Human telomerase reverse transcriptase-derived peptide–Human leukocyte antigen-A*02:01 complex (hTERT-peptide–HLA-A*02:01)

The hTERT-derived peptide–HLA-A*02:01 complex is a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) consisting of a short peptide fragment from the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) protein bound to the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allele A*02:01 [NIH, 2004]. hTERT is the catalytic subunit of telomerase, an enzyme responsible for maintaining telomere length, which is upregulated in over 85% of human cancers to enable replicative immortality [NIH, 2012; BMJ, 2022]. Because hTERT expression is minimal in most healthy adult tissues, this complex serves as a selective target for cancer immunotherapy [NIH, 2008]. Therapeutic strategies targeting this complex include peptide-based vaccines such as Vx-001 and UV1, which aim to elicit a specific cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response against hTERT-expressing tumor cells [NCI, 2023; BMJ, 2022]. Additionally, adoptive T-cell therapies using engineered T-cell receptors (TCRs) are being developed to recognize and lyse cells presenting these specific epitopes [NIH, 2012]. However, the clinical utility of certain epitopes, such as hTERT(540-548), is a subject of ongoing research due to evidence suggesting they may not be efficiently processed or naturally presented on the surface of all tumor types [NIH, 2004; NIH, 2005].

Other names

hTERT/HLA-A2 complexhTERT-derived peptide–HLA-A2 complexTERT-peptide–HLA-A*02:01hTERT(540-548)/HLA-A*02:01hTERT(572-580)/HLA-A*02:01hTERT(865-873)/HLA-A*02:01hTERT(540-548) peptide–HLA-A*02:01 complex

Induction of peptide-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognize the hTERT-peptide–HLA-A*02:01 complex on the surface of tumor cells, leading to targeted cell lysis and antitumor immune responses.