Memory Antitumor T-Cells Resist Inhibition by Immune Suppressor Cells.

Cancer immune therapy is difficult partly because several classes of suppressor cells, including regulatory T-cells and macrophage-derived suppressor cells, inhibit the antitumor T-cell response. We used treatment studies of implanted tumors in mice to demonstrate that the same inhibitory cells that abrogated an acute therapeutic T-cell response to established tumor did not inhibit the therapeutic response produced by memory T-cells. Generating antitumor memory T-cells may be a highly potent strategy against cancer with late developing metastases.

Viral infection of implanted meningeal tumors induces antitumor memory T-cells to travel to the brain and eliminate established tumors.

Background: Leptomeningeal metastases occur in 2%-5% of patients with breast cancer and have an exceptionally poor prognosis. The blood-brain and blood-meningeal barriers severely inhibit successful chemotherapy. We have developed a straightforward method to induce antitumor memory T-cells using a Her2/neu targeted vesicular stomatitis virus.

Treatment of implanted mammary tumors with recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus targeted to Her2/neu.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is being developed for cancer therapy. We have created a recombinant replicating VSV (rrVSV) that targeted to Her2/neu expressing breast cancer cells and expresses mouse GM-CSF. We now tested the efficacy of this rrVSV in the treatment of peritoneal tumor implants of D2F2/E2 cells, a BALB/c mouse mammary tumor cell line, which was stably transfected to express Her2/neu.

Rapid adaptation of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus to a targeted cell line.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is being developed for cancer therapy. We created a recombinant replicating VSV (rrVSV) that preferentially infected Her2/neu-expressing breast cancer cells. This rrVSV did not express the native VSV-G glycoprotein (gp).

Preferential targeting of vesicular stomatitis virus to breast cancer cells.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a candidate for development for cancer therapy. We created a recombinant replicating VSV (rrVSV) with an altered surface protein that targeted preferentially to breast cancer cells. The rrVSV genome contained a single glycoprotein (gp) gene derived from Sindbis virus.

Vesicular stomatitis virus expressing a chimeric Sindbis glycoprotein containing an Fc antibody binding domain targets to Her2/neu overexpressing breast cancer cells.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is a candidate for development for cancer therapy. It is an oncolytic virus that is safe in humans. Recombinant virus can be made directly from plasmid components.

Epidermal powder immunization of mice and monkeys with an influenza vaccine.

Epidermal powder immunization (EPI) with an influenza vaccine and an adjuvant such as QS-21, LTR72, or cholera toxin elicited augmented serum and mucosal antibody responses in mice. Rhesus macaques, which have an immune system and skin structure similar to humans, were used to further evaluate the immunogenicity of the influenza vaccine following EPI. EPI of rhesus macaques with an influenza vaccine and QS-21 adjuvant elicited significantly higher serum hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers than antigen alone administered by EPI or by intramuscular (IM) injection using a needle and syringe.