Human leukocyte antigen A*02:01 presenting folate binding protein peptide 191-199 (HLA-A2/FBP191-199)

HLA-A2 presenting the FBP191-199 peptide is a specific peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) that serves as a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) on the surface of malignant cells. The FBP191-199 peptide, also known as E39 (sequence: EIWTHSYKV), is derived from Folate Binding Protein (FBP), or Folate Receptor alpha (FOLR1), which is frequently overexpressed in cancers such as ovarian, breast, and lung adenocarcinoma (Kim et al., 1999, Anticancer Res). This peptide is presented by the Human Leukocyte Antigen A*02:01 (HLA-A2) molecule, making it recognizable by the T-cell receptors (TCRs) of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Therapeutic approaches targeting this complex include peptide-based vaccines designed to elicit an endogenous immune response and adoptive T-cell therapies, such as TCR-engineered T cells, that provide a direct attack on cells displaying the complex (Peoples et al., 2005, Clin Cancer Res). The high tumor-specificity of FOLR1 expression makes this pMHC an attractive target for minimizing off-target effects, although the requirement for the HLA-A2 allele restricts its use to a specific subset of the patient population (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01580696).

Other names

HLA-A*02:01/FBP(191-199)E39/HLA-A2 complexHLA-A2/FOLR1(191-199)Folate receptor alpha peptide 191-199/HLA-A2EIWTHSYKV/HLA-A*02:01

Induction of antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response and redirected T-cell mediated lysis of tumor cells expressing the pMHC complex.