Identification of ribosomal proteins S2 and L10a as tumor antigens recognized by HLA-A26-restricted CTL.

Recent identification of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-directed peptides binding to the HLA-A2 and -A24 alleles has opened the door to peptide-based cancer immunotherapies. However, subsequent studies have succeeded in identifying no more than a few CTL-directed peptides that bind to alleles other than HLA-A2 and -A24, thus hampering development of immunotherapies directed at other alleles. We have shown in this study that two genes coding for ribosomal proteins (S2 and L10a) encoded tumor antigens recognized by HLA-A26-restricted CTLs. The S2 mRNA was expressed in all of the cancer cells and non-malignant cell lines tested, but was not expressed in normal tissues except for the testis, muscle, and peripheral mononuclear leukocyte cell (PBMC). In contrast, the L10a mRNA was expressed in all of these cancer and non-malignant cell lines, and also normal tissues, although the expression levels in normal tissues were mostly low. One S2-derived peptide and two L10a-derived peptides had the ability to induce HLA-A26-restricted and peptide-specific CTLs reactive to tumor cells in PBMCs of cancer patients, respectively. These ribosomal protein-derived peptides, and particularly the S2-derived peptide, could be suitable for use in peptide-based immunotherapy for HLA-A26+ cancer patients.