A tetravalent nanovaccine that inhibits growth of HPV-associated head and neck carcinoma via dendritic and T cell activation
Romano Josi,
Daniel E. Speiser,
Simone de Brot,
Anne-Cathrine Vogt,
Eva M. Sevick-Muraca,
Genrich V. Tolstonog,
Martin F. Bachmann,
Mona O. Mohsen
Affiliations
Romano Josi
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB), Bern, Switzerland
Daniel E. Speiser
Department of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Simone de Brot
COMPATH, Institute of Animal Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Anne-Cathrine Vogt
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB), Bern, Switzerland
Eva M. Sevick-Muraca
Center for Molecular Imaging, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
Genrich V. Tolstonog
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Agora Cancer Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland
Martin F. Bachmann
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Henry Welcome Building for Molecular Physiology, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Mona O. Mohsen
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Tajarub Research & Development, Doha, State of Qatar; Corresponding author
Summary: The global incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) associated head and neck carcinoma is on the rise, in response to this a tetravalent therapeutic vaccine named Qβ-HPVag was developed. This vaccine, utilizing virus-like particles (VLPs) loaded with toll-like receptor ligands and chemically coupled to four HPV16-derived peptides, demonstrated strong anti-tumor effects in a murine head and neck cancer model. Qβ-HPVag impeded tumor progression, increased infiltration of HPV-specific T cells, and significantly improved survival. The vaccine`s efficacy was associated with immune repolarization in the tumor microenvironment, characterized by expanded activated dendritic cell subsets (cDC1, cDC2, DC3). Notably, mice responding to treatment exhibited a higher percentage of migratory DC3 cells expressing CCR7. These findings suggest promising prospects for optimized VLP-based vaccines in treating HPV-associated head and neck cancer.
