Published in:
01-02-2016 | Original Article
An orally administered DNA vaccine targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 inhibits lung carcinoma growth
Authors:
Yan Chen, Xin Liu, Cong Guo Jin, Yong Chun Zhou, Roya Navab, Kristine Raaby Jakobsen, Xiao Qun Chen, Jia Li, Ting Ting Li, Lu Luo, Xi Cai Wang
Published in:
Tumor Biology
|
Issue 2/2016
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Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of mortality and 5-year survival rate is very low worldwide. Recent studies show that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) signaling pathway contributes to lung cancer progression. So we hypothesize that an oral DNA vaccine that targets VEGFR-3 carried by attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium strain SL3261 has impacts on lung cancer progression. In this study, the oral VEGFR-3-based vaccine-immunized mice showed appreciable inhibition of tumor growth and tumor lymphatic microvessels in lung cancer mice model. Moreover, the oral VEGFR-3-based vaccine-immunized mice showed remarkable increases in both VEGFR-3-specific antibody levels and cytotoxic activity. Furthermore, the oral VEGFR-3-based vaccine-immunized mice showed a significant increase in the levels of T helper type 1 (Th1) cell intracellular cytokine expression (IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α). After inoculation with murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells, CD4+ or CD8+ T cell numbers obviously declined in control groups whereas high levels were maintained in the oral VEGFR-3-based vaccine group. These results demonstrated that the oral VEGFR-3-based vaccine could induce specific humoral and cellular immune responses and then significantly inhibit lung carcinoma growth via suppressing lymphangiogenesis.