Abstract
Paired cultures of early-passage melanoma cells and melanocytes were established from metastatic lesions and the uninvolved skin of five patients. In this stringent autologous setting, cDNA profiling was used to analyze a subset of 1477 genes selected by the Gene Ontology term 'immune response'. Human Leukocyte Antigen E (HLA-E) was ranked 19th among melanoma-overexpressed genes and was embedded in a transformation signature including its preferred peptide ligand donors HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-G. Mostly undetectable in normal skin and 39 nevi (including rare and atypical lesions), HLA-E was detected by immunohistochemistry in 17/30 (57%) and 32/48 (67%) primary and metastatic lesions, respectively. Accordingly, surface HLA-E was higher on melanoma cells than on melanocytes and protected the former (6/6 cell lines) from lysis by natural killer (NK) cells, functionally counteracting co-expressed triggering ligands. Although lacking HLA-E, melanocytes (4/4 cultures) were nevertheless (and surprisingly) fully protected from NK cell lysis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 103-112 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2014 |
Keywords
- cDNA arrays
- HLA-E
- Melanocytes
- Melanoma
- NK cells
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Dermatology
- Oncology
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)