Introduction: To deliver specific antigens in tumor immunotherapy, tumor cell lysates are commonly used to sensitize dendritic cells (DCs). However, the lysates possess low immunogenicity and contain many types of non-tumor-related antigens, which may induce autoimmune diseases. Tumor antigen peptides can provide high specificity but are expensive and their short half-lives limit their clinical application.
Methods: In this study, we used adenovirus to transfer the carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9) gene into DCs to generate specificity to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) which is the most common space-occupying lesion in humans. Inhibition of antigen presentation attenuators (iAPA) technology was also used to enhance the DC delivery capacity. Finally, DCs were co-cultured with cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) and the anti-tumor effects were evaluated.
Results: The results showed that the CA9-DC-CTLs possessed a high specificity to CA9-positive cells and showed stronger anti-tumor activity than GFP-DC-CTLs both in vitro and in vivo.
Discussion: These findings may suggest a novel treatment option for RCC.
Keywords: CA9; DC-CTL; RCC; SOCS1; iAPA; immunotherapy.