Human papillomavirus type 16 E6 peptide presented by Human leukocyte antigen A*02:01 (HPV16 E6/HLA-A2)

The Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6 peptide presented by Human leukocyte antigen A*02:01 (HLA-A2) is a specific peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) found on the surface of cells infected with high-risk HPV16 (2.4.1, 2.4.5). The E6 protein is a viral oncoprotein essential for the malignant transformation and maintenance of HPV-associated cancers, such as cervical and head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (2.4.1, 2.4.2). In HLA-A*02:01 positive individuals, a specific 10-amino acid sequence from E6 (residues 29-38, TIHDIILECV) is processed and presented on the cell surface (2.4.1, 2.4.3). This complex serves as a highly specific target for immunotherapy, particularly T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T-cell therapies and therapeutic vaccines, because the E6 antigen is exclusively viral and not expressed in healthy human tissues (2.4.1, 2.4.5). Drugs targeting this complex, such as E6-TCR-T and SQZ-PBMC-HPV, aim to provide or stimulate cytotoxic T lymphocytes that can selectively recognize and eliminate tumor cells (2.4.1, 2.4.5, 3.2.1). However, therapeutic challenges include tumor immune evasion through the downregulation of antigen-processing machinery like TAP transporters (2.1.4, 2.3.4).

Other names

HPV16 E6 29-38/HLA-A*02:01 complexE6 29-38/A2HPV16 E6 epitopeHPV16 E6(29-38) peptide-MHC complexTIHDIILECV/HLA-A*02:01

T-cell receptor (TCR) mediated recognition and cytotoxic killing of HPV16-positive tumor cells.