Targeting the Intratumoral Dendritic Cells by the Oncolytic Adenoviral Vaccine Expressing RANTES Elicits Potent Antitumor Immunity

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen (Ag)-presenting cells capable of inducing immune responses to turner Ags and, therefore, play a central role in the induction Of antitumor immunity. There is it large amount of evidence, however, about paucity Or tumor-associated DCs and that DCs' immunogenic functions are suppressed ill a turner environment. Here we describe a potent in situ vaccine targeting tumoral DCs in vivo. This vaccine comprised of an oncolytic adenovirus expressing RANTES (regulated upon activation, normally T expressed, and presumably secreted) (Ad-RANTES-E1A), enhanced tumor infiltration, and Maturation of Ag-presenting cells in vivo. In this study, we show that intratumoral vaccinations with Ad-RANTES-E1A induced significant primary turner growth regression and blocked metastasis formation in JC and E.G-7 murine tumor models. This vaccine recruited DCs, macrophages, natural killer cells, and CD8(+) T cells to the tumor site, and thus enhanced Ag-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses and natural killer cell responses. DCs purified from the Ad-RANTES-E1A-treated E.G-7 tumors secreted significantly higher levels of interferon-gamma and interleukin-12, as compared with control groups and more efficiently enhanced CD8(+) T-cell response. This in Situ immunization strategy could be a potent antitumor immunotherapy approach for aggressive established tumors.