MHC class 1

In a previous study published in the Cell Journal (Cell, 30 November 2017, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.09.050), Carter, Marty and his team discovered a human MHC-I gene composition and there is a clear correlation between genes that are mutated in this person's cancer. Carter said that this makes sense because the cancer antigens presented by MHC-I cause T cells to eliminate these cancer cells earlier. From the opposite point of view, if a person's MHC-I molecule does not recognize and display cancer antigens, then this particular abnormality is more likely to occur in this person's tumor. This is also clinically meaningful as these researchers found that the fewer cancer antigens a person's MHC-I can recognize, the more likely they may develop cancer.

However, MHC-I does not fully reflect the ability of the human immune system to respond to tumors. Humans also have a related molecule called MHC-II. MHC class I is displayed on the surface of each cell, so any cell can become cancer cells. But MHC-II is only displayed by professional immune cells such as macrophages. MHC-II is also a more complex molecule and is capable of binding a wider range of antigens than MHC-I. These two molecules play an important role in controlling potential tumors: the precursor cells of cancer cells may be able to evade detection of one molecule, but they are unlikely to evade detection of these two.

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