“Our group has demonstrated that chemical complementarity between tumor resident, T-cell receptor, complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3s), and MAGEA3/6 correlates with increased survival in patients with melanoma.”
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In this study, Saif Zaman, Fred S. Gorelick, Andrea Chrobrutskiy, Boris I. Chobrutskiy, Gary V. Desir, and George Blanck from Yale School of Medicine, Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System, Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, Morsani College of Medicine, and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, investigated the chemical complementarity between melanoma-resident T-cell receptor (TCR) complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) amino acid sequences (AAs) and the renalase-1 protein. On August 5, 2024, their research paper was published in Oncotarget‘s Volume 15, entitled, “Chemical complementarity of tumor resident, T-cell receptor CDR3s and renalase-1 correlates with increased melanoma survival.”
The Study
The researchers investigated the potential of the RP220 peptide as an antigenic target for T cells by assessing the electrostatic and hydrophobic complementarity between T-cell receptor (TCR) CDR3s and the RP220 peptide of the renalase (RNLS) protein. They found that higher complementarity scores were linked to significantly improved survival probabilities, with hydrophobic forces further refining these distinctions. The associations varied depending on the dataset and method used.
The study also explored correlations between TCR CDR3-RNLS amino acid alignments and immune gene expression. Several immune signature genes, such as CD86, TIGIT, CIITA, and CD4, were significantly associated with better overall survival when showing higher complementarity scores.
Researchers also examined how RNLS expression levels affected these correlations. They found that higher RNLS mRNA expression was associated with worse survival, while lower RNLS expression combined with high complementarity scores predicted better outcomes. This trend held for both the full-length RNLS protein and the RP220 peptide.
The study revealed that specific regions of the RNLS protein, including the RP220 peptide, had higher complementarity with TCR CDR3s, suggesting they may serve as potential antigenic targets.
Discussion
The researchers explored the potential of the RNLS protein as a tumor antigen by examining the chemical complementarity between melanoma tumor-resident T-cell receptor (TCR) CDR3s and the amino acid (AA) sequence of RNLS. They found that increasing complementarity correlated with improved overall survival (OS) outcomes, supporting previous in vitro and in vivo data. This suggests that RNLS could be recognized by TCRs, triggering immune responses against melanoma.
Gene expression analyses revealed that as complementarity scores between TCRs and RNLS AAs increased, so did the expression of T-cell activation-associated genes, indicating enhanced T-cell activity and anti-tumor immune responses. The association between TCR complementarity and OS probabilities was more pronounced in cases with low RNLS expression levels, suggesting that high complementarity may be particularly beneficial in tumors with reduced RNLS-mediated immune inhibition.
These findings suggest that RNLS could serve as an antigen for TCRs in melanoma, supporting further exploration of its potential as a target for immunotherapy and vaccine design.
In conclusion, this research suggests that RNLS could potentially serve as an antigen for T-cell receptors (TCRs) in melanoma. The correlation between TCR complementarity to RNLS and improved overall survival supports the idea that T-cell responses targeting RNLS may play a role in antitumor immunity. These findings highlight the potential of RNLS as a valuable target for immunotherapy and vaccine development for melanoma treatment.
Further research in this area is warranted.
Click here to read the full research paper in Oncotarget.
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Oncotarget is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that has published primarily oncology-focused research papers since 2010. These papers are available to readers (at no cost and free of subscription barriers) in a continuous publishing format at Oncotarget.com.
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