Abstract
Th17 plays important roles in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Although the importance of Th17 in tumor immunity has also been suggested, precise roles of tumor-associated antigen-specific Th17 still remain poorly understood, especially in humans. We previously identified WT1332, a 16-mer helper epitope derived from tumor-associated antigen Wilms’ tumor gene 1 (WT1) product, and WT1332-specific Th1 clones were established. In the present study, WT1-specific Th17 clones were established by the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with the WT1332 helper peptide under human Th17-polarizing conditions. The WT1-specific Th17 clone exhibited the helper function for proliferation of conventional CD4+ T cells in the antigenic stimulation-specific manner. This is the first report of establishment of functional Th17 clones with both antigen (WT1332) specificity and antigen-specific helper activity. Th17 clones established here and the method to establish antigen-specific Th17 clones should be a useful tool to further analyze the roles of human Th17 in tumor immunity.
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This study was supported, in part, by Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.
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Tachino, S., Fujiki, F., Oka, Y. et al. Functional human Th17 clones with WT1-specific helper activity. Cancer Immunol Immunother 62, 801–810 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-012-1385-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-012-1385-3