ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Prostate cancer (
PCa) is the second leading cause of
cancer-related deaths among
men worldwide.
Immunotherapy is an emerging
treatment modality for
cancers that harnesses the
immune system's
ability to eliminate
tumor cells. In particular,
dendritic cell (DC)
vaccines, have demonstrated promise in eliciting a
tumor-specific
immune response. In this study, we investigated the potential of using DCs loaded with the MAGE-A2 long
peptide to activate
T cell cytotoxicity toward
PCa cell lines.
METHODS:
Here, we generated DCs from
monocytes and thoroughly characterized their phenotypic and functional properties. Then, DCs were pulsed with MAGE-A2 long
peptide (LP) as an
antigen source, and monitored for their transition from immature to mature DCs by assessing the expression levels of several costimulatory and maturation molecules like CD14,
HLA-DR, CD40, CD11c, CD80, CD83, CD86, and CCR7. Furthermore, the
ability of MAGE-A2 -LP pulsed DCs to stimulate
T cell proliferation in a
mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) setting and induction of
cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) in
coculture with autologous
T cells were examined. Finally, CTLs were evaluated for their capacity to produce
interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and kill
PCa cell lines (PC3 and LNCaP).
RESULTS:
The results demonstrated that the
antigen-pulsed DCs exhibited a strong
ability to stimulate the expansion of
T cells. Moreover, the induced CTLs displayed substantial cytotoxicity against the target
cells and exhibited increased IFN-γ
production during activation compared to the controls.
CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, this innovative approach proved efficacious in targeting
PCa cell lines, showcasing its potential as a
foundation for the development and improved
PCa cancer immunotherapy.