Peptide antitumor vaccines targeting HER2/neu

Abstract

Antitumor vaccines are aimed at correcting cellular immunity by overcoming immunological tolerance with eluding surveillance due to the specific presentation of tumor-associated or tumor-specific antigens to immunocompetent cells.The purpose of this review was to study modern strategies for the development of antitumor vaccines containing epitopes of HER2/neu receptors acting as tumor-associated antigens. Approaches to the creation of such vaccines are classified by targeting the T-cell link or B-cells by the choice and length of the epitopes used or by the use of specific adjuvants.The review provides information on this topic, obtained from more than 50 publications of the last 20 years, found in the most significant sources of citation. The text is categorized for the convenience of perception by scientists of different specialties and is completed with a brief conclusion with an emphasis on development prospects. The results of clinical studies of vaccines with an analysis of the immunological features of the results of immunotherapy, mainly breast cancer with HER2/neu expression, are considered. Vaccines targeting different histocompatibility complexes are compared. The review traces the evolution of vaccine preparations from the simplest containing short peptide sequences to complex combined systems, including viral vectors. Attention is paid to various methodological approaches used in the development of such drugs: from computer design and phage display in experiments in vitro/in vivo. The emphasis is placed on the problem of a personalized approach to vaccination of an oncological patient associated with a mutation process occurring inside tumors and leading to the appearance of unique tumor-associated antigens. The participation of complement system components in antibody-mediated lysis of tumor cells induced by the presented vaccines is discussed.Thus, the review introduces readers to the existing directions of creating immune drugs designed to suppress the development of the tumor process by activating the body’s own immune forces and the prospect of their development.