HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ayyoub, M. Articles by Valmori, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ayyoub, M. Articles by Valmori, D. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles HomoloGene Protein UniGene Substance via MeSH Medline Plus Health Information Melanoma

CD4⁺ T Cell Responses to SSX-4 in Melanoma Patients¹

Maha Ayyoub^*, Andrea Merlo^*, Charles S. Hesdorffer, Donata Rimoldi, Daniel Speiser, Jean-Charles Cerottini, Yao-Tseng Chen, Lloyd J. Old^¶, Stefan Stevanovic^|| and Danila Valmori^2,*

^* Ludwig Institute Clinical Trial Center, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY; Division of Clinical Onco-Immunology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Pathology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY; ^¶ Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; and ^|| Institute for Cell Biology, Department of Immunology, University of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany

Genes of the synovial sarcoma X breakpoint (SSX) family are expressed in different human tumors, including melanomas, but not in adult somatic tissues. Because of their specific expression at the tumor site, SSX-encoded Ags are potential targets for anticancer immunotherapy. In this study, we have analyzed CD4⁺ T cell responses directed against the Ag encoded by SSX-4. Upon in vitro stimulation of PBMC from four melanoma patients bearing Ag-expressing tumors with a pool of long peptides spanning the protein sequence, we detected and isolated SSX-4-specific CD4⁺ T cells recognizing several distinct antigenic sequences, mostly restricted by frequently expressed HLA class II alleles. The majority of the identified sequences were located within the Krüppel-associated box domain in the N-terminal region of the protein, indicating a high potential immunogenicity of this region. Together our data document the existence of CD4⁺ T cells specific for multiple SSX-4 derived sequences in circulating lymphocytes from melanoma patients and encourage further studies to assess the impact of SSX-4-specific T cell responses on disease evolution in cancer patients.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Marturano, R. Longhi, V. Russo, and M. P. Protti Endosomal Proteases Influence the Repertoire of MAGE-A3 Epitopes Recognized In vivo by CD4+ T Cells Cancer Res., March 1, 2008; 68(5): 1555 - 1562. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Janjic, P. Andrade, X.-F. Wang, J. Fourcade, C. Almunia, P. Kudela, A. Brufsky, S. Jacobs, D. Friedland, R. Stoller, et al. Spontaneous CD4+ T Cell Responses against TRAG-3 in Patients with Melanoma and Breast Cancers J. Immunol., August 15, 2006; 177(4): 2717 - 2727. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Valmori, F. Qian, M. Ayyoub, C. Renner, A. Merlo, S. Gjnatic, E. Stockert, D. Driscoll, S. Lele, L. J. Old, et al. Expression of Synovial Sarcoma X (SSX) Antigens in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer and Identification of SSX-4 Epitopes Recognized by CD4+ T Cells Clin. Cancer Res., January 15, 2006; 12(2): 398 - 404. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]