The authors are grateful for the experimental help in developing the method of intralymphatic immunization in mice from Iris Erdmann, Barbara von Beust, and Julia Maria Mart&#237;nez-G&#243;mez. Thanks also to Maggy Arras and Nikola Cesarovic for letting us use their surgical theatre for this video production.&#160;

1. Anesthesia of Mice
<ol>
	<li>Prepare the anesthetics by mixing ketamine (dissociative anesthetic) and xylazine (sedative and analgesic) in buffered saline. The concentrations of ketamine and xylazine in the final solution are 12.5 and 2 mg/ml, respectively.</li>
	<li>Inject the anesthetics to the mice by intraperitoneal administration using a syringe with a 25-30 G needle. Use 0.1 ml/10 g of body weight.</li>
	<li>Apply an ophthalmic ointment to the mice&#8217;s eyes in order to prevent drying-out of the corneas.</li>
	<li>Assure that the mouse is sufficiently anesthetized by pinching its foot or toe with the forceps. If the mouse does not react with reflexes to the pinch, proceed to surgery. If the mouse reacts to the pinch with reflexes or muscle contractions, wait 1-2 min and repeat the pinch test. If the mouse still reacts, replace the mouse with a new animal and repeat the procedures from step 1.2 onwards.</li>
</ol>
2. Surgical Incision of the Inguinal Area of the Mouse
<ol>
	<li>Place the mouse on its back.</li>
	<li>Wet one inguinal region with disinfecting ethanol (70%). To provide better disinfection, the inguinal region may be shaved to remove fur prior disinfection with ethanol.</li>
	<li>Take the hind leg and bend the hip joint to produce an approximately 90&#176; angle of the hip joint.</li>
	<li>Using a curved microdissecting forceps, take the mouse skin in the inguinal area where the hip joint is bent and pull the wetted skin up slightly.</li>
	<li>While holding the skin up with the forceps, cut a small incision (&#60;5 mm) through the skin using surgical scissors.</li>
	<li>Place the tip of the closed scissors into the incision and further open the incision by opening the scissors while holding it inside the incision. This will cause the skin to tear and should produce a diameter of less than 10 mm. Note: A cold light source with flexible light guides can be used to improve visibility. In older mice, especially males, the identification of the lymph node may be difficult due to much fat tissue in the inguinal region.</li>
</ol>
3. Intralymphatic Injection
<ol>
	<li>Prepare a syringe (0.5 ml or less) with a 28-30 G hypodermic needle; a short bevel may be preferable to a long bevel. Aspirate 10 &#956;l of the vaccine to be injected and assure that the syringe is free of air.</li>
	<li>Localize the inguinal lymph node with help of the curved forceps and the tip of the closed scissor. The lymph node will appear greyish within the more whitish fat tissue and can be further identified through afferent and efferent capillaries entering and leaving the lymph node.</li>
	<li>Immobilize the lymph node by holding it between the branches of the curved forceps.</li>
	<li>Take the syringe and insert the needle into the lymph node with the bevel facing up; making sure the whole bevel enters the lymph node.</li>
	<li>Inject the vaccine (10 &#956;l). If the lymph node is swelling (blowing up), the injection can be assumed successful. If the needle is not placed deep enough into the lymph node, some or the entire vaccine may leak out and not enter the lymph node. If the needle is inserted too deep, the injected vaccine will be released subcutaneously below the lymph node. In case of the latter, repeat the injection or replace the mouse with a new untreated mouse.</li>
</ol>
4. Closing the Incision by Suturing
<ol>
	<li>Open a pack of sterile surgical suture.</li>
	<li>Take hold of the suture needle with a needle holder at the distal portion of the needle body. Tighten the needle holder by squeezing it until the first ratchet catches.</li>
	<li>Take hold of the skin at one side of the incision using forceps (depending on the surgeon's preference, toothed or un-toothed forceps or skin hooks may be used). Insert the needle ca. 2-3 mm from the edge of the incision, entering from the outside of the skin.</li>
	<li>Loosen hold of the skin with the forceps and grasp the opposite side of the incision with the forceps. Insert the needle ca. 2-3 mm from the edge of the incision, entering from the inside of the skin.</li>
	<li>Loosen the needle holder and grasp the needle end with the forceps. Pull the needle with the tread through the skin, leaving a convenient length of the tread outside the first needle-insertion point (if several mice are to be treated, leave a shorter end; 5-10 mice can be operated on with one suture needle/tread).</li>
	<li>Make the preferred knot according to standard surgeon protocols. One stitch is sufficient if the incision is not larger than 10 mm. For larger incisions, make a second stitch.</li>
</ol>
5. Post-operational Treatment
<ol>
	<li>Place the mouse in the cage and cover with tissues to keep warm. When treating multiple mice, place them close to each other to keep warm. Alternatively, place the mice on a warm pad until they have woken up.</li>
	<li>Observe the mice until they wake up.</li>
	<li>Observe the mice daily with regards to wound healing as well as other clinical symptoms such as wound infections. The wound is typically sufficiently closed within two days and healed within seven days of the procedure.</li>
</ol>

