The Immune Monitoring Core will provide support for all four projects in this Program Project. The four Projects involve treatment with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) or tumor vaccines. MAb (humanized or chimerized) or radiolabeled mAb efficacy may be diminished by development of antibodies against the mAb (HAHA). Some types of HAHA may be avoided by modifications in mAb design, requiring sensitive assays for identifying and determining the precise specificity of the HAHA. Cancer vaccine development must be based on assays of immunogenicity that can guide the process of vaccine construction. In both cases, maximal benefit will result if these assays are standardized and are performed by a centralized, dedicated facility, permitting comparison between Projects and overtime. While serological assays are sufficient for monitoring mAb studies in Projects 1 and 2, assays of T-lymphocyte immunity will also be required and will be the main focus for the vaccination studies in Aims 3 and 4. The emphasis is on providing assay continuity within and between the projects and between these projects and our previous experience. A series of standardized assays will be used to provide the P.l.s of the individual Projects with a firm basis for selecting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or vaccines for further study.
The Specific Aims are:
Aim 1 : Utilize standardized serologic assays for quantitating the antibody response to immune interventions in this Program Project, and determine the effector functions of these antibodies.
Aim 2 : Utilize a series of standardized assays to quantitate the T-cell response after vaccination and to determine the phenotype and effector functions of the responding T-cells. Identify the peptides recognized by these T-cells.
Aim 3 : Utilize these centralized, standardized assays to provide continuity within and between the Projects over time, and between these Projects and our previous experience.
Aim 4 : Continue to test and standardize new reagents or assays as they become available.
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