Melanoma-overexpressed antigen 1 (MELOE1) (MELOE1)

Melanoma-overexpressed antigen 1 (MELOE1) is a tumor-associated antigen encoded by an unconventional polycistronic transcript known as meloe. Unlike traditional proteins, MELOE1 is produced from one of several short open reading frames (ORFs) within the transcript [1, 4]. It is primarily expressed in cells of the melanocytic lineage, with significant overexpression observed in melanoma compared to normal melanocytes and other healthy tissues [7, 9]. MELOE1 is recognized by the immune system, specifically by CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, most notably HLA-A2 [1, 2]. Because of its high immunogenicity and restricted expression pattern, it is considered an attractive target for cancer immunotherapies, including therapeutic vaccines and adoptive T-cell transfer [3, 12]. Clinical research has demonstrated that the presence of T cells specific for MELOE1 epitopes is strongly correlated with improved relapse-free survival in patients with metastatic melanoma [1, 3].

Other names

MELOE-1Melanoma-overexpressed gene 1MELOE

Stimulation of antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell mediated antitumor immunity through the recognition of MHC-presented MELOE-1 epitopes by T-cell receptors [2, 3].