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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1510650

A new weapon: the application of tumor vaccines based on extracellular exosomal heat shock proteins in immunotherapy

Provisionally accepted
Kexin Yi Kexin Yi 1Chengpeng Sun Chengpeng Sun 1Yalin Yuan Yalin Yuan 1Zhaowei Luo Zhaowei Luo 1Hongliang Luo Hongliang Luo 2*Yunhe Xie Yunhe Xie 3*
  • 1 Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
  • 2 Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
  • 3 Jiujiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiujiang, China

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

    Despite the significant advancements in cancer research, innovative approaches are still needed to reduce tumor incidence, progression, and dissemination, as well as for prolonging patient survival. Currently, the development of cancer vaccines is gaining attention as a novel preventative and therapeutic strategy. Although the concept of cancer vaccination is not new, a limited number of vaccines have received approval for tumor therapy. Heat shock protein (HSP)-based vaccination represents a promising strategy that harnesses specific tumor antigens to activate immune responses. Exosomes (Exs) are highly heterogeneous bilayer vesicles capable of transporting various types of molecules through extracellular space. Compared with conventional anticancer drugs, exosomes exhibit low toxicity and good biocompatibility, and they can stimulate the immune system either directly or indirectly. Ex-based vaccines may elicit an antitumor immune response that generates memory cells capable of recognizing cancer antigens, thereby inhibiting disease progression. This paper reviews the potential applications of HSPs and exosomes in the prevention and treatment of solid tumors. Finally, we discuss the advantages of the extracellular exosomal heat shock protein (HSP-Ex 1 ) vaccine and future research directions aimed at optimizing heat shock protein-based cancer immunotherapy strategies.

    Keywords: Heat shock proteins, Exosomes, Immunotherapy, tumor vaccines, Tumor Microenvironment

    Received: 13 Oct 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Yi, Sun, Yuan, Luo, Luo and Xie. 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:
    Hongliang Luo, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
    Yunhe Xie, Jiujiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiujiang, 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.