Development of dual function MYCN-DNA vaccines for anti-neuroblastoma immunotherapy

Introduction: We recently showed that MYCN-DNA minigene vaccination is an effective immunotherapeutic approach to treat MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma (NB) in vivo. To further enhance the therapeutic efficacy, we designed dual function DNA-vaccines driving the expression of MYCN antigens and interleukins (ILs) such as IL-2, IL-15 and IL-21 in one vector. Methods/Results: For this purpose, previously established MYCN minigenes were ligated into the bicistronic vector pIRES in combination with the cDNA encoding for IL-2, IL-15 or IL-21. IL expression was verified in vitro by transient transfection of CHO cells and s…