Enhancing immune effects of a DNA vaccine against kidney cancer using CD40L as an adjuvant

The use of specific combinations of antigens and adjuvant represents a promising approach for increasing the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. In the present study, we evaluated the immunity and antitumor effects of DNA vaccines with G250 as the target antigen in a mouse model of renal cell carcinoma. We constructed two recombinant plasmids, pVAX1-G250 and pVAX1-CD40L. The recombinant plasmids were injected into mice by intramuscular injection and electrical pulse stimulation. ELISA and ELISPOT experiments were performed to evaluate the corresponding humoral and cellular immune responses following immunization. To further investigate the antitumor potential of the DNA vaccines, we established a tumor-bearing mouse model expressing G250 target antigen. Our results showed that immunization with the combination of the two plasmids exerted the strongest anti-tumor effects. Therefore, our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of CD40L as an adjuvant for DNA vaccines and highlighted the promising use of these vaccines for the treatment of tumors.

靶向抗原与佐剂的特定组合方案，是提升DNA疫苗（DNA vaccine）免疫原性的极具前景的策略。本研究以肾细胞癌（renal cell carcinoma）小鼠模型为实验对象，评估以G250为靶抗原的DNA疫苗的免疫效力与抗肿瘤效果。我们构建了两种重组质粒：pVAX1-G250与pVAX1-CD40L。通过肌肉注射联合电脉冲刺激的给药方式，将重组质粒接种至小鼠体内。采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）与酶联免疫斑点试验（ELISPOT），对免疫接种后的小鼠体液免疫与细胞免疫应答水平进行检测与评估。为进一步探究该DNA疫苗的抗肿瘤潜能，我们构建了表达G250靶抗原的荷瘤小鼠模型。实验结果表明，联合接种两种质粒的免疫方案展现出最强的抗肿瘤效应。综上，本研究证实CD40配体（CD40L）可作为DNA疫苗的有效佐剂，同时凸显了此类疫苗在肿瘤治疗领域的广阔应用前景。