An integrated polymeric carrier for subunit cancer vaccines

PROJECT SUMMARY Cancer vaccines are a promising immuno-oncology approach that can elicit highly tumor-specific responses from the immune system, resulting in prolonged anti-cancer protection. Peptide-based vaccines are especially attractive because they have low toxicity risk and can be produced easily at large scale with good storage stability. However, peptide antigens are inherently poorly immunogenic and susceptible to rapid degradation and excretion after administration. Thus, the success of peptide-based cancer vaccines are critically tied to their effective formulation and delivery. The ideal peptide vaccine formulation would replicate each of these critical aspects: recognition and internalization by dendritic cells, activation of these dendritic cells, and antigen delivery to both MHC I (called cross-presentation) and MHC II molecules. In this application, we propose to develop a polymer-based peptide antigen carrier that uniquely addresses all of the aforementioned delivery needs in a well-controlled, scalable system through the integration of targeting ligands, controlled release adjuvants, and cytosolic and lysosomal antigen delivery mechanisms. Our main objectives are to 1) optimize polymer structure and synthesis through material engineering, 2) assess peptide and adjuvant delivery and characterize in vitro and in vivo trafficking and delivery, 3) optimize formulations for vaccine efficacy in a murine melanoma model and 4) evaluate efficacy and safety in a murine breast cancer model for cancer prevention and therapy. Successful completion of these aims will lead to a formulation poised for GMP manufacturing and the IND pathway toward clinical testing.