Podocalyxin-like protein TRA-1-60 glycoepitope (TRA-1-60)

The TRA-1-60 glycoepitope is a carbohydrate-based antigen primarily found on the surface of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and embryonal carcinoma cells (Andrews et al., 1984). It is a keratan sulfate-related epitope associated with the podocalyxin-like protein (PODXL), a high-molecular-weight transmembrane glycoprotein (Schopperle and DeWolf, 2007). Biologically, TRA-1-60 serves as a hallmark of the undifferentiated state, and its expression is rapidly lost upon cell differentiation (Natunen et al., 2011). In clinical and research settings, it is widely used as a biomarker to assess pluripotency and to detect residual undifferentiated cells in stem cell-derived products to mitigate the risk of teratoma formation (Sougawa et al., 2022). Furthermore, because the epitope is overexpressed in certain malignancies, such as germ cell tumors and some solid tumors, it is being explored as a therapeutic target for CAR-T cell therapies and antibody-drug conjugates (Kawase et al., 2022). The specificity of the TRA-1-60 antibody for this particular glycoform of PODXL makes it a valuable tool for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine and oncology.

Other names

TRA-1-60 antigenKeratan sulfate-related carbohydrate epitopePodocalyxin-like protein (PODXL) glycoformTumor-related antigen 1-60

Targeted cell-mediated cytotoxicity via CAR-T cells or antibody-dependent mechanisms to eliminate undifferentiated pluripotent cells or malignant cells expressing the epitope.