Towards a fully synthetic MUC1-based anticancer vaccine: efficient conjugation of glycopeptides with mono-, di-, and tetravalent lipopeptides using click chemistry

The membrane‐bound tumor‐associated glycoprotein MUC1 is aberrantly glycosylated in cancer cells compared with normal cells, and is therefore considered an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. However, tumor‐associated glycopeptides from MUC1 do not elicit a sufficiently robust immune response. Therefore, antitumor vaccines were developed, which consist of MUC1 glycopeptides as the B epitopes and immune‐stimulating toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR 2) lipopeptide ligands. These fully synthetic vaccine candidates were prepared by solid‐phase synthesis of the MUC1 glycopeptides. The Pam₃Cys lipopeptide, also synthesized on solid‐phase, was C‐terminally coupled to oligovalent lysine cores, which N‐terminally incorporate O‐propargyl oligoethylene glycol acyl side chains. The MUC1 glycopeptides and lipopeptide lysine constructs were then conjugated by click chemistry to give oligovalent synthetic vaccines. Oligovalent glycopeptide–lipopeptide conjugates are considered more immunogenic than their monovalent analogues.     

Liposomal Antitumor Vaccines Targeting Mucin 1 Elicit a Lipid‐Dependent Immunodominant Response

The tumor‐associated antigen mucin 1 (MUC1) has been pursued as an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy, but the poor immunogenicity of the endogenous antigen hinders the development of vaccines capable of inducing effective anti‐MUC1 immunodominant responses. Herein, we prepared synthetic anti‐MUC1 vaccines in which the hydrophilic MUC1 antigen was N‐terminally conjugated to one or two palmitoyl lipid chains (to form amphiphilic Pam‐MUC1 or Pam₂‐MUC1). These amphiphilic lipid‐tailed MUC1 antigens were self‐assembled into liposomes containing the NKT cell agonist αGalCer as an adjuvant. The lipid‐conjugated antigens reshaped the physical and morphological properties of liposomal vaccines. Promising results showed that the anti‐MUC1 IgG antibody titers induced by the Pam₂‐MUC1 vaccine were more than 30‐ and 190‐fold higher than those induced by the Pam‐MUC1 vaccine and the MUC1 vaccine without lipid tails, respectively. Similarly, vaccines with the TLR1/2 agonist Pam₃CSK₄ as an adjuvant also induced conjugated lipid‐dependent immunological responses. Moreover, vaccines with the αGalCer adjuvant induced significantly higher titers of IgG antibodies than vaccines with the Pam₃CSK₄ adjuvant. Therefore, the non‐covalent assembly of the amphiphilic lipo‐MUC1 antigen and the NKT cell agonist αGalCer as a glycolipid adjuvant represent a synthetically simple but immunologically effective approach for the development of anti‐MUC1 cancer vaccines.     

Alum colloid encapsulated inside β-glucan particles enhance humoral and CTL immune responses of MUC1 vaccine

We have developed a MUC1 antigen-based antitumor vaccine loaded on alum colloid encapsulated insideβ-glucan particles(GP-Al). The constructed vaccine induced strong MUC1 antigen specific Ig G antibody titers and enhanced CD8~+ T cells cytotoxic effect to kill tumor cells. These results indicated that GP-Al can be served as an efficient delivery system and adjuvant for the development of cancer vaccines especially small molecule antigens based cancer vaccines.     

Recent progress of fully synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccine using TLR agonist as build-in adjuvant

This review highlights recent advances in developing full synthetic carbohydrate antigen based vaccines, with an emphasis on the structure-activity relationships that provide a primary basis for future vaccine design and immunotherapy developing.     

