(582ab) Development and Production of Novel VLP Vaccine Platform for B Cell Lymphoma

B cell lymphoma occurs when a clonal population of white blood cells or lymphocytes becomes cancerous. One feature of B cell lymphoma is that the variable region of the surface antibody (known as the idiotype) is the same across all cancerous cells. This makes the idiotype an ideal target for the treatment of B cell lymphoma. Our treatment strategy is to conjugate the idiotype antibody variable region fragment (scFv) to the surface of a virus-like particle (VLP), as well as immunostimulants, such as granular monocyte colony stimulating factor (GMCSF) and CpG DNA. VLPs are made up of coat protein monomers that rapidly self-assemble into a nanoparticle. By incorporating an azide functional group into the coat protein monomer and an alkyne functional group into a biomolecule of interest, we can use azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition to covalently link the biomolecule to the surface of the VLP. We are able to make a nanoparticle vaccine that elicits a strong immune response specifically against the B lymphoma cells. In mouse trials, mice dosed with the nanoparticle vaccine had a humoral antibody response that was four times stronger than mice dosed with the scFv alone. We are currently working on an improved nanoparticle vaccine by increasing the stability of the VLP and by conjugating additional immunostimulatory molecules.