Vaccination with human papillomavirus-18 E1 protein plus alpha-galactosyl-ceramide induces CD8(+) cytotoxic response and impairs the growth of E1-expressing tumors

摘要

CD8+ T cell-mediated immune response plays a major role in the clearance of virus-infected cells, including human papillomavirus (HPV). The effective treatment of women with normal cytology but persistent high risk-HPV infection or with low-grade intraepithelial lesions could take advantage of novel strategies based on vaccination with viral immunological targets with a wide spectrum of cross-protection. The helicase E1, expressed early during viral replication in HPV infection, is among the most conserved papillomavirus proteins, which makes it a good vaccine candidate. In the present study, we examined E1-specific CD8+ T cell and NK immune responses in a mouse model with alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) as an adjuvant. We found that mice immunized with El combined with alpha-GalCer elicited an E1-specific CD8+ T and NK cell cytotoxic responses, which correlated with growth inhibition of grafted melanoma B16-F0 cells expressing E1, both in prophylactic and therapeutic protocols. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.