Abstract
An important issue for developing a vaccine therapy for human malignancy is identifying adjuvants that can elicit T-cell responses to peptides. The present study evaluates interferon-α(IFN-α) as a vaccine adjuvant. C57BL/6 mice were immunized subcutaneously with peptide derived from influenza virus (Flu) either with or without IFN-α using different vaccine formulations. IFN-α significantly enhanced cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) induction in mice immunized with Flu peptide in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). Flu peptide administered continuously for 3 days by osmotic pump with IFN-α could elicit CTL induction, whereas either Flu peptide or IFN-α alone was non immunogenic. Furthermore, injection of the liquid formation of Flu peptide with IFN-α in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) did not elicit CTL induction. These results suggest that the continuous administration of peptide and local delivery of IFN-α are important for efficient CTL induction, and that IFN-α is an effective adjuvant for peptide-based vaccines.
