Clin Exp Vaccine Res.  2013 Jul;2(2):106-114. 10.7774/cevr.2013.2.2.106.

DNA vaccines targeting human papillomavirus-associated diseases: progresses in animal and clinical studies

• Han KT
• Sin JI

• KMID: 2167720
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7774/cevr.2013.2.2.106

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a major cause of cervical cancer and its precancerous diseases. Cervical cancer is the second deadliest cancer killer among women worldwide. Moreover, HPV is also known to be a causative agent of oral, pharyngeal, anal and genital cancer. Recent application of HPV structural protein (L1)-targeted prophylactic vaccines (Gardasil(R) and Cervarix(R)) is expected to reduce the incidence of HPV infection and cervical cancer, and possibly other HPV-associated cancers. However, the benefit of the prophylactic vaccines for treating HPV-infected patients is unlikely, underscoring the importance of developing therapeutic vaccines against HPV infection. In this regard, numerous types of therapeutic vaccine approaches targeting the HPV regulatory proteins, E6 and E7, have been tested for their efficacy in animals and clinically. In this communication, we review HPV vaccine types, in particular DNA vaccines, their designs and delivery by electroporation and their immunologic and antitumor efficacy in animals and humans, along with the basics of HPV and its pathogenesis.

Keyword

Cervical cancer; Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; DNA vaccines; Electroporation; Human papillomavirus

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia
DNA
Electroporation
Female
Humans
Incidence
Proteins
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Vaccines
Vaccines, DNA
DNA
Proteins
Vaccines
Vaccines, DNA

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Two different mechanism(s) of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for the control of HPV infection vs. HPV-associated diseases. Prophylactic vaccines induce neutralizing antibodies against HPV L1 structural proteins, which are associated with protection from HPV infection. However, therapeutic vaccines induce cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to HPV early regulatory proteins, possibly leading to eradication of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), cervical cancer and other HPV-associated diseases. The antibodies neutralize infectious HPV particles, while CTLs recognize and kill HPV-infected epithelial cells and HPV-associated cancer cells.

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