Abstract
The MAGE antigens are frequently expressed cancer vaccine targets. However, quantitative analysis of MAGE expression in upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) tumor cells and its association with T‐cell recognition has not been performed, hindering the selection of appropriate candidates for MAGE‐specific immunotherapy. Using quantitative RT‐PCR (QRT‐PCR), we evaluated the expression of MAGE‐3/6 in 65 UADT cancers, 48 normal samples from tumor matched sites and 7 HLA‐A*0201+ squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) cell lines. Expression results were confirmed using Western blot. HLA‐A*0201:MAGE‐3‐ (271–279) specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (MAGE‐CTL) from SCCHN patients and healthy donors showed that MAGE‐3/6 expression was highly associated with CTL recognition in vitro. On the basis of the MAGE‐3/6 expression, we could identify 31 (47%) of the 65 UADT tumors, which appeared to express MAGE‐3/6 at levels that correlated with efficient CTL recognition. To confirm that the level of MAGE‐3 expression was responsible for CTL recognition, 2 MAGE‐3/6 mRNA^high^ SCCHN cell lines, PCI‐13 and PCI‐30, were subjected to MAGE‐3/6‐specific knockdown. RNAi‐transfected cells showed that MAGE expression and MAGE‐CTL recognition were significantly reduced. Furthermore, treatment of cells expressing low MAGE‐3/6 mRNA with a demethylating agent, 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine (DAC), increased the expression of MAGE‐3/6 and CTL recognition. Thus, using QRT‐PCR UADT cancers frequently express MAGE‐3/6 at levels sufficient for CTL recognition, supporting the use of a QRT‐PCR‐based assay for the selection of candidates likely to respond to MAGE‐3/6 immunotherapy. Demethylating agents could increase the number of patients amenable for targeting epigenetically modified tumor antigens in vaccine trials. © 2009 UICC