NY-ESO-1 (D1Q2U) Rabbit mAb #45437

Cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) are a family of more than 100 proteins whose normal expression is largely restricted to immune privileged germ cells of the testis, ovary, and trophoblast cells of the placenta. Although most normal somatic tissues are void of CTA expression, due to epigenetic silencing of gene expression, their expression is upregulated in a wide variety of human solid and liquid tumors (1,2). As such, CTAs have garnered much attention as attractive targets for a variety of immunotherapy-based approaches to selectively attack tumors (3).

New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) is an X-linked CTA and was first identified by serological analysis of cDNA expression libraries in esophageal carcinoma (SEREX) (4,5). Like other CTAs, NY-ESO-1 expression is repressed in normal somatic tissues but becomes derepressed in a variety of human cancer types, such as multiple myeloma, non-small cell lung carcinoma, liposarcoma, and melanoma (6,7). Although the biological function of NY-ESO-1 remains enigmatic, its tumor-restricted expression pattern and high degree of immunogenicity have positioned it as a prominent target of immunotherapy-based strategies for tumor eradication (8).