Duan ZL, Wang ZB, Guo JL, Liu WQ, Hu J, Li J, Wang SN, Li Q, Wen JS. Two novel squamous cell carcinoma antigen-derived HLA-A*0201-binding peptides induce in vitro and in vivo CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses.
Int J Oncol 2013;
42:1482-92. [PMID:
23426430 DOI:
10.3892/ijo.2013.1834]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) is overexpressed in many squamous cell cancers and SCCA‑derived peptide-specific CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes can display cytotoxicity against tumor cells. In the present study, we screened the SCCA amino acid sequence for potential HLA-A*0201-binding CD8(+) T‑cell epitopes using two predictive computational algorithms. Seven epitope candidates were selected of which SCCA(246-254)(llpneidgl), SCCA(223-231)(sledvqakv), SCCA(328‑336)(vlhkafvev) and SCCA(324‑332)(vlsgvlhka) significantly stabilized HLA-A*0201 molecules on T2 cells. Both SCCA(328‑336) and SCCA(324-332) induced CD8(+) IFN-γ(+) T‑cell responses in HLA-A*0201-positive peripheral blood mononuclear cells as assessed by intracellular cytokine staining. Consistent with this, immunization with either SCCA(328-336) or SCCA(324‑332) effectively elicited CD8(+) IFN-γ(+) T cells in HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice as visualized by IFN-γ ELISPOT assay and intracellular cytokine staining. Furthermore, CD8(+) T cells induced in vitro or in vivo by SCCA(328-336) or SCCA(324-332) demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity against peptide-pulsed T2 cells and splenocytes, respectively. These novel SCCA‑derived CD8(+) T‑cell epitopes described, herein, may be potentially important components for diagnostic reagents and immunotherapeutic vaccines for the treatment of squamous cell carcinomas.
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