Chromogranin A as potential target for immunotherapy of malignant pheochromocytoma

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Claudia Papewalis - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Christiane Kouatchoua - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Margret Ehlers - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Benedikt Jacobs - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Dominika Porwol - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Sven Schinner - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Holger S. Willenberg - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Martin Anlauf - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Andreas Raffel - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Graeme Eisenhofer - , Department of internal Medicine 3, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Hartmut P.H. Neumann - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Stefan R. Bornstein - , Department of internal Medicine 3, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Werner A. Scherbaum - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Matthias Schott - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)

Abstract

Currently, no effective treatment for malignant pheochromocytoma exists. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of chromogranin A (CgA) as a specific target molecule for immunotherapy in a murine model for pheochromocytoma. Six amino acid-modified and non-modified CgA peptides were used for dendritic cell vaccination. Altogether, 50 mice received two different CgA vaccination protocols; another 20 animals served as controls. In vitro tetramer analyses revealed large increases of CgA-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) in CgA-treated mice. Tumors of exogenous applied pheochromocytoma cells showed an extensive infiltration by CD8+ T cells. In vitro, CTL of CgA-treated mice exhibited strong MHC I restricted lysis capacities towards pheochromocytoma cells. Importantly, these mice showed strongly diminished outgrowth of liver tumors of applied pheochromocytoma cells. Our data clearly demonstrate that CgA peptide-based immunotherapy induces a cytotoxic immune response in experimental pheochromocytoma, indicating potential for therapeutic applications in patients with malignant pheochromocytoma.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)69-77
Number of pages9
JournalMolecular and cellular endocrinology
Volume335
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2011
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 20600588

Keywords

Keywords

  • Chromogranin A, Neuroendocrine cancer, Pheochromocytoma (pheochromocytoma cell line mPC), Transgenic mouse model (mouse spleen, mouse lymph nodes)