Melanoma-associated antigens recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have been grouped into three categories: melanocyte differentiation antigens, cancer/testis-specific antigens and mutated or aberrantly expressed antigens. Many of these antigens consist of peptides that are presented to T cells by HLA molecules; they represent potential targets for cancer immunotherapy. Melan-A (also designated MART-1) is a melanocyte differentiation antigen that is specific to melanomas, melanocyte cell lines and retina. Melan-A peptide is recognized by most HLA-A2-restricted tumor-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with melanoma. Antimelanoma cytotoxic T lymphocytes can be generated with a Melan-A peptide, implicating Melan-A as a potential candidate for antigen-specific immunotherapy in melanoma patients.
