GAGE gene and protein expression profile in cancer patients

Abstract

Cancer-testis antigens (CTA) are antigens expressed by tumor cells of various histological types, but practically absent in cells of normal tissues, with the exception of germ cells. CTA includes more than 100 proteins, most of which are grouped into large families. Currently, the use of CTA for immunotherapy in the treatment of oncological diseases has been tested in many studies, and an increase in survival time has been achieved for many cases. Therefore, they can be promising targets for the creation of antitumor drugs, targeted therapy of tumors and as diagnostic biomarkers.The purpose of this review was to study the GAGE family of antigens, one of the CTA groups recognized by T cells. Proteins of this family, expressed in tumor cells, stimulate the development of a humoral and cellular immune response against them. It follows from this that they fully meet the requirements for targets for tumor immunotherapy. The review provides information about the structure and sequence of genes encoding proteins of the GAGE family. The question of the role of GAGE in apoptosis is considered in detail and the results of studies proving that GAGE-7C makes cells resistant to apoptosis mediated by interferon γ or Fas are presented. The results of clinical studies of the expression of GAGE group genes and proteins in various types of tumor diseases are considered and examples of the reported correlation between GAGE expression and poor prognosis in some types of cancer are given.Thus, the proteins of the GAGE group, with a detailed study, can become a possible diagnostic and prognostic marker of cancer diseases, and in the future be used to assess malignancy and monitor tumors for the selection of treatment tactics.