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TMK is named as inventor of patents dealing with intralymphatic immunotherapy in man. TMK has been scientific advisor and has received travel expenses from ImVisioN GmbH, Cytos Biotechnology, MannKind Corporation,&#160;and XBiotech USA Inc. PJ has no conflict interest to disclose.

Intralymphatic immunization and immunotherapy have been shown to be appropriate for stimulation of both antibody responses and T-cell responses. As demonstrated in this video-article, the intralymphatic procedure of vaccination is a quick and easy method for stimulating strong immune responses in mice. A trained surgeon can perform the procedure during 3-4 min. The session can also be shared between two surgeons where one is typically doing anesthesia and the suturing and the second surgeon is doing the incision and the ...

Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this procedure requires efficient drainage of vaccine to lymph nodes where antigen presenting cells can interact with lymphocytes for generation of T- and B-cell responses. In addition, the strength and the type of immune responses induced also depend on the density or frequency of such interactions as well as the microenvironment itself, especially the content of cytokines. As only a small fraction of a vaccine injected into a peripheral tissue reaches a lymph node, vaccinations of mice and humans by direct injection of the vaccine into lymph nodes, the site were immune responses are generated, have been performed. In man, the procedure is guided by ultrasound, a procedure also used for the administration of imaging agents for visualization and diagnosis in the lymphatic system. In mice, the procedure is invasive. Here, a small (5-10 mm) incision is made in the inguinal region of anesthetized animals1, the lymph node is localized and immobilized with forceps, and a volume of 10-20 &#956;l of the vaccine is injected under visual control; 10 &#956;l is used for first injections and in young mice with small lymph nodes, whereas 20 &#956;l can be injected into lymph nodes of older or already primed mice, which have larger lymph nodes. The incision can be closed with a single stitch using surgical sutures. By this method, mice have vaccinated with plasmid DNA2,3, messenger RNA4, peptide1,3,5,6, protein7-10, particles11, bacteria12 as well as adjuvants7,13, and strong improvement of immune responses against all type of vaccines have been observed. The intralymphatic method of vaccination is especially appropriate in situations where conventional vaccination produces insufficient immunity or where the amount of available vaccine is limited or very costly. In human, the intralymphatic method of immunization has been applied to allergy patients14,15 or to patients with cancer16-21. Although the current notion is that the intralymphatic method is more invasive than other injectable methods such as intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, the pain perception is not higher than after a venous puncture15. It is expected that intralymphatic vaccination will become an alternative or complement to other methods of prophylactic and especially therapeutic vaccinations. This article describes in details how the procedure of intralymphatic vaccination is performed in mice. All procedures described, were approved by the Cantonal Veterinary Agency of Zurich and performed according Swiss federal guidelines and directives on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="653">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">Ketamine (Ketasol-100)</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Graeub AG, Switzerland</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Anesthetics</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:233px;">Xylazine (Rompun)</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Bayer, Germany</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>Anesthetics</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">Viscotears Eye-Gel</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Novartis, Switzerland</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>To keep eyes from drying out during anesthesia.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">BD Micro-Fine 0.5 ml</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">BD Medical, France</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>29 G Insulin syringes with permanently attached needles</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">6-0 Dermalon Monofilament nylon</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Covidien, MA, USA</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>For sutures (0.7 metric, 18G, 45 cm, Blue)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">Curved forceps, 4.5 inch</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Polymed, Switzerland</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>For incision and holding of lymph node</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">Straight surgical scissors, 4.5 inch</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Polymed, Switzerland</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>For incision</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:233px;">Needle holder, 5.5 inch</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">Polymed, Switzerland</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>To close incision with suture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:233px;"></td>
			<td style="width:135px;"></td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
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intralymphatic immunotherapy and vaccination in mice

Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this requires efficient drainage of vaccine to lymph nodes where antigen presenting cells can interact with lymphocytes for generation of the wanted immune responses. The strength and the type of immune responses induced also depend on the density or frequency of interactions as well as the microenvironment, especially the content of cytokines. As only a minute fraction of peripherally injected vaccines reaches the lymph nodes, vaccinations of mice and humans were performed by direct injection of vaccine into inguinal lymph nodes, i.e.&#160;intralymphatic injection. In man, the procedure is guided by ultrasound. In mice, a small (5-10 mm) incision is made in the inguinal region of anesthetized animals, the lymph node is localized and immobilized with forceps, and a volume of 10-20 &#956;l of the vaccine is injected under visual control. The incision is closed with a single stitch using surgical sutures. Mice were vaccinated with plasmid DNA, RNA, peptide, protein, particles, and bacteria as well as adjuvants, and strong improvement of immune responses against all type of vaccines was observed. The intralymphatic method of vaccination is especially appropriate in situations where conventional vaccination produces insufficient immunity or where the amount of available vaccine is limited.

The procedure of intralymphatic injections in mice, despite the surgical nature, is straight forward and relatively fast. A trained person can perform the procedure in 3-4 min. The incision that is closed with one stitch typically heals within two days (Figure 1)
Intralymphatic vaccination or immunization has been performed with mRNA, plasmid DNA, peptides, proteins, virus and bacteria. Figure 2 illustrates the antibody production after immunization with the p...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Intralymphatic Immunotherapy and Vaccination in Mice at JoVE.com

Intralymphatic Immunotherapy and Vaccination in Mice

Prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination often fails to stimulate strong immune responses due to week drainage of the vaccine to lymph nodes and consequently poor involvement of immune cells. By direct injection of vaccine to lymph nodes, so-called intralymphatic injection, vaccine efficacy can be strongly improved and vaccine doses can be reduced.

Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this requires efficient drainage of ...

intralymphatic-immunotherapy-and-vaccination-in-mice

Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

22.9K Views.  University Hospital Zurich. Prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination often fails to stimulate strong immune responses due to week drainage of the vaccine to lymph nodes and consequently poor involvement of immune cells. By direct injection of vaccine to lymph nodes, so-called intralymphatic injection, vaccine efficacy can be strongly improved and vaccine doses can be reduced.

Video: Intralymphatic Immunotherapy and Vaccination in Mice

Experimental Metastasis and CTL Adoptive Transfer Immunotherapy Mouse Model

Experimental metastasis mouse model is a simple and yet physiologically relevant metastasis model. The tumor cells are injected intravenously (i.v) into mouse tail veins and colonize in the lungs, thereby, resembling the last steps of tumor cell spontaneous metastasis: survival in the circulation, extravasation and colonization in the distal organs. From a therapeutic point of view, the experimental metastasis model is the simplest and ideal model since the target of therapies is often the end point of metastasis: established metastatic tumor in the distal organ. In this model, tumor cells are injected i.v into mouse tail veins and allowed to colonize and grow in the lungs. Tumor-specific CTLs are then injected i.v into the metastases-bearing mouse. The number and size of the lung metastases can be controlled by the number of tumor cells to be injected and the time of tumor growth. Therefore, various stages of metastasis, from minimal metastasis to extensive metastasis, can be modeled. Lung metastases are analyzed by inflation with ink, thus allowing easier visual observation and quantification.

