Vaccines Against Cancers May Be the Future

Dutch and Swiss researchers shared findings of a vaccine targeting vimentin, a protein uniquely found in and around various cancerous tumors. By targeting cancer’s surrounding regions (endothelium, blood vessels), anti-vimentin approaches with vaccination or immunotherapy can simultaneously reduce immune suppression and repress tumor growth.

The study published in Nature Communications revealed vimentin’s role in cancer biology. In preclinical models and a clinical study of domestic dogs with bladder carcinoma, both passive (monoclonal antibodies) and active (vaccination) anti-vimentin immunotherapies inhibited tumor growth and reinvigorated antitumor immunity while demonstrating good safety profiles in study subjects.

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Vaccine for Better Anti-Cancer Response

The team found that vimentin secretion is linked to hallmark processes in tumor angiogenesis, the process where tumors divert blood flow for more nutrients and oxygen required for optimal proliferation. 

Based on their previous vaccine technology – iBoost, a vimentin antigen is conjugated to a modified bacterial thioredoxin protein to promote the body’s natural immune response to act on tumors. A primary course and three booster vaccinations were given at 2-week intervals to test animals displaying melanoma and colorectal carcinoma, ​​no residual tumor mass was detected after vaccination. Cancer growth was reduced effectively post-vaccination, with no abnormal behaviors and side effects observed, the vaccination led to lower tumor vascular density and increased macrophage activity.

While monoclonal antibodies have become the mainstream therapeutic methods, responses evoked by vaccination could be much more effective and longer-term. Compared to monoclonal antibodies that target specific sites on tumor mass, vaccination invokes a broader polyclonal reactivity that better blocks the extracellular functions of vimentin and inhibits cancer growth. However, the complete molecular mechanisms of vimentin secretion remain to be unraveled as cellular components can interact at different levels, and more research is needed before trials in humans can begin.

Author

Fujie Tham