Immune Responses to the Cancer Testis Antigen XAGE-1b in Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Caucasian Patients

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 3;11(3):e0150623. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150623. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Immunotherapy approaches using checkpoint blockade, alone, or in combination with tumor antigen vaccination, or adoptive cell transfer, are emerging as promising approaches for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In preparation for upcoming combined immunotherapy approaches in NSCLC, here, we have assessed spontaneous immune responses to XAGE-1b, a tumor specific antigen of the Cancer Testis Antigen group that has been previously reported to be spontaneously immunogenic in the Japanese population, in a cohort of Caucasian patients with NSCLC. We found spontaneous serological responses to XAGE-1b in 9% of the patients. Importantly, these responses were limited to, and represented 13% of, patients with adenocarcinoma tumors, the most frequent histological subtype, for which immunotherapy approaches are under development. Using a set of overlapping peptides spanning the entire XAGE-1b protein, and in support of the serological data, we detected significant XAGE-1b specific CD4+ T cell responses in all XAGE-1b seropositive patients and identified several CD4+ T cell epitopes. Altogether, our results support the relevance of the XAGE-1b antigen in Caucasians NSCLC patients with adenocarcinoma, and the implementation of future immunotherapies exploiting the high immunogenicity of the antigen in this patient population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / immunology
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Adenocarcinoma / therapy*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / administration & dosage
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / chemistry
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Antigens, Neoplasm / immunology*
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / drug effects
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / drug effects
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • Cancer Vaccines / administration & dosage
  • Cancer Vaccines / biosynthesis
  • Cancer Vaccines / immunology
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / immunology
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / therapy*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Epitopes / chemistry
  • Epitopes / immunology
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy, Active / methods
  • Interferon-gamma / agonists
  • Interferon-gamma / biosynthesis
  • Lung Neoplasms / immunology
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Lung Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptides / administration & dosage
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / immunology
  • Primary Cell Culture

Substances

  • Antigens, Neoplasm
  • Cancer Vaccines
  • Epitopes
  • Peptides
  • XAGE1A protein, human
  • Interferon-gamma