MCMV-gp100KGP

MCMV-gp100KGP is a recombinant vaccine based on murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) engineered to express a modified melanoma antigen, gp100KGP, with enhanced immunogenicity. Specifically, the gp100 epitope contains a substitution (KGP in place of EGS) in the peptide sequence, which increases MHC binding and overcomes immune tolerance to the native tumor antigen. MCMV-gp100KGP induces a robust, durable, and polyfunctional gp100-specific CD8+ T cell response with inflationary kinetics, effectively supplying long-term immune surveillance and tumor protection in mouse models of melanoma. Both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccinations with MCMV-gp100KGP significantly protected mice from induction and progression of metastatic melanoma. It has also been shown to synergize with adoptive cell therapy, maintaining and expanding tumor-reactive CD8+ T cells. The vaccine serves as a proof-of-concept for cytomegalovirus-based vectors carrying optimized tumor antigens to drive strong anti-tumor immunity[1][2][3][4][6].