Abstract Vaccination with tumor epitopes associated MHC-I is an attractive approach directed at inducing tumor-specific CTLs. However, challenges remain in improving the therapeutic efficacy of peptide epitope vaccines, including low immunogenicity and insufficient stimulation innate immune components vivo. Herein, we report innovative strategy to overcome limitations. The essential feature thi...

Cancer immunotherapeutic approaches induce tumor-specific immune responses, in particular CTL responses, in many patients treated. However, such approaches are clinically beneficial to only a few patients. We set out to investigate one possible explanation for the failure of CTLs to eliminate tumors, specifically, the concept that this failure is not dependent on inhibition of T cell function. ...

Both the magnitude and function of vaccine-induced HIV-specific CD8+ CTLs are likely to be important in the outcome of infection. We hypothesized that rapid cytolysis by CTLs may facilitate control of viral challenge. Release kinetics of the cytolytic effector molecules granzyme B and perforin, as well as the expression of the degranulation marker CD107a and IFN-gamma were simultaneously studie...

A single 9-amino acid peptide of the defined murine cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope (named peptide-1), which corresponds to the amino acid residues 298-306 (GYISTRVEM) of NS3 of dengue virus serotypes DEN-2 and 4, was examined for induction of specific CTLs. Immunization of BALB/c mice subcutaneously with the peptide-1 emulsified with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA) did not induce specific ...

A cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) characteristically kills target cells one after the other by releasing toxic granules that contain one or more cytolytic components. To determine how CTLs avoid destroying themselves when they release granules and lyse target cells, 7 murine CD8+ CTL cell lines were compared with 19 other cell lines for susceptibility to lysis by the isolated toxic granules. Murin...

The human tyrosinase gene codes for two distinct antigens that are recognized by HLA-A*0201-restricted CTLs. For one of them, tyrosinase peptide 368-376, the sequence identified by mass spectrometry in melanoma cell eluates differs from the gene-encoded sequence as a result of posttranslational modification of amino acid residue 370 (asparagine to aspartic acid). Here, we used fluorescent tetra...

CD8(+) CTLs play a pivotal role in immune responses against many viruses and tumors. Two models have been proposed. The "three-cell" model focuses on the role of CD4(+) T cells, proposing that help is only provided to CTLs by CD4(+) T cells that recognize Ag on the same APC. The sequential "two-cell" model proposes that CD4(+) T cells can first interact with APCs, which in turn activate naive C...

MHC class I-restricted CTLs specific for antigens expressed by malig nant cells are an important component of immune responses against human cancer. Recently, in melanoma a number of melanocyte differen tiation antigens have been identified as potential tumor rejection antigens. In the present study, we show that by applying peptide-loaded dendritic cells, induced by granulocyte-macrophage colo...

Given the flexible nature of TCR specificity, deletion or permanent disabling of all T cells with the capacity to recognize self peptides would severely limit the diversity of the repertoire and the capacity to recognize foreign Ags. To address this, we have investigated the patterns of CD8+ CTL reactivity to a naturally H-2Kb-presented self peptide derived from the elongation factor 1alpha (EF...

One new approach to cancer therapy is based on the adoptive transfer of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells and anti-CD25 antibodies. In the present study, CD8+ and IFN-gamma secreting T lymphocytes (CTLs) were enriched as tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells from spleen lymphocytes of mice bearing the Renca tumor (a murine renal carcinoma line originating from a BALB/c mouse) after stimulation with t...