Antennapedia transduction sequence promotes antitumor immunity.

2004 AUG 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Antennapedia transduction sequence promotes antitumor immunity to epicutaneously administered CTL epitopes.

According to published research from Canada, "The identification of tumor antigens has spurred the development of efficient adjuvants and novel delivery systems for cancer immunotherapy. To this end, a peptide-based vaccine consisting of the Antennapedia transduction sequence (ANTP) attached to an antigenic peptide was designed to enhance per-cutaneous delivery into cells of the epidermis and dermis. Here we show that the topical application of OVA[subscript]257-264 linked to ANTP in mice onto tape-stripped skin resulted in enhanced delivery of the antigen through the skin whereas OVA[subscript]257-264 alone remained distributed uniformly on the skin surface."

"This delivery correlated with an increase in the CTL response against OVA," said Marie-Paule M. Schutze-Redelmeier and colleagues at the University of British Columbia. "When mixed with CpG oligodinucleotides (ODN), the recombinant antigen protected mice from tumor challenge. These data provide the first indication ...