An experimental lung metastasis and CTL immunotherapy mouse model for analysis of tumor cells-T cell interaction in vivo.

Experimental metastasis mouse model is a simple and yet physiologically relevant metastasis model. The tumor cells are injected intravenously (i.v) into ...

Protocol for Recombinant RBD-based SARS Vaccines: Protein Preparation, Animal Vaccination and Neutralization Detection

Based on their safety profile and ability to induce potent immune responses against infections, subunit vaccines have been used as candidates for a wide variety of pathogens 1-3. Since the mammalian cell system is capable of post-translational modification, thus forming properly folded and glycosylated proteins, recombinant proteins expressed in mammalian cells have shown the greatest potential to maintain high antigenicity and immunogenicity 4-6.
Although no new cases of SARS have been reported since 2004, future outbreaks are a constant threat; therefore, the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV is a prudent preventive step and should be carried out. The RBD of SARS-CoV S protein plays important roles in receptor binding and induction of specific neutralizing antibodies against virus infection 7-9. Therefore, in this protocol, we describe novel methods for developing a RBD-based subunit vaccine against SARS. Briefly, the recombinant RBD protein (rRBD) was expressed in culture supernatant of mammalian 293T cells to obtain a correctly folded protein with proper conformation and high immunogenicity 6. The transfection of the recombinant plasmid encoding RBD to the cells was then performed using a calcium phosphate transfection method 6,10 with some modifications. Compared with the lipid transfection method 11,12, this modified calcium phosphate transfection method is cheaper, easier to handle, and has the potential to reach high efficacy once a transfection complex with suitable size and shape is formed 13,14. Finally, a SARS pseudovirus neutralization assay was introduced in the protocol and used to detect the neutralizing activity of sera of mice vaccinated with rRBD protein. This assay is relatively safe, does not involve an infectious SARS-CoV, and can be performed without the requirement of a biosafety-3 laboratory 15.
The protocol described here can also be used to design and study recombinant subunit vaccines against other viruses with class I fusion proteins, for example, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Ebola virus, influenza virus, as well as Nipah and Handra viruses. In addition, the methods for generating a pseudovirus and subsequently establishing a pseudovirus neutralization assay can be applied to all these viruses.

This protocol describes a general procedure for studying recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD)-based subunit vaccines against SARS. It includes methods for transfection and expression of RBD protein in 293T cells, immunization of mice with RBD and detection of neutralization activity of mouse sera using an established SARS pseudovirus neutralization assay.

Based on their safety profile and ability to induce potent immune responses against infections, subunit vaccines have been used as candidates for a wide ...

Preparation of Tumor Antigen-loaded Mature Dendritic Cells for Immunotherapy

While clinical studies have established that antigen-loaded DC vaccines are safe and promising therapy for tumors 1, their clinical efficacy remains to be established. The method described below, prepared in accordance with Good Manufacturing Process (GMP) guidelines, is an optimization of the most common ex vivo preparation method for generating large numbers of DCs for clinical studies 2.
Our method utilizes the synthetic TLR 3 agonist Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid-poly-L-lysine Carboxymethylcellulose (Poly-ICLC) to stimulate the DCs. Our previous study established that Poly-ICLC is the most potent individual maturation stimulus for human DCs as assessed by an upregulation of CD83 and CD86, induction of interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), interleukmin 1 (IL-1), and type I interferons (IFN), and minimal interleukin 10 (IL-10) production.
DCs are differentiated from frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained by leukapheresis. PBMCs are isolated by Ficoll gradient centrifugation and frozen in aliquots. On Day 1, PBMCs are thawed and plated onto tissue culture flasks to select for monocytes which adhere to the plastic surface after 1-2 hr incubation at 37 &deg;C in the tissue culture incubator. After incubation, the lymphocytes are washed off and the adherent monocytes are cultured for 5 days in the presence of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to differentiate to immature DCs. On Day 6, immature DCs are pulsed with the keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) protein which serves as a control for the quality of the vaccine and may boost the immunogenicity of the vaccine 3. The DCs are stimulated to mature, loaded with peptide antigens, and incubated overnight. On Day 7, the cells are washed, and frozen in 1 ml aliquots containing 4 - 20 x 106 cells using a controlled-rate freezer. Lot release testing for the batches of DCs is performed and must meet minimum specifications before they are injected into patients.

The most commonly used method for generating large numbers of autologous dendritic cells (DCs) for use in tumor immunotherapy is described. The method uses IL-4 and GM-CSF to differentiate DCs from monocytes. The immature DCs are stimulated to mature and then loaded with antigens before they are injected back into the patient.

While clinical studies have established that antigen-loaded DC vaccines are safe and promising therapy for tumors 1, their clinical efficacy remains to be ...

High-throughput Screening for Broad-spectrum Chemical Inhibitors of RNA Viruses

RNA viruses are responsible for major human diseases such as flu, bronchitis, dengue, Hepatitis C or measles. They also represent an emerging threat because of increased worldwide exchanges and human populations penetrating more and more natural ecosystems. A good example of such an emerging situation is chikungunya virus epidemics of 2005-2006 in the Indian Ocean. Recent progresses in our understanding of cellular pathways controlling viral replication suggest that compounds targeting host cell functions, rather than the virus itself, could inhibit a large panel of RNA viruses. Some broad-spectrum antiviral compounds have been identified with host target-oriented assays. However, measuring the inhibition of viral replication in cell cultures using reduction of cytopathic effects as a readout still represents a paramount screening strategy. Such functional screens have been greatly improved by the development of recombinant viruses expressing reporter enzymes capable of bioluminescence such as luciferase. In the present report, we detail a high-throughput screening pipeline, which combines recombinant measles and chikungunya viruses with cellular viability assays, to identify compounds with a broad-spectrum antiviral profile.

In vitro assays to measure virus replication have been greatly improved by the development of recombinant RNA viruses expressing luciferase or other enzymes capable of bioluminescence. Here we detail a high-throughput screening pipeline that combines such recombinant strains of measles and chikungunya viruses to isolate broad-spectrum antivirals from chemical libraries.

RNA viruses are responsible for major human diseases such as flu, bronchitis, dengue, Hepatitis C or measles. They also represent an emerging threat ...

Generation of CAR T Cells for Adoptive Therapy in the Context of Glioblastoma Standard of Care

Adoptive T cell immunotherapy offers a promising strategy for specifically targeting and eliminating malignant gliomas. T cells can be engineered ex vivo to express chimeric antigen receptors specific for glioma antigens (CAR T cells). The expansion and function of adoptively transferred CAR T cells can be potentiated by the lymphodepletive and tumoricidal effects of standard of care chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We describe a method for generating CAR T cells targeting EGFRvIII, a glioma-specific antigen, and evaluating their efficacy when combined with a murine model of glioblastoma standard of care. T cells are engineered by transduction with a retroviral vector containing the anti-EGFRvIII CAR gene. Tumor-bearing animals are subjected to host conditioning by a course of temozolomide and whole brain irradiation at dose regimens designed to model clinical standard of care. CAR T cells are then delivered intravenously to primed hosts. This method can be used to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of CAR T cells in the context of standard of care.

The lymphodepletive and immunomodulatory effects of chemotherapy and radiation standard of care can be leveraged to enhance the antitumor efficacy of T cell immunotherapy. We outline a method for generating EGFRvIII-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and administering them in the context of glioblastoma standard of care.

