Pascolo
Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Onkologie, Klinik für » Prof. Dr. Alexander Knuth » Pascolo
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Optimisation of DNA-based vaccination for the therapy against NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors | ||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||
| Original title / Originaltitel | Optimierung der DNA-Immunisierung zur Therapie NY-ESO-1 exprimierender Tumoren | ||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Vaccination using plasmid DNA allows to immunise against any protein of interest. In humans, although the direct injection of naked plasmid DNA triggers an imumne response (antibodies and T-cells directed against the foreign DNA's encoded pprotein), a needleless method called Particle Mediated Epidermal Delivery (PMED) or Gene Gun was shown to be more reliable and to induce higher immune responses. We are using Gene Gun to deliver plasmid DNA coding for NY-ESO-1. In phase I/II clinical trials recently conducted by our collaborators at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research it was shown that vaccination with Gene Gun can induce T-cel immunity against NY-ESO-1 in advanced cancer patients. However, this immune response was relatively weak and no B-cell response was observed. Thus, we are investigating methods to improve vacination against NY-ESO-1 with Gene Gun. It includes (i) modyfing the structure of the encoded antigen in order to render it more immunogenic, (ii) to use adjuvants such as RNA during vaccination, and (iii) to use pharmaceutically available drugs that can increase vaccine's efficacy such as chloroquine. From those pre-clinical studies, we will conduct a clinical trial with our improved Gene Gun vaccination method aiming at inducing anti-tumor (anti-NY-ESO-1) immunity that can help in controlling cance | ||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, immune system, cancer, immunosuppression | ||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Foundation Helmut Horten Stiftung |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Dec 2007 to Dec 2009 |