mart-1 antigen

MART-1 (Melanoma Antigen Recognized by T cells 1), also known as Melan-A, is a lineage-specific differentiation antigen found on the surface of melanocytes and most melanoma cells. It serves as a prominent target for cancer immunotherapy due to its high expression in melanoma and restricted expression in normal tissues (primarily melanocytes in the skin, eye, and inner ear). Therapeutic approaches involving the MART-1 antigen include peptide-based vaccines (often using the immunodominant HLA-A*0201-restricted decapeptide MART-1:26-35), dendritic cell vaccines pulsed with the antigen, and T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T-cell therapies designed to recognize MART-1/MHC complexes. While early clinical trials demonstrated the ability of MART-1 vaccines to induce robust antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell responses, clinical efficacy as a monotherapy has been limited, leading to investigations into combination strategies with checkpoint inhibitors or other immunomodulators.

Other names

Melan-AMART1MART-1MART 1MLANAMelanoma antigen recognized by T-cells 1