HLA-A*0201 & B2M & hTERT (ILAKFLHWL)

hTERT (human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase), the catalytic subunit of telomerase, maintains telomere length to drive tumor cells’ unlimited proliferation. It is highly expressed in ~85-90% of cancers but silenced in most normal somatic cells. The peptide ILAKFLHWL (from hTERT residues 540-548) acts as a tumor-specific antigen. It binds to MHC class I molecule HLA-A0201 to form a surface complex on tumors, activating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The Human HLA-A*0201 hTERT (ILAKFLHWL) complex protein is a complex of HLA-A*0201 of the MHC Class I, B2M, and ILAKFLHWL peptide of the hTERT.