Wilms tumor protein peptide-MHC complex (WT1-pMHC)

Wilms tumor protein (WT1) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that plays a critical role in cell growth and differentiation. While its expression is minimal in healthy adult tissues, it is highly overexpressed in various cancers, most notably acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where it functions as an oncogene (Source: NIH/NCI). Intracellular WT1 protein is degraded into peptides that are subsequently presented on the cell surface by Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I and II molecules (Source: UniProt P19544). These WT1-pMHC complexes serve as highly specific targets for the cellular immune system, particularly CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Therapeutic interventions such as peptide vaccines (e.g., Galinpepimut-S), TCR-engineered T cells, and TCR-like antibodies are designed to recognize these specific complexes to selectively eliminate leukemic cells (Source: SELLAS Life Sciences, PubMed PMID: 24501210). Targeting WT1-derived antigens is a prominent strategy in cancer immunotherapy due to the protein's essential role in maintaining the malignant phenotype and its broad expression across different leukemia subtypes.

Other names

WT1-derived peptide antigensWT1-HLA complexWilms tumor 1 antigenWT1 peptide-HLA complexWT1-derived MHC-presented peptides

Recognition of peptide-MHC complexes by T-cell receptors (TCRs) or TCR-mimetic antibodies to induce cytotoxic T-lymphocyte mediated lysis of tumor cells (Source: PubMed PMID: 28811300).