Cytotoxic T lymphocytes from HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice define a potential human epitope from simian virus 40 large T antigen. Journal   Cancer research. Citation   Cancer Res. 61(3):873-9 Publication date   2001 Feb 1 Authors   Schell TD Lippolis JD Tevethia SS Investigators   Todd Schell Satvir S. Tevethia Grant agencies   National Cancer Institute Grants   NCI R37 CA25000 MeSH headings   Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming Antigens, Viral, Tumor Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte HLA-A2 Antigen T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic MeSH qualifiers   immunology Abstract   Recent reports have documented the presence of SV40 large T antigen (T ag) sequences in a number of human tumors and raised the question of whether cellular immunity to T ag is elicited in such individuals. We used HLA-A2.1 transgenic C57BL/6 mice to identify an epitope from T ag recognized by CD8+ CTLs when presented by this human MHC class I molecule. Immunization of HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice with syngeneic T ag-transformed cells resulted in the induction of HLA-A2.1-restricted, T ag-specific CTLs. The target epitope, residues 281-289 (KCDDVLLLL) of T ag, was identified using both cell lines expressing T ag variants and synthetic T ag peptides. Peptide 281-289 bound stably to HLA-A2.1 molecules, effectively sensitized target cells for CTL lysis, and was efficiently processed from endogenous T ag in cells of both mouse and human origin. CTLs were not cross-reactive on the human BK or JC virus T ags. Thus, SV40 T ag 281-289 represents a potential specific CTL recognition epitope for humans. Medline ID   21115809