Potential source of cancer biomarkers

摘要

To help the immune system keep track of disease-related changes in the synthesis and breakdown of proteins inside cells, transporter proteins, called human leukocyte anti gens (HLA), ferry peptide fragments from the cytoplasm to the cell surface, where the fragments are presented for inspection by circulating immune cells. Although most HLA proteins are membrane-attached, normal cells release small amounts of cargo-bearing HLA proteins into the blood. And many types of tumor cells, which are thought to produce and destroy defective and short lived proteins, release large amounts of HLA-peptide complexes into the blood.