Virus-Like Particle-Based Personalized Neoantigen Nano-Vaccine for Tumor Immunotherapy and Recurrence Prevention

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resection has high recurrence rates, impacting patient prognosis.
• Personalized antigen vaccines show promise but face challenges in synthesis time and immunogenicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid and efficient platform for personalized tumor vaccines against HCC.
• To engineer a universal nanovaccine platform for enhanced immunogenicity and reduced recurrence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Plug-and-Display system to engineer hepatitis B core protein virus-like particles (HBc VLPs) into an HBc-C platform.
• Developed a nanovaccine (HBc-MWK) by labeling HCC neoantigens with peptides that interact with the HBc-C platform.
• Evaluated in vitro immune cell activation and in vivo efficacy in xenograft and recurrence tumor models.

Main Results:

• HBc-MWK significantly promoted dendritic cell maturation (68.68 ± 2.51%) and T cell activation.
• Demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity with a 97.08 ± 2.07% tumor suppression rate in xenograft models.
• Effectively inhibited 80% of tumor recurrence and established long-lasting immune memory.

Conclusions:

• The HBc-MWK nanovaccine platform enables rapid development of effective personalized tumor vaccines.
• This strategy addresses limitations of traditional personalized vaccines, improving therapeutic potential for HCC.
• The approach holds promise for reducing postoperative recurrence and enhancing long-term survival in cancer patients.