Chemical synthesis and immunological evaluation of new generation multivalent anticancer vaccines based on a Tn antigen analogue

Tumor associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs), such as the Tn antigen, have emerged as key targets for the development of synthetic anticancer vaccines. However, the induction of potent and functional immune responses has been challenging and, in most cases, unsuccessful. Herein, we report the design, synthesis and immunological evaluation in mice of Tn-based vaccine candidates with multivalent presentation of the Tn antigen (up to 16 copies), both in its native serine-linked display (Tn-Ser) and as an oxime-linked Tn analogue (Tn-oxime). The high valent vaccine prototypes were synthesized through a late-stage convergent assembly (Tn-Ser construct) and a versatile divergent strategy (Tn-oxime analogue), using chemoselective click-type chemistry. The hexadecavalent Tn-oxime construct induced robust, Tn-specific humoral and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ cellular responses, with antibodies able to bind the Tn antigen on the MCF7 cancer cell surface. The superior synthetic accessibility and immunological properties of this fully-synthetic vaccine prototype makes it a compelling candidate for further advancement towards safe and effective synthetic anticancer vaccines.

A fully-synthetic anticancer vaccine candidate incorporating an hexadecavalent Tn antigen analogue display via oxime linkages induced tumor-specific IgG antibodies and cellular immune responses in mice coadministered with QS-21 as an adjuvant.     

Synthetic Multivalent Glycopeptide‐Lipopeptide Antitumor Vaccines: Impact of the Cluster Effect on the Killing of Tumor Cells

Multivalent synthetic vaccines were obtained by solid‐phase synthesis of tumor‐associated MUC1 glycopeptide antigens and their coupling to a Pam₃Cys lipopeptide through click reactions. These vaccines elicited immune responses in mice without the use of any external adjuvant. The vaccine containing four copies of a MUC1 sialyl‐T_N antigen showed a significant cluster effect. It induced in mice prevailing IgG_2a antibodies, which bind to MCF‐7 breast tumor cells and initiate the killing of these tumor cells by activation of the complement‐dependent cytotoxicity complex.     

A Fully Synthetic Four‐Component Antitumor Vaccine Consisting of a Mucin Glycopeptide Antigen Combined with Three Different T‐Helper‐Cell Epitopes

In a new concept of fully synthetic vaccines, the role of T‐helper cells is emphasized. Here, a synthetic antitumor vaccine consisting of a diglycosylated tumor‐associated MUC1 glycopeptide as the B‐cell epitope was covalently cross‐linked with three different T‐helper‐cell epitopes via squaric acid ligation of two linear (glyco)peptides. In mice this four‐component vaccine administered without external immune‐stimulating promoters elicit titers of MUC1‐specific antibodies that were about eight times higher than those induced by a vaccine containing only one T‐helper‐cell epitope. The promising results indicate that multiple activation of different T‐helper cells is useful for applications in which increased immunogenicity is required. In personalized medicine, in particular, this flexible construction of a vaccine can serve as a role model, for example, when T‐helper‐cell epitopes are needed that match human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in different patients.     

Syntheses and Immunological Evaluation of Self‐Adjuvanting Clustered N‐Acetyl and N‐Propionyl Sialyl‐Tn Combined with a T‐helper Cell Epitope as Antitumor Vaccine Candidates

Sialyl‐Tn (STn) is a tumor‐associated carbohydrate antigen (TACA) rarely observed on healthy tissues. We synthesized two fully synthetic N‐acetyl and N‐propionyl STn trimer (triSTn) vaccines possessing a T‐helper epitope and a TLR2 agonist, since the clustered STn antigens are highly expressed on many cancer cells. Immunization of both vaccines in mice induced the anti‐triSTn IgG antibodies, which recognized triSTn‐expressing cell lines PANC‐1 and HepG2. The N‐propionyl triSTn vaccine induced the triSTn‐specific IgGs, while IgGs induced by the N‐acetyl triSTn vaccine were less specific. These results illustrated that N‐propionyl triSTn is a valuable unnatural TACA for anticancer vaccines.     

Covalent Bond or Noncovalent Bond: A Supramolecular Strategy for the Construction of Chemically Synthesized Vaccines

A novel noncovalent strategy to construct chemically synthesized vaccines has been designed to trigger a robust immune response and to dramatically improve the efficiency of vaccine preparation. Glycosylated MUC1 tripartite vaccines were constructed through host–guest interactions with cucurbit[8]uril. These vaccines elicited high levels of IgG antibodies that were recognized by transformed cells and induced the secretion of cytokines. The antisera also mediated complement‐dependent cytotoxicity. This noncovalent strategy with good suitability, scalability, and feasibility can be applied as a universal strategy for the construction of chemically synthesized vaccines.     

