Enhanced antitumor activity of a novel, oral, helper epitope-containing WT1 protein vaccine in a model of murine leukemia

Abstract Background A Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) oral vaccine, Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) 420, in which the bacterium is used as a vector for WT1 protein, triggers immune responses through cellular immunity consisting of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and other immunocompetent cells (e.g., helper T cells). We developed a novel, oral, helper epitope-containing WT1 protein vaccine (B. longum 2656) to examine whether or not B. longum 420/2656 combination further accelerates the CD4+ T cell help-enhanced antitumor activity in a model of murine leukemia. Methods C1498-murine WT1—a genetically-engineered, murine leukemia cell line to express murine WT1—was used as tumor cell. Female C57BL/6 J mice were allocated to the B. longum 420, 2656, and 420/2656 combination groups. The day of subcutaneous inoculation of tumor cells was considered as day 0, and successful engraftment was verified on day 7. The oral administration of the vaccine by gavage was initiated on day 8. Tumor volume, the frequency and phenotypes of WT1-specific CTLs in CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood (PB) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), as well as the proportion of interferon-gamma (INF-γ)-producing CD3+CD4+ T cells pulsed with WT135–52 peptide in splenocytes and TILs were determined. Results Tumor volume was significantly smaller (p