Analysis of the antibody repertoire of patients with mantle cell lymphoma directed against mantle cell lymphoma-associated antigens

Treatment results of mantle cell lymphomas (MCL) are not satisfactory and novel therapeutic approaches are warranted. Because “shared” tumor antigens like the group of cancer testis antigens are only rarely expressed in MCL, we applied serological analysis of antigens using recombinant expression cloning (SEREX) to a complementary DNA library derived from five cases of MCL using the sera of eight patients with MCL in order to define MCL-associated antigens that are immunogenic in these patients and might be used as vaccines for patients with MCL. Five antigens were detected by SEREX. Four of the five detected antigens (hypothetical protein FLK10233, recombining binding protein suppressor, a chromosomal sequence, and interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase) are also expressed by a wide spectrum of normal human cells, excluding their use as vaccines. In contrast, the expression of CD52, which was detected by antibodies in the serum of an MCL patient, is restricted to hematopoietic cells. Interestingly, anti-CD52 antibodies were detected in this patient before and >2 years after allogeneic transplantation, indicating that both the autologous as well as the allogeneic immune system recognized CD52. Since the anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab has shown activity in MCL, a vaccine consisting of recombinant CD52 alone or combined with passive immunotherapy using alemtuzumab warrants furthers clinical and immunological evaluation in MCL.