Melanoma antigen recognized by T cells 1 peptide-HLA class I complex (MART-1/HLA complex)

MART-1 (Melanoma Antigen Recognized by T cells 1), also known as Melan-A, is a lineage-specific differentiation antigen expressed in the melanosomes of melanocytes and melanoma cells (UniProt Q16655). The therapeutic target is the immunodominant peptide derived from the MART-1 protein, which is processed and presented on the cell surface by Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I molecules, most notably HLA-A*02:01 and occasionally HLA-A1 (Kawakami et al., 1994; Coulie et al., 1994). This peptide-MHC (pMHC) complex is recognized by the T-cell receptors (TCRs) of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, making it a primary target for cancer immunotherapy (PubMed: 8175760). Current therapeutic strategies include TCR-engineered T-cell therapies (TCR-T), peptide-based vaccines, and TCR-like antibodies designed to trigger a specific immune response against melanoma cells. However, because MART-1 is also expressed in normal melanocytes, these therapies can cause "on-target, off-tumor" toxicities, such as vitiligo, uveitis, and hearing loss (Johnson et al., 2009). Despite these risks, the MART-1/HLA complex remains a cornerstone of melanoma research and a benchmark for developing T-cell based cancer treatments.

Other names

Melan-AMLANAMART1MART-1(26-35) peptideMART-1(27-35) peptideAntigen LB39-AAAntigen SK29-AAMART-1/HLA-A2 complexMART-1/HLA-A1 complex

T-cell receptor (TCR) mediated cytotoxicity