the antitumor effect of a non-transforming e7 protein combined with a tlr7 agonist

Despite great efforts in developing peptide-based therapeutic vaccines against human papillomavirus (hpv)-induced cervical cancers, they have failed to elicit strong and sustainable immune responses. here, we evaluated the vaccine potential of an hpv16 three mutant of e7 (e7ggg) (d21g/c24g/e26g) protein combined with aldara (topical imiquimod) adjuvant in a tc-1 mouse tumor model. the hpv16-e7ggg, with eliminated transforming properties but retained antigenicity, and e7 wild-type were inserted into pet28, expressed in the e coli system, and purified using ni-nta chromatography. the e7ggg and e7 wild-type proteins were combined with aldara adjuvant and injected into c57bl mice. we determined the ability of hpv16-e7ggg in combination with aldara adjuvant to induce robust immune responses by igg total development, il-4, il-17, and ifn-γ induction, ctl activity, and inhibit tumor growth in the murine tc-1 model in different immunized groups. the generated recombinant hpv16-e7ggg induced humoral and cellular immune responses in a th1-mediated pathway, specifically with the (e7ggg) (d21g/c24g/e26g) antigen combined with aldara, which could be a suitable therapeutic vaccine candidate against hpv.