A MAGE-3 peptide recognized on HLA-B35 and HLA-A1 by cytolytic T lymphocytes

Antigens encoded by MAGE genes are of particular interest for cancer immuno therapy because of their strict tumoral specificity and because they are sh ared by many tumors. Antigenic peptide EVDPIGHLY encoded by MAGE-3 and know n to be presented by HLA-A*0101 is currently being used in therapeutic vacc ination trials. We report here that a cytolytic T-lymphocyte (CTL) clone, w hich is restricted by HLA-B*3501, recognizes the same peptide and, importan tly, lyses HLA-B*3501 tumor cells expressing MAGE-3. These results infer th at the current clinical use of peptide EVDPIGHLY can now be extended to HLA -B*3501 patients.