Abstract
"Cancer stem cells" that resist conventional treatments may be a cause of therapeutic failure in melanoma. We report a subpopulation of clonogenic melanoma cells that are characterized by high prominin-1/CD133 expression in melanoma and melanoma cell lines. These cells have enhanced clonogenicity and self-renewal in vitro, and serve as a limited in vitro model for melanoma stem cells. In some cases clonogenic CD133(+) melanoma cells show increased expression of some cancer/testis (CT) antigens. The expression of NY-ESO-1 in an HLA-A2 expressing cell line allowed CD133(+) clonogenic melanoma cells to be targeted for killing in vitro by NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T-lymphocytes. Our in vitro findings raise the hypothesis that if melanoma stem cells express CT antigens in vivo that immune targeting of these antigens may be a viable clinical strategy for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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AC133 Antigen
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Antigens, CD / metabolism*
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Antigens, Neoplasm / immunology*
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CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
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Cancer Vaccines / therapeutic use*
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Colony-Forming Units Assay
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Cytotoxicity, Immunologic
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Fluorescent Antibody Technique
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Glycoproteins / metabolism*
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HLA-A2 Antigen / genetics
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HLA-A2 Antigen / immunology
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Humans
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Immunoenzyme Techniques
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Lymphatic Metastasis
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Male
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Melanoma / immunology*
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Melanoma / secondary
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Melanoma / therapy
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Membrane Proteins / immunology*
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Peptide Fragments / immunology
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Peptides / metabolism*
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RNA, Messenger / genetics
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RNA, Messenger / metabolism
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Skin Neoplasms / immunology*
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Skin Neoplasms / pathology
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Skin Neoplasms / therapy
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T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology
Substances
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AC133 Antigen
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Antigens, CD
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Antigens, Neoplasm
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CTAG1B protein, human
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Cancer Vaccines
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Glycoproteins
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HLA-A2 Antigen
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Membrane Proteins
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PROM1 protein, human
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Peptide Fragments
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Peptides
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RNA, Messenger