Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) 540-548 peptide-HLA-A*0201 complex (hTERT 540-548/HLA-A*0201)

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme, which maintains telomere length and is essential for the replicative immortality of cancer cells (UniProt: O14746). While hTERT is largely absent in normal somatic cells, it is overexpressed in over 85% of human cancers, making it a highly attractive target for immunotherapy (PubMed: 10411962). The 540-548 epitope (sequence: ILAKFLHWL) is a specific peptide fragment presented by the HLA-A*0201 molecule, which is the most common MHC class I allele in many populations. This peptide-MHC complex is targeted by therapeutic vaccines like VX-001, which uses an optimized variant to stimulate a robust cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response against tumor cells (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00353288). Because hTERT is also expressed at low levels in certain normal regenerative tissues, such as hematopoietic stem cells, monitoring for potential off-tumor effects is a key safety consideration in clinical development (PubMed: 25103444).

Other names

hTERT (540-548)ILAKFLHWL peptideTERT 540-548hTERT-540hTERT:540-548/HLA-A*0201

Induction or provision of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that specifically recognize the hTERT 540-548 peptide presented by HLA-A*0201, leading to the targeted lysis of telomerase-positive tumor cells (PubMed: 10411962).