{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T06:03:58Z","timestamp":1790229838534,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790208000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The gastric cancer-associated antigen MG7-Ag is aberrantly expressed in multiple gastrointestinal malignancies and represents a promising broad-spectrum target for pan-gastrointestinal tumor peptide vaccines; however, its clinical application is hampered by low immunogenicity. To overcome this limitation, we covalently conjugated a diphtheria toxin-derived T-helper epitope to the trivalent antigen MG3, which was constructed by tandem repetition of the monovalent MG1 peptide from the MG7-Ag. A liposomal vaccine was subsequently developed by incorporating DT-MG3 together with the natural killer T (NKT) cell agonist \u03b1-galactosylceramide (\u03b1GalCer). Immunological evaluation demonstrated that DT-MG3 plus \u03b1GalCer elicited significantly higher specific IgG titers than DT-MG3 alone or the unconjugated MG3\/\u03b1GalCer combination. The vaccine also promoted IFN-\u03b3\/IL-4 secretion and boosted CD4\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    \/CD8\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    T cell responses to elevate antigen immunogenicity. Moreover, the high-titer specific antibodies induced by the vaccine also efficiently bound to EAC tumor cells and induced complement-dependent cytotoxicity. In the EAC ascites model, vaccination with DT-MG3\/\u03b1GalCer substantially reduced malignant ascites accumulation and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Collectively, this novel anti-gastric cancer vaccine based on the covalent conjugation of a diphtheria toxin epitope to the trivalent MG3 antigen, provides valuable insights for the rational design of potent and safe fully synthetic peptide-based anti-tumor vaccines.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1903458","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T05:37:35Z","timestamp":1790228255000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A trivalent gastric cancer antigen conjugated to a diphtheria toxin epitope synergizes with an NKT cell agonist to boost antitumor immunity"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jing-Jing","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapy Drugs for Renal Tumors, Hubei Polytechnic University, College of Medicine","place":["Huangshi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rong-Ling","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapy Drugs for Renal Tumors, Hubei Polytechnic University, College of Medicine","place":["Huangshi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yao-Wei","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jin-Xuan","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan-Mei","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapy Drugs for Renal Tumors, Hubei Polytechnic University, College of Medicine","place":["Huangshi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen-Hong","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapy Drugs for Renal Tumors, Hubei Polytechnic University, College of Medicine","place":["Huangshi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shi-Hao","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and 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