CpG DNA佐剂研究进展

CpG DNA是含有非甲基化CpG基序的寡脱氧核苷酸,通过Toll样受体9(TLR9)激活树突状细胞(DC)和B细胞产生免疫应答.CpG DNA可以促进专职抗原呈递细胞有效地呈递抗原,从而增强疫苗的特异性免疫应答.目前使用CpG DNA佐剂的疫苗免疫后能维持长期免疫,具有明显的全身和黏膜免疫效果.临床前和临床试验表明,CpGDNA佐剂安全有效,能够提高传染病和肿瘤疫苗的效能,增强疫苗的免疫原性.     

CpG ODN佐剂对呼吸道合胞病毒重组疫苗诱导的细胞免疫应答的作用

目的:研究CpG2216佐剂对呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)重组蛋白疫苗诱导的细胞免疫应答的作用。方法:重组RSV疫苗G1F/M2与CpG2216佐剂混合,或与CpG2216及常规佐剂Al(OH)3混合,鼻腔(i.n.)或腹腔注射(i.p.)免疫BALB/c小鼠三次,最后一次免疫后2周杀小鼠,取脾细胞,用乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)释放法检测脾细胞特异性杀伤活性;用ELISPOT法检测分泌IFNγ-和IL-4的细胞;用流式细胞仪检测CD4+/CD8+效应及LDH记忆细胞。结果:与G1F/M2相比,CpG+G1F/M2鼻腔或腹腔注射免疫均诱导了显著的杀伤活性;而且G1F/M2+Al+CpG(i.p.)诱导的杀伤活性显著高于CpG+G1F/M2(i.p.)。ELISPOT结果显示:CpG+G1F/M2鼻腔免疫和腹腔注射免疫组的分泌IFNγ-和IL-4的淋巴细胞数量明显多于G1F/M2组;CpG+Al+G1F/M2(i.p.)组的细胞数显著多于CpG+G1F/M2(i.p.)组;且各组分泌IFNγ-的淋巴细胞数显著多于分泌IL-4的淋巴细胞,即均诱导了Th1型优势应答,有利于宿主抗病毒。流式细胞仪检测结果表明:CpG+G1F/M2(i.n.)仅诱导CD44+单阳性的细胞,而CpG+G1F/M2(i.p.)和CpG+Al+G1F/M2(i.p.)既诱导产生了CD44+单阳性细胞,也产生了CD44+CD62L+双阳性的记忆细胞。结论:CpG2216作为RSV重组疫苗G1F/M2的佐剂,可显著增强细胞免疫应答。     

Colorectal cancer： Pathways,pathology and practice： From the editor

This review explores the chief genetic and epigenetic events that promote pathological progression in colorectal carcinogenesis. This article discusses the molecular and pathological basis for classifying colorectal neoplasia into suppressor, mutator and methylator pathways. These differing mechanisms of genomic instability are associated with specific cancer characteristics, and may provide the opportunity for more effective prevention and surveillance strategies in the future. This is the first review in a series of five topics outlining important and developing aspects of colorectal cancer.     

Innovative strategies for co-delivering antigens and CpG oligonucleotides

Cytosine-phosphorothioate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN) is a recent class of immunostimulatory adjuvants that includes unmethylated CpG dinucleotide sequences similar to those commonly found in bacterial DNA. CpG ODN specifically triggers toll like receptor 9 (TLR9), which is found within phagoendosomes of antigen presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells (DCs). CpG ODN triggers activation and maturation of DCs and helps to increase expression of antigens. CpG ODN can be used to induce polarized Th1 type immune responses. Several studies have shown that antigens and CpG ODN must be co-localized in the same APC to generate the most potent therapeutic antigen-specific immune responses. Delivery vehicles can be utilized to ensure co-delivery of antigens and CpG ODN to the same APCs and to significantly increase uptake by APCs. These strategies can result in antigen-specific immune responses that are 5 to 500-fold greater than administration of antigen alone. In this review, we discuss several recent and innovative strategies to co-delivering antigens and CpG ODN adjuvants to APCs. These approaches include the utilization of conjugate molecules, multi-component nanorods, liposomes, biodegradable microparticles, pulsatile release chips and cell-microparticle hybrids.     

Enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of CpG oligonucleotides using biodegradable microparticles

Oligonucleotides, with specific sequence surrounding CpG motifs, appear to be very effective for the induction of a potent Th1 responses. This molecule represents pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that allows the pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) present on innate immune cells to recognize them and become activated. PAMPs and related compounds are often labelled as immunopotentiators, allowing a clear distinction between them and particulate delivery systems such as emulsions, liposomes, virus-like particles and microparticles.Microparticles prepared from biodegradable, biocompatible polyesters, and poly (lactide co-glycolide) (PLG). They have been proven to be a good particulate delivery system for the co-delivery of antigens and adjuvants. PLG has been used in humans for many years as a resorbable suture material and controlled-release drug delivery systems. It has been demonstrated that antigen presenting cells (APCs) efficiently uptake the PLG microparticles (∼ 1 μm) both in vivo and in vitro. After uptake, the PLG subsequently induces an antigen specific CTL response in rodents.Several groups, including our group, have evaluated CpG as an immunopotentiator in various formulations and delivery systems (i.e. emulsions and particulate systems). This review will discuss in detail the work conducted so far with CpG using PLG microparticles as a delivery system. We will also discuss the advantages and enhancement of immune properties of formulating CpG (soluble, adsorbed, and encapsulated forms) with PLG microparticles along with future directions for these microparticles with CpG.     

