Synergy between vaccine agents yields therapeutic responses in murine tumors.

2003 SEP 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Synergy between vaccine agents yields therapeutic responses in murine tumors.

"This study tested the hypothesis that combination of antiangiogenic therapy and tumor immunotherapy of cancer is synergistic. To inhibit angiogenesis, mice were immunized with dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with mRNA that encode products that are preferentially expressed during neoangiogenesis: vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) and Tie2 expressed in proliferating endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expressed in the angiogenic stroma as well as the tumor cells used in this study. Immunization of mice against VEGF or VEGFR-2 stimulated cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses and led to partial inhibition of angiogenesis," described researchers in the United States.

"Antiangiogenic immunity was not associated with morbidity or mortality except for a transient impact on fertility seen in mice immunized against VEGFR-2, but not VEGF. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in mice immunized against VEGF, VEGFR-2, and Tie2, either before tumor challenge or in the setting of pre-existing disease in murine B16/F10.9 melanoma and MBT-2 bladder tumor models," S. Nair and ...