640291-23-2Relevant academic research and scientific papers
Self-Adjuvanting Cancer Vaccines from Conjugation-Ready Lipid A Analogues and Synthetic Long Peptides
Reintjens, Niels R. M.,Tondini, Elena,De Jong, Ana R.,Meeuwenoord, Nico J.,Chiodo, Fabrizio,Peterse, Evert,Overkleeft, Herman S.,Filippov, Dmitri V.,Van Der Marel, Gijsbert A.,Ossendorp, Ferry,Codée, Jeroen D. C.
, p. 11691 - 11706 (2020)
Self-adjuvanting vaccines, wherein an antigenic peptide is covalently bound to an immunostimulating agent, have been shown to be promising tools for immunotherapy. Synthetic Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands are ideal adjuvants for covalent linking to peptides or proteins. We here introduce a conjugation-ready TLR4 ligand, CRX-527, a potent powerful lipid A analogue, in the generation of novel conjugate-vaccine modalities. Effective chemistry has been developed for the synthesis of the conjugation-ready ligand as well as the connection of it to the peptide antigen. Different linker systems and connection modes to a model peptide were explored, and in vitro evaluation of the conjugates showed them to be powerful immune-activating agents, significantly more effective than the separate components. Mounting the CRX-527 ligand at the N-terminus of the model peptide antigen delivered a vaccine modality that proved to be potent in activation of dendritic cells, in facilitating antigen presentation, and in initiating specific CD8+ T-cell-mediated killing of antigen-loaded target cells in vivo. Synthetic TLR4 ligands thus show great promise in potentiating the conjugate vaccine platform for application in cancer vaccination.