CpG oligonucleotide as an adjuvant for the treatment of prostate cancer

The use of an adenovirus transduced to express a prostate cancer antigen (PSA) as a vaccine for the treatment of prostate cancer has been shown to be active in the destruction of antigen-expressing prostate tumor cells in a pre-clinical model, using Balb/C or PSA transgenic mice. The destruction of PSA-secreting mouse prostate tumors was observed in Ad/PSA immunized mice in a prophylaxis study with 70% of the mice surviving long term tumor free. This successful immunotherapy was not observed in therapeutic studies in which tumors were established before vaccination and the development of anti-PSA immune response was not as easily generated in PSA transgenic mice. Immunization of conventional and transgenic animals was enhanced by incorporating a collagen matrix into the immunizing injection. Therefore the need to strengthen anti-PSA and anti-prostate cancer immunity was an obvious next step in developing a successful prostate cancer immunotherapy. Because the use of immunostimulatory CpG motifs was shown to enhance immune responses to a wide variety of antigens, our studies incorporated CpG into the Ad/PSA vaccine experimental plans. The results of the subsequent studies demonstrated a dichotomy where Ad/PSA plus CpG enhanced the in vivo destruction of PSA-secreting tumors and the survival of experimental animals, but revealed that the number and in vitro activities of antigen specific CD8+ T cells was decreased as compared to the values observed when the vaccine alone was used for immunization. The dichotomous observations were confirmed using another antigen system, OVA also incorporated into a replication defective adenovirus. Despite the reduction in antigen-specific CD8+ cells after vaccine plus CpG immunization the enhanced destruction of sc and systemic tumors was shown to be mediated entirely by CD8+ T cells. Finally, the reduction of the CD8+ T cells was the result of an observed decrease in the proliferation of the antigen specific cell population.     

Molecular correlates with MGMT promoter methylation and silencing support CpG island methylator phenotype-low (CIMP-low) in colorectal cancer

Background

The CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP or CIMP‐high) with widespread promoter methylation is a distinct epigenetic phenotype in colorectal cancer. In contrast, a phenotype with less widespread promoter methylation (CIMP‐low) has not been well characterised. O‐6‐methylguanine‐DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation and silencing have been associated with G>A mutations and microsatellite instability‐low (MSI‐low).

Aim

To examine molecular correlates with MGMT methylation/silencing in colorectal cancer.

Methods

Utilising MethyLight technology, we quantified DNA methylation in MGMT and eight other markers (a CIMP‐diagnostic panel; CACNA1G, CDKN2A (p16), CRABP1, IGF2, MLH1, NEUROG1, RUNX3 and SOCS1) in 920 population‐based colorectal cancers.

Results

Tumours with both MGMT methylation and loss were correlated positively with MSI‐low (p = 0.02), CIMP‐high (⩾6/8 methylated CIMP markers, p = 0.005), CIMP‐low (1/8–5/8 methylated CIMP markers, p = 0.002, compared to CIMP‐0 with 0/8 methylated markers), KRAS G>A mutation (p = 0.02), and inversely with 18q loss of heterozygosity (p = 0.0002). Tumours were classified into nine MSI/CIMP subtypes. Among the CIMP‐low group, tumours with both MGMT methylation and loss were far more frequent in MSI‐low tumours (67%, 12/18) than MSI‐high tumours (5.6%, 1/18; p = 0.0003) and microsatellite stable (MSS) tumours (33%, 52/160; p = 0.008). However, no such relationship was observed among the CIMP‐high or CIMP‐0 groups.

Conclusion

The relationship between MGMT methylation/silencing and MSI‐low is limited to only CIMP‐low tumours, supporting the suggestion that CIMP‐low in colorectal cancer may be a different molecular phenotype from CIMP‐high and CIMP‐0. Our data support a molecular difference between MSI‐low and MSS in colorectal cancer, and a possible link between CIMP‐low, MSI‐low, MGMT methylation/loss and KRAS mutation.     

Rare CpG island methylator phenotype in ulcerative colitis-associated neoplasias

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We previously reported that a high degree of age-related methylation was found in both the dysplastic and nondysplastic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Whether this translates into hypermethylation in UC-associated cancers (UC-Cs) is not known. METHODS: We evaluated the methylation status of 11 genes (MINT1, 2, 31, hMLH1, p16, p14, MGMT, HPP1, SFRP1, ERalpha, and LINE-1) in 48 UC-Cs, 21 UC-associated dysplasias, and 69 sporadic colorectal cancers (S-CRCs) using a quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing analysis. RESULTS: Methylation levels in UC-Cs were lower than S-CRCs for all the genes except MGMT. A methylation index based on the average of Z-scores, for type C (cancer-specific genes: MINT1, MINT2, MINT31, hMLH1, p16, and p14) was -.97 in UC-Cs and .92 in S-CRCs (P = .009). That of type A (age-related genes: HPP1, SFRP1, and ERalpha) was -1.97 in UC-Cs and 1.24 in S-CRCs (P < .001). We observed a significant difference in the incidence of CpG island methylator phenotype between UC-Cs and S-CRCs (8 of 48 [17%] and 26 of 69 [38%]; P = .022). UC-associated dysplasias had significantly higher methylation of type A gene than UC-Cs (Z-score: .07 and -1.97, respectively; P < .001). By contrast, global DNA methylation measured using a LINE-1 assay was significantly higher in UC-Cs than in S-CRCs (58.2% vs 51.0%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: DNA methylation alterations are uncommon in UC cancers. Given that both genetic and epigenetic changes are common in UC mucosa and dysplasias, we speculate that the genetic changes lead to a more aggressive clinical course than epigenetic changes.