Abstract
Although it is accepted that regulatory T cells (T regs) contribute to cancer progression, most studies in the field consider nonantigen-specific suppression. Here, we show the presence of tumor antigen-specific CD4 + T regs in the blood of patients with metastatic melanoma. These CD4+ T regs recognize a broad range of tumor antigens, including gp100 and TRP1 (melanoma tissue differentiation antigens), NY-ESO-1 (cancer/testis antigen) and survivin (inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family antigen). These tumor antigen-specific T regs proliferate in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) cultures in response to specific 15-mer peptides, produce preferentially IL-10 and express high levels of FoxP3. They suppress autologous CD4+CD25- T cell responses in a cell contact-dependent manner and thus share properties of both naturally occurring regulatory T cells and type 1 regulatory T cells. Such tumor antigen-specific T regs were not detected in healthy individuals. These tumor antigen-specific T regs might thus represent another target for immunotherapy of metastatic melanoma.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 20884-20889 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 104 |
Issue number | 52 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 26 2007 |
Keywords
- FoxP3
- IL-10
- NY-ESO-1
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
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- Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Facility