A novel cancer immunotherapy utilizing autologous tumour tissue

Abstract

Background With the recent interest in personalized medicine for cancer patients and immune therapy, the field of cancer vaccines has been resurrected. Previous autologous, whole cell tumour vaccine trials have not produced convincing results due, in part to poor patient selection and inactivation methos that are harsh on the cells. These methods can alter protein structure and antigenic profiles making vaccine candidates ineffective in stimulating immune response to autochthonous tumour cells. Materials and methods We investigated a novel method for inactivating tumour cells that uses UVA/UVB light and riboflavin (vitamin B2) (RF + UV). RF + UV inactivates the tumour cells' ability to replicate, yet preserves tumour cell integrity and antigenicity. Results Our results demonstrate that proteins are preserved on the surface of RF + UV-inactivated tumour cells and that they are immunogenic via induction of dendritic cell maturation, increase in IFNc production and generation of tumour cell-specific IgG. Moreover, when formulated with an adjuvant ('Innocell vaccine') and tested in different murine tumour primary and metastatic disease models, decreased tumour growth, decreased metastatic disease and prolonged survival were observed. In addition, immune cells obtained from tumour tissue following vaccination had decreased exhausted and regulatory T cells, suggesting that activation of intra-tumoural T cells may be playing a role leading to reduced tumour growth. Conclusions These data suggest that the RF + UV inactivation of tumour cells may provide an efficacious method for generating autologous whole tumour cell vaccines for use in cancer patients.

A whole virion vaccine for COVID-19 produced via a novel inactivation method: results from animal challenge model studies

“…Both adjuvants used in this study are known to promote Th1 immune pathway responses. Prior work with vaccine candidates suggested that ADE leading to lung immunopathology might be avoided by using Th1 promoting adjuvants [24].…”

“…Importantly, we believe that such a production method could be applied to vaccine candidates targeting other viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens. We have already applied such an approach to the generation of solid tumor vaccines and demonstrated their use in both murine and canine disease models [24,25].…”

Targeting Fat Oxidation in Mouse Prostate Cancer Decreases Tumor Growth and Stimulates Anti-Cancer Immunity

“…Blood was collected via cardiac puncture and used fresh for flow analysis. About 50 mg of spleen and tumor tissue were collected and digested into single-cell suspensions as described previously [44]. A small portion of each tumor was formalin-fixed for further histological analyses.…”

Pilot Acute Safety Evaluation of Innocell™ Cancer Immunotherapy in Canine Subjects

“…We are developing and have previously reported on the behavior of a new cancer immunotherapy approach for treating solid organ tumors in humans. This method (Innocell™) relies on the use of autologous tumor tissue to provide antigen presentation to the immune system following treatment of the cells with Riboflavin and UV light, which prevents cell replication while maintaining tumor cell metabolic function and phenotypic integrity [ 1 ]. Initial studies in mice demonstrated the ability of this approach to suppress tumor cell growth, generate dendritic and T cell activation, slow metastatic disease progression, and induce production of an immune response in murine tumors for breast cancer when used in combination with adjuvant [ 1 ].…”