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- Title
Identification of DRG-1 As a Melanoma-Associated Antigen Recognized by CD4<sup>+</sup> Th1 Cells.
- Authors
Kiniwa, Yukiko; Li, Jiang; Wang, Mingjun; Sun, Chuang; Lee, Jeffrey E.; Wang, Rong-Fu; Wang, Helen Y.
- Abstract
Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of cancer immunotherapy using tumor antigens recognized by CD8+ T cells. However, the overall immune responses induced by these antigens are too weak and transient to induce tumor regression in the majority of patients who received immunization. A growing body of evidence suggests that CD4+ T helper (Th) cells play an important role in antitumor immunity. Therefore, the identification of MHC class II-restricted tumor antigens capable of stimulating CD4+ T cells may provide opportunities for developing effective cancer vaccines. To this end, we describe the identification of developmentally regulated GTP-binding protein 1 (DRG-1) as a melanoma-associated antigen recognized by HLA-DR11-restricted CD4+ Th1 cells. Epitope mapping analysis showed that the DRG1248-268 epitope of DRG-1 was required for T cell recognition. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that DRG-1 was highly expressed in melanoma cell lines but not in normal tissues. DRG-1 knockdown by lentiviral-based shRNA suppressed melanoma cell proliferation and soft agar colony formation. Taken together, these data suggest that DRG-1 plays an important role in melanoma cell growth and transformation, indicating that DRG1 may represent a novel target for CD4+ T cell-mediated immunotherapy in melanoma.
- Subjects
CD4 antigen; T helper cells; IMMUNOTHERAPY; MELANOMA treatment; ANTINEOPLASTIC agents
- Publication
PLoS ONE, 2015, Vol 10, Issue 5, p1
- ISSN
1932-6203
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0124094