Abstract
Purpose: Immunotherapies mediate the regression of human tumors through recognition of tumor antigens by immune cells that trigger an immune response. Mutations in the RAS oncogenes occur in about 30% of all patients with cancer. These mutations play an important role in both tumor establishment and survival and are commonly found in hotspots. Discovering T-cell receptors (TCR) that recognize shared mutated RAS antigens presented on MHC class I and class II molecules are thus promising reagents for “off-the-shelf” adoptive cell therapies (ACT) following insertion of the TCRs into lymphocytes. Experimental Design: In this ongoing work, we screened for RAS antigen recognition in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) or by in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). TCRs recognizing mutated RAS were identified from the reactive T cells. The TCRs were then reconstructed and virally transduced into PBLs and tested. Results: Here, we detect and report multiple novel TCR sequences that recognize nonsynonymous mutant RAS hotspot mutations with high avidity and specificity and identify the specific class-I and -II MHC restriction elements involved in the recognition of mutant RAS. Conclusions: The TCR library directed against RAS hotspot mutations described here recognize RAS mutations found in about 45% of the Caucasian population and about 60% of the Asian population and represent promising reagents for “off-the-shelf” ACTs.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Clinical Cancer Research |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 18 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 15 Sep 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research