title: Generation of antigen-specific CTL responses using RGS1 mRNA transfected dendritic cells.
abstract: Advances in tumor immunology and Identification of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) provide a basis for the development of novel immunotherapies to treat malignant diseases. In order to identify novel TAAs, we performed comparative microarray analysis of (heterogeneous) tissues and found regulator of G protein-signaling 1 (RGS1) extensively up-regulated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues. To examine the possible function of this molecule as a novel, broadly applicable TAA, synthetic full-length RGS1-mRNA was synthesized for the transfection of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). These modified antigen-presenting cells (APCs) were then used to induce RGS1-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) in vitro. The CTLs generated from several healthy donors and a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) elicited an antigen-specific and HLA-A2- and -A3-restricted cytolytic activity against tumor cells endogenously expressing the RGS1 protein including renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), melanoma, ovarian carcinoma and the primary autologous CLL-blasts. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the in vitro induction of RGS1-specific CTLs by RNA-transfected DCs is feasible and highly effective. Since this molecule is (over-) expressed in a broad variety of malignancies it might represent an interesting novel TAA in the context of cancer vaccines designed to target RGS1 expressing tumor cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine II, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grünebach
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erndt
authors.forename: Maik
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Häntschel
authors.forename: Annkristin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heine
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brossart
mesh_terms: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018274:Electroporation; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020710:RGS Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D019496:Cancer Vaccines; D020710:RGS Proteins; C080831:RGS1 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger