A role for naturally occurring alleles of Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidases in tumor immunity and cancer predisposition

Abstract

Endoplasmic Reticulum aminopeptidase 1 and 2 (ERAP1 and ERAP2) are key components on the pathway that generates antigenic epitopes for presentation to cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). Coding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these enzymes have been associated with predisposition to several major human diseases including inflammatory diseases with autoimmune aetiology, viral infections and virally induced cancer. The function of these enzymes has been demonstrated to affect cytotoxic Tlymphocyte (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cell responses towards healthy and malignant cells as well as the production of inflammatory cytokines. Recent studies have demonstrated that SNPs in ERAP1 and ERAP2 can affect their ability to generate or destroy antigenic epitopes and define the immunopeptidome. In this review we examine the potential role of these enzymes and their polymorphic states on the generation of cytotoxic responses towards malignantly transformed cells. Given the current state-of-the-art, it is possible that polymorphic variation in these enzymes may contribute to the individuals predisposition to cancer through altered generation or destruction of tumor antigens that can facilitate tumor immune evasion.