Expression of mage genes by non-small-cell lung carcinomas.
Human gene MAGE-I codes for an antigen that is recognized on melanoma cells by autologous cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). This antigen is potentially useful as a target for cancer immunotherapy because gene MAGE-I is not expressed in any normal tissues except the testis. We tested 46 surgical samples of non-small-cell lung carcinomas and observed MAGE-I expression in 16 of them (35%). Genes MAGE-2 and 3, which are closely related to MAGE-I, were expressed by a similar proportion of these tumors. Some small-cell lung tumors also express MAGE genes. The proportion of tumors expressing MAGE-I suggests that lung tumor patients may constitute the largest group of patients potentially eligible for pilot studies involving MAGE-I immunization.
Weynants
P
P
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels Branch, Belgium.
Lethé
B
B
Brasseur
F
F
Marchand
M
M
Boon
T
T
D001483:Base Sequence; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm