Abstract
Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) are known to recognize small peptide fragments of cytoplasmic proteins bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules on cell surfaces. Recent work indicates that tumor antigens are processed and presented in a manner similar to viral antigens. Identification of the peptides recognized by tumor-specific CTL would provide valuable information about their parent proteins, as well as allowing for the development of recombinant antigen-specific tumor vaccines. While highly represented MHC-bound peptides have been routinely purified by reversed-phase HPLC for Edman degradation sequencing, identification and sequencing of infrequent peptides that represent the biologically relevant targets of tumor-specific CTL have proved elusive. We have combined matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry with on-slide exopeptidase digestion to successfully identify and directly sequence a model tumor-specific peptide antigen derived from an integrated viral gene. The enhanced sensitivity of this technique (femtomolar range) allows for the sequencing of specific MHC-bound peptides derived from as few as 1 × 109 cells.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 15-25 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Analytical biochemistry |
Volume | 226 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1995 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology