Long non-coding RNA-derived peptides are immunogenic and drive a potent anti-tumour response

Wojciech Barczak, Simon M. Carr, Geng Liu, Shonagh Munro, Annalisa Nicastri, Lian Ni Lee, Claire Hutchings, Nicola Ternette, Paul Klenerman, Alexander Kanapin, Anastasia Samsonova, Nicholas B. La Thangue*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) 5 is over-expressed in a variety of cancers and the master transcription regulator E2F1 is an important methylation target. We have explored the role of PRMT5 and E2F1 in regulating the non-coding genome and report here a striking effect on long non-coding (lnc) RNA gene expression. Moreover, many MHC class I protein-associated peptides were derived from small open reading frames in the lncRNA genes. Pharmacological inhibition of PRMT5 or adjusting E2F1 levels qualitatively altered the repertoire of lncRNA-derived peptide antigens displayed by tumour cells. When presented to the immune system as either ex vivo-loaded dendritic cells or expressed from a viral vector, lncRNA-derived peptides drove a potent antigen-specific CD8 T lymphocyte response, which translated into a significant delay in tumour growth. Thus, lncRNA genes encode immunogenic peptides that can be deployed as a cancer vaccine.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1078
Number of pages17
JournalNature Communications
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

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