cDNA cloning and chromosomal mapping of a predicted coiled-coil proline-rich protein immunogenic in meningioma patients

There is increasing evidence that tumor expressed genes induce immune responses in cancer patients, To identify meningioma expressed antigens, we established a meningioma expression library which was screened with autologous serum, Out of 20 positive cDNA clones eight share high sequence homologies as determined by sequence analysis, These eight clones can be grouped into three classes which differ in length and which are characterized by specific sequence variations, The longest open reading frame was found to be 2412 bp encoding an immunoreactive antigen termed meningioma expressed antigen 6 (MEA6), Using five sequence specific primer pairs, somatic hybrid panel mapping revealed locations of the three classes on several human chromosomes including chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 13 and 14, The mapping results were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. RT-PCR showed consistent expression of all classes in several meningiomas and additional tissues using the same set of primer pairs as for chromosomal mapping, The expression data were confirmed by northern blot analysis, For the predicted amino acid sequence BLASTX revealed a homology to a human C219-reactive peptide which was previously isolated by an antibody directed against p-glycoprotein. Sequence properties of the MEA protein include an acidic activation domain, a proline-rich region and two coiled-coil domains indicating protein binding and activation functions.