Transposable elements (TEs) are transcriptionally activated in cancer and can generate chimeric TE–gene transcripts that are tumor specific. Our pan-cancer study reveals that these transcripts are a source of tumor-specific antigens that are shared across tumor types, bind to HLA and are presented on the extracellular surface of cancer cells appended to membrane-bound proteins.
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References
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Laumont, C. M. et al. Noncoding regions are the main source of targetable tumor-specific antigens. Sci. Transl. Med. 10, 470 (2018). This paper identifies non-coding regions as an important source of tumor-specific antigens.
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This is a summary of: Shah, N. M. et al. Pan-cancer analysis identifies tumor-specific antigens derived from transposable elements. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01349-3 (2023).
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Chimeric transcripts of transposable elements and genes are a source of tumor-specific antigens. Nat Genet 55, 538–539 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01361-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01361-7
