Abstract
The cloning of cancer Ags recognized by T cells has provided potentially new tools to enhance immunity against metastatic cancer. The biological monitoring of effective immunization has, however, remained a dilemma. We describe here a sensitive molecular quantitation methodology that allows analysis of in vivo immune response to vaccination. Metastatic melanoma patients were immunized with a synthetically modified peptide epitope (209- 2M) from the melanoma self-Ag gp100. Using serial gene expression analysis, we report functional evidence of vaccine-induced CTL reactivity in fresh cells obtained directly from the peripheral blood of postimmunized patients. Further, we demonstrate in vivo localization of vaccine-induced immune response within the tumor microenvironment. The results of these molecular assays provide direct evidence that peptide immunization in humans can result in tumor-specific CTL that localize to metastatic sites.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 6867-6875 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Immunology |
Volume | 163 |
Issue number | 12 |
State | Published - 1999 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology