Development of a therapeutic vaccine targeting Merkel cell polyomavirus capsid protein VP1 against Merkel cell carcinoma

• Main Authors: Dan Xu, Sheng Jiang, Yue He, Xiang Jin, Gan Zhao, Bin Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-10-01
• Series: npj Vaccines
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00382-9

Abstract Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive skin cancer with a high mortality rate, while Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) has been pointed as the causative agent of MCC. A better prognosis of MCC associated with a high level of antibodies against the capsid protein VP1 suggests that anti-VP1 immune response might be essential against MCC growth. In the current study, we developed a VP1-target vaccine formulated with CRA. Using a tumorigenic CMS5-VP1 tumor model, the vaccine-induced a potent antitumor efficacy in a dose-dependent manner was evidently demonstrated and mainly mediated by both VP1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses against the growth of CMS5-VP1 tumors in vaccinated BALB/c mice since the depletion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells reverse the antitumor effects. Thus, immunotherapy with this vaccine represents a novel approach for the clinical treatment of aggressive MCV-related MCC in humans.