Memory T cells of a patient with follicular thyroid carcinoma recognize peptides derived from mutated p21 ras (Gln-->Leu61).

Point mutations in ras genes resulting in substitutions of amino acid Gly in positions 12 and 13, and Gln in position 61 of the ras gene product p21, are commonly found in human tumors. Peptides derived from aberrant p21 may elicit a tumor specific T cell response, provided that these peptides can bind to HLA molecules of the tumor and the patient has T cells able to recognize the corresponding peptide-HLA complex. Here we report that CD4+ T cells of memory type (CD45RO+) from a patient with a follicular thyroid carcinoma respond against a synthetic peptide derived from aberrant p21 ras having a Gln-->Leu substitution at position 61. Such responses were not observed when T cells from healthy volunteers or cancer patients where this mutation does not usually occur were stimulated with this peptide. The responding T cells did not cross-react with the corresponding peptide derived from native p21 ras nor did they recognize peptides carrying other substitutions in position 61. T cells clones were generated which recognized this Leu61 peptide when presented by HLA-DQ8 molecules. These T cell clones also recognized the corresponding intact p21 ras protein. By using several different synthetic peptides, a peptide with optimal stimulatory capacity was defined. Performing polymerase chain reaction and oligonucleotide probing we were, however, not able to detect the p21 ras gene encoding the Gln-->Leu substitution in DNA from tumor biopsies from the patient. This may indicate that tumor cells harboring the mutation leading to the Gln-->Leu substitution had been eliminated and that tumor progression was due to cells that had deleted the mutated ras gene. The finding that ras derived peptides and recombinant mutated p21 ras are immunogenic in man may form the basis for the development of cancer immunotherapy based on synthetic oncogene derived peptides.