Development of a multivalent therapeutic HPV-16 and HPV-18-specific vaccine

Description

Abstract: Treatment of cervical cancer patients by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy results in a significant loss of quality of life. A promising possibility to make a therapeutic treatment more effective could be the development of a multivalent DNA vaccine.

We will pursue the development of an HPV E7-based DNA vaccine. Besides the artificial HPV-16 E7 "shuffled" gene (E7SH) that is ready for a clinical trial we will generate HPV-16 E6SH, HPV-18 E6SH and HPV-18 E7SH. Since approximately 70 % of all cervical cancer cases are caused by either HPV-16 or HPV-18, this multivalent combination should provide a reasonable coverage for cancer patients.

To increase the efficacy we will include the genes of immunomodulatory proteins such as IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ, GM-CSF. The optimal combination of shuffled papillomavirus genes plus adjuvant genes will first be identified in a preclinical mouse model. Due to the close connection to the Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, the most promising combination(s) will be transferred to the clinic as soon as possible.

Participants
Institutions
  • FB Biologie
  • Zukunftskolleg1
Funding sources
Name Project no. Description Period
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Further information
Period: 01.03.2006 – 31.05.2007