Melanoma-associated antigen C2 peptide presented by HLA-A*02:01 (MAGE-C2/HLA-A*02:01)

The MAGE-C2 peptide presented by HLA-A*02:01 is a specific peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) that serves as a highly selective target for cancer immunotherapy. MAGE-C2, also known as Cancer-Testis Antigen 10 (CT10), belongs to the Type I MAGE family and is characterized by its restricted expression in the immune-privileged germ cells of the testis and its aberrant re-expression in various malignancies (Lucas et al., 2000, PMID: 10508518). Because testicular cells do not express HLA class I molecules, the MAGE-C2 peptide-HLA complex is essentially tumor-specific, appearing on the surface of cancer cells such as those in melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma (Gure et al., 2005, PMID: 16131314). The specific immunodominant peptide, often ALKDVEERV, is processed and loaded onto HLA-A*02:01 molecules for presentation to the immune system (Ma et al., 2004, PMID: 15155837). Therapeutic interventions, particularly T-cell receptor (TCR) engineered T-cell therapies like MDG1021, are designed to recognize this complex with high affinity to induce a targeted cytotoxic response (Medigene AG, 2020). This target is particularly valuable in the field of adoptive cell transfer due to its high tumor specificity and the prevalence of the HLA-A*02:01 allele in the human population.

Other names

MAGE-C2/HLA-A2 complexCancer-testis antigen 10/HLA-A*02:01CT10/HLA-A*02:01MAGE-E1/HLA-A*02:01pMHC MAGE-C2:HLA-A*02:01

T-cell receptor (TCR) mediated recognition of the specific peptide-MHC complex on the tumor cell surface, leading to the activation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes and subsequent granzyme/perforin-mediated apoptosis of the target cell.