��ֱ����

Wenfeng An, a professor and pharmaceutical science researcher at South ��ֱ���� State University, is engaged in research that has potential to lead to the development of vaccine for a variety of cancers. 

An’s research, which is currently in preclinical trial stage, is funded through a pilot grant from the Haarberg 3D Center at SDSU, a center for excellence in drug development. 

“I am very excited about the opportunity through the Haarberg 3D Center to expand our toolbox in the fight against cancer, a complex and devastating disease that has affected so many individuals and families,” An said. 

The vaccine An and his team have developed targets a specific protein called ORF1 that is present in many different types of cancer, which would allow it to be used as a broad-reaching cancer treatment. 

An clarified that if successful, the vaccine would not be a cure for cancers, but rather serve as a new significant method of immunotherapy to be used alongside other pillars of cancer therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and molecularly targeted therapy. 

Josh Reineke, director of the Haarberg 3D Center, explained that whereas other cancer therapies attack cancer cells directly, immunotherapy also turns the body against the cancer, attacking it from two angles. “Instead of just trying to pick the weeds in the garden, it also helps the desired plants fight the weeds,” Reineke said. 

Significantly, since it targets the ORF1 protein, which is present in many cancer types, An said the vaccine could be formulated as an “off-the-shelf” type of cancer treatment. Off-the-shelf medications are different from over-the-counter medication in that you still need a prescription to access them, but unlike other cancer treatments, they don’t have to be made to order.  

Targeting the ORF1 protein 

Antigens are substances in your body that trigger your body’s immune responses. The ORF1 protein is an antigen that appears in a wide range of human cancers but is only found in cancer cells, making it a unique target. 

By developing a vaccine that targets the ORF1 protein, a new type of cancer treatment could be developed that applies to a variety of cancers, as opposed to other types of treatments which are more specialized. Because of the wide application that comes with this approach, An said there is potential for a broader, more easily accessible cancer vaccine. 

An and his lab at SDSU are specially equipped to investigate the ORF1 protein, due to his long-running research on LINE-1. 

LINE-1, or “long interspersed element-1,” is class of jumping genes, which are DNA sequences that can move from one location to another in the human genome. Notably, LINE-1 is abundant in humans and in mice: nearly one-fifth of the human genome is made up of LINE-1 sequences.
Nearly half of all human cancers are shown to have LINE-1 encoded ORF1 protein. 

An, who holds the position of Markl Endowed Professorship in Oncology Research at SDSU, has been conducting research, including cancer research, related to LINE-1 for 22 years. 

An is not alone in his research. Five others accompany An in the lab, including four Ph.D. students, Raj Nandani, Yizi Zhang, Md Shamsul Arefin and Heather Collazo, and a recent Ph.D. graduate, Karabi Saha. 

An’s pilot project also has two co-investigators: Dr. Steven Powell from Sanford Health and Dr. Hemachand Tummala, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at SDSU. 

Getting to work 

An and his team have developed the ORF1-targeting cancer vaccine and are advancing to ��ֱ���� trials. The cutting-edge vaccine is mRNA-based, like the recent COVID-19 vaccine. 

Currently, the team is preparing the mouse models and will soon begin testing. If successful, the tests would lay the groundwork for clinical trials. 

For An, it’s important to take things one step at a time. “So far, our work has been confined to preclinical studies in mice, so clinical use isn’t expected right away,” he explained. 

Like all the pilot projects funded by the Haarberg 3D Center, An is partnering with . An explained he regularly meets with SoDak Solutions, working through invention disclosure, establishing goals and determining milestones. “My conversations with Barbara and Ron (at SoDak Solutions) have always been productive. Working with them makes navigating the translational aspect of our work a lot easier,” An said. 

An also noted his gratitude to Barry and Sharon Markl, who he said “have been an inspiration for us to pursue this line of research.” 

Previously, An’s research into ORF1 was funded through a pilot grant from the Sanford Research Center Biology COBRE. The current pilot funding through the Haarberg 3D Center began in 2024. 

“We are proud to support Dr. An and his team in this important and high-impact research,” Reineke said. “We believe it has the potential to make significant contributions to cancer treatment and train future researchers in the field.” 

An’s research is one of many research projects funded by the Haarberg 3D Center at SDSU. The Haarberg 3D Center invests in promising research projects with commercial potential with the objective of developing “an integrated Drug, Disease and Delivery (3D) framework for drug development and build university, industry and clinical partnerships to accelerate the translation of new treatments for cancer and other diseases and make an impact in the future health of South ��ֱ����ns.” 

Learn more about the Laboratory of Wenfeng An. 

Learn more about the Haarberg 3D Center, including other research projects.