Tumor-associated or infected cell antigens (TAA)

Tumor-associated or infected cell antigens represent a broad category of molecular structures, primarily proteins or glycoproteins, expressed on the surface of or presented by MHC molecules on malignant or pathogen-infected cells. These antigens serve as the primary targets for various immunotherapeutic strategies, including monoclonal antibodies, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell therapies like CAR-T cells (National Cancer Institute, 2024). Tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) may be overexpressed self-proteins, lineage-specific proteins, or neoantigens resulting from somatic mutations, while infected cell antigens are typically derived from viral or bacterial pathogens (Nature Reviews Immunology, 2020). The therapeutic goal is to exploit the differential expression of these antigens to direct the immune system to selectively eliminate diseased cells while sparing healthy tissue. However, challenges such as 'on-target, off-tumor' toxicity and antigen loss (escape) remain significant hurdles in the clinical application of drugs targeting these entities (Journal of Hematology & Oncology, 2021). Specific examples include the HER2 protein in breast cancer and viral E6/E7 proteins in HPV-associated malignancies (Nature Reviews Cancer, 2021).

Other names

Tumor-associated antigensTumor-specific antigensTSANeoantigensCancer-testis antigensViral antigensInfection-associated antigensPathogen-associated antigens

Binding of therapeutic agents (such as monoclonal antibodies or CAR-T cells) to specific epitopes on the cell surface or MHC-presented peptides, which triggers immune-mediated destruction through mechanisms like antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), or direct T-cell mediated lysis (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2022).