Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Sep 14;2(9):e90.
doi: 10.1038/bcj.2012.32.

Cancer-testis antigen expression and immunogenicity in AL amyloidosis

M A Rosenzweig  1 , H Landau, D Seldin, C O'Hara, S Girnius, N Hanson, D Frosina, C Sedrak, M Arcila, R L Comenzo, S Giralt, S Gnjatic, A A Jungbluth, G Koehne
Affiliations

Cancer-testis antigen expression and immunogenicity in AL amyloidosis

M A Rosenzweig et al. Blood Cancer J. .

Abstract

Light-chain amyloidosis (AL) is a plasma cell dyscrasia closely related to multiple myeloma. In multiple myeloma, the cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) CT7 (MAGE-C1), CT10 (MAGE-C2) and MAGE-A CTAs are expressed in up to 80% of cases. In this study, we investigated the expression and immunogenicity of several CTAs in patients with AL amyloidosis in a total of 38 bone marrow specimens by employing standard immunohistochemistry techniques on paraffin-embedded archival tissues. Plasma samples from 35 patients (27 with matched bone marrow samples) were also analyzed by ELISA for sero reactivity to a group of full-length CTA proteins. CT7 was present in 25/38 (66%) while CT10 was demonstrated in 3/38 and GAGE in 1/38 AL amyloid cases. The expression pattern was mostly focal. There were no significant differences with regard to organ involvement, response to treatment, or prognosis in CTA positive compared to negative cases. None of the specimens showed spontaneous humoral immunity to CT7, but sero reactivity was observed in individual patients to other CTAs. This study identifies CT7 as the prevalent CTA in plasma cells of patients with AL amyloidosis. Further analyses determining the biology of CTAs in AL amyloidosis and their value as potential targets for immunotherapy are warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CT7 expression pattern in bone marrow biopsies of two AL amyloid patients with low (5X; A, C) and high (20X; B, D) magnification. (a, b): Case 11; focal expression of CT7-positive plasma cells. (c, d): Case 1; homogeneous expression with 50–75% CT7-positive plasma cells (+++).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall survival of patients on the basis of CT7 expression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Kyle RA, Linos A, Beard CM, Linke RP, Gertz MA, O'Fallon WM, et al. Incidence and natural history of primary systemic amyloidosis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1950 through 1989. Blood. 1992;79:1817–1822. - PubMed
    1. Falk RH, Comenzo RL, Skinner M. The systemic amyloidoses. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:898–909. - PubMed
    1. Kyle RA, Gertz MA. Primary systemic amyloidosis: clinical and laboratory features in 474 cases. Semin Hematol. 1995;32:45–59. - PubMed
    1. Gertz MA, Zeldenrust SR. Treatment of immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis. Curr Hematol Malig Rep. 2009;4:91–98. - PubMed
    1. Seldin DC, Choufani EB, Dember LM, Wiesman JF, Berk JL, Falk RH, et al. Tolerability and efficacy of thalidomide for the treatment of patients with light chain-associated (AL) amyloidosis. Clin Lymphoma. 2003;3:241–246. - PubMed