Recombinant adeno-associated virus expressing human papillomavirus type 16E7 peptide DNA fused with heat shock protein DNA as a potential vaccine for cervical cancer

In this study, we explore a potential vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV )-induced tumors, using heat shock protein as an adjuvant, a peptide vaccin e for safety, and adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a gene delivery vector. T he tumor vaccine was devised by constructing a chimeric gene which containe d HPV type 16 E7 cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitope DNA (M. C. Feltkamp, H, L. Smits, M. P. Vierboom, R. P. Minnaar, B. M. de Jongh, J. W. Drijfhout , J. ter Schegget, C. J. Melief, and W. RI. Kast, fur. J, Immunol, 23:2242- 2249, 1993) fused with the heat shock protein gene as a tumor vaccine deliv ered via AAV. Our results demonstrate that this vaccine can eliminate tumor cells in syngeneic animals and induce CD4- and CD8-dependent CTL activity in vitro. Moreover, studies with knockout mice with distinct T-cell deficie ncies confirm that CTL-induced tumor protection is CD4 and CD8 dependent. T aken together, the evidence indicates that this chimeric gene delivered by AAV has potential as a cervical cancer vaccine.