Adenomatous polyposis coli mutant neoantigen peptide (APC mutant neoantigen)

Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutant neoantigen peptides are novel amino acid sequences resulting from somatic mutations, typically frameshifts, in the APC tumor suppressor gene. The APC gene is mutated in approximately 80% of colorectal cancers, often within a specific 'mutation cluster region' (MCR). These mutations result in truncated proteins and the creation of neo-open reading frames that produce non-self peptides. When these mutant peptides are processed and presented by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules, they can be recognized by the host's T cells as foreign, making them ideal targets for immunotherapy. Because these neoantigens are derived from driver mutations essential for oncogenesis and are absent in healthy tissue, they offer a high degree of therapeutic specificity. Current clinical strategies include 'off-the-shelf' vaccines targeting common shared APC frameshift mutations and adoptive cell therapies using T-cell receptors (TCRs) engineered to recognize specific APC-mutant/HLA complexes.

Other names

APC frameshift neoantigenAPC mutation-derived peptideAPC-derived tumor-specific antigenMutant APC peptide

Induction of a specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against tumor cells that present mutant APC-derived peptides on their MHC molecules, leading to targeted cell lysis.