Potential immunogenicity of oncogene and tumor suppressor gene products

✍ Scribed by Cornelis J.M. Melief; W.Martin Kast

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 619 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0952-7915
• DOI: 10.1016/0952-7915(93)90125-c

✦ Synopsis

The immunogenicity of viral oncoproteins has been established beyond doubt. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes directed against viral oncogene products can eradicate large established tumor masses. This stage has not yet been reached for cellular oncogene and tumor suppressor gene products, but T cells have been raised against MHC-binding peptides encoded by both mutant and wild-type alleles of the ras oncogene and the ~53 tumor suppressor gene. In addition,

T cells specific for joining region peptides of abnormal fusion proteins resulting from chromosome translocation in tumor cells have been generated. Some of these peptides are processed in cells infected with, for example, vaccinia-ras, but direct anti-tumor effects of peptide specific T lymphocytes remain to be demonstrated.