Efficacy of HPV-16 E7 Based Vaccine in a TC-1 Tumoric Animal Model of Cervical Cancer - page 483

Objective: The human papillomavirus as an etiological agent of cervical cancer doesnot grow adequately in tissue culture systems. The tumor cell line TC-1 continuously expressesthe E6 and E7 oncogenic proteins of HPV, and is considered a suitable tool inlaboratory investigations and vaccine researches against cervical cancer.Materials and Methods: The TC-1 cell line was grown in RPMI 1650 supplemented with10% FBS, glutamine and antibiotics, and was used for tumor development in mice. Six toseven week-old tumor bearing C57BL/6 mice were divided into 3 groups consisting of 7mice per group. The first group received pcDNA-E7, the second group received pcDNA3,and the third group received phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The treated animals weremonitored for their tumor size progression and survival. At last, the tumoric tissues fromautopsied animals were fixed and examined with Mayer's hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).All experiments were done in accordance with guidelines of the Laboratory Animal EthicalCommission of Tarbiat Modares University. Data analysis was performed using the onewayANOVA followed by Tukey's test in both experimental and control groups. A p-value<0.05 was considered significant.Results: There were significant decreases in tumor growth; there were also improvementsin survival among mice in the treated groups (p<0.041). H&E stained sections fromuntreated mice were studied independently in a blinded fashion by two observers andshowed malignant neoplasms composed of severely pleomorphic tumor cells with nuclearenlargement, high nuclear-cytoplasmic (N/C) ratios, and prominent nucleoli in solid andfascicular patterns of growth. High mitotic activity with extensive necrosis was also notedin both test and control groups.Conclusion: The TC-1 lung metastatic model can be used to test the efficacy of variousE7-based therapeutic cancer vaccine strategies for cervical cancer and the prevention ofHPV-related neoplasia