PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma) is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''PRAME''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. Five alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein have been observed for this gene.

Function

This gene encodes an antigen that is predominantly expressed in human

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

s and that is recognized by cytolytic

T lymphocyte T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell ...

s. It is not expressed in normal tissues, except testis. This expression pattern is similar to that of other CT antigens, such as

MAGE Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction * Mage, a character class in ...

, BAGE and

GAGE Gage may refer to: Measurement * Gage is a misspelling of the word ''gauge'' *Stream gauge, aka Stream gage, a site along a stream where flow measurements are made People * Gage (surname) *Gage Golightly (born 1993), American actress Places Ho ...

. However, unlike these other CT antigens, this gene is also expressed in acute

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

s. The overexpression of PRAME in tumor tissues and relative low levels in normal somatic tissues make it an attractive target for cancer therapy. In recent years, immunotherapy has spearheaded a new era of cancer therapy resulting in the development of numerous novel antigen-specific immunotherapy approaches. Studies on PRAME-specific immunotherapy primarily involve vaccines and cellular immunotherapies. PRAME can inhibit

retinoic acid Retinoic acid (simplified nomenclature for all-''trans''-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-''trans''-retinol) that is required for embryonic development, male fertility, regulation of bone growth and immune function. All-''trans ...

signaling and retinoic acid mediated differentiation and

apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...

. PRAME overexpression in triple negative breast cancer has also been found to promote cancer cell motility through induction of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Function

References

Further reading