Selection of the most immunogenic antigen for DNA vaccination against neuroblastoma

Stegantseva M.V., Shinkevich V.A., Tumar E.M., Vashkevich E.P., Meleshko A.N.

Belorussian Center for pediatric oncology, hematology and immunology, v. Borovliany, Belarus
Institute of Pharmacology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Belarusian Academy of Science, Minsk, Belarus

Evaluation of the antigen immunogenicity is one of the initial steps in selecting an effective target for antitumor vaccination. This is most relevant for tumors that have no specific markers or have a weak mutational status like neuroblastoma. The purpose of this study is to select the most immunogenic antigen for DNA vaccination against neuroblastoma and to conduct a comparative analysis of predictive programs and a mouse model. To assess the immunogenicity C57Bl/6 female mice 8-10 weeks of age (n=25) were used. The mice received two vaccinations with a DNA construct based on tyrosine hydroxylase, Birc5, and Phox2b antigens. On the 28th day, the spleens were removed and the cytotoxic activity of splenocytes and the level of production ofIFNγ were assessed. The highest levels of cytotoxic activity (18.4%) and IFNγ (60% of those responding to stimulation) were observed after vaccination with Phox2b. Thus, the most immunogenic antigen according to IEDB showed the best results in the mouse model and can be further used for DNA vaccination in neuroblastoma.