Identification of a melanoma marker derived from melanoma-associated endogenous retroviruses

We previously described the expression of melanoma-associated endogenous retrovirus (MERV) proteins and viral particles in human melanomas and metastases. The objective of the present study was to determine whether a humoral immune response to MERV proteins occurs in melanoma. Candidate B-cell epito...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2006-02, Vol.66 (3), p.1658-1663
Main Authors: HUMER, Johannes, WALTENBERGER, Andrea, MUSTER, Thomas, MAYER, Bernd, PEHAMBERGER, Hubert, GRASSAUER, Andreas, KURZ, Martin, VALENCAK, Julia, RAPBERGER, Ronald, HAHN, Silvia, LOWER, Roswitha, WOLFF, Klaus, BERGMANN, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies, Neoplasm - blood
Antibodies, Neoplasm - immunology
Antineoplastic agents
Biological and medical sciences
Biomarkers, Tumor - immunology
Cross Reactions
Dermatology
Endogenous Retroviruses - immunology
Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte - immunology
HeLa Cells
Humans
Immunodominant Epitopes - immunology
Immunotherapy
Medical sciences
Melanoma - blood
Melanoma - immunology
Melanoma - pathology
Melanoma - virology
Neoplasm Staging
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Tumors of the skin and soft tissue. Premalignant lesions
Viral Envelope Proteins - immunology
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Summary:We previously described the expression of melanoma-associated endogenous retrovirus (MERV) proteins and viral particles in human melanomas and metastases. The objective of the present study was to determine whether a humoral immune response to MERV proteins occurs in melanoma. Candidate B-cell epitopes on MERV proteins were predicted using bioinformatic screening. The reactivity of MERV peptides corresponding to the predicted epitopes with antibodies prevalent in sera of melanoma patients was analyzed. An immunodominant peptide located in the env protein of MERV was identified. Subsequent analyzes using 81 samples from stage I to stage IV melanoma patients and 95 sera from healthy subjects revealed statistically significant differences in seroprevalence of antibodies in melanoma sera samples when compared with reference samples from healthy subjects. The prevalence of anti-MERV antibodies in melanoma patient sera was confirmed by immunofluorescence on env-transfected cells. These data indicate the potential of this candidate peptide as target for diagnosis and immunotherapy.
ISSN:0008-5472
1538-7445
DOI:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-2452