Adoptive T cell immunotherapy offers a promising strategy for specifically targeting and eliminating malignant gliomas. T cells can be engineered ex vivo ...

In Vivo Assay for Detection of Antigen-specific T-cell Cytolytic Function Using a Vaccination Model

Current methodologies for antigen-specific killing are limited to in vitro use or utilized in infectious disease models. However, there is not a protocol specifically intended to measure antigen-specific killing without an infection. This protocol is designed and describes methods to overcome these limitations by allowing for the detection of antigen-specific killing of a target cell by CD8+ T cells in vivo. This is accomplished by merging a vaccination model with a traditional CFSE-labeled target killing assay. This combination allows the researcher to assess the antigen-specific CTL potential directly and quickly as the assay is not dependent upon tumor growth or infection. In addition, the readout is based on flow cytometry and so should be readily accessible to most researchers. The major limitation of the study is identifying the timeline in vivo that is appropriate to the hypothesis being tested. Variations in antigen strength and mutations in the T cells that may result in differential cytolytic function need to be carefully assessed to determine the optimal time for cell harvest and assessment. The appropriate concentration of peptide for vaccination has been optimized for hgp10025-33 and OVA257-264, but further validation would be needed for other peptides that may be more appropriate to a given study. Overall, this protocol allows a quick assessment of killing function in vivo and can be adapted to any given antigen.

In Vivo Assay for Detection of Antigen-specific T-cell Cytolytic Function Using a Vaccination Model

The goal of this protocol is to allow for detection of in vivo antigen-specific killing of a target cell in a murine model.

Current methodologies for antigen-specific killing are limited to in vitro use or utilized in infectious disease models. However, there is not a protocol ...

Generation of Discriminative Human Monoclonal Antibodies from Rare Antigen-specific B Cells Circulating in Blood

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are powerful tools useful for both fundamental research and in biomedicine. Their high specificity is indispensable when the antibody needs to distinguish between highly related structures (e.g., a normal protein and a mutated version thereof). The current way of generating such discriminative mAbs involves extensive screening of multiple Ab-producing B cells, which is both costly and time consuming. We propose here a rapid and cost-effective method for the generation of discriminative, fully human mAbs starting from human blood circulating B lymphocytes. The originality of this strategy is due to the selection of specific antigen binding B cells combined with the counter-selection of all other cells, using readily available Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC). Once specific B cells are isolated, cDNA (complementary deoxyribonucleic acid) sequences coding for the corresponding mAb are obtained using single cell Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) technology and subsequently expressed in human cells. Within as little as 1 month, it is possible to produce milligrams of highly discriminative human mAbs directed against virtually any desired antigen naturally detected by the B cell repertoire.

We describe a method for the production of human antibodies specific for an antigen of interest, starting from rare B cells circulating in human blood. Generation of these natural antibodies is efficient and rapid, and the antibodies obtained can discriminate between highly related antigens.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are powerful tools useful for both fundamental research and in biomedicine. Their high specificity is indispensable when the ...

Stereotactic Adoptive Transfer of Cytotoxic Immune Cells in Murine Models of Orthotopic Human Glioblastoma Multiforme Xenografts

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most frequent and aggressive primary brain cancer in adults, is generally associated with a poor prognosis, and scarce efficient therapies have been proposed over the last decade. Among the promising candidates for designing novel therapeutic strategies, cellular immunotherapies have been targeted to eliminate highly invasive and chemo-radioresistant tumor cells, likely involved in a rapid and fatal relapse of this cancer. Thus, administration(s) of allogeneic GBM-reactive immune cell effectors, such as human V&#978;9V&#948;2 T lymphocytes, in the vicinity of the tumor would represents a unique opportunity to deliver efficient and highly concentrated therapeutic agents directly into the site of brain malignancies. Here, we present a protocol for the preparation and the stereotaxic administration of allogeneic human lymphocytes in immunodeficient mice carrying orthotopic human primary brain tumors. This study provides a preclinical proof-of-concept for both the feasibility and the antitumor efficacy of these cellular immunotherapies that rely on stereotactic injections of allogeneic human lymphocytes within intrabrain tumor beds.

