Identification and validation of viral antigens sharing sequence and structural homology with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs).
J Immunother Cancer
; 9(5)2021 05.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34049932
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The host's immune system develops in equilibrium with both cellular self-antigens and non-self-antigens derived from microorganisms which enter the body during lifetime. In addition, during the years, a tumor may arise presenting to the immune system an additional pool of non-self-antigens, namely tumor antigens (tumor-associated antigens, TAAs; tumor-specific antigens, TSAs).METHODS:
In the present study, we looked for homology between published TAAs and non-self-viral-derived epitopes. Bioinformatics analyses and ex vivo immunological validations have been performed.RESULTS:
Surprisingly, several of such homologies have been found. Moreover, structural similarities between paired TAAs and viral peptides as well as comparable patterns of contact with HLA and T cell receptor (TCR) α and ß chains have been observed. Therefore, the two classes of non-self-antigens (viral antigens and tumor antigens) may converge, eliciting cross-reacting CD8+ T cell responses which possibly drive the fate of cancer development and progression.CONCLUSIONS:
An established antiviral T cell memory may turn out to be an anticancer T cell memory, able to control the growth of a cancer developed during the lifetime if the expressed TAA is similar to the viral epitope. This may ultimately represent a relevant selective advantage for patients with cancer and may lead to a novel preventive anticancer vaccine strategy.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Células T de Memória
/
Memória Imunológica
/
Epitopos
/
Antígenos de Neoplasias
/
Antígenos Virais
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Immunother Cancer
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália