Identification of a panel of tumor-associated antigens from cDNA libraries displayed on lambda bacteriophage

E Pavoni Dr^a, A Pucci Dr^a, P Vaccaro PhD^a, G Monteriù Dr^a, E Beghetto Dr^a, S Barca Dr^b, M Cianfriglia Dr^b, E Cortesi MD Prof^c, RA Virdis MD^c, F Felici PhD Prof^a,d, O Minenkova PhD^a

^aKenton Laboratories, Pomezia, Italy, ^bLaboratorio di Immunologia, Reparto Immunologia dei Tumori, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy, ^cOncologia Medica, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Patologia, Facolta di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy, ^dDipartimento di Scienze Microbiologiche, Genetiche e Molecolari, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy

AIM: Tumor-associated antigens recognized by humoral effectors of the immune system are a very attractive target to human cancer diagnostics and therapy. Recent advances in molecular techniques led to molecular definition of immunogenic tumor proteins based on their reactivity with autologous patient sera (SEREX). METHODS: In our work we combine the SEREX approach with phage display technology to identify tumor antigens recognized by the immune system. RESULTS: Several cDNA phage displayed libraries from breast carcinomas, human testis and breast carcinoma cell lines were constructed and screened by using sera from breast cancer patients. We have until now identified about 30 different antigens, including seven proteins of unknown functions. Three of these identified antigens were found to be overexpressed in tumors when compared to normal breast tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the newly selected genes are potentially useful in cancer diagnosis. Preliminary results indicate that patient serum reactivity against some of the antigens may correlate with poor prognosis of the disease.

Paper presented at the International Symposium on Predictive Oncology and Intervention Strategies; Nice, France; February 7 - 10, 2004; in poster session 797 (Manifestations of cancer).