The development of an effective vaccine construct targeting tumor associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) is an appealing approach towards tumor immuno-therapy. To enhance the immune responses to TACAs and overcome their low immunogenicity, a typical approach is to covalently attach the antigens to an immunogenic carrier. While much emphasis has been put on the carrier moiety and antigen structure in vaccine design, the impact of the linker on immune responses to the TACAs has not been studied much. Among many bio-conjugation methods explored, the copper mediated alkyne azide cycloaddition click reaction is becoming increasingly popular for vaccine construction. In this talk, we will discuss our results in comparing vaccine constructs containing the triazole linker and a flexible alkyl amide linker. We demonstrate that the linker has a significant effect on anti-TACA humoral responses. The knowledge gained can provide valuable guidance towards the development of effective TACA based anti-cancer vaccines.

"To click or not to click": The design of a carbohydrate based anticancer vaccine for effective and long term antitumor immunity

248th National Meeting (2014)

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