Covalent crosslinking of tumor antigens stimulates an antitumor immune response.

In murine renal cell carcinoma and melanoma models, vaccination with crosslinked tumor antigen in the absence of other adjuvants inhibited the growth of RENCA and B16 tumors. Vaccination with crosslinked antigens (CA9 or gp100) enhanced the cellular immune response as measured by ELISPOT and cytotoxicity assays. Crosslinking antigens enhanced delivery of antigen to bone marrow derived dendritic cells, which were capable of internalizing and processing the antigens. Dendritic cells pulsed with crosslinked antigen were effective in stimulating antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocyte proliferation and interferon-γ secretion. Crosslinking tumor antigens is a simple and effective strategy for enhancing tumor vaccines.