Recently at the 2022 CTOS Conference, Adaptimmune announced the SPEARHEAD-1 clinical trial data of its T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapy, Afamitresgene autoleucel (afami-cel), for synovial sarcoma. The results showed that the overall response rate of afami-cel was 39% and the median duration of response was 50 weeks [1]. Results show afami-cel can effectively activate and promote the infiltration of proliferative cytotoxic T cells into the tumor. The drug has completed and reached the primary clinical endpoint, bringing good news for TCR-T therapy.
Afami-cel is a TCR-T cell drug targeting MAGE-A4. It is an autologous T cell expressing a specific TCR that can recognize the MAGE-A4 230-239 (GVYDGREHTV) peptide restricted by HLA-A2 [2]. MAGE-A4 is a member of the MAGE-A subfamily of the melanoma antigen gene family. Its full name is Melanoma-associated antigen 4. It is highly expressed in a variety of tumor cells and low in normal tissue cells. It is a very attractive target for solid tumor cell therapy, especially TCR-T therapy.
Figure 1. MAGE-A4 Protein
KACTUS has a refined protein preparation technology and has successfully launched MHC polypeptide complex products of MAGE-A4, including MHC-MAGE-A4 polypeptide complex monomers and tetramers in different forms. These provide high-quality antigen research tools for cell therapy such as TCR-T, and assist customers in drug development and optimization. KACTUS also provides MHC polypeptide complexes of other target proteins, covering different popular targets such as MAGE-A3, AFP, NY-ESO-1, KRAS, p53, and Survivin.
Advantages of KACTUS MHC Peptide Complex Products
- Mammalian cell expression system for a more realistic conformation and better biological activity
- Does not require renaturation, greatly shortening the lead time
- Customized services for MHC peptide complexes can be provided including various species, various genotypes, various antigenic peptides, monomers/tetramers, biotinylated tetrameric complexes, fluorescent labeling complexes, etc.
MHC Monomers & Tetramers with MAGE-A4 Antigens
