title: Cancer-retina antigens -- a new group of tumor antigens.
abstract: Some photoreceptor proteins normally specific for the eye retina are aberrantly expressed in malignant tumors. These proteins include recoverin, visual rhodopsin, transducin, cGMP-phosphodiesterase 6 (PDE 6), cGMP-dependent cationic channels, guanylyl cyclase 1, rhodopsin kinase, and arrestin. By analogy with cancer-testis antigens, these photoreceptor proteins form the group of cancer-retina antigens. It is shown that an aberrant demethylation of the promoter region of recoverin is involved in the aberrant expression of this protein. The cascade Wnt5a → Frizzled-2 → transducin → PDE 6 is shown to function in skin melanoma cells, and this suggests that these cancer-retina antigens can play a functional role. The events accompanying the signal transduction in this cascade, including those involving calcium ions and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase G), are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Golovastova
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bazhin
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Philippov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm