RATIONAL DESING OF MUC-1 BASED VACCINES AGAINST TUMOURS

摘要

Mucin MUC-1 is a glycoprotein involved in fundamental biological processes. It includes a tandem-repeating domain of conserved 20 amino acids with five possible O-glycosylation sites. In normal tissue, the protein backbone carries complex oligosaccharides. In contrast, in tumour cells, the expression of MUC-1 is usually increased and the carbohydrate side chains are truncated due to incomplete glycosylation. As a result, different epitopes, such as the Tn antigen (α-O-GalNAc-Ser/Thr), which are masked in normal cells, are now exposed to the immune system. A variety of antibodies recognizes these epitopes and specifically binds to malignant but not normal cells. These finding can significantly contribute to develop efficient vaccines against cancer.