Abstract
The heat shock proteins (HSPs) gp96 and hsp70 can elicit potent anti-tumor responses and as such have significant clinical potential. Besides cytotoxic CD8 T cell (CTLs) effectors, evidence suggests that natural killer (NK) cells and other less well-characterized cell types also play a critical role in HSP-mediated anti-tumor responses. Owing to their high degree of phylogenetic conservation, we have proposed that HSPs are ancestral agents of immune surveillance; and postulated that their immunological properties, if important, should have been conserved during evolution. We are investigating this issue using a unique non-mammalian comparative tumor-immunity model in the frog Xenopus, which allows us to focus on the relationship between HSPs, classical MHC class Ia, and non-classical MHC class Ib molecules. In addition to a transplantable lymphoid tumor in genetically defined cloned Xenopus, we are generating transgenic frogs with inducible or knocked-down (RNAi) gene expression.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Animals, Genetically Modified
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CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology
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CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
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Cross-Priming / immunology
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Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
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Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
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Heat-Shock Proteins / genetics
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Heat-Shock Proteins / immunology*
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Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
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Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / genetics
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Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / immunology*
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Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / metabolism
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Humans
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Immunologic Surveillance / genetics
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Immunologic Surveillance / immunology*
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Killer Cells, Natural / immunology
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Killer Cells, Natural / metabolism
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Microscopy, Fluorescence
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Neoplasms, Experimental / genetics
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Neoplasms, Experimental / immunology
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Neoplasms, Experimental / metabolism
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T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology
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Xenopus / genetics
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Xenopus / immunology*
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Xenopus / metabolism
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Xenopus Proteins / genetics
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Xenopus Proteins / immunology
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Xenopus Proteins / metabolism
Substances
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Heat-Shock Proteins
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Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
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Xenopus Proteins
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Green Fluorescent Proteins