Comparison of Protein and Peptide Targeting for the Development of a CD169-Based Vaccination Strategy Against Melanoma

CD169(+) macrophages are part of the innate immune system and capture pathogens that enter secondary lymphoid organs such as the spleen and the lymph nodes. Their strategic location in the marginal zone of the spleen and the subcapsular sinus in the lymph node enables them to capture antigens from the blood and the lymph respectively. Interestingly, these specific CD169(+) macrophages do not destroy the antigens they obtain, but instead, transfer it to B cells and dendritic cells (DCs) which facilitates the induction of strong adaptive immune responses. This latter characteristic of the CD169(+) macrophages can be exploited by specifically targeting tumor antigens to CD169(+) macrophages for the induction of specific T cell immunity. In the current study we target protein and peptide antigen as antibody-antigen conjugates to CD169(+) macrophages. We monitored the primary, memory, and recall T cell responses and evaluated the anti-tumor immune responses after immunization. In conclusion, both protein and peptide targeting to CD169 resulted in strong primary, memory, and recall T cell responses and protective immunity against melanoma, which indicates that both forms of antigen can be further explored as anti-cancer vaccination strategy.