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01-05-2007 | Original Article

Ii-Key/HER-2/neu(776-90) hybrid peptides induce more effective immunological responses over the native peptide in lymphocyte cultures from patients with HER-2/neu+ tumors

Authors: Nectaria N. Sotiriadou, Nikoletta L. Kallinteris, Angelos D. Gritzapis, Ioannis F. Voutsas, Michael Papamichail, Eric von Hofe, Robert E. Humphreys, Theodoros Pavlis, Sonia A. Perez, Constantin N. Baxevanis

Published in: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy | Issue 5/2007

Abstract

We have demonstrated that coupling an immunoregulatory segment of the MHC class II-associated invariant chain (Ii), the Ii-Key peptide, to a promiscuous MHC class II epitope significantly enhances its presentation to CD4+ T cells. Here, a series of homologous Ii-Key/HER-2/neu(776-90) hybrid peptides, varying systematically in the length of the epitope(s)-containing segment, are significantly more potent than the native peptide in assays using T cells from patients with various types of tumors overexpressing HER-2/neu. In particular, priming normal donor and patient PBMCs with Ii-Key hybrid peptides enhances recognition of the native peptide either pulsed onto autologous dendritic cells (DCs) or naturally presented by IFN-γ-treated autologous tumor cells. Moreover, patient-derived CD4+ T cells primed with the hybrid peptides provide a significantly stronger helper effect to autologous CD8+ T cells specific for the HER-2/neu(435-43) CTL epitope, as illustrated by either IFN-γ ELISPOT assays or specific autologous tumor cell lysis. Hybrid peptide-specific CD4+ T cells strongly enhanced the antitumor efficacy of HER-2/neu(435-43) peptide-specific CTL in the therapy of xenografted SCID mice inoculated with HER-2/neu overexpressing human tumor cell lines. Our data indicate that the promiscuously presented vaccine peptide HER-2/neu(776-90) is amenable to Ii-Key-enhancing effects and supports the therapeutic potential of vaccinating patients with HER-2/neu+ tumors with such Ii-Key/HER-2/neu(776-90) hybrid peptides.

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Title: Ii-Key/HER-2/neu(776-90) hybrid peptides induce more effective immunological responses over the native peptide in lymphocyte cultures from patients with HER-2/neu+ tumors
Authors: Nectaria N. Sotiriadou
Nikoletta L. Kallinteris
Angelos D. Gritzapis
Ioannis F. Voutsas
Michael Papamichail
Eric von Hofe
Robert E. Humphreys
Theodoros Pavlis
Sonia A. Perez
Constantin N. Baxevanis
Publication date: 01-05-2007
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy / Issue 5/2007
Print ISSN: 0340-7004
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-006-0213-z

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