[HTML][HTML] Autophagy creates a CTL epitope that mimics tumor-associated antigens

A Demachi-Okamura, H Torikai, Y Akatsuka, H Miyoshi… - 2012 - journals.plos.org
A Demachi-Okamura, H Torikai, Y Akatsuka, H Miyoshi, T Yoshimori, K Kuzushima
2012journals.plos.org
The detailed mechanisms responsible for processing tumor-associated antigens and
presenting them to CTLs remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate a
unique CTL epitope generated from the ubiquitous protein puromycin-sensitive
aminopeptidase, which is presented via HLA-A24 on leukemic and pancreatic cancer cells
but not on normal fibroblasts or EBV-transformed B lymphoblastoid cells. The generation of
this epitope requires proteasomal digestion and transportation from the endoplasmic …
The detailed mechanisms responsible for processing tumor-associated antigens and presenting them to CTLs remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate a unique CTL epitope generated from the ubiquitous protein puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase, which is presented via HLA-A24 on leukemic and pancreatic cancer cells but not on normal fibroblasts or EBV-transformed B lymphoblastoid cells. The generation of this epitope requires proteasomal digestion and transportation from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus and is sensitive to chloroquine-induced inhibition of acidification inside the endosome/lysosome. Epitope liberation depends on constitutively active autophagy, as confirmed with immunocytochemistry for the autophagosome marker LC3 as well as RNA interference targeting two different autophagy-related genes. Therefore, ubiquitously expressed proteins may be sources of specific tumor-associated antigens when processed through a unique mechanism involving autophagy.
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