Vaccination with a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing a tumor antigen breaks immune tolerance and elicits therapeutic antitumor responses.

PURPOSE: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a nonpathogenic yeast, has been used previously as a vehicle to elicit immune responses to foreign antigens, and tumor-associated antigens, and has been shown to reduce tumor burden in mice. Studies were designed to determine if vaccination of human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-transgenic (CEA-Tg) mice (where CEA is a self-antigen) with a recombinant S. cerevisiae construct expressing human CEA (yeast-CEA) elicits CEA-specific T-cell responses and antitumor activity. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: CEA-Tg mice were vaccinated with yeast-CEA, and CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses were assessed after one and multiple administrations or vaccinations at multiple sites per administration. Antitumor activity was determined by tumor growth and overall survival in both pulmonary metastasis and s.c. pancreatic tumor models. RESULTS: These studies demonstrate that recombinant yeast can break tolerance and that (a) yeast-CEA constructs elicit both CEA-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses; (b) repeated yeast-CEA administration causes increased antigen-specific T-cell responses after each vaccination; (c) vaccination with yeast-CEA at multiple sites induces a greater T-cell response than the same dose given at a single site; and (d) tumor-bearing mice vaccinated with yeast-CEA show a reduction in tumor burden and increased overall survival compared to mock-treated or control yeast-vaccinated mice in both pulmonary metastasis and s.c. pancreatic tumor models. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination with a heat-killed recombinant yeast expressing the tumor-associated antigen CEA induces CEA-specific immune responses, reduces tumor burden, and extends overall survival in CEA-Tg mice. These studies thus form the rationale for the incorporation of recombinant yeast-CEA and other recombinant yeast constructs in cancer immunotherapy protocols.

DNA delivery from photocrosslinked PEG hydrogels: encapsulation efficiency, release profiles, and DNA quality.

Sustained DNA delivery from polymer matrices provides a means for enhanced and prolonged gene therapy; however, limitations exist with respect to tailoring the DNA release profiles and maintaining the quality of the encapsulated DNA over time. To address these issues, PEG-based macromolecular monomers were photopolymerized to produce hydrogels with various degradation rates to control the DNA release profiles. Photocrosslinked PEG-based hydrogels were designed that released DNA for periods of 6-100 days with either nearly linear or delayed burst release profiles. Plasmid DNA was released primarily in the relaxed and supercoiled forms, and the released DNA showed high biological activity in plated cell cultures. The addition of both chemical and physical protective agents helped preserve the supercoiled form of the plasmid DNA during photoencapsulation (up to 75% compared to non-encapsulated plasmid controls), thereby enhancing the biological activity of the released DNA.

Delivering DNA from photocrosslinked, surface eroding polyanhydrides.

Sustained delivery of DNA has the potential to enhance long-term gene therapy; however, precise control of a wide range of DNA release profiles may be needed. In this work, multifunctional anhydride monomers were photocrosslinked to produce hydrophobic, highly crosslinked polymer networks that degrade by surface erosion. Surface-eroding polymers can deliver molecules of a wide range of sizes at sustained, steady rates, which is advantageous for DNA delivery, where the high molecular weight may complicate control of the release profiles. When plasmid DNA was released from photocrosslinked polyanhydride matrices, DNA recovery was low (approximately 25%). Electrophoresis indicated that the plasmid DNA was released primarily in the relaxed and supercoiled forms, yet the relative fraction of released DNA in the supercoiled form decreased over time. To improve DNA recovery and reduce the damaging effects of polymer degradation, DNA was pre-encapsulated in alginate microparticles, which served as a temporary coating that quickly dissolved upon microparticle release from the polyanhydride matrix. As photocrosslinked polyanhydrides have highly predictable drug release profiles that depend on the polymer erosion rate and implant geometry and not on the entrapped molecule size, they can serve dual purposes in many biomaterial applications where structural support and drug release would be beneficial.

Gene delivery in tissue engineering: a photopolymer platform to coencapsulate cells and plasmid DNA.

PURPOSE: Toward the ultimate goal of developing an engineered tissue capable of mimicking complex natural healing processes, we have designed a photopolymer platform that enables simultaneous encapsulation of cells and plasmid DNA in degradable hydrogels. Photopolymerization enables spatial and temporal control of gel formation under physiological conditions, but the presence of photoinitiator radicals poses challenges for DNA photoencapsulation. METHODS: The effects of photoinitiating conditions (ultraviolet light and photoinitiator radicals) on plasmid DNA were studied. Protection methods were identified. Plasmid DNA was photoencapsulated in photocrosslinked hydrogels, and the quantity and quality of the released DNA were assessed. Plasmid DNA was simultaneously entrapped (coencapsulated) with cells in hydrogels to assess in situ transfection. RESULTS: Experiments showed that in the absence of other species, plasmid DNA was sensitive to photoinitiator radicals, but the addition of transfection agents and/or antioxidants greatly reduced DNA damage by radicals. Encapsulated plasmid DNA was released from degradable, photocrosslinked hydrogels in active forms (supercoiled and relaxed plasmids) with an overall -60% recovery. Released DNA was capable of transfecting both plated and encapsulated cells. Encapsulated cells expressed the encoded gene of the coencapsulated plasmid as the polymer degraded. CONCLUSIONS: This photopolymerization platform allows for the creation of engineered tissues with enhanced control of cell behavior through the spatially and temporally controlled release of plasmid DNA.