title: CD8+ T-cell response against MUC1-derived peptides in gastrointestinal cancer survivors.
abstract: The tumor-associated antigens CEA, MUC1 and Her2/neu are broadly expressed in gastrointestinal tumors, and are attractive candidates for targeting by T-cell-based immunotherapy. However, little is known about the natural cytotoxic T-cell response of patients suffering from colorectal or gastric carcinoma against these three as well as other antigens. Using a quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-based assay for IFN-gamma, we analyzed the CD8+ T-cell repertoire present in the blood of HLA-A2+ gastrointestinal tumor survivors against five known epitopes derived from CEA, MUC1 and Her2/neu. The results show that most of the patients (16 from 22 tested) have detectable, peripheral CD8+ T cells directed against at least one of these three proteins. Interestingly, the majority of these patients reacts to the two MUC1-derived HLA-A*0201 epitopes tested (14 from 16), demonstrating that this protein represents one dominant target for CD8+ T cells in gastrointestinal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dittmann
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keller-Matschke
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weinschenk
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kratt
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heck
authors.forename: Horst-Dieter
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stevanović
authors.forename: Hans-Georg
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Rammensee
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gouttefangeas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000917:Antibody Formation; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D017741:Survivors
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D018396:Mucin-1