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Purpose: Patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer recurrence after 2 induction courses of BCG are eligible for radical cystectomy. So, in the last years research to discover new drugs for the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer recurrence after failure of first and second line therapy is ongoing. In accordance to the results obtained with BCG, whose mechanism depends on the induction of the T helper 1 (TH1) immune response, we investigated the activity of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 ligand, named Helicobacter Pylori Neutrophil Activating Protein (HP-NAP), that we recently demonstrated being able of enhancing the differentiation of Th1 cells, both in vitro and in vivo, because of its ability to create an IL-12 enriched milieu., Materials and Methods: We show here, in a mouse model of bladder neoplasm implants, that local administration of HP-NAP decreases tumor growth by inducing tumor necrosis., Results: The result is joined up with a massive cluster of both CD4+ and CD8+ IFN-γ+ cells, within neoplasm and regional lymph nodes. It is of note that HP-NAP-treated tumors show also a reduced vascularization due to the anti-angiogenic activity of IFN-γ induced by HP-NAP., Conclusions: The present study suggests that the activity of HP-NAP against urothelial tumor burden warrants subsequent in vivo studies.

Pathogenic bacteria must stably colonize mucosal surface to initiate the infectious process. A growing body of evidence indicates that bacteria attach to tissue surface by specific interactions between molecules of recognition (receptors) on host cell surface and adhesive molecules (adhesins) on the surfaces of the bacteria. One of the goals in the studies of bacterial adherence mechanisms is the eventual development of measures to prevent the adhesion of harmful bacteria to mucosal surfaces before the microorganism can produce tissue damage. In this paper we describe recent studies on the possibility to use in therapy either purified adhesins or receptors to block receptors and ligands respectively. We also describe recent studies on the development of antiadhesive vaccines, composed of purified ligands, to elicit local immune responses, resulting in the secretion of antibodies that cover the bacterial adhesins and thereby prevent attachment.