| abstract |
The invention relates generally to the treatment and prevention of human cancer and viral diseases. More specifically, this invention relates to development of a new generation of vaccines that rely on eliciting cellular immune responses, specifically induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), against cancer cells and virus-infected cells via administration of a polymeric nanoparticle containing a vaccine comprising a fusion peptide or a modified peptide. Such a fusion peptide is composed of an insertion signal sequence and a peptide derived from a tumor antigen or a viral antigen, which improves antigen presentation and induces CTL with higher efficiency against cancer cells and virus-infected cells. An exemplary peptide utilized in the invention is Mart-1:27-35 peptide. |