Preclinical study of a novel therapeutic vaccine for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

• Published in: npj vaccines Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 86
• Main Authors: Lee, Maxwell Y., Metenou, Simon, Brough, Douglas E., Sabzevari, Helen, Bai, Ke, Jochems, Caroline, Schlom, Jeffrey, Allen, Clint T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.06.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/250/255/2514; 631/250/590/1991; Antigens; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Human papillomavirus; Infectious Diseases; Lymphocytes; Medical Microbiology; Public Health; Tumors; Vaccine; Vaccines; Virology
• ISSN: 2059-0105; 2059-0105
• DOI: 10.1038/s41541-021-00348-x

Activation of antigen-specific T-lymphocyte responses may be needed to cure disorders caused by chronic infection with low-risk human papillomavirus (lrHPV). Safe and effective adjuvant therapies for such disorders are needed. The safety and efficacy of a novel gorilla adenovirus vaccine expressing a protein designed to elicit immune responses directed against HPV6 and HPV11, PRGN-2012, was studied using in vitro stimulation of T lymphocytes from patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, in vivo vaccination studies, and therapeutic studies in mice bearing tumors expressing lrHPV antigen. PRGN-2012 treatment induces lrHPV antigen-specific responses in patient T lymphocytes. Vaccination of wild-type mice induces E6-specific T-lymphocyte responses without toxicity. In vivo therapeutic vaccination of mice bearing established HPV6 E6 expressing tumors results in HPV6 E6-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte immunity of sufficient magnitude to induce tumor growth delay. The clinical study of PRGN-2012 in patients with disorders caused by chronic infection with lrHPV is warranted.