Immunogenicity and Safety Profile of Two Adjuvanted-PD-L1-Based Vaccine Candidates in Mice, Rats, Rabbits, and Cynomolgus Monkeys

Background: The therapeutic blockade of the PD1/PD-L1 axis with monoclonal antibodies has led to a breakthrough in cancer treatment, as it plays a key role in the immune evasion of tumors. Nevertheless, treating patients with cancer with vaccines that stimulate a targeted immune response is another...

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Main Authors: Camila Canaán-Haden, Javier Sánchez-Ramírez, Rafael Martínez-Castillo, Mónica Bequet-Romero, Pedro Puente-Pérez, Isabel Gonzalez-Moya, Yunier Rodríguez-Álvarez, Marta Ayala-Ávila, Jorge Castro-Velazco, Olivia Cabanillas-Bernal, Marco A. De-León-Nava, Alexei F. Licea-Navarro, Yanelys Morera-Díaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Vaccines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/3/296
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Summary:Background: The therapeutic blockade of the PD1/PD-L1 axis with monoclonal antibodies has led to a breakthrough in cancer treatment, as it plays a key role in the immune evasion of tumors. Nevertheless, treating patients with cancer with vaccines that stimulate a targeted immune response is another attractive approach for which few side effects have been observed in combination immunotherapy clinical trials. In this sense, our group has recently developed a therapeutic cancer vaccine candidate called PKPD-L1<sup>Vac</sup> which contains as an antigen the extracellular domain of human PD-L1 fused to a 47 amino-terminal, part of the <i>LpdA</i> gene of <i>N. meningitides</i>, which is produced in <i>E. coli</i>. The investigation of potential toxicities associated with PD-L1 blockade by a new therapy in preclinical studies is critical to optimizing the efficacy and safety of that new therapy. Methods: Here, we describe immunogenicity and preliminary safety studies in mice, rats, rabbits, and non-human primates that make use of a 200 μg dose of PKPD-L1 in combination with VSSPs or alum phosphate to contribute to the assessment of potential adverse events that are relevant to the future clinical development program of this novel candidate. Results: The administration of PKPD-L1<sup>Vac</sup> to the four species at the doses studied was immunogenic and did not result in behavioral, clinical, hematological, or serum biochemical changes. Conclusions: Therefore, PKPD-L1<sup>Vac</sup> could be considered suitable for further complex toxicological studies and the way for its clinical evaluation in humans has been opened.
ISSN:2076-393X