Tyrosinase (368-376) peptide (TYR(368-376))

Tyrosinase (368-376) peptide is a nine-amino-acid epitope (YMNGTMSQV) derived from tyrosinase, the rate-limiting enzyme in melanin biosynthesis [2, 4]. It is a prominent tumor-associated antigen (TAA) that is naturally processed and presented by HLA-A*0201 molecules on the surface of melanoma cells [1, 5]. Due to its high expression in nearly all primary and metastatic melanoma lesions, it serves as a critical target for cancer immunotherapy [2, 8]. A modified version, YMDGTMSQV (370D), is often synthesized to increase binding affinity to the MHC class I complex and enhance immunogenicity [8, 11]. Therapeutic strategies involving this target include peptide vaccines emulsified with adjuvants like Montanide ISA 51, and adoptive cell transfer using T-cells engineered with specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) such as TIL 1383i [2, 7, 11]. Clinical use of these agents is frequently associated with vitiligo, an autoimmune depigmentation caused by the targeting of normal melanocytes which also express tyrosinase [3]. Efficacy is typically monitored using biomarkers such as HLA-A*0201 status, tyrosinase expression in tumors, and T-cell expansion measured by peptide-MHC tetramer staining [3, 9, 11].

Other names

YMNGTMSQVYMDGTMSQVTyrosinase 368-376 epitopeTyrosinase 370D peptideTyr 368-376Tyrosinase fragment 368-376

Stimulation of antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and recognition of MHC-presented peptides by T-cell receptors (TCRs).