Background: Placental tissue contains a variety of tumor-associated antigens. Antigen-specific T cells generated by expanded dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with placental peptides have the potential to exert antitumor effects both in vitro and in vivo.
Objective: To investigate the immunotherapeutic potential of placental peptides as a novel source of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). We hypothesized that DCs, expanded and matured in vitro and pulsed with placental peptide extracts, can effectively prime antigen-specific T cells (ASTs) with robust cytotoxic activity against various tumor cell lines and in vivo tumor models.
Methods: Mass spectrometry was used to identify tumor-related peptides within the placental extract. In vitro assays were employed to assess the expansion of DCs, their maturation following exposure to placental peptide preparations, and the subsequent activation of T cells.
Results: The cytotoxic activity of ASTs was assessed and showed strong tumor cell killing across three cancer cell lines, U87MG (glioblastoma), SH-SY5Y (neuroblastoma), and MCF-7 (breast cancer). In a neuroblastoma animal model, ASTs treatment significantly reduced tumor proliferation, indicating substantial therapeutic potential in vivo.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that DCs pulsed with placental peptides can generate ASTs with potent antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Additional studies are needed to determine applicability across other tumor types, refine therapeutic parameters, and assess clinical potential.