2. Academic Validation
  3. Combination therapy with alisertib enhances the anti-tumor immunity induced by a liver cancer vaccine

Combination therapy with alisertib enhances the anti-tumor immunity induced by a liver cancer vaccine

  • iScience. 2025 Mar 15;28(4):112120. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112120.
Fang Xue 1,  Jing Liu 2,  Jinyan Wu 1,  Xueer Li 1,  Ningning Zhu 1,  Shuting Tang 1,  Mengli Zhang 1,  Huan Duan 3,  Rui Wang 4 5,  Jing Zhang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 233030, China.
  • 2 Surgical Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 233004, China.
  • 3 Intensive Care Unit, First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 233004, China.
  • 4 Department of Medical Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 233004, China.
  • 5 Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Tumor Evolution and Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu 233004, Anhui, China.
  • 6 School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui 233030, China.
PMID: 40230537 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112120
Abstract

Alisertib is a potent Aurora A kinase inhibitor in clinical trials for Cancer treatment, but its efficacy on Cancer vaccines remains unclear. Here, we developed a DNA vaccine targeting glypican-3 (pGPC3) and evaluated its efficacy with alisertib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models. The combination therapy of pGPC3 vaccine and alisertib significantly inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth, enhanced the induction and maturation of CD11c+ and CD8+CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs), and expanded tumor-specific CD8+ T cell responses. CD8+ T cell depletion abolished the anti-tumor effects, underscoring the essential role of functional CD8+ T cell responses. Moreover, the combined treatment promoted memory CD8+ T cell induction, providing long-term protection. In liver orthotopic tumor models, the combination of pGPC3 vaccine and alisertib demonstrated potent therapeutic efficacy through CD8+ T cell responses. These results indicate that alisertib enhances the pGPC3 vaccine's therapeutic effect, offering a promising strategy for HCC treatment.

Keywords

Biological sciences; Cancer systems biology; Immunology; Natural sciences; Systems biology.

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