing highly immunogenic vaccines for an outbred population and delivering the immunogen/vaccine in a safe and efficacious vehicle, utilizing transgenic animal models for assessing tumor development, and developing challenge models using transplantable tumors to study efficacy of vaccine constructs. We have developed a multi-HER-2/neu B-cell epitope approach and shown in preclinical studies that immunization with a combination of two B-cell epitope was more effective in preventing mammary tumors than a single epitope. We have translated that work to the clinic (OSU 0105) in an FDA approved, NCI sponsored “Phase 1 Active Immunotherapy trial with Chimeric and Multi-epitope based peptide vaccine targeting HER-2 oncoprotein and nor-MDP adjuvant in patients with metastatic and/or recurrent solid tumors” at the James Cancer Hospital at the Ohio State University. The correlation between overexpression of HER-2/neu and up-regulation of VEGF has been demonstrated in breast cancer patients. Thus, blocking angiogenesis is an attractive strategy to inhibit tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. The hypothesis that combination of anti-angiogenic therapy and tumor immunotherapy of cancer may be synergistic is an important future goal. In this review, I will discuss insights into our preclinical studies that might aid in the design of the next generation of cancer vaccines and become an integrated component of prophylactic/preventive and therapeutic approach.     

Alphavirus-based DNA vaccine breaks immunological tolerance by activating innate antiviral pathways

Cancer vaccines targeting 'self' antigens that are expressed at consistently high levels by tumor cells are potentially useful in immunotherapy, but immunological tolerance may block their function. Here, we describe a novel, naked DNA vaccine encoding an alphavirus replicon (self-replicating mRNA) and the self/tumor antigen tyrosinase-related protein-1. Unlike conventional DNA vaccines, this vaccine can break tolerance and provide immunity to melanoma. The vaccine mediates production of double-stranded RNA, as evidenced by the autophosphorylation of dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR). Double-stranded RNA is critical to vaccine function because both the immunogenicity and the anti-tumor activity of the vaccine are blocked in mice deficient for the RNase L enzyme, a key component of the 2',5'-linked oligoadenylate synthetase antiviral pathway involved in double-stranded RNA recognition. This study shows for the first time that alphaviral replicon-encoding DNA vaccines activate innate immune pathways known to drive antiviral immune responses, and points the way to strategies for improving the efficacy of immunization with naked DNA.     

Blocking monoclonal antibodies of TIM proteins as orchestrators of anti-tumor immune response

Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based treatment of cancer has a significant effect on current practice in medical oncology, and is considered now as one of the most successful therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. MAbs are designed to initiate or enhance anti-tumor immune responses, which can be achieved by either blocking inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules or triggering activating receptors. TIM gene family members are type-I surface molecules expressed in immune cells, and play important roles in the regulation of both innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Therapeutic strategies based on anti-TIMs mAbs have shown promising results in experimental tumor models, and synergistic combinations of anti-TIMs mAbs with cancer vaccines, adoptive T-cell therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy will have great impact on cancer treatment in future clinical development.     

Immunogenic chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin against established murine carcinoma

Mitigation of regulatory T cell-mediated immunosuppression and elicitation of immunogenic tumor cell death are crucial events for optimal anti-tumor immune activity in vivo. This study was designed to investigate the potential synergistic activity of the combined use of cyclophosphamide (CP) and doxorubicin (DR), both of which are known to resolve these two issues. BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously with CT-26 carcinoma cells in the bilateral flank and treated with an intraperitoneal injection of a low dose of CP followed by an intratumoral injection of DR into one side of the tumor. We found that, in addition to a significant suppression of growth on the DR-treated side of the tumor, combination therapy suppressed the growth of DR-untreated remote tumors in both tumor-specific and T cell-dependent manners. Mitomycin C showed no such synergistic anti-tumor activity with CP treatment. Combination therapy increased the frequency of interferon (IFN)-γ-producing T lymphocytes specific to a CT-26-associated class I-binding tumor peptide in the tumor-draining lymph nodes. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that combination therapy led to an increase in IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA expression; however, levels of Foxp3 and transforming growth factor-β within the remote tumor tissues were decreased. In addition, knock down of calreticulin expression in CT-26 cells using small interfering RNA attenuated anti-tumor vaccine effects induced by DR-treated CT-26 cells. These results provide an immunological rationale for the combined use of chemotherapeutic drugs, i.e., CP and DR, and further recommend their use with current cancer vaccines.     

Immune therapy of melanoma: Overview of therapeutic vaccines

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer which develops from the occurrence of genetic mutations in the melanocytes. Based on the features of melanoma tumors such as location, genetic profile and stage, there are several therapeutic strategies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, because of the appearance resistance mechanisms, the efficiency of these treatments strategies may be reduced. It has been demonstrated that therapeutic monoclonal antibodies can improve the efficiency of melanoma therapies. Recently, several mAbs, such as nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and ipilimumab, were approved for the immunotherapy of melanoma. The antibodies inhibit immune checkpoint receptors such as CTL4 and pd-1. Another therapeutic strategy for the treatment of melanoma is cancer vaccines, which improve clinical outcomes in patients. The combination therapy using antibodies and gene vaccine give us a new perspective in the treatment of melanoma patients. Herein, we present the recent progressions in the melanoma immunotherapy, especially dendritic cells mRNA vaccines by reviewing recent literature.     

Immune based therapies in cancer

Immunotherapy of cancer has become a more promising approach in the past decade. Developments in both basic immunology and tumor biology have increased our knowledge of the interactions between the tumor cells and the immune system. The molecular identification of tumor-associated antigens and understanding of immunological pathways have cleared the way for development of different strategies for anti-tumor vaccines. The success of any cancer vaccine relies on the induction of an effective tumor-specific immune response to break tolerance and to elicit a long lasting anti-tumor immunity. It is also increasingly clear that the interactions of host-tumor are quite complicated leading to tumor escape mechanisms, which add another level of difficulty to this interaction. This review will summarize the recent developments in tumor immunotherapy as well as the clinical trials addressing novel immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer.     

The viral approach to breast cancer immunotherapy

Despite years of intensive research, breast cancer remains the leading cause of death in women worldwide. New technologies including oncolytic virus therapies, virus, and phage display are among the most powerful and advanced methods that have emerged in recent years with potential applications in cancer prevention and treatment. Oncolytic virus therapy is an interesting strategy for cancer treatment. Presently, a number of viruses from different virus families are under laboratory and clinical investigation as oncolytic therapeutics. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) have been shown to be able to induce and initiate a systemic antitumor immune response. The possibility of application of a multimodal therapy using a combination of the OV therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and cancer antigen vaccination holds a great promise in the future of cancer immunotherapy. Display of immunologic peptides on bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) is also increasingly being considered as a new and strong cancer vaccine delivery strategy. In phage display immunotherapy, a peptide or protein antigen is presented by genetic fusions to the phage coat proteins, and the phage construct formulation acts as a protective or preventive vaccine against cancer. In our laboratory, we have recently tested a few peptides (E75, AE37, and GP2) derived from HER2/neu proto-oncogene as vaccine delivery modalities for the treatment of TUBO breast cancer xenograft tumors of BALB/c mice. Here, in this paper, we discuss the latest advancements in the applications of OVs and bacterial viruses display systems as new and advanced modalities in cancer immune therapeutics.