title: New type of natural antibodies reactive to cytotoxic T lymphocyte-directed cancer vaccine peptides.
abstract: We recently reported the existence of antibodies (Abs) reactive to cytotoxic T lymphocyte-directed cancer vaccine peptides derived from non-mutated and proliferation-related self-proteins in the sera of healthy donors. The IgG class of these Abs was either lacking or unbalanced in atopic dermatitis patients, although the induction of a specific IgG by peptide vaccination was correlated with long survival in cancer patients, suggesting its positive role in the host defense. To understand the biological features of these Abs, we employed murine models due to the sequence homology of these peptides in human and mouse. Both IgM and IgG classes of these peptide-specific Abs were detected in all of the euthymic mice tested; however, only IgM was found in athymic nu/nu mice, and not in SCID mice. Maintenance of euthymic mice under germ-free conditions resulted in a lack of the IgG class of the Abs in these mice. Ab levels were found to increase with age-maturation, but they decreased under tumor bearing conditions or in cases of graft-versus-host disease. The Abs showed catalytic activity upon hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production. These results suggest the existence of a novel type of natural Ab that is reactive to cancer vaccine peptides.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Vaccine Development Division, Kurume University Research Center for Innovative Cancer Therapy, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takao
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Kyogo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008819:Mice, Nude; D016513:Mice, SCID; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D010455:Peptides; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide