Vaccine compositions and methods for restoring NKG2D pathway function against cancers

A vaccine composition for treating cancer, the composition comprising

• (i) as an immunogenic component, an effective amount of a peptide selected from the group consisting of:
• (a) amino acids 181 179 to 274 of SEQ ID NO:
• 1, having up to five amino acid modifications;
• (b) SEQ ID NO:
• 2, 11, 12, 13, 21 or 23, wherein SEQ ID NO:
• 2 has up to six amino acid modifications, SEQ NO ID:
• 11, 13 and 21 have up to one amino acid modification and SEQ ID NO:
• 12 and 23 have up to two amino acid modifications;
• (c) SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 12, 13, 21 or 23, further comprising having 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10 flanking amino acids on either the N-terminal end of the peptide, the C-terminal end of the peptide, or both the N-terminal end and the C-terminal end ends of the peptide,
• wherein SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 13 and 21 have up to one amino acid modification and SEQ ID NO:
• 12 and 23 have up to two amino acid modifications, and
• wherein the flanking amino acids are amino acids adjacent to SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 12, 13, 21 or 23 in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 14, having up to three amino acid modifications;
• or
• (d) SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 12, 13, 21 or 23, further comprising having one or more flanking amino acids such that the entire peptide consists of is about 25 to 30 amino acids,
• wherein SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 13, 21 have up to one amino acid modification and SEQ ID NO:
• 12 and 23 have up to two amino acid modifications;
• and
• wherein the flanking amino acids are amino acids adjacent to SEQ ID NO:
• 11, 12, 13, 21 or 23 in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 14, having up to three amino acid modifications;
• and
• (e) amino acids 170 to 268 of SEQ ID NO:
• 14, having up to nine amino acid modifications;
• the effective amount being an amount effective to elicit that elicits an immune response against the cancer;
• wherein flanking amino acids are amino acids adjacent to SEQ ID NO:11, 12, 13, 21 or 23 in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or in SEQ ID NO:
• 14;
• and
• (ii) an adjuvant selected from the group consisting of an oil-based adjuvant, a CpG DNA adjuvant, a mineral salt adjuvant, a particulate adjuvant, a mucosal adjuvant, a cytokine, a microbial derivative, an emulsion and a Toll-Like Receptor agonist.