HLA-A*24:02-restricted Cell Division Cycle Associated 1 (CDCA1) peptide epitope (HLA-A*24:02/CDCA1)

The HLA-A*24:02-restricted Cell Division Cycle Associated 1 (CDCA1) peptide epitope is a specific antigen complex presented on the surface of cancer cells. CDCA1, also known as NUF2, is a component of the Ndc80 kinetochore complex essential for proper chromosome segregation during mitosis (UniProt P09052). While CDCA1 is minimally expressed in normal adult tissues except for the testis, it is significantly overexpressed in various malignancies, including lung, bladder, and liver cancers, making it an attractive cancer-testis antigen (Harao et al., 2008, PMID: 18339847). The specific peptide fragment, most commonly CDCA1-63 (sequence VYGIRLEHF), is presented by the HLA-A*24:02 allele, which is highly prevalent in East Asian populations (Ohkuri et al., 2014, PMID: 24433470). Immunotherapeutic approaches targeting this complex include peptide-based vaccines and TCR-engineered T-cell therapies designed to induce a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response against tumor cells (Kaneko et al., 2014, PMID: 24803109). Clinical studies have demonstrated that targeting this epitope can elicit specific immune responses with a relatively favorable safety profile due to the restricted expression pattern of the parent protein.

Other names

HLA-A*24:02/CDCA1-63NUF2 peptide-HLA complexCDCA1-63Cell division cycle associated 1 peptideHLA-A24-restricted CDCA1 epitope

The target is a peptide-MHC complex recognized by the T-cell receptor (TCR) of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Therapeutic strategies include peptide vaccines that stimulate endogenous CTLs to recognize this specific epitope on tumor cells (Harao et al., 2008, PMID: 18339847), or adoptive cell transfer of T cells engineered with a TCR specific for the HLA-A*24:02/CDCA1 complex (Kaneko et al., 2014, PMID: 24803109).