The Thomsen Friedenreich antigen (TFag) is a tumor-associated disaccharide that is present in more than 90% of human carcinomas and a target of the immune system. Circulating antibodies to TFag offer a survival advantage in cancer patients, and thus many groups have tried to develop immunotherapies based on the TFag structure. We have been developing a vaccine platform based on gold nanoparticles that carry tumor-relevant TFag glycopeptides and have shown that these particles are able to elicit an immune repsonse in mice. We have also studied another TFag-bearing glycopeptide from patients with the bladder disorder interstitial cystitis that inhibits epithelial cell proliferation at nanomolar concentrations called antiproliferative factor (APF). The talk will discuss the importance of TFag, the synthesis of several analogues of tumor glycopeptides and APF and the relevance of the TFag structure and presentation on its function and biological activity in both disease states.

Chemistry and biology of the Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen: From cancer to interstitial cystitis

246th National Meeting (2013)

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