Leukemia-associated neoantigen (NeoAg)

Patient-specific leukemia-associated peptide antigens, commonly known as neoantigens, are unique protein fragments resulting from somatic mutations or aberrant gene expression within an individual's leukemia cells (Source: Nature Reviews Cancer, 2017). These peptides are processed intracellularly and presented on the cell surface by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules, serving as highly specific markers for T-cell recognition (Source: Blood, 2010). Because these antigens are absent in healthy tissues, they represent ideal targets for precision immunotherapy, minimizing the risk of systemic toxicity (Source: Frontiers in Immunology, 2021). Therapeutic strategies targeting these antigens include personalized neoantigen vaccines, which prime the immune system to recognize the tumor, and engineered T-cell receptor (TCR-T) therapies designed to bind specific peptide-MHC complexes (Source: Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 2019). Despite their potential, the effectiveness of these therapies can be limited by the low mutational burden characteristic of many leukemias and the ability of tumor cells to downregulate MHC expression to evade immune detection (Source: Science, 2018). Ongoing research focuses on identifying high-affinity neoantigens and developing multi-antigen targeting strategies to overcome tumor heterogeneity and resistance (Source: Clinical Cancer Research, 2020).

Other names

Patient-specific leukemia antigenTumor-specific antigenTSALeukemia-specific peptide-MHC complexMinor histocompatibility antigenLeukemia-associated antigen (LAA)

Activation of CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells to recognize and eliminate leukemia cells through the binding of T-cell receptors to specific peptide-MHC complexes