Powerful MHC-class II peptides derived from survivin
The present invention relates to peptides, nucleic acids, and cells for use in the immunotherapy of cancer. The present invention furthermore relates to survivin-derived tumor-associated cytotoxic T cell (CTL) peptide epitopes, alone or in combination with other tumor-associated peptides that serve as active pharmaceutical ingredients of vaccine compositions that stimulate anti-tumor immune responses. The present invention specifically relates to three novel peptide sequences and variants thereof derived from HLA class I and class II molecules of human tumor cells that can be used in vaccine compositions for eliciting anti-tumor immune responses.
1. A fusion protein comprising N-terminal amino acids 1-80 of the HLA-DR antigen-associated invariant chain (Ii) and a peptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, and SEQ ID NO: 3.
2. A peptide consisting of a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
3. A kit, comprising:
(a) a container that contains a pharmaceutical composition containing a peptide or pharmaceutically acceptable salt according to claim 2 in solution or in lyophilized form;
(b) optionally, a second container containing a diluent or reconstituting solution for the lyophilized formulation;
(c) optionally, at least one peptide selected from the group consisting of the peptides according to SEQ ID NOS: 4 to 24; and
(d) optionally, instructions for the use of the solution and/or the reconstitution and/or use of the lyophilized formulation.
4. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a peptide according to claim 2 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
5. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 4 , further comprising at least one peptide comprising a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4 to SEQ ID NO: 13 and SEQ ID NO: 24.
6. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 4 , further comprising at least one peptide comprising a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 4, 8, 11, 12, 15 and 24.
7. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 4 further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable liquid.
8. A method of producing a peptide according to claim 2 , the method comprising culturing a host cell comprising an expression vector encoding the peptide, and isolating the peptide from the host cell or its culture medium.