THE BIOLOGICAL ROLE OF MUCINS IN CELLULAR INTERACTIONS AND IMMUNE REGULATION - PROSPECTS FOR CANCER-IMMUNOTHERAPY

Among the human mucins, MUC1 is unique in its cell-surface transmembra ne expression and its apparent signal-transduction functions, The high expression of MUC1 on many human cancers makes it an attractive targe t for immunotherapy, Immunization of human cancer patients with MUC1 p eptides has resulted in the generation of both anti-MUC1 antibody and cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, Recently, a novel immunoregulatory r ole for MUC1 has been suggested by experiments demonstrating that solu ble MUC1 induces T-cell unresponsiveness, and that T cells appear to e xpress and secrete MUC1 following their activation, MUC1 is an apparen t parader, having both adhesive and antiadhesive functions, and immuno stimulatory and immunosuppressive activities.