[Reading Science] Personalized Cancer Treatment Accelerated by Cancer Vaccines

KIST Develops Next-Generation Cancer Vaccine Targeting Specific Cancer Cells

Unlike anticancer drugs that directly destroy cancer cells, a next-generation cancer vaccine that strengthens the immune system to attack specific cancer cells has been developed by our research team.

A diagram showing the mechanism of a vaccine based on DNA origami. One side of the three-dimensional square block structure (white structure) is induced with CpG immune adjuvants (green ribbons) at regular intervals, while the other side is introduced with antigens (sky blue), developed as a cancer vaccine. The CpG molecules induced at regular intervals on the surface of the cancer vaccine effectively bind to antigen-presenting cells, demonstrating excellent cancer vaccine efficacy. Photo by KIST

The research team led by Dr. Juhee Ryu at the Center for Medicinal Materials Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Sang-Rok Oh), announced on the 2nd that they have developed a cancer vaccine called ‘DoriVac’ using DNA origami technology in collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Wyss Institute at Harvard in Boston, USA.

DoriVac (DNA origami-based Vaccine) is a next-generation cancer vaccine that expands the existing cancer vaccine strategy of simultaneously delivering antigens and immune adjuvants by precisely controlling the spatial arrangement of the immune adjuvant CpG.

Coronavirus vaccines expose the immune system to an antigen (the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus) to build immunity, so that when the actual coronavirus invades, the immune system attacks the spike protein to neutralize the virus. Cancer vaccines work on a similar principle, enabling our immune system to recognize cancer cell-specific antigens and use those antigens as attack points to kill cancer cells. They usually consist of cancer antigens and immune adjuvants.

Cancer vaccines can provide personalized treatment considering the individual antigens of patients, but their therapeutic effects can be limited depending on the specific cancer type or the patient’s immune status, and there is a disadvantage of needing to minimize the use of immune adjuvants that can cause side effects.

To develop the cancer vaccine, the research team arranged the immune adjuvant CpG on the surface of DNA nanostructures with an optimal spatial arrangement using DNA origami technology. DNA origami technology folds DNA molecules like paper to create various shapes and allows precise control of structures at the nanometer (nm, one billionth of a meter) scale.

Using this, CpG molecules were precisely arranged on the surface of DNA nanostructures at intervals of 2.5 to 7 nm, and cell experiments showed that the cancer immunotherapy effect was highest at a 3.5 nm interval.

This research was achieved through joint research conducted since 2016 at the KIST-DFCI local lab established in Boston. The global joint research team co-founded ‘DoriNano Inc’ in Boston and is also promoting clinical trials for the commercialization of DoriVac. It is expected that combining this with other cancer treatment methods using immune checkpoint inhibitors and other immune systems will enhance cancer treatment and prevent recurrence.

Dr. Juhee Ryu of KIST stated, "The development of DoriVac is an important advancement that integrates nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy technology, and it will serve as a platform technology that can contribute not only to cancer treatment but also to the development of immunotherapies for various diseases."

This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and conducted as part of KIST’s major projects and the Pan-Government Regenerative Medicine Technology Development Project (21A0504L1). The research results were published online in the latest issue of the international journal Nature Nanotechnology (IF 38.3, top 1.4% in JCR category).