Ponente
Descripción
Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is a polypeptide related to the proliferation of epithelial cells, mediated by the interaction with its cellular receptor (EGFR). The EGF-EGFR system has been an attractive target for the implementation of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of tumors with receptor overexpression, particularly Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. In this work, we propose the conjugation of EGF to the P64K immunogenic carrier protein from Neisseria meningitidis using the heterobifunctional reagent 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate succinimidyl (SMCC). The conjugation of both proteins has previously been done, in the Cuban CIMAVax-EGF® vaccine, and it has proven to induce an antibody response that blocks the interaction between EGF and its receptor, inhibiting tumor growth. However, the conjugation methodology used, mediated by the homobifunctional reagent glutaraldehyde, generates products with some heterogeneity. The method proposed in this work, based on the SMCC reagent, leads to more homogeneous product that preserves its immunogenicity against EGF. Successful conjugation of the proteins was demonstrated with HPLC. Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western Blot allowed to demonstrate the identity and antigenicity of the proteins in the conjugate. In addition, an immunogenicity study was performed, which yielded results comparable to those of the current vaccine formulation. This is a promising result, since it represents a technological advance in terms of the conjugation method used between both proteins for a possible alternative formulation as a therapeutic agent against lung cancer.
