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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1411490
This article is part of the Research Topic Identification and Characterization of Neoantigens for Cancer Immunotherapy View all 4 articles

Harnessing Microbial Antigens as Cancer Antigens: A Promising Avenue for Cancer Immunotherapy

Provisionally accepted
Tao Zhang Tao Zhang 1Xilong Zhang Xilong Zhang 2*Jianquan Chen Jianquan Chen 3*Xiuwei Zhang Xiuwei Zhang 1*Yunlei Zhang Yunlei Zhang 1,3*
  • 1 Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 First People's Hospital of Xuzhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Central Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Center, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by leveraging the immune system's innate capabilities to combat malignancies. Despite the promise of tumor antigens in stimulating anti-tumor immune responses, their clinical utility is hampered by limitations in eliciting robust and durable immune reactions, exacerbated by tumor heterogeneity and immune evasion mechanisms. Recent insights into the immunogenic properties of host homologous microbial antigens have sparked interest in their potential for augmenting anti-tumor immunity while minimizing off-target effects. This review explores the therapeutic potential of microbial antigen peptides in tumor immunotherapy, beginning with an overview of tumor antigens and their challenges in clinical translation. We further explore the intricate relationship between microorganisms and tumor development, elucidating the concept of molecular mimicry and its implications for immune recognition of tumor-associated antigens. Finally, we discuss methodologies for identifying and characterizing microbial antigen peptides, highlighting their immunogenicity and prospects for therapeutic application.

    Keywords: microbial antigen peptide, Tumor antigen, Microorganism, Immunotherapy, Molecular Mimicry

    Received: 03 Apr 2024; Accepted: 16 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Zhang, Chen, Zhang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xilong Zhang, First People's Hospital of Xuzhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
    Jianquan Chen, Central Laboratory, Translational Medicine Research Center, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
    Xiuwei Zhang, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
    Yunlei Zhang, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.