Abstract
Recently, we have begun to explore the utility of bacterial recombinant proteins that bear protein transduction domains (PTDs) as a component of dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine strategies.
PTDs are short stretches of positively charged amino acids that enable to proteins that contain them to efficiently enter cells in an energy- and receptor-independent fashion. We have incorporated the HIV TAT protein PTD into recombinant proteins and demonstrated that these proteins transduce dendritic cells very efficiently. We have also demonstrated that transduction of mouse dendritic cells with recombinant PTD-containing antigens empowers them with the ability to elicit CTL response against non-self antigens. The CTL activity generated is sufficient to prevent engraftment of mice with tumors, and these vaccines have some theoretical advantages over those that are in current use, and may potentially be useful in patients. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2004; 19: 16-24]
