Background Prediction and identification of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes from tumor associated antigens is a crucial step for the development of tumor immunotherapy strategy. Endocan has been identified as antigen overexpressed in various tumors. Methods In this experiment, we predicted and identified HLA-A2-restricted CTL epitopes from endocan by using the following procedures. Firstly, we predicted the epitopes from the amino acid sequence of endocan by computer-based methods; Secondly, we determined the affinity of the predicted peptide with HLA-A2.1 molecule by peptide-binding assay; Thirdly, we elicited the primary T cell response against the predicted peptides in vitro; Lastly, we tested the specific CTLs toward endocan and HLA-A2.1 positive target cells. Results These data demonstrated that peptides of endocan containing residues 4-12 and 9-17 could elicit specific CTLs producing interferon-γ and cytotoxicity. Conclusions Therefore, our findings suggested that the predicted peptides were novel HLA-A2.1-restricted CTL epitopes, and might provide promising target for tumor immunotherapy.

中文翻译：

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预测和鉴定来自 endocan 的新型 HLA-A*0201 限制性细胞毒性 T 淋巴细胞表位。

背景预测和鉴定来自肿瘤相关抗原的细胞毒性 T 淋巴细胞 (CTL) 表位是制定肿瘤免疫治疗策略的关键步骤。Endocan 已被鉴定为在各种肿瘤中过表达的抗原。方法在本实验中，我们通过以下程序预测和鉴定了来自endocan的HLA-A2限制性CTL表位。首先，我们通过基于计算机的方法从endocan的氨基酸序列中预测了表位；其次，我们通过肽结合试验确定了预测肽与HLA-A2.1分子的亲和力；第三，我们在体外引发了针对预测肽的初级 T 细胞反应；最后，我们测试了针对 endocan 和 HLA-A2.1 阳性靶细胞的特定 CTL。结果 这些数据表明，含有残基 4-12 和 9-17 的 endocan 肽可引发产生干扰素-γ 和细胞毒性的特异性 CTL。结论 因此，我们的研究结果表明，预测的肽是新的 HLA-A2.1 限制性 CTL 表位，可能为肿瘤免疫治疗提供有希望的靶点。