In vitro generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against HLA-A2.1-restricted peptides derived from human thymidylate synthase

J Chemother. 2001 Oct;13(5):519-26. doi: 10.1179/joc.2001.13.5.519.

Abstract

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a pyrimidine antimetabolite active against colorectal carcinoma and other malignancies of the digestive tract. Over-expression or mutation of thymidylate synthase (TS), the target enzyme of the 5-FU metabolite, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate, is strictly correlated with cancer cell resistance to 5-FU. On this basis we investigated whether TS is a potential target for active specific immunotherapy of human colon carcinoma, which acquires resistance to 5-FU. Three TS-derived epitope peptides which fit defined amino acid consensus motifs for HLA-A2.1 binding were synthesized and investigated for their ability to induce human TS-specific cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses in vitro. CTL lines specific for each peptide were established by stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from an HLA-A2.1+ healthy donor with autologous dendritic cells loaded with TS peptide. Specific CTL lines showed HLA-A2.1-restricted cytotoxicity in vitro to HLA-A2.1+ target cells pulsed with the specific TS peptide and to HLA-class I matching colon carcinoma target cells over-expressing TS enzyme after exposure to 5-FU. Recognition by CTL lines suggests that these TS peptides may be potential candidates for use in a peptide-based vaccine against 5-FU resistant colon carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / pharmacology*
  • Cancer Vaccines
  • Carcinoma / immunology*
  • Carcinoma / pathology
  • Cell Line
  • Colonic Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Fluorouracil / pharmacology*
  • HLA-A2 Antigen / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Peptides
  • T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology*
  • Thymidylate Synthase / biosynthesis*
  • Thymidylate Synthase / pharmacology
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured

Substances

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic
  • Cancer Vaccines
  • Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
  • HLA-A2 Antigen
  • Peptides
  • Thymidylate Synthase
  • Fluorouracil