The epitope integration site for vaccine antigens determines virus control while maintaining efficacy in an engineered cancer vaccine.

ABSTRACT: Picornaviruses have been developed as potential therapies for gene delivery and vaccination. One drawback to their use is the potential for recombination and viral persistence. Therefore, the engineering strategies used must take into account the possibility for virus escape. We have developed Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) as a potential vaccine vector for use in immunotherapy. This study shows that insertion of a vaccine epitope at a unique site within the TMEV leader protein can dramatically increase the type I interferon (IFN) response to infection and promote rapid viral clearance. This live virus vaccine maintains its ability to drive antigen-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses to a model antigen as well as to the weakly immunogenic tumor antigen Her2/neu. Furthermore,

SUBMITTER: Pavelko KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3666639 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature