title: Cytotoxic T-cell precursor frequencies to HER-2 (369-377) in patients with HER-2/neu-positive epithelial tumours.
abstract: HER-2/neu oncoprotein contains several major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted epitopes, which are recognised by cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) on autologous tumours and therefore can be used in immune-based cancer therapies. Of these, the most extensively studied is HER-2(9(369)). In the present report, we used dendritic cells pulsed with HER-2(9(369)) to stimulate, in the presence of IL-7 and IL-12, the production of IFN-gamma by patients' CTL detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-assay. Frequencies of peptide-specific precursors were estimated in HLA-A2, HLA-A3 and HLA-A26 patients with HER-2/neu-positive (+) breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers and healthy individuals. We found increased percentages of such precursors in HLA-A2 (25%) and HLA-A26 (30%) patients, which were significantly higher (60%) in HLA-A3 patients. Our results demonstrate for the first time that pre-existing immunity to HER-2(9(369)) occurs in patients with colorectal, lung and prostate cancer. They also suggest that HER-2(9(369)) can be recognised by CTL, besides HLA-A2, also in the context of HLA-A3 and HLA-A26, thus increasing the applicability of HER-2(9(369))-based vaccinations in a considerably broader patients' population.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Center, Saint Savas Cancer Hospital, 171 Alexandras Avenue, 115 22 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sotiropoulou
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Iliopoulou
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Missitzis
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Voelter
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Echner
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Baxevanis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papamichail
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002455:Cell Division; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D015791:HLA-A3 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen; D015791:HLA-A3 Antigen; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C474513:HER-2 peptide E75 (369-377), human; C039683:HLA-A*26 antigen