Synthesis and immunological evaluation of MUC1 glycopeptide conjugates bearing N-acetyl modified STn derivatives as anticancer vaccines

Org Biomol Chem. 2016 Jul 26;14(30):7226-37. doi: 10.1039/c6ob01092j.

Abstract

Glycoprotein MUC1 is an attractive target for anti-tumor vaccine development. However, the weak immunogenicity of MUC1 remains a significant problem. To solve this problem, several STn derivatives with N-acetyl modifications were synthesized and incorporated into a 20-amino acid MUC1 tandem repeat sequence. The modified STn-MUC1 glycopeptides were further connected to a carrier protein keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The immunological effects of these synthetic vaccine conjugates were evaluated using the BALB/c mouse model. The results showed that vaccine V2 elicited higher titers of antibodies which cross-reacted with the native STn-MUC1 antigen. Moreover, the elicited antisera reacted with the STn-MUC1 antigen-positive tumor cells, indicating that the carbohydrate antigen modification strategy may hold potential to overcome the weak immunogenicity of natural MUC1 glycopeptides.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / immunology*
  • Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / metabolism
  • Cancer Vaccines / pharmacology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Female
  • Glycopeptides / chemical synthesis*
  • Glycopeptides / immunology
  • Glycopeptides / pharmacology*
  • Hemocyanins / chemical synthesis*
  • Hemocyanins / immunology
  • Hemocyanins / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Immune Sera / chemistry
  • Immune Sera / immunology
  • Immunization
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mucin-1 / chemistry
  • Neoplasms / prevention & control

Substances

  • Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
  • Cancer Vaccines
  • Glycopeptides
  • Immune Sera
  • Mucin-1
  • sialosyl-Tn antigen
  • Hemocyanins
  • keyhole-limpet hemocyanin