Generex Biotechnology Immune-response strategy to be tested for use against cancer

17-May-2005

Generex Biotechnology Corporation announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, has signed an agreement with Dr. Ralph Reisfeld, Ph.D., professor of immunology at The Scripps Research Institute, to test the potency of a modified DNA vaccine for treatment of various forms of cancer.

Scripps, in La Jolla, California, is one of largest private, non-profit research organizations in the U.S. Dr. Reisfeld's investigation will follow up on earlier studies at Antigen Express showing that the modifications being tested led to a stronger immune response to therapeutic antigens encoded by DNA vaccines than were otherwise observed.

Antigen Express is working to develop technology that increases the antigen-specific stimulation of T helper cells. Particularly in the field of cancer immunotherapy, the importance of T helper stimulation has been demonstrated both in preclinical animal models and in the clinic.

In the case of DNA vaccines, DNA encoding a therapeutic antigen is taken up by cells, which in turn express the antigen for immune stimulation. Stimulation of T helper cells is negligible with this method, because antigens normally need to be obtained from outside cells (via phagocytized bacteria, for example) to be processed for T helper stimulation. Antigens synthesized within cells, as with DNA vaccines, bypass the mechanisms for T helper stimulation. But by adding genetic elements to DNA vaccines that inhibit expression of the MCH class II-associated invariant chain (Ii protein), Antigen Express has developed a simple method to force antigens synthesized within cells to stimulate T helper cells.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/45913/generex-biotechnology-immune-response-strategy-to-be-tested-for-use-against-cancer.html