The Immunogenicity of a Proline-Substituted Altered Peptide Ligand toward the Cancer-Associated TEIPP Neoepitope Trh4 Is Unrelated to Complex Stability.

Hafstrand I, Doorduijn EM, Sun R, Talyzina A, Sluijter M, Pellegrino S, Sandalova T, Duru AD, van Hall T, Achour A

J. Immunol. - (-) - [2018-03-05; online 2018-03-05]

Human cancers frequently display defects in Ag processing and presentation allowing for immune evasion, and they therefore constitute a significant challenge for T cell-based immunotherapy. We have previously demonstrated that the antigenicity of tumor-associated Ags can be significantly enhanced through unconventional residue modifications as a novel tool for MHC class I (MHC-I)-based immunotherapy approaches. We have also previously identified a novel category of cancer neo-epitopes, that is, T cell epitopes associated with impaired peptide processing (TEIPP), that are selectively presented by MHC-I on cells lacking the peptide transporter TAP. In this study, we demonstrate that substitution of the nonanchoring position 3 into a proline residue of the first identified TEIPP peptide, the murine Trh4, results in significantly enhanced recognition by antitumor CTLs toward the wild-type epitope. Although higher immunogenicity has in most cases been associated with increased MHC/peptide complex stability, our results demonstrate that the overall stability of H-2D

Protein Science Facility (PSF) [Service]

PubMed 29507106

DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.1700228

Crossref 10.4049/jimmunol.1700228

pii: jimmunol.1700228