Synthesis,conformational analysis and in vivo assays of an anti-cancer vaccine that features an unnatural antigen based on an sp2-iminosugar fragment

The Tn antigen (GalNAc-α-1-O-Thr/Ser) is a well-known tumor-associated carbohydrate determinant. The use of glycopeptides that incorporate this structure has become a significant and promising niche of research owing to their potential use as anticancer vaccines. Herein, the conformational preferences of a glycopeptide with an unnatural Tn antigen, characterized by a threonine decorated with an sp²-iminosugar-type α-GalNAc mimic, have been studied both in solution, by combining NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, and in the solid state bound to an anti-mucin-1 (MUC1) antibody, by X-ray crystallography. The Tn surrogate can mimic the main conformer sampled by the natural antigen in solution and exhibits high affinity towards anti-MUC1 antibodies. Encouraged by these data, a cancer vaccine candidate based on this unnatural glycopeptide and conjugated to the carrier protein Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) has been prepared and tested in mice. Significantly, the experiments in vivo have proved that this vaccine elicits higher levels of specific anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies than the analog that bears the natural Tn antigen and that the elicited antibodies recognize human breast cancer cells with high selectivity. Altogether, we compile evidence to confirm that the presentation of the antigen, both in solution and in the bound state, plays a critical role in the efficacy of the designed cancer vaccines. Moreover, the outcomes derived from this vaccine prove that there is room for exploring further adjustments at the carbohydrate level that could contribute to designing more efficient cancer vaccines.

An anti-cancer vaccine based on an unnatural antigen with an sp²-iminosugar fragment.     

Establishment of a Tumor-bearing Mouse Model Stably Expressing Human Tumor Antigens Survivin and MUC1 VNTRs

The eukaryotic vectors VR1012 expressing survivin or 33 tandem repeats of human mucin 1(MUC1)(VNTRs),namely,VR1012-S and VR1012-VNTR(VNTR=variable number of tandem repeat),were constructed by cloning s...     

A Cancer Therapeutic Vaccine based on Clustered Tn‐Antigen Mimetics Induces Strong Antibody‐Mediated Protective Immunity

Tumor‐associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) are key components of cancer vaccines. A variety of vaccines based on native TACAs such as α‐Tn have shown immunogenicity and protection in preclinical animal studies, however, their weak immunogenicity, low in vivo instability, and poor bioavailability, have discouraged their further evaluations in clinical studies. A new improved vaccine prototype is reported. It is composed of four clustered Tn‐antigen mimetics and a immunogenic peptide epitope that are conjugated to a cyclopeptide carrier. The immunization of mice with this vaccine 1) was safe, 2) induced a strong and long‐lasting Tn‐specific response with IgM/IgG antibodies able to recognize native carbohydrate antigens; 3) produced high titers of IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG3 antibodies; and 4) produced a significant antibody‐dependent regression of tumors and conferred protection. Altogether, these findings pave the way for the clinical development of safe and effective therapeutic vaccines against Tn‐expressing cancers.     

Synthesis and Immunological Evaluation of Self‐Assembling and Self‐Adjuvanting Tricomponent Glycopeptide Cancer‐Vaccine Candidates

Self‐adjuvanting tricomponent vaccines were prepared and assessed for their self‐assembly and immunological activity in mouse models. The vaccines each consisted of a peptide or glycopeptide antigen that corresponds to a complete copy of the variable‐number tandem repeat (VNTR) of the tumor‐associated mucin 1 (MUC1) glycoprotein, the universal T‐cell helper peptide epitope PADRE, and the immunoadjuvant Pam₃CysSer. The vaccines were shown to spontaneously self‐assemble in water to form isotropic particles varying in size from 17 to 25 nm and elicited robust humoral responses in murine models without the addition of an external adjuvant. The serum antibodies could recognize tumor‐associated MUC1 epitopes on the surface of MCF7 breast‐cancer cells and B16 melanoma cells, which overexpress this tumor‐associated glycoprotein.     

A Fully Synthetic Glycopeptide Antitumor Vaccine Based on Multiple Antigen Presentation on a Hyperbranched Polymer

For antitumor vaccines both the selected tumor‐associated antigen, as well as the mode of its presentation, affect the immune response. According to the principle of multiple antigen presentation, a tumor‐associated MUC1 glycopeptide combined with the immunostimulating T‐cell epitope P2 from tetanus toxoid was coupled to a multi‐functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerol by “click chemistry”. This globular polymeric carrier has a flexible dendrimer‐like structure, which allows optimal antigen presentation to the immune system. The resulting fully synthetic vaccine induced strong immune responses in mice and IgG antibodies recognizing human breast‐cancer cells.     

Fully Synthetic Self‐Adjuvanting Thioether‐Conjugated Glycopeptide?Lipopeptide Antitumor Vaccines for the Induction of Complement‐Dependent Cytotoxicity against Tumor Cells

Glycopeptides of tumor‐associated mucin MUC1 are promising target structures for the development of antitumor vaccines. Because these endogenous structures were weakly immunogenic, they were coupled to immune‐response‐stimulating T‐cell epitopes and the Pam₃Cys lipopeptide to induce strong immune responses in mice. A new thioether‐ligation method for the synthesis of two‐ and three‐component vaccines that contain MUC1 glycopeptides as the B‐cell epitopes, a T‐cell epitope peptide, and the Pam₃CSK₄ lipopeptide is described. The resulting fully synthetic vaccines were used for the vaccination of mice, either in a liposome with Freund′s adjuvant or in aqueous PBS buffer. The three‐component vaccines that contained the Tetanus Toxoid P2 T‐cell epitope peptide induced strong immune responses, even when administered just in PBS. By activation of the complement‐dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) complex, the antisera induced the killing of tumor cells.     

MUC1 vaccines using β-cyclodextrin grafted chitosan (CS-g-CD) as carrier via host-guest interaction elicit robust immune responses

We construct MUC1 vaccines using β-cyclodextrin grafted chitosan (CS-g-CD) as carrier via host-guest interaction. These vaccines based on non-covalent assembling can provoke robust immune responses, including high level of specific antibodies and cytokines. The induced antibodies can specifically recognize tumor cells and mediate cytotoxicity against tumor cells. These results indicate that CS-g-CD with strong immunostimulatory activities can be a straightforward platform for peptide-based vaccine construction.     

Synthesis and Characterisation of Self‐Assembled and Self‐Adjuvanting Asymmetric Multi‐Epitope Lipopeptides of Ovalbumin

Designing a lipopeptide (LP) vaccine with a specific asymmetric arrangement of epitopes may result in an improved display of antigens, increasing host‐cell recognition and immunogenicity. This study aimed to synthesise and characterise the physicochemical properties of a library of asymmetric LP‐based vaccine candidates that contained multiple CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T‐cell epitopes from the model protein antigen, ovalbumin. These fully synthetic vaccine candidates were prepared by microwave‐assisted solid phase peptide synthesis. The C12 or C16 lipoamino acids were coupled to the N or C terminus of the OVA CD4 peptide epitope. The OVA CD4 LPs and OVA CD8 peptide constructs were then conjugated using azide–alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition to give multivalent synthetic vaccines. Physiochemical characterisation of these vaccines showed a tendency to self‐assemble in aqueous media. Changes in lipid length and position induced self‐assembly with significant changes to their morphology and secondary structure as shown by transmission electron microscopy and circular dichroism.     