Here, we present a protocol for the preparation and the stereotaxic administration of allogeneic human lymphocytes in immunodeficient mice carrying orthotopic human primary brain tumors. This study provides a proof-of-concept for both the feasibility and the antitumor efficacy of intrabrain-delivered cellular immunotherapies.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most frequent and aggressive primary brain cancer in adults, is generally associated with a poor prognosis, and scarce ...

Optimized Interferon-gamma ELISpot Assay to Measure T Cell Responses in the Guinea Pig Model after Vaccination

The guinea pig has played a pivotal role as a relevant small animal model in the development of vaccines for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, diphtheria, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. We have demonstrated that plasmid-DNA (pDNA) vaccine delivery into the skin elicits robust humoral responses in the guinea pig. However, the use of this animal to model immune responses was somewhat limited in the past due to the lack of available reagents and protocols to study T cell responses. T cells play a pivotal role in both immunoprophylactic and immunotherapeutic mechanisms. Understanding T cell responses is crucial for the development of infectious disease and oncology vaccines and accommodating delivery devices. Here we describe an interferon-gamma (IFN-&#947;) enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay for guinea pig peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The assay enables researchers to characterize vaccine-specific T-cell responses in this important rodent model. The ability to assay cells isolated from the peripheral blood provides the opportunity to track immunogenicity in individual animals.

The development of the interferon-gamma ELISpot assay for guinea pig PBMCs allows the characterization of T-cell responses in this highly relevant model for studying infectious diseases. We have applied the assay to measure T cell responses associated with intradermal delivery of DNA vaccines.

The guinea pig has played a pivotal role as a relevant small animal model in the development of vaccines for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, ...

Analysis of Iophenoxic Acid Analogues in Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes Auropunctatus) Sera for Use as an Oral Rabies Vaccination Biological Marker

The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) is a reservoir of rabies virus (RABV) in Puerto Rico and comprises over 70% of animal rabies cases reported annually. The control of RABV circulation in wildlife reservoirs is typically accomplished by a strategy of oral rabies vaccination (ORV). Currently no wildlife ORV program exists in Puerto Rico. Research into oral rabies vaccines and various bait types for mongooses has been conducted with promising results. Monitoring the success of ORV relies on estimating bait uptake by target species, which typically involves evaluating a change in RABV neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) post vaccination. This strategy may be difficult to interpret in areas with an active wildlife ORV program or in areas where RABV is enzootic and background levels of RVNA are present in reservoir species. In such situations, a biomarker incorporated with the vaccine or the bait matrix may be useful. We offered 16 captive mongooses placebo ORV baits containing ethyl-iophenoxic acid (et-IPA) in concentrations of 0.4% and 1% inside the bait and 0.14% in the external bait matrix. We also offered 12 captive mongooses ORV baits containing methyl-iophenoxic acid (me-IPA) in concentrations of 0.035%, 0.07% and 0.14% in the external bait matrix. We collected a serum sample prior to bait offering and then weekly for up to eight weeks post offering. We extracted Iophenoxic acids from sera into acetonitrile and quantified using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. We analyzed sera for et-IPA or me-IPA by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found adequate marking ability for at least eight and four weeks for et- and me-IPA, respectively. Both IPA derivatives could be suitable for field evaluation of ORV bait uptake in mongooses. Due to the longevity of the marker in mongoose sera, care must be taken to not confound results by using the same IPA derivative during consecutive evaluations.

Analysis of Iophenoxic Acid Analogues in Small Indian Mongoose Herpestes Auropunctatus Sera for Use as an Oral Rabies Vaccination Biological Marker

We offered captive mongooses placebo oral rabies vaccine baits with ethyl or methyl iophenoxic acid as a biomarker and verified bait uptake using a novel liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method.

The small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) is a reservoir of rabies virus (RABV) in Puerto Rico and comprises over 70% of animal rabies cases ...