Immunotherapy of angiogenesis with DNA vaccines

The understanding of the molecular mechanisms of tumor neovascularization has identified several important molecular targets that are specifically expressed on tumor neovasculature but not on physiological neovasculature. These molecular targets can potentially be used in the development of novel therapeutic approaches against tumor angiogenesis. Immunotherapy targeting angiogenesis has emerged as a potentially promising approach compared to the use of angiogenesis inhibitors due to its ability to afford long-term therapeutic protection. This presents remarkable opportunities for the development of innovative cancer therapies.Immunotherapy using DNA vaccines has gained momentum for antiangiogenesis therapy due to their stability, simplicity and excellent safety profile, and may prove to be a potentially useful strategy for targeting angiogenesis. In the current review, we discuss the various strategies and molecular targets employed in the form of DNA vaccines to target: (1) the endothelial cells within the tumor; (2) biological factors important for angiogenesis; and (3) the extracellular matrix and stromal cells associated with the tumor in order to control tumor angiogenesis in preclinical models.