Synthesis and Immunostimulating Activity of A Thioglycolipopeptide Glycomimetic As A Potential Anticancer Vaccine Derived From Tn Antigen

ABSTRACT

The Tn epitope is one of the tumor associated O-linked cell surface glycopeptides. It is expressed in over 70% of human epithelial cancers such as lung, colon, stomach and breast carcinomas. The glycosidic linkage of the Tn antigen, between N-acetylgalactosamine and serine or threonine, can be cleaved either chemically or enzymatically in the presence of glycosidases. The latter case is particularly a problem in vivo. Therefore, it would be of great interest to obtain a metabolically stable analogue of the Tn antigen that maintains or improves the immunogenic activity of the latter. The purpose of this work was to synthesize a totally synthetic vaccine using a chemically and metabolically stable glycomimetic of the Tn antigen in which the interglycosidic oxygen was replaced by a sulphur atom (S-Tn). The S-Tn thioglycopeptide was linked to the P₃CS immunoadjuvant to obtain the potential S-Tn vaccine. Moreover, we synthesized the natural Tn antigen and derivatized it similarly to obtain the Tn vaccine. Last, we evaluated the immunostimulating activity of the two synthetic potential vaccines in vitro using cultured mouse splenocytes. The S-Tn construct showed immunostimulating activity comparable, in terms of maximal response, to the Tn analogue. Moreover, due to its higher stability the S-Tn construct reached its maximal effect at lower doses compared to the Tn analogue.     

Cowpea mosaic virus capsid: a promising carrier for the development of carbohydrate based antitumor vaccines

Immunotherapy targeting tumor cell surface carbohydrates is a promising approach for cancer treatment. However, the low immunogenecity of carbohydrates presents a formidable challenge. We describe here the enhancement of carbohydrate immunogenicity by an ordered display on the surface of the cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) capsid. The Tn glycan, which is overexpressed on numerous cancer cell surfaces, was selected as the model antigen for our study. Previously it has been shown that it is difficult to induce a strong T cell-dependent immune response against the monomeric form of Tn presented in several ways on different carriers. In this study, we first synthesized Tn antigens derivatized with either a maleimide or a bromoacetamide moiety that was conjugated selectively to a cysteine mutant of CPMV. The glycoconjugate was then injected into mice and pre- and post-immune antibody levels in the mice sera were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays. High total antibody titers and, more importantly, high IgG titers specific for Tn were obtained in the post-immune day 35 serum, suggesting the induction of T cell-dependent antibody isotype switching by the glycoconjugate. The antibodies generated were able to recognize Tn antigens presented in their native conformations on the surfaces of both MCF-7 breast cancer cells and the multidrug resistant breast cancer cell line NCI-ADR RES. These results suggest that the CPMV capsid can greatly enhance the immunogenicity of weak antigens such as Tn and this can provide a promising tool for the development of carbohydrate based anti-cancer vaccines.     

Establishment of a Tumor-bearing Mouse Model Stably Expressing EGFP Labeled Human MUC1 VNTRs

Two eukaryotic vectors expressing 9 tandem repeats of human MUCI（VNTR）, VR1012-VNTR, and pEGFP-VNTR, were constructed by cloning VNTR gene into VR1012 and pEGFP, respectively. VNTR stably expressing murine Lewis lung carcinoma（LLC） cell line（VNTR^＋ LLC） was established by Lipofectamine-mediated transfection of pEGFP-VNTR into LLC cells. The EGFP expression was observed under a fluorescent microscope and VNTR expression in VNTR^＋ LLC cells was confirmed by means of Western blotting. A syngenic graft tumor model was generated by subcutaneous injection of VNTR^＋ LLC cells into C57/BL6 mice and tumor size increased rapidly with time and in a cell qumber dependent manner. VNTR mRNA expression in the tumor formed was confirmed by RT-PCR. After the third immunization mice were challenged subcutaneously with 5×10^5 VNTR^＋ LLC cells, a significant reduction of subcutaneous tumor growth was observed in the groups immunized with VNTR plasmid DNA compared with that in the groups immunized with the vector DNA alone. Thus, the suppression of subcutaneous tumor was antigen-specific. This model is useful for the development of tumor vaccines targeting MUCI VNTRs.