S004 HPV-Infected Cancers Process and Present HLA-A2–p53(264-272) Peptide Complexes: Implications for p53-Based Immunotherapy

University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa;

Altor BioScience Corporation, Miramar, Fla

Objective: We have shown that the human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 oncoprotein in HPV-16⁺ head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells induces proteasomal degradation of p53, which leads to greater CD8⁺ T-cell lysis mediated by enhanced expression of HLA-A2-p53(264-272) complexes on the tumor cell surface. By using a staining reagent capable of recognizing these complexes, we will be able to quantify and compare expression of HLA-A2p53(264-272) complexes in HPV-infected HNSCC cells and what the effect of p53 destabilization